2 min read

Idea #54 Rafting as Team Building + Stress Reduction

Do it When you have team building during white water rafting. If you have chance to go with your employee to white water rafting that is perfect chance to perform team building. If you need team building program just ask me. At this point I just want to remind that this is perfect situation for stress reduction from the team. Just bring with you water pistols, water guns and plastic washbowls. Usually people don’t have idea to bring those features at rafting but when you have several boats people will immediately start splashing crew of other boat. So just let them enjoy the ride. During other games for sure you will make discussion about things you have seen during splashing.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Where is the best environment for you for team building?
2. What would you do there?
3. What resources you need for that?
4. What capabilities are mandatory for successful team building?
5. Why is so important for you to have the best team building?
6. What values would you confirm there?
7. Who would you be after that?
8. Who else would benefit from that?
9. Write your full action plan … Read more

2 min read

Idea #53 Tennis ball & Team Building

Do it When you have team building. People are standing in a group or sitting around the table. Give them an easy task: Tennis ball has to pass everyone’s hands as quicker as possible. Team members will have to prepare strategy. Usually they will start with quick throwing ball. Measure their time and tell them that it can be quicker. They will start doing that quicker for sure. After several tries tell them that record is 2 second. After the first shock they will manage how to do it. They just have to make “tube” with everyone’s hands and pass the ball through that “tube”. Everyone will be happy with new idea.  “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” – Antoine de Saint

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that your team has become perfect?
2. Why is that so important to you?
3. How would you know that your team is perfect?
4. What other valuess would you have then?
5. What else is even more important … Read more

2 min read

Idea #52 Measure your skills to reach Flow

Do it When you set goals with your employee. We have discussed about Flow during Tesla Idea #47. Now, just ask your employee to measure his present skills. Next he has to measure his necessary skills in next period (3 months, 6 months, 1 year…) concerning that he will be still in the state of Flow. Now use coaching wheel. Your employee will have to make necessary action steps constantly having improvement on coaching wheel. Then your employee just has to make that action. As great Benjamin Franklin said: “Well done is better than well said.” Having in mind an Italian proverb: “Between saying and doing many pair of shoes are worn out.”

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you are in 6 months from now. You are still in a state of Flow. Just say on coaching wheel measuring level of necessary skills where would you be?
2. Now, for each skill make necessary action steps.
3. When would you do each action step?
4. How beneficial for you will be making system that will help you in measuring each skill?
5. How will that system look like?
6. Where else would you use that … Read more

2 min read

Idea #51 Child bricks for Creativity

Do it When you train creativity. Supply them with child bricks. All bricks have to have the same width and length. Only high and color ones have to be different. Each group has a task to present different characters or products by using only bricks. After 15 minutes some groups have to present their results and the other ones have to guess what character or product is about.
As Florence King said:  “Americans worship creativity the way they worship physical beauty – as a way of enjoying elitism without guilt: God did it.” But we know that we can develop creativity, just like we can develop our physical beauty.
Just for practising creativity, try to guess which cartoon characters are in picture below.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What is the most important thing that you can learn from your favorite cartoon character?
2. After having had that lesson how would your life look like?
3. What other values would you have?
4. What goals would you target then?
5. What would the very best action plan to that goal look like?
6. How would you know that you are on the right tracks?
7. What would make you … Read more

2 min read

Idea #50 Communication without questions

Do it When you deliver communication training. It is important for participants to understand importance of asking questions. Take a simple picture below and explain it to participants as much better as you can. They have to draw it without asking questions. You will be surprised at the end how many different drawing you will see. After that use different picture, and allow them to ask questions. For sure results would be better.
Make a discussion after that about importance of questions. You can use this quote also:  “Albert grunted. “Do you know what happens to lads who ask too many questions?” Mort thought for a moment. “No,” he said eventually, “what?” There was silence. Then Albert straightened up and said, “Damned if I know. Probably they get answers, and serve ’em right.” ― Terry Pratchett, Mort

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What is the most important question that you could ask yourself?
2. What would be the answer to that question?
3. Knowing that answer what advantage you have in your life?
4. Having that advantage, what other skills would you have?
5. What would be the very best action plan to implement that answer in … Read more

2 min read

Idea #49 Deaf dance

Do it When you want to build your team. Task for a team leader is to perform a musical composition just by clapping with his hands and stepping with his feet. Then his team has to repeat this activity and say what the name of the song that he has performed is. He has to make 3 different performances, and his team has to guess at least two of them. After that we need to discuss what we can do to make a better connection between a leader and the team.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you are a perfect team leader. What does it look like?
2. Why is that important for your business?
3. How can you know that you are perfect?
4. What other values do you have then?
5. What else is even more important to you?
6. Who else can benefit from you as a perfect team leader?
7. How can you be sure that you are on the right track to achieve your goal?
8. Who can help you on your way towards the goal?
9. How would you engage all those people to help you?
10. What will the … Read more

2 min read

Idea #48 Game for smart employees

Do it When you want to prepare your team for problem solving. The hearts with numbers have to be placed in the empty hearts so that all the numbers in the same straight line add up to the number 10. Discuss how they have structured their problem solving. “Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky – or the answer is wrong and you have to start over and try again and see how it comes out this time.” Carl Sandburg

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What is the main problem you are facing right now?
2. By solving that problem what will you reach?
3. What would your life look like when you reach it?
4. What other values would you have then?
5. Imagine that your solution is just 6 steps from you. What would be the very first step?
6. Name all other 5 steps?
7. Now when you have come to your goal how satisfied you are on a scale from 1 to 10?
Thank you for your time.

     
 
 
 
 
… Read more
3 min read

Idea #47 Your personal Flow

Do it When you want to talk about personal development. Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields. We are going to use it by drawing a diagram where your coachee will point where he is right now on skill level. Then he will point where he is on challenge level. Next step is to point where he wants to be in 6 months period wishing to be in a state of Flow. Immediately he will have coordination where he has to be in skill level. Now he will have to make action plan how he will come to that level of skills.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What is the area of your life where you want to make progress?
2. Where are you right now on this diagram on skills scale?
3. Where are you right now on this diagram on challenge scale?
4. How satisfied you are with this state on a … Read more

2 min read

Idea #46 Make your company commercial

Do it During Team Building when you want to establish company values. Divide participants in smaller teams. Tell them that they have to make company commercial. Each team will have to prepare scenario, do the acting and video tape commercial. If you have a time they can use different computer programs and prepare movie. In the evening you will have presentation of commercials.  After that you will have discussion. What was the message that we were sending from our company?

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What is you key message that you want to send to the other people?
2. Why is that message so important to you?
3. How that message is influencing your everyday life?
4. Who else thinks that message is important?
5. How those people could be helpful in spreading that message?
6. How could you make that massage even more important?
7. What would be your action plan for making your message widely spread?
8. Now when you have made your plan, how do you feel?
Thank you and good luck.

     
 
 
 
    
… Read more
2 min read

Idea #45 Stand for coaching air magic sticks

Do it When you want to raise self esteem in people. On every training bring stand like one on picture below. Tell participants that it is stand for air magic sticks for coaching. Ask each one of them to take one air magic stick. They will use it on their everyday work or in life. But now they will have air magic sticks that will help them.
Whenever they have some question air magic stick will give them answer. 

Coaching questions for you are as follows:
1. What do you regard as the biggest challenge at the moment?
2. How do you know that you have been handling that challenge successfully?
3. How would you feel if you managed to cope with that challenge?
4. Which means would you use to reach the set goal?
5. What would be your first step to attain that goal?
6. Make a list of all further steps.
7. What would be the most useful system for dealing with any future challenges?
8. What else would you find beneficial to achieving your goals?
Thank you for your ideas.

.

     
 
 
 
    
… Read more
2 min read

Idea #44 Full MeNtal Jacket

Do it When you train your people how to deal with difficult people. In our business dealing with difficult people is mandatory. “Difficult People are your key to self- empowerment, you need to learn how to cope with them, do not let them dominate and affect you.” – Janice Davies. One of techniques is to teach them to wear virtual protection from difficult people, as well as to establish a close rapport with them by showing empathy and incessantly reminding them that they are wearing invisible Full MeNtal Jacket. As a result, every bad word, anger, every feeling of negative energy will be stopped. If your employees manage to recognize and accept that tool, they will deal with difficult people more easily.

Coaching questions for you are as follows:
1. Which symptoms do you notice in your body when you deal with difficult people?
2. In which part of your body do you notice that?
3. What is the shape of that symptom?
4. Is it sharp or smooth?
5. In which color is it?
6. Is it stable or spinning? If spinning, is it clockwise or counter-clockwise?
7. Is it getting hot or cold?
8. Now when you
… Read more
2 min read

Idea #43 Last page Creative Ideas

Do it When you want to gain creative ideas. As great Albert Einstein said: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Implementing coaching we are changing the way we are thinking and on the top of that we are changing the way we are writing our ideas. Whenever you have some ideas write it in notebook but start from the last page. Since our school days we have learned that all answers are written on the last pages. If you write idea #001 on the last page, you will have a plenty of pages and numbers to use but arranged in reverse order.
When you implement idea just circle it. My creative book is on this picture.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine a problem that you can’t solve with present way of thinking. What is it?
2. How important for you is to solve that problem?
3. What would you be with that problem solved?
4. Imagine the person that might have solution to that problem. Who is he?
5. That person gives you the book with all answers. Tell me when you get that picture.… Read more

2 min read

Idea #42 Support hand made

Do it when you discuss company values with employees. Connecting company values with values of each employee is important for supporting their motivation. Nowadays everyone has laptop. And we all carry them in laptop bags. So ask participants how your company lap top bag will look like. Ask them to draw it on a flip chart. Then to make presentation and talk about values that are represented with drawing.
Now it is your time to surprise your employee. Make arrangement with local women group to make laptop bags from drawings. I did it with Marija Hand Made and now I have privilege to enjoy this beautiful laptop bag.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that your laptop bag is your company brochure. What it tells about you?
2. Why do you exist as company?
3. How do you serve your country?
4. Who else is gaining benefit from your company?
5. How will scale your service from 1 to 10?
6. What can you do to make your service even more beneficial?
7. How will you make a system that will guide you through servicing others?
8. Write your full action plan. What will be the time … Read more

2 min read

Idea #41 Where to put effort

Do it when you want to point to the participants the importance of putting effort in the right point. This is story about giant ship that has suffered engine malfunction and was tightened on the dock for engine repair. Several groups of engineers failed trying to repair the engine. Finally captain called old mechanist with lifetime experience on ships like this. For 15 minutes he was examining the full system. At the end he focused on the one pipe and started hitting it with hammer. After that engine started working properly. Captain was amused but suddenly he was stunned because mechanist asked him for 5.000 $ for his work. Then captain asked for specification of his 15 minutes service. Machinist wrote on the bill: Working on the engine 2$, diagnosing what to do 4.998 $, in total 5.000 $. Obviously, in life everything is knowing where to put the effort.

Coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you are sitting with someone like old machinist from the previous story, but he has knowledge relevant to your career. How useful it will be for you?
2. Where will be the most useful place to talk with him?
3. How … Read more

3 min read

Idea #40 Leadership by the finger

Do it during training when you want to point that managing people is 2 way street. Divide participants in pairs. They have to stand facing each other.
Person A has to point his/her finger just next to the nous of person B. Just give instruction that person A has to move his/her finger and person B has to maintain the same distance between his nous and finger of person A. Very soon everyone will show their real personality. Some people will just move finger left to right without moving arm. But, some of them will give them a full speed and creativity making spirals with finger. After 2 minutes ask them to switch the roles. The very next moment you will hear laugh, because everyone knows what will happen. Those who were gentle will receive the same treatment. But the other ones will experience rollercoaster journey. This is the best way to show participants, especially managers that we are all dealing with people like us.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine yourself giving feedback to one of your employee. On the same time you have noticed that in the room is (invisible for your employee) person … Read more

3 min read

Idea #39 Cherishing problems

Do it when you want to find real problems and answers to them. Old people say:  “Where is the illness there’s a cure”. In business world it means that people who are in the front line dealing with problems are first one who will notice them and find the answer. Just they have to be motivated to do that. Otherwise they will just complain about their destiny. So first you have to motivate them to escalate the problem to you. Make competition that every week all employees will send by email the most difficult situations.
Choose the hardest and give price to that person. Now for next 7 days all people will have to think about solving that situation. Choose the best answer and give price to that person. At the same time competition will be for the next difficult situation. So, from now on, every week you will have two competitions. First, for the best problem and second for the best answer for situation from the previous week. Just imagine how strong your team will be in a year. Special note: It is not allowed to give money for the price!

Now, coaching questions for you:… Read more

3 min read

Idea #38 Hamlet’s Dilemma

Do it when you want to train decision making. So many times we have to choose between to do or not to do something. If only we could predict the future. For instance, we are planning to invest in our business but we don’t know is situation on the market going to be better or worse for our business. But after the battle it is easy to be the general. Before the battle we can (only) use matrix 2 x 2. Now we have 4 quadrants. In first we do the action (invest the money) and situation on the market is going to be better for our business. On second quadrant we are not investing money and situation on the market is better. Obviously we miss the chance to invest in good business. In third quadrant we do the action, and situation in the business is worse. So we are very sad for losing money. In fourth quadrant we don’t do the action and situation is worse in your business. Ironically we are happy because we haven’t invested in bad business. If you cautiously discuss situations in every quadrant you will notice that in 2 situations almost always you … Read more

2 min read

Idea #37 Emotion Vs. Logic

Do it when you want to train decision making. Often we say that while making decisions is good to exclude emotions, using only our logic. At the same time, there are so many emotional decision making techniques. Even with what we believe are rational decisions, the very point of choice is always based on emotion. It is much easier to understand if we say that emotions are signals from the subconscious mind. Now, we can start game. Divide participants in 2 groups. First group has to prepare presentation of one of your products using only logic. Presentation has to include poster and sales speech. Other group has to do the same thing using only logic.
Give them 15 minutes for preparation. Then they will do the presentations.
Objections and questions from the other group are the most important part.
Answering them each group can use bith, emotion and logic. 

Coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that your career is guided just by your intuition and that you can fail. How confident will you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
2. Beside confidence, what other your values will benefit?
3. How your life looks then? … Read more

2 min read

Idea #36 Compare your present & dream 24 hours

Do it when you have to organize your day. Some people believe that they are delivering Time Management training. I don’t think that is possible. You can only manage your actions, not time. I am not playing with word. When you realize difference you are on the right way. So I am asking you to fulfill two identical circles. One with actions that you are doing right now during 24 hours period. Then do the other which is called your dream 24 hours. Then compare the difference. All you have to do is to make action plan how are you going to manage the difference. And that is managing actions in time. Take time and do this. Remember what Seneca said: “If not us, who, if not now, when?”
 Now, more coaching questions for you:
1. Looking at your dream 24 hours, tell me what kind of person would you be with that kind of organizing your actions?
2. Who else will benefit from that?
3. How satisfied will you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
4. What will you be able to do to have that kind of life?
5. What will be the time frame … Read more

3 min read

Idea #35 You in 5

Do it when you have to explain the importance of change. Give a flip chart paper to participants.  Their task is to draw. First, in lower left part they have to draw them in present time. Their faces are toward center of the paper. Then in upper right part of the paper, they have to draw themselves in 5 years. Again faces turned to the center of the paper. Now they have to connect those 2 pictures. They can choose type of the line. It can be straight or more in the waving mood. But it has to start from left lower corner and finish at upper right corner. Now they have to draw and explain critical moments in those 5 years. What they predict has happened and how they have overcome it.
Crucial is that suddenly they will come to the idea that they have to change themselves.
At this moment mankind posses only 5% of the knowledge that it will have in 2060.
So we have to invent and to learn 95% of it.  Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine yourself going in year 2060 and taking that knowledge. Remember now you have only 5% of … Read more

2 min read

Idea #34 Action plan at The End

Do it when you have finished your training. It is always good to see how participants have accepted training and what are they going to implement. On one page of handout give them matrix 2 x 2. In 4 quadrants give them headlines:  I will do More, I will do Less, I will Stop and I will Start. On every quadrant make at least 3 lines so they can fulfill them. At the end of that page make a space so participants can sign. This is very good commitment that they will really follow their action plan.
And remember that We Can Not Change our Past but We Can Change the Future.
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Find area in your life where you want to make improvement. Which area is that?
2. How important on a scale from 1 to 10 is it to you?
3. Whom will you be when you make that improvement?
4. To make that improvement you will have to start doing something differently. Name 3 things!
5. You will have to stop doing something. Name 3 things!
6. You will have to do something more than you are doing now? Name 3 things!… Read more

3 min read

Idea #33 Remember details like Napoleon

Do it when you have to develop participants’ management of details. Napoleon was genius of military tactics and strategy. One of his core values was his brilliant management of details. He never forgot a single point of advantage. He has remembered every soldier, river, stream, mountain, hill, valley, and ravine down in his mental note book. Let’s see why and how we are going to develop similar skill in our business. Each one in our group has to create a mental picture of one of our customer. Write down as much as possible data about him (name, address, company, age, gander …). Now we can go deeper in Master details. Explain his/her look, color of hair, eyes, any characteristics, what he/she likes, favorite product, his/her family, favorite places…). When you finish there is even deeper level. Subordinate Details which means detailed look of his/her office, accent, details in body language, characteristic words that are used, changing of skin brightness, changing in voice, changing in tempo…) Lets count how many you have counted in each column.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that your core value is brilliant management of details, like Napoleon’s. In which area of your … Read more

2 min read

Idea #32 Change what you do

Do it when you want to show importance of change. Give to all participants colored paper balls. Ideally, there are 14 of participants. On your sign they have to throw paper balls to each other. Every time someone has to catch just one ball. On sign everyone will have new ball. Do that 8 to 10 times. Then ask them to wrap up all paper balls.
On every paper should be just one word. Give them 3 minutes to make sentence.
Correct answer should be “If you do what you always do you will get what you always get.”
!#32
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you can restart your life, starting from the year that you are now. But, you can work your dream job. What it will be?
2. How will you know that it is your real dream job?
3. How satisfied would you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
4. Who would you be working that job?
5. Who else will be proud of you?
6. What type of resource you have?
7. What would you be ready to do to achieve that dream job?
8. What would be your first step?… Read more

2 min read

Idea #31 Maximum training results

Do it when you are asked: “How can you guarantee that participants will accept skills from your training?” I have applied at some French company for delivering soft skills to their managers. In application form one of the questions was: “How can you guarantee that participants will accept skills from your training?” If you have any experience in training than I am sure that you have seen curve explaining that training without mentoring and coaching sessions will make maximum 10 % improvement. So I come to the following idea. I will guaranty that participants will gain any percentage that we would agree was acceptable. And after a month we will do evaluation. If participants fail, company will have to pay 3 times value of training. In that way I am 100 % sure that they will find way for coaching, mentoring, refreshing and everything that is necessary for successful learning. What are your thoughts?

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you have to deliver training to a very important group of managers. How would you prepare?
2. How important is that training to you?
3. Who will also benefit from it?
4. Who are you in eyes … Read more

2 min read

Idea #30 Think outside the box

Do it when you want them to think outside the box.
All you need is flipchart. Draw following:
1
11
21
1211
111221
Now they have to continue. Give them 5 minutes. Help them by giving a clue:
_ _ _ _ _ _#030box

Answer is in reading. First line is one one which is explained in 2nd line. 2nd line is two one which is said in 3rd line. 3rd line is one two, one one which is said in 4th line.
Next we continue with one one, one two, two one said in 5th line.
6th line will be 3 1 2 2 1 1 (three one, two two, one one).
All over the world 20 % of children 3rd grade solve this problem.
You are clever to; Just, we all have to think outside the box.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Think what is it in your business that at this moment no one is doing because it is impossible?
2. Make a list of 20 items. What from that list would be the most important for your business?
3. What would be the first step … Read more