Seth Godin is the author of ten international bestsellers that have been translated into over 30 languages and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. His Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the last decade. He coined the term “permission marketing” and accurately predicted its impact on sales of all kinds.  I follow his blog regularly and love to see how his mind works.

One of Godin’s gifts is taking every-day things and turning them sideways from the way they are usually used to extract more value and function. He’s done this with PowerPoint in a recent blog post called “Really Bad Powerpoint.” It’s worth reading the whole post, but his key points were so simple and so compelling that I thought members of the AvoLead community would find value for themselves and/or their clients:

• He reminds us that in any presentation, we must transfer emotion and sell our topic. “Logic is not enough,” and neither are boring bullet points or cluttered slides with too much information.
• Use cue-cards to capture the essence of what you want to say (i.e., don’t read your slides).
• “Make slides reinforce your words, not repeat them.” He suggests using quality photos to add emotional depth to what you’re saying.
• Create a written “leave-behind” document with details, notes, and references. Tell people up front that you’ll give it to them at the end so they don’t have to write everything down. Then they can concentrate on getting the emotional and intellectual gist of your message without being distracted by writing, and they’ll have something to take home that reinforces what you’ve said.
• Don’t be vague about what you want from your listeners…ask them. Do you want them to take action? Buy something? Sign up for something? Remember something? Be sure to be clear what this is.

Here are Godin’s five rules for a great PowerPoint presentation:

1. Always use fewer than seven words on a slide. He feels VERY strongly about this.
2. Avoid trite graphics – spring for quality stock photos.
3. Forget the transitions (dissolves, spins, etc.) that PowerPoint offers.
4. Use sound effects strategically and pick your own, not the built-in ones.
5. “Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides. They don’t work without you there.”

Keep the end goal in mind: an audience that is engaged and interested and will be more likely to remember the core part of your message. Godin loves to buck the status quo and always encourages his readers to be unique. That’s how we become memorable. He knows it’s hard, but his message is, “It’s worth it!”

Our good friends and colleagues at Discovery Learning®, Inc. (DLI) are offering a Change Readiness Gauge™ Introduction and Certification half-day workshop on June 1, 2010, in Greensboro, NC, and AvoLead is pleased to promote it to our fellow professionals. This new and innovative assessment for measuring an organization’s current ability to manage change was designed by Chris Musselwhite, president and CEO of Discovery Learning®, and Tammie Plouffe, managing partner of Innovative Pathways.

Never has such a measurement been more important or so critical as we help our client organizations assess and embrace change from so many different directions. Quickly identifying their readiness to manage change can better equip them to survive and thrive.

Get certified now to use this valuable assessment by attending the June 1st workshop. Benefits include listing on DLI’s website, access to experienced survey user group, and DLI referrals. Certification or qualification is required for product use. The $250 package includes an electronic facilitator guide, a PowerPoint presentation, a webinar, a follow-up coaching call, 10 individual assessments, 1 group report, and access to the online assessment center (a $1090 value).

• June 1, 8:30am to noon
• Discovery Learning, Inc., 431 Spring Garden St., Greensboro, NC 27401
• Call 336-272-9530  or Email sgoins@discoverylearning.com to reserve your spot!

Beth Dixson writes …

The Financial Times (12-4-09, page 9: “Why Obama does not want a multipolar world order” by Zaki Laidi) has an excellent article on the uses and aspects of power in today’s global mix.  Deep within the article is an idea:

…”the world currently shares three global agendas:  the strategic agenda that continues to be massively dominated by the US, the economic agenda, which is more widely distributed, and the climate agenda, where the US is clearly on the defensive….”

What this suggests is a position can be taken within the US community that lagging in sustainability mind set, interests, and capability is further weakening its strategic and economic interests globally.  While a “values” argument has slower traction in our culture as yet (although rising in attractiveness in many quarters), a business case might be constructed by learning leaders for off setting a diminishing power base and a diluted economic one as reason to consider the green agenda.

It also suggests we have a large potential audience (within the US — not so much credibility abroad) for influencing a shift in mind set, creating critical mass within over time, towards sustainability as good business.

We are a pragmatic nation.  If we can craft a pragmatic argument, building momentum around it, there is vast potential yet to be unleashed and harnessed for prosperity in all respects.

Powerful ideas Beth–thanks for putting your thoughts out there.  What do you all think?  Do you have examples of strong cases for sustainability?

Most of us agree that Pay for Performance is a good thing – at least those of us who consider ourselves high performers. We like the idea that if we perform, we reap the rewards. We want to know that the employee who shops online during work hours and delivers mediocre results does not receive the same monetary rewards as those of us who regularly exceed expectations.

However, in our current down economy, many employers are holding off delivering bonuses and incentives to all employees, including high performers. In fact, if they are giving any monetary incentive at all, they are taking the “peanut butter” approach of offering the same incentive across the board. Even with salary cuts, many organizations are cutting equally across the organization. None of these approaches engage and motivate the high performers – the ones who are capable of navigating your business through these tough economic times to come out successful on the other side.

To this end, I heard a rather novel idea the other day I want to pass along for your reaction. Why not take the same organizational approach to salary reductions and performance incentives in good times and apply them in a down economy? In other words, if an organization is cutting salaries, low performers take more of a hit than high performers. This would send a powerful message throughout organizations – one the high performers would appreciate and which would still preserve an element of incentive for their effort. Your thoughts?

Many organizations in today’s economy are reducing their workforce and freezing hiring and/or salaries while pushing everyone to “do more with less.” While perhaps necessary, these actions can negatively impact employee morale and productivity over time. However, with companies in the news like AIG, who took heat for lavish trip rewards and bonuses on the heels of receiving federal bail out money, many organizations may be reluctant to spend on employee morale and engagement. I want to hear about best practices from YOU. What is your organization doing to keep people motivated and engaged in today’s workplace?