Pete’s Blog

Are We Clear? Roger, Roger.

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

Watch any good screwball/slap-stick comedy and confusion is most likely at the heart of the plot.  Take the classic film, “What’s Up Doc” – based on an even older comedic film, Bringing Up Baby – where a socially inept, yet intelligent, man encounters a strange woman who has devoted her life to confusing and embarrassing him and everyone around them.  After a number of ridiculous events, the entire cast of characters ends up in front of a judge where they try to explain the mess of events.  Watch the hilarious scene here.

Or take this absurd exchange from the movie, Airplane:

Flight Control: Flight 209 you’re clear for takeoff.

Clarence Oveur: Roger.

Roger Murdock: Huh?

FC: LA departure frequency 123.9.

Clarence Oveur: Roger.

Roger Murdock: Huh?

Victor Basta: Request vector, over.

Clarence Oveur: What?

FC: Flight 209 clear for vector 324.

Roger Murdock: We have clearance, Clarence.

Clarence Oveur: Roger, Roger, what’s our vector, victor?

FC: Now we’re in radio clearance, over.

Clarence Oveur: That’s Clarence Oveur, over.

Victor Basta: Roger.

Roger Murdock: Huh?

FC: Roger, over.

Clarence Oveur: What?

Roger Murdock: Huh?

Victor Basta: Who?

All of these films portray some of the greatest comedic sequences based around confusion.  And while it’s definitely exaggerated, this overwhelming feeling of frustration felt by the characters is not an uncommon feeling in the workplace.

There’s an activity I engage my audiences in that demonstrates this concept. I start by asking everyone in my audience to pull out a blank sheet of paper.  I tell them that they are to listen carefully and follow my instructions to the “T.”  However, they cannot ask any questions. “Fold the paper in half,” I say, and I give them a moment to comply. Then: “Tear off the bottom right corner. Fold the paper in half again. Tear off the bottom right corner. Fold it in half one more time, and this time chew off the bottom left corner.”

At that point, I ask everyone to unfold their sheet of paper, and I walk around the room examining them. Whether I have a crowd of 20 or 100, I rarely find any two alike. Like real snowflakes, each is unique.

“Help me understand something,” I’ll ask. “I gave you instructions for each step. So why isn’t every snowflake exactly the same?”

They couldn’t possibly be the same, my directions were general and not specific enough – I didn’t explain which direction to fold or how much to tear off or how big a bite to chew, so those “directions” were up for interpretation.

This is such a common experience in the workplace.  Perhaps you’ve had employees that have done something that bore little resemblance to what you expected. What they heard wasn’t what you had requested—and that might well have been because you didn’t take the extra minute or two to give them detailed instructions and make sure they completely understood. You didn’t explain yourself, and you didn’t let them question you.

Confusion is often the result of a lack of clear direction.  This can leave everyone involved feeling frustrated or upset – with the employees not understanding what they did wrong. Stress levels increase. You wonder whether the employees have a clue, and the employees see you as ineffective. Office morale plummets.

That’s the root of a lot of workplace tension – it happens all the time. Poor communication leads to increased stress. It comes from not understanding what someone is saying, from not knowing what they want, and from not giving sufficient directions.

The solution?  Better communication.  How?

  • Make sure everyone is using the same terminology and understands what those terms really mean.  Cut out buzzwords that don’t clearly state what you really want to say.
  • Have an open rapport with your employees where people are comfortable asking questions and making comments about projects.
  • Do your best to practice the listening skills that I’ve touched on before here.  Doing so will allow you to not only respond to your team’s concerns and questions, but you’ll be able to listen by seeing through their body language whether they’re confident or confused.

Being an effective professional takes effective communication skills.  Learn more tips by visiting www.improvisnojoke.com where you can download a free chapter of my book, Improv is No Joke.

Manage Stress With By Incorporating Improv Into Your Daily Routine

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

Stress is a part of our everyday lives – it can come from so many sources, some of them the daily frustrations of life including our jobs, others from unexpected challenges, such as major health issues.

The thing is, stress isn’t always bad – it can motivate us into action. And even in those situations that might initially seem like the negative kind of stress, you have the power to turn it into something positive.  With this perspective, stress can have value in your life if you deal with it in the right way.

I have found that when you incorporate improvisation to your daily routine will help you take on the stress that comes with your job, family, and just the day-to-day responsibilities of life.  Here are six examples:

  1. Communication – Communication skills go far in reducing stress. When people feel disrespected or discounted, stress intensifies. When they feel unheard, they shut down, or they respond with cynicism, distrust, or anger—and the situation becomes exponentially worse.  Effective communication however, can validate and motivate.  You can read about the importance of listening with both your eyes and ears – since listening is a critical part of successful communication.
  2. Awareness –  Being aware of your environment can help you take control of your involvement in whatever situation you are in.  When you assess your surroundings – those around you, the actual location, yourself – that awareness will help you be able to deal with a situation, which will develop confidence and help you overcome the stress.
  3. Adaptability – Adaptability is a HUGE part of improv – it IS improv.  A lot of things in life can be stressful, but we have the ability to “go with the flow.” Adapting is simply the ability to readjust as you experience things – whether that be readjust your sales pitch, or the time in the morning you give a presentation or having to select a different menu item when your first choice is sold out.  No matter the situation, it takes flexibility and confidence to address change head-on – and let’s face it, things are always changing, things rarely go as planned.  Learning to adapt dramatically reduces stress. Read more about the game I give audiences to exercise adaptability, here.
  4. Calm in Chaos – “Don’t panic.” If you ever hear someone say that, it’s almost a trigger to go again and start panicking.  You don’t have to though – it certainly won’t help you.  When you’re staring chaos in the face, you must refuse to tell yourself that you can’t do it/overcome it/face it. The fact is, you can – and awareness, adaptability, communication, all the improvisational techniques, help you operate clearly without panicking. You’ll always know you can figure a way out.
  5. Attitude – There is a huge difference between “I will do the best I can” and “This is going to fail.” If you adopt a better attitude, one that doesn’t broadcast defeat, you might actually find that you are doing pretty well – this is the same with doing improv. No matter the source of your stress, your success to overcome depends on your ability to perceive things positively. You either can see your situation as a challenge and make the most of it, or you can succumb to it and let the stress win.
  6. Humor – A regular dose of laughter reduces stress – it’s proven! Laughter really is the best medicine. It loosens us up, it bolsters the immune system. On the other hand, being stressed can get us sick; as a result, we make others sick and productivity plummets. Laughter is the proven antidote, and it comes naturally when the company culture is conducive to it. A bit of levity can go a long way in the welfare of the individual and the business.

Learn more about how to leverage this improve principles to improve your career by visiting www.improvisnojoke.com.  While you’re there, download a free chapter of my book, Improv is No Joke.

Book Review: Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

Reading is one of the ways I expand my understanding, increase my knowledge and, frankly, relax. So when an author I admire releases a new book, I usually get it right away. James H. GIlmore is one of those writers.  I had previously read his book The Experience Economy, and I liked his writing style and the content of his book, so I ordered Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills, his latest book. It’s a great read and, I think, very useful.

Based on the title, I hoped this book would offer tools to help increase my observational skills, and I wasn’t disappointed.  As an improviser and a humorist, I know the more I heighten my observational skills the more adaptable and funnier I can become.  There is so much in front of all of us that we don’t observe because we are going a thousand miles an hour – days filled with meetings, deadlines, conference calls, problem-solving, kids, family, Facebook. The list keeps getting longer.

This book is inspired by Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” method but Gilmore uses the metaphor of “six looking glasses,” and each looking glass represents a particular skill.  The six looking glasses are: binoculars, bifocals, magnifying glass, microscope, rose-colored glasses, and blindfold.  Here is a summary of each, as laid out in the book:

  • Binoculars are used to look across and survey at a distance. Use when visiting someplace for the first time, when entering or exiting any place, when feeling crowded or overwhelmed with details.  
  • Bifocals are used to alternatingly look between two contrasting views or directions. Use when you are familiar with some place or thing, when everything seems the same (in the moment), when everything seems the same (as before) or when you are bored.
  • Magnifying glasses are used to look closely at one main spot. You can use when in a hurry, when overwhelmed with details, or when you know what you want to find but can’t
  • Microscopes are used to look around for more and greater details. Use when fascinated by something, when baffled by something, when faced with some difficulty or when there is time to kill.
  • Rose-colored glasses are used to look at something better than it actually is. Use when all goes awry, when nothing seems positive, when some place or thing is not to your taste, or when interrupted, disturbed, or offended.  
  • Blindfolds are used to look back and recall. Use when transitioning from one place to another, after completing some task, at the end of any visit, at the end of the day or the start of a day.

Throughout the book, there are different exercises to help you understand the proper way to wear these glasses and when to switch to a different pair.  By wearing these different glasses, I could slow down a bit and see more clearly.  You can wear one set of glasses or even all of them to analyze any situation.

If I were to put on a blindfold now and look back at what I read, I would see that there is clear congruence between improving your observational skills and my book, Improv Is No Joke: Using Improvisation to Create Positive Results in Leadership and in Life.  The six glasses method is in alignment with the improv principles of listening and focus.  Listening to understand and being present at the moment allow us to decide which pair of glasses we should use to bring to assess the situation and develop a strategy to handle it based on what we hear, say and see.  

Improv Is No Joke Podcast Episode 3: Tom Hood Show Notes

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

This week’s blog posting is from the third episode of my podcast, Improv Is No Joke with my guest Tom Hood, the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs.  Our conversation is about forward thinking.  If you would like to listen to the entire episode, you can click here, or you can download the episode on iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play.  Here are the show notes:

Tom Hood was a wonderful guest on today’s show. He’s a great forward-thinking leader in the CPA world and delivered great value to the audience with his insights into technologies and trends for the future.

Tom just returned from a spring council meeting for members of the American Institute of CPAs. A big takeaway from the meeting is the sense that people are beginning to understand the impact of the exponential pace of technology. Big changes like continuous auditing of 100% of transactions are right around the corner, as well as automation within the financial world. Big ticket items will still remain with professionals, but the entry level tasks will be moved to machines soon. “We’re going to need new skills and need them faster probably than we think and we’re going to need to focus on things that computers can’t do.” The trust and relationship side of accounting are aspects that we need to leverage: we need to get better at doing what computers can’t do.

Tom has been able to predict many of the things that others are just now starting to see. It’s not any type of clairvoyance on his part, though. He attributes his future seeing abilities to something that Isaac Newton had said, “The reason I can see farther is because I stand on the shoulder of giants.” Tom’s business relationships and training has helped him see upcoming trends.

With this vision, Tom knows that it won’t be enough to just know the nuts and bolts of accounting. CPA’s will need to begin developing strategic thinking within the companies they work for. This is understanding data and having the ability to analyze it within the context of the company and the world surrounding it. “Wisdom is looking at patterns and connecting dots.”

The number one reason why people leave their CPA’s is because they tend to be reactionary and not proactive. Accountants are logical and we look for facts to understand and tell us about the business. This can lead to a focus on the rear view mirror, without ever looking out through the windshield. CPA’s need to make time for the future and must be taught to look forward.

A change in curriculum like this isn’t something that higher education is capable of just yet. That’s a huge ship to turn around, and we all know they don’t turn quickly. Because of this, it’s up to us as employers to teach our people the skills necessary to be more adaptable and to make a greater impact. Don’t worry about the costs, do this so your people are better prepared to help the organization. The old idea of “if we train them they’ll leave” needs to take a back seat to the more critical message of “what if we don’t train them and they stay?”

Tom gave some incredible food for thought in today’s episode. We all need to make a concerted effort to be more forward thinking in our approach to our chosen profession. I’m really glad he had the time to speak with us today.

Busy Season Stress Buster: Laughter!

From the desk of Peter Margaritis

They say laughter is the best medicine. Not sure who “they” are, but I do know why this is true. When you can see things in a humorous way you will be able to lighten up, have fun, release the endolphins* – those crazy fish that swim through your bloodstream and help you deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. Your day will be brighter, and you’ll have a positive impact on those around you.

Researchers have studied the effects that laughter has on the body and have turned up some interesting information on how it affects us. One thing is that laughter helps to increase our blood flow because the blood vessels expand and contract easily thereby sending the appropriate amount of blood to our brains and organs. Those who are under stress, their blood vessels tense up thereby restricting blood flow to the brain which creates costly mistakes and errors.

Researchers have also found that laughter helps to boost our levels of immune cells where stress does just the opposite. We get sicker quicker, come to work sick because of our workload, get others in our office sick because of their low levels of immune cells, and the next thing you know – productivity is in the Kleenex box.

Researchers have also found that laughter helps in the fight against diabetes. Laughter helps in reducing the blood sugar in your body, and I should know because I am a diabetic.

Studies have found that children laugh over 100 times a day but when they matriculate into the workforce that laughter rate drops to about five times a day. Not surprisingly, once we retire our laughter rates increases.

Laughter also helps to boost office morale. So when was the last time people in your office were laughing…and it wasn’t at your expense? Why aren’t we laughing at work when we see that laughter has a lot of health benefits?

For many of us, this busy season can bring stressful situations at home and work. Find the humor in situations, be silly, share a harmless joke. Let the endolphins swim around.

Full disclosure: I know that it is the endorphins, but I prefer thinking of them as endolphins. It makes me smile, and that’s a good thing! Oh, and I know that dolphins are mammals not fish, but they are great swimmers. Besides, it’s my story, and I’m sticking with it!