I was out running yesterday when I came upon an enormous oak tree that was actively dropping acorns. I gathered a few in my hand and noticed for the first time the enormous contrast between a single, simple acorn and an elaborate, ancient oak tree.

Simplifying the complex is a form of art that oak trees practice each year. In the course of a lifetime their ever-growing branches house generations of birds, squirrels, and tree forts. But each year they still produce simple, elegant acorns.

Too often the way we communicate about a topic mirrors the complexity of our knowledge of the topic. As our knowledge grows we need the discipline to refine the complexity of our knowledge into its essential, most defining elements.

This is how our knowledge grows more complex, according to George Loewenstein, behavioral economist at Carnegie Mellon University: we want to know more about what we already know. Through learning more about a topic we discover gaps in our knowledge. These gaps spike our curiosity and motivate us toward deeper understanding. In time, as we fill these gaps, our knowledge grows more elaborate and nuanced–like an oak tree.

The resulting depth and complexity makes us a resource to others. Your physician, for example, is a resource to the degree that she seeks to fill gaps in her knowledge base. But her inability to communicate her topic in relevant terms prevents her from engaging her patients, a shortcoming that renders her less of a resource.

The simplest, most refined presentation will draw people to your message and to you, the messenger. This discipline makes you and your message more accessible and engaging.

As you grow into a tree remember to ask yourself, “Am I still making acorns?”

Tags: design thinking, engage, engagement, prevention

I had a uniquely challenging experience recently while teaching a weekend class at the University of Oregon entitled, Personalized Prevention. I assumed the students would be professionals from the field of prevention and was looking forward to two days of high-energy interaction.*

But on arrival the students didn’t quite match my expectations. I discovered that most of the class was comprised of incoming freshman baseball players, students who had been in high school a mere 10 weeks prior. And why were they there? They just needed the credit.

You would struggle to find a group of people less interested in this topic. I had to completely remodel my approach if I had any hope for making this topic relevant.

I realized that though these students were not prevention specialists, they were experts on the prevention message in two respects. First, they had all heard a variety of prevention messages since middle school. Second, the entire class agreed that these messages were not very compelling or engaging. So I challenged them to craft the prevention message they wished they would have heard, one that might have made a bigger difference in their lives.

Something incredible happens when we extend to people the permission to draw from their personal experience and expertise. They engage at a deeper level. They’re more open to considering new concepts. I discovered once again how truly effective this method can be.

At the beginning of class they were ready for something forgettable. Together we crafted something memorable.

We can’t make a topic relevant to others. We can’t make them engage. As I did with this class, we can present messages in a way that others are able to engage with ease should they choose to do so.

Try this in your next presentation or meeting. Refer to The Single Sheet exercise in Own It if you want additional guidance.

Allow me to share some quotes I received from students through email:

Thank you again for all you did. That was by far one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken. You brought up many points that allowed other students and I think in ways we do not normally do. Techniques I feel that will be valuable for future learning.

I really enjoyed the class. It was very refreshing to do something different than just be lectured.

Thank you for a great class. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the class, it really opened up my perspective.

Kindest regards,

Andrew

Tags: engage, engages

Comfort Zones

“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow

Comfort zones are soupy wallows that yield predictable, mediocre, and ineffectual work. I have mine and so do you. They produce projects and programs that fail to engage people and contribute to their lives in any lasting sense. Too often we’ll remain there until something, usually a crisis, flushes us out.

Comfort zones are different from sublime zones and it’s important that we don’t confuse the two. Sublime zones are places we go for rejuvenation: your garden, a concert, an art gallery, or the sea. Comfort zones are as rejuvenating as the DMV. Sublime zones help us grow and expand our gifts and perspectives. Comfort zones contract over time if we don’t challenge their boundaries.

We feel more alive and connected to ourselves, others, and the world we live in when we express our unique creative and relational abilities. We do this most fully not from within our comfort zone, but from its outer edges. The people who have contributed most to my life have done so at the expense of their own comfort and convenience. This is probably true for you as well.

Engaging with people to create lasting change requires that we enter new, unfamiliar waters. These waters are not wallows. They’re deep, fresh, and crystalline. Bobbing above the fathoms of our discomfort we’ll be astounded by the abilities and gifts we encounter.

This is what motivated me to write and publish Own It.  I designed the activities and strategies in this short e-book to escort us to our boundary waters.

Here’s what we’ll find when we get there:

1. We will do our most engaging, brilliant, life-changing work.

2. The zone will expand. What once caused us dread won’t be so terrifying the next time.

If you were going to do one thing today that would take you closer to the edge of your comfort zone, what would it be? Will you do it? Imagine how this action could inspire the people around you.

Thanks to all of you who have written me about Own It. (Writing it was like swinging my legs from the edge of my own comfort zone.) It’s heartening to know how this little book has helped individuals and organizations around the country.

Copy this link to share the free version of Own It with friends and colleagues: http://bit.ly/own_it_e-book.

Tags: creativity, engages, engaging