Geithner Gloms Gregory

The dictionary defines the word glom as "to grab hold of".

That is exactly what happened today on Meet the Press. Secretary Geithner grabbed hold of his interview in a way he hadn't before, even as recently as five months ago.

Forget about whether you're a Democrat or Republican for a moment. I simply offer up Secretary Geithner's growth as a public figure on television as an example of what each of us can accomplish as communicators when we focus on 3 key areas: Message, Mindset and Mechanics.

To Secretary Geithner: You have made tremendous progress in my opinion. Keep up the good work and keep owning your stage.

First, on Message...

Gregory focuses his first question on "too big to fail" and financial reform. Twice he interrupts Geithner and tries to take him off message by saying "but what if they need more money?" and "you'll have to define derivatives." He is trying to get Geithner to dance to his tune - the Meet the Press Polka.

This time though, the Secretary doesn't dance. He keeps coming back to his central theme that "we are going to accomplish two things..." Even after he gives a definition of derivatives and Gregory tries to move on, he interrupts him and brings him back to finish his message "I want to get back to the central thing..." That's where the interview turned. Secretary Geithner signaled calmly yet strongly to Gregory - this is my dance pal, not yours!

Second, on Mindset...

I don't know if the Secretary worked with a coach to prep for this interview, but it seemed that his mindset shifted from his Meet the Press appearance last March.

This time Secretary Geithner looked like an athlete who decided to stop trying so hard. He seemed more relaxed in his approach, slower in his pace and calmer in his presence. He seemed less like a harried executive trying to deflect and defend and much more like a polished lawyer laying out a strong case.

I believe he came in today with the mindset that he would own this stage - and he did. He came to David's MTP home court and made him play Geithner's Game, not Gregory's Game.

Third, on Mechanics...

Take a look at today's MTP clip and one from March 29, 2009.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29943746/

• He sits in a neutral upright position vs. hunching over
• He speaks slowly and rushes fewer words and phrases
• His face looks relaxed and his brow looks less furrowed
• He smiles on occasion and his demeanor is much calmer
• His head position is much more level, balanced and steady
• He uses his lower register to project more vocal strength
• He is wearing a standard shirt collar vs. a spread collar

Bottom Line...

Some might argue that Secretary Geithner has simply improved with experience, both in his job at Treasury and in TV interviews. Undoubtedly that's true. Only the Secretary knows how much planning, preparation and deliberate practice he put into this TV appearance or any of the changes I mentioned above.

I'm betting he's put a fair amount of work into these changes. I believe his progress provides a model for all of us from three perspectives related to changing our speaking style:

• Change is a process, not a transaction
• Change is a matter of choice, not skill
• Change helps us play to our strengths

So if you are a CEO, executive, leader, salesperson or regular Jane or Joe, don't fall into thinking that some people are just naturally good at the skill and the rest of us are screwed. Speaking in any kind of a public or private setting is a learned skill. How good or bad we are at utilizing this skill is up to us.

Thanks, Mr. Secretary. You were terrific today.

P.S. Now just stop rushing your saying of the word derivatives. Based on recent news events, you are going to be using it quite often in the coming days.

Practice in Place

Four years ago, a Fortune senior editor named Geoff Colvin wrote an article called "What It Takes to be Great". It spoke about research supporting the notion of deliberate practice playing a key role in the success of people in sports, business and other professions. His new book is "Talent is Overrated".

I highly recommend you get a copy and pass it around the office. In our jobs, we can get trapped into continuous performance with occasional injections of training interspersed at various points in our careers.

Many think we improve in our careers through apprenticeship, experience, hard work, mentoring, luck and the most prevalent of all learning tools - osmosis. All true. The key though to getting a lot better at your life's work, according to Colvin and the research, is deliberate practice.

I wholeheartedly agree.

What many of us lack in our work lives is a process of deliberate practice to continually raise the level of our game. We are like pitchers who don't warm up in the bullpen or singers who don't rehearse with the band. Performance suffers.

I coach people who talk to clients all the time - to inform, to persuade, or to sell. Rarely do they admit to doing a dress rehearsal before a pitch or role playing client Q&A before a meeting or doing their update to the boss with a colleague first.

Question: Why Not? Answer: No Time! Solution: Make Time!

Easier said than done of course - especially when you're already working too much, sleeping too little, eating too poorly and not finding enough time for the important things in life. So, what can a busy executive or salesperson or banker do to squeeze in some practice?

First off, who can play clients better than us? We see them all the time. Second, when we deliberately practice we discover better ways to frame our case, make a point, or counter an objection. Third, we hear how we verbalize thoughts before the client hears them. In group practice, we may say "God, don't ever say that with this client" or "that was a killer point - make sure you bring that in".

A few suggestions (and remember - everyone is your client - even your boss):

Buy a $20 tape recorder and practice in front of a mirror. Start with 15 minutes twice a week. Throw yourself questions and tape your answers. Tape yourself telling key stories about your business. Tape yourself pitching a prospect. Tape yourself doing introductions at a client dinner. Tape yourself giving an update to an executive committee. Try them over and over until they're ready. Then put them in your mental I-Pod until needed. You will build up an amazing library.

Make business meetings your practice lab. Try out new things there like being a more patient listener; handling a tough question from a boss; being more assertive; trying out new types of questions; projecting more physical or vocal presence; or occasionally taking over the room with a compelling story for two minutes - just to see what that feels like. Let a colleague know what you're doing and ask them for feedback afterwards. You'll get better, quicker.

Grab pizza with colleagues and take over a conference room. Assign client and sales roles to each other and practice the most difficult and challenging questions a client could throw at you - either for a specific meeting or just in general. Or use the session to pitch each other ideas or products to get a feel for how the client might respond to it. You'll make each other better.

Practice phone calls on the phone. If you've got a big call coming up with a client, write a few notes and then speak it to your voicemail. Listen back and then try again. How many times do you have to retape your out of office message to tell people you're at the beach? If you're like the rest of us at least 2 or 3. It may take a few extra minutes, but practice pays off with a smoother call. You'll find your best voice.

Dress rehearse the big stuff. It could be a bake-off for a deal or a Town Hall or a TV interview or a keynote address or an update to the executive team or the board. If it's a team pitch, rehearse with the team. If it's a talk or a speech, rehearse in the actual hall or a close facsimile. If it's a TV interview, get in front of a camera for a mock interview to get used to the environment. Eliminate as much surprise as possible.

We make time in life for what we think is important. Make deliberate practice important! Try to make it organic to your business life. When you do, the real time result for your client or your audience will be "planned effortlessness." You will make it look easy and they'll never see all the practice.

There is one more thing you can do. Hire a Coach! That helps you do "informed" deliberate practice - which is even better.

If you want to truly make a deliberate investment in your business, I know this wonderful fellow named Andy....

Listen, Learn, Lead

Many successful senior executives approach difficult challenges by using a process called Listen, Learn, Lead. They get in conversations with key players; ask a ton of questions; learn the critical issues facing the business; and then start to lead that business and those players down a new road to success.

In the process, they build up their knowledge base, solidify critical relationships and display credibility because their solutions are grounded in fact and experience rather than presumptions and projections. One might argue that President Obama used the Listen, Learn, Lead approach leading up to the latest troop deployments in Afghanistan. Dick Cheney characterized it as dithering yet his favorite general David Petraeus called the process thorough and necessary.

Which brings me to the heathcare debate and the President's agenda post the recent Massachusetts Massacre. Many are starting to write his political obituary as an ineffective one-term president. That's probably premature. After all, Reagan, Carter and Clinton each had similar job approval ratings at the end of their first year in office. Reagan and Clinton managed to right their ships and sail off to second terms, Reagan in an historic landside. Carter, oh well...

President Obama is now getting advice from all and sundry on how to right his ship. Go pick fights with Wall Street because everybody hates those guys anyway. Ram healthcare through before Scott Brown can park his pickup truck in the Senate garage. Dump healthcare entirely and focus on jobs and the economy.

How about this Mr. President? Try: Listen, Learn, Lead again.

First, to free up some of your time, tell Joe Biden that his sole assignment between now and November is helping businesses create jobs and lower the unemployment rate. Give Joltin' Joe an 8.5% target unemployment number and a blank check to broker fast-track deals with Congress on tax cuts and targeted incentives for business to wake up the economic engine in this country. He'll love the gig and he might make some headway while you hit the road again.

Then, go throw some Tea Parties of your own around the country. Not in all 52 states but three to five in each region of the country between now and Opening Day of the baseball season. Just don't serve tea. Maybe Coke, Pepsi, Burgers and Brats instead. Make it more a talker and tail-gater at the VFW Hall rather than testimonials and tea at the Junior League. No booze. Arguing healthcare and jobs sober is wild enough.

Make each session three hours long for an audience of 150 people with a meet and greet before and a long goodbye and some gladhanding afterwards. Don't pre-select the audience. Make it some kind of fair lottery process to get a ticket and make sure that the screening process to get into the hall is as stringent as possible so we don't have a repeat of some of the security snafus of recent memory. If the Salahis show up, tell them the party's over.

Avoid making it a politically correct audience or an audience of ringers. Let your presence (and the Secret Service) handle the screamers and yellers. Chances are you will end up with strong opinions and a few loud voices, but you may end up with a respectful group of concerned Americans willing to talk.

Bring a prominent Republican and Democrat from each state along with you as your partners. Make the setting in the round with the three of you on stools in the middle. Then you and your partners play facilitator and draw out the audience. Avoid the politician's pattern of making a long self-serving statement followed by a leading question. Try playing reporter for a change.

Neither you nor your partners can advocate for any agenda in the session. Your sole jobs are to listen and learn and walk away with a new or renewed understanding of the voice of the people. Your pledge to the participants at the end of each session is that you and your partners are going to go back to Washington and work on solutions - together. You seal the promise with a handshake at every session.

I know you probably think your administration has been there and done that on this sort of approach, but this time it's different. You and your administration are being viewed broadly now as out of touch. In response you have sent out a legion of fairly ineffective communicators on your team to talk at us - not with us. You are pushing us, not persuading us. You are advocating with agendas, not convincing with arguments. You are leading, without listening.

As a result, an adminstration that was swept into office on a wave of populist change (or so it seemed) is now portrayed as a bunch of paternalistic Ivy League elitists who wouldn't know a boilermaker from a Beaujolais.

I know this may all sound hokey to you but give it a try. In the time it takes Joe Torre to see what kind of team he has on the L.A. Dodgers for the upcoming season, you and your partners from both parties can get a fresh read on where the country's head is on the key issues. You will also call the opposition's bluff by getting them to put some skin into your game for a while.

A few caveats if you take up this challenge:

• Televise the entire tour on CSPAN
• Drop saying I and My on tour - try using We and Our
• You and your partners can only question and listen
• Except for Secret Service protection, no entourage
• Go on TV and report what you all learned
• Attack the (low-hanging fruit) issues you heard on tour
• Draft a joint legislative agenda and pursue it together

Most of your advisors would say this Listen, Learn, Lead approach is a waste of time or mere window dressing. Yet, you were elected with a promise to try to change the political dynamic in this country - to get beyond partisan rancor and bring us together. In spite of that pledge, we are mired even deeper in the Advocacy Abyss and drowning in discord.

In business, people of all political stripes find ways to solve incredibly difficult problems in part because they are all committed to a shared purpose - generating profit. In politics, we appear unable (at least at this point in our history) to solve problems together because we have lost the commonality of our cause. We have lost our ability to talk together, to reason together, and to work together. Yet in business, we can. In crises, we can. In communities, we can.

Why not stop being the leader of the people for a few weeks, eat a slice of humble pie and return to being a servant of the people. If you listen and learn, you will lead more effectively because there's a better chance we'll follow you.

Have faith in us. We're the ones who put you in the office you now hold. It's not about you. It's never been about you. It's about us - all of us together. You said it yourself - that what faces us are not Republican or Democrat problems, or liberal or conservative problems - they are American problems.

At tour's end we can all join in a chorus of Yes We Can - and mean it this time.

Transforming Town Halls

Every year at this time leaders across the world engage in an annual ritual - the Employee Town Hall. For leaders who like doing these talks, it can still be an obligatory chore. For leaders who hate them, it's root canal without novocaine.

If you manage a large organization, the Town Hall may be the only chance all year for some of your people to hear you and interact with you. Why waste the opportunity by doing it the same old way everyone else does it.

Done well, Town Halls make memories with messages that stick. My old boss was so good at them, people would quote his lines back to me a decade later. Detail divers hated them because he didn't sate their need for numbers, charts and graphs. The rank and file loved them because they had an open forum and an empathetic ear for their concerns and needs. He talked with them, not at them. People notice the difference.

Done poorly, employees can't remember the leader's lines an hour later. The leader spends a week or two fretting about every bullet point in their 30-slide data dump and they forget that a Town Hall is not merely an opportunity to transfer information. It's an opportunity to transfer belief. Belief that the goals are the right goals; that the strategy is well-designed and achievable; that the resources are sufficient for success; that the leader cares about all the people in the room; and that management knows what the hell they're doing.

A few tips for leaders to lessen the pain and increase the gain.

• Send an email invite with what you'd like to cover
• Let them email in questions with no limitations
• Answer them as best you can in the Town Hall - and after
• Before the day, talk to people at every level to get a pulse
• Use ten slides or less. Slides are a crutch. Less is more
• Make slides clean and visual - pictures usually beat words
• Don't put directs in the front row. It makes you look weak
• Start by standing front row center with nothing but a smile
• Give a 3-minute 'hook' and state your intent for the day
• Go through slides and talk to the meaning of each slide
• End by standing front row center to take questions
• End with a 3-minute 'hammer' to nail down your theme

A few last thoughts:

Don't make promises you can't keep

Start with realism - end with optimism

Don't hide ugly truths people need to hear

Leaders speak in broad bold themes, not details

Press the flesh - it makes a difference when you do

Rehearse in the actual venue - make it your home court

Praise your people - they're a big reason you have the job

No podium. Stand in front - no notes - just a mike and clicker

Make your Town Hall leader mantra "how can I work the room?"

Don't present - talk and connect. Don't just power through slides

You may not agree with this, but give it a whirl. What you lose is a boring brain dump. What you gain is new connectivity with the people who make you great.

Being Nice

Today I typed “being nice” into Google and got a page of hits starting with the phrase “being nice gets you nowhere”.

Not very encouraging in a season that features goodness and giving.

I had just coached a young investment banker and remarked to the group that he exuded niceness. Hearing the comment, his colleagues around the table echoed my sentiments saying he was genuinely nice all the time. Not an easy thing to do in the cynical world of high finance.

Then I heard General Stanley McChrystal being interviewed by Charlie Rose on the radio. He was talking about his dad and how he never saw or heard him do a mean thing during his whole childhood. Not an easy thing to do since his dad was an Army man, used to ordering people around.

Then I thought about the pace of our busy lives and how hard it is to be genuinely nice to people all the time. We are always rushing to catch a bus or a cab or a movie or a sale, or to be at a meeting or an interview, or to shop and make dinner, or to answer an email or some other electronic poke or touch.

We always seem to be on the verge of completely losing our sense of calm and manners. As someone who has cursed traffic and standing in lines his whole life, I know whereof I speak. I know I’m not alone. I see plenty of people cursing in their cars and rolling their eyes in the queue just like me.

In this season of magic and wonder when bears dance in tutus on a grand stage at Radio City and lovers gaze at full moons while twirling around Wollman Rink and families put aside their gripes and griefs to share each other’s annual company, let’s remember to be nice – to ourselves and to each other.

You can be nice to yourself. Remind yourself that it was a very tough year, but you survived. Remind yourself that life knocked you down, but you got back up. Remind yourself that you never stopped trying even when you were crying. Pat yourself on the back for never losing faith and be nice to the face in the mirror. It needs some TLC. It got no help from the stimulus package.

You can be nice to the people closest to you. Be nice to the ones who had your back when no one else did. Be nice to the ones who made you great and never got enough credit. Be nice to the ones who gave you strength when you had doubt. Be nice to the ones who gave you hugs when you needed them more than money. Be nice to the ones who gave you love even when you were a jerk.

You can be nice to a stranger - even by opening a door to let someone through or with the wave of the hand to let someone change lanes or with a heartfelt hello or a gracious goodbye.

Our economy can certainly use a massive injection of jobs and renewed confidence and optimism. Our IM/Twitter/TMZ culture could also use a massive injection of manners and courtesy.

Maybe if we start really small now, someday a little kid will type “being nice” into Google 22.0 and the first page will be filled with hits starting with the phrase “being nice gets you everywhere”.

Food for Feedback

Hopefully you and your boss will get through the dreaded formal review process at your company with your self esteem intact and your temper untested. Here's some advice for next year and the ongoing feedback process that should make every formal review discussion an easy one. You can get a P.H.D. in feedback, but a few simple reminders can help keep you on track all year. There are dozens of tips I know I've left off the lists, so feel free to add your own.

Getting Feedback An old adage – “You don’t ask, you don’t get.” If a boss doesn’t give feedback, shame on them. If you don’t ask for it, shame on you.

• Evaluate Yourself – think about your own view first
• Pick Your Spots – know when and where to ask each person
• Make It Matter – don’t ask on everything, pick key stuff
• Get Specific – ask what worked and what to work on
• Offer Thanks – courtesy goes a long way in business

Giving Feedback Follow a time honored HR tip – “Feedback should be about a person’s performance or behavior, not about them as a person”. Respect counts.

• Be Prepared – avoid ‘shoot from the lip’ feedback
• Be Specific – vague feedback gives you nothing to work on
• Ditch the Dump Truck – people can change 1 thing, not 12
• Focus on Facts – make it personal and you lose credibility
• Watch Your Language – substitute “and” for “but”
• Refuse to Dance – don’t return emotion with emotion

Receiving Feedback Follow Ken Blanchard’s advice – “Feedback is the breakfast of champions”. Great performers use feedback to raise the level of their game.

• Open Your Mind – don’t get stuck in preconceptions
• Listen Well – don’t interrupt and play it back for clarity
• Write It Down After – what’s the use if you can’t remember
• Gauge Its Relevance – to yourself and your role
• Do Something With It – if you don’t apply it, don’t ask again

Busy leaders need to constantly challenge themselves to communicate with their people and let them know where they stand. The formal twice-yearly discussion milestones aren't enough and feedback by osmosis doesn't cut it. People need to know when they hit or miss the mark and how they can replicate what's working and work on what's not. Often it's too easy for all of us to get wrapped up in the next deal or transaction and not make time to talk to the people who make us great.

That includes our loved ones back at the ranch. They need it too.

For phone feedback to loved ones, a little Stevie Wonder tip. Start the discussion with "I just called to say I love you..."

Sully and Hillary

We all remember TV replays of the Miracle on the Hudson flight and the air traffic controller asking Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger "Do you want to divert to Teterboro?"

We probably expected something like, "That's no longer possible, we don't have enough time." Instead we heard a very busy man say a Clint Eastwood-like, "We'll be in the Hudson."

Even in subsequent interviews in the weeks and months following the accident, he didn't exactly open up and dish like Joe Biden or Joy Behar. He remained a man of few words and held his story and thoughts close to the vest.

Now that he's on a tour for his new book, Highest Duty, Captain Sullenberger is starting to open up and take us behind the curtain of what was going on in his head and in the cabin that fateful day.

I mention this to demonstrate a few key points for business leaders going on TV. Go to pbs.org and type sullenberger interview into the search box - then click on the first selection featuring Judy Woodruff - then click on streaming video.

Notice how he sits upright with his back off the chair and his feet firmly planted. Notice how he never rushes, stays calm, gives thoughtful answers and subtly punches words to give his voice life and variety. This is pilot presence in sales mode. He's in a strange new role, yet functions flawlessly.

In the interview, he talks about being prepared. I'll bet you $100 right now that Old Sully didn't just wing the interview (pun intended). He probably practiced and laid out a game plan to execute. He probably even had a pre-interview checklist.

A key lesson for executives going on TV.

Never, never, never go on the tube without being prepared and without having some kind of a game plan to execute.

Sully nailed it - you can too!

Now to the Secretary of State. I was never a big Hillary fan, but like many I've gained a lot of respect for her in her new role. She has won over many a critic on both sides of the aisle and seems to have adapted to her role extremely well - in fact, phenomenally well.

In an interview from Berlin this week on Charlie Rose, we witnessed a masterful communicator at the absolute top of her game. Go to charlierose.com and type Hillary into the search box and take a look at her November 9th appearance. The interview starts after a brief introduction piece.

Witness her calm, thoughtful demeanor and unflappable command of the subject matter as Charlie moves from question to question. She seems physically comfortable in her chair yet sits upright with a level head and a steady strong voice that oozes executive 'gravitas'.

Two more lessons for executives going on TV.

First, if possible, pick an interview format like one of these two where you can give thoughtful answers and develop a few key themes rather than give sound-bite answers. Then put a link to your TV interview on your company's website and market the hell out of it. You get to drive your message - your way.

Second, make sure you have command of your subject by having your team pepper you with tough Q&A before you submit to the interview. This deliberate practice, especially when it's done on videotape, allows you to see what the TV audience will see and hear in your answers.

Watch your nonverbals. Remember, people hear what they see.

One last thing. Both Captain Sullenberger and Secretary Clinton looked great on TV. Do you think they just grabbed some old rag out of the closet at the last minute or actually picked a particular suit and accessories for the occasion? I'm guessing the latter.

Final lesson for executives going on TV.

Find a TV outfit you look great in and hang it in your office just in case you ever have to do an impromptu TV appearance. Keep a backup TV outfit in the closet at home.

When you're on TV, it's all about managing your message and your presence. These two fine people, both fairly new to these roles, provide stellar examples.

P.S. For those who may be offended that I didn't put Secretary Clinton (the lady) first in this blog post, I want you to know that I saved the best for last.