Dave Hill - Workplace Violence Article

This is our dog Megan. She has anger management issues. Our family life is kept hectic- transporting kids to activities such as soccer games and practices, music lessons, etc. There are days when we rush home to grab some high speed food and then dash out the door again. Our dog, Megan, follows us around the house putting on her “pretty face”- puppy eyes, ears pricking up, and a goofy smile just to entice us to love her so much that we will take her for a long walk. As we rush out the door, we say goodbye to her, and you can see the bitter disappointment in her face. We return a few hours later to find the contents of a waste paper basket strewn all over the floor. She looks at us sheepishly with guilt written all over her face. She does not make eye contact when we reprimand her and call her a “Garbage Dog”. I often wonder what goes on in her mind once we leave the house. Does she get animated and verbally angry? “I hate this family, I sit here all day waiting for them to come home and take me for a walk and they just come home to taunt me. Why do they bother to come home if they don’t want to go for a walk? I bet they are out there walking some other dog. I hate them, I hate them so much. I am so angry; I am going to show them who is the boss in this house. I am going to throw the garbage. Dirty tissues, candy wrappers and other nasty stuff – that will teach them a lesson. Oh no, what have I done, they will never forgive me…”
The dog throwing the garbage is a frequent demonstration of aggression. I would like to be able to say that all acts of aggression that have crossed my path are laughable and tolerable; however, that is not the case. I have been on the receiving end of workplace verbal aggression that humiliated me and sucked the energy out of me, but most importantly, I have witnessed the end of someone’s career when physical violence came into the scene.

Dave Hill - Article on Workplace Violence

It was Christmas day, December 25th, 1981, and I was on a cargo ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Christmas, the season of good will, was about to unravel at the seams and result in an engineer officer getting sacked. There were personality conflicts between some of the senior officers and the junior officers, and “pushing buttons” to get a reaction was the game at hand. An engineer cadet mischievously took a bite out of the 2nd Mate’s (deck officer) sandwich without asking as he was out of the room. He got rebuked and jostled by the 3rd engineer officer, which caused the 6th engineer officer to react violently and beat up the 3rd engineer. With emotions in the room flaring, the scene progressed when the 2nd deck officer came back into the room to find a fight scene just finishing, and a part of his sandwich missing. With anger, he shouted at the 6th engineer, “If you hit me that will be the end of your career.” That’s when the 6th engineer officer hit him in the face, and the 2nd mate fell down, concussed. Merry Christmas, all. The 6th engineer was sacked when the ship got into port a few weeks later. It most likely ended his career.

To this day, I still wonder how a good engineer could end up getting sacked over a sandwich. How did the personality conflicts deteriorate and get so out of hand? How and why did physical violence invade the workplace?

What Can We Learn From This?
As an engineer of nearly 30 years, I have grown to learn that conflict is a natural part of working with people. I have also grown to learn the importance of dealing with conflict, rather than living with it. Differences of opinion, different motivations, emotional conflicts, misunderstandings, ignorance, manipulation, and prejudice are just a few of the aspects that can “light the fuse” of a conflict. If not managed appropriately, conflict can potentially escalate to violence. What are some of the devastating effects that can result from conflict in the workplace?
• Loss of respect and trust
• Employees setting each up for failure
• A culture of doing the minimum
• Increased turnover of valued employees
• Loss of profits
• Energy levels and creativity are sucked out of the workplace
• Deadlines get missed
• Teams that are not cohesive become inefficient

Ten Ways Exceptional Workplaces Handle Worker Conflict and Violence
1. Train people at all levels of the organization in conflict management, negotiation skills, and listening skills
2. Deal with conflict right away, rather than having it fester in the background
3. Have zero tolerance for violence
4. Hire people with exceptional communication skills and impeccable ethics
5. Do thorough background checks when hiring
6. Address unresolved conflicts efficiently and effectively through workplace resources and have a policy and a process that is flexible enough to cover different scenarios
7. Develop a culture of respect and trust, and have a workplace that embraces diversity
8. Energize and empower employees.
9. Create a workplace with an aura of balanced fun-energy. Levity can help derail conflict in the heat of the moment.
10. Evoke an open-door culture where employees will speak up when they identify that conflict is not getting resolved, or if they have a concern that it may escalate to violence

Further information on this subject can be found at www.fbi.gov/publications/violence.pdf

If you have any advice, thoughts, or comments on conflict and violence in the workplace, please feel free respond to this blog or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Dave Hill - Article on Job Trade-Off's

It was July 13th, 1998, and I was on top of my house putting on a new roof covering. I was installing new tar-type roof shingles after removing three layers of old ones. My wife and I were aching and hurting from carrying the heavy bundles of shingles onto the roof. I remember thinking to myself, “I never want to be so poor that I have to do this again.” Anyone who has done this type of work will relate to how physically punishing it is. At that time, I was employed by a major insurance carrier as a Property Insurance Loss Prevention Specialist in Canada. My job was to visit heavy industry locations, identify major equipment breakdown risks, and recommend actions to reduce the risk. I worked out of my house as a field engineer, and would go to the corporate office every year for my performance review. My boss was very happy with my performance, I was doing exceptional work going over and beyond what was expected, but every year he would give me the same story, saying, “You must remember, Dave, that in the present economic climate, a 2% pay increase is not too bad.” This boss was not liked by any of the field engineers for many reasons. His character and ethics were questionable, and we did not trust him or respect him. When he decided to move, it was a breath of fresh air. I was not at all concerned when he announced that he was transferring to the company’s insurance division in Dallas, Texas.
Fast forward 3 years, and I have resigned from the insurance company after finding a new career that would allow me to do more of what I liked and would also pay me nearly double the money. It would involve me working at the corporate office of a chemical corporation in Dallas, Texas, USA. As far as I was concerned, I would never work in the property insurance industry again- I was sick of being poor.
I arrived at the corporate office, and within a few weeks I was given the assignment of organizing a meeting with the insurance carriers, and basically giving them a scolding over some loss prevention reports that were not timely and accurate. The insurance carrier representatives arrived into the conference room. Tension was in the air as they knew that we had issues with the work they were doing. Low and behold, who should walk in the door – my ex-boss from Canada. I ended up reprimanding him and his direct reports in a professional manner, and we came up with a solution to make sure our corporate insurance needs would be met. I smiled to myself thinking that God not only has a plan for me, he also has a wicked sense of humor. Some years later, this not so nice ex-boss went to work for a company called Enron, the infamous energy company that went belly-up. God had not finished messing with him.
This week, twelve years later, I came across a woman in her 30’s who was describing her job working for a marketing company. She said it was so perfect that if they asked her to sign a lifetime employment contract, she would sign it immediately. She stated that she has a great relationship with her boss, and that she loves everything about the work she does.
This woman is one of the small percentages of people who do not have to deal with job trade-offs. I have had three different careers, each of them have been extremely rewarding and have helped me grow as an engineer; however, none of them have been perfect. Each one has had significant negative aspects.
Career #1 – Engineering Officer on Cargo Ships – working in 120 degree Fahrenheit engine rooms, being away from home for 6 to 9 months at a time, working 7 days a week, dangerous.
Career #2 – Loss Prevention Specialist in the Property Insurance Industry – I did not respect or trust my boss. I was not paid well. I had to travel a lot.
Career #3 – Principal Risk Engineer – My work included regular conflict.

What can we learn from this?
1. Every job has its trade offs. There are very few “perfect” jobs. It is so important to look over your shoulder periodically, and reevaluate your job. What do you like about it and what do you dislike? The aspects you dislike are the trade-offs. Ask yourself the question, “Are the trade-offs worth it?” If not, why be in a job that is not meeting your needs?
2. Identify what you need to do to move to a job or new career which will incorporate more of what you have a passion for, and less of what you dislike.
3. Write down the steps to make change happen and set goals (research the job, identify training needs, get career guidance etc.)
4. Talk to people doing the job or in the group/department to find out what the expected trade-offs are. Make sure you are not stepping into an arena of unexpected job challenges.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on job trade-offs. Please use the comments section below or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com –
Thanks, Dave

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

In the hopes of catching the serial pooper in action, I have been visiting the break room earlier and earlier each day.  I still have not found that special man or woman who leaves behind a fetid dogfood stench, but I did discover a new-found admiration for my coworker, M.

When I came into the break room, both bathrooms were full and locked.  I waited for a while…a loooong while.  I thought perhaps the serial pooper had been to a bathroom and left the light/fan on to help alleviate the smell of carnage, but when I stepped up to the door to listen, I could hear water running and someone moving around.  I stepped back out into the break room to wait.  A few moments later, I heard a flush, then another, softer flush.  I heard the sound of someone washing their hands under the already running water, then the water shut off and the ka-chunk, ka-chunk of the paper towel dispenser sounded.  The door opened, and my coworker, M, came out, blushing slightly.  She nodded a hello to me and made a hasty exit.

And then I was faced with the moment of truth.  Would I finally learn that M was the serial pooper?  M is an older woman with somewhat questionable taste in food, so the chances seemed fairly good.  However, after all her careful preparations (running water, the secondary courtesy flush, the mumbled “hello” and hasty exit), I was second guessing myself.  The serial pooper must be someone without a shred of poo shame, and it was clear that M was definitely embarrassed upon her exit.  I entered the bathroom, at once relieved and disappointed.  The room smelled like eau de older woman, but certainly not like a half-burnt ritualistic slaughter grounds that had been exposed to the July sun.  It was clear that M is not the serial pooper.  I was relieved that I didn’t have to endure another malodrous bathroom break, but was also quite disappointed that the mystery remained.

I am glad to know that my coworker shares my shame.  Perhaps someday M and I can comisserate about our mutual poo shame, but for those of us in the poo shame club, the first rule of poo shame is that you don’t talk about poo shame.

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills

In 2002, the chemical industry was in survival mode. We were being told that every $100 being spent was to be scrutinized. As a Corporate Principal Risk Engineer, I was standing in a conference room presenting to upper management trying to convince them to buy a $650,000 fire truck to replace an old one at a chemical plant. Someone had previously tapped me on the shoulder and advised me that it was “career limiting” to push this kind of project during the dire economic environment. It was my job to support the chemical plant emergency responders and get them the safety equipment that they needed, so I put a lot of work into developing a top class PowerPoint presentation to convince upper management to approve it.
People took their seats in the room, and I could feel the tension. The lights were dimmed a little bit so the PowerPoint presentation’s bullet points would be clear. I had rehearsed the presentation with a chemical plant emergency responder for hours so that it would flow smoothly. After numerous slides, the nonverbal language from the audience gave a clear indication that we were failing miserably. Some people had narrowed eyes, one person had a raised eyebrow, and the aura of tension was building. I stopped my presentation, and turned off the projector. We took out a large engineering drawing with an aerial view of the chemical plant, and started circling areas of the chemical plant that, over a period of 30 years, had experienced fires. I turned to the emergency responder and asked, “What would have happened if we did not have our large ladder fire truck available during these fires?” He stated that there would have been a high probability of the fire getting out of control causing significant damage. The response time of fire trucks from our other chemical plants in the area could be as long as 40 minutes, due to railway crossings at the entrance and very long freight trains causing delays. His words struck home, and after additional dialogue, agreement was given. It makes me proud that the company I was working for would spend so much money during tough times, but it was fortunate that we were able to pick up on the nonverbal feedback and change tactics.

Nonverbal Audience Feedback Signs To Be Aware of as Speakers:
• Rubbing forehead – unclear explanation, confusion and/or stress, frustration
• A raised eyebrow, tent shaped eyebrow or squinting eyes – questioning your last statement, shows pessimism, skeptical
• Scrunched up nose – considers your idea stupid or off target
• Pursed lips – does not approve
• Frozen smile – afraid to express true feelings of disapproval or disagreement
• Nervous gestures – anxious about topic at hand
• Darting eyes or fidgeting – bored, feels pace is too slow
• Looking up or holding a hand to the chin – analyzing the information
• Looking away – does not want to deal with the conflict topic
• Hand to chin – processing the information

Value of understanding nonverbal audience feedback:
Imagine you are giving an important presentation at your workplace, but you notice that a few people are giving an indication of being confused or skeptical. What do you do? You have a choice of plowing ahead with your presentation with the knowledge that you may not be successful, or you could stop and respectfully check and see if the nonverbal feedback signs should cause you to do something different.

If you have any advice, thoughts, or comments on nonverbal audience feedback, please feel free respond to this blog, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

… glasses?

Um, yeah.

Before: Old Glasses

After: New Glasses

When I change my glasses or my hair, I like to keep quiet about it and see how long it takes for people to notice. With both of my coworkers, one yesterday and one today, we were in mid-conversation when they suddenly stopped and said, “Did you get new glasses?” Makes me wonder how long they’d been trying to figure out what was different about me.

When Daughter saw my new specs, she said they made me look artistic or writerly or, at the very least, elven. I can live with that.

Do you ever change your appearance, not tell anyone, and wait for the comments to come?

Dave Hill - You Have to Laugh!!

Dave Hill - Careful When You Cross the Line

CROSSING THE LINE

The KKK Award
My boss walked into my office unannounced; with him were my two co-workers. They all sat down smiling. I was being presented with a safety achievement award. My boss at the time happened to be a fairly conservative engineer. The award was an engraved glass cube about 3 in. high, covered by a small velvet bag. Without missing a beat, I took the glass cube out of the bag and put it on my desk. I then put the velvet bag over my fingers and shouted out “wow, look at this, a Ku Klux Klan puppet”. My boss and one of my coworkers immediately left my office in shock leaving me with my African-American co-worker who was slowly clapping her hands, laughing and saying, “You are one sick, crazy Irishman Dave”. The bottom line is that the humor was totally inappropriate. My thoughtless intent was to purely get a laugh, but the fact that I made some of my coworkers uncomfortable made it improper.

Elevator Ego
I was at an upper management meeting in a corporate office conference room as a technical advisor. A few days earlier, the electric motor shaft had snapped on the executive elevator. The automatic safety systems had kept people safe; however, as you can imagine, there was an element of concern.
The upper management had a rule at these safety meetings that if anyone made a sarcastic comment, they had to put 25 cents into a cup which was on the table. At other meetings, I had observed them dropping 25 cent coins into the cup while making humorous cynical comments. It seemed to bring an air of joviality to serious and sometimes conflict ridden meetings. Being a company with a strong focus on safety, the discussion on the table was what we could do differently to make sure there would not be any more elevator breakdowns. The question was posed to me, and the correct answer would have been to “do periodic testing of all the elevator motor shafts to check for cracks”. My wife likes to say that I do not have wires connecting my brain and my mouth, and what came out of my mouth was the statement, “We should limit the elevator to one… ego… at… a… time”. As I simultaneously dropped a quarter into the cup, the silence in the room was deafening. The humor was sarcastic, way off-target, and inappropriate; I was lucky to get away with just getting scowled at.

Dave Hill - Consious Effort Not To Cross the Line

STAYING ONE STEP BEHIND THE LINE

Flashing Human Resources
The event was the corporate office Mardi Gras party that was being held in a local pub. This was a “pump up the employees” evening event, and the company provided free beer and Cajun food. As an Irishman who likes to relax and have fun, I arrived in a jovial mood. About 100 people had already arrived, and there at the door was the human resources (HR) manager handing out beer voucher coupons. He was throwing Mardi Gras beads at the people lined up to enter. As I was approaching the door, my mind immediately went into “play mode”. My twisted Irish wit slipped into gear, and I mischievously thought to myself what a great laugh I would get if I was to lift my shirt and expose my naked chest at the same time that beads were being thrown at me. Here is the discussion that went on in my head in a flash – “Ok Dave, this prank could get you huge laughs and you could go down in corporate history as the engineer who flashed at HR. Even if you do get sacked for disrespect, what a great story you will get to tell for the rest of your life“. Then the voice of experience and rational thinking came to play, “That would be very tasteless Dave, and in addition, you are married with two kids that you have yet to put through college. What would your wife say when you will have to explain that you got sacked for flashing the HR?”

This rational thinking took a split second, and I was quite happy smiling to myself, imagining what would have happened if I had allowed my recklessness to take charge and if this scene had actually played out. I have matured to the point that I understand (most of the time) when I have the potential to cross the line, to consider the consequences, and most of all, to understand the appropriateness of my actions.

The Two-Headed Baby
It was May, 2009, and I was walking through the chemical plant with a young electrical engineer. During casual conversation, she mentioned that she was three months pregnant. As we were walking to inspect an electrical transformer, she noticed that one of the chemical reactors was being opened for routine maintenance and inspection. She stopped walking and said that even though it was safe for her to be in the area, her instinct as a mother-to-be was to take no risks with her pregnancy. An impish smile came to my face as my twisted Irish sense of humor was toying with me to say the words, “I bet it would hurt like heck to give birth to a two headed baby”. The words were on my lips, yet again I refrained from saying anything aloud.

What can we learn from this?
A healthy sense of humor can help you get noticed and promoted; however, it is very important to understand boundaries. A remark made at the wrong place at the wrong time can literally destroy a career whether you have 1 year experience or 30.
1. Make fun of situations rather than individuals
2. Be thoughtful of your audience, if one person would be hurt, insulted, or embarrassed, then it is not appropriate
3. People laughing does not always mean that the humor was fitting
4. If your humor is off-target, apologize quickly
5. Do not use sarcastic or other negative humor

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on this subject. Please use the comments section below or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com
Thanks,
Dave

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Dave Hill - Bali Indonesia

So how can this translate to the workplace?
Negotiating is a very common occurrence in most workplaces. As an engineer, I find myself negotiating with project engineers to make sure that there are enough safety features in the proposed design to keep people safe. We have to work together to make sure we get a final concept that works with the constraints of budgets etc. When we are trying to convince people to consider our point of view, we are in negotiating mode. A win-win negotiation is the best outcome, and it can also build bridges for future wheeling and dealing.

What can we learn from this?
A healthy sense of humor is a powerful tool for dealing with negotiations. When people are laughing, it is very difficult for them to be angry or stubborn. Imagine the relief you feel when someone makes a humorous comment during a tense moment.
When tension in the workplace is not managed correctly, there can be a gradual erosion of respect and trust amongst employees as well as other destructive mechanisms such as:
a. Employees do not work creatively together to come up with a mutually agreeable solution
b. Future negotiations are set up for failure from the start
c. Energy levels and inventiveness are sucked out of the workplace, and employees can lack trust and be instinctively combative
d. Teams that are not cohesive become inefficient and unproductive

Eleven ways exceptional workplaces negotiate successfully and build ongoing relationships rather than adversaries:
1. Seek win-win negotiations, not win-destroy
2. Aim for a long-term relationship of mutual respect and trust
3. Be truthful- being deceitful will destroy the success of future negotiations
4. Negotiate using lighthearted humor- smile and laugh at appropriate times
5. If a preposterous offer is made that is way-off, make it clear that it is not worth negotiating if rational thinking is not being brought to the table
6. Keep the negotiations respectful
7. Use active listening skills, don’t cut off the other persons sentence and jump in with your contradiction
8. Use emotional wording such as:
a) “The offer you have put on the table is generous. It makes me feel that I can trust you and that you understand the importance of both of us succeeding.”
b) “Imagine my predicament: we made a bid for your project that you accepted, we shook hands, and a week later, the price of steel sky-rocketed. It would help me out if you could work with me to get a bit more funding. I feel awful about asking, but I am boxed into a very difficult corner.”
9. Make fun of yourself (the safest type of humor)
10. One of the most powerful negotiating relationship builders is to give the other person an additional benefit once the deal has been made (in Bali, the shopkeeper got a free massage for his dog). This creates good-will for future negotiations
11. Negotiate face-to-face so you can observe body language. Smiles can go a long way, narrowed eyes can mean skeptical, lack of eye contact can mean deception.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on this subject. Please use the comments section below or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com
Thanks,
Dave
Dave’s Public Speaking Website (bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Read my interview with Etsy Stalker & Enter to Win a Free keychain bottle opener!  Here is the link:  http://etsystalker.com/?p=4128

But feel free to read the interview below too!

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

MaJenta Designs is the brainchild of Jennifer whose fascination with Asian papers recently led her to the 1,000 sales milestone on Etsy! She uses Chiyogami (literally “1,000 generation paper”) and Washi (rice paper) – both delicate, traditionally hand-made papers that have intricate and vibrant designs similar to fabric used on kimonos. Her aesthetic complements what she, as a second-generation Chinese American, calls her “hybrid life” by being both traditional and contemporary.

Using these papers for glass pendants? That’s a no brainer. Look how the glass both frames and accentuates the rich colors. Jennifer has an eye for how to place each piece for maximum effect.

Less predictably, Jennifer takes something functional and allows you to add beauty and style. Start with a design that you like. Then decide what you’d like her to add: Bottle opener? Key Chain? Pocket Mirror? Oh yeah, she can do that!

She has a fun line of portable purse hooks. So easy to use: just unfold, set on the table top and hang your bag from the hook…no more purse on the floor or worrying about it being taken from the back of your chair. (You know that person on your holiday list who has everything? I bet she doesn’t have one of these!)

She also makes gift tins in various shapes and sizes. How great would it be to give one of her items in a coordinating tin? Want even more fun? Keep them for yourself! Mints, buttons, coins…Violet is quite sure you’ll make it work.

Despite being a full time graduate student with a thriving Etsy shop, Jennifer found time to sit down and share her story with us. Read on!

Curator V: How long have you been on Etsy? How did you decide to set up shop there?

I started almost 2 years ago, September 2007, to be exact. I’ve always enjoyed making art, but first got interested in selling my handcrafted creations when I visited a town fair and saw all the local craft artists and their booths – it really inspired me to want to sell my own goods too. Oddly enough though, I didnt try to start selling at fairs just yet, but rather wanted to try selling on-line first. I stumbled upon Etsy and thought it’d be an exciting venue to try out, and the rest is history

Curator V: You’re a full time graduate student; what are you studying? How do you find time to keep your shop so well stocked?

I’m working towards a PhD in Counseling Psychology; its really busy lifestyle – I’m taking 5 classes, interning 20 hours a week, and working on a dissertation, so each day is very hectic – but I definitely work to make time for my business as it is nice to have a creative outlet away from my studies – in my profession, we’re always telling our clients the importance of self-care, so I feel it’s good to make time to do other things I enjoy too.

Curator V: I love that your work is symbolic of the hybrid nature of life that so many people can relate to. Did you set out to create in that way or did your designs naturally evolve?

My items definitely have evolved over time, as I have so many creative interests and enjoy so many mediums, such as beadwork and stained glass, but the items I enjoy creating the most are have symbolic meaning- like the cranes that symbolize eternal devotion and the koi’s symbolism of perseverance and good fortune, because I love things that tell a story behind them. Sometimes I learn things from my customers too – like one person wanted to send one of my plum blossom pendants to a friend who was undergoing major surgery, and she requested I send a note with it, and I thought it was a beautiful, so i’ve added it to the listing
“even as winter tries to hold it’s grip,
the plum tree bursts forth with
the earliest blossoms of spring”

Curator V: Where do you find the beautiful papers that you use in your designs?

I find the papers from all over, various paper stores locally and internationally – i actually first got started collecting the paper when I visited Japan and found a beautiful assorted set, and at that time I thought it was just fancy origami paper!

Curator V: Can you describe your work space to us? (If you have a picture, feel free to include it!)

Haha, alas, I live in a small apartment in Boston so there isnt that much workspace that is solely devoted to my craft-making. I generally work in my living room, on a table that triples as my dining table as well as my study space too! Here is a photo that someone took of me crafting amongst my textbooks.

Curator V: Congrats on reaching 1,000 sales! What are your next goals?

Thanks! I definitely want to keep building my business, so I’m always trying to think up new products to carry, new designs to use, and new venues to sell my work. I’m looking forwards to the holiday shows coming up this season, plus I’ll be helping to create a handmade gift boutique for the holiday season in downtown Boston with some other talented Boston-area artisans of the group Boston Handmade this will be my first time I’ll have so much involvement in an art gallery/boutique so I’m looking forward to getting involved in this venture and hoping it will be successful!

All righty, Stalkers, time to put on your thinking caps! Jennifer is giving away one of her funky keychain bottle openers! These are one of her most popular items – they are practical, fun and stylish too! To enter, visit Majenta Designs, then come back here and let her know what other items you’d like to see added to or sold in her shop! One winner to be chosen at random on November 8th.

Make sure you leave your comments on the blog article directly: http://etsystalker.com/?p=4128

“It just melts in my mouth, but i havent had one in a long time.”

Can I call you that? After all, we aren’t friends. I don’t hate you. I really don’t know much about you as a person. I do HATE when you laugh at me. Who would like someone laughing at them? I treat you like every other co-worker. If anything I’m a bit weary of you because I “know” you least of all. I can’t get a read on you. This is an unimportant observation but you seem so young, I’m always shocked by the fact that you have kids.

I don’t try to listen to your conversations but when I put my black headphones all, all hell breaks loose. You know what I mean or ask D. I cant even move! I want to not hear you but every time I put the headphones on and I move in the slightest & make a noise (the headphones), certain people start acting like they are 5 years old. I don’t even know if you are a part of this group. My point is, I don’t want to hear you. I tried to remedy that through headphones. It worked for a while. Those were the good days…and then one day, they became kids.

To appease the situation, I’ve stopped wearing my headphones but I’m going back to using them. Me overhearing you all does me NO GOOD.

In conclusion, if you are ever talking about me – yes I hate that. I don’t hate you. I do question why you (and others) do this but I don’t hate YOU. We don’t sit close enough for me to hate you. Trust me, other people’s behavior are more mystifying than yours.

Dave Hill - Feedback From an Intern

Once again I would like to take a moment to thank you for everything you have done for me. I will use my experiences with the chemical corporation and your teaching to guide me as I take the leap into college and soon into a career.
Thanks!”.

What can we learn from this?
1) I am proud to work for a company that supports an intern program. It empowers high-schoolers by helping them understand and experience life as an engineer.
2) Some of these interns may have such a good experience that they might end up applying to work for us.
3) I have found out that some of the school districts have formal intern programs where students can apply for an internship. They are accepted on criteria such as grades, career goals, hobbies and an interview with the School District Intern Coordinator. Our interns have come from the Richardson school district in Texas. If they have a positive experience and then decide to work for us, we are potentially getting the cream of the crop.
4) Recently, I discovered that there are high schools with Magnet campuses all over the USA. These are schools that get more focused towards career niches, e.g. The School of Science and Engineering in Dallas school district that has been recognized as among the best public schools in Texas.
5) Being proud of the organization I work for is an important component of what makes my job good. No job is perfect, and there are trade-offs. If an employee is considering jumping ship to work for someone else, this could be one of the factors that convinces him or her to stay – “the other company is offering me more money, but why should I move when the organization I work for makes me feel proud and treats me well?”.
6) The importance of good career choice is clear to me when I look at my coworkers and friends in the community. Some of them are in their 40’s and 50’s and still changing careers; even I have changed careers three times. Some of these people are deeply unhappy, caught in a rut in a working environment that does not fuel their passion- they cannot find a way out. They are handcuffed to pay checks, awaiting benefits to lock in, or feel they are too old to make a change – what a tragedy. This really helps drive home my passion to help young people get it right early on.

What can you do?
1) Set a goal to provide high-schoolers with an internship at your workplace, get the information on how it can be done, and help make it happen
2) If you own a business or can get permission for students to visit your workplace, why not contact schools to see if there is an opportunity for you to provide a real life career day for students that are considering a career in your type of industry
3) Participate in career days at schools
4) Talk to your kids and help them find their passion, listen to them and guide them. Once you start narrowing down the options, make the effort to find out how to get them to visit people in that business and learn the positives and negatives of the jobs. Help them learn what the trade-offs are
5) Give them the knowledge and help them set specific measurable goals to get grades that will make college become a reality. Reward achievement to encourage progress.
6) Before enrolling your kids in a school, take the time to visit the school and talk to the teachers and principal. Find out what challenges the school faces so you are well aware of the success potential. We live in a world of choices; make the effort to make good educated ones.

If you have any advice, thoughts, stories or comments on this subject, please feel free respond to this blog or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

     It’s not even lunch time and I’m already annoyed. Now I see why we’re asked not to discuss politics in the work place. Everyone that knows me knows I’m one of the biggest President Obama supporters; and I have been since the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Many of you also know that I’m a die-hard Oprah supporter as well. The fact that a person can come from nothing into what she has, without losing their sense of self or their integrity is amazing! Anyhoo …So one of my co-workers made a comment about how she’s sometimes “annoyed that Oprah tries to be an expert on every subject…” Before she could even explain or finish her statements another one of my co workers chimes in and starts talking about how she was “Annoyed” when Oprah backed then Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. She went on to say something about how she’s probably the reason he won, or something along those lines. It’s not a matter of what she said; it was how she said it. By the tone in her voice you could just tell she was one of those people who didn’t “Vote for Change”.  I know that not everyone in America voted for Mr. Obama. I also know that there are still some that want to see him fail even if that means America fails…you’ve had almost a year to get adjusted to the news that Mr. Barack Obama would be YOUR President; as he stated during his acceptance speech whether you voted for him or not he’s “Your president too.” Just as now former President Bush was MY president. No, I didn’t vote for him. No, I wasn’t a “supporter”, but our country was in his hands. He was who the people of America elected (The 2^nd time, I’m still not to sure about that first election), and when he failed, America failed. Not just the Republican Party or the people who voted for him, but AMERICA as whole. So as much as I didn’t agree with some of his decisions and actions as president, I respected his position as President of the United States.

To be quite honest, I’m offended when I hear people say they want our president to fail. You see, my dad, who has always supported me, couldn’t be at my high school graduation because he was fighting in a pointless war because Mr. Obama’s predecessor FAILED. There are a number of people homeless, jobless, starving and sick because of Americas past failures. So we have seen what a failed presidency can cause. Yet people have the audacity to say they’re “annoyed” because someone who has some influence on people of all races actually stood up and supported CHANGE. You can’t be serious. Oprah didn’t speak out against Senator McCain; she spoke up in support of President Obama. She wouldn’t even allow Mr. Obama on her show to promote his campaign. She showed her support “off the clock.” Her show still went on like normal. She still had the normal caliber of guest that she would have had. She didn’t even mention a word about the campaign until after election night. Don’t quote me on this, but I don’t even think she gave subliminal messages of support. I would have snuck in a button or something :) Can you imagine having a voice and a platform as powerful as that of Ms. Winfrey and not using it to shout your support for who you feel is the right candidate to the world? I can almost assure you, had someone else in her shoes, been a McCain supporter they would have had whole shows dedicated to the candidate they supported. So before you get all “Annoyed” by Oprah’s support of YOUR now President, think about the extent that she could have taken it. Now imagine your favorite celebrity….if they had as big a following as Oprah, what would they have done? Are you still “Annoyed”?

PS- 4 Years later my dad made it to my college graduation!

Dave Hill - Starting Up A 30,000 Horse Power Ship Engine

Dave Hill - Chief Engineer Officer

Looking back into my past, I remember living in a small town in Ireland called Rathdowney. There was a one room schoolhouse where the teacher taught all grades, and whose first task in the morning was to light the coal fire to keep the room warm. The schoolhouse had outside shack-like toilets. Fast forward a couple of years, and I am studying at an engineering college in Glasgow, Scotland, and I had been sponsored by a British shipping company called the Bank Line, and they were paying for all college fees, accommodation, food and even travel back to Ireland for vacation. On top of that, they paid me a small wage. At the age of 20, I flew out to Bombay, India, as an engineer cadet on a cargo ship. About eight years later, I was wearing four gold and purple stripes on the cuffs of my engineering officer uniform, indicating that not only had I reached the top qualification as a chief engineer officer, I was also working at that rank. By the time I was 25 years old, I had traveled around the world seven times, and by the time I finished this 14 year career, I had been to 75 countries. This career ended literally the day I got married. Four years earlier, I had met a Canadian girl in Darwin, Australia, while we were both working on a square rig sailing ship. I was on the sail training ship for a year traveling from Australia to the Caribbean via the Indian Ocean, around South Africa and up the South Atlantic. When I moved to Canada, I transitioned into a career as a machinery loss prevention specialist for the property insurance industry and stayed at that for 6 years. That career transitioned into a Corporate Principal Risk Engineer Career in Dallas, Texas, working for a chemical corporation.
While working for the chemical corporation in Dallas, the company would sponsor high school kids to come to our department as interns. They were high school kids who were just getting the inkling of wanting to become an engineer, and my company was providing them with a unique opportunity to explore this further. It fascinated me to learn that when I asked the question, “Why did you choose to become an engineer and what prompted you to decide to pursue a certain type of engineering?”, the frequent answer I got was, “I was good at math and science and my teacher suggested that I become an engineer. The reason I chose a particular specialty in engineering was because it sounded cool!!!” Based on this feedback, it looks like career choice still has some “randomness” and there is still a need for stepping stones to allow young engineers to stumble in the right direction. At my kid’s middle school, I do keynote speeches to educate the students on success strategies, and do educational sessions to help them decide if an engineering career would be a good fit or not. I talk about how I had continuously built my foundation with a passion for learning, and this had allowed me to change careers and each time reaching greater fulfillment.
.

TEN THINGS YOUNG ENGINEERS CAN DO TO GET NOTICED AND PROMOTED
1) Understand your passions and find a career that might be a good fit
2) Choose a job that will be valued by the organization (you will lose energy if you do not have this vital component)
3) Develop a passion to learn, expand your knowledge and skill set to the limit
4) Use you time well, pursue a routine of learning by listening to personal and professional development material while exercising or driving to and from work. Develop skills in communication, negotiation, conflict management, listening, management, leadership and presentation skills etc.
5) Find a career where a company recognizes and supports the importance of professional and personal development (ask if they have an audio library etc.)
6) Supercharge your learning ability by having mentors. Many experienced engineers are thrilled to be asked to help someone out by sharing knowledge and experiences (ask!).
7) Find a company that will provide you with a structured career path
Ask for uncompromised honest feedback during performance reviews
9) Develop a positive “can do” attitude. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer – get yourself noticed.
10) As your career progresses, determine what aspects of your job excite and energize you and what aspects you dislike. Develop a plan to move your career in a direction where you do more of what you like and less of what you dislike.

Dave Hill - Principal Risk Engineer

If you have any advice, thoughts, or comments on this subject, please feel free respond to this blog or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Just another day at my advertising agency:

Me: Can you measure these layouts?
WIP: I’ve never measured layouts before.
Me: … All you need is a ruler and you measure it width by height.
WIP: Oh, okay.

10 minutes later
WIP:  The  layout measurements are all off.
Me: What do you mean?
WIP:  They are all longer than they are supposed to be.
Me: What???

So, I take the ruler and measure one of the layouts.  The layout size is correct.
Me: Can you show me how you measured it?

WIP takes the ruler and measures the layout – but she doesn’t line up the ruler from 0 but from the edge.

Me: Umm.. That’s not how you use a ruler.  You have to line it up from zero.
WIP: Are you sure?
Me (in my mind): YEAH YOU USELESS PIECE OF CRAP! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE GETTING PAID FOR THIS JOB!!
Me (out loud): .. Yes.

10 minutes later
My supervisor: Did you ask WIP to measure the layouts?
Me: Yes.  Why?
My supervisor: She asked me how to use a ruler. I don’t think she trusted you.

WTF.

Photo by Lauren Nelson

Dave Hill - Customer Service

Dave Hill - My Home-Brewery

SOME RECENT CUSTOMER SERVICE OBSERVATIONS
1) I have seen a waiting room where most of the reading materials incorporated light hearted, fun reading material instead of the usual doom and gloom of the newspapers and magazines
2) My financial planner has a big screen TV where he would normally have the channel set to a station which showed the daily stock price trend. During my semi-annual visit to his office while the recession was at its worst, he had me laughing because he had chosen to play cartoons on the TV instead. He told me and my wife that the financial news was too depressing for his customers and so he was taking action.
3) When I recently went to get a new pair of glasses, the store manager set the stage for fun. He immediately started toying with my wife and me and pointed out glasses that he did not want me to choose. “If you are John Lennon you can choose these round glasses, if not, don’t even think about it!!” Catching onto his playful demeanor, I responded “so it looks like I need to choose frames that are somewhere between a John Lennon and a Sarah Palin style!!” We spent over half an hour in this play mode, and the glasses buying experience was totally enjoyable. Price was good, quality was good, and the customer service experience was exceptional.
4) I am at the airport security at the stage where you hold up your boarding pass for security to look at just before you enter the metal detector frame. I held my boarding pass rigidly, and the security girl smiled at me and stated, “You do that so well, I bet you practice!” Catching onto her smile and her playfulness, I replied “Some people try to wing it; I practice in front of the mirror until it is beyond perfect”. She laughed and waved me through. Security screening was an energizing process for me that day.
5) I am at the dentist, and he has taken the time to make some notes on a conversation we had at my previous visit. “How did your vacation to Ireland go”? “Your daughter has just started high school, how is that going”. His small talk is personalized, and makes me feel validated.

If you have any advice, thoughts, or comments on this subject, please feel free respond to this blog or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Dave Hill - Thoughts On Superhero Leadership

Imagine how proud you would feel if one of these incredible people was your manager or a coworker. Reading this article immediately had me reflecting on two people from my past. They were my bosses for several years (at different times) when they held a management role in the corporate office. One is now a successful consultant and also finds the time out of his busy schedule to give back to the community. He, his wife, and some friends cook up hot dogs and buns and drive to the street corners where underprivileged people looking for on-the-spot work gather. He delivers the food at lunchtime, knowing that the people remaining have not been able to get work that day. He also takes the time to mentor a low income family. The other boss not only has an infectious positive attitude, he also gives back to the world, he has had exchange students in his house over the years, and he also has mentored low income kids to help guide them towards success. These are just a sample of the things they volunteer to do.

Why is this important to me? In my job as a risk engineer, I am continuously challenged in my quest to prevent low probability accidents. Over a 12 year period, there have been times when I have felt that my job was not valued, and that I should seek out a more satisfying job. I want to share the importance of having managers that are good human beings and good leaders, whether in the workplace or in the community.

After working as an engineer for nearly 30 years in three different careers, I learned a long time ago that there is no perfect job. Every job has its trade-off’s. You can have an excellent job (e.g. it makes you feel important, it challenges you, it provides opportunities for advancement, it provides opportunities for ongoing personal and professional development etc.), but you have a boss that is less than perfect (e.g. lack of trust, compromised ethics, questionable values, treats you like an employee rather than a human being etc.). You can have an excellent boss (e.g. impeccable ethics, goes to bat for you, looks after your promotion and pay raises, is a good human being, inspires you, has a positive attitude), but a less than perfect job (e.g. you feel that the job is not important to the company, you do not feel energized, you do not spend enough time with your family etc.). Everyone can relate to job trade-offs, and this becomes extremely relevant when companies are focused on creating a culture that minimizes the turnover of valued employees.

When companies are hiring or promoting people into a management position, it is important that the people being recruited or promoted have the right skills, the right attitude, exceptional management skills and are decent human beings. A badly placed manager can cause a significant erosion of profits if your valued employees start to head out the door and go work for the competition.

Some Traits of Exceptional Managers That Can Drive Loyalty:
1) Exceptional communicators trained in skills such as negotiation, listening, and conflict management.
2) Inherent positive attitude
3) Impeccable ethics and can be trusted
4) Open door policy where direct reports can discuss problems and get guidance (one of the bosses above once told me that part of his job was to remove hurdles so I could be successful)
5) Invites feedback and direct reports can speak openly and frankly
6) Strong healthy sense of humor and encourages levity
7) Communicates frequently
Have value for work-home balance
9) Treats workers as human beings rather than “just employees”
10) Recognizes and rewards direct reports at every opportunity
11) Coaches and mentors
12) Leads by example
13) Encourages the type of risk taking that will advance the company
14) Exhibiting the character traits of heroes

10 Traits of Managers That Will Drive Your Employees to the Competition
1) Micro-management
2) Withholding information that affects direct reports
3) Cannot be trusted
4) Lack of respect for direct reports
5) Indecisive
6) Sarcastic (covert negativity) sense of humor
7) Lack of communication
Leads by fear
9) Manipulative
10) Does not tolerate mistakes

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio – Keynotes – Workshops etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

One of my co-workers Came thru Drive thru about 2 minutes before we were supposed to close the store for the night. She knew that we were about to close but was ordering food for a bunch of people at her house. We didn’t have enough meat dropped for all the sandwiches she ordered so i ran in back to help out. I was pissed about it so I dropped each piece of meat on the floor AND we all spit on each piece before cooking it.

hahaha at work this bitch pissed me off cuz she like always acted stuck up towards me so she made a mistake of leaving her drink in the crew room so i took it upon myself to put some jalepinos in her soda. and then her next drink after that one i put a monster amount of ketchup in her drink. ironically shes the same bitch that got me fired from there hahaha. never got her for that one tho. dumb bitch.

I took a Floor Puller and slammed one of the suction cups hard on the work Table behind a coworker no one could stand. It sounded like a shotgun blast. He jumped 3 feet in the air and 3 feet back at same time.

An older lady across the room wet herself laughing.
She goes to tell Supervisor, I follow, Lady was laughing so hard, she couldn’t say what happened. She wet herself again. I told Super what happened. She gave me a Pass and told me not to do it again.

Imagine you are developing a very important speech. You have identified the speech structure, the points, the stories, the beginning and ending, and you have written it out. You are now looking at the written words, trying to work out how to get the speech to the next level- and you are stumped. The speech could be for your wedding reception, a eulogy at a family funeral, a keynote at a conference, an important meeting, or even a speech competition. In this blog, I will explain some of the simple online tools I use to hone the words in my speeches.

My goal in speech writing is to have clear, concise information and stories that illustrate my points. When I am telling stories, I want the audience to have vivid details to the extent that they feel that they are actually witnessing the event.
The most important piece of advice I can give you is that every word has value in a speech, and getting to the exceptional level requires you to analyze words to see if you can find ones that give a better sentence flow and visual detail.

THESAURUS (MS-Word – Toolbar/Tools/Language/Thesaurus or Shift+F7)
I use the Microsoft Word Thesaurus extensively- whether I am writing speeches, blogs, newsletters, or even books. There are times that I find a specific word I use is getting repetitive in my sentences, so I use the thesaurus to come up with a different word. I want my sentences to stand out and clearly describe what I am saying.
Example sentence that would get changed:
“The speech title is an important part of a public speaker’s speech” – This is a clumsy sentence with too much word repetition. I would plug “speech” and “speaker” into the thesaurus and look to see if there are any better words to frame the sentence. If not, I would spend time playing with the sentence until it sounded better – “A good speech title will get the audience sitting up in their seats with interest, you immediately have their full attention”.
Another useful place to find an online thesaurus is http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dictionary.htm. It helps find more visual words in sections such as synonyms, related words, and antonyms. An online visual (MindMap style) thesaurus can be found at http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

IDIOMS (words that mean something other than the literal meaning)

To try and add additional quality to my writing, I will also check out what common idioms are available to see if I could weave them into a sentence. You can enter a word into the search engine of the following website http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/. If you type in “word” in the search engine it comes up with about 120 idioms. One of them is “take my word for it” – I decided that this would fit in the heading of this blog heading – Exceptional Presenters Get Noticed and Promoted – “Take my Word for It”.
I also find idioms useful for developing humor. I take a common idiom and change the last word.

ACTION VERBS
When I am editing sentences to provide more visual details, I sometimes use the following site http://workbloom.com/ (see action verbs in the left hand column). I use action verbs a lot when telling stories; it helps me bring the audience into my story and become part of it. Look how I started off this blog with an action verb – “Imagine you are developing a very important speech. You have identified the speech structure, the points, the stories, the beginning and ending, and you have written it out. You are now looking at the written words, trying to work out how to get the speech to the next level- and you are stumped”.

QUOTATIONS
Quotations can also add color and detail to a speech. A quotation that relates to your subject matter can be used at the beginning of a speech, at the end, or even to enhance a point in the main part of it. It is appropriate to identify who the quotation owner is. You can see me using quotations in my demo video on my web site at www.davehillspeaks.com. One of my favorite quotation sites is http://www.quoteland.com/

WORD COUNT (MS-Word – Toolbar/Tools/Wordcount or Ctrl.+Shift+G)

If your speech needs to be a specific length, use the rule-of-thumb: 700 to 800 words = about 7 minutes of speech time. MS-Word has a toolbar which will automatically count your words in your Word Document.

FINAL NOTE – Putting It all Together
Envision (ACTION VERB) yourself sitting down writing a speech; you have used the thesaurus, idiom and quotations to bring depth to your sentences. As you sit looking proudly at your creativity, the words of Truman Capote come to mind – “To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the music the words make” (QUOTATION). Mark my words (IDIOM), these simple techniques will help you bring your speech writing to the next level.

Dave’s website: www.davehillspeaks.com
Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Thought I would include a light-hearted post that has nothing to do with swine flu. I should be embarrassed about the following but I actually think it’s really funny.

AUB (coworker) from across office: “hey – how much is 8 times 6 ? Is it 40?”

ME from other end of office: “It’s 46.” (duh…)

AUB (after a pause to calculate?): “oh – it’s 48.”