Laura’s Winning Ideas

Daniel Pink wrote a piece for Wired Magazine this month with some ideas a proposal/marketing team could steal.

The article is about Pecha Kucha, an Open Mic night for intelligentsia. Each person is allowed 20 powerpoint slides, and the slides show for 20 seconds each. After 6+ minutes, they are done, and the next person is up. Cuts out long winded yammering, leaves room for more folks to present without feeling quite so naked as a canned presentation of too many minutes.

This would be a neat idea for a company event. Invite clients in for a Pecha Kucha night/lunch. Have your technical professionals do their “20 slides/2 seconds each slide” presentations about their work, their research, outside interests, favorite projects, latest technology they are hoping to use, perspective on the industry, etc. Serve Sushi and sake.

A great way to connect with clients, a great way to give folks a taste of public speaking, a great way to inspire members of the staff. . . . O.K. Serve barbequed brisket if you must.

Daniel Pink included his Pecha Kucha presentation on Emphathic Signage.

This is the second idea you can steal. Daniel shows a variety of emotionally intelligent signs. That is, signage that begets compliance by using empathy. For instance, which is more effective?

• Pick up after your dog.

• Children Play Here. Pick up after your dog.

If you are managing a proposal, practicing using principals of empathy might help speed along those resume updates and project summaries. Think they know why you are asking for this? Don’t be surprised to find that your technical professionals think you are just crying wolf. “After all, the proposal isn’t due for another x days.” Transform them from clueless to understanding and see if you don’t get your materials on schedule.

Writing a proposal for a large project?

Not every reader of your proposal is operating at the professional level of your technical staff. Look for places to insert empathetic guidance and see what happens. “Gee, I never knew why that study is done before drilling begins. It’s really an important part of the project.”

Daniel Pink is an author of several best-selling books, including A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The World.