My Signiture Strengths

I've been thinking about a quiz I took over a year ago.  Martin Seligman's Signiture Strengths Survey   identifies your top strengths. The idea is that you should focus on what you are good at....instead of finding the things you are worst at and pushing yourself to get better.  Pick those things you are best at and do them more..make the most of what you do well.

My strengths are  (the idea of using these more is very attractive to me!)
Curiosity and Interest in the World
Love of Learning
Zest, Enthusiasm, Energy
Leadership
Perspective (Wisdom)

I'd like to ask other Resource Center staff to take the quiz and see how knowing each other's signiture strengths helps us do our best work and form a strong team.

How we can tranform public health

In the Rise of the Teaching Organization, Bill Taylor ( Practically Radical) makes a compelling case for teaching others , even your competitors.  

If you want to be a leader in your field, you need to learn. But learning isn't enough...you need to share what you know and teach others... because it is the best way to learn...and I'd argue that you need to bring others along so you can keep moving forward.

Here is my favorite quote  "our vision is to be the quality leader in our field and to transform the field as a whole" (Dr Gary Kaplan).   Isn't that what we want to do in public health?

Read the whole blog post

Top six traits in confident leaders

In order to lead, people have to be confident of you and your abilities. What does it take for people to be confident in your leadership?  According to the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Leadership, there are six top traits.

• Trust in what you say ( no surprises)
  
• Competence to do the job (I'm good at what I do)
  
• Working for the greater good (they don't doubt your motives)
• Shared values ( we value the same things)
• Get good results ( I get things done)
• In touch with people's needs and concerns ( I listen)

These are good things to think about as we go through strategic planning...since we want our organization to be seen as a leader.

Want to learn more: check out Next Level Blog
Or read the study.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

How many fruit cakes do we have?

I'm thinking a lot about strategic planning...because we are going to be doing our's soon.

Blue Avocado Blog asks...do you have any programs that are like fruit cakes? You don't want to eat it...but you feel guilty throwing it away.

She talks about a resource center that is empty and brochures no one picks up....

A program or activity has to do one of two things ( or both)

1. "have a significant positive impact on the world" ( or the audience we serve) or
2. "Makes money for the organization."

There might be other reasons I would add, like builds relationships with key stakeholders.....but her point is a good one. What projects or activities do we maintain that aren't working any more?

I recently read that "Strategy is what you don't do." Food for thought as we get ready to plan for next year and the future.

What does a Long Tail have to do with Big Goals?

I just read Small Steps to a Big Goal...the two that jump out for me are

#2 Do things that show movement in the right directions. People need to see that they are making progress.. How can we show people that their efforts are making a difference?  Plus providing feedback uses social influence...which is a behavior change strategy.

#3 Don't create a "big support tail" for yourself. For me this means two things. Don't do things for others they can do for themselves. And don't do things that are going to create more work for yourself down the road.  So before I says yes to something.....I need to ask myself....Can this person do this themselves?  and if I do this....will this require more work or generate more individual requests, down the road?  

Read all four steps at Small Steps to a Big Goal

Cormac's Long Tail
Originally uploaded by feenylime

Top three tips for dealing with conflict

I'm always looking for good tips on dealing with conflict. 

Peter Pregman, the Martial Art of Conversation gives three concise rules that, in my experience ( if you can do them) work to diffuse a tense situation and help you to move forward. 

1. Ask Questions: what is most important is to understand how the other person views the situation. You don't have to agree...you just have to understand.
2. Listen ( really)  When people are angry or upset, they need to feel heard and respected.
3. Repeat and summarize:  You want to make sure you understand the other person's perspective and you need to make sure they believe you understand.

The key point is, when people are angry, the gut reaction is to get defensive. Once you are defending your position ( which you believe to be right) you aren't listening.  When someone is angry, they need to feel heard ( and respected) before they can listen to someone else.

Peter shows you what he means by telling you a story.

Photo: Flickr 1677426833_c31dfc8d40

What is the most powerful marketing tool?

According to Amy Sample Ward at Get Attention...it is testimonials. And she's got a point!

Think about it?  If you don't have much time and you are skimming a brochure or fact sheet or promotional piece...  What stands out?  Quotes.

Testimonials work because they are credible and authentic.  We trust people like us.

What would influence you more?

Who should attend this presentation?  Public Health Professionals, tobacco control advocates, educators, youth leaders, anyone interested in the the health of their community.

"This was the best session I've seen all year!  I'm a busy health professional but I wouldn't have missed this for the world.  I left with concrete ideas on actions I can take to help my community healthier."

Word of mouth influences action.  Quotes bring word of mouth into your newsletters, fact sheets, and promotional pieces.  To find out more about how to get and use testimonials, read Amy Ward's: The Most Powerful Marketing Copy in the World

Photo credit: Flickr newendproductions

Can a Great Leader be a Poor Presentor?

 Here are my take aways from Dan McCarthy's post on the Great Leadership blog

1. No, because great leaders have to be able to inspire people to take action...which takes great presentation skills.
2. Presentation skills can be learned ( but it takes some effort)
3. Number one technique to master?  Telling stories!   

 Read more at Can a Great Leader be a Poor Presenter?
 Photo credit: Animated Cennydd Originally uploaded by psd

Make it fun

Can you influence behavior change by making something fun?

See what one group did to encourage more people to walk the stairs.

Make it fun

Help People See Your Data

Two helpful resources for data visualization:

One is new (September 2009) and gives tips on data visualization and reviews free and lost cost technology tools that you can use. Data Visualization Tools

2. Visual Communication: Core Design principles for displaying quantiative information.  (  2006)  The author, Stephen Few, is a name I recognize from the field of data visualization. Stephen's web page is Perceptual Edge

Quote of the Day

"Speak like you know you're right, listen like you know you're wrong."

Wish I could attribute it...it is in the comments of an article on Fast Company about Design Thinking..about a book I want to read: Change by Design.

Lessons learned from being a hero

I accepted a hero award last night. 

Madison Community car awarded hero status for the No Car Low Car Challenge I initiated in my neighborhood.  Here is what I learned:


1. Use Motivating Emotions: People do like being a hero. It felt good. I told everyone I knew. The families in the Challenge were proud.
2. Have an elevator pitch ready: . I got interviewed by Channel 3 ( local TV station.)  I didn't make the nightly news. I think it was because I didn't have a quoteable quote. I did tell a story when I accepted the award.  People referred to the story the rest of the night ( media were gone at that point)
3. Make it easy for the press: The organization didn't have a press release (they should have)
4. Take photos: A friend took photos ( which I will post to my blog and send to my neighborhood newspaper).  The organization could have also been taking photos for their website, newspapers, to promote next years' awards.
5. Make it easy to take action: There was a bunch of people at the event. We all felt good about what we personally were doing.  We could easily have been asked to take some kind of policy related action while we were there.

Photo Credit: Flickr: kagey

Three Strategic Planning Questions

Here are three questions I want to talk about with staff as we get started on strategic planning.

1. What do we do well?  Indiviudally and as a team: What are our strengths? What are we passionate about? How do our strengths fit with what is needed? How do we make the most of what we do well?

2. Why should people "follow" us? Why would people come to tobwis.org?  When have we been leaders and what did we learn from those times that can we use? Why would people use our resources as opposed to other ones?

3. What have we done to earn the trust of others?  And how will we continue to deserve that trust and earn more?  Although, I think all three of these are important. The issue of trust comes up again and again anad again. 

These questions are from Leadership at Work by John Baldoni
Photo credit: flickr: campascca

CDC Expands their Social Media Tools

CDC just announced a new updated social media tools page. What is most interesting about this is there were rumors that the Health Marketing division of CDC was going to be cut.    Instead of waiting and wondering..someone took the intitiave to put out a  "New! Improved! "website.  What a great strategy! If your worried that your organization is going to cut you...go public with something that adds value.

Check out the New, Improved  Social Media at CDC

Power of Competition

My family has challenged 5 other families to a No Car/Low Car 10 day Challenge. One of the reasons I initiated the challenge was to get my two boys to get more physical activity.

The rules are simple. Try to earn as many points as you can. 5 points for walking/biking, 3 points for taking the bus and 2 points for car pool.

My 11 year old decided to bike to school even though his older brother isn't ( something he would not have done with out the incentive of earning points.)

The prize isn't all that motivating ( a pot luck dinner) but earning points and competing with other families is certainly working for Ben...and for other kids and their parents. I got a call last night from a mom who shared that her whole family walked to the library and were on their way to Walgreens...on foot. She didn't want to share her point total ( because that might motivate me to get more active.)

A little competition is going a long way!

Avoid telephonitis

According to Sacha Dicter, telephonitis is the process whereby otherwise conversant, engaged active people become silent when on a conference call. My two top tips from her list are:

1. Keep a list of who is on the call. Use this list to
-call on people you haven't heard from
-when an important question or issue comes up, make sure everyone on the call is invited to share their thoughts

2. Create an "in the room" role. If you have a group of people in one room, have one person be responsible for sharing what's happening "in the room"with those on the phone. "Everyone here is nodding their head in agreement. " I'm seeing looks of confusion."

These tips were adapted from Telephonitis on Sacha Dicter's blog

Make it Easy

A new report from the Institute of Medicine focues on environmental strateiges to increase healthy eating and fitness.

Examples focus on policy changes that can be made at the local level:
Zoning restrictions on fast-food restaurants near schools and playgrounds,
community policing to improve safety around public recreational sites,
requirements that publicly run after-school programs limit video game and TV time,
and taxes on high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and drinks ( or tax the ingrediants that industry uses to make them...like high fructose corn syrup....so industry bears the tax burden not consumers)

Press Release that summarizes the report
Project Web page
Report Brief


It is easier to change the environment than to change individual behavior.

Slides are NOT Word documents

I was re-reading presentation tips from Chris Brogan From Chris' list here are three I want to focus on in my next presentations.

Respect your audience: they know more than we give them credit for....how can I structure a presentation so they build on what they know and add their own value?
Build in time for tips and take aways discussions at tables or with the person next to you.

Add value: give them take aways and give them doable actions
Structure my three top tips as take aways. Be clear about 1-3 actions for each of my tips.
Make sure my slides are visually appealing and add value to what I am saying ( no word documents)

Be an entertainer: be polished, eloquent and precise
For me this means making the time to practice, even though I have done the presentations multiple times.

85% of Americans have one

What is it? A cellphone.

Susannah Fox from Pew Internet held up two things: a cell phone and sun screen. "What do these have in common?"
Answer: they can both promote health.

She described a research study that compared people who got a text reminder to put on sunscreen with a control ( no text message)
Text reminders = 56% put on sunscreen vs no reminder only 30%. Impressive difference.

How many mobile devices are there in the US? 280,000,000 ( also impressive)

A few more facts
# of hours a cell phone is in arms reach of owner (19)
% households with no land line (20% and growing)
% of text messages that get opened? (90-100%) Compare that to emails!

We should be thinking about ways to use cell phones in public health!

Another example: cell phones are being used to help treat tuberculosis in developming countries. Patients text in when they have taken their treatment ( they actually use a urine stick that tests to make sure the medicine is in their system and then text the code on the urine stick as proof that they took their meds) If they take the meds...they get free air time. How's that for a good incentive?

For more information check out Pew's report on the Mobile Difference March 09

This is why I came!

The session this morning was just what I hoped for when I came!

Why CDC uses social media

• To reach more people
• Be where your audience is (make it easy for them to find you)
• Increase opportunities for conversation ( your audience can talk to you)
• Use the power of networks (make it easy for people to share your information with their friends)
• Access the wisdom of crowds (let your data go and people will create more than you ever could)

CDC lessons learned

1. Consolidate your social media in one place (make it easy to find)
2. Cross publisize (use each social media to promote others)
3. Challenge of 508 (government must meet accessibility requirements)
4. To convinced supervisors...use metrics. People want to see the data ( CDC has a metrics database on their website.)

Quotes
"Podcasts..we love them. People are using them in ways we never dreamed of...like teachers using in their classrooms."

"We have image files on our website but it doesn't hold a candle to the activity we are seeing on our Flickr site."

"Content syndication and RSS...our partners love it! They get up to date, credible content on their websites."

CDC is using social media

Erin Edgerton from CDC shared the social media tools they used to handle the Salmonella outbreak. They needed to reach a lot of people, so they tried a lot of tools.

Blogs
A webinar for bloggers
Buttons and Badges: like mini posters you can put on your webpage or your social network page
Widgets: an outbreak map, the FDA database ( you can put this content on your website and it is updated automatically)
Twitter: a micro blog ( you get mini test updates (140 characters)
Youtube: They created a what to do/not do video- 60 second video and Anatmony of an Outreak- 5 minutes (bet you can guess which one got more views)
E-cards
Mobile site This has information that people might need to check while they are away from home
My Space page ( they are on Facebook too)
An Island in Second Life
Podcasts

Flickr: need some photos for HINI?

Resources for partners: they create what they call mirror webpages...so state and local health departments can put CDC content up on their own website ( uses RSS to update)

If you want to see all the social media tools CDC is using. Go to their social media page.

Here are examples of how CDC has used social media in campaigns.

Want to know if anyone actually uses the CDC social media tools? They post their metrics dashboard. You can see what data they are collecting.

The Magic Words

Sanjay Koyani had to go to his boss at the FDA and convince her that they needed a Twitter account. He had to use the magic words. "It's going to be a pilot."

I loved this...we have discovered the magic in those words too!

Twitter: The FDA did start a Twitter account to get out the updates from a recent Salmonella outbreak. They ended up with 10,000 subscribers.

Widget: They also created a searchable database of which products were being recalled (there were over 3000) and then for the first time shared the code as a widget so others could put the database on their websites.

XML: this is a little beyond me but the basic idea is they shared the database as XML which means they shared the actual data. This will allow others to create new content and products: combine data with maps for instance.

Sanjay talked about the Wisdom of Crowds...the many will always be smarter than the few. If you are willing to share control, people may create things you never dreamed of ( I mean that in a good way!)

And the winner is..

The best presentation so far was part of a panel this morning. Bill (AED)

He showed two video clips of public health "commercials". Both were engaging and high quality. One used a fear approach. The people in it ended up as losers. The second was what Bill called the “joy” approach. Everyone was a winner.

The audience was captivated by the videos. We got his main point in under 3 minutes. And best of all..we will remember it and talk about it.

Who wants to be a loser? We need to look for ways to make our audience winners.

Mike Rothschild ( from WI) deserves honorable mention for telling this story. In a small community in northern Il, they wanted to increase the number of teens who buckle up when they drive.

Imagine this: a police car is parked outside the highschool. The officer watches as teens get into cars and drive away. Within in minutes, the siren is on, he is pulling over a teen and giving her something….is it a ticket? No, it’s a $20 gift certificate for wearing her seatbelt.

The same thing happens the next day. After 3 days, with no posters or brochures, the number of teens wearing their seatbelts has increased dramatically.

I loved this example…teens got to be winners and the only promotion they needed was word of mouth. I bet audience members will remember this story too!

Bullet Points are Alive and Well

I had hoped that at a national conference on health communications the bar would be higher for quality of presentations. Of the 8 presentations I have seen..only one presentor used his slides to compliment what he was saying. Most are using their slides to show their outlines.

Most presentations are 20 minutes long. Three-4 presentations are grouped into one themed session. The presentations are OK....nothining inspiring yet. You can influence and inspire in 20 minutes..just watch TEDtalks.

A few more thoughts
It's not enough to know your content. You need to present it in a way that inspires. Show examples!

Room set up matters: in some of the rooms the presentor is in the middle and slides are shown on two screens to the far left and right.

As a participant I feel like I am watching a tennis match...have to choose between looking at the presentor and looking at the slides.

Not convinced about Twitter

From Twitter Best Practice for Non Profits session by Sarah Marchetti (Ogilvy PR)

Top tip: if you want people to follow you, you have to provide them something of value.

Two of the three examples Sarah shared were related to emergency information. The Red Cross and the CDC both use Twitter in times of emergencies, to get credible information and updates out to many people, quickly. Both of these are good examples of using Twitter.

Other reasons to use Twitter
Educate
Call to Action
Instant focus group ( interesting idea)

My sister ( who is in private sector marketing) uses Twitter with her work team. When she is out meeting with a client, if she gets asked a question and doesn't know the answer...she tweets her co-workers..and gets an answer ( usually within minutes)

Within tobacco control we used Twitter when we are following a public hearing. I could also see using it during a policy campaign...another time when information changes quickly and it is important to keep a group of people up to date.

Conference participants are using Twitter to "converse" during this conference. For me, I think this would be distracting.

I can see using Twitter for specific reasons for limited period of time...but I wouldn't be able to follow it every day ( or post every day)

Blogging the CDC's Health Marketing Conference

Bill Novelli ( Porter Novelli, a nationally known socially marketing firm) gave the key note at the CDC National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media

Bill's three key areas for public health

1. Focus on Advocacy...It is through policy advocacy and regulatory advocacy ( meaning it's not enough to get laws passed we need to make sure they are enforced) that we can have the biggest impact on the public's health.

Currenly, public health professionals don't work on policy because (they think) it's irrelevant, inappropriate and even illegal. (sound familiar?)

Bill challenged the audience to consider an Advocacy Institute that would training public health professionals in the skills needed to be effective advocates ( and to teach citizens to advocate.)

The two public health victories he shared as examples were both from tobacco control: FDA regulation and increasing the tobacco tax.

2. Public Private Partnerships

We need to partner with the private sector. The private sector has financial resources and can reach audiences we are trying to reach.

What's in it for the private sector? Corporate social responsibility is becoming the way to do business. Being involved in social causes gives business credibitiy, helps them build trust with their audience, opens up potential new audiences, helps them attract new employees and retain current employees ( People want to be heros)

3. Leadership

We need leaders who influence and inspire. We need to build and support leaders within public health. We need leaders now. We will need leaders in the future.

Questions to think about

• What are we doing to develop public health leadership?
• Tobacco Control is often held up as a leader in public health..what are we doing to share what we have learned with the rest of public health?
  
• What about the idea of private sector partnerships? Do we have any examples of this?