Design

Ideas and best practice discussions about visual design and instructional design strategies.

The Audience Arc: A Balancing Act for Success

/ Susan Hendrich / Leave a comment

Master the balancing act of needs using the Audience Arc

In today’s dynamic business landscape, navigating an “audience arc” is crucial for driving high-impact initiatives. This arc applies to any scenario where you need to engage different levels of your organization. Regardless of your situation, there are three core entities to consider as your craft solutions for your customers:

  • The Enterprise: The overarching goals and vision of the organization.
  • The Team: The collective effort and expertise of your department or project group.
  • The Individuals: The unique perspectives and motivations of each person involved.

Now, here’s a powerful framework that can elevate your success:

The Balancing Act: Decisiveness with Context Meets Collaboration for Innovation

Part 1: Decisiveness/Smart Risk-Taking vs. Organizational Navigation/Collaboration

Effective leadership requires a delicate balance. On one hand, you need to be decisive and willing to take calculated risks. However, it’s equally important to navigate the organizational landscape effectively. Collaborative decision-making that considers various viewpoints can lead to stronger results and increased buy-in.

Part 2: Honoring the Past While Embracing the Future

Balancing Tradition with Innovation:

  • Past: Respect What’s Been Done Before: Building on past successes and learning from previous experiences is crucial. Ask yourself, “Has someone already tackled this challenge? Can we leverage their efforts?”
  • Future: Embrace Innovation and Learning: Don’t be afraid to break new ground and experiment. Every situation presents opportunities to learn and push the boundaries.

Conclusion: Mastering the Audience Arc

By understanding the audience arc, consistently creating delicate balance between decisiveness and collaboration, tradition and innovation, you can navigate your way to success in any situation. Winning strategies require considering all three entities – the enterprise, the team, and the individuals. Remember, it’s all about finding the sweet spot between calculated risks and well-coordinated execution. So go forth, analyze, diagnose, plan, and lead your team to high-impact success!

Get Your Personal Brand On: Communicate Your Unique Value in 8 words or less

/ Susan Hendrich / 1 Comment

Every day is a new chance to “ride the elevator” with someone who can change your life by opening a door to your next career opportunity. Are you ready for those few seconds? Do you have your personal brand defined? Can you deliver it in a single statement—-using 8 words or less?

If you yearn for that breakthrough moment that propels you toward your dreams, here is a simple act you can take: Imagine having a laser-focused personal branding message that not only captivates attention but compels action. Can you see yourself confidently sharing your passion, purpose, and value, leaving a lasting impact on anyone you meet? That’s the magic of a well-crafted Personal Brand Story.

To craft an effective personal brand story, follow these steps:

  1. Discover and Reflect: Name your strengths, values, skills, passions, and key experiences. Consider what makes you unique and what you’re truly passionate about. Reflect on your accomplishments and the impact you want to have. Answer questions like:
    • What do I excel at? What are my strengths?
    • What are my core values and beliefs?
    • What am I most passionate about in my work or life?
    • What problems can I solve or needs can I fulfill?
    • How have my experiences shaped who I am today?
  2. Define Your Value Proposition: Based on your self-reflection, identify the unique value you bring to the table. Consider how your strengths, skills, and passions align with the needs of your target audience. Your value proposition should succinctly answer questions like:
    • How can I contribute positively?
    • What benefits do I provide to others?
    • What sets me apart from others in my field?
  3. Craft your Statement: Now, it’s time to put it all together into a concise, high-impact statement. Your personal brand statement should be clear, authentic, and memorable. Here’s a formula to guide you:
    • Adjective + Noun + Action + Impact: Use an adjective to describe yourself, followed by a noun that represents your expertise or field. Then, add an action verb that highlights what you do, and finally, convey the impact or benefit you create.
    • Here are some examples:
      • Dynamic Marketing Strategist igniting brands for explosive growth
      • Expert Storytelling Coach unlocking confidence through onstage magic
      • Innovative Training Leader driving a high-impact learning culture
      • Creative Graphic Designer visualizing your best branding
  4. Edit and Refine: Write down multiple versions of your personal brand statement and refine them. Keep it concise, ideally in one sentence. Even better if you can get it to just a phrase or three words. Test it out on friends, mentors, or colleagues to gather feedback. Here’s mine:
    • Light Shiner: Building leaders by illuminating strengths
  5. Align with Authenticity: Your personal brand statement should authentically represent you and what you stand for. Make sure it resonates with who you are and how you want to be perceived.
  6. Adapt for Different Contexts: Tailor your personal brand statement for different situations. You might have a slightly different version for your LinkedIn profile, resume, elevator pitch, or networking events.
  7. Regularly Review and Update: As you grow and evolve, your personal brand statement may need adjustments. Regularly revisit and update it to ensure it remains aligned with your journey and aspirations.

Remember, your personal brand statement is a dynamic representation of your identity, strengths, and aspirations. It should communicate your unique value and leave a lasting impression on those who encounter it.

So, what’s it gonna be? Get your Brand On!

The Spaces Between: Taking time for your personal development

/ Susan Hendrich / 2 Comments

What if you spent 30 minutes on your personal development every day? Reading. Blogging. Journaling. Drawing. Imagining. Networking. Planning your future. A half hour. Every. Single. Day.

A friend recently told me that in a “How to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile” seminar, she learned that we should spend a certain amount of time each day focused on our personal and professional development. Each day? Wow, that sounded like a lot. I mean seriously, how many meaningful moments do you average each day, working on developing your strengths? Or your resume? Or your network?  Pffft, my answer to the question wasn’t all that great, so I decided to try out the concept.

sharedspacephoto

For one month, I’ve spent 30 minutes each day with focused attention on my personal development. Reading, writing, sharing, listening, and absorbing myself in energy focused on my growth as a professional and as a person. The results are predictably exciting and positive, but not for the reasons I’d expected.

Of course I learned a lot through tuning in to authors and speakers and mentors and idea-makers. But it wasn’t those active learning moments that made the biggest difference. It was the spaces bewteen that yielded a refreshing and unexpected rush of creativity, clarity and focus.

I believe that investing in your personal and professional growth is an iterative process best achieved through small, meaningful steps over time. Just like a great athlete or musician or speaker, it takes sustained and consistent effort to build the muscle memory needed to become fluent in any worthy pursuit. Intentional practice in directional increments is often said to be the secret to reaching a development goal. But I believe that in between those efforts of intention, the silent “pauses” are just as important. A pause can be a time of silent introspection or just a rest from the norm of day-to-day goal pursuit.

The pause is for me is about allowing thoughtful spaces between my rushed and hurried emails, calls, and meetings. It’s about protecting and valuing those spaces, rather than rushing to fill them with urgent-but-not-important matters…Allowing those spaces to be dedicated to developing my strengths and focusing on where I want to be, not just where I am.

English musician Gordon Sumner, better known as The Police’s Sting, once said,

“Paradoxically, I’m coming to believe in the importance of silence in music. The power of silence after a phrase of music for example; the dramatic silence after the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, or the space between the notes of a Miles Davis solo. There is something very specific about a rest in music. You take your foot off the pedal and pay attention. I’m wondering whether, as musicians, the most important thing we do is merely to provide a frame for silence. I’m wondering if silence itself is perhaps the mystery at the heart of music? And is silence the most perfect music of all?”

What are you doing with the “spaces between” in your life?

Harmony Photo Challenge

/ Susan Hendrich / Leave a comment

Ever feel like the world is falling apart at the hands of hate? Need a ray of hope? Want to make a difference, but not sure what to do? Try the HARMONY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Try these 3 simple steps to make the world a little bit better:

  • Step 1: Take a photograph of people being good to each other
  • Step 2: Post your photo to Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, or anywhere that could use some positivity
  • Step 3: Tag your photo with #harmonyphotochallenge

Let’s build a huge pile of positivity!

IMG_6453

Example: In this example you can see Holocaust survivors Dorothy Finger and Morris “Freschie” Freschman chatting about the power of forgiveness. ‪#‎harmonyphotochallenge

Thank you for visiting!

Susan E. Hendrich

http://www.sashaphilosophy.com

 

Solve a real problem – digital trendspotting for the rest of us

/ Susan Hendrich / Leave a comment

hand_light

How many new digital trends and tools have you heard about in recent years?

QR codes. Virtual Reality. Google Glass. Geotagging. Alexa. OneNote. SnapChat. GoPro. Instagram. Twitter. Periscope. Home drones. Storyline. PhotoMyne. The mix of new innovations can be dizzying.

So many possibilites bubble up in the cauldron of innovative possibilities…how are we to know which innovations to follow, and which ones to let drift on by?

Here’s an example of a tech trend question we’ve all asked ourselves:

“Should I sign up for ________ (insert popular trend of the day, like Periscope, Twitter, Facebook Messenger), or should I stay with ________ (insert your current way of living)?”

In the latest Harvard Business Review technology post, “How to Know Which Digital Trends Are Worth Chasing,” Robert Haslehurst, Chris Randall, Jon Weber, and Charlie Sullivan break down 3 simple ways recognize a true digital differentiator when you see it.  You can read more in the full article about how a real innovation is one that:

  1. Eliminates customer pain points
  2. Elevates customer service
  3. Creates a differentiated, personalized customer experience

All three of these methods are about solving a real problem for other people. So, as you prepare to check out the article, I challenge to you think about a problem that you experienced. It could be a minor annoyance like an extra step in a bureaucratic process or a major pain point in your daily life.

Now, imagine what would it be like if someone came up with a solution for your problem?  It would feel like magic, right?

That’s the power of innovation – the welcomed relief or joy that comes when someone removes a barrier to your living a peaceful, prosperous and happy life.

Now, go check out the HBR article so you can be a real trendspotter and help bring the next great eWidget to the rest of us.

Source: How to Know Which Digital Trends Are Worth Chasing