Change the Buzz ™

Change the Buzz ™ is a progressive training process for converting life changing insights into life long habits.  The effectiveness of short term training is limited by our capacity to keep ideas “Buzzing” long enough to overcome the keep Short term training can be very effective for creating new mindsets.  It was created because the  ideas I wanted to share cannot be conveyed in an hour, day, weeks or even years.  We Through the use of engaging articles, video and Change the Buzz™ illustrations awareness is gently cultivated.

Buzz is the sound of energy.  You can hear it crackling both power lines and meeting rooms.  It is the sound of animated conversations and the feeling of engaged organizations.  Buzz is the infinitely correlated energy that communicates even the slightest thought to every cell in our bodies.  The Buzz we feel at our core is the most accurate reflection of how we think.

 Change the Buzz™ is not another “To Do” list to add to your already overdue schedule but a gradual process of unlearning unconscious habits of thought that rob us of the energy, enthusiasm, creativity and resilience we all knew as children.  We have all been the people we want to be.  The secret then is not one of learning something new but rediscovering that which has always been.  Within each of us is the unique perfection found in Michael Angelo’s David.  When asked how was able to carve such beauty out of a simple stone he replied. I did not carve David out of the marble; I removed that which was not him.   Peer Powered Performance™ provides tools, insights, resources and real life examples to reveal that best that is in each of us.  It is a process of getting out of our own way.  It is learning that we are not, as many believe, a reflection of the world, but that our world is a reflection of us.

The journey is different for each of us.  For some the most direct path is through becoming more aware of organizational or institutional dysfunction.  For others the path may be more personal and introspective.  Wherever you are the path you choose is absolutely perfect as is every moment.  Resisting what is, resenting what was or worrying about what will be is all a waste of now.  Some will benefit most from business profiles gleaned from world recognized leaders others may prefer the latest discoveries in neuroscience and psychology while still others will benefit from the secularized spiritual principles that remind us that we are all inevitably, irreversibly connected.

The Bee characters were created first and foremost because they are fun.  For almost twenty years a large part of my living has been earned as an “educational humorist”.  Through humor and story I share life-changing-lessons wrapped in a package of side-splitting laughter.  But I always struggled with keep the conversations going after the lights have faded and laughter died.  Through the amazing gifts of our resident artist Shon Watkins we have been able to convert complex ideas into engaging illustrations.  These entertaining “toons” soon grow to provide reminders of the core principles shared.

Organizations who engage the Change the Buzz™ system choose from an endless range of symbolic reminders to continually re-engage and reinforce a culture of support, recognition, encouragement and accountability.  These humorous illustrations also serve to discourage organizationally and individually destructive behaviors by affirming shared values.  The mere presence of “Drama Bees”, like the one on the left, reminds us to be conscious of how our stories create stress encouraging us to be aware of not only how we talk to others, but how we talk to ourselves.     Illustrations are used as talking points and in caption contests to reveal the true pulse of an organization.  What if your team were to, without fear of retribution, write a caption for the “Zom-Bee” on the right?  What would they say?  Who would the Zom-Bees represent?  What if you asked when do you feel like this at work?  Are there members of your team that this poster reminds you of?  How much could you learn from these simple conversations?

Now think, how does your organization currently engage people in this kind of open and revealing dialogue?  The truth is most that most groups don’t have these kinds of meaning-full conversations.  Catastrophizers (drama kings and queens) and Zom-Bees are allowed to spread their dis-ease simply because there is no peer-pull to be otherwise.

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The other key point of these illustrations is that they don’t tell a message, they allow each person to discover their own message.  This a key skill possessed by all great leaders.  Inspiring leaders and compassionate teachers all seem to have one common goal.  When a project is complete, a new plan, skill or idea accepted they want people to feel like they did it themselves.    People dislike being told but they enjoy being given the opportunity to discover.  When being interviewed for a speaking, training or consulting role I am often asked “What are you going to tell them?”  My response is always If I was just going to tell you wouldn’t need me.  Telling is easy, direct and more often than not ineffectual.  What we want is for people to identify with a story is such a way that it resonates with their story and in that discovery they learn something from themselves about themselves.  Everything else you can put in a manual.