“A Whole New Level” Interactive Workshop
Mike Lipkin

Mike Lipkin is President of Environics/Lipkin, the specialist Motivation and Persuasion Company in the Environics Research Group, one of Canada’s largest and most sophisticated research houses. He is a Toronto-based motivator, author and persuasion coach who has worked in twenty- two countries with over 200,000 people.

Mike was born in the UK, raised in South Africa and emigrated to Toronto in 1987. By combining Environics Social Values Research with his personal expertise and experience, he provides people with the confidence and insights to connect with others at the deepest level. You can read more about Mike on his website, www.mikelipkin.com

Within minutes of the workshop opening, it was clear to everyone in the room that this workshop would indeed be a “Whole New Level”! In his introductory remarks, Mike summarized the focus of the day- a discussion of trends transforming the workplace, actions that champions are taking, and what each of us needs to do in the environment of “the new normal”. Normal as we knew it “does not live here anymore”! Normal has been replaced by chaos and mess! Attendees were promised that by the end of the day each person would be 0.2% more effective.

Is such a small improvement worth the effort? Yes, because the improvements compound! Each of us can either enhance or erode our capacity each day- we can chose growth, or shrinkage. As we encounter challenges, each of us needs to ask ourselves, “How can I use this to take me to the next level?”

Mike noted that the people in the room were as stressed as any of his clients- with stress from events that often cannot be controlled. In this environment it can be difficult to stay focused and positive. Leaders run on the fuel called confidence- you need to reach in and “leverage” your confidence when you need it most. To amplify your effectiveness, you need to “Keep the Main Thing the Main thing”- stay focused on your goals, and apply your energy where it has the most impact. The ability to sustain a sense of humour is important. If you are happy and excited, you become clever- but if you take everything as life and death you will “die a lot- or early!”

Participants, when asked what they hoped to achieve for the day, responded with issues such as

Mike noted that there are generally three types of individuals/learners – Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. Visual learners rely more on what they can see, audiotory learners rely on listening, and kinesthetic learning rely on feelings. Leaders need to be in tune with these individual differences- for example, with a colleague who says “I can’t see where you are going with this”, you might try drawing a picture.
Participants were encouraged to dedicate a day to thinking about themselves, their lives, and their goals. You should know where you are going before you get in the car! You may discover that there is already something inside you that can relate to a range of generations- a component of “adaptive navigation”.

The human brain has a tendency to focus on the things that are wrong, because that is a survival instinct. We are easily “seduced by the dark side”. But we can chose to be a consequence of our decisions rather than our conditions. Mike recounted how, when given an opportunity to meet Nelson Mandella, he asked about his suffering during his 27 years in prison. Mr. Mandella responded “I didn’t suffer, I prepared”. Rather than focusing on the suffering of imprisonment, Mr. Mandella spent his time preparing to lead his country.

The Defining Traits of Champions

Welcome to the age of accountability- if not you, then who?

We are living in an age of accountability, an age of autonomy, an age of responsiveness. There is a new scorecard, and you must demonstrate the value you bring to the organization.

As pharmacists, we are trained in the belief of “Thou shalt not make a mistake”. Does the fear of mistakes pervade our thinking? Remember- if you can’t take risks you can’t control your destiny. Don’t focus on the negative consequences, or on what can go wrong. Instead, focus on what can be achieved! Often, our strengths are our weakness- and our desire to avoid mistakes may limit us.

Find the pattern in the chaos, confusion, anxiety and surprise

Participants were asked to define the mark of someone who is outstanding at helping others understand complex issues. The responses indicated that it is important both to truly understand the issue and to be capable of communicating it clearly. If you know what you are talking about, others will “get it” immediately!

Like Wayne Gretsky, “skating to where the puck will be”, we need to find the pattern in the chaos, and we need to share this knowledge with those we work with. Often, an individual’s greatest fears are of uncertainty, and of looking stupid. Leaders need to help their people understand the patterns and see how the dots connect.

Be Brutally Optimistic

Compared to the past decade, which might be thought of as “spring and summer” the next decade will be “fall and winter” The mood in the country is serious, and the population expects diminishing resources and increased stress. Pessimists abound, and cynicism is easy.
To thrive in this environment, champions must be brutally optimistic. Simple optimism may not be enough- leaders need the kind of optimism that can survive setbacks and long periods of disappointment.

Too many of us suffer from “achievement amnesia”. Participants were encouraged to recall a recent achievement they were extraordinarily proud of. We were reminded that at some point, someone probably looked at each of us and saw more than we saw in ourselves. We need to do this for others- but also occasionally for ourselves.

Practise Control of Destiny Conditioning

Mike described a personal approach to gaining inner strength and motivation. Imagine yourself in a time and place when things went well- by imagining it, you can reclaim that feeling. Similarly, destiny conditioning involves anticipating and visualizing things happening the way you want them to.

Know precisely what you want

Participants were asked to describe important personal and professional goals they would like to achieve within the next 12 months. Responses included completion of an automation project, an audit of clinical sectors, an IT project, recruitment of pharmacists, and losing 8 lbs ( the last providing clear evidence of the statement that one person’s worst nightmare is someone else’s fantasy!)

If you can’t articulate it, it is difficult to achieve it. The first step is to articulate your goal, then visualize what you want to achieve as having occurred. Luck is the outcome of knowing what you want and believing you can achieve it.

Know precisely what you give to others

Think about the one thing you believe you do extraordinarily well. What is your special gift? What is your “Picasso”, the thing that makes you an artist?

Live your Code of Conduct

Mike shared his own personal values and code of conduct with the group. This included

Each participant was asked to consider their own personal values (taking honesty and integrity as a given).

Catalyze Others’ Control of Destiny

A person is a person because of other people. If we must eat from spoons twice as long as our arms, we must feed each other.

Celebrate the Struggle: no self-pity parties

It is when the game turns against you that you get to show how good you are. Remember- our worst nightmare is someone else’s fantasy. Keep the lantern burning brightly, especially in dark times.

Be spontaneous

Be yourself- all others are taken! Three principles of “improv” were reviewed:

The Social Supertrends

Participants were introduced to five social supertrends, based on Environics Research.

Supertrend #1- Apocalyptic Anxiety

Every two months, each of us can expect to experience a significant personal upheaval. We are living in the “mess-age”. Remember, you are never given any problem you can’t handle, and every heartache carries within it the seeds of an equivalent or greater personal benefit.

Supertrend #2 Aversion to Uncertainty and Complexity

There has been a significant rise in the number of Canadians who report an aversion to complexity, while at the same time the number of people reporting a feeling of adaptability to complexity has dropped. We are living with a new form of apartheid- not the “haves” and “have nots” but the “can” and “can nots” . Based on Environics research, 80% of the population is relying on 20% of the population to make things happen!

Leaders must have the quality of confluence- what you say and how you say it must agree. Confidence is key- you need the ability to show you are in control even when you are scared to death.

Supertrend #3- From Individualism and Idealism to Conformity and Exclusion

As of 2002, three quarters of Canadians feel they are not in control of their destiny. They feel overwhelmed. In these circumstances, we must be cautious of the natural human tendency to “flock”- to hide within a group and become invisible.

Another human tendency is attraction to negativity, and leaders must stand guard against this.

Supertrend #4- From Duty and Obligation to Hedonism and Happiness

There is a need for escape from uncertainty, a need for a break from the problems. Between 1996 and 2002 the percentage of Canadians expressing a strong commitment to duty obligations and tradition dropped from 45% to 25%. In these circumstances, it is important for individuals to have something to look forward to- “something pending”.
Leaders will “become a walking source of pleasure” and use positive language (“fascinated” not “frustrated”).

Supertrend #5- From Personal development to Personal Survival

Environics research reports that the percentage of Canadians who reported focusing on their own personal development dropped by over 50%, from 39% to 18%, between 1996 and 2002. Many people lack the energy to invest in themselves, and are simply surviving.

Leaders must engage, or atrophy. You should discover and develop your “Picasso”, look for opportunities to support others, and stay focused on your goals.

Group Activity

In the next phase of the workshop, participants were asked to work in groups using the Target model provided in the workshop material. Using each table as a team, participants were asked to identify three outcomes. Using outcomes believed to be achievable, the teams moved on to discuss the purpose (why?) strategies, and specific actions to receive the strategies. The results of the discussions were then summarized in 3-5 minutes presentations from each table.

The Turbo Schmoozers!

The desired outcomes identified by the Turbo Schmoozers were

The shared purposes for these outcomes were

Strategies identified included

Actions

Measures

“The Bar Codes”

The desired outcome identified by the Bar Codes was the implementation of a Point of Care Bar Code System.

Multiple purposes were identified: reduction of medication errors, utilization of nursing staff time, timely access to patient clinical information, reduced liability and risk and cost effectiveness.

Actions to be taken included identification of key individuals, seeking buy-in of stakeholders, developing a communications strategy, documenting and prioritizing gaps, developing a plan with priorities and timelines, developing a budget and conducting a pilot project. Measures of success would include the number of errors avoided and the actual time measurements.

“Drugs and Hugs”

Larry Broadfield’s entertaining old-style teacher approach provided an added element of fun and enthusiasm to the presentation of the Drugs and Hugs group! The selected outcome was the expansion of clinical pharmacy services.

The reasons or purposes of this outcome were:

Identified strategies included

Actions included development of a business plan, marketing, seeking approval and developing an implementation plan. Measures of success included the creation and filling of positions, measurement of workload and satisfaction, long term follow up, publication and expansion to new areas.

The end, of course, will be SUCCESS!!

The “Controllers of Destiny”

The desired outcome defined by the Controllers of Destiny was the reduction of staff turnover. The purposes identified included

The strategies to be used were to gain administrative commitment, work with the Human Resources department to determine why staff are leaving, and introduce retention strategies. Benchmarking to identify best practices would be conducted. Specific actions included conducting exit interviews, meeting with staff focus groups, and over-hiring.

Measures of success for this initiative were the annual turnover rate and the level of employee satisfaction reported by survey.

The “Lipkinites”

The Lipkinites confronted their fear of appearing stupid by beginning their presentation with a song. Their desired outcome, to maximize retention of staff, was indicative of the high level of brutal optimism pervading their group.

The purpose was to achieve improved patient outcomes and to maintain the quality of life of workers. In this way, they would be accountable to their patients- celebrating the struggle along the way.

The Lipkinite’s strategies included identifying expectations, finding innovative ways to recognize staff, discovering the magic and being spontaneous. Specific actions included a performance development plan and a professional development program, controlling the destinies of others, and, of course, “living the code of conduct”!

Measures of success would include the actual staff vacancy rate and a staff satisfaction survey.

The “Finely Tuned Professionals”

The Finely Tuned Professionals had identified three outcome areas- Improving Medication Safety, Staffing all pharmacist positions, and Ensuring Appropriate Drug Utilization. Since two of these topics had already been covered, the presentations focused on the outcome of ensuring appropriate drug utilization. The purpose was to treat patients appropriately, and to meet societal responsibilities to spend public money wisely.

Strategies for achieving the outcome included establishment of protocols for ratonal drug use and enhancement of pharmaceutical care. Specific actions included hiring a drug utilization pharmacist and developing protocols for specific drugs. Examples of measures were the actual drug costs and percentage of utilization of target drugs meeting predefined criteria.

Group Activity Summary

Participants were complimented on the quality of their presentations, and the “Drugs and Hugs” group was declared the winners in the “best presentation” contest. Each group member was presented with a complimentary copy of Mike Lipkin’s CD, “Luck Favours the Brave.” (book and CD available at www.mikelipkin.com)

Participants were also provided with a copy of Mike Lipkin’s book, “Your Personal Best” which provides information on the Twelve Personal Best Practices to Help you Live at Your Highest Level: