I would like to thank our web guys who helped clean it up and monitored it daily to ensure it stayed clean. In fact the malware returned after two days. Shujaat and his guys at Frizcon were very responsive to our needs.

Take 5 minutes to reflect

There are times when publishing inspirational ”feel good” videos or quotes are useful. We all need to feel good once in a while.  It occurs to me that we don’t take time – even a little bit – to reflect on things.  This includes being grateful but it also includes pondering the mysteries of life.  For many years now, when I am asked to explain what kind of coaching I practice, I often begin by saying that I am a “reflective coach”.  By that I mean, I help create a space in time for my clients to take that precious time, to think, to strategize, to reflect about what is important to them and their organization.

Methods for Reflection and Tranquility

I don’t mediate but have always thought this to be a useful activity.  Journalling has not come easily to me either.  Yoga has been a way for me to tap into my inner self and quiet down.  I have been negligent over the past few years and I believe that it has shown up quite vigorously in my lack of patience.  So I look for other ways to reflect.   Often I come across something in my journeys through the internet and social networks that encourage me to take a few minutes to reflect.  I hope to share some of them with you.

Take 5 minutes for this:

Here is Parker Palmer on talking about the mystery of the Soul in 4 minutes. Palmer is is an author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He runs the Center for Courage & Renewal.

“The Soul is also very shy.”

My Distinction between Inspiration and Reflection

Inspiration is in the present.  It gives us a sense of uplifting and optimism. It may illicit a feeling of “I feel good” or “I should”.  If we are lucky, we will go to the next level and say “I will”.  It is emotion – sometimes with context sometimes more etherial.

Reflection while appearing to be in the present is actually more future oriented.  Reflection raises questions in our minds: “I wonder” or “What if?”.  It integrates our thinking and emotions. It grounds us and gets us in touch with our values. It gives meaning and focus to the passion.  Consequently it is more likely to create action than inspiration.

The first time you find out that someone else has YOUR name you are devastated.  For most of us this happens at quite a young age. . . for me I was around 8 or even 10 before I discovered that anyone had the same name as me. To be honest I am not sure that I have ever got over it.  I have remained very protective of my name; it is my brand afterall.  So I track how it shows up on the internet through Google Alerts. (BE sure to watch the video at the bottom of the post.)

Roberta Hill Whiteman, a Native American writer always seems to “beat me” on the google searches, coming up number often 6 out of the top 10 on google. There is also another “Canadian” Roberta Hill who is a real estate agent in British Columbia. She owns the .ca domain that I didn’t purchase because I thought nobody would want it. Recently, we have all been competing on the google searches with an elderly Roberta Hill who has gained some notoriety for her appearance in a small documentary, Cinemaniacs, about five people in New York who are simply obsessed with movies. She has supposedly seen 1000 movies a year for over 20 years, although she’s been banned from some theaters. Here is the trailer:

I am writing this today because “another Roberta Hill” located Maine that I have come across before was a reminder that I wanted to write about how my name has been used lately as a “pen name”.

I have been annoyed for sometime now because a “bogus” Roberta Hill has shown up on EzineArticles listed as follows: “Roberta Hill is an expert on the subject of constipation remedies, and offers tips and advice on the subject on her site constipation cures.”

Who wants to be associated with constipation? Don’t laugh too hard! Maybe I am being silly but my name is my brand even if a couple of other people legitimately have it too. Right now I feel that someone is trying to claim to be me. Another colleague mentioned that is why she always uses her middle initial – which by the way I did for years until I began using www.RobertaHill.com

While there are obviously good reasons on using pen names in some instances, it seems that there are very few restrictions. The person writing for EzineArticles appears to come from India and listed as an expert on the subject of constipation remedies, Tooth Crowns and Dental Cleaning and care. I have requested that it be stated on their site that this person is using a pseudonym but I have not heard back.  I would very much appreciate your comments on whether or not you think that I am being overly sensitive.

Finally, in case the title of this post rings a faint bell, the line is from “To Tell The Truth” a popular television show that ran from 1956 to 1968.  Each contestant claimed to be the same person and panelists had to guess which one was telling the truth. The phony claimants could lie but the actual person had “to tell the truth” when questioned. At the conclusion of the show, the host would say, “would the real ________ please stand up.”

I know that I really shouldn’t take myself so seriously, so please enjoy this video . . . 

Side note:  In the sixties there was a show called “What’s My Line?” First episode was in 1950 and it ran until 1967. (You must check out some of the You Tube videos.)

I never felt anxious or fearful walking alone at night in the city.  I have been known to hitchhike in the city during a transit strike. Canada has always been a “safe” place and here in Switzerland one gets the same feeling that it is OK that our kids can play outside around the neighbourhood.  I had the privilege of always feeling personally safe.

This is simply not the case for many people around the world and perhaps even someone you know living next door.  Domestic violence, sexual abuse, slavery, political torture and ethic genocide are all closer than we may realize.  Fear is an amazing tactic to keep us silent.  I don’t think I fully grasped the significance of this until I was recently reminded of something. 

Have you ever been harassed via email? I have. It was back in 2003.  Something of mine had been published online out of context and I sent a private email to ask that a correction be made.  This resulted in a series of bullying emails that were scary due to the craziness and menacing style. I disengaged and began to step back from my online presence.  The author of these emails had a large database and I was afraid of what he might do to my reputation.  For the first time in my life I was fearful and acted like a victim.  Life goes on and the feelings receded in my mind.  

This very same person has recently requested to connect with me through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It is as though we are colleagues with some sort of good relationship. I simply ignored them.  I was very surprised to find these old feelings of anger (fear) surface a few days ago when this person began sending replies to ask me why I hadn’t followed back on Twitter.  The person was suspended later that day and then opened up another account.

Sure I could have just blocked the identity but this could go on forever.  I then got thinking about all these other “crazies” out there who might follow me or even if they didn’t a search is easy enough to do and find my tweets and read them anyway.  I could be retweeted out of context AGAIN.  

Stay cool, don’t let someone (or something) rent space in your head. (Robert Bacal)

The post mentioned below had been circulating in my mind since I had read it a few months back. So I decided to re-evaluate my strategy for social networks – specifically Twitter and decided to remove myself from the public timeline. I still maintain a strong online presence and will continue to do so but I decided that I had the right to be in control of who could or couldn’t pester me.  I have no need to be famous. 

Which brings me back to the point I wish to make about personal safety and change . . . I have a new found respect for anyone in the pubic eye – regardless of the reason or how I may feel about them.   It is easy for us to remain silent, feeling safe and secure knowing that no one can point at us directly.   German anti-Nazi activist, Pastor Martin Niemöller (in his often misquoted speech that I too have misquoted) gave us the best reason not to remain silent.  ”Then they came for me - and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

If one is sane, to stand up to opposition and be counted takes a tremendous amount of courage. So it seems to me that courage is a precursor for change.  And I know that this is scary.  Change always comes at a cost or a loss.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  AND it is worth it. 

I suppose too, that when someone asks what “I do” or “we do” at 1-Focus International, our response is pretty consistent.  We say that we help create and hold a “safe space” for people to do their work and thereby the group or team can co-develop their shared vision of the future and begin the process of sustainable change.  And as coaches we do the same.  We my ask powerful questions but first we establish the safety to explore ideas or places that are unfamiliar. 

While not about harassment on Twitter, this is a must read: Why my Twitter updates are protected by Melanie McBride.

Here is a short video on Famous Failures – it is a little American and male centric but always good to remind ourselves that failure is an important part of life and growth. Sure all these people are well known today but when they were given negative feedback, it didn’t stop them. Will you let setbacks stop you?

Enjoy.

The National Crime Prevention Council has a program on Cyberbullying. Why is this relevant to businesses and organizations? Where do you think bullies learn to be bullies?  First the playground and then they graduate as teens to cyberbullying and that is one step away from workplace bullying.

In today’s Diversity Executive, Deanna Hartley reports that an estimated 54 million individuals in the United States — or 37 percent of American workers — have been bullied in the workplace at some point in their lives, according to research by the Workplace Bullying Institute.  The article’s title suggests that the costs to employees would be clear but there are not statistics.  However, I checked directly with the Institute and the numbers are clear.

The link between bullying (mobbing) to PTSD  is very clear.  And According to the 2007 WBI-Zogby Survey, 45% of targeted individuals suffer stress-related health problems.

We can no longer tolerate bullying in our schools, our homes or our workplaces.

==================================

Date: Monday, January 26th, 2009
Time: 2pm Pacific/5pm Eastern
What: Get in the Game with LinkedIn,
        An Interview with Roberta Hill, MCC

        of 1-Focus.com

Register:
http://readytoevolve.com/membership/roberta.htm

==================================

So, do you know how Kim and I met?  On Twitter of all places.  I had seen postings of hers on a Discussion Forum where we were both members and I decided to follow” her on Twitter.  All of this brings me to discuss: Why Social Media Is Worth Anyone’s Time – including mainstream executives and leaders.

A year ago, BusinessWeek updated and republished there article from May of 2005, Social Media Will Change Your Business and you ain’t seen ‘nothin’ yet.  This month Steve McKee wrote: Why Social Media Is Worth Small Business Owners’ Time.  He argues that the biggest reason to use social media is that it is free.  This may be helpful for small businesses on a budget but it should not be the primary motivator.

“Because what is louder than a shout? A whisper. Social media is a way to get next to your customer and speak only with them. Whispering is intimate. It’s done up close. And it’s closely related to listening.”  Valeria Maltoni

The above is a great quote from her blog post on Convesation Agent.  And here is why everyone from the individual member of society to the Member of the Board in the Executive Suite needs to know about Social Media . . . it is all about communications.  And communications is all about Trust.  And this brings me full circle to the blog article The Power of LinkedIn and The Speed of Trust by Paul Allen.  Here he draws parallels to Stephen M. R. Covey’s best-selling book in 2006 called The SPEED of Trust.

I am not going to list all the things you SHOULD be doing if you choose to use the various internet social networks. There are enough articles out there to keep you reading for a week.  What I do want to point out to leaders is that this is a tool that will help you listen and if you so choose understand what engages people.  More on communications and leaders in future posts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To stress the fact that Social Networks and Media are forces to be addressed the following came across my desk as I write this:

How Many Millions are in Your Network?

- so starts the Executive Book Alert from Soundview Executive Book Summaries. This is a quick review of a new book 33 Million People in the Room:  How to Create,

Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by  Juliette Powell.  Here is one point that I allude to above that is well worth mentioning:

Powell devotes some page space to the internal uses of social networking, as well. This is an often-overlooked area of this technology. Executives would do well to pay extra attention to this chapter, as it may help them increase communication between various levels in their organization.

A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

I want to recruit you to my lending team, Sustaining Change, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

If you join my lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you’re a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva “count” towards our team’s impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you – but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team’s collective portfolio, so our team’s overall impact will grow!

Check out the Sustaining Change lending team, and learn more about lending teams on Kiva in general.

Thank you,

We hope you take the 16 minutes to sit back and enjoy this video and message:

“Validation” is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer – Kurt Kuenne. Winner of numerous Int’l Film Festival awards.

We believe that when one is working from a clear vision, mission and values, whether as an individual or organization, not only do you have a flexible roadmap to use for your tough decisions, but you are also operating in alignment with your core being – positively impacting the world and people around you. Continuous learning, growth and change seem to happen organically, creating thriving systems.

Here is our small video of the two of us to you and yours – however you may choose to celebrate.

Frieden, Paix, Shalom, Salam, Shanti, Hoa Binh,

This video (which I love because it has various languages in captions), and their website mark the launch of an inspiring global endeavor to celebrate compassion and to promote a new collaboration between the world’s religions. What they are doing is to begin writing the Charter for Compassion that Karen Armstrong called for earlier this year when she made her TED Prize wish.

The goal is to obtain all input from global participants within the next four weeks, select the best contributions with the help of a council of religious “sages”, and conduct a major launch of the finished document in 2009. This Charter is being created in a collaborative project by people from all over the world. It will be completed in 2009. You may use this site to offer language you’d like to see included. Or inspire others by sharing your own story of compassion.

The collection of stories is naturally rather eclectic but represents our thoughts and the ideas of others in what it takes to create truly meaningful, healthy and holistic change . . . that is sustainable and evolutionary over time. I was particularly moved by the story of Samia Shoaib.

This post is a follow-up to one a couple of days ago about Frankl’s “Search for Meaning”. At 1-Focus we stress the need for Shared Vision which I see as a combination of man’s desire for purpose according to Frankl and the collaborative process of Armstrong. It is also in the stories that not only do we find our voice but we really can change the conversation and create a “new world identity”.

At TED2008 in March of this year, TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong was granted a wish to change the world. I encourage you to take the time to download this to your iTunes or computer and watch it all (22 minutes). This is her call to action:

“I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.”