Post on 10-Jan-2022
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................................................2
Overview And Objectives ..........................................................................................................3
Potential Uses For This Package And Audience Options ......................................................4
Program Synopsis ................................................................................................................. 5-6
A Note From the Program Writer/Director ..............................................................................7
USING THE PROGRAM:
Initial Discussion Questions .....................................................................................................8
Initial Small Group Exercises:
“We Can Relate To That” ..................................................................................................8
“Beyond the Book and DVD” ............................................................................................9
Applying the Seven Key Questions ........................................................................................10
PARTICIPANT WORKSHEET - Applying the Seven Key Questions ................................ 11-12
PARTICIPANT WORKSHEET - Applying the Seven Key Questions to Old Sayings
and Clichés ............................................................................13
PARTICIPANT WORKSHEET - Learning Leadership from Role Models ...............................14
PARTICIPANT WORKSHEET - “Rewriting” an Old Idea From A New Viewpoint..................15
FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES:
“Been There. Heard That” ..............................................................................................16
“Words To REMEMBER” ................................................................................................17
“What Would It Look Like If” ...........................................................................................18
“The Power of Forgetting” ..............................................................................................18
About the Authors ...................................................................................................................19
© 1998 corVision Media © 1998 Performance Systems Corporation
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
INTRODUCTION
Since 1997, The WALK THE TALK® Company has been privileged to work with nearly one
thousand organizations worldwide, to help them develop and maintain values-based people
practices. During this time, we’ve learned firsthand how organizations work, how people
interact, and how all of us are constantly challenged by what we call “the human condition.”
Through our work, we’ve discovered that each of us tends to carry a certain amount of excess mental
baggage that weighs us down…and holds us back. Our loads include everything from once valid
beliefs and practices that have outlived their usefulness and applicability—to misinformation and
misconceptions we’ve accepted (and even embraced) without much examination or thought.
Why care about this “baggage”? Because it negatively impacts us, the people we work with, the
environments we work in, and—most importantly—the results we get. Simply stated, whatever we
accept and believe determines how we behave…and how we behave determines what we achieve.
The good news is that none of us need be stuck with flawed, outdated, and counterproductive beliefs
and practices forever. They can be abandoned...we can “forget” them. To do that we must examine
what we believe, challenge how we think and what we accept, and—as appropriate—adjust the way
we behave.
That’s why we wrote FORGET FOR SUCCESS. That’s what we hope you take away from
this program.
Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
OVERVIEW
This package contains the following components:
• The FORGET FOR SUCCESS DVD (22 minutes)
• This Leader’s Guide which contains reproducible worksheets for individual and/or
group training
• One copy of the handbook FORGET FOR SUCCESS
PROGRAM: A number of the commonly held beliefs and behaviors discussed in the handbook
have been dramatized in a story line involving a typical supervisor, middle manager
and their co-workers. Throughout, author Eric Harvey comments on the ineffective
beliefs and behaviors, suggesting alternatives which are explored and presented.
LEADER’S This guide has been prepared for integrated use with the program and handbook
GUIDE: It provides sample worksheets for the application of seven questions presented
in both the book and program to any given belief or behavior viewers may wish
to examine.
HANDBOOK: FORGET FOR SUCCESS contains detailed examinations of twenty-two commonly
held ideas and practices, each of which is questioned and positive alternatives
suggested. It also contains brief analysis of many common but questionably
effective phrases and words, and the seven questions readers can apply to phrases
of their own.
Although the DVD or the handbook could be used as stand alone tools to raise consciousness and
stimulate discussion on the issues, the most effective use of the package is as an integrated program.
OBJECTIVES: • To stimulate evaluation and discussion of clichéd ideas and outdated principles that
organizations may be consciously or unconsciously following
• To suggest effective alternatives to such ideas
• To provide skills for evaluating any operating idea or principle, and test its relevance in an
organizational structure
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
DISCUSSION gUIDE
POTENTIAL USES FOR THIS PACKAGE: • Leadership development strategies
• Change/Improvement initiatives
• Values training programs
• Team-building activities
• New-hire orientation
• Response to climate surveys
• “Brown-bag” seminars
AUDIENCE OPTIONS: • Separate manager/supervisor groups or employee groups (homogeneous)
• Combined employee and supervisor groups (heterogeneous)
• Individual self-study
The “Using the Program” guidelines, discussion questions and exercises (pages 8 through 10) are
designed to enhance participant learning when the program and handbook are used in a classroom or
small group setting. Worksheets (pages 11 through 15) may be used for either group work or individual
self-study.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
PROgRAM SYNOPSIS:
Mark Shaw is a conscientious young supervisor who has been recently hired by a company to solve
production problems. When the program opens he is arriving at work after an exhausting weekend
studying the organization’s values, policies and procedures. He meets Customer Service Manager,
Geri Walters, who is preparing for a difficult meeting with an outspoken employee. In the brief
conversation between the front door and their offices, Geri and Mark unknowingly voice four of the
most common clichés accepted in many organizations.
Host and author of the book FORGET FOR SUCCESS, Eric Harvey appears on camera.
He introduces the problem of information overload and the excess baggage many of us carry around
in the form of old ideas, beliefs and adages. He suggests that we could well forget many of these
ideas, and then proceeds to identify the four questionable ideas voiced by Mark and Geri in the
opening scene. Using brief flashbacks and explanation, the four statements he identifies are:
• Values are important to know
• Definition of a good employee: someone who works hard
• Supervisors are responsible for employee behavior
• Different = Wrong
The story continues as Customer Service Manager Geri meets with Roberto, an outspoken team
member. When she opens up the subject of his blunt personal criticisms of other co-workers, Roberto
becomes defensive and the scene degenerates into a confrontation. Geri and Roberto are working
from three outdated ideas verbalized throughout the dialogue.
Eric Harvey returns to identify the offending ideas: Supervisors are responsible for employee behavior, Empathy is a touchy feely thing for wimps, and Hearing = Listening. In the context of
the scene, he points out the flaws in these ideas and suggests positive alternatives. We then see the
same situation between Geri and Roberto replayed using the positive alternatives. This time, Geri
encourages Roberto to take responsibility for his own actions, Roberto is more willing to examine his
behavior, and they actively listen to each other. The outcome is entirely different and positive.
The story picks up new Supervisor Mark Shaw’s efforts to solve the company’s production problems
in a meeting with co-worker, Carol. Their discussion solves nothing since they are locked in by two
more concepts they could well forget for success: People need to be managed, and, As long as you don’t hear from me, you’ll know you’re doing okay. Eric Harvey identifies the problem concepts,
analyzes them and provides more realistic alternatives—notably that people need to be led rather than
managed, and the only time people know what you’re really thinking is when you tell them.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
The separate story lines involving Mark and Geri converge in a lunch room scene, where they
meet and discuss the morning’s problems. Geri questions Mark’s definition of a good employee
as “someone who works hard,” suggesting it might be an old idea that could be forgotten. She
suggests that a good employee is someone who adds value and gets results within an organization.
Mark meets with the company’s CEO, Ann Cooper, to report his findings. Spurred on by Geri’s
questioning of long held ideas that may not be working, he suggests to his boss that the values people
espouse in the organization (Values are important to know) may not be effective since they’re not being
put into practice. He shares what he has learned from a previous teacher, about the importance of
behaving your values and walking the talk.
Eric Harvey sums up and reinforces the positive differences which occur when people question
outdated ideas and practice new alternatives. He then presents SEVEN QUESTIONS which can be
applied to any idea or belief with a process for finding a better alternative.
The program ends with Mark and Geri leaving for the day, engrossed in a light hearted exchange about
the idea, Different = Wrong. They realize it’s often a concept they can both forget if they wish to be
instrumental in positive change, and achieve long-term professional and personal success.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
A NOTE FROM THE PROgRAM WRITER/DIRECTOR:
FORGET FOR SUCCESS in its handbook form is a very provocative collection of commonly held
ideas which the authors question in a light-hearted manner, and then suggest positive alternatives.
Since the ideas are not connected in any thematic way except for their ineffectiveness, presenting this
material in a dramatic format was a challenge.
Although the book has use and application for people at all levels in an organization, a large number
of the sayings explored and held up to question seemed especially applicable to the challenges of
supervisors and managers working with their employees. This provided the theme for the main
story line.
Among many writers, it is a commonly held belief that if the writer invents believable characters
with conviction and places them in a challenging situation, the characters will “write” the dialogue
themselves. So I placed Mark and Geri—a typical manager and a typical supervisor based on
some I’ve known—into situations where they operated under some of the handbook’s outdated
philosophies. I was both surprised and amused to find that when I allowed these characters to “write”
the scenes based on their outmoded thinking, the situations deteriorated into more problems and
dead ends. This is most obvious in the first scene between Manager Geri and her “problem employee”
Roberto, and the scene where Supervisor Mark tries unsuccessfully to solve his production problems
with co-worker Carol.
Writing these scenes provided the best validation of what the authors were saying. Coming from the
old ideas, the situations went nowhere. On the other hand, writing the same scenes with the same
characters from the suggested alternative viewpoints clearly showed the positive differences made by
“forgetting for success.”
Donald R. Ham Program Writer/Director
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
USINg THE PROgRAM:
INITIAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Show the entire program without interruption. Then conduct a general discussion of these questions
(and others that seem appropriate and/or relevant):
• Ask participants to recall the various ideas presented in the program story as outdated.
• Which one(s) seemed the most real and familiar from your experience?
• How important is the overall message of the program that organizations may be overburdened
with ideas they could well forget?
• Is this message relevant only to Managers and Supervisors? Or to all employees? How did the
program show it’s applicability to all employees?
• What other outmoded or counterproductive ideas would you have included in the program for
questioning and examination?
INITIAL SMALL GROUP EXERCISE: “We Can Relate To That” • Ask participants in groups to open and scan the handbook FORGET FOR SUCCESS, looking
at the whole range of ideas presented.
• Pick the three ideas the group feels are the most relevant to your organization.
• Discuss the selections using the following questions:
• How common are the beliefs you selected?
• Without naming names, what behaviors have you seen that led to your selections?
• How are you and others affected by these behaviors?
• To what degree might you be engaging in similar behaviors? Can you identify
specific occurrences?
• What might we all do to minimize these behaviors and beliefs within the organization?
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
USINg THE PROgRAM:
INITIAL SMALL GROUP EXERCISE: “Beyond The Book And Program” • Refer participants to the Mark Twain quote on page 8 of the handbook, which was also seen in
the program. Ask for comments and reactions to the quote and an estimation of “the number
of things I remember that aren’t so.”
• Lead participants in a five minute brainstorming exercise to identify old “things they remember
that may not be so.” They could be any sayings, slogans, beliefs, bits of “conventional
wisdom,” etc., that don’t appear in the FORGET FOR SUCCESS handbook.
• Assign items from your master list to table groups or individual participants instructing them to
analyze their items using the following questions:
• What is the relevancy/applicability of the item to our organization?
• How might it be negative or problematic?
• Any initial thoughts on how we might change it?
Now that groups/individuals have identified statements they wish to question, (either from the
program, the handbook or the brainstorming process) move on to the process of how to change them.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
USINg THE PROgRAM:
APPLYING THE SEVEN KEY QUESTIONS: • How do you go about forgetting for success? You do it by examining individual beliefs and
behaviors, and replacing them as appropriate, with better, more effective ones.
• In the program, when Carol suggested that Mark share the information related to their
production problems with all employees, he replied: “We only share limited, truly important
information about the organization with others.” If possible, write this concept on a board or
chart for examination.
• Discuss this concept with the group as a possibly outdated idea. Encourage differing views on
the principle and its relevance.
• Pose the question: How do we decide if this idea is serving us or could be forgotten and
replaced by a better one? Refer participants to page 43 of the FORGET FOR SUCCESS
handbook. It contains the seven key questions also presented at the end of the program, which
can be applied to any belief or behavior.
• Using the following Worksheet as reference, walk the participants through the seven steps as
applied to the statement from the program: “We only share limited, truly important information
about the organization with others.”
• Now ask participants to take one of their own statements from the initial exercises, and apply
the seven questions to it using the boxes provided.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
WORKSHEET:
APPLYING THE SEVEN KEY QUESTIONS
Questions and Examples Your Issue Analysis
1. What is a “people practice” that I and others frequently
engage in?
Example (from program): “Sharing only limited, truly important information
about the organization with others.”
2. What are the possible ways that practice might
negatively impact people, performance and
relationships?
Example Answer: “People might feel isolated, kept in the dark, not part of the organization. They may perceive we’re hiding something. Trust could be reduced.”
3. What is the belief or premise that underlies
the practice?
Example Answer: “Don’t bother folks with info they won’t understand or may draw false conclusions from. Protect folks from bad news. Don’t create more work for others (they have to read it) and us (we have to explain it).
4. How might that belief be modifi ed to eliminate
the negative impact and be more in sync with our
organizational values?
Example Answer: “Information doesn’t bother people, but the lack of it does. Adults don’t need to be protected—they need to be told the truth.”
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
WORKSHEET:
APPLYING THE SEVEN KEY QUESTIONS
Questions and Examples Your Issue Analysis
5. What specifi c behavior(s) would be in sync with the
modifi ed belief?
Example Answer: “Share all non-confi dential information with everyone. Help people understand reporting formats. Let each person decide what information is relevant to them.”
6. What specifi cally can/will I do to adopt the new
behavior(s) and belief?
Example Answer: “Provide copies of organizational data reports and communications to everyone in my area. Ask my reports and colleagues what information would be most benefi cial to them ... then supply it.”
7. What should I look for to determine whether or not the
changes I’ve made have been effective?
Example Answer: “Positive feedback from people regarding the
information they receive. People discussing the information and/or asking questions about it.”
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
WORKSHEET:
APPLYING THE SEVEN KEY QUESTIONS TO OLD SAYINGS AND CLICHES With just a few word changes, the Seven Key Questions can be applied to old sayings and common
clichés. Try it - using the non-work related old saying we’ve supplied.
REPEAT the seven step process using one of your own favorite old sayings or clichés.
1. What is an old saying or cliché I’ve heard
or repeated?
2. What are the possible ways that saying could
negatively impact people, performance
or relationships?
3. What is the belief or premise that underlies
the saying?
4. How might that saying be modified to eliminate
the negative impact and be more in sync with my
personal values?
5. What specific behavior(s) would be in sync with the
modified saying?
6. What specifically can/will I do to adopt the
new behavior(s)?
7. What should I look for to determine whether or not
the changes I’ve made have been effective?
Children should be seen and not heard.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
WORKSHEET:
LEARNING LEADERSHIP FROM ROLE MODELS One commonly held misconception FORGET FOR SUCCESS addresses is “people need to be
managed.” In the program, we see the characters struggling unsuccessfully with this idea. Book
author Eric Harvey proposes that rather than being managed, “people need to be led.” Harvey goes on
to suggest that one of the best ways to identify the characteristics of effective leadership is to focus
on role models—leaders who have positively impacted us.
Here’s an exercise to help identify what to remember—and what to FORGET—about leading others.
1. Consider the impact specific leaders (especially in your business life) have made on you. Who
are the people whose example you admire and have followed? Write a paragraph on one such
person “listing their traits, and how their leadership affected you.
2. Complete the following sentence: “I do my best and most effective work for leaders who…”
List as many responses as possible in the box below.
REMEMBER THESE
3. Examine the responses you listed above. Then, describe behaviors that are OPPOSITE to those
responses in the box below.
FORgET THESE
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
WORKSHEET:
“REWRITING” AN OLD IDEA FROM A NEW VIEWPOINT In the program, recall the scene where Production Supervisor Mark tries to explore (with Carol) how to
solve his problems—working from the viewpoint of the old adage—People need to be managed.
Queue up and view the scene again. (Approximately 10 minutes into the program.)
The following is dialogue from the scene, up to the point where the old adage was voiced. If the old
adage is replaced by the new idea—People need to be led—either write or role play where the scene
might now go:
CAROL: We can’t hope to meet our deadlines and quotas without more personnel, or overtime for the existing ones.
MARK: That’s not what I wanted to hear!
CAROL: But if we don’t, we’ll be sacrificing quality.
MARK: You know that’s not an option.
CAROL: So what do you propose?
MARK: Somehow streamline operations.
CAROL: How?
MARK: Putting out some guidelines for starters. Maybe some training sessions. Go to the company’s management manual.
CAROL: You’re right that everyone’s looking for someone to tell them what to do. People need to be led...
MARK:
CAROL:
MARK:
CAROL:
MARK:
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES:
Been There. Heard That. Recall how specific “old ideas” negatively affected people, productivity and commitment in specific
scenes of the program.
Have participants review “�0 Phrases to FORGET That Stifle Creativity and Initiative” on
pages 10-11 of FORGET FOR SUCCESS.
Conduct a group discussion using the following questions:
• Which of the phrases have been said to you?
• How did you feel when you heard them?
• Have you ever said them to someone else?
• How do you suppose others felt when they heard the phrases?
• What are the underlying concerns that each phrase represents?
• How legitimate/valid are those concerns?
• What are some alternatives to these phrases that would be less likely to have
negative impacts?
• What are some techniques we might use to make sure we avoid using these
“motivation killers”?
Once this exercise has been completed, consider an expanded discussion—focusing on other
phrases and behaviors that can negatively impact people, productivity, and commitment.
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES:
Words ... To REMEMBER The words and phrases spoken (and thought) in your organization reflect the principles you embrace
and the culture you have.
Here’s an exercise to help people realize the importance of what they say:
• Have participants review “Important Words to FORGET” on page 41 of FORGET FOR SUCCESS.
• Discuss how the words presented can be/are problematic. What do the words imply
or suggest?
• Ask table groups to develop an alternative list of “Important Words to REMEMBER”,
following the same format of page 41 in the handbook.
• Collect, compare and discuss the table group lists.
• Ask the entire group to select the “best of the best” from the various lists (i.e., the best 10
words, the best 9 words, etc.).
When the exercise is completed, conduct a short brainstorming session to identify ways the new
list can be used to raise awareness throughout your organization (e.g., publish in your company newsletter, make into posters and put on bulletin boards, etc.)
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES:
What Would It Look Like If... Here’s a visioning exercise that can help people appreciate the importance and value of the material
presented in FORGET FOR SUCCESS:
• Ask participants to review the “Highlights to REMEMBER” on pages 45-46 of the handbook.
• Randomly assign various highlights to individual participants. Ask them to identify two or three
specific behaviors that would demonstrate their assigned highlight.
• Ask participants to share their highlights and behaviors with the entire group.
• After each set of behaviors is presented, ask the entire group to answer the following questions:
What would it look and feel like if more people practiced those behaviors here?
What do you suppose would happen as a result?
Why should people care? What’s in it for individuals to practice them?
The Power of Forgetting Ask each participant to identify a belief or practice they’ve changed or abandoned that has made them
a better employee, leader, parent, spouse or person. Ask for volunteers to share their responses with
the entire group. As they present, pose the following questions:
• Why did you hold the old belief and/or engage in the old behavior?
• Why did you change?
• What has resulted from the change?
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FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess
ABOUT THE AUTHORS...
Eric L. Harvey Eric L. Harvey is a nationally-known and respected speaker, consultant, and author. He is president
of the WALK THE TALK® Company, the Dallas-based international consulting firm which focuses on
helping individuals and organizations bring their mission, vision, and values in sync with their
people practices.
With over 25 years of experience in the “people skills” business, Mr. Harvey is a recognized expert
and author in the area of human resource development and applied management practices. His
breakthrough work includes the development of three critically-acclaimed human resource systems:
PEER GRIEVANCE REVIEW®, POSITIVE DISCIPLlNE® and MULTISOURCE360®.
He is co-author of the widely used WALK THE TALK product series, including the best selling book
Walk The Talk...And Get The Results You Want. In addition, he has been published in more than 50
trade and professional journals, including Industry Week, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Executive Excellence, and the Harvard Business Review.
Eric has been a keynote speaker and presenter at hundreds of professional conferences, including
the American Society for Training and Development, the Lakewood sponsored Training conferences,
Human Resource Executive Forum, PEPI, American Society of Association Executives, and many more.
Steve Ventura Steve Ventura is Vice President of Product Development for the WALK THE TALK® Company, a Dallas-
based consulting firm which focuses on helping individuals and organizations bring their mission, vision
and values in sync with their people practices.
His background includes over 20 years of Human Resource Development experience in both private
and public sectors. He has consulted with major organizations throughout the United States such as
Shell Oil, AT&T, Pennzoil, G.E., Exxon, General Dynamics, Allied-Signal Aerospace, and TRW.
Steve is an award-winning writer and program designer. He has developed over 40 publications,
manuals and programs, including Peer Review: The Complete Guide and The WALK THE TALK®
Workshop—both of which were honored by Human Resource Executive Magazine as national “Top
Training Products”.
He holds a bachelors degree from California State University and a masters degree from the University
of San Francisco. His graduate work was in public administration and organizational management.
It isn’t so astonishing, the number of things that I can remember, as the number of things I can remember that aren’t so.
- Mark Twain
Accept the challenge…to
For more information contact:
Trainer’s Toolchest LLCPhone: 877-288-6657
www.trainerstoolchest.com
FORGET forsuccess
FORGET forsuccess