PPB October 2017

Consider eight people, who, on average, make $75,000 a year and talk about “fluff ’n stuff” for 15minutes on eachmonthly conference call. That’s 1,440 minutes of wasted productivity—or $8,664. AC-suite call is closer to $25,000 inwasted dollars that could have been spent on employeewellness or philanthropy. CertificationTop5-ol.indd 1 9/18/17 10:14 AM 1 Start with impactful question icebreakers such as: a. Is there anything memorable or meaningful that has happened to you recently? b. What characteristics must your work environment have to make you feel engaged? c. What challenges are you facing professionally? d. What is something you’ve learned recently that’s worth sharing? e. What are you hoping to accomplish in your job this year? f. If income was not an issue, what would you spend your time doing? g. What are the most significant characteristics of your best bosses? h. Do you get to do something at work that you love? If so, what? 2 Try The Compliment Circle. This activity is titled after an elementary school exercise where children sit in a circle and say nice things about the person next to them. That’s it. And I promise that you will uncover smiles. You may even experience tears of fulfillment. Find the details and some options on my website at http://www.brandfuel.com/ compliment-circle-company-try. 3 Share an agenda. If there is nothing worth discussing, 86 the call. 4 Dive into issues worth debating first. Passion and adrenaline, especially with spirited topics, will create a much more engaging call. 5 Use video conferencing technology. 6 Add giveaways as an incentive to ensure that others on the call are paying attention or use them as a post- call appreciation to thank others for contributing. 7 Don’t bring up the weather. Just don’t do it. Danny Rosin, CAS, is co-president of distributor Brand Fuel, co- founder of Band Together and serves on the boards of PPAI and American Marketing Association. | OCTOBER 2017 | 87 THINK