This website explores how we can encourage people during our time on the planet. It looks at how we can help people to build on their strengths and achieve their picture of success.
People can choose to shape their futures. They can choose to be positive or negative, to help people or hurt people, to take responsibility or avoid responsibility. Each choice has consequences.
The website explores how we can encourage both present and future generations. It provides practical tools that people, teams and organisations can use to continue:
To be positive;
To do positive work;
To help to build a positive planet.
There are many ways to encourage people. This website focuses on the strengths approach to helping individuals, teams and organisations to achieve their picture of success.
Here are some of the questions that it is possible to explore at each stage when working with people, teams or organisations.
The Picture of Success
This part involves clarifying people’s goals – their picture of success. It involves exploring the following themes.
What are the person’s goals? Many people want to be loved, happy, successful and find peace. What do they want to do in their life and work? What do they want to do during their time on the planet?
What are the team’s or organisation’s goals? They may want to improve their profits, products or people. They may also want to leave a positive legacy. What does the team or organisation want to deliver?
Looking at a person, team or organisation, what are the real results they want to achieve? What is their picture of success? What will be happening that will show they have achieved their picture of success?
Strengths
This part involves focusing on people’s spirit, strengths and successful style. It involves exploring the following themes.
Spirit
When does the person show positive spirit? When do they come alive? What are the things that give them positive energy? When do they follow their passion, translate it into a clear purpose and achieve peak performance?
Looking at teams and organisations, who are the positive people? Where is the positive energy? How can people build on this positive energy? How can they build positive cultures that enable people to achieve ongoing success?
Strengths
What are the person’s strengths? What are the activities in which they deliver As, rather than Bs or Cs? What are the activities they find deeply satisfying? When are they in their element – at ease and yet able to excel?
Where do they quickly see patterns? Where do they have good personal radar? Where do they score highly on drive, detail and delivery? When do they flow, focus and finish? Where do they have a track record of finishing?
Looking at teams and organisations, what are their strengths? What are the activities in which they deliver As, rather than Bs or Cs? How can they build their As and manage the consequences of their Bs and Cs?
Successful Style
What is the person’s successful style? What for them have been the most satisfying projects? What were they doing right then? What were the principles they were following? How can they follow their successful style in the future?
Looking at teams and organisations, when have they performed brilliantly? What were people doing right then to perform brilliantly? What were the principles they were following? How can they follow these principles – plus maybe add other elements – to perform brilliantly in the future?
If people want to make a living doing what they love, who are their perfect customers? What are the characteristics of these customers? What are the challenges these potential customers face? How can people use their strengths to help these potential customers to achieve success?
Strategies
This part involves focusing on people’s specific goals, strategies and the required support. It involves exploring the following themes.
Specific Goals
Let’s return to people’s picture of success. What are their goals? What is the first specific goal that people, teams or organisations want to focus on towards achieving their longer-term aims?
Looking at this goal, what are the real results they want to achieve? What is their picture of success? What are the specific things that will be happening that will show they have achieved the picture of success?
Strategies
Looking ahead, what are people’s options? What are the possible routes that people, teams or organisations can take towards achieving their goals?
Looking at each of these choices, what are the consequences – the pluses and minuses – of each route? Which is the route that people want to take towards achieving their goals?
What are the key strategies that people, teams or organisations can follow to give themselves the greatest chance of success? How can they translate these strategies into actions? How can they deliver some early successes?
Support
What support do people need to reach their goals? How can they get this support? How can they encourage themselves on the journey?
Looking at teams and organisations, how can they get the right support? How can they make sure they get the right people implementing the right strategies in the right way?
Success
This part involves focusing on how people can do superb work, find solutions to challenges and do their best to achieve the picture of success. It involves exploring the following themes.
Superb Work
How can people perform superb work? How can they keep doing the right things in the right way every day? How can they keep doing the basics and then add the brilliance?
Looking at teams and organisations, how can they keep their eyes on the goal? How can they co-ordinate their efforts to achieve their goals? How can they provide great service that satisfies their customers and other stakeholders? How can they help those people to achieve success?
Solutions
How can people anticipate potential difficulties? How can they prevent these difficulties happening? How can they manage these difficulties if they do happen?
How can people, teams and organisations find creative solutions to challenges? How can they do this by focusing on clarity – the real results to achieve – creativity and concrete results?
Success
How can people, teams and organisations achieve their goals? How can they finish successfully? How can they do whatever is required to achieve their picture of success? How can they add that touch of class?
How can people keep developing? How can they focus on: a) The specific things they do well and how they can do these more in the future; b) The specific things they can do better in the future and how? How can they pass on their knowledge to other people?
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The main author behind the site is Mike Pegg. He has spent the past 45 years focusing on the art of encouragement.
You can find out more about his current activities at his Linked In page.
