Sites we like...TheBuriedLife.com

“What do you want to do before you die?”

If there was a top ten list of most unusual cocktail party questions, I think this would be one of them. Johnnie, Dave, Duncan and Ben, the four men behind www.theburiedlife.com, are traveling across the country asking ordinary people and celebrities this question while checking off their combined list of 100 things they want to do.

It’s an interesting question. We encourage you to visit their site, make your list, and start moving ideas into action.


Please feel free to leave a comment. What do you want to do before you die?

Autumn Newsletter on Barnesconti.com

We've released our latest Barnes & Conti Newsletter. You can read it by clicking here.

Articles in this installment include"The dog ate my passport" by Kim Barnes on using influence in a tough situation and "Innovation and Project Management" by Jeffrey Belding. As always, the newsletter includes updates from Barnes & Conti and a delicious recipe.

Where in the world is Kim Barnes...

Hanoi, Vietnam

This is the second in a series of posts from our CEO Kim Barnes. Kim, the author of Exercising Influence: A Guide for Making Things Happen at Work, at Home, and in Your Community (Pfeiffer, 2007), has the opportunity to travel frequently to present our courses throughout the world.

Hanoi is...hot, humid, bustling, noisy (the primary means of outdoor communication is the horn), dynamic, smoggy, full of contrasts, life-threatening to pedestrians. Two hours of it both fascinated me and set my teeth on edge. Bicycles, rickshaws, cars and endless streams of motorbikes jostle for space on the streets and occasionally the sidewalks, which are filled with formal and informal vendors and shops. Sidewalks along the side streets have become parking lots for motorcycles; I have to sidestep along the street in competition with the traffic. Women carrying the traditional baskets slung from a pole vie for space with tourists and young businesspeople talking on their mobile phones. A young basket-carrier asks if i would like to take her photo, knowing that I will then feel obligated to buy her bananas. I am offered rides in taxis, on motorbikes, in rickshaws in between the informal vendors suggesting that I will want to buy whatever they are showing me - one man asks "Why not?" in perfect English when I refuse. A man from Michigan is working the tours desk of the tourist office when I stop to see what might be on offer for a day tour when I am finished with business here. He had a Vietnamese girlfriend in the States, came to visit her family and never left - except for one visit when he was stopped for driving while honking his horn, he said. It was hard to get out of the habit.

There is evidence of the French occupation everywhere, though mostly behind the scenes. huge Gothic cathedral stands near the hotel. A hospital named after Ste. Marie sit behindA shops selling traditional crafts and fruit. The penchant for keeping one's hair dark does not seem to have arrived here as yet, there are many grey-haired people, some bent
from years of work in the fields, I assume - they must find the squads of American tourists amusing, given their memories of the war...

Alternative Energy Still Needs Traditional Leadership Skills

Alternative energy could be the single most important issue that we face in the 21st century. Moving our global economy away from petroleum and toward a healthy and sustainable source of renewable energy will take tremendous effort, dedication, passion, and commitment of resources. Although scientific strides are being made--the Energy Bioscience Institute in Berkeley, Calif. is a huge step in the right direction--we don't often hear about another extremely important factor: the development and advancement of leadership skills in the alternative energy industry. While science is making impressive discoveries, the industry needs to make a commitment to develop the leadership and interpersonal communication skills that must accompany technical aptitude for a successful transition to sustainability.

Having consulted for a bio-fuels company before joining Barnes & Conti, I can say that Barnes & Conti is uniquely able to support the development of these difficult skills in the alternative energy industry. Barnes & Conti already has significant experience working with scientists, research laboratories, and several organizations that are leading the field in alternative energy research. Beyond that, our energetic staff of trainers and consultants possess a combination of an environmental consciousness that is second to none and a business acumen that allows Barnes & Conti to understand the training needs to both established corporations as well as the smaller and more innovative start-ups that are beginning to surface. In fact, three of our courses - Exercising Influence, Constructive Debate, and Managing Innovation - specifically address areas that are vital to the growth of these emerging green industries.

Earning the widespread support needed to enact the serious changes in policy and behavior that will make a difference requires clear communication and effective influence skills. Barnes & Conti’s Exercising Influence program strengthens the expressive and receptive components of communication and develops the flexibility and focus to know when and how to best use those components. The need to blend the passion of environmentalism and social justice with entrepreneurialism and industry provides an appropriate venue for these skills.

Our Managing Innovation and Constructive Debate programs will prove equally useful. We desperately need innovative solutions to reduce our reliance on petroleum. While our Managing Innovation program teaches the skill-sets and mind-sets needed to produce the maximum value from new ideas, our Constructive Debate program teaches the skills needed to make sure that the best ideas get brought to the forefront. The urgency of the climate crisis creates the temptation to enact individual “good” ideas immediately. However, by engaging the differing viewpoints and moving past vested interests in a civil dialogue, leaders can identify the best ideas – the ones that will truly make a difference – and move those ideas into action

This is the time for moving ideas into action – particularly because inaction will have devastating consequences. The alternative energy industry is an exciting and evolving marketplace, and Barnes & Conti has the knowledge, passion, and programs to help develop the skills needed for sustained success and a better tomorrow.

by Sam Roberts

For more information on how Barnes & Conti can help your company, visit www.barnesconti.com or call 800.835.0911.

Mark Your Calendar - Kim Barnes & Nelson Soken at ASTD 2008

We are excited to announce that Kim Barnes, CEO of Barnes & Conti Associates, and Nelson Soken will be presenting a 70-minute concurrent session titled: "Managing Innovation: A journey toward organizational change" at the 2008 ASTD International Conference and Expo in San Diego, CA.

This session is designed to demonstrate how the presenters engaged leaders in a large insurance company in moving their organization toward greater, more continuous innovation. The two presenters will discuss and demonstrate their approach, based on research conducted at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management of the University of Brighton. The approach focuses on behaviors, mindsets, and practices that innovative organizations exhibit during the phases of the “innovation journey.” These phases include Searching, Exploring, Committing, Realizing and Optimizing. Each phase requires managers and leaders to use a different mind-set and skill-set in order to accomplish tasks that are specific to that phase.

Based on a program developed by one of the presenters along with David Francis, Ph.D. of CENTRIM, this experiential session allows participants to practice skills that facilitate innovation, apply the results of research, and gain insights from companies that are implementing the program.

Barnes & Conti Associates will also be exhibiting at the tradeshow. We hope to see you there!

For more information on the 2008 ASTD International Conference & Expo, click here

Relocation Changes More Than Address - Intelligent Risk-Taking In Action

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. " - Anaïs Nin

Last August, I sold all my furniture, packed up the rest of my belongings, and drove cross-country to move from Washington, DC to Oakland, CA. I knew exactly 13 people in the Bay Area – my 12 co-workers and my new roommate. When I arrived, I replaced my furniture and set about the adventure of starting my new life here.

What I’ve consistently heard over the last year is surprise over my willingness to make such a move. Most are even more surprised to learn that I had not planned to move when I did. I often wonder if I wasn’t crazy for embarking on a huge life event with little preplanning.

Soon after my move, I took the Barnes & Conti Intelligent Risk-Taking program (what I would have given for this knowledge last summer, particularly the planning wheel!). In retrospect, I realize that I actually followed, to some degree, the Fast Track model of the Intelligent Risk-Taking (IRT) process, though I’ll admit, I think much of the Assess step (weighing costs and benefits) was skipped. In celebration of the one-year anniversary of my move, I’ve taken time to review the IRT process, and I can clearly see the successes and learning opportunities from my moving process

I suppose it’s not possible to be fully prepared for the realities of moving 3200 miles. Although I have managed to address the little things you must replace when you move – salons, gyms, shopping (thank goodness for yelp.com), I did not realize how much my move would change me. I recently retook the IRT Style Questionnaire. While my behavior in some arenas has remained constant, others have changed greatly – particularly the 4 arenas where I had been highly overcautious: Business, Physical, Image, and Interpersonal.

Business: When I first took the questionnaire, I was 6 weeks into a new job and terrified of making mistakes. Now, however, I’m confident in my role, and thanks to great mentors, I’m comfortable taking risks.

Physical: For my friends and family – this is perhaps the arena of the most surprising changes. I went snowboarding in April. I go on hikes weekly. I have a goal to ride a century (100 miles) next year…but I have to learn to ride a bike first. While I won’t be signing up for skydiving lessons any time soon, the beauty of the Bay Area seems to demand outdoor activity, representing a departure from my “allergic to the outdoors” self. Strapping yourself to a snowboard and hurtling down a mountain also puts many other risks into perspective, especially when you realize after falling 54 times that the only way down the mountain will require several more falls.

Image: My outdoors allergy was one part of my pre-California image that has been challenged. Taking the risk to move to the Bay Area allowed me to be comfortable with my “self” who wears a suit and heels, just as I am comfortable with the one who wears jeans and sneakers (fashionable sneakers, but sneakers nonetheless). Although I did spend my first few months here in a bit of an identity crisis, struggling to blend my “east-coast” and “west-coast” selves (and Midwestern background), I’ve since learned to accept that I am a mixture of these experiences and to take a chance that others will accept my multi-faceted personality.

Interpersonal: Without a doubt – this was my most challenging risk arena and an area that is still evolving. Despite my general talkativeness, I am an introvert who can seem a bit standoffish at times. It has required a significant effort for me to take the risks, regularly, needed to meet new people. I am slowly but surely shedding my over-cautiousness and building my social network.

Overall, there are days when the relocation is difficult and uncomfortable. But as Sam Roberts has frequently advised me, “If it’s uncomfortable, then it’s different, and it’s probably right because you’re growing.” Yet, there are times when I’m still a little scared and think: “Really? What was I thinking?” However, I often think of the article by Isabella Conti in our IRT workbook. She writes about being terrified before beginning her three-year journey on a sailboat, but that the “…motivation to go forward must be greater than the fear…Having taken my great risk, succeeded and grown from it, I can use that experience to guide me in those heart-pounding moments when fear, for a moment, overwhelms the dream” (To read Isabella Conti’s article click here)

Living in the Bay Area truly is a dream come true for me. Looking back, the madness of last summer seems both very long ago and as if it were yesterday. I remember, very vividly being wracked with anxiety about where to live, where the job would go and the myriad of other things associated with a new home. However, after taking this risk, others seem easier. Now, would I make such a huge move again? With my trusty IRT planning wheel, even a move to Europe seems doable.

Written by Grace Boone, Marketing manager of Barnes & Conti Associates

What's your risk style? Take our Intelligent Risk Taking Style Questionnaire by clicking here. For more information on Intelligent Risk Taking visit http://barnesconti.com/programs/IRT.html or give us a call at 800.835.0911.

What we're reading...Learning and Performance Matter

LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE MATTER edited by Prem Kumar (National Community Leadership Institute, Singapore) & Phil Ramsey (Massey University, New Zealand)

This interesting anthology of essays, edited by our friend and colleague Prem Kumar, explores the balance between managing performance to meet current demands and learning to expand our capabilities for future demands. Written by leading consultants, practitioners, and scholars, this book offers practical approaches and fresh insights on the importance of both learning and performance in today's organizations. We recommend this book to those interested in the intersection of learning and performance and using both to build a successful company.

For more information on Learning and Performance Matter, visit http://www.worldscibooks.com/socialsci/6613.html.

A College Student’s Experience with EI

My name is Philip Arsenis and I am 20 years old. As a rising junior and politics major at Occidental College, an internship at Barnes & Conti Associates, Inc. seemed to be an ideal opportunity for this summer. With an interest in sales and consulting I knew this was my chance to get some serious experience. So, I applied and was then accepted. My immediate interest in the training programs paid off. I was given the opportunity to attend an Exercising Influence (EI) class, conducted by Janne at Kaiser Permanente.

The EI training was like nothing I had anticipated. It was more interactive, well researched, and more applicable then I had fathomed. As a college student I thought I would be out of the loop. On the contrary, I naturally identified with the problems, circumstances, and relations the Kaiser employees faced. During the class dialogs, everyone introduced issues that were unique to them. However, it was during these discussions that everyone’s different problems were constantly being answered in a more uniform way. Whether it was with the EI wheel or with real-life examples - it was always Kim’s tactics and strategies that seemed to quell every ‘different’ problem. It was then, about 45 minutes into the day, that it became clear that it was our common yearning to ‘get what we wanted done’ that really brought us together rather then having our unique problems which set us apart - we were all these to learn how to better our lives.

As an Occidental student, I feel that I am representative enough to speak on behalf of college students. We are constantly maneuvering social responsibilities, homework, and personal issues – and it gets hectic and overwhelming – as I am sure it does for the adults in the working world. However, there is one difference between college students and adults. Adults are more experienced.

This is precisely why I know that EI would be immensely beneficial to college students. It would equip us with the appropriate tools to tackle difficult situations from a professional angle without having to use the outdated sink or swim approach to life. As a young man trying to enter the adult work force, I know that there is nothing better then these tools, which can be applied to different situations at different times. They have enabled me to be an equal player as well as a leader. I recommend highly any and all college students who are serious about being an efficient communicator to take this class and learn the science of influence.

Written by Philipos Arsenis

Barnes & Conti in the Community - Confessions of a Teenaged Intern

This summer, Barnes & Conti was happy to host an intern from Girls Incorporated® of Alameda County. Girls Incorporated is a nonprofit organization that offers academic enrichment activities, skill-building programs, and counseling services services to girls and their families. Nadia Saephan joined us on July 9 as part of Girls Inc's Eureka! Internship program. These internships are designed to provide teen women (ages 14-17) with hands-on experience in various careers and business and to expose them to positive role models in those fields. Below is Nadia's description of her experience at Barnes & Conti.

Nadia and Ann Nguyen (Barnes & Conti's Finance Manager)

Nadia and Grace Boone (Barnes & Conti's Marketing Manager)

Being an intern at Barnes & Conti was more than just wonderful, it was a hands-on and life changing experience. I had the opportunity to do things that teenagers don’t usually get to do. I searched for various companies that Barnes & Conti would be able to train and help those businesses become better at what they do. I had to search for those companies in specific areas, such as Houston, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio and so on. I learned how to use the Excel Spreadsheet to record all of the information that I found during my research. I read numerous magazines based on bettering companies so that my sponsor can contact the author and get some information. I also looked for the email addresses/phone numbers for companies that attended a past conference so that B&C can contact. Last, but not least, I organized a schedule on Excel based on the hours that each employee work Monday through Friday. Who ever thought that I would be able to do things like that at this age?

It was a life changing experience to me because I was able to do a whole bunch of things and learn so much in so little time. Everything that is done is a life changing experience, in my point of view. The reason why I say that is because if it’s done, then we’re learning from it and it gives our life a little more experience & challenge. Barnes & Conti Associates has proven itself to be an excellent place to be an intern and show you what it’s like in the business world.

Grace Boone, Marketing Manager and my sponsor, was such a terrific person to work with. She’s a very understanding and helpful person. Grace always had a smile on, which made my day brighter. She assigned me many tasks to complete, but it wasn’t that bad. Those assignments actually taught me more about the B&C world, which is pretty interesting because I didn’t know anything about B&C when I first started. She helped me reach my understanding of this company and how it works and for everything that she has taught and shown me, I thank her.

I have gained so much knowledge during my past month at Barnes & Conti. I didn’t think that my experience here would feel like it did. Before my first day of interning, I had pictured my work here as typing papers onto the computer, which is crazily boring. But during the amazing time that I spent here, I realize that there’s more to a business company than just boring paper work. There are lots of things that need to be contributed in order to have an excellent business and Barnes & Conti has it all. There are the great people that I get to work with, the positive attitude in the work environment, being able to gain new and useful knowledge and last, but not least, having fun while doing something that doesn’t only impact me, it impacts the business as well.

Written by Nadia Saephan.

To learn more about Girls, Inc of Alameda County and their Eureka! Program, visit: http://girlsinc-alameda.org/programs/index.htm

Exercising Influence: International Train the Trainer Program

Kim Barnes recently returned from Europe where she facilitated several programs, including the multi-national Exercising Influence Train the Trainer pictured here. This program, held in Budapest, instructed trainers from Israel, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Poland on delivering our Exercising Influence program.


Pictured are: Laksana Watthankul, Ausra Jakaitiene, Aviad Goz, Robert Rogowski, Kim Barnes, Keren, Sarah, Nivi, Inga, and Ronen who will soon be certified to deliver Exercising Influence in their respective countries.


For more information on Exercising Influence or becoming a trainer for Barnes & Conti, please visit our website at www.barnesconti.com.