Author: Tom Terez

Gather a group of colleagues to talk about the state ofdialogue in your workplace. Have each person complete this brief assessmentindividually, then talk about the five items one by one, with people sharingtheir ratings and explaining why they feel that way. Reach a consensus rating,then shift gears and start talking about possibilities. What can people do,individually and collectively, to foster healthy dialogue in the workplace?Narrow the list of potential ideas to three or four action-oriented commitments,and sketch out a plan for making them happen. Be sure to get back together as agroup to check your progress.

1 = very strongly agree
2 = strongly disagree
3 = disagree
4 = neither disagree nor agree
5 = agree
6 = strongly agree
7 = very strongly agree

Daddy, you be Wilbur, I’ll be Orville. Let’s pretend we’re playing in our bicycleshop.”

The evening before, my wife had tucked in our 4-year-old daughter by reading her a book about flying. The story must have filled her dreams that night, because bright and early the next morning, she wanted to role play. For an hour, we labored away in our imaginary workshop, cobbling together a flying machine out of paper, streamers,chairs, and sofa cushions.

That was a year ago, and at our daughter’s request, I’ve had other roles since then — Mufasa from The Lion King, Winnie the Pooh, Elvis, and a few others, none of whichI’ll perform in public. But more often than not, I’ve been Wilbur and she has beenOrville. And to this day, she can’t hear enough about that bike shop and their trialruns and that triumphant 12-second flight on December 17, 1903.

She has tinkered with paper, folding it every which way and tossing it out the upstairswindow. She has taped strips of balsa wood and flung them hopefully across the room.She has even made flying contraptions out of clay, which is why we have a deluxevacuum cleaner. She is positively obsessed with invention.

Along the way, I’ve learned all about the Wright brothers. It’s a fascinating storywith lessons for all of us — lessons that we can apply right now in our workplaces.

Wilbur and Orville were average guys from Dayton, Ohio. They owned a bicycle business,but they found themselves thinking more about wings than wheels. (Lesson #1 — Havea vision.) So in 1899, they wrote to the Smithsonian Institution and gathered everythingthey could find about early efforts to fly. (Lesson #2 — Do your front-end homework.)

They combed through every detail, searching for proven practices that would helptheir invention get off the ground. Other inventors had already demonstrated theaerodynamic wisdom of gliding, as opposed to flapping, and the Wrights followed theirlead. In fact, they worked all sorts of earlier discoveries into their designs. (Lesson#3 — Make the most of existing best practices.)

In other cases, facts and data convinced the brothers that they’d have to developan entirely new approach — as in the case of lateral control. The prevailing methodrequired the pilot to shift his body left or right to attempt rolling and banking.Orville and Wilbur knew they’d have to find a better way. (Lesson #4 — If the factstell you to go against the grain, do it.)

Then the real work began. They analyzed what it would take to get airborne, and inthe process, they pinpointed four problems that had to be solved: lift, control,power, and learning how to fly. (Lesson #5 — Divide big challenges into smallerchallenges, and take them on one at a time.)

They built model after model, starting with kite-like gliders so they could testtheir ideas on lift and control. (Lesson #6 — Experiment, experiment, experiment.)These gliders kept getting bigger as they fine-tuned their invention, and beforelong, they needed more space. We all know where they went: Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,where the Outer Banks offered perfect flying conditions.

Imagine telling your colleagues and family that you’re going to haul your big kiteto a windy beach so you can work out the kinks. Oh, and by the way, the beach is500 miles from home. (Lesson #7 — Do whatever it takes to achieve your vision. Ignorethe naysayers.)

Each test flight provided a wealth of information, and the brothers methodicallymade improvements to their design. (Lesson #8 — Great creations result from manysmall creations.) And in July 1901, the tethered glider was big enough and safe enoughfor a brave rider. Wilbur held on, everyone else pulled, and the glider soared acrossthe sand. (Lesson #9 — Sometimes it just takes guts.)

Plenty of work still needed to be done — not the least of which was this littleproblem of power. There was none. Gasoline engines at that time were too heavy tocarry the plane and a person. So the Wright brothers turned to Charles Taylor, amechanic extraordinaire who worked in the bicycle shop. Taylor led the effort tobuild a light-enough gas engine. (Lesson #10 — Capitalize on all that nearby know-how.)

On September 23, 1903, Wilbur and Orville left Dayton and headed once again for theOuter Banks — bringing along their precious cargo, the ‘whopper flying machine’, as Wilbur called it. They spent that autumn using the glider version to sharpen theirflying skills. (Lesson #11 — Take the time to be prepared.)

Then winter came, and they felt the time was right for their maiden flight. Theytried on December 14, but weak winds and an overeager tug on the elevator causedthe ‘Wright Flyer’ to hit the sand. Weather conditions prevented attempts the nexttwo days, but December 17 seemed acceptable. Just four years after writing to theSmithsonian, Orville climbed onto the bottom wing, eased himself into position, andpulled the release wire. The rest is history.

The famous photo of that first flight is a story in itself. Orville and Wilbur feltso prepared, so optimistic, that they had a camera ready and waiting. (Lesson #12– At the moment of truth, throttle up your optimism.) An assistant had instructionsto release the shutter just as the Flyer slipped the bonds of its launch track.

In the photo, Wilbur is standing on the sand, hunched forward, watching the airplanetake off — not unlike the proud yet anxious parent who has just let go of a child’stwo-wheeler. Look closely at the sand and you can see his footprints. They’re spacedfar apart. He ran alongside his creation while it took flight.

Few of us will ever make the history books like Wilbur and Orville Wright. But wecan all be inventors in our workplaces, applying the very same lessons and achievingour own soaring results.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I know one person who has her heart set on it: my daughter.

Talk about irony. It’s Labor Day, and while my neighbors gather around their grills, I’m huddled over my keyboard laboring over this column. There’s a deadline to meet, and though my Workforce.com editor is kind and understanding and possibly responsive to subtle buttering up from a tardy columnist, I need to finish this up before tomorrow.

Really, I’m in something of a panic because my schedule for the rest of the week is so jam-packed. If I don’t finish this column now, it’s going to be another late night. But wait, is that the smell of bratwurst wafting up from a grill? Wow, that smells good. (Long pause while every fiber of my being focuses its attention on an imaginary brat.) Forget the bratwurst, get back to the column! You have to get it done or your appointment book will never forgive you. What was the topic again? Oh yeah, challenge.

My monthly Workforce Online column provides insights into the twenty-two key ingredients of a meaningful workplace — what I call the “meaning keys.” These keys emerged from my extensive interviews and focus groups with people from all walks of life. Each column is devoted to a separate key.

Challenge is one of them, and it just so happens to be one of the most, well, challenging. So many people find deep fulfillment in situations that stretch their skills, talents, know-how, and deep interests. Yet so many workplaces go too far in either direction — either they wear people out with impossibly demanding work, or they keep hands busy but leave minds unengaged.

Despite excessive bratwurst fumes, I have developed a detailed assessment tool that will help you determine where you fall on this challenge continuum. While I run outside and visit with my neighbors, review the following items carefully, and place a checkmark in front of each statement that accurately describes your current situation.

_____	You’re famous around the office for your Post-It Note origami.
_____	People occasionally snap their fingers in your face and call out: “Hello, is anyone home?”
_____	A big decision consists of “cheese on wheat” or “fig bar.”
_____	Out of the blue, you get a call from a casting director who wants you as an extra in the upcoming movie “The Stepford Employee.”
_____	You follow with some anticipation the results of Howard’s Tuesday evening bowling league.
_____	You feel genuine pride after sorting your paper clips by size.
_____	A colleague asks you how long you’ve been practicing self-hypnosis.

If you’ve checked any of the above items, or if any of them seem even remotely true to life, you’re seriously under-challenged. I strongly recommend that you fire up your grill, cook yourself a tasty meal, and worry about things later on in this column.

If you didn’t check any boxes, you’re not in the clear just yet. Review this second set of assessment items:

_____	You look up at the clock and it’s already 5 p.m. — the next day.
_____	To replace those time-draining coffee breaks, you opt for a caffeine patch.
_____	As another time-saving measure, you stop using all commas, colons and semicolons.
_____	After a late-night work session, you’re pretty sure you see religious icons in your screen saver.
_____	You’ve operated a pager, a cell phone, and a laptop … at the same time … while eating dinner … at your child’s recital.
_____	You come up with a neat idea: the waterproof laptop, perfect for achieving high productivity in the shower.
_____	The evening cleaning crew offers to put aside its own chores and help you finish whatever it is you’ve been working on for the past several months.

If any of these seven items seem to apply, you face a major case of overwork. In your case, I’d bypass the grill entirely and have the food delivered.

Seriously, there are certain actions you can take whatever your situation:

• Gather your immediate colleagues for an ongoing conversation about the current situation. Perhaps you can team up and help each other. Collective effort is more likely to produce a long-term solution that benefits everyone.
  
  
• If you’re seriously under-challenged, take a process that’s all your own and make it faster, better, and more cost effective. You’ll end up saving some time in your schedule, so direct it to stuff that will engage your brain and stir your deep interests.
  
  
• If you think you’re not in a position to re-create how your work is done, search for one sliver of opportunity — something you can do differently to get your brain back in gear, or something you can stop doing so you can use the saved time for more challenging activities, or at least someone you can talk to who can help you start turning things around.
  
  
• Establish a demanding stretch goal just for yourself. It should be aligned with all the other goals around you — in your work unit, for instance, or the organization as a whole — but it’s yours and yours alone.
  
  
• Consider making this personal goal setting process a group endeavor. If these goals are big enough — and they should be — you’ll need help to turn them into reality.
  
  
• If you’re totally over-challenged, put your schedule under a microscope. Which of your work activities adds little or no value? This can be a painful process as you realize that those monthly reports you’ve been laboring over for the past several years are read by a grand total of one person: you. Sort out what’s really important and what only seems to be important. Then start trimming away.
  
  
• Watch out for perfectionism. If you’re doing something over and over and over to get it just right, get in touch with your customers and find out what they think. You want to thrill them, to be sure, but it won’t do anyone any good if you burn yourself out in the process.
  
  
• Recognize the sharp distinction between being conscientious and being a control freak. Ironically, your excessive workload just might be an opportunity to widen responsibility and boost empowerment.

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Other columns by Tom Terez:

• Can We Talk?
• Making the Most of Acknowledgment

If you’ve been around the team-building block, you’re probably familiar with that classic activity in which each participant jots down three things about himself or herself: two that are true, one that is false. A facilitator or group member then reads each person’s list of three, and the others try to pick out the falsehood.

Sounds like a great way to get closer to your colleagues, doesn’t it? Well, yes and no.

Bob writes: 1) A long time ago, I was arrested for grand larceny. 2) While in college, I chugged a whole bottle of tequila. 3) Sometimes when I’m up late at night, I can see angry gremlins hopping on my sofa. This information is almost certain to — and I’ll be diplomatic here in case Bob reads this — affect your working relationship with Bob.

Another example: You’re eager to learn more about Fran, who seems to be so, well, you decide. She writes: 1) I collect spoons. 2) I have spoons from all 50 states. 3) I have a thimble collection. After hearing this, will you be more or less likely to go to Fran for those wild, crazy, out-of-the-box ideas?

The fact is, team-building activities can make a difference, but they’re hardly a quick, prepackaged “fix.” Don’t be fooled by the countless workplace activity books with titles like “One Billion Games Trainers Play and Amazingly Get Paid For.” To make the most of a team-building exercise, you need careful planning and plenty of follow-up.

There are plenty of activities designed to show how teams are far more effective than individuals when grappling with complex problems. Perhaps you’ve encountered the famous “Airplane Crash in the Desert” scenario, in which you and your colleagues have to make key decisions to stay alive. There’s also a jungle survival scenario, a mountain scenario, and several others.

These are lots of fun, mainly because you’re so darn happy you’re in a comfortable meeting room and not nursing two broken legs while surveying the charred wreckage of a commercial airliner. Unfortunately, extensive studies — including my personal experience with at least two of these activities — show that there is a 96% chance your group will include an “expert” in whatever topic the situation addresses. This can disrupt the whole exercise.

Let’s say your team is working on the jungle scenario. After everyone reads the background information, Chris begins: “Heck, this is easy. I just went on vacation to Puerto Rico and saw a rain forest, so I know all about this stuff.”

You:	Wow, you got lost in the jungle?
Chris:	No, we were on a bus tour.
You:	Oh.
Chris:	But the solution is so obvious to anyone who has been to a rain forest like I have. The first thing you need to do is …

A third category of activities aims to stir creativity while showing that group power can produce an astounding number of ideas. The facilitator holds up a simple object — say, a Styrofoam cup — and asks the group to brainstorm pages and pages of ideas on how that object could be used. This exercise really gets the creative juices flowing, with people suggesting such uses as “drink with it” and “use it to pour acid into the facilitator’s eyes.”

Last but not least, there are activities that try to foster empathy among colleagues. One favorite is the so-called headband exercise, in which each person is physically labeled with a descriptor or directive — it’s wrapped around their forehead so everyone but them can see. John may be labeled “creative,”

Mary may be a “great listener,” Maury may be a “conformist.” Directives can include things like “ignore me,” “listen closely to me,” and so on. The group then proceeds to have a conversation, and these descriptors — which define how each person is perceived and treated by group members — trigger all sorts of discoveries, such as the realization that a staple is digging into your forehead.

A big downside to this activity is that some facilitators go a bit overboard when coming up with the labels. True story: One person (we’ll call him Bill) once spent 30 minutes wearing the words “laugh at me.” In keeping with the exercise, Bill didn’t know the nature of his label. What he did know, by the end of the half hour, is that he wanted to dismember each and every one of his so-called teammates. So it’s important to be cautious when coming up with labels.

Okay, perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. And here’s a confession to soothe the feelings of trainers and facilitators: I myself have used the above-mentioned activities in my efforts to strengthen groups. Actually, I used one of them…or maybe it was someone else. My point is, team-building activities can work as long as you follow some critically important tips:

• Get clear on what the group wants and needs to gain from its team-building efforts — and only then start looking for the right activity. Don’t assume anything; talk things over with team members and get clear on the objectives. If people seem to be expecting too much from a single activity, scope them down to something that’s realistic.


• If you have a gut feeling that a certain activity or exercise may not be appropriate, trust your instincts. Go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.


• Whatever the activity, always follow it with an immediate, in-depth debriefing session in which people crystallize their discoveries, link them with their real work situations, and decide what they plan to do that’s new or different. Ideally, people should make specific action commitments.


• Revisit the discoveries and commitments in follow-up sessions. If you have regular meetings, great — talk about the team-building activity and check whether all of you are doing what you said you were going to do.


• Avoid the many hackneyed exercises — like the brainstorming ordeal in which people try to come up with one hundred ways to use a Popsicle stick. Put on your thinking cap and develop something original. If your thinking cap seems worn out, assemble a group and pool your creative energy.


• Try to make the activities real. If you want the team-building to have a customer focus, organize a session in which team members go out to meet and talk with customers. If the intent is simply to tighten the team’s bonds, look for a one-day community service project, such as a cleanup at a nearby park or repair work for a local homeless shelter. Followed by a thorough debriefing session, authentic activities like these can produce a surge of pride and stronger bonds among everyone.


• Take advantage of daily opportunities to strengthen relationships. The next time you face a workplace challenge, for instance, involve more people in getting the job done. Also, turn meetings into true meeting opportunities by removing physical barriers, circulating a contact list, celebrating milestones, ensuring an open meeting process, and working in small groups.

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Other columns by Tom Terez:

• The Promise and Peril of Mission and Vision
• Creating a Workplace With Flexibility
• Getting and Giving Respect
• The Challenge of “Challenge”
• Can We Talk?
• Making the Most of Acknowledgment

I used to hang out with a motorcycle gang. It only lasted an hour, but what an hour.

It all started when I left the Grand Canyon for a rental-car drive to Las Vegas. Surely my half-full tank of gas would be sufficient. Even if it wasn’t, surely there would be gas stations aplenty along the way.

I saw wondrous things during that drive: towering rock formations, delicate flowering cacti, an open view as far as the eye could see. And as far as I could see, there wasn’t a single gas station anywhere. Pretty soon I didn’t give a damn about the rocks or the cacti or whatever the heck the plural of cactus was or is. All my attention focused on the fuel gauge and that looming E. And in the middle of such beautiful country, which inspires soaring hopes and dreams, all I hoped for was a big reserve tank.

It wasn’t. And just when I thought my luck couldn’t get any worse, my car sputtered to a stop within a stone’s throw of ten or so resting bikers, none of whom looked like they had shaved for a decade.

Let me pause this story for some important background information. Having grown up in Maple Heights, Ohio (town motto: “Just like Mayberry, only not as wild”), I didn’t get much exposure to bikers. In fact, a “biker” was someone who drove a basket- and bell-equipped Huffy or Schwinn.

So when several of the bikers walked up to my car in the Arizona desert, I took a deep breath, gripped the steering wheel, squared my shoulders, and promptly made an idiot out of myself by uttering these words: “Sure is a nice view.”

Instead of laughing in my face — an impressive show of respectful restraint, if you ask me — the bikers asked where I was from, welcomed me to Arizona, and offered to help. One of them raced off to the one gas station that’s located in all of northern Arizona, and I spent the waiting time with nine others talking and laughing and feeling entirely too clean-shaven. And you know what? We had a great conversation. It got to the point where I wanted to hold off on Vegas and head for the nearest tattoo parlor.

Before long, I drove away with a couple gallons of gas, side-road directions to an open station, and a powerful lesson in respect. For years, whenever I saw a biker, I’d make a harsh value judgment. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I didn’t have much respect for them. Now, my respect runs so deep I could be their public-relations director. I’m still tattoo-free, but the lesson will stick with me forever.

Interestingly, the words “respect” and “regard” (as in “how I regard you”) are derived from Latin and French words that capture various nuances of the verb “to look.” How appropriate. When I look at you, or when you look at me, what kind of quick judgments are made? Sure, respect (or the lack thereof) ultimately manifests itself as an action; it comes across in what we say or do or not do. But it originates between our ears. And it’s in that very personal space that we have our biggest opportunity to increase the level of respect in our workplaces.

More on that in just a second. First, ponder this vision:

In a meaningful workplace, everyone holds everyone in high regard, regardless of what they see (tie, big office, fancy car) and what they know (several advanced degrees, big title, close friend of the CEO) about each other. Decisions that affect employees are made with greater care. People’s opinions are valued, and so are their judgment and know-how. When there’s conflict, it’s worked out in a way that keeps everyone’s esteem intact. And not insignificantly, the workplace is more pleasant. If I truly respect you and we happen to cross paths, expect a warm greeting.

Okay, so a workplace is not quite akin to a barren stretch of Arizona highway. But respect is respect, wherever you are, and it’s always an inside-out proposition. If you want to get it, you have to give it. And to give it, you first have to pay attention to those thoughts and judgments and notions that are ever incubating in your gray matter. If you’re sorting people into mental file folders — “important,” “not so important,” “totally worthless,” and so forth — you’re setting yourself up to be an accessory to disrespect. Ditch the file folders, and start thinking and doing anew.

But how? Here are some ideas:

• Don’t wait for the proverbial empty gas tank to act on this. Start conversations with some of the people you’ve filed away into one of the less desirable folders. Perhaps there’s a functional area or office or section you’ve tended to hold in low regard. Or maybe it’s an individual. Take the initiative and engage them in dialogue.
  
  
• Organize a conversation with colleagues on the topic of respect. What does it mean to each of you? How do you know when it’s thriving? What are the warning signs when respect is waning? Questions like these will prompt people to share their respect-related stories from past and present work situations. All of this will give life, meaning, and a remarkable degree of tangibility to an otherwise hazy concept.
  
  
• As one of your general working principles, apply the equivalent of “due process” in the workplace. When negative situations arise and the fingers of blame start pointing, operate under the assumption that people are innocent until proven otherwise.
  
  
• Look for opportunities to address respect in any formal or informal conversations regarding vision, mission, values, goals, or working principles. Somewhere in there, respect should be strongly implied or better yet, explicitly stated and (to the degree possible) defined.
  
  
• Take a visible, vocal stand against disrespect wherever it rears its ugly head. If you’re in a meeting where people are unfairly disparaging someone’s hard work, speak up in their defense. If another session finds someone strategizing on how to sneak a new policy by the employees, again, speak up in favor of openness and honesty. And when you’re in a one-on-one situation where someone’s comments or behavior strikes you as disrespectful, again, take a deep breath and give them a diplomatic piece of your mind.

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Other columns by Tom Terez:

• The Challenge of “Challenge”
• Can We Talk?
• Making the Most of Acknowledgment

Balance…challenge…direction…dialogue…equality…fit…These and 16 other concepts hold the key to providing “meaning at work.” Each month, Tom Terez unlocks another key.

No, no, not that! Anything but that!”

I’ll never forget how Eric’s face turned beet red. It was supposed to be a surprise, and was it ever. Laid off? Nope. Demoted? Not at all. Shipped off to the Aleutian Islands field office? No such luck. Eric had just been named employee of the month. I’ll never forget his anguish. Yes, it was anguish! “This is what I get for being a good employee?!”

The honor (sorry for abusing the word, Eric) included a country-club lunch with the boss’ boss’ boss, a canned letter of thanks from the CEO, 30 days of having his framed picture hanging in the lobby, and a front-row parking space among the spots reserved for senior management. He actually gave the parking perk to a pregnant colleague who was sick and tired of walking the quarter mile from her usual space.

With all the subtlety of a two-by-four to the head, Eric’s story reminds us that meaningful acknowledgment is tricky business. It should be simple, right? Heck, it’s one of our first lessons in life: Say thank you. Yet we continue to turn acknowledgment into an event, distort it with extrinsic motivators, and taint it with an undercurrent of internal competition. And when we do, we end up with lots and lots of Erics.

Another friend told me about a yearly recognition ceremony at her company. The 50 “top performers” (their term) gather for a big formal dinner and a speech or two. Then each person is called to the front, where they can reach into the “treasure chest” (their term again) and pull out a surprise thank-you gift. Denise has suffered through — uh, I mean, attended — three of these events. “By the time I get a babysitter and a new outfit, this so-called recognition dinner costs me quite a few bucks,” she said. Her most recent thank-you gift? “Ceramic seashell coasters.” (long pause) “I would have preferred a baseball bat, especially at that moment.”

Then there’s the kind of acknowledgment that’s supposed to inspire people to do great things. It hardly ever does. Let’s eavesdrop as Martha, the manager of a 10-person work unit, quotes almost directly from the book “Things a Manager Should Never, Ever, Ever Say:”

Martha: Before we finish our meeting, I just want to recognize Mike for his great work the other week. He really was a lifesaver. Mike: Well, I couldn’t have done it without — Martha: Oh, you’re so humble! Seriously, you really showed all of us what high performance is all about. Perhaps you could sit down with Ken and Mary and the others and show them how you do it. Ken, Mary, staff, doesn’t that sound like a good idea? Mike: Actually, it was Ken and Mary who — Ken (whispering to Mary): Let’s spend the afternoon making a Martha voodoo doll. Mary (back to Ken): I’ll get the pushpins. Ken (still whispering): Poor Mike. Mary: Yeah, but I hate him anyway. Let’s whip together a Mike doll too.

There’s also the sincerity issue, which comes across loud and clear in exchanges like this:

Head Muckety-Muck: I heard really great things about your work on the new account, Bob. Fantastic job! Steve: Thanks, but my name is Steve, not Bob. HMM: Well, in that case, many thanks to both of you. Steve: I’m not sure anyone by that name works here. HMM (striding quickly to another high-priority meeting): Well, keep up the great work, Bob!

Okay, so acknowledgment is easier said than done. But it needs to be done! Here are practical tips to reorient your thinking and prompt some positive action:

• Instead of focusing on big events to recognize people, work to create a culture of appreciation. Make acknowledgment a part of the daily routine. Leave Oscar night to the folks in Hollywood.


• Become an obsessive observer. Notice what other people are doing, and respond by acknowledging their efforts and celebrating their achievements. This is not Harvard MBA stuff. A simple “thank you” or “awesome job” — sincerely conveyed, of course — can transform a relationship.


• Regardless of what you do or where you are in the organization, make yourself a model of down-to-earth acknowledgment. It has to start with you! In this era of teams, people are always working hand in hand, so you should have plenty of opportunities to show your appreciation.


• Remember that dialogue plays a key role in all of this. Instead of engaging in hit-and-run acknowledgment, take the time to talk about efforts and successes with those who are involved. I’m all for fast companies, but this is one case where it helps to slow down.


• Last but not least, use these two questions to seed a conversation with your colleagues: Why is it that we insist on giving extrinsic rewards when countless studies — not to mention the Erics and Denises of the world — confirm that true motivation is intrinsic? And what can we do to make the most of the intrinsic stuff? Prediction #1: This will be a mind-opening conversation, especially when people start to reveal how they’d like to be acknowledged. Prediction #2: No one’s going to want ceramic seashell coasters!