Hello, again, everyone, Welcome to May! I don't know how it is where you live, but the natural world in our area is beginning to recognize the change of the seasons, with vigor and apparent joy! The birds are singing in the trees, the wildflowers by the side of the roads are shouting out their presence with brightly colored blossoms. It's a very welcome sight for all of us; winter-like conditions were wearing us all down.

I've been enjoying my travel schedule - April was a busy month, with five presentations, in four states. I'm delighted to tell you that I've gotten lots of wonderful feedback from these events. Tracy Hinish, from the Pennsylvania School Superintendents Conference, on April 28th, wrote "Thank you for such an enjoyable presentation, Albert. I received much positive feedback."

Scott Turransky, a young member of the audience during the Toastmaster District 13 Spring Conference, at State College, Pennsylvania wrote, "Thank you for all your help this weekend. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me on Saturday afternoon. I feel I really learned a lot. I now know I have a long way to go, but I now know the best direction to take and what I need to improve."

Another young lady, Sydney Phillips, wrote, "You spoke to a crowd of thousands recently on April 23, 2010 at the SkillsUSA Ohio State Competition where I competed in the Crime Scene Investigation, and placed 2nd! I want you to know that I left that Expo Center to my hotel speechless. I began to think of how grateful I am for all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I wish to impact the lives of others as I'm so confident you have."

It's always heartwarming to know that I've made a difference in some small way, or ways in the lives of others. As everyone knows, we learn a lot from constructive insights - and I invite anyone who has attended one of my presentations to write with their own unique perspective on what I said or did. And, of course, if you'd like to comment on the contents of this newsletter, I'd welcome your insights.

Until next month,

Planning a Conference?

I'd also love to hear from those of you who have convocations, conferences, or other group events coming up during the remainder of the year; I would so enjoy bringing the Mensah Message to your participants! Write me at albert@albertmensah.com with your contact details, and I'll reach out to you for a discussion of your vision for this event presentation, and overall purpose of your gathering.

Before I go much further, I'd like to share a really inspiring passage from a book I read recently, High Tide in Tucson, by Barbara Kingsolver. I may have shared this with some of you earlier, but I want to make sure that you are all aware of these powerful words. "Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job...And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another ---that is surely the basic instinct...Crying out: High Tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is."

Are you ready to move out...to take this life for what it is? I bet you're asking, "Just what is this life?" For me, it's a glorious opportunity to bring our inner light out into the world; to take (calculated) risks, to love, laugh, and challenge ourselves to be the best we can be. And, many times, all those things require help from, and cooperation with, others. Our folktale for this month focuses on the reasons why this collaborative approach to living is a part of the greater design for our lives.

The Folktale

The Anansi tales are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, my native country.

Many of you already know of Anansi, the spider -this trickster is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy. The stories of Anansi are akin to the Coyote or Raven trickster tales found in many Native American cultures.

Why Wisdom is Everywhere

A long time ago, Anansi the spider, had all the wisdom in the world stored in a huge pot. Nyame, the sky god, had given it to him. Anansi had been instructed to share it with everyone.

Every day, Anansi looked in the pot, and learned different things. The pot was full of wonderful ideas and skills. Anansi greedily thought, "I will not share the treasure of knowledge with everyone. I will keep all the wisdom for myself."

So, Anansi decided to hide the wisdom on top of a tall tree. He took some vines and made some strong string and tied it firmly around the pot, leaving one end free. He then tied the loose end around his waist so that the pot hung in front of him. He then started to climb the tree. He struggled as he climbed because the pot of wisdom keeps getting in his way, bumping against his tummy. Anansi's son watched in fascination as his father struggled up the tree. Finally, Anansi's son told him "If you tie the pot to your back, it will be easier to cling to the tree and climb."

Anansi tied the pot to his back instead, and continued to climb the tree, with much more ease than before. But when Anansi got to the top of the tree, he became angry. "A young one with some common sense knows more than I, and I have the pot of wisdom!"

In anger, Anansi threw down the pot of wisdom. The pot broke, and pieces of wisdom flew in every direction. People found the bits scattered everywhere, and if they wanted to, they could take some home to their families and friends. That is why to this day; no one person has the entire world's wisdom. People everywhere share small pieces of it whenever they exchange ideas.

Collaboration: One Key to Achieving Success

Thanks to dear Anansi, we are all blessed with wisdom enough to share, and sharing your brilliance actually magnifies its value. After all, keeping it all to yourself is like "hiding your light under a bushel." So, what is collaboration? Collaboration has been defined as:

1. The act of working in concert with others to push ideas forward.

2. A collective approach that promotes accountability and cross-pollination, two critical forces in generating meaningful productive creative output.

In my experience, successful collaboration requires that you do 10 things:

1. Define and agree on a shared vision and mission to generate the commitment of participants and provide the measure of outcome. Creating a sense of common purpose binds people together and inspires stakeholders to internalize the collaborative efforts. This is the single most important step of any successful collaboration.

2. Choose a diverse group of participants, and clearly define their roles and responsibilities.

3. Honor the unique gifts and talents of each person, group, and organization to provide the critical balance necessary for collaboration.

4. Recognize that it takes time to build relationships and cohesiveness but these will help the group face challenges ahead.

5. Work to create a high level of trust that members value the common purpose, and have commitment to their assigned tasks.

6. Allow only positive communication; and have a mechanism for making decisions.

7. Develop a clear leadership structure and channels of communication, as both are essential to collaboration.

8. Cultivate an atmosphere for the healthy exchange of ideas and confrontation that is non-threatening and unemotional.

9. Create an action plan complete with a realistic workload measurable benchmarks and timelines.

10. Establish clearly defined outcome and process measures, based on clearly articulated objectives. Always seek to identify any barriers to progress.

And What of Remote Collaboration?

In this global age, collaboration often takes place "remotely," in that no one is in the same room - or even in the same state, or country! Such long distance collaboration requires active engagement - when no one is allowed to become apathetic or distance themselves from the team. This is simply because if one person starts to detach, the chemistry of the entire team suffers.

What can you do?

Call them on it!

Do this by simply asking, "Are you following me? Does this make sense?" Or ask for feedback on the process itself. If you fail to call it out, you will find that apathy is contagious.

Talk it out.

Apathy often has roots that run deep. Sometimes it is a personal issue, other times it is a disagreement or a miscommunication. Whatever it is, it will only become worse without discussing it.

Introduce new challenges & pose new questions.

Sometimes apathy can be traced to a lack of feeling challenged. Adding new challenges into the mix is a great way of re-engaging checked-out team members.

Respect Everyone's Time.

The first rule in working with remote teams is to respect everyone's time. When the team is gathered - whether remotely or face-to-face - use every minute wisely.

Use meetings constructively.

Use your time together to get on the same page, brainstorm ideas, and make decisions. Finalize draft documents. Edit diagrams and draw pictures. The goal is to have no homework after the meeting.

And, don't call them "meetings."

When someone says "meeting" it brings images of wasted hours, so use a different word to describe what you intend to happen. I like "working session." Choosing a new term will help put everyone in the right mindset and will emphasize the collaborative nature of your sessions.

Identify your goals and give yourself time to accomplish them.

Map out goals for your working session at the beginning so everyone knows what you hope to accomplish. Allow team members enough time to prepare their work between sessions.

Take planned breaks.

Since working sessions will be long, you must schedule breaks. Set up rules for these breaks so they don't stretch from five minutes into forty-five minutes. Also, supply food in all locations... food helps bring team members to the table and maintains their energy level.

Encourage participation.

Conference calls can lead to daydreaming, so establish ground rules for active listening. To encourage team members to participate, reward participation by verbally acknowledging contributors...which leads us to my next point.

Be liberal with praise.

People want to be proud of the work they've accomplished and everyone can use a little positive attention. It goes a long way to build a team grounded in mutual respect and enthusiastic participation on the part of individuals.

Are You Ready to Wake Up?

My newest book is almost ready - it's at the printers right now. I just love the title: Wake Up! To Your Own Potential and the Hidden Opportunities in Challenging Times.

I was called to write this book because of the pervasive atmosphere of hopelessness during this current economic downturn, hopelessness which colors our everyday lives. I've watched it cause folks to slip into a state of mind where they're unable to take action. The book is designed to counteract the effects of the media and the 'group mentality,' by providing readers with thought-provoking, life-changing self-awareness exercises.

Readers get the opportunity to investigate their current mindset, and find ways to make the necessary internal changes to shift their thinking about the world around them.

Sometimes, it feels easier to stay "down," instead of taking action to lift ourselves up and out of the economic mire. Wake Up! is designed to counteract this tendency; to help readers to more clearly see and appreciate their "inner" talents, and personal/professional potential, to become more able to discern the (often hidden) "outer" opportunities in their environment; to reinvent, reinvigorate and re-establish their powerful presence, and provide them with solutions to problems they may face when they're outside their comfort zone.

If you feel a desire to wake up, then make sure you stay tuned for publication updates. You'll be able to get it at a special pre-launch promotional price, because you're a valued subscriber!