The Content & Products to Help
You Inspire Your People
Inspiring people begins with our fresh, no-fluff messages.
We publish them in short 20-minute books, 3-minute videos, pocket-sized reminder cards, and on many other reinforcement products (posters, drinkware, PowerPoint® slides for meetings, etc.).
The goal is to help you raise awareness so more human beings fully accept their personal responsibility to make things better... continually. If you want to inspire people, you also need to feel inspired. Your own personal and professional growth will turn you into a more inspirational leader.
Our material is inspiring great leaders at thousands of companies, organizations, and school systems. It's also helping hundreds of thousands of people as individuals (even families) to live engaged lives of contribution and care.
So where do you start? We have a plan here or choose the theme that you like best for your next meeting and start there. Otherwise, please call us (1-800-535-2773) or email us contactus@successories.com with questions
Learn more about our meeting presentations and products through out Customer Testimonials and Use Cases from corporate cultures and small businesses to healthcare and education.
Please call us (1-800-535-2773) or email us contactus@successories.com with questions | Learn how to lead better meetings
InspireYourPeople Collection is about creating a stronger team and a better culture
We do it by giving leaders a fresh way to reinforce with their people what matters most at work ... cultivating better relationships and better results. A wonderful side benefit ... sometimes the ideas help people live a better life at home too.
We're real people here and we'd love to help you. Call us (1-800-535-2773), email us, or chat with us (lower right corner of the page).
How to Inspire People
by Sam Parker
We inspire people with what we say and what we do.
Words. Actions.
Ours. Someone else's.
To inspire others is to help others connect to something in a way that encourages them to respond ... better. Better is sooner, faster, now, with more. And better shows up later.
We act.
We're watched.
We're seen.
We share.
We're heard.
We're understood.
Our actions and words give us an opportunity to lead by example, inspire others around us and occasionally, even inspire people we may never meet.
The obvious... MMaya Angelou, Walt Disney, Martin Luther King, Teddy Roosevelt, Oprah Winfrey, John and Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Mother Teresa, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates... we've never met these human beings, but their work, their focus, and their resilience continue to inspire us. As do their words. But these are not the only ones.
The less obvious... (but maybe even more important, ordinary moments)
A child's truth, enthusiasm, and wonder.
A spouse's warmth and compassion.
A parent's patience and encouragement.
A stranger's act of kindness.
A colleague's extra effort and attention, showing they genuinely care.
Constructive feedback from management.
A friend's humility, gratitude, and forgiveness.
For most people, it's simple.
A book. A speech. A thought.
A song. A film. A video.
A picture. A sight.
Each can inspire people.
And it can happen in an instant ... if we'll let it.
We do good things ... we share good things ... we'll enjoy more of our day.
And, isn't that what we all really want with our time?
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about ... when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. - C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), Irish writer and scholar
Every day, there are so many opportunities to shine ... so many chances to be a better part of someone's day. Why not grab a couple more and inspire a few more good things with some positive feedback?
If we all step up ... more often than not ... we'll find ourselves in a better place.
Embrace simplicity. #StayInspiring
So how do I start Inspiring My People?
You can call us (1-800-535-2773) or email us contactus@successories.com with questions | Learn how to lead better meetings
Or, without knowing...
your budget
what you and your team do
your goals and timeline
the details about the people on your team
We'd recommend the following steps to begin inspiring employees or team members...
1. Introduce your leadership team to Lead Simply and its Model, Connect, Involve framework. Do it using our comprehensive Lead Simply meeting package. It includes a short video, a scripted and editable PowerPoint® presentation, 10 Lead Simply books and other reinforcement material. It also includes a detailed Leader's Guide to help you introduce and discuss the material with your team. (Be sure to buy enough books and other reinforcement material for everyone.)
Compare all Lead Simply meeting packages or buy only the individual products you think would work best for you as an inspirational leader for your team.
2. When you buy the Lead Simply material, buy a matching Cross The Line meeting package with enough books and other reinforcement material for everyone (including your leadership team).
3. At the end of your leadership-only meeting, show the Cross The Line video and let everyone know your plan to introduce the message to the entire team. (“We're going to Cross The Line and commit to making this year/quarter/month the best ever. As a leadership team, we'll do that by Modeling the behavior we want to see, Connecting with our team, and Involving everyone as much as possible in the effort! At our next meeting, we’ll include everyone and introduce them to what it means to Cross The Line.”)
4. Next (a few days, a week, a month later … time frame you feel is best), meet with your entire team (including leadership) to introduce the Cross The Line message. Use the PowerPoint® material and have a discussion using the Leader's Guide.
Create more team buy-in and involve others in leading the meeting, if possible. An inspiring leader can begin to inspire employees by focusing solely on providing mutual respect. What better ways to inspire trust in your team and affect positive change, than to listen and encourage others from the sidelines?
Then, after any additional administrative things that need to be covered, close the meeting by showing the Cross The Line video.
As a takeaway reminder, give everyone a copy of the Cross The Line book and any other reinforcement material you bought. Put the pocket cards in the books as bookmarks/reminders or share them a week or so later to instill the ideas over time.
5. A few months later (or at the time interval you think makes the most sense given your objectives, challenges, and team), go deeper and introduce the 212 philosophy - helping everyone see the value of a little extra effort and attention. Do it using a 212 meeting package with enough books and reinforcement material for everyone.
6. Then, when you think it makes the most sense, use Smile & Move next - inspiring people to be more positive and service-focused. Use a Smile & Move meeting package with enough books and reinforcement material for everyone.
7. A few months later (or, again, at the time interval you think makes the most sense), introduce everyone to Love Your People - encouraging more trust and accountability to each other internally. Use a Love Your People meeting package with enough books and reinforcement material for everyone.
8. Intermittently, throughout all of this, use our Make Good Things Happen, Work Kindly, and Rise & Reach messages to further support the bigger messages.
If you have salespeople, consider using our SalesTough message to help them become more valuable to your prospects, customers, and organization.
If you have a large organization, you can also license the PowerPoint® material and videos for use by everyone, everywhere, at any time, forever.
InspireYourPeople Personal Growth Success Stories
"The Lead [simply] workshop was yesterday and the participants loved it! The conversation was engaging, inspiring, and effortless. Thank you again for what you do. Your concepts make it easier (and more fun) for me to lead my team in an authentic and successful way!"
- Cristina, Novartis
"The Smile & Move video has been a great success here at our corporate office. I work for a property management company and we operate hotels. Our culture within our company has been about 'TEAM-Together Everyone Achieves More', and basically, it's about doing something for someone else out of the norm. We're finding your Smile & Move concept really helps put our TEAM into perspective."
- J. Henderson / Magna Hospitality
"It really went well and was received very well by my team. I had the buttons, the books, the pens and last but not least the DVD. Wonderful stuff. I followed your outline and all of your recommendation on how to present Cross the Line, it really works."
- Frank Warner, Frank Anthony Salon
"I've been Smoving for over a year now and while I've really enjoyed the message, it's paying great dividends for my team...
After rolling the information to our leadership team, I adjusted the PowerPoint presentation a bit to shorten the presentation so I could roll it out to the front line employees. These meetings included a significant amount of discussion and even a couple of breakout sessions to brainstorm about the different ways we can Smile & Move in our daily workplace.
After rolling this to our front line we put up some of the posters around the centers.
We've had great feedback on the program and I believe that people are doing things differently now that we have the message out there."
- Call Center Sales Manager, Large publicly traded telecommunication company
"The feedback was incredible! It just makes sense. Model. Connect and Involve.
The first part of the session is focused on customer service and then the last half is the leadership focused time when they get the books and we talk through what these three concepts translate into in ‘our world.'"
- Karen R. Manager, Training Resource Development at United Airlines
"I had a 2012 kick-off meeting with my direct reports and broader team last week and we used the Cross The Line materials to open the agenda for the half day meeting. The material was a great lead-in and focal point for the team as we built out our goals and objectives for 2012 as a group. I plan on incorporating the ‘Smile & Move' material later on in the year!"
- Ann Young, Talent Acquisition Sr. Manager
"Quick backstory - we kicked off 212 @ last month during a Sales Training meeting. All of our Associates received 212 wristbands that has become a required addition to their Romp n' Roll uniform. We then held a ‘Makin Steam and Movin' Trains Contest.' Associates were asked to self-nominate themselves by submitting examples of how they had achieved that extra degree of Customer Service.
Our Team has embraced 212 to the point that we now have associates talking about how they're going to hit 213! Is it possible for Customer Service to ‘boil-over?' Thanks for providing this opportunity for us to engage our Team in taking our service to another level!"
- Tim Barnett, Director of Operations of Romp n' Roll Franchise Development, LLC
Inspiring Leaders in Education - Staff Testimonials
"I am excited to see my people become inspired and strive for self-improvement. Thank you for your products and the impact it is going to have on my students and staff!"
- Bengie Laning, Charter School Principal
"The theme (212° the extra degree) was perfect. Average could not get us where we needed to be, so 'the extra degree' had to become our normal way of work. The culture and climate of the school changed dramatically in a positive direction. Of course, it was more than the theme that made the difference, but having a tag line that was perceived as credible helped tremendously."
- Middle school principal
"I bought your book, Lead [simply]. I LOVED IT. I quickly purchased Smile & Move after. Our entire staff received Love Your People as a Christmas gift. All of your work at InspireYourPeople.com continues to have a positive impact on our staff.
Our school was recently named a National Title I Distinguished School for closing the achievement gap. We want each student to read on grade level and pass the state standardized test. We are getting closer every year. Last year 84% of our students passed both parts of the state test. That is a 25% percent gain in two years.
I don't believe that our students' high achievement would be possible without our journey through your books. Your work inspires us to work harder, smarter, and happier. Now we are all trying to make good things happen for other people every day. Thank you for your enthusiastic example. It is positively impacting adults and students at Washington every day."
- J.R. Ankenbruck, Principal at Washington Elementary School
"It was about 4 years ago that I stumbled across InspireYourPeople.com and 212. What I can tell you is that is has made a significant difference in our High School. It is true that one extra degree can make all the difference. After the 212 roll out, we progressed to Smile and Move the next year ... immediately we saw Smovers make the choice to complain-less and give more.
As educators we are inundated with buzz words, initiatives, mandates, and all sorts of other ‘stuff.' What is most significant about InspireYourPeople.com material is the ability to make simple connections that stick and are readily embraced by all stakeholders. We noticed about six months in our 212 campaign that students starting to pick up on our mantra. That is how we knew we made a shift.
We are looking forward to Cross the Line this year!"
- Mark Schultz, High School Principal
"The principals loved the Smile & Move theme. They felt it was very straightforward and motivational at the same time. Even though it was a simple message it was very thought provoking."
- Polk County School Board
Inspiring People in Healthcare - Training & Meeting Testimonials
"I am excited to see my people become inspired and strive for self-improvement. Thank you for your products and the impact it is going to have on my students and staff!"
- Bengie Laning, Charter School Principal
"The Smile and Move program was implemented into our emergency department work force a year ago. It is now our baseline for building and defining our work ethics platform. We bought the program, shared the information with our team in groups and as individuals, kept reminders in view, constantly reaffirm verbally, and shared / talked about the program with patients / families throughout the year. We have reminders on the time clocks, posters in our break room / bathrooms, pins on our badges, books / pages on our customer service board, excerpts shared in weekly emails, and of course inter-personal shares when we are busy we are left with no choice but to Smile and Move. (My bumper sticker gets a lot of attention as well!) The consistency to which we review the program is key … we have to re-read it, visualize the motto, and memorize the key phrases/words so we can reflect when we as humans falter and need to be reminded. When we get compliments back in our surveys that reiterate the results … we are assured that the program works, we are committed to sharing our smiles, we are convicted in moving with urgency, we have adopted the principals that have changed our view on integrity and work ethics, and will continue to share it with those around us. Our HC scores have gone from 50-60% to 90% in the last year. I am excited and pleased with the direction our customer service program continues to progress in and am hopeful with growth, continual changes, positive attitudes, and ‘Smoving' in the right direction, we can remain the best ER in our area while setting a precedence for other HCA facilities."
- Michelle Voizin, Customer Service Specialist, West Florida Hospital
"I have followed you and your company for over 9 years. The insight and relevant material you and your team produce are amazing! I've used your materials for new & tenured sales teams across many disciplines of industries. Thank you!"
- Michelle McMahon, Travel Nurse Across America
Real-world examples of how Smile & Move is inspiring employees in healthcare…
A 650 bed regional medical center (Level II Trauma Center) and Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award winner, used Smile & Move Training as one of their resources to help improve their level of customer service across the hospital in hopes of winning another Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award. They customized the Smile & Move Training presentation to complement their hospital's purpose, mission and values. Over the course of 1 month they trained 5,800 hospital staff. They have the highest HCAHPS scores within a 68mile radius of 12 other acute care hospitals.
A South Sacramento Medical Center used Smile & Move as one of their leadership resources and as part of a facility-wide campaign reinforcing their safety message. Their quality team sent out emails to all managers and directors about the message and how it tied into their hospital objectives for quality and safety. They put a TV/DVD player on a rolling cart and rolled the cart throughout every unit of the hospital over the course of several weeks so that every staff person everywhere saw the 3-minute Smile & Move video. They reinforced the concept by giving the mugs out to top performers with organization-wide announcements. They also had fun raffles and other prizes for 'Smovers' of the week and month within the hospital.