First blog post.Life has shaped you into the person you are at this moment. You can leverage who you are to make a change in the world. The change you seek to make can help others do more and be more than they thought possible. Simple right? If so, how is it that we get lost in our “why” or our “reason” to live?Written August 26, 2019. Life changed dramatically. I look back and laugh. I’m thankful I’m here now.
About five and a half years ago, I wrote about gifts and risk.Honesty is a gift. It’s in short supply and high demand. Paradoxically, I wonder if it’s a gift we really want.“No, I don’t want to play your gig. I don’t like the people you pick to play with.” That’s an honest reply a musician might give to a band leader. That reply (almost) certainly gives that mad musician a bad reputation. “I am unable to accept your gig. Thanks for thinking of me. You might find some musicians on this Facebook group…”. That response is value-adding and may give you the musician a positive reputation. Honesty appears to be a net positive when combined with kindness and tact.
Remembering “the reason to live.”Today, I challenge you to not only be the change you seek to make but be a reason that someone ended their day happier and more fulfilled. … continuing the thought.If work is energy transferred by a force; and,If energy is the ability to do work; and,If energy cannot be created out of nothing but rather it’s transferred; and,If the passage of time is the movement of disorder to order; therefore,Is our reason to live our need to transfer our energy into work thereby stepping ourselves closer and closer to our ordered future selves? And if that’s true, that means that all work we create, must be work that matters — we have a finite amount of energy to spare.
You are wrong to think it’s a good thing to tell people they’re wrong.It doesn’t feel right telling you that. And I imagine it doesn’t feel right telling anybody that. Instead, I notice that people’s face light up when I say: “Thanks for your idea. Have you considered this better way?”Discovery is more fun than disappointment.
People never expect random and absurd questions. When received, people can’t seem to let them go. Almost 100% of the time, teams become way more present when engaged with a random question.Almost 100% of the time, teams don’t know if they should expect a random questions and are on the lookout for them.Almost 100% of the time, a random question is welcomed with a laugh, a smile, a “really?” and a thoughtful response. My last prompt to my team revealed the following (my team is based in Manila, Philippines):100% of people surveyed approve of bacon and believe there should be more of it.Mexican food is delicious, but there should be other diverse cuisines available in Metro Manila. Apparently Philippines is not great for curing meet or hard cheeses because of the humidity. In case you’re wondering if work gets done, it does. With a happy and productive heart.
I can remember going outside and seeing raccoon paw prints on the garage door. What were they doing? Looking for food? Shelter? Were they curious about the garage? The prints tell us that the raccoons crawled on the garage, we don’t necessarily see the impacts of their romp. The people you meet and the teams you lead may be like a garage door and you could see paw prints of people who left a mark before you encountered that person. Before judging a person, remember that what you’re seeing now is a shadow of their past. Being curious is always a better strategy than jumping to conclusions.Granting grace is almost always zero cost, with high benefits.
On a hike today I encountered deer and coyote tracks at the same place. The deer, the coyote, and myself were all at the same place, but we were not there at the same time. This is a useful metaphor for working with humans. I am writing this message to you from the past. I am thinking about you, I am thinking about what I saw and how it might be useful for you. I am trying to find the words to project this idea from my brain to your eyes. Now, you are here reading this message. My idea is with you and you get to decide if this is useful for you or not. When you are creating things for other people, keep in mind where those you seek to serve may be when they get your message.
Me: What is the conversation you most want to overhear and haven’t heard yet?Brian:“Ma’am, thank you for your work to help us over the last decades. We now have the full capacity and capabilities to deploy nuclear fusion power globally. We will never need another source of power. It’s amazing how your discovery of The Process also used the byproducts of fusion to reverse carbon in the atmosphere and restore the ice caps. Would you like to do the honors of approving this order to flip the switch on for the world?”
If you’re a leader that is talking with a direct report one-on-one, make that the most important person in your world at that moment. That’s a signal to your direct report that they matter. When a person perceives they matter, they make and ship work that matters.That principle works outside of work too.
What if “passionately disagreeing” was fun? And as the level of “fun” rises does “seriousness” fall? Disagreeableness can mean competitive, skeptical, blunt, uncooperative, and/or insensitive. What’s not listed is: “fun.” The opposite of disagreeable is agreeable. Attributes of agreeable people: trusting, cooperative, considerate, sincere, and modest. What’s not listed: “fun.”The idea of “fun” or “play” doesn’t appear to be a factor of any type and intensity of agreeableness. “Seriousness” the same — it doesn’t appear attached to agreeableness.“Play” and “seriousness” are also not opposites of each other — they can exist at the same time. I “play” music and I am “serious” about how I play. If all that is true, then disagreements ought to be seriously fun.