Posts tagged decision making
older experienced people and transformational hires
Jul 28th
So. In the past months I received two things that didn’t seem related but in my warped mind they did:
1. Ralph Cutcher (a nice really smart guy) talked in his newsletter about helping companies hire more transformational people. Here is what he said:
- Transformational Players –During the last year, most of our assignments have been for what I would term “transformational players”. Sounds like an impossible search assignment right? Not really. What these searches represent is an expectation of change and new possibilities, principally tied to establishing new capability, a new leadership approach or new business creation. And they are always entwined with an expectation for revenue lift. Our view may be skewed somewhat by the nature of how our practice has evolved, but I also see this when I talk with connections in every corner of the marketing and advertising world. A great replacement is not really considered a high value staffing move. More often than not these transformational player moves are accomplished by trading out another role(s) to fund this move, making an incremental FTE add or moving a star player into a transformational role. The result over time will be a version of the GE model… every year trade out the bottom 10% of your performers. In this updated model, every person is intricately tied to a higher value role with a constant re-evaluation of the roles and how they fit in. This future view will put a premium on a person’s ability to influence and activate the organization regardless of their current role.
2. I was forwarded an email suggesting about only 4% of employees in advertising (say marketing) agencies are over 50 … so where is the knowledge and experience coming from (and the editorial suggests how can agencies developing communications to boomers do so without boomers guiding the relevance)? Here is the quote from EngageBoomers:
- The PEW Center released a study at the end of last year suggesting that the current generation gap is the largest in the almost 50-year history of the study. Even larger than during the Vietnam war era. Today, an astounding 79% of Americans believe that there is a generation gap in the ways young and old think and believe. And then there’s this … The average age of an advertising agency creative person is 28. The average age of a media planner is 24. And less than 4% of advertising agency personnel in America is over the age of 50. I know why all the ads look and sound the way they do. I know why none of them talk to the 50+ audience. A friend of mine offered up this paraphrased quote from the Greek philosopher Xenophanes: “If horses had gods, they would look like horses.” Thirty-five year old creative people are always going to create messages that look like them, sound like them and act like them. Why? Because they’re 35.
Okay.
I have to tell you.
I think the market place needs more 50 year old+ employees than ever before (and I am gonna tell you why).
Now. I am not suggesting all 50+ people are the same. And this generalization may be translatable to other age groups but let me suggest there are three groups:
- Over 50 and all they know and believe in is what they were taught when they were in their 20’s.
- Over 50 and they have all the knowledge they need to be on their own and like being on their own (I call these builders)
- Over 50 and have accumulated iterative learning over the years and have a unique combination of old and new (and like renovating)
(note: I wrote a post about Builders versus Renovators if you want to check it out)
The first group is lost in the past.
They will struggle because their thinking and ideas and even their vocabulary can be out of date. They will suck at transformation or renovation. Their hope is finding someone who needs to work on their internal construct of how to get shit done because … well … they know how to get shit done within a system. But mostly these are the people when we were young we thought were ‘out-of-touch’ from the real world (or chuckled to ourselves because they would throw out up to date buzzwords acting like they knew what was going on).
The second group has accumulated enough knowledge and expertise and confidence where mentally they have flipped from ‘working for someone’ to ‘working for myself.’
They have recognized their ability to build. And they like building (which is different than transforming). They would suck at transforming because they want to run the place and not simply be an enabler for the organization to shift. (Ralph also talks about this within his newsletter as “fear of flying” and learning about yourself). They could possibly be out of touch or they could be leading edge entrepreneurs. But it doesn’t matter because they are now going forward as their own boss.
And then there is the third group. They are renovators (Ralph calls them Transformation people).
Companies should be fighting over these people.
They are old but not old. They are experienced but still learning. They have a solid thinking construct but flexible in application. They may have their quirks (because I believe all of us older people start feeling more comfortable in our own skin and therefore are a little less worried about ‘fitting in’) but also tend to be more interested in the result than worrying about step by step how they get there. They can actually make the current buzzword understandable by using past functional learnings to explain them. They clearly have one foot in the past (history & knowledge) and one foot in the future (restless & learning). Great at transforming. Great at bridging generation gaps.
So.
When I say “fighting for these people” I don’t mean to suggest that companies should be stockpiling these people at the expense of young energetic fresh thinkers and doers. I am simply suggesting that companies need a good tier of these boomer types to transform themselves when, frankly, a lot of companies need to be ‘transforming.’ (and my definition of transformation is leveraging from solid good older characteristics an injecting some new characteristics).
I am also not going to suggest there should be a direct correlation between % of boomers in population and % of boomers in the makeup of business organizations.
That would seem kind of silly to me.
You don’t need a shitload of these people because they are catalysts (and I think if you have too many catalysts in a room it creates either a black hole or an implosion … I cannot remember which).
But the numbers are pretty compelling that organizations should seek that third group of over 50ers (let’s be nice and call them boomers … hey … I am one … well … officially I think I am a Joneser).
In 2009 The PEW Center released a study outlining the current generation gap is the largest in the almost 50 year history of the study.
Today, an astounding 79% of Americans believe that there is a generation gap in the ways young and old think and believe. 
Truly the only way to bridge that gap within an organization and eliminate generational divisiveness is to have boomers who can effectively communicate with and motivate all age groups.
Look. Just to make a point for all organizations.
I don’t know that I buy the dire extent of the issue the editorial in Media Post suggests with regard to boomers in advertising/communications agencies (The average age of an advertising agency creative person is 28. The average age of a media planner is 24. And less than 4% of advertising agency personnel in America is over the age of 50).
To the facts just stated I frankly say “so what.”
I don’t believe only women have to work on female driven communications, African Americans on African American focused communications or clowns to work on circus communications.
Talented communicators can create links with anyone they desire to communicate with.
This leads me back to the importance of that third group of boomers with the talent I outline.
That group will tend to be generalists.
They will have such a varied experience background that their value will be exponential in that they know how to transfer learnings to different situations. 
They will know how to take company vision (or ‘dream”) and give younger people purpose. And they will be flexible enough to do it in a variety of ways.
Organizations today should be absolutely climbing over each other to find those people.
Why?
Because no 25 or 30 year old can have that ability (that I guarantee).
Why?
Because there is no possible way they would have had time to accumulate the experience and learnings to be fully (they could be partially at that point) capable of what a good third group Boomer type can offer an organization.
But hey. I am biased. I am selling my own age group.
But.
I will also say.
This is one of the few topics I feel pretty confident that I am right on.
purging sucks: Purged Living Part 1
Jul 24th
Sometimes you move for a job and sometimes personal. Most of the time you purge some stuff (and its ok) but sometimes you have to take the big step and do “the massive purge”. My mother and I just went thru it at the same time.
Here is the thought. Purging sucks.
Financially and mentally.
The act of downsizing or simplifying is called purging. And purging sucks. If anyone tries to tell you it is invigorating or cleansing they are full of shit. Part 2 will talk about the aftermath of purging (let’s call it the positiveness of simplifying). But this is about getting there. The mental and financial and physical gauntlet you need to run to be able to join the famous and spiritual tribe ofSimpliriquois or Simpleminoles? Simplaches? (I believe Crazy Horse was a simplicity guy himself. But they did call him crazy).
Let’s talk financially. My first inclination is to suggest if you want to downsize simply pack everything up, put it in a trailer or van and then proceed to have the van “accidentally” drive over the closest cliff and be declared unsalvageable. Or go ahead and just burn your house down instead. Or rent a moving van and park it downtown with the keys in it. At least with insurance replacement value you get some cash to overcome the mental aspect. You collect fair value in insurance. And you can physically just start over. Yeah. I am kidding. But I am writing about money at the moment. Or at least what looks like money on paper when you list all the items you own in your space, closets, attic, garage, etc.
By the way. If you do anything I suggest above (and you don’t go to jail) you have no mental anguish of attacking each item one by one in the keep versus no keep mental cage match (by the way .. playing the card game War would be simpler in choosing what to keep and what to go).
Alright. So that’s not really an option for legitimate sane people (although I envy in illegitimate insane who get away with it).
Downsizing preparation. Remember. Purging sucks. Be prepared. Financially it is a bottomless drain of which you will watch money value disappear down the sink to be dispersed somewhere into some financial cesspool where wasted dollars and cents slowly rot and the stench sours your nose.
When I moved out to west coast to help my mother we ended up purging both our households at the same time. She sold her house to move into a senior complex.
Her? A two bedroom three story townhouse (after 22 years) into a one bedroom two room apartment (yup. The mental aspect may outstrip the financial on that one).
Me? A three bedroom house of things down to a studio apartment.
Let me give you a financial example to prepare you.
I went from around a 75-80k value in things on my homeowners insurance to maybe a 4k check selling the stuff and the core things I kept (but my replacement insurance is a lot cheaper now). Yeah. On paper your net worth takes a pretty big hit.
Mom? Well. How do you put a dollar value on the wedding gift silver set? (eBay and consignment store can do that).
Dollars and cents wise it gets painful to even write this. Describing either myself or my mother’s situation. But it helped we did it at the same time. And interestingly there was a reverse relationship that kind made the mutual purging palatable. Because she sold her house in less than a week financially it became easier (and take that with a grain of salt) to swallow “things” slipping out of her home and ownership to the tune of small amounts of cash. While I was tempted to drain an entire bottle of Jack every time I thought of the dollars and cents.
I will be honest here to anyone truly thinking of extreme home purging. I got lucky. I did it at the same time as my mother. It put my situation in a completely different light.
If I did it myself? Whew. Not sure how that would have gone. The reverse is true (so keep it in mind if you are dealing with moving parents or grandparents). If they are the ones solely going through the process, and you are the one standing around pointing “go”, “must go”, “yup, that too, go.” You are gonna be in a world of hurt my friends. Be aware.
Ok.
Let’s talk emotionally. It is difficult to compare my loss of ownership of that Pousette Dart cd with the song that reminded me of great times in the bar with great high school friends in Vermont to the loss of my mother’s mother’s (my grandmother to you who don’t want to draw a diagram) best plate set. Or something my father gave my mother years ago.
I lost things. Sure. Some things important to me (my 3000+ cd collection and half my library of books). But my mother was losing memories. She hung tough. There were certainly some really tough days. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my sister talking about how to help her through it.
Emotionally, no matter how careful or selective you are about what to keep and what to let go, you will, yes, will be letting go of memories. Some are good to let go. But, doggone it, they are memories.
So. that said. If you are going to do a major purge I recommend one of two things (or do both):
- Hire someone to do an estate sale or huge garage sale for you. And leave. Do. Not. Be. There. Yup. You won’t make as much money (but I have already made it clear that percentagewise of value you are gonna have to suck it up anyway). Yup. You won’t be there to watch a slow and painful excruciating death. Let someone else deal with it.
- Consignment shop. Out of sight out of mind. Oh. And don’t stop by the shop. Let them just send you a check whenever they sell something or whatever their protocol is.
Emotionally the key to not self destructing is to get it out of your hands and out of eyesight. Say your goodbyes the night before and let them go.
Bottom line.
Think of purging as running a financial and mental gauntlet. (gauntlet definition: a form of physical punishment wherein a man is compelled to run between two rows—a gauntlet—of soldiers who strike him as he passes.)
The journey sucks but it is the destination that matters. Part 2 of Purging showcases the destination.
But the only way, and let me repeat that, the only way you can make it through the actual purging is to keep the destination (a simpler space and life) in clear site.
Trust me.
Your eyesight gets a little fuzzy (possibly clouded in pain) every once in awhile during the process but focus on the destination and as you get closer to the end of the gauntlet you start seeing it a little more clearly (and it seems like a huge light of hope at the end of the tunnel).
Do I regret going through purging? Nope.
It did make me realize some of the stupid nonsensical purchases I made over the years and while painful to release some of those things, and painful to recognize what I paid and lost, in the end, these things didn’t matter because you know I kind of like the destination I reached.
It is a nice spot.
And I think more people should visit it.
And I mean that mentally and physically.
My purge was so extreme that it is almost like my mind has been ‘reset’ with regard to purchasing and priorities and stuff like that. Me, being a studier of behavior and such, may suggest that the purge shock actually prompted a behavioral shift.
Do I recommend it for everyone? Nope.
Is it a bad thing? Nope.
And physically … it has made me recognize ‘space and value’ or maybe better said … space and usefulness … better.
Unused space has no value. Often used space has high value.
Okay.
Let’s get past the pain and onto the positives.
Purging Part 2.
the riches of Purging: Purged Living Part 2
Jul 24th
So you now have purged and are living “small space living.”
The functional benefits are really obvious – financial savings, less upkeep, etc. and they become obvious very quickly (which helps overcome some of the emotional shock of turning around and seeing your entire living space).
A good friend of mine suggested simplifying is all about a decision to live simply versus simply live. And it could be. That is a big big thought.
But big thoughts usually take a while to incubate in our pea like brains (well … at least mine for sure).
So. Possibly after a period of time it smacks you in the back of the head as such.
But in the beginning it may sometimes just be simply that it is … well … simpler.
Less choices. Less maintenance. Less expense.
So it means you have more of other things … one of which is time.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh … but there’s the rub.
We Americans rarely accept “free time” as a gift to relax but rather we fill it up with other things. Therefore this “smaller space frees up time” slips through the cracks in the consciousness pretty quickly. (but I bring it up with the hope you try and remember it as a positive).
Shifting to living simply is also a neat opportunity to give life a “fresh start.”
And I imagine I never really thought about the outcome of the purging as having a variety of paths until my mother and I went through it at the same time. My mother and I going through it at exactly the same time showed us two paths:
- I simply consolidated my stuff and took the best of the best and created a space where I love everything that I have.
- My mother took a core favorite group of pieces and items, basically built her bedroom and kitchen with the comfortable stuff from her past things and then started from scratch in the living room (reupholstered comfortable chairs, bought new couch, used two of my paintings she liked, bought new lamps, etc). So she created a new look in her main living space.
So once you get through the purging gauntlet you do have a smaller space, a simpler life and, frankly, a space you have difficulty finding fault with.
While there are fewer things to fondle or juggle you have more to be happy with. It may sound odd but you don’t doubt any purchase you look at around you. Nothing seems like “wasted investment.”
And no matter how rich or material oriented you are there is a lot of satisfaction in “dollars invested well.” and smaller space living focuses you n this each and every day.
Smaller space living ain’t bad. That’s the net of it.
Lastly. The odd conversations.
Inevitably the people you know knew you as a “larger living space person.” So. You find yourself in many conversations explaining your smaller space living arrangement.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .. the harsh edge of perception versus reality. Another friend of mine when talking about our health issues in the United States stated it is because we Americans associate value with quantity (quantity of food in that case). It is similar with living space particularly if you are dealing with people who have seen you in ‘large space.’
You had quantity of space – you were happy.
You no longer have quantity of space – you cannot be happy.
It’s weird. You spend a lot of time trying to explain to people something you have already gone through (the pain of the purge .. which you don’t particularly want to relive but are constantly forced to) to explain you are happy in smaller space living.
Sure.
You rattle off all the functional reasons (smaller bills, less time cleaning, less chores) but people associate that with “you have less money and you had to do that.”
Well.
They may be right. But more likely they are wrong.
Sometimes you reach a point where doing something right for you just doesn’t seem right to others.
Okay sure. Maybe at some point after we get through this depression (oops. recession.) people will accept smaller space living decisions as something like “living life simpler” choices but for now?
Be prepared if you elect to do this.
Remember these three things:
- Purging sucks.
- Simpler life doesn’t suck.
- Explaining it sucks.
Hopefully over time #2 carries more weight in your life than 1 and 3 combined.
As I did all of this myself within the past year I am not positive I have reached the balance yet.
But I hope. And I am fairly sure it is a good place.
the origins of the personal ‘purge’
Jul 24th
So. I have had a couple of requests on the topic of purging things in order to make a radical living space change. Oh. I also have had requests on how my sister and I weaved our way through the discussion and transition with our mother (that post will come later).
This post precedes two following posts (Purged Living 1 & 2) which describe the purging my mother and I went thru when I moved out here to support her and she sold the house she lived in for over 20 years and moved into a one bedroom senior living complex. I have already written about the benefits of small space living (my own current situation).
So. Purging.
As I looked back over the years I realized, being the nomad that I am, that I have probably purged more things than even this last massive purge (just in increments).
I have probably bought 4 sets of washers/dryers over the years. Maybe 3 refrigerators (a couple of awesome ones painful to leave behind). At least 2 full dining rooms sets. Uncountable amounts of bookcases. Maybe 3 entertainment centers. I probably cannot even count the number of televisions of different sizes. Bed frames … yikes … double to king to queen to 2 queens to 1 queen and a futon to 2 queens and a futon to … well … geez .. I think there may be a couple other iterations. Pictures, paintings, artwork … framed … not framed … should have been framed. Dozens (I have always been a sucker for great visuals and artwork). Sofas, chairs, tables, plates … okay. You get the idea. Moving around a lot sometimes means starting over a lot. And, of course, looking back there is a variety of things that I would probably have been better off keeping around. But anyway.
Suffice it to say over the years and assuming you continue to move up in your career you start having more space to fill up. And that space kinda starts to match where you are in your career (generally speaking the senior accountant living space will look different than the General Manager of an advertising agency living space).
Place that scenario underneath the fact that Purging 1 & 2 is really about the purging that took place within my mother’s transition from her home of 22+ years to a one bedroom space in a senior complex. So that is the background for Purging 1 & 2. Enjoy. There were amusing moments and painful moments but in the end I would suggest the majority of all issues are in your own head (that won’t make it any easier but something to keep in mind).
simple complicated. complicated simple.
Jul 23rd
Making the simple complicated is commonplace.
But.
Making the complicated simple is not commonplace.
That.
Is.
For.
Frickin’.
Sure.
In fact. I have almost started believing that they are teaching “how to complicate things” in schools these days.
And even worse? (and this is really nutty)
Say for example you really have been able to articulate something simply AND it is actually so awesomely simple it is brilliant.
You are feeling pretty good with yourself about right now. You were clear, concise and brilliant in simplicity.
(here comes the nutty part)
No one believes its right.
Yup. No shit.
“It cannot be right. That’s too simple. WE MUST BE MISSING SOMETHING.”
(I capitalized it not because when it is said someone is shouting but, rather when you hear it, it sounds like someone shouting in your head and there is a buzzing sound in your ears like a grenade went off beside your head)
You want to look around and calmly say:
“You are correct. Brilliant insight in fact. What’s missing is all the COMPLICATED SHIT YOU WANT TO COMPLICATE THIS WITH.”
(note: on occasion you may actually shout this but on the off chance you don’t you will want to shout it)
Somewhere in the past it became uncool to do something simple.
And since that time (and I would shoot the bastard if I could find him who did it) it seems like we have gained momentum surrounding this concept and not is it uncool to do something simple the majority of people cannot even recognize a simple solution.
Simplicity has gone the way of the Dodo (extinct).
On occasion someone stands up and says “hey, I am not sure Dodos are extinct, I am pretty sure I saw one in that conference room.”
Everyone laughs. “Dodos are extinct.”
“Well, I have seen a picture of one and I am pretty sure it was one.”
Needless to say you either become extinct in the company if you stay the course or worse they throw you into the loony zoo with all the other Dodo sightings.
So.
Here’s the deal.
If you are one of the rare birds who can see simple things as they are (simple), don’t get frustrated. And every time you watch something simple become more complicated just take note and put that thought in a little box for another day.
Because one day you are going to be in a position to tell people what to do. I guarantee it.
How can I guarantee it?
Because you are one of the rare birds who can see the simple within the complex.
It won’t matter how many of these discussions you lose in early years.
Oh, and you really aren’t an extinct bird. Just so rare no one recognizes you.
You will lead one day.
Then you pull out your box and start doing simple things and kicking some ass (just don’t tell anyone you are a Dodo … probably not a good idea … let them think you are extinct).
Fun aside.
Lack of simplicity in the business world is probably the biggest issue in business these days. And it is overlooked as everyone focuses on ‘building brands’ and bottom lines and organizational alignment and whatever the business buzzword du jour is.
Shove ‘em off to the side.
The biggest issue facing American businesses today is over complicating simple things.
It’s that simple.
(and no one will believe me)
seeking immortality
Jul 20th
“If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.”
John Kenneth Galbraith
Spectacular errors can only happen if you take spectacular chances.
I am not fond of irresponsible risk taking and decision-making, but I am fond of doing ‘the right thing’ even when it may appear to be going against the stream.
Sometimes that means a spectacular success, sometimes a spectacular error.
But always something spectacular.
Now. I don’t know about all this immortality stuff. Sure. I would imagine it would be nice to be remembered for something (even if it was a spectacular failure).
But probably most important?
What more could you want to say about your life but that you have done something spectacular?
Now. Don’t start running around like chickens with your heads cut off attempting ‘spectacular chances.’ I don’t want to get blamed for that.
But if everyone looked around in their life and thought about it for awhile and were smart about it (well, as smart as you can be) and decide to take a spectacular chance because … well … it could lead to something spectacular?
I could live with that.
In fact. I think we could all live with taking a few more spectacular chances.
Playing it safe is comfortable. And, especially in this wacky world we are living in these days and all the responsibilities that seem to reside on shoulders that struggle to carry the burden they already carry, what I am suggesting may sound unprudent, unwise and unrealistic.
Maybe.
All I am suggesting is make sure you don’t deprive yourself of the possibility of spectacular.
Because in the end? What people will really remember is not the success or the failure but rather you made the attempt. And that, my friends, is spectacular.
unhealthy eating Part 4: implementation
Jul 15th
A friend (I use that term loosely) asked me how the program I suggested in Part 3 could be effectively implemented when there is an economic cost of eating healthy and the role the government would have to play in altering that.
Well. First. He is correct.
It is a fact there are some significant subsidies and a lot of companies with great interests in keeping things the way they are:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/why-a-big-mac-costs-less-than-a-salad/
Second. Look. I don’t really believe the wacky pyramid charts in the article (too many dimensions and % of %’s aspects that make it difficult to put in a useful pyramid).
But.
Let’s just agree in the current situation/environment the government subsidizes (for a number of good reasons as well as some wrong reasons) a variety of unhealthy focused items versus more healthy items.
Bottom line? The government spends an average of $4.6 billion on subsidies for corn and nothing on fruit/vegetables.
And according to a March ‘08 NY Times article, My Forbidden Fruits (and vegetables), farmers are actually fined when they plant fruits and veggies on land that is designated for corn (oh, here’s a random factoid for you, a Big Mac registers at 53% corn due to all the corn that the cows ate and the high fructose corn syrup so Big Macs – not picking on McDonalds although I like Wendy’s burgers better but they are also in the same situation – are actually partially subsidized by the government).
Anyway.
I guess the point of all these facts is to point out that the existing farm and government infrastructure is not really conducive to a large population shift in eating behavior.
Well.
You could pretty much have said the same thing about the tobacco & government relationship at the onset of the anti tobacco initiatives in the early 1970’s. In addition that battle continued for decades before subsidies and government programs actually swung in a different direction.
There were lots of subsidies and “keeping things the way they are.”
But. It has changed. It has been a long complex battle but in the end smoking (tobacco) has lost … or let’s say is in the process of losing.
All that said let’s go to implementation (because that will be the way to actually affect unhealthy eating behavior AND actually change the way that government looks at this issue).
So. I have suggested Unhealthy Eating as an addiction.
And Mortality education is the linchpin to a communications program.
My thoughts on implementation.
First. I do believe the recent healthcare reform where the government will become more active in day to day health insurance programs should benefit unhealthy addiction programs. Well. Let me take that back. IF the new healthcare reform (which, ladies & gentlemen, is unlikely to happen as the government argues over stupid stuff) happens, an unhealthy initiative would benefit.
Second. I have already written here I am not a big detractor of government developed programs. I do believe they do a nice job developing and initial implementation of national programs (ongoing management not so much). So some type of national federally funded initiative would work well here. Let me clarify this also. This does not mean it has to be an actual federal program but rather a national fund where states could access matching funds if they meet some specific criteria (portions of anti-tobacco does this same thing I believe).
Third. I would implement unhealthy eating programs on a state level (primarily).
Similar to anti tobacco (anti smoking) campaigns from day one the most successful case studies came from individual states and in fact success at an individual state level eventually drove a stake through the heart of federal subsidies and the tobacco lobbyist construct.
We should let states take this one on in the beginning.
Some will get it righter than others but they learn fast.
The key is getting some success and some trial & error things in place. State driven initiatives are incredibly good at ‘borrowing’ successful ideas from other states (as well as challenging ideas with the intent of always improving … or simply the competitiveness of ‘looking better than those jerks in that other state).
Going back to my “primarily” comment I would like to note that it was a federal program that created the controversial smoking black lung messaging and drugs scrambled egg and John Lennon ‘imagine’ gun control messaging. So a federal based campaign can create a strong messaging platform. That means, stating once again, I wouldn’t be opposed to a federal unhealthy eating campaign.
I just believe in the end if we really want to get some traction and develop campaigns that will affect behavior they should be implemented on the state level.
There you go. Nothing brilliant here. In fact I am stealing the successful learnings from the anti-tobacco initiatives. But why reinvent the wheel?
enlightened conflict update
Jul 11th
So. After about a month of high tech fanoodling I believe we have worked out all the kinks on the site. If anyone runs into any issues as they delve into my unenlightened ramblings please drop me a note and we will address. Thanks for your patience.
Some updates (because some people have asked and I have received some great suggestions):
1. Music. No. We have not posted any music thoughts for awhile. I have over 20 written (some may be outdated by now) but the guy who was awesome at posting all those posts with the links and videos and stuff has been on a sabbatical. When he gets back we will discuss what we are going to do from here on out with the music posts. I have received a bunch of notes asking about them and how much you enjoy laughing at my musical tastes and we will see what we can do. Plus. With lala.com shutting down we lost a great easy source for sound clips so people could actually hear what I was writing about (assuming you had never heard of whatever wackjob band I had found that day to write about).
2. Business or Advertising posts. Well. We should be starting more of those back up soon. My video link skills are not particularly good (but improving) which coincided with the guy who is really good at video linking going on sabbatical as well as then we had some technical site difficulties. But I have improved my skills and the site seems fixed so more of those type posts will appear.
3. Requests. I have received some topic requests and those posts should start appearing soon. While I cannot guarantee I can write to a requested topic I do like to receive request. at minimum they make me think.
4. We are going to be building a new companion site called ProjectGlobalGeneration.
Actually www.projectglobalgeneration.com.
I will post something when we launch it. That site will be solely focused on my wacky global generation children’s education initiative idea. Several people have expressed inters in the idea (and they don’t seem that wacky). I wanted to make it easier to see the idea an all the information as well as a place to house all future writings.
Thanks to everyone. hope you enjoy and keep on enjoying. I am having a blast (if that matters).
Bruce.
Change part 4: broken pieces
Jun 18th
“I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. 
What is broken is broken — and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived.” – Margaret Mitchell
This post is kind of a hybrid of management of change (part 2) and embracing change in plans (part 3) and whatever else you can think of with regard to change (parts to continue ad nausea).
So. I begin with … it drives me crazy when a manager’s plan falls apart and then they run around (or have their “people”) trying to put all of the broken plan pieces back together again solely so they can “stay with the plan.”
Ok. That was a generalization.
Some pieces of a plan are more important than others. You save those. And most times those pieces don’t break off that easily anyway.
Regardless.
When a plan is broken super gluing it back together again is probably not the best plan of action.
Yet. Time and time again you see leaders slavishly having people run around sticking pieces back onto the plan like little barnacles on a ship.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Why? (me asks myself).
Well. Interestingly a leader runs into a different aspect of the same issue the organization is dealing with.
While the organization (and people in general) typically hates change it helps they have a plan to follow (kind of like going on a trip and at least you have a map), the leader likes a plan to implement change and yet hates changing the plan (despite the fact it is all directed to creating a change).
Yikes. That was confusing.
Suffice it to say human nature says we want the plan to stay the same but are not opposed to it being better (ah. The contradictions in life).
“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.”
Sydney J. Harris
So. In practicality the organization (people) loves having the plan but inevitably will be shaking their head over some things and say “wouldn’t it be better if we do this?” (and start implementing change on their own).
This is where I go back to the beginning where I said I hate managers who maniacally glue the plan back together when it breaks. The organization, the people, in the midst of the change transition start implementing plan changes (let’s call these, at their best, course corrections) and then you have managers running around with glue putting the original plan back together again and, well, that would be call disorganization. Or maybe negative energy. Or maybe even wasted energy. At its worst it is unadulterated chaos.
(needless to say … on the McTague good bad scale that is bad for an organization)
I would suggest to leaders “go with the flow” when a plan breaks apart (but I tend to believe that is slightly too flippant).
In the end change is a funny thing. In business it is often the same as in life.
There may be a grand plan and a vision. But during the ‘change’ we (personally and/or organizationally) are never quite sure what we are becoming, or why. Then one day we look at ourselves, and wonder who we are, and how we got there. But if it’s done right we are pretty happy with what we see.
And if we are really true to ourselves we have changed in some way by being broken and picking up some old pieces and some new pieces and just “are.” (no superglue involved)
So. All that said (because this is about gluing together broken plans) great leaders recognize that the people they started with in their organization will not be the same people when the “change” is done.
What this means is that a leader can’t glue back the original employees into the plan … they have changed.
And treating them as the unbroken original is silly (and non productive if not chafing). Change means breaking from what is. And assume a change plan of action will change. If you don’t, have lots of superglue.
Oh, by the way, employees (and people in general) don’t like to follow a plan that has been superglued back together again.
impassable or impossible
Jun 15th
Alice: I simply must get through!
Doorknob: Sorry, you’re much too big. Simply impassible.
Alice: You mean impossible?
Doorknob: No, impassible. Nothing is impossible.
- Alice in Wonderland
I always chuckle when I read Alice in wonderland (a great book to keep on the shelf).
Sure. The author may have been a bit of a nutjob but there are gems of learning throughout the book. It is a magical story strewn with great metaphors for life. This is one of my favorite parts.
Impassable versus impossible.
I wish I had thought of it (among other things I would imagine).
Physically some things are just not possible to each of us. I could never have become an NBA (or possibly even a college) basketball player. There is no chance I would have ever threatened Usain Bolt in a race.
Frankly there are some things in life that take some physical talent to achieve. Even some odd things.
A great orator has the art within (rather than learn through the science from without).
Some people cannot travel and function well. They are just not physically capable of fulfilling some roles involving lots of travel.
Sure.
To some degree you can overcome some physical limits but in general you won’t be able to overcome another who has the true innate natural ability and who is possibly physically more adept or able to meet the ‘whatever’ that makes that opportunity “passable.”
And, of course, there are always exceptions.
Hence the ‘nothing is impossible.’
This is a marvelous moment in Alice. And the fact it is given by the metaphorical doorknob is genius.
The doors in life have several challenges but maybe if you face each one by simply deciding first ‘is it passable’ and second ‘is it possible’ you will choose the best doors to pass through in your own life.
