Month: November 2014

#902 rut

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I recently had a house guest (which was wonderful), but the evening after she left I found myself yawning at 8pm.  I was tired.

It occurred to me that I had experienced the “mental stimulation” that I wrote about with my dogs.  It also struck me that part of the tiredness came from being out of a routine that was ingrained in me far more than I realized.

You don’t really realize how much of a routine you are in until you are out of that routine.  Just as you don’t realize how you have an accent or have become part of your culture until you experience life in a different setting.  

I think it does everyone good to alter their daily habits and schedule every now and then.  You see things you have taken for granted and you become much more conscious of your ways.  

But build a little nap time in when you shake things up as exploration requires far more energy than rote.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#901 query

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“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers.
You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”
  Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel Prize winner

This quote came to mind as I reflected on a fund-raising workshop I attended.  The presenter said that good fund-raising was 80% either listening or asking questions to get the prospective donor to talk about his passions and values.  

A well-placed question can go far in many settings:  interviews, meetings, early stages of relationships, discipline hearings or a classroom.  We focus so much energy on having people answer the questions, that I think the value of asking the questions is often overlooked. 

How can you infuse more questions into your work?  Maybe an assignment for my next class will be to write out the questions the readings raised instead of answering the prompts I give them!  Interview coaching and candidate prep could focus on the questions to ask instead of rehearsing answers.  Your next meeting agenda could be to generate questions about strategic direction instead of answers.

Try to make your ask to answer ratio a bit more in the direction of asking this week and practice embracing your Qs.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#900 shuffle

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An incredibly simple yet effective way of sorting groups is to utilize playing cards.  In my class, I hand each student a card when they walk in and then use them to break the students into groups.

On one occasion, the students sit by suit.  On another they sit by numbers.  Or by odds/evens.  Or reds/blacks.  Or they form a straight.  Or numbers are paired together.  

It is an instantaneous way of breaking students into groups without the drama of having to “choose” partners like on the playground or having the same people sit together all the time.  The students turn the cards in at the end of class and I shuffle then redistribute them at the start of the next.

How can you use this economical method of matching partners in other settings?  Use it to form brainstorming groups at a meeting.  Develop seating assignments at Thanksgiving.  Determine who works on a new assignment.  Or use it for household chores:  this week, the reds set the table while the blacks clean up.

Shuffle up your repertoire of how you divide people or tasks and let the playing cards do the work for you.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#899 stimulation

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Each week, a different member of the faculty or staff brings their dog onto campus for a “Pet Therapy” session — an hour where the dogs hang out with the students.  It is relaxation for the students; a way for those far from home to get their “pet fix”, and a wonderful way for faculty and staff to meet the four legged members of their colleagues’ families.

Last week, my dogs spent the afternoon on campus and had a thoroughly wonderful time.  Then they came home and absolutely c-r-a-s-h-e-d.  They were so sound asleep that I don’t think a steak would have roused them.

I am reminded of the advice of a dog trainer:  pets need mental stimulation.  It’s not enough to play with them in the back yard or rumpus around the house; they need to have new experiences to truly expend energy.

I think the same holds true for people.  It’s easy to get restless when you are doing the same things over and over.  Even though you may be busy and find it hard to fathom doing something more/different, I think it is important to make time to add some mental stimulation to the mix.  

You may come home exhausted at the end of the day, but it might be because you spent so much time wagging with glee.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com



#898 unfortunate

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The Dallas Cowboys are playing exhibition football in London so their social media department decided to tweet about it to keep fans abreast of the trip.  The hashtag chosen:  CowboysUK.  

Which sounds perfect, except when shown in all lowercase.  Then Cowboysuk has a whole new meaning.  And, in this day and age, a whole new life through retweets and fan commentary about the unfortunate innuendo.

A few of my favorites:
> #cowboysuk so hard it’s like having eleven vacuums on the field
> Looking for a job in Dallas?  The Cowboys likely have an opening in the social media department

While it is a humorous anecdote to the non-Cowboys fans, it does provide a good reminder that mistakes are not private anymore.  If you slip up, either at work or off the job, it becomes instantaneous fodder for the social media networks.  The Cowboys stuck with their hashtag (presumably because it got them more coverage), and just let it all play out in stride.  Soon it will be replaced with the next gaffe and the Dallas hashtag will be forgotten.

Do you have a policy or strategy to deal with a social media blunder?  It is not a matter of if, rather more likely when, you will need it.  You might take a few moments to consider how you will (or won’t) respond if it’s your moniker that suks.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Source:  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2255789-dallas-cowboys-coin-regrettable-cowboysuk-hashtag-for-london-game?hpt=hp_13

Thanks to Emily for sharing

#897 sixth

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For her birthday, my sister in Boston wanted tickets to a New England Patriots game to see Tom Brady play before he retires.  As someone who still regrets not seeing Michael Jordan play, I tried to help her in this quest.

Tom Brady has been a starting quarterback for 14 seasons and taken the Patriots to the Super Bowl five times.  He is one of only two players to win the NFL Most Valuable Player and the Super Bowl MVP award multiple times.  Brady has been in nine Pro Bowls and his playoff win total is the highest in NFL history.  

You would think that he was a highly coveted first round draft pick.  You would be wrong.

Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, the 199th player to be chosen.

The first pick that year was Courtney Brown (who?) — a player who was plagued by injury and finished his professional career in 2005 after playing for Cleveland and then Denver.

Everyone wants to be chosen in the first round.  Everyone wants to have the #1 draft pick to do the choosing.  The trick is to play like you are #1 and work hard enough to become #1, even if you aren’t chosen until 199th.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Stats from Wikipedia


#896 unwanted

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I wrote yesterday about fostering connections with other people.  The premise of that thought was to link mutual needs in a way that benefited both parties.


Today think about a different perspective; rather than linking people and needs think about who wants what you don’t.

Some examples: 
> We have a box by our printer to collect all the unwanted paper with one side blank.  It seems that there are always excess pages on the printing from the Internet or misaligned copies when trying to do reductions, etc.  These pages are collected in a box then given to the local day care center for children’s projects/scribbles

> We received a year’s supply of folders without a slit cut for business cards.  The printer reprinted for free, but what to do with excess inventory?  We gave them to guidance counselors who use them to distribute financial aid and college planning information to high schoolers.  (We may “misprint” next year on purpose!)

> In an effort to reduce consumption of helium, we stopped using balloons for our special events.  What to do with two bags of printed balloons?  The student activities group sponsored a water balloon fight during opening weekend.

> When cleaning out the garage after my father’s death, we donated all the lumber scraps to a high school trade skills class.

The flea market, antiquing business and garage sales operate on the premise that “someone’s trash is someone else’s treasure.”  Think about who would want your excess before you store it or dispose of it.  I’ll bet there is someone out there to take most anything.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#895 fostering connections

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Here is a match made in heaven:  teenagers in Brazil who want to improve their English are having regular web chats with elders in a Chicago retirement home.  The Speaking Exchange pairs the two groups for regular long-distance conversations in a brilliant alignment.  Retirees have lots of time and stories and Brazilian teens have a desire to hear informal English.  It is a genius, low cost idea that is benefiting both groups.

Often we think about sharing things, but not people. 

How can your organization follow their example and think broadly about a way to meet your needs by pairing with the human resources another group has to offer?  When you get to the core of what you are seeking, is there someone out there who may be able to partner with you to provide it?  

Could empty-nesters who are sending their last child off to college become foster parents (as my sister has suggested)?  Maybe there is a group of people willing to help those with mobility issues be able to travel the globe?  Perhaps you could match “web pals” instead of pen pals for classrooms to adopt a member of the military?

Have your group brainstorm how to emulate the Speaking Exchange.  There are over 7 billion people on Earth.  Surely you can partner with a few of them for mutual benefit.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Source:  http://www.mnn.com/forward?path=green-tech/computers/videos/brazilian-kids-learn-english-by-video-chatting-with-lonely-elderly

Thanks Meg for sharing


#894 wall

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Last weekend marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  The wall was a barrier between East and West Berlin that existed from 1961 to 1989 and served to restrict movement of East German citizens to Western Europe.

The physical wall stretched for nearly 100 miles and was a 12 ft block of concrete, wire mesh fences, trenches and bunkers.  It was serious business, designed to keep people on their designated side of the border, and keep people from fleeing from communism.  Over 5,000 tried to escape and several hundred died during their attempt.

Today, only about three miles of the wall remains as a memorial, not a blockade.

Think about the walls you have in your organization.  While they are unlikely to be as fortified as the Berlin Wall or engender heroics to scale them, invisible walls do exist.  Are there other departments isolated by a virtual wall?  Are there barriers to free exchange between certain offices or positions?  Does your organization have policies or practices that serve as fences to inhibit flow of communication or information?

The Berlin Wall was a true presence in Germany and its barriers were clear.  Take care that your organization doesn’t have walls that are as impenetrable, even if they are invisible to the eye.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Source of stats:  Wikipedia

#893 stockpile

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I was at Walmart over the weekend and the entire stock of Halloween merchandise was 90% off.  Three aisles of leftovers were yours for a song if you had the time to go through it and the space to store it for a year.

I was not interested in costumes, plastic buckets or tubes of blood, but what did grab my attention were the boxes of ribbons.  A small selection had pumpkins or witches hats, but most of it was plain fabric ribbon in solid colors — just like the ribbon I use all year to tie bows on packages.  And here it was, for 10 cents/spool!

Given that I had the time and have the space, I purchased a generous amount of the ribbon.  As I was putting them in my cart, it seemed like a great idea.  But as I was managing the logistics at home, I began to wonder.  They didn’t fit with my other ribbons, so I had to determine a new way to store my treasures to make them visible and accessible throughout the coming months when I needed them.

It took a lot of time at the store to sort through the piles to find “normal” colors.  It took even more time for the cashier to ring up each separately, and hit about 8 other keys to override the price and provide the discount.  It took still longer for the manager to approve the transaction since it included so many price overrides.  Then it took more time to rearrange the closet and stack my purchases there in a functional way.

In the end, I wonder if my bargain was really a good deal after all.    

Think about this lesson if you are tempted to get carried away to stockpile something.  There is more of a cost to ownership than what you pay during the initial transaction.  Time, handling, storage and just overall “digging through to find it” frustrations may not outweigh what you save in currency.  But if you need a bow for anything in the next few years, I’ve got you covered!

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com