Month: June 2015

#1114 the bubble

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In the training video for Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni describes a scenario he has encountered.

In one instance, when someone encounters another on the street, he says: “Good morning,” but in his head, like in a cartoon bubble above him, the thought really is “go away.”

In another situation, when someone encounters another on the street, he says “Go away” but really means “good morning.”

It’s a stereotypical exaggeration, but Lencioni utilizes it to make his point that oftentimes people say one thing and mean or think another.  Culture influences what is acceptable to say or share, but we edit or filter thoughts on our own.

The incongruence of what is said and what is unsaid often leads to issues of distrust.  If you say you like something, I take you at your word.  It’s hard to do again after I learn that in a different setting you disliked it, but just did not want to tell me.

The point of Lencioni’s illustration is that more times than not, what comes out of our mouths and what is in the bubble above us should be the same message.  

Consistency is the sound of integrity.

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

#1113 moving

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‘Tis the season for moving, and there seems to be much of it going on.  

The neighbors next door to me were transferred out of state.  For two days, the semi was parked in front of their house and much hammering, packing and loading took place.  As the truck pulled away, I wondered where their home was at that moment.  

It wasn’t the house that was now empty, even though all three of their children had been born while it was their home.

It wasn’t the house where they were going to, since it, too, was vacant at the moment.

Was it actually on the moving truck, which contained all the possessions that were precious?

Or was it simply where they were at the moment — in the car, in transit?  My mother always said: “everyone lives somewhere,” and that part is true. 

Take care not to become too attached to a physical place.  Given the transitory nature of our work and lives, I think it is better to spend your energy creating memories, cultures and feelings that can transcend one locale.  

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

#1112 patterns

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A friend sent me an article about a foundation that is studying 3,000 golden retrievers to determine why the lifespan of the breed is shrinking.  They are interested, not only because they are golden lovers like I am, but because these dogs and humans share 95% of the same DNA.  (No wonder they act like people!)


Volunteers keep journals of all types of details: interaction with new types of people, food changes, moves, environmental factors, sleeping patters and changes in temperature.  The researchers hope to discover patterns that may account for the unusually high incidents of bone cancer and lymphoma in the breed.

I wonder what they will discover, and more so I wonder what factors have contributed to my health today.  What did I do in my childhood that helped strengthen my immune system?  What seemingly incidental things made a difference — one way or the other — without conscious effort?

One of the gifts of technology is that it allows us to amass vast amounts of data and detect tiny patterns within it.  Will people allow access to their data collected via wearable technology to contribute to pattern-building?  Will volunteer parents journal everything about their newborn’s upbringing as the dog-owners are doing?  

I recently heard that “in order to master the macro, we need to manage the micro.*”  How can you look at your data from the macro, and ensure that you collect enough of the micro to create a pattern that matters?

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

Source:  Golden retrievers’ shorter lifespan focus of research by Sue Manning for the Associated Press in The Detroit News, May 7, 2015, p. 14A

*As quoted by Jeff Cufaude at NACA Retreat, May 2015



#1111 undeclared

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We are getting ready for our freshmen orientation programs, and, no matter how hard we try, there will always be that emphasis on declaring a major.  

I applaud those students who are brave enough to admit that they don’t have one. Yet.  

Isn’t college supposed to be a place of discovery where you can ignite passions you did not know you had?

The problem with many people — parents and freshmen alike as well as so many others — is that they equate majors with jobs.  That may be true in a few technical areas, but for the most part, majors = skills and SKILLS = jobs.  Majors (often) do not equal jobs.

And skills can be learned in a variety of venues, including classrooms, but certainly outside of them too: teamwork on an athletic field; discipline in a choir room; budgeting in a student programming office; time management in a research lab and professionalism in a on-campus job site.  And certainly the skills learned through the liberal arts can take you far — in any career.

So to all those college freshmen out there getting ready to sign up for your first semester of classes:  don’t worry about not knowing your major.  Own it, and soak in all you can with a smorgasbord of courses to find what you savor the most.

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

#1110 old is new

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I was recently enjoying a summer day at a public terrace along the lake.  A group of middle-aged women pulled out a selfie stick and crowded together to take a photo.  

I was surprised to see this demographic using a stick, but even more surprised when a twenty-something guy approached the table and asked if he could borrow it.  The woman shared it, and then moments later was giving a tutorial on how to sync the remote and actually use the stick.

It was refreshing to see the older generation actually teaching the younger crowd something about the latest technology, and this young guy being confident enough to ask for help from someone who could have been his mother.

There aren’t a lot of opportunities for inter-generational interactions these days. My new neighbors next door said they were attracted to the area because there are a mix of ages here, something that never occurred to me before.  Someone pointed out that it is present in the community band whose concerts I attend in the park, but for the most part people have contact with people like themselves.

What can you do today to have a conversation with someone who is decades apart from you in age?  Try to understand their perspective to enhance your world view and learn something new — especially if it is the “latest latest” as depicted in the cartoon below.

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


6-10-2015 by Hilary Price

#1109 analogies

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Sometimes the strongest lessons come from simple analogies.  Such is the case with this example from a high school teacher.

Please click:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/nathanwpyle/this-teacher-taught-his-class-a-powerful-lesson-about-privil?utm_term=.eaYgKzvLV#.ee2qgvV0gV

This was a no cost way to illustrate a complex point.  Whether you agree with his lessons or not, there is no doubt that the exercise would have sparked a discussion.

The next time you need to make a complex point, as a character lesson, project presentation, teaching moment or civility reminder, keep in mind that an analogy may be the best way to have that lesson heard.

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


Link to This teacher taught his class a powerful lesson about privilege by Nathan W. Pyle, Buzzfeed.com, November 21, 2014, 12:30pm

Thanks to Amy N. for sharing

#1108 wide

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I recently was in the school supply section of a college bookstore.  While it was no surprise that I was roaming the aisles of some of my favorite products, I do so in part because I find something new there every time I go.


Today’s find was a set of legal pads — with the orientation turned landscape instead of portrait.  Now why haven’t they thought of this before?  It is advertised as allowing you to “work in computer screen dimensions”, something that could be very handy for those trying to replicate items on the screen.

There are likely many applications for a pad that is wide instead of long.  Math formulas, a list of quotes, names and addresses, specific website addresses or reference citations come to mind.  The format may be preferable for commuters who are trying to write on their laps while en route or someone who wants a pad that orients the same way as their tablet or laptop.  

Just looking at a wide pad forces you to think outside the box and change your perspective.  Anything that can achieve that is a good thing!

How can you change the orientation of an everyday product that you use today?  

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


#1107 oblivious

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I recently discovered a local butcher that sells large bones, so I purchased two as a treat for my dogs.

Nirvana!

The dogs were mesmerized — for two hours in each of two sittings.  

Normally, my slightest movement alerts them.  But while they were on the patio totally engrossed in chewing, I went in and out of the house, watered plants, wrote blogs and generally was ignored.  Other people walked by unnoticed, though normally they would have caused a major ruckus.  While the bones were present, nothing else was.

How can you cultivate a similar passion and focus in your world today?  May you find something that brings you such joy that when you’re doing it, you become oblivious to the rest of the world!

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


#1106 loophole

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There are times when a decision solves one problem and leads to another.  Oftentimes, the loophole leads to unintended consequences that are as bad or worse than the original situation.

Such is the case with the airlines.  U.S. carriers collected a record $6.4 billion in fees in 2014*, an ever-escalating category of revenue for them.  

Why have fees become so commonplace in the past five years?  Because in 2009, the IRS ruled that “ancillary fees” (bags and ticket changes) are not subject to taxation**.  Of course, the airlines are going to focus on fees.  Such practices generate not only big bucks, but it is even more lucrative revenue as the $6 billion is tax-free!

I am not sure why Congress or the IRS itself isn’t acting swiftly to change this, but it seems that the one lobbying for restructuring is the U.S. Travel Association.  This group is promoting the exchange of five passenger taxes with one passenger facility charge to “remove the airlines’ incentive to shelter mass amounts of revenues in fees.”*

As households and businesses across the country are looking for nickels and dimes in their operating budgets, it seems unconscionable that the government knowingly lets such taxation revenue slip away. 

I’m sure the original law enacted in 2009 had noble intentions, but it seems time to develop a new flight path that lands at the IRS.

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


Sources:
* Travel group calls for aviation changes by Gregory Karp for the Chicago Tribune in the Telegraph Herald, June 6, 2015, p. 4B

** U.S. airlines collected a record $6.4 billion in bag and change fees in 2014 by Dan Peltier for Skift.com, May 4, 2015, 5:00pm.




#1105 I spy

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While out walking, many people enjoy music via headphones.  I prefer to use the time to stretch some of my creativity muscles in addition to exercising my limbs, so I often play “I Spy” in my head.


It follows the same principles as the version you played as a kid, but the concepts become more abstract and often come in contrasting sets.

Examples — Spy something:
> tended to and something neglected
> modern and something old fashioned
> I love and something I loathe
> innovative
> repurposed
> joyful
> clever
> funny
> with a double meaning (e.g.: piece of hay-like straw and a drinking straw)
> here before I was born
> new since my last walk
> in an off beat color (e.g.: salmon)
Usually I pick one or two categories for my walk and continuously evaluate to find “the best” example to illustrate the category.  This stretches my don’t-settle-for-the-first-right-answer muscle in addition to my creative noodle.

Consider leaving the iPhone at home next time and trying some free mental gymnastics.  I guarantee you’ll see things on your walk that you missed by wearing your blinders, er, I mean headphones.

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