I read Lab Girl over the weekend and returned it to the library. When I went back on Monday to look at the book for yesterday’s quote, I was somehow saddened to see it sitting on the shelf in between other old memoirs.
This is a brand new book, just published in April, that has a powerful message about friendship, partnerships and loving the work you do. It also speaks to women in science and the challenges that gender faces in pursuing such a career. I wanted the librarians to be promoting the book, urging people to read its message, and here it was, looking ordinary in the racks with others.
It made me realize that while the librarians can be influencers through their displays and recommendations, everyone can have a voice in some way. Hope Jahren did it by writing the book, others write blogs or opinion columns. Some have educated debates with colleagues, while still others share their messages through social media.
There is so much information available that we need to rely on others we trust to filter it and point us in the right direction. What message needs your megaphone to share it?
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Month: May 2016
#1439 partnerships
I recently had a conversation with my sister about preferred relationships and whether we liked to be/work/do things: a) alone, b) with one other person or c) with a group. Both of us chose “b”, with another person. While being alone has its advantages, having a buddy or kind of “co-conspirator” seems to make things better.
I thought of this while reading Lab Girl over the weekend. Scientist Hope Jahren writes about her relationship with her lab partner, Bill:
Bill and I grinned at each other, knowing that we’d pulled it off, yet again. The whole project was a fine example of how we work together: I cook up a pipe dream, embellish it until it is borderline impossible, pitch and sell the idea to a government agency, purchase the supplies, then dump it all on Bill’s desk. From there, Bill produces a first, a second, and then a third prototype, protesting all the while that the idea is an impossible pipe dream. When his fifth design shows promise, and his seventh works (provided you turn it on while wearing a blue shirt and facing east), we are both seduced by the smell of success.
I thought of all the “Bill’s” that I have been fortunate enough to have in my career, the colleagues who made the journey much more pleasurable and the work more productive. I like someone to push me out of my comfort zone and with whom I can have an honest thought session without trying to impress, and I have been lucky to have those confidantes join forces with me.
What is your preferred setting? If you work best alone or in groups, how can you adjust your work environment to fulfill that? And if you are best with a teammate, are there projects you can work on that allow you that type of collaboration? Knowing your preferred partnership style can make your travels result in a much more pleasant journey.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, Knopf Publishing, 2016
#1438 congruence
I think that having something (or someone) be unpredictable is worse than having something be consistently bad.
If service at a restaurant is lousy every time you go there, it won’t be long before you stop going. But if service is mixed, you may keep going and wind up alternately frustrated.
If your supervisor is sometimes in a good mood and other times not, you come not to trust the positive encounters. You know the winds could shift at any moment and you could fall out of favor, so even when things are steady you don’t have faith that it will last.
If a computer performs well at times, but not so much during others, you become skeptical of it all the time, and hesitate to do anything of significance without obsessively backing things up.
Whether with products, services or relationships, consistency is a core component of trust. We don’t like politicians who “flip flop” and we don’t appreciate it in other people or machines either. The emotional back and forth wastes energy and crumbles the foundation when people don’t believe the reliability will remain.
Take great care to have congruence in your actions over time. Nobody wins when your behavior or service is as fickle as blowing wheat.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#1437 unacceptable
Yesterday I wrote about the new animal relief areas in airports. I hope that the added comforts don’t entice more pet owners to take their pooches on airplanes for leisure trips.
In the first ten months of 2015, 29 pets died while many others were injured or even lost by the airlines. A former airline employee says: “My expert advice: do not fly pets unless it’s an emergency!”
Pets are often injured because they are frantic and hurt themselves trying to escape. Deaths occur from heat strokes or suffocation. Others break out on the tarmac and are hit by vehicles. It is an ugly list.
Obviously those flying with their animals place great importance on them to incur the expense of air travel. And while 29/2,000,000 is only a mere fraction, if one of the 29 was your beloved pooch it would be little solace.
The dilemma has no easy answers. Passengers want to fly their pets, and some have no driving alternatives. Airlines are not equipped to handle them without incident, so they struggle with procedures and keep 1,999,971 alive, but it is not enough.
What in your organization poses a similar challenge? Where is the cost of failure too high, even if by percentage it is low? You may be doing the majority of things right, but in select situations your goals need to fly higher.
—beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#1436 relief
When I think of customer service, I think of accommodating the needs of people, but lately airports are thinking more broadly than that. Now they are providing special rest areas for traveling pets.
It makes sense that the animals would have a need to “use the facilities” during layovers, and rather than make their owners go through security again, major hubs are installing special “Animal Relief Areas”.
Facilities come with artificial turf and hoses, and I’m sure a plethora of scents that will make the dogs feel right at home. The one in New York’s Kennedy airport even has a fire hydrant to make dogs inclined to do their business.
Over 2 million animals are booked on commercial planes each year. At least now they’ll have a place to relieve themselves from the stress of flying!
Think about who all your customers are, whether they have two legs or four, and try to provide the best service you can for all of them.
–beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Partial source: Wee-lief! Dogs get airport bathrooms of their own from the Associated Press in the Telegraph Herald, May 1, 2016
 |
| Animal Relief Area at O’Hare |
#1435 utility
There is so much of our world that we don’t really pay attention to. Power lines would be an example of that.
On a recent trip, I noticed that there were men working along the road, installing new power poles and lines. This was quite an ordeal, as they had to construct platforms with railroad ties for the large equipment to access the points, assemble the poles in multiple pieces because of their size, and then use helicopters to reach the highest points to string the lines.
But until I saw the men and the signs warning me of utility work from December until May, I hadn’t noticed the poles that were already installed. They just blended into the background, even though they are several stories tall.
On the way home, I paid attention, and realized that the poles went on for about 20 miles that I could see — 184 poles every tenth of a mile! (They were numbered; I wasn’t that bored!)
I can’t imagine the cost for this installation project, but obviously the power company believes that it is a worthwhile investment in infrastructure. What non-glamorous but essential component of your organization should you pay more attention to? Is there a piece of equipment or process that warrants a new look? Is there something you don’t see that you should?
I missed about 15 miles of power poles on my original trip. Don’t let your infrastructure fade into the background and lose its power.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots@blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
 |
| Note the scale of the pole vs. large truck next to it |
#1434 inflated
In one of my latest garage sale adventures in Iowa, my friend Tracy from Connecticut was with me. At one house, she found a giant inflatable cactus. For fifty cents! Immediately she knew that it would have a place on her patio for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. So she deflated it and packed it in her suitcase.
Accompanying this treasure was an inflatable football helmet from the same sale (Super Bowl party anyone?) and other assorted garage sale purchases. For some reason, TSA decided to search her suitcase on the way home. Doesn’t everyone in the traveling public have a few bigger-than-life inflatables in their bag?
It has often been said that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” And this blog has often said that you need to connect the dots from one experience to another. Tracy did not come to Iowa with the thought of purchasing a holiday decoration, but made the connection as soon as she saw it. And her party today will be more festive as a result.
How can you inflate your imagination to see the possibilities in unrelated events? It may garner you some prickly looks from TSA, but it will be worth it.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#1433 the world
In a sermon I recently heard, the priest* told a story about his childhood. When he was a young boy, his neighbor Myrtle was his babysitter. Every afternoon, Myrtle’s friend, her dog and the boy would pile into Myrtle’s Pontiac and visit “whatever country” he wanted to visit that day.
This was accomplished through the miracle of imagination — and a View-Master with reels showing important places from various countries. He could look out the window through the View-Master and see the sights as if he were there in person. And much to his amazement, Myrtle and her friend spoke every language, so their car conversations changed according to which country they were visiting that afternoon. The View-Master trips served as entertainment, education and a delightful way to stimulate his interest in other countries.
We all need someone like Myrtle in our life who shows us a world bigger than we can see on our own. Who can you inspire today by sharing your imagination and possibilities with them?
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
*Fr. James Cassidy, St. Joan of Arc Parish, Minneapolis
#1432 route
There are two main routes between where I live and the Twin Cities:
Route A is 312 miles and is estimated to take 5 hours and 3 minutes.
Route B is 253 miles and should take you 4 hours and 37 minutes.
Just looking at those facts would cause most people to automatically pick Route B — it’s shorter and faster. But if you look closely, you’ll see that going an additional 59 miles in Route A takes you just 26 minutes more. That’s because Route B winds through many small towns, meaning the majority of the trip is on two-lane roads where there are stop signs and speed limits, some as low as 25 mph.
So, if it is a perfect day weather-wise and you are inclined to pay attention to varying speeds and many turns, Route B is the one for you. If you’d rather pop in an audio book, set the cruise to 70 and have four-lane roads the entire trip, then you should spend the extra half hour and take Route A.
Traveling to Minneapolis, as with most decisions you make in your organization, comes with a choice. Neither is automatically right or wrong, but which way you travel should be an intentional decision. Think about what you value most before you select your route.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
#1431 HDL
I recently had some medical lab work done, and when I met with the doctor she said that my “bad” cholesterol was just under where she’d like it to be, but my “good” cholesterol was so good that I could “keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
I think this is a metaphor for many things in life: we have something that is less than desirable, and we compensate for it by strengths that outshine the weaknesses. We’re not great with English, but excel in math so become an engineer. We dislike the traffic of a big city but live there anyway because we love the culture. We aren’t social but need to raise funds, so become proficient at grant writing and social media.
Think about what your “bad” is and what you can do, not to change it, but to mitigate its impact through enhancing the “good.” Cholesterol isn’t the only thing that has powerful pros to help you outshine the cons.
— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com