Month: February 2021

leadership dot #3170: reading materials

February 18, 2021February 17, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’ve noticed that I have some reading materials that I devour, finishing them practically on the day they arrive, and others that sit there in the “should read” pile gathering dust. I realized my problem was that I was considering “reading” as one activity when really it should be two: work and entertainment.

My reading materials have the delivery method in common – all are words printed on paper – but beyond that they cover a wide spectrum of brainpower required to absorb them. Lumping Systems Thinking for Social Change into the same category as Seinfeld’s Is This Anything? doesn’t make sense. Of course, I will reach for the easy read at the end of the day or pick up Real Simple to pursue over lunch instead of diving into Time’s account of the coup attempt in Myanmar.

By putting the educational reads in the same pile as leisure reading, I never seemed to get to them as frequently as I would have liked. Meaningful reads that come over the internet fall even lower as they are easier to ignore.

Leisure reading is a fabulous outlet for entertainment and I gleefully partake as a form of relaxation, but I acknowledge that I must treat other books or documents as tasks and schedule time to read them. Bill Gates is known to read 50 books/year and Warren Buffet famously spends 80% of his time reading. I doubt they are only picking up fiction and instead see reading as an integral way to get ahead.

Think about the content you absorb and evaluate whether your input includes material to inform you as well as delight you. Never feel guilty about scheduling time to learn.

leadership dot #3169: is this anything

February 17, 2021February 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

“Is this anything?” That’s the title Jerry Seinfeld used to turn five decades of his legal pads filled with handwritten jokes into a book. “‘Is this anything?’ is what every comedian says to every other comedian about any new bit they want to try,” he writes.

On the surface, the book is hysterical. I not only laughed out loud on numerous occasions but ended up reading a fair portion of it aloud to others so they could join in the humor. Seinfeld is one funny guy.

But the real lesson of the book is the work that goes into making it look easy. Seinfeld has been writing – and re-writing – his jokes for over five decades. He does not use writers, opting instead to craft every line of his material himself. After choosing to end his wildly-successful show, Seinfeld saw Chris Rock perform and realized he wanted to reinvigorate his own stand-up comedy routine and return to performing live — but he had no material. “So, it’s back to tiny clubs with flimsy stuff, night after night, month after month,” he writes. This is post-Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld, trying out new jokes in small venues, just to get it right.

Too often, we look at others who have “made it” and think that they climbed the mountain with innate talent or lucky breaks when, more likely, they have achieved their success due to grit and hard work. Even Seinfeld knows that everything he writes isn’t golden so he asks: “is this anything?” and tries it out before modifying the words, the delivery, or the sequencing.

Adopt your own version of putting something rough out there in the world and let the universe help you ascertain whether it’s anything or not.

Source: Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld, Simon & Schuster, 2020

leadership dot #3168: swirl

February 16, 2021February 12, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

At first glance, these circles all seem intertwined but a closer look reveals that they do not intersect. (Really!)

It’s akin to how stress manifests itself in your mind. We often think that all of our pressures are related and, especially in the wee hours of the morning, issues swirl around as if in an infinity loop. But if you put your thoughts on paper, it often reveals distinctions that allow you to see the concerns separately. The circles are not one massive entanglement, rather individual rings that you can address one at a time.

The next time you feel that life is out of control, come back and look at this picture. Maybe the magnitude of your stress is exacerbated by the power of illusion.

Picture posted on Facebook by Richard Prior and others, February 8, 2021

leadership dot #3167: meaningful

February 15, 2021February 12, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Today is Presidents’ Day – a holiday that was established in recognition of the great patriot George Washington. But when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act locked the date into the third Monday in February it fell between Washington and Lincoln’s birthday and many began to include both leaders in the designation. Today, it is technically seen as an acknowledgment of all United States presidents but in reality, it serves as a retailing marketing gimmick and chance for Federal workers to have the day off more than a meaningful commemoration of America’s executive leaders.

The irony is that while it began by marking George Washington’s birthday as the holiday, due to its fixed date it is impossible for it to fall on the actual birthday of any of the four presidents born in February (also Lincoln, Harrison and Reagan).

Does your organization have traditions or commemorations like Presidents’ Day that have lost their way through multiple iterations and attempts at meeting a plurality of needs? If you attempt to achieve many purposes with one event, it often diminishes the impact for everyone.

A Federal holiday on Washington’s birthday to honor our founding leader is quite different than an arbitrary February date that gives equal recognition to Chester Arthur, Millard Fillmore, Warren Harding and 42 others. Compacting elements together instead of giving each its due may be efficient, but it’s doubtful that efficiency is your ultimate goal.

leadership dot #3166: pet love

February 14, 2021February 12, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Valentine’s Day has gone to the dogs – literally. Milk-Bone now sells treats packaged specifically for Fido to share with his buddies – whether they be neighborhood pals, BFFs at doggie daycare, or other pooches in his circle.

Of course, the audience is actually pet owners but Milk-Bone was wise to capitalize on their love of pets. The American Pet Products Association (APPA) reports that in 2019 Americans spent $95.7 billion on their animal companions. To put it in perspective, $95 billion is the same amount of damage from all the U.S. climate disasters last year! And even pre-pandemic projections forecast increases in pet spending with no end in sight.

Is there a way for your organization to capitalize on this love affair? Maybe you can incorporate pet products into your fund-raising repertoire. Perhaps you can add information about the pets of your clientele or donors and specifically acknowledge them in your communication. At a minimum, know that 67% of families have a pet and over half of American households own a dog, making it an ideal conversation starter or feature story subject.

You’d be doggone crazy to ignore the pet-lovers in your audience.

leadership dot #3165: special occasions

February 13, 2021February 12, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

White Castle isn’t exactly where most people think of when considering a Valentine’s Day meal with their date – but the chain has added a new twist to put them into consideration. This year, the Castle is offering “Slider Lover’s Point” by turning their parking lots into a car-hop style restaurant for the holiday. Aficionados of the classic square burgers can safely fulfill their cravings while being served in their car, harkening them back to the time when White Castle was one of the only fast-food places around. It’s a creative strategy to acknowledge the pandemic but also to capitalize on the uptick in Valentine’s business.

Think about how your organization can think differently about positioning itself for special occasions. Can you target godmothers or even fairy godmothers instead of moms on Mother’s Day? Could you provide your fundraising buffet or breakfast at midnight instead of during the traditional hours? Maybe your appeal letter asks for donations to stay home instead of going to another chicken dinner event?

It’s hard to compete with the ordinary. Think extraordinary instead.

leadership dot #3164: red envelope

February 12, 2021February 11, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Happy Chinese New Year!

Many who celebrate the holiday today will be presented with an envelope containing crisp, new cash.

The envelope is always red – representing good luck in the Chinese culture – and legend dictates who gives and who receives the envelope as well as stipulating the denominations of cash inside. For example, money should not be divisible by four or contain four in the amount (as four is phonetically connected with the word for death), and when given in celebration, the amount ends in an even number.

The red envelope is steeped in tradition, and some variation of the practice has occurred since coins were tied together with red string in B.C. However, the practice has evolved and now red envelopes are sent electronically through mobile payment apps. It is estimated that 100 billion virtual envelopes were sent for Chinese New Year 2017!

From red string around coins to coins in red bags under pillows to ward off evil spirits to red envelopes and paper money, and now to mobile apps — the sentiment has remained even though the delivery system has been updated. How can your organization take a lesson from the red envelope practice and make adaptations to meet the changing times? Doing so may bestow you with the good fortune needed to have a happy new year.

Source: Wikipedia

leadership dot #3163: continuation

February 11, 2021February 10, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The crash that killed Kobe Bryant and six others was due to pilot error. “Officials believe [pilot Ara] Zobayan may have felt ‘continuation bias,’ an unconscious tendency among pilots to stick with the original plan despite changing conditions,” according to the recently-released National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report.

Pilots aren’t the only ones who suffer from this influence. Many leaders have plunged ahead on the same path even though external factors drastically changed. Businesses who did not adapt to the pandemic are also guilty of perpetuating the status quo and it may be their enterprise that crashes instead of a helicopter. Individuals plod along with the same diet, savings plan, or relationship and ignore the signs that the current path isn’t working for them.

“The closer you get to the destination the more you think just maybe you can pull this off,” NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said in the crash report. As is the case with everyone, it becomes difficult to throw in the towel or even to alter direction when your past actions have been working for you for so long. You do what you know, especially when things are deteriorating and you feel pressure to achieve your results.

It helps to become conscious of this unconscious sway in order to avoid falling victim to it. Create conditions for psychological safety so that others can speak up around you. Ask for help. Question your own assumptions. Have the courage to admit that your original plan isn’t working.

Stubborn continuation biases you toward failure.

Source: Pilot error led to crash by Stefanie Dazio, Brian Melley and David Koenig for the Associated Press in the Telegraph Herald, February 10, 2021, 5B.

leadership dot #3162: imperfect

February 10, 2021February 9, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In a podcast with Brené Brown, President Obama spoke of the challenges leaders face in decision-making. He commented that the higher you are in the organizational structure, the more frequently you are confronted with issues that don’t have an easy answer. “If there was a perfect answer,” he said, “someone else would have already solved it.” The goal then becomes to make better decisions and to eliminate bad answers.

One way to accomplish this is through what Obama called the “ability to hold the discomfort of paradox.” He extoled the virtues of being able to deal with ambiguity and to “see paradoxes, but not be paralyzed by them.” Many perspectives may be true and even valid, but the leader must still make a decision even though it will not solve all the issues or make everyone happy.

Consider all the time that you have spent wrestling with alternatives in your mind, going back and forth as you try to find an ideal solution to a problem that vexes you. Obama’s point is that a solution may not even exist that meets all your criteria. The best you can hope for is to identify the pain points and benefits – and then to act in spite of that duality.

Source: President Barak Obama with Brené Brown on the Dare to Lead Podcast (Spotify) December 7, 2020

leadership dot #3161: code

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If you’re looking for a quick way to expand your creativity, find yourself a few friends or colleagues and play Codenames. It’s a game where you provide one-word clues that link a set of words together – allowing your partner to guess your words without guessing those of your opponent. It’s harder than it seems but forces you to use your imagination and to consider dual meanings of words. Does “march” refer to the calendar or a military formation? Is “strike” a reference to bowling or the picket line? Would “draft” mean an initial stab at writing or a chilly breeze?

Games such as Codenames allow you to see different perspectives in a light-hearted setting. Oftentimes, partners are on one wavelength while the opposing team furrows their brow as if they can’t comprehend how we were able to guess correctly with those clues. Other times, the clue seems so obvious to the giver but is obtuse for the receiver.

Codenames is good practice not only in creativity but in empathy as people realize that communication has different meanings to different people. People may not hear you if you tried to convey this message in a heated context or around a topic that engenders passion, but you may be able to make the point after a game night or two.