July 2025 – leadership dots

leadership dot #4692: recovered

July 31, 2025July 30, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

As Disneyland celebrates its 70th anniversary, it brings back memories of “Black Sunday,” the disastrous soft opening on July 17, 1955. When they broke ground the year before, Walt set a one-year deadline for the park to open. Nice in theory, but the park wasn’t ready in a year. They opened anyway.

Six thousand invitations were sent to the day-before-grand-opening test run, but 28,000 people came! The freeway backed up for seven miles, there was wet paint, shoes sank into just-poured asphalt, the concession stand ran out of food, water fountains didn’t work, the riverboat got stuck in the mud, and a gas leak caused portions of the park to close for several hours. It was definitely not “the happiest place on Earth!”

Some takeaways immediately come to mind: First, arbitrary deadlines sound good, but delays sometimes are the better long-term strategy. If it’s not ready, it’s wise to wait until it is. Second, you can learn and recover. Disneyland today hosts over 17 million people each year. Black Sunday is part of the legend, but not the current reality. You don’t have a lot of time to course correct, but it can be done. And finally, even Disney, the company renowned for attention to detail, didn’t always get it right. You can turn your failings into strengths. It’s all hard work, not magic after all.

leadership dot #4691: answerers

July 30, 2025July 29, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I had my current students in a previous class, and when I asked them if they knew anyone who could be a speaker for my (their) upcoming global communications class, no one had any suggestions. Yet, now that they are in this class, all of them were able to interview someone with global experience for an assignment I gave.

I wondered where the disconnect was and decided that it was because I was asking for speakers. That sounds lofty — it’s the dreaded public speaking; it’s intimidating to talk to a graduate class, as people often don’t feel that their experience is worthy of discussion, etc. But really what I wanted was class “answerers.” The students are full of questions, and all the people interviewed would have been great to share in class the same content they shared in the interview for the paper’s assignment.

I think the principle applies in other situations. We can unintentionally make things out to be loftier than intended, and often, more daunting than they turn out to be in real life. I’m finding this out as I seek volunteers for a civic committee, when asking for input on a DIY project, or during many meetings. People want to be “answerers” and share the knowledge they have in an informal, respond-in-the-moment way without requiring a lot of preparation.

Everyone has a unique perspective. Make it easy and comfortable for people to share their experiences by allowing them to respond, rather than present.

leadership dot #4690: annoyance

July 29, 2025July 28, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

During the night, I was bitten by a mosquito. I heard it, then I felt it, and once that happened, I could concentrate on nothing else. That stupid little itch kept me awake for too long before I lumbered out of my cozy bed to apply anti-itch spray. I would have been better off getting up right away, but I foolishly thought I could ignore it. Of course, the more I tried to do that, the more annoying it became.

And it’s not just mosquito bites that are like this. The keyboard key that sticks makes us growl every time. The squeak on the door causes us to grimace each time we open it. The overflowing file drawer never fails to create frustration when we try to cram one more document into it. The list goes on.

Instead of letting minor annoyances dominate our thoughts, it’s better to address them right away, even when they seem like small matters. Most of the time, annoyances continue to annoy.

leadership dot #4689: quilters

July 28, 2025July 27, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The documentary The Quilters shares the story of men in a maximum-security prison who sew quilts for children. Their goal is to provide a birthday blanket for every foster child in the surrounding counties, and so far, they have sewn over 2,000 quilts for local nonprofits, charities, and foster children.

The men use all donated materials to create these works of art, five days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The careful drawing out of grids and the methodical “cut, sew, iron” process of quilt making provide the men an escape from their present circumstances. It also incentivizes good behavior as it’s a privilege for them to be there; the men can’t have any write-ups or violations.

There are other restorative justice programs out there, such as training puppies to be guide dogs or raising feral cats, all with the common goal of giving the prisoners something meaningful to do with their time.

People are at their best when they have a purpose. Use your freedom to find one in your life.

Source: The Quilters Netflix Documentary, 33 minutes

leadership dot #4688: rut prevention

July 27, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was intrigued by the concept behind Resketch notebooks — journals created with “rescued and reclaimed” paper, which creates variety with every page. “Give your brain the same blank, uniform page every time, and it follows familiar patterns,” their ad reads. “Introduce randomness, texture, and an element of surprise…this unpredictability gently challenges your mind.”

You can adapt this concept with or without purchasing Resketch. Change up the pen you use, where you sit in a meeting room (or stand, or sit on the floor), which meeting room you sit in (outside, another building, etc.). My senior staff meetings were held in a different location every time — in part to expose us to new parts of campus, but also to prevent us from falling into complacency. I’ve done session materials on a variety of colors within the same handout and changed the order in which people are called on — anything to keep from being routine.

Ruts are easy to get into and hard to abandon. Avoid that problem by regularly mixing in some simple tools to keep your creativity fresh.

leadership dot #4687: upfront

July 26, 2025July 25, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’m one of those people who will walk up and pet most big dogs that I meet. It’s not always a great idea! Since dogs obviously can’t talk, and owners aren’t always quick enough to intervene, a company has designed leashes to communicate messages for the pets.

Leashes are emblazoned with messages such as:

DO NOT PET
Nervous — Do Not Pet
Nervous — Give Me Space
I need space
Friendly
Adopt Me
No Dogs

It’s a simple and clear way to say what the dog would say if it could.

Do you have unspoken messages that need to be shared? Consider innovative ways to communicate behavioral expectations upfront to avoid needing to bark them later.

leadership dot #4686: labeled

July 25, 2025July 24, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Why do organizations think that sending someone address labels will increase their donations or purchases?

I have enough address labels to cover a wall in my house. They have recently come from AAA Life Insurance, Audubon, St. Jude, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Ocean Conservatory — places I have never donated to before. Labels are in the name of Ms. Beth Triplett, Beth Triplett, Elizabeth Triplett, and my favorite, Mrs. Elizabeth Triplett — as if I would ever use that incorrect label, let alone have it inspire me to write a check. They come in my sister’s name and my mom’s name, even though both of them have been gone for several years. I think of the negative environmental and financial impact of this wasteful practice.

If the labels carried the brand icon or some identifier that also served as awareness-building, maybe it would make more sense. People who supported your cause could help promote it. But to randomly send generic stickers as a “free gift” does nothing but add to the landfill.

Before you jump on the address label bandwagon, stop and ask yourself if you ever actually use one of the many offerings that pollute your mailbox. Stick to persuading with a compelling message instead.

leadership dot #4685: trio

July 24, 2025July 23, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A school in Boulder advertised that they cultivate these traits in students: Compassion, Curiosity, and Courage. I love this combination. How much better we would be if everyone possessed these characteristics.

If you have children, the trio could become a de facto family motto, and if you’re a leader, you can incorporate these values into how you work with your team.

Think about yourself as well. Which one of the three is your strongest, and which one could you work to develop? Each reinforces the other, and together they provide a powerful combination.

leadership dot #4684: sense

July 23, 2025July 22, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The U.S. Mint is moving forward with plans to discontinue the production of pennies. For many, it seems like a logical move as the coins cost over three cents each to make. Why continue with something that loses money?

But the other side of the equation comes when you ask, “What’s next?” If retailers are forced to use more nickels — because people hoard the now-limited pennies or the supply just runs out — those cost the Mint 14 cents to make. We could solve one problem and create an even bigger one.

The same principle applies in many other situations. It may save short-term money to eliminate a position or program, but outsourcing the work ultimately costs more. Switching to electric cars may save fuel, but what about battery disposal? Moving into a small apartment sounds great, until you add in the ongoing cost of a storage unit. Eliminating a streaming service makes the monthly bill smaller, unless you add in the restaurant meals and entertainment you replace it with.

Before you make a substantial policy or process change, look down the road. What makes sense today may not make cents in the future.

leadership dot #4683: already

July 22, 2025July 21, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

There have been many times when people have shared something with me that I have or know already. It may be a pinback button for my collection, a dot idea, a news item, a social media post, or a training tip, but whether it is a duplicate or not, I never let on. My response is “thank you for thinking of me,” which is both sincere and accurate. You should do the same.

There is so much information available that it’s hard for everyone to process it all. When someone shares something with you, it may warrant a second look. When they add to your collection, it’s a kind gesture that should be appreciated. If you rebuff the contributions by saying that you already know or have that, it puts doubt in their mind for the next time. Instead of passing something along, they may self-edit and hesitate to share, thinking it would be unnecessary once again.

Never hold back on sharing a tidbit or token with others, as it’s a sign of camaraderie and connection. Likewise, never say no to that gift, regardless of whether you have received it already or not.