Category: then & now

leadership dot #4592: learn

April 15, 2025April 14, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplett1 Comment

I just wrote an article about competitive disc golf players and when I asked how they honed their skills, the unanimous answer was “YouTube.” It’s the same answer given by my DIY friend when she told me about learning how to connect the plumbing in her claw-foot tub, and it’s what I heard when I asked crochet teachers how they learned their craft.

They aren’t the only ones turning to the video channel for answers. According to Wikipedia, YouTube is the second most visited site in the world (after Google search), with 14.8 billion videos in its collection. It receives over one billion views every day, with 2.7 billion users every month.

I thought of this when reading Bill Gates’ memoir Source Code. He talked about the 24-volume World Book Encyclopedia that he devoured and how it “was like Christmas” when the annual Yearbook arrived to update the information. What he — and all the generations before now — could have done with YouTube.

Most people are visual learners and YouTube makes it possible for someone to show you how to do something. No matter what you’re interested in — a lifetime skill or a quick fix for a problem — the answer is out there. Take advantage of that miracle and learn something new today.

leadership dot #4554: chiptune

March 8, 2025March 7, 2025by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

There’s nothing like music to anchor you to a time or place…or to make you feel old! Such was the case when I learned about a chiptune festival — three days with 50 artists performing a genre of music that I had never even heard of.

In case you’re also unenlightened, per Wikipedia, chiptune is “electronic music made using the programmable sound generator chips or synthesizers in video arcade games, computers, or video game consoles.” I have no desire to dance to the sound PacMan makes when gobbling up the ghosts but digital fusion is popular enough to warrant its own multi-day rave. (You can listen to a sample here.)

Whether you call it 8-bit music, wonky, hyperpop, or synthwave, this genre shows that music is ever-evolving — as is the rest of the world. Keep your ears open and seek input from those younger than you to stay in tune with new trends.

Thanks, Meg!

leadership dot #3987: prep

July 8, 2023July 7, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One of the saddest things I have seen lately was in the Dollar Store which featured Test Prep booklets for Kindergarteners and first graders. The covers were formatted to look like prep courses for the SAT or GRE even though these were for little kids. When I was in Kindergarten, all we did was color and learn the alphabet and I think I turned out fine.

I have a first grader living next door and I think he should spend his time on the silly stuff that he is doing rather than using a workbook to prep for testing. He’s trying to cut a piece of a downed tree so he can sell it for $5. He’s throwing water balloons at his sisters. He’s scaring the dickens out of me as he uses a “flinger” to whiz tennis balls for the dogs.

Let’s hope these books were in the Dollar Store because no one bought them elsewhere. I’m a big believer in education — and I’m a big fan of pure kid-ness as well. Stop the prep and pressure and let the little kids just play.

leadership dot #3901: outdated

April 13, 2023April 12, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was recently involved in a human-centered design activity where participants were asked to interview someone at their table to learn about the kind of wallet they used and how they would change things if they could create their own perfect version. It’s a routine exercise that has been used in many settings — only half of the participants did not use a wallet at all. Instead, they relied either on their phone directly or included a pocket for credit cards as part of their phone case.

The move to cashless played out in another exercise — one of my favorite opening activities — where I ask participants to draw what is on the front and back of a penny. It used to be that everyone in the room had a penny in their purse or pocket, but with my last group, only a few carried the coins and could verify the guesses.

It highlighted for me that the range of common experiences is dwindling every day. There are no longer universal (fill in the blank) — television shows, election dates, shopping locations, or news sources. And, activities that include cash or wallets are becoming extinct as well.

If you conduct training sessions, write case studies, or use examples in your messaging, step back and review your material for outdated references. Your lesson will have more impact if you’re current, not quaint.

leadership dot #3873: party

March 5, 2023March 4, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If you are of a certain age, you probably remember Tupperware parties — the highly successful distribution system for what has become the generic name for plastic serving containers. Until recently, Tupperware was only available via distributors who sold the products to groups gathered in homes for demonstrations of the signature sealing “burp” or via those who sold the goods at vendor fairs as a licensed representative. Tupperware parties were almost synonymous with the product.

But no more. Today, you can buy the Tupperware brand at your local Target mixed in with all the other domestic products that are distributed to the masses in the same way. Whether due to the changing (mostly female) workforce, a belief that its quality will distinguish it from lower-cost plastic containers, or the declining interest/time for home events, the company has abandoned its pioneering exclusivity.

Is it a good move that allows Tupperware to acknowledge realities and evolve with the times or is it a serious error that compromises a core element of its long-standing brand? How you reach your customers is a key element of your organizational strategy. Don’t leave the party too early.

leadership dot #3859: charging

February 19, 2023February 17, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Back in the day, phone booths in airports were at a premium. Travelers needed to utilize the pay phones when they were passing through and securing a booth in the limited time of a layover was important.

Obviously, phones have evolved and I doubt most airports have more than one pay phone, but phones are still an essential tool for travelers. Now, the premium commodity is an outlet for charging smartphones.

Maui airport has melded the past with the present by converting its pay phone booths into charging stations. The booths are plentiful and in convenient locations, making them perfect spots to provide both power and a sound-absorbing buffer to lend an element of privacy for making calls. The airport even provides chairs for weary travelers to sit on while they wait.

Many travelers may have never used the booths for their original purpose — or even know what they were for — but they can benefit from the adaptation.

Can you repurpose a space or tool in your organization that is no longer needed for its intended use? Rather than get rid of it or let it collect dust, maybe there is a way you can call it something else and meet the needs of a new generation.

Thanks, Lynn!

leadership dot #386a: Kelly Girl

December 27, 2022December 20, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In my days of temporary office work — before, during, and just after college — I could run a mean IBM Selectric typewriter, making it sing with flawless corrections, lined up “just so” with the little plastic tab. Corrections were important in the pre-computer era where an imperfect change would mean retyping the whole page, so someone like me who could professionally correct had a very valuable talent. I was good with the Selectric, so much so that it gave me comfort to know that if college didn’t pan out, I would always have a career to fall back on as a secretary.

My, how things have changed. My secretary — oops, administrative professional — may as well have a degree in computer programming. Different assistants have been able to do things with Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Jing, and programs I have never heard of. I find my secretarial skills about as obsolete as the revered Selectric — good for the times, but irrelevant for today.

Do you have a skill that is like that — it had value at one time, but is a non-factor today? Making professional typewriter corrections. Running the ditto machine. Utilizing a dictaphone machine. Taking down shorthand. Threading the microfiche machine. Running an adding machine. Filing in cabinets. And those are just a few things in the office. Think of all the obsolete skills in the greater workplace and at home.

To remain relevant, you need to be on a trajectory of continual learning. Don’t rely on your present skills to serve you in the future. They may become as desirable as the once-coveted Selectric.

Originally published in modified form on June 22, 2013

leadership dot #3774: postcards

November 16, 2022November 15, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I handwrote 2000 postcards to voters in ten states that had close House races and I’m writing 1000 more to encourage voters in the Georgia Senate runoff, part of a national effort that oversaw the sending of 9.5 million postcards to voters in 26 states.

The postcards and their messages are carefully tracked and have proven to increase voter turnout among voters who receive them. It may only be by a percentage point or two, but in close elections, it’s enough to influence the outcome and make a difference.

Handwritten postcards may be very low-tech, but it is precisely because of this retro technique that they stand out. Think about other nostalgic methods you can deploy to draw attention to your organization. Maybe you could sponsor a lemonade stand or host an ice cream social. Banks are bringing back Christmas Clubs as an old-fashioned way of saving. Are there other ways you can infuse some nostalgia into your efforts? As with the postcards, you don’t have to make a huge difference to see the impact of your efforts.

leadership dot #3757: rental

October 30, 2022October 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Our mall, like so many others, is a shell of what it used to be. Several of the anchor stores have gone and all that remains is a smattering of boutique shops that don’t really amount to much. It seems that the majority of people who go there are those who use it as an indoor walking track.

So, I was surprised to see this sign — indicating that they still charge $5/day for stroller rental and $7/day for double stroller rental. Why do they bother? First of all, nobody uses a stroller for a whole day in the mall, and secondly, they should be doing everything they can to encourage people to come inside. The rental process is no doubt left over from decades ago when strollers may have actually been at a premium, but it certainly is not the case today.

If you see a practice in your organization that is as irrelevant as this, have the fortitude to speak up and get it changed. You may not eliminate any work but you’ll align your integrity by having only policies that really matter.

leadership dot #3737: repurposing

October 10, 2022October 9, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I attended an event in an old warehouse that had been renovated and repurposed into some of the most amazing space in our city. It is contemporary and comfortable and features many elements of the warehouse that were preserved and repurposed for new use.

My two favorite examples:

A major support beam had to be cut to make room for an internal staircase. They took that wood and end cut it into sections to make the stairwell itself, thus exposing 100+ years of growth rings in a pattern that is more beautiful than anything you could purchase new.
The base of an old freight elevator was saved from the landfill when it became a stunning new reception desk that sets the tone for the building from the moment you walk in.

Neither one of these examples now functions anything like its original purpose but both seem to be working out quite well.

Many supervisors would be wise to keep this in mind as they deal with employees who may benefit from a “repurposing,” too. Some staff members have fulfilled their potential in their current job and would benefit from being in a new role that exposes their “growth rings.” Others are in the wrong role or in a job that is no longer needed and they, too, would benefit from a different position that allows them to become useful in a new way.

In the era of tight staffing, organizations would be wise to take some lessons from historic preservation. As little as possible is discarded, and great effort goes into matching the existing materials with new needs. Supervisors can do the same thing.