Does that number mean anything to you? How about 86ing it? It's an old slang expression of uncertain origin. The The American Heritage Dictionary defines it first as a refusal of service in a bar or restaurant, and secondly to throw out or eject something.
I use this odd little diversion in contrast to today's topic: "More Crap From The Internet."
I get an email from the Huffington Post every day and while there are some really interesting items that show up I have become aware that there is something they are obsessed with: Management!
Yes, the thing people use to run businesses and one of the most "trending" ways be doing things. Yes we know that management is the answer to everything, whether it's work, chores at home, schools, our emotions. All these things and more can be mastered with the judicious application of management tools and practices. But lest we forget, management is really good at one thing and probably not much else. That thing is efficiency.
It certainly makes sense that a business doesn't want to use valuable resources doing things that don't promote creation of value, which is the reason for the organization's existence. And if you're trying to build cars, for example, Mr. Ford's assembly line is a real model of efficiency and execution. So management is really the process of evaluating the steps in a process and maximizing the result while minimizing the input and time and energy. This requires taking lots of measurements over a significant number of replicates to create a base line, then working to improve or eliminate steps.
This brings us to the "trending" i referred to above. On the main page of the Huff Post page to day are a number of lists of things one might do to better manage their lives today. That number is, you guessed it 86. From 18 things highly creative people do differently to 10 full-body workout moves you can do at home. Not to mention the 8 college degrees that aren't worth the money ot the 7 foods you should never eat again, neither of which are included in the total.
Am I the only one who doesn't have the time, patience or interest in seeing ow long a list I can make for myself today. I mean really, one or two important things in addition to the phone answering and groceries and errands is a full day. And, by the way one of the 18 is daydreaming.
But lest I lay the blame at the feet of the Huffsters, they're media. That means they're a reflection of us. If we didn't want that stuff they wouldn't waste their valuable space with it. Now you might ask ourself why am I going on about management like this. And that would certainly be a valid question.
Any of you who've been reading any of my stuff have gotten the word that the times, they are a-changin' as Mr. Dylan said back in the 60's. And as they certainly were back then they are now. After WWII we all fell in love with the country's ability to rise up in incredible response to the onslaught of Germany and Japan to build up our forces and our hardware to defeat the enemy. We loved our ability to build war machines of great capability and durability that lead us to believe, then prove what a manufacturing powerhouse we were. And we used that belief as energy and intention to create highly successful business and the profits that went along with them.
In the 70's the world which had been changing since the end of the war began to catch up to us. Metaphorically, the Japanese come ashore and said Americans don't have to choose from the big 3's offering of gas-guzzling chrome-and-finmobiles. We could drive more economical and reliable transportation which would certainly get from zero to sixty in an amount of time no one cared about one way or another. Apparently the market spoke and Detroit ignored it. They insisted they knew better and gave away over a third of it's market share, along with most of their profits.
Now you know the captains of industry have to find out whose fault this is and it was easy to blame the high price of labor and those unreasonable unions. They had to be stopped. I'm not going any further than that. You can have your own opinion of all that without it having any impact on the point I'm making.
All the data from all the economists whether liberal, progressive or conservative all agree that the American economy stopped creating value around the mid-70's. Real wages froze then have fallen and the economy has pretty much been the playground and pay day for the wealthy ever since. And they still cry about high taxes and inefficient government. And they have amassed a combined store of cash on the order of more than $10 Trillion.
THere isn't enough work, and there is a stagnant economy. But don't call the capitalists to account. It's unions and foreign competition and high taxes and interfering government. Meanwhile, the guys in the corner offices are getting paid millions to their personal accounts while allowing the well being of everyone else to wallow in indifference.
Have you noticed that the only people besides the wealthy that are doing well are the whiz kids? Yeah, the great tech innovators from Apple and Microsoft and Google, etc. What's going to happen when Elon Musk and his Tesla becomes the biggest car company in the US, then the world? And we're paying carloads to so-called high performance CEOs to help us maintain mediocrity.
No, folks. The answer is no longer management and its obsession with efficiency. We need brains, and heart and balls! We have them, so let;s put them to use.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
The Internet Again
Sometimes I just have to ask myself if I should just unsubscribe from all this email crap I get from people. And then I realize, "This is how I get triggered and have an opportunity to learn about myself.
Today it's leadership. Not that this is a new topic, but it's one I may have struggled with the most. I got an invite from Harvard Business Review to send them $199 and in return they would send me a carload of what they referred to as "must Read" articles on the usual subjects, including leadership. But the others are all related. If you're interested I'm sure you can find it easily enough, but I've already given them too much ink.
I also got an email telling me all I needed to do to become a better leader was to read their book which culls out the characteristics embodied by Churchill, Lincoln and several others. My first reaction was, "Those guys were completely different!" I don't deny they were certainly accomplished, and turned out to be real important men of their times, but other than being committed to their own ideas and persistent in their pursuit I find little similarity.
They also acted decisively and consistently. Kinda like Hitler or Stalin or the Pharaohs of Egypt. How about Henry VIII? It seems the qualities of leadership have little to do with the quality of the result. There must be another way to assess what I think leadership is. Yes, me, Bill Flynn. I get to decide.
Why? To quote my late father, "Who died and left you boss?"
I could say it was him, but I can't imagine leadership in any other way than embodied by the person I would follow. A very complicated yet wise woman said to me once, that it is easy to spot a leader. Just look at the person with people following them. As usual, wisdom lies in the obvious. This leads me to think I know what it takes to be a leader. Who am I following?
As I tried to see who I was following, one surprising thing came up. I am following different people at different times and in different situations. Maybe a leader isn't always a leader. Maybe they sometimes follow. Maybe it isn't about a title or a job. Maybe it has more to do with just who the person is and how they show up.
Over time I occasionally looked at the things I have relied on to make decisions. Sometimes I trusted my gut, but not very often. I have exhausted myself with research in the various ways of finding out what to do. I have most often tried to look at others who are doing what I want or who have what I think I need. Then I work at doing what they are doing. I try to become them if you will.
Bad strategy. You know the reasons. That job is already taken. I can't be them, I need to be me. But I can't seem to work that out because I don't trust myself. What if that's exactly my problem? What if I actually looked at what I think might work and tried it? Either way I'm likely to learn something. If what I try works, I learn I am capable and on the right track. If what I try fails, I have new information and the opportunity to use it to find an alternative.
Likewise in a group. We'll move from here next. C'mon back.
Today it's leadership. Not that this is a new topic, but it's one I may have struggled with the most. I got an invite from Harvard Business Review to send them $199 and in return they would send me a carload of what they referred to as "must Read" articles on the usual subjects, including leadership. But the others are all related. If you're interested I'm sure you can find it easily enough, but I've already given them too much ink.
I also got an email telling me all I needed to do to become a better leader was to read their book which culls out the characteristics embodied by Churchill, Lincoln and several others. My first reaction was, "Those guys were completely different!" I don't deny they were certainly accomplished, and turned out to be real important men of their times, but other than being committed to their own ideas and persistent in their pursuit I find little similarity.
They also acted decisively and consistently. Kinda like Hitler or Stalin or the Pharaohs of Egypt. How about Henry VIII? It seems the qualities of leadership have little to do with the quality of the result. There must be another way to assess what I think leadership is. Yes, me, Bill Flynn. I get to decide.
Why? To quote my late father, "Who died and left you boss?"
I could say it was him, but I can't imagine leadership in any other way than embodied by the person I would follow. A very complicated yet wise woman said to me once, that it is easy to spot a leader. Just look at the person with people following them. As usual, wisdom lies in the obvious. This leads me to think I know what it takes to be a leader. Who am I following?
As I tried to see who I was following, one surprising thing came up. I am following different people at different times and in different situations. Maybe a leader isn't always a leader. Maybe they sometimes follow. Maybe it isn't about a title or a job. Maybe it has more to do with just who the person is and how they show up.
Over time I occasionally looked at the things I have relied on to make decisions. Sometimes I trusted my gut, but not very often. I have exhausted myself with research in the various ways of finding out what to do. I have most often tried to look at others who are doing what I want or who have what I think I need. Then I work at doing what they are doing. I try to become them if you will.
Bad strategy. You know the reasons. That job is already taken. I can't be them, I need to be me. But I can't seem to work that out because I don't trust myself. What if that's exactly my problem? What if I actually looked at what I think might work and tried it? Either way I'm likely to learn something. If what I try works, I learn I am capable and on the right track. If what I try fails, I have new information and the opportunity to use it to find an alternative.
Likewise in a group. We'll move from here next. C'mon back.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
More From The Media
My latest encounter with an article is a New Yorker commentary by Louis Menand on the recent book by Scott Stossel titled "My Age Of Anxiety." It is the story of Stossel's life long experience with anxiety. You may read the article here http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2014/01/27/140127crat_atlarge_menand?currentPage=all
Stossel is the editor of The Atlantic and he was first treated at the age of 10. As one might imagine he has been through any and every model of treatment available, except electro-shock therapy. What interested me most is what seems to be an idea that anxiety (what I have been calling fear) is a disease to be eliminated. Every course of therapy and treatment, as I understand it, has had the intention of curing the condition. There is a built in supposition that Mr. Stossel's suffering has to do with a similar kind of suffering one might experience with a cold or the flu. These temporary biological upsets caused by an invasive organism or virus.
What if the situation is fundamentally different? We know that an infection causes a fever, which causes one to feel "sick" which causes one to seek medical treatment. Pains are the same kind of attention grabber leading to curative measures, But what if the psychological conditions we deal with such as depression and anxiety are merely indicators of the invasion, and what if they aren't so much calling for cure as much as they are calling for adaptation.
Many people I have talked with have held the notion that feelings, such as fear or anger are things to be controlled. I suggest the desire to control is an effort to avoid the negative consequences that have occurred when one has exploded in anger or crumbled in fear. But one thing I'm sure of is that these feelings are reactions to events outside the body, not reactions to the thoughts within the brain. After the feeling, the thoughts begin, often judgmental in nature, and many times reactive. I'm guessing the reactive behavior is similar to the fever or pain associated with the biological diseases referred to above.
My suggestion here is that the point of intervention required to effect a different kind of outcome is in the space between the feeling and reaction, not ahead of the feeling. Controlling one's feelings requires intervention before the feeling occurs. This is the outcome patients experience when they have taken psychotropic medications and complained about being numb or listless. All feelings are diminished by these drugs, which leaves a patient feeling lifeless.
I am not condemning use of these drugs. I personally experienced a depression, was prescribed Prozac, used it in conjunction with therapy and stopped after about 7 months. Both the psychiatrist and I considered this a successful course of treatment. But what the therapy did in conjunction with the drug, was to help me gain awareness and skill associated with my responses to my feelings. At the time I was so sad I needed the meds to get up off the floor. That gave me the opportunity to show up and take a look at my reactions. As I learned more mature responses to my feelings I became less reactive and the depression lifted.
The Revolution I have been talking about isn't about everyone in the world having the same experience and taking the same course of action and treatment I had. Rather the Revolution is about learning how to be present with my feelings and my thinking at the same time. My reactive nature, learned as a child, did not allow me to think about a response. I was reacting first and not even bothering to ask questions later. I believe that's more common than one might think.
The Revolution is not an argument between professionals. The Revolution is about how we can all help each other see the world as a larger place than we think. And then for each of us to see ourselves as larger than we thought. We are all more capable and more complex that we have believed. And in order to see this, to feel its authenticity, we need each other.
Be well, stay warm and come back soon for more.
Stossel is the editor of The Atlantic and he was first treated at the age of 10. As one might imagine he has been through any and every model of treatment available, except electro-shock therapy. What interested me most is what seems to be an idea that anxiety (what I have been calling fear) is a disease to be eliminated. Every course of therapy and treatment, as I understand it, has had the intention of curing the condition. There is a built in supposition that Mr. Stossel's suffering has to do with a similar kind of suffering one might experience with a cold or the flu. These temporary biological upsets caused by an invasive organism or virus.
What if the situation is fundamentally different? We know that an infection causes a fever, which causes one to feel "sick" which causes one to seek medical treatment. Pains are the same kind of attention grabber leading to curative measures, But what if the psychological conditions we deal with such as depression and anxiety are merely indicators of the invasion, and what if they aren't so much calling for cure as much as they are calling for adaptation.
Many people I have talked with have held the notion that feelings, such as fear or anger are things to be controlled. I suggest the desire to control is an effort to avoid the negative consequences that have occurred when one has exploded in anger or crumbled in fear. But one thing I'm sure of is that these feelings are reactions to events outside the body, not reactions to the thoughts within the brain. After the feeling, the thoughts begin, often judgmental in nature, and many times reactive. I'm guessing the reactive behavior is similar to the fever or pain associated with the biological diseases referred to above.
My suggestion here is that the point of intervention required to effect a different kind of outcome is in the space between the feeling and reaction, not ahead of the feeling. Controlling one's feelings requires intervention before the feeling occurs. This is the outcome patients experience when they have taken psychotropic medications and complained about being numb or listless. All feelings are diminished by these drugs, which leaves a patient feeling lifeless.
I am not condemning use of these drugs. I personally experienced a depression, was prescribed Prozac, used it in conjunction with therapy and stopped after about 7 months. Both the psychiatrist and I considered this a successful course of treatment. But what the therapy did in conjunction with the drug, was to help me gain awareness and skill associated with my responses to my feelings. At the time I was so sad I needed the meds to get up off the floor. That gave me the opportunity to show up and take a look at my reactions. As I learned more mature responses to my feelings I became less reactive and the depression lifted.
The Revolution I have been talking about isn't about everyone in the world having the same experience and taking the same course of action and treatment I had. Rather the Revolution is about learning how to be present with my feelings and my thinking at the same time. My reactive nature, learned as a child, did not allow me to think about a response. I was reacting first and not even bothering to ask questions later. I believe that's more common than one might think.
The Revolution is not an argument between professionals. The Revolution is about how we can all help each other see the world as a larger place than we think. And then for each of us to see ourselves as larger than we thought. We are all more capable and more complex that we have believed. And in order to see this, to feel its authenticity, we need each other.
Be well, stay warm and come back soon for more.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Revolution? Really?
I know many will think I'm just trying to get people's attention. And they would be correct. Don't shoot me for wanting readers. But there is content coming to demonstrate what I'm saying.
You've read or heard me saying that revolutions happen without people knowing it. We think there is always some evil cabal meeting secretly and hatching nefarious plots to overthrow our nice, safe world; but the truth is that as people stop believing that their world is nice and safe, they begin to adjust their thinking and sooner or later they look up and change has occurred.
Last time I talk about the 3 power girls and their newly launched events called The Third Metric. I feel compelled to mention them probably because I butchered Cindi Leive's name. I come from a time when I signed my name William, even though I have never liked anything but Bill. And the spelling, especially of her last name just will not stick in my head. So I misspelled her first name. My apologies to you if you see this Ms. Leive.
Too long a digression.
So the three girls have this idea that turning off their phones will allow them great weekends and wonderful vacations. But will that do the job? A fresh article out of The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2014/01/27/140127ta_talk_surowiecki?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyemail&mbid=nl_daily(101)_regular&mbid=nl_Daily%20(101)
talks about Wall Street and their apparently being enlightened to the fact that people just can't work effectively without rest. The article is short and worth the five minutes, but my point here is that we have all taken on a belief system that not only honors hard work but accepts the notion that it's okay for the boss to think I work around the clock. I am even willing to be seen as unimportant if I am unavailable for a minute. Who gets to go to the bathroom in that model? But in all fairness Goldman Sachs saying their people shouldn't work more than 70 or 75 hours per week is hardly enlightened.
What we at Paeon believe is that whatever anyone likes or believes, the model will change. Whether I want to let my people be human is not a consideration. Sooner or later people become themselves. and even if the investment banks are a little less than enlightened in their view, the fact that they are able to articulate a view at all is probably the result of recognizing greater expectations aren't working anyway. And the only way they are able to see this is by observing the actions of their people. And if my guess is correct, people were breaking down in spite of their intention to act omnipotent, to excel in all areas, to push beyond all limits. Of course all that is not possible, except within the walls of imagination.
I hear a call to moderation in these words. I hear a need to revisit beliefs and assumptions. But in if I am going to do that, I need to change my view. If I continue to think and believe that what's expected of me is perfection or 70 hour weeks or 24/7 availability, I will pretend to turn off my phone, but that doesn't free my mind. That doesn't let my psyche get its needed rest; it only refers the fear to another region. In that region one may find all my feelings. Keeping company with my fears are anger, sadness and joy.
Joy? Even that?
Yes. Of course if I turn off my feeling, I turn off my feeling. That means everything that's not painful enough to break through my denial. I can pretend not to be any of these things and yet feel some of them, but that's only pretend. I've discovered that for chunks of my life I have experienced pleasure and called it joy. But when I looked at joy and its true nature, I realized I have been joyful in times of great pain and fear. Times absent any pleasure. At that point I learned something that is valuable to me and our clients. I don't choose my feelings, they happen without my permission or consideration. My body experiences the world and sends messages back about what it observes. In real time. Which tells me if I want to be present I need to know how I feel. I need to know what my body is telling me about Sad, Glad, Mad and Afraid.
And here is the Revolution I've been talking about. For a long, long time mankind has survived on earth with an emotional reality based on survival. That means threats are dealt with by running or killing. These are not actual decisions in terms of thinking what's best, they are reactions to the body's impulses. But is this the best, or even a good way for contemporary humans to live? When was the last time any of our lives were threatened? The Revolution is merely that if I am going to be present in my life, if I am going to do my work and end the day while I am still alert, if I am going to have actual weekends and vacations, if I am going to have relationships I can actually show up for, then I need to know how I feel. Now. At this moment. And I need to know what to do about them.
I thank Daniel Goleman and the others who began the conversation about Emotional Intelligence. I also thank Allison Wood Brooks and her colleagues at Harvard Business School who actually had the nerve to talk about the impact of fear in the workplace and its negative impact on performance. There are no doubt many others toiling in this field. There is going to be more on this here soon, but we're going to avoid the academic. This isn't the forum for detailed investigation. That's important stuff, but it is also for others.
So check back next time and find out if you'll need a uniform to join the Revolution.
Stay warm and be well.
You've read or heard me saying that revolutions happen without people knowing it. We think there is always some evil cabal meeting secretly and hatching nefarious plots to overthrow our nice, safe world; but the truth is that as people stop believing that their world is nice and safe, they begin to adjust their thinking and sooner or later they look up and change has occurred.
Last time I talk about the 3 power girls and their newly launched events called The Third Metric. I feel compelled to mention them probably because I butchered Cindi Leive's name. I come from a time when I signed my name William, even though I have never liked anything but Bill. And the spelling, especially of her last name just will not stick in my head. So I misspelled her first name. My apologies to you if you see this Ms. Leive.
Too long a digression.
So the three girls have this idea that turning off their phones will allow them great weekends and wonderful vacations. But will that do the job? A fresh article out of The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2014/01/27/140127ta_talk_surowiecki?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyemail&mbid=nl_daily(101)_regular&mbid=nl_Daily%20(101)
talks about Wall Street and their apparently being enlightened to the fact that people just can't work effectively without rest. The article is short and worth the five minutes, but my point here is that we have all taken on a belief system that not only honors hard work but accepts the notion that it's okay for the boss to think I work around the clock. I am even willing to be seen as unimportant if I am unavailable for a minute. Who gets to go to the bathroom in that model? But in all fairness Goldman Sachs saying their people shouldn't work more than 70 or 75 hours per week is hardly enlightened.
What we at Paeon believe is that whatever anyone likes or believes, the model will change. Whether I want to let my people be human is not a consideration. Sooner or later people become themselves. and even if the investment banks are a little less than enlightened in their view, the fact that they are able to articulate a view at all is probably the result of recognizing greater expectations aren't working anyway. And the only way they are able to see this is by observing the actions of their people. And if my guess is correct, people were breaking down in spite of their intention to act omnipotent, to excel in all areas, to push beyond all limits. Of course all that is not possible, except within the walls of imagination.
I hear a call to moderation in these words. I hear a need to revisit beliefs and assumptions. But in if I am going to do that, I need to change my view. If I continue to think and believe that what's expected of me is perfection or 70 hour weeks or 24/7 availability, I will pretend to turn off my phone, but that doesn't free my mind. That doesn't let my psyche get its needed rest; it only refers the fear to another region. In that region one may find all my feelings. Keeping company with my fears are anger, sadness and joy.
Joy? Even that?
Yes. Of course if I turn off my feeling, I turn off my feeling. That means everything that's not painful enough to break through my denial. I can pretend not to be any of these things and yet feel some of them, but that's only pretend. I've discovered that for chunks of my life I have experienced pleasure and called it joy. But when I looked at joy and its true nature, I realized I have been joyful in times of great pain and fear. Times absent any pleasure. At that point I learned something that is valuable to me and our clients. I don't choose my feelings, they happen without my permission or consideration. My body experiences the world and sends messages back about what it observes. In real time. Which tells me if I want to be present I need to know how I feel. I need to know what my body is telling me about Sad, Glad, Mad and Afraid.
And here is the Revolution I've been talking about. For a long, long time mankind has survived on earth with an emotional reality based on survival. That means threats are dealt with by running or killing. These are not actual decisions in terms of thinking what's best, they are reactions to the body's impulses. But is this the best, or even a good way for contemporary humans to live? When was the last time any of our lives were threatened? The Revolution is merely that if I am going to be present in my life, if I am going to do my work and end the day while I am still alert, if I am going to have actual weekends and vacations, if I am going to have relationships I can actually show up for, then I need to know how I feel. Now. At this moment. And I need to know what to do about them.
I thank Daniel Goleman and the others who began the conversation about Emotional Intelligence. I also thank Allison Wood Brooks and her colleagues at Harvard Business School who actually had the nerve to talk about the impact of fear in the workplace and its negative impact on performance. There are no doubt many others toiling in this field. There is going to be more on this here soon, but we're going to avoid the academic. This isn't the forum for detailed investigation. That's important stuff, but it is also for others.
So check back next time and find out if you'll need a uniform to join the Revolution.
Stay warm and be well.
Friday, January 17, 2014
And a new year
Still writing checks? Lots of us don't anymore. Still dating them 2013? That was always a problem for me. And apparently I'm not alone. Not to mention all the other things that are so hard to change.
I'm always getting new information, mostly from the print media, which is delivered on my computer. Lots of it is little more than cat videos in terms of importance, but lots of it catches my eye, particularly if it is relevant to things I'm interested in. Take, for example the topic of change. If there's one thing a coach is into it's the concept of change and the impediments to people making it.
I recently filled out a questionnaire from an organization called APQC (American Productivity & Quality Center). They're a non profit membership organization doing research in the fields suggested in their title. There were several questions designed to uncover attitudes and beliefs of senior executives regarding leadership within their organizations. There were several conclusions, but they summarized them as follows.
Then there's the Gallup Business Journal. This is a very well respected organization, doing great research in many fields. Their concept of Employee Engagement is widely used and its adherents praise its results. Their latest offering talks about 6 keys to building a high performance culture. These six are basically about improving performance through more training and communication. You can see the details here: http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/166208/keys-building-high-performance-culture.aspx?utm_source=email&utm_medium=012014&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=newsletter
Then there's Morning Joe, the popular MSNBC morning news/business news show co-hosted by Mika Brzezinski. She and her friends, Arianna Huffington and Glamour mag Editor Conci Leive have begun a thing called the Third Metric, which they're turning into a road show headed for New York, DC and LA. It's geared toward women, but I'm sure they'll take the money from any men who'd like to attend. Arianna began the idea with a gathering of friends at her Manhattan apartment and the energy built. The first two metrics seem to be money and power. The third metric is actually quality of life. Their talk as three powerful successful women, is all about the personal, human cost of living the kinds of lives that have gained them the money/power thing, but left them realizing something has been missing.
And what's the real key to their realizations? They all report being in situations that are supposed to be relaxing ones, enjoying with family and friends and realizing the continual distraction of the iPhone. (No doubt other smartphones would do). It's the call of work and the routine of distraction, the magnetism if you will of the habit of gaining money and power.
I suggest that these women have fallen into the trap of the other gender, allowing their unrecognized fear of losing what they have by not being on top of everything all the time. There is a sense of urgency that all things require their attention all the time.
They've decided to do The Cleanse of their electronic handcuffs in hopes of connecting with their actual lives. I wish them well, and I am sure the're on the right track. But the question comes up at this point: How does one deal with the withdrawal symptoms. What happens when the feelings come up? A strategy for dealing with discomfort, as we see it here at Paeon is to learn to identify ones feelings on a routine, nearly consistent basis. Otherwise the suppressed, unidentified feelings cause a reaction that precedes any kind of awareness.
How is it the right now I am mad, sad, afraid and joyful? And what, if anything, do I need to do about it now?
More on this soon.
I'm always getting new information, mostly from the print media, which is delivered on my computer. Lots of it is little more than cat videos in terms of importance, but lots of it catches my eye, particularly if it is relevant to things I'm interested in. Take, for example the topic of change. If there's one thing a coach is into it's the concept of change and the impediments to people making it.
I recently filled out a questionnaire from an organization called APQC (American Productivity & Quality Center). They're a non profit membership organization doing research in the fields suggested in their title. There were several questions designed to uncover attitudes and beliefs of senior executives regarding leadership within their organizations. There were several conclusions, but they summarized them as follows.
- Many participants are still following traditional leadership practices;
- There is a gap between the leadership competencies needed for an organization to succeed and the competencies that employees currently possess;
- Trends such as advances in technology are currently impacting organizations; and
- Survey participants are concerned about an impending leadership skills deficit.
Then there's the Gallup Business Journal. This is a very well respected organization, doing great research in many fields. Their concept of Employee Engagement is widely used and its adherents praise its results. Their latest offering talks about 6 keys to building a high performance culture. These six are basically about improving performance through more training and communication. You can see the details here: http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/166208/keys-building-high-performance-culture.aspx?utm_source=email&utm_medium=012014&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=newsletter
Then there's Morning Joe, the popular MSNBC morning news/business news show co-hosted by Mika Brzezinski. She and her friends, Arianna Huffington and Glamour mag Editor Conci Leive have begun a thing called the Third Metric, which they're turning into a road show headed for New York, DC and LA. It's geared toward women, but I'm sure they'll take the money from any men who'd like to attend. Arianna began the idea with a gathering of friends at her Manhattan apartment and the energy built. The first two metrics seem to be money and power. The third metric is actually quality of life. Their talk as three powerful successful women, is all about the personal, human cost of living the kinds of lives that have gained them the money/power thing, but left them realizing something has been missing.
And what's the real key to their realizations? They all report being in situations that are supposed to be relaxing ones, enjoying with family and friends and realizing the continual distraction of the iPhone. (No doubt other smartphones would do). It's the call of work and the routine of distraction, the magnetism if you will of the habit of gaining money and power.
I suggest that these women have fallen into the trap of the other gender, allowing their unrecognized fear of losing what they have by not being on top of everything all the time. There is a sense of urgency that all things require their attention all the time.
They've decided to do The Cleanse of their electronic handcuffs in hopes of connecting with their actual lives. I wish them well, and I am sure the're on the right track. But the question comes up at this point: How does one deal with the withdrawal symptoms. What happens when the feelings come up? A strategy for dealing with discomfort, as we see it here at Paeon is to learn to identify ones feelings on a routine, nearly consistent basis. Otherwise the suppressed, unidentified feelings cause a reaction that precedes any kind of awareness.
How is it the right now I am mad, sad, afraid and joyful? And what, if anything, do I need to do about it now?
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
The New Century
Happy New Year! And welcome to the Revolution!
Yes, revolution. People are annually engaged in new years resolutions and predictions about the new year for themselves or others. I'm going to talk about something a little different. I'm going to talk about some things I've been observing and how I'm interpreting about them.
You all recall about a century ago there was this thing called the Industrial Revolution. Unlike a typical political revolution, the rebels of the day weren't so much focused on revolting as they were on trying to find better ways of doing things. And these people may have had various motivations. For some it might have been to make their lives better. For others the prospect of profit. No doubt there were others who were just curious to see what would happen if they tried something new.
There is a temptation to look at these events and motivations through a narrow perspective. Historians do this in order to create a narrative to help explain how these events fit in the long arc of history. Others, and I confess to being this way, are trying to simplify in order to claim understanding. This time I am attempting to take a wider view. I want to look at this time in a way that includes things that I don't necessarily understand or that don't fit my model perfectly. In relation to the early 1900's for example, all the talk of machines and their impact completely ignored Einstein and his discovery of relativity which happened in 1905.
Even though Einstein and his successors had the most profound effect on the last century, it is only now that we are beginning to come to grips with some of the broader implications of his theory. Today we are immersed in the ubiquity of the electronic device. I'm talking about the computer of course, but the other computer like devices: smartphones, mp3 players, tablets and the numerous gadgets we take for granted today. All these are products of the Age of 2100+, whatever it will come to be called. It may be known as Information, Connectivity, Electronic, Computer, Social Media and most likely something else.
But you and I really don't care much what future historians call this time inn 50 or 100 years. I won't be here and neither will most of you.
But what if we chose to realize that the world is in a revolutionary period right now and what if we thought about what kind of revolution we want? Yes it's an individual quest, but if we all thought about it and we all used our own resources many of us would come to similar conclusions with similar objectives. Why? Because we are all products of the same history. We have all been in the same times and places with the same conditions (globally) and we all view a similar terrain.
While that doesn't mean we will all come to the same conclusion, but if enough of us have similar takes on the situation, there's a chance we could create a world lots of us are really happy with.And if you have followed the discussion I began in the fall, you will realize that I have a point of view I am pursuing here.
Yes, revolution. People are annually engaged in new years resolutions and predictions about the new year for themselves or others. I'm going to talk about something a little different. I'm going to talk about some things I've been observing and how I'm interpreting about them.
You all recall about a century ago there was this thing called the Industrial Revolution. Unlike a typical political revolution, the rebels of the day weren't so much focused on revolting as they were on trying to find better ways of doing things. And these people may have had various motivations. For some it might have been to make their lives better. For others the prospect of profit. No doubt there were others who were just curious to see what would happen if they tried something new.
There is a temptation to look at these events and motivations through a narrow perspective. Historians do this in order to create a narrative to help explain how these events fit in the long arc of history. Others, and I confess to being this way, are trying to simplify in order to claim understanding. This time I am attempting to take a wider view. I want to look at this time in a way that includes things that I don't necessarily understand or that don't fit my model perfectly. In relation to the early 1900's for example, all the talk of machines and their impact completely ignored Einstein and his discovery of relativity which happened in 1905.
Even though Einstein and his successors had the most profound effect on the last century, it is only now that we are beginning to come to grips with some of the broader implications of his theory. Today we are immersed in the ubiquity of the electronic device. I'm talking about the computer of course, but the other computer like devices: smartphones, mp3 players, tablets and the numerous gadgets we take for granted today. All these are products of the Age of 2100+, whatever it will come to be called. It may be known as Information, Connectivity, Electronic, Computer, Social Media and most likely something else.
But you and I really don't care much what future historians call this time inn 50 or 100 years. I won't be here and neither will most of you.
But what if we chose to realize that the world is in a revolutionary period right now and what if we thought about what kind of revolution we want? Yes it's an individual quest, but if we all thought about it and we all used our own resources many of us would come to similar conclusions with similar objectives. Why? Because we are all products of the same history. We have all been in the same times and places with the same conditions (globally) and we all view a similar terrain.
While that doesn't mean we will all come to the same conclusion, but if enough of us have similar takes on the situation, there's a chance we could create a world lots of us are really happy with.And if you have followed the discussion I began in the fall, you will realize that I have a point of view I am pursuing here.
C'mon back for the next installment in which we will talk about one of my favorite tales from mythology, that of Harmonia, the Greek goddess of harmony.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Fulfillment
Fulfillment
When last we met back in August I was talking about the whole idea of becoming aware of what I am feeling and what those feelings are trying to communicate to me. I say they are trying to communicate, but that probably overstates it a bit. After all, feelings have no brain. They are by definition irrational. So when I think I'll control my anger or fear I am expecting the impossible. I may bury a feeling, but the only place to hide it is in my gut somewhere. Some day it will return and it will bring with it all kinds of other feelings buried along with it and I'll find myself in a spot I don't like.
If I'm actually wanting to live a erich, rewarding life, one that has reached fulfillment, dealing with my feelings in real time needs to be part of the equation. The previous posts dealt with the feelings and their meanings, but as someone said once, self knowledge of itself is worthless. That knowledge needs to be put to use, and all those many years when I had no idea what to do with the feelings I learned all kinds of ways to distract myself from knowing that vital information. Even today as I was writing this I distracted myself several times. It's been email, a phone call, checking my calendar a little Christmas shopping, which I know I'm not going to do...you get the idea.
It is incumbent on me to check in with myself regularly so I know what I'm feeling. And I have also found out that I'm afraid all the time, so the practice for me is to ask my self to recognize what I'm afraid of. Then I can figure out what I need to face it. At that point I can also then see if other feelings are hanging behind the fear.
Today what I've discovered is a continuation of work I've been doing over the last couple of weeks. I have known for some time that some of the work I've been doing is really ground breaking. This whole idea of feelings, especially in the workplace, but also everywhere else is more important today than ever before. I think the reason is that the further our species advances the less our lives are threatened, particularly in an immediate sense. My survival is not at risk.
So then I need to find out what the fear is and it turns out it's not complicated. I'm afraid my ideas will fail in the market place. People won't want to do business with me and then I won't have the stuff I want and on and on. If it sounds to you like I don't trust myself, you are correct. So rather than proceed find out by saying what I have in the marketplace I distract myself.
But I'm on to myself today and I'm back on track and finishing this post. And the motivation is fulfillment. That's what I want in my life. And let me explain what that means to me, so there's no confusion. I think fulfillment is the result of living a life that is true to the liver. It's based on acting in pursuit of my best values, sharing my wealth (in whatever ways it's measured) acting as though my relationships are mutually important, not just to one of us. Knowing my feelings and honoring them, and showing up each day to see what I can contribute. If I live my life that way, I will know my life is full. And I know that because when I have done those things I had felt powerful and content. Not content for all time, but for the moment. And powerful not over others, but over my intentions and actions.
And as I stand in my power today I am aware that a revolution is in progress in our world that is not unlike the one we had a century ago. Historians call that one the Industrial Revolution. People began using machines instead of human power to accomplish many tasks which were difficult and repetitive. People began to move from the rural farm communities to the cities where the factories were.
Our revolution is similar because people are moving out of the factories as computers and robots have taken over many of those jobs. It is also similar in that the work force is unskilled at many of the new tasks and the skilled work force is looking for employment that is as yet non existent.
Come back tomorrow and we'll begin to explore what the New Revolution looks like from here.
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