2009 May

Training for takeoff

May 30, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

Training for takeoff, originally uploaded by jcgr.

I loved this scene of preparation for the future:
- Teaching, experimentation
- Clear, yet not hovering oversight
- Practicing until he gets it right
- Making sure that he'll be ready for flight (relatively speaking)

Plus, I loved his creative protective gear:
- A futuristic, yet gladiator-inspired helmet
- Orange Crocs

I distinctly remember trying to learn to ride a bike.

It didn't work, didn't work, didn't work, didn't work.

And then, suddenly, it did.

That's just one of many training, practicing, "preparing for flight" experiences I've had at various times of great change.

What do you remember about your own "training for takeoff" experiences?

Filed Under: Images, People watching, Process Management, Serendipity

What book or movie changed you?

May 28, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

I'm reading The Soloist for a book club I'm in. I'm reading it very rapidly, much faster than usual.

It's a book my husband first heard about, and wanted to read. The story is compelling, and my husband knows the author, Steve Lopez, a columnist for the LA Times. He used to work at the San Jose Mercury News where Gary is a writer and reporter.

I'm flying across the pages because I'm eager to know what happens next in the eye-opening journey the author is clearly traveling.

Steve had no idea how much he would be affected by the street musician whose path he crossed when looking for column ideas. Nathaniel, a very talented musician, left New York's exclusive Juilliard School after a few years due to the onset of mental illness.

Nathaniel is just one of many people living on the streets of LA. The Soloist provides a view into the starkness of life – and death – on the streets, along with his specific story.

Steve wrote about Nathaniel, thinking it was a great story for one day's column. Soon, though, he was spurred on by readers who wanted to donate to help Nathaniel and wondered what happened to him.

Pretty quickly, Steve couldn't not try to help the homeless man find a solution to his illness, homelessness, and find a way to continue to make his music, too.

As a reader, I feel as if I am being changed in some way as I read – and I'm only halfway through.

Which makes me wonder, what's the last book you read, or movie you saw that had changed you?

- Why did it have that effect on you?

- How did it change you? What did you think, feel or do differently, as a result of having experienced that particular book or movie?

- Is there a life experience you've had that, if you shared it, might help to change others for the better, too?

Filed Under: Current Affairs, Leadership, Musings, People watching, Serendipity

Jockey on a cell phone?

May 27, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

Jockey on a cell phone?, originally uploaded by jcgr.

Cell phones are everywhere.

But wait…a jockey, too?

Jockey Calvin Borel was not actually using a cell phone, but the position of his hand during Rachel Alexandra's victory lap at the Preakness almost makes it appear to be true.

Filed Under: Images, People watching, Serendipity

Conducting rapid-cycle user tests

May 27, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

Seeking user or reader feedback?

Just give it to someone who's ready to go out the door soon. Pre-arrange it, though, so you don't just spring it on them.

Watch how they read, react, and interact with the product you've created.

Listen to their words.

Try to understand what they're not telling you, as well as what they are.

What I discovered in two recent tests was a bit amusing. And the users' feedback was far more valuable than they knew.

Quick tests and fast-cycle feedback are representative – more than we might guess – of users' work and attention environments in the busy lives that people live now.

Give it a go.

Filed Under: Customer Focus, Knowledge Management, People at Work, Process Management, Serendipity

The power of birth order

May 26, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

At dinner with friends the other day, the older of two sisters teasingly thumped her younger sister on the shoulder.

"Thump her back!" one of the adults said to the younger girl.

"I can't," the younger one said, as if the world would quit spinning on its axis somehow, some way, if she did.

"She can't!" said the big sister with a big grin on her face.

"I couldn't either," said our son, the younger brother of an older sister.

Curious about the power of birth order in this case, I wondered if it had an impact on the friends they chose, those with whom they found it most natural to spend their free time.

"Are most of your friends oldest, youngest or middle children?" I asked.

They paused. They thought. Each was surprised by a pattern in their choices. It was related to their birth order and sibling dynamics, in many ways.

What about you?

- What position did you draw in the random lottery of life that is birth order?

- Does that play a significant part in your relationships now? If so, how?

- Are there habits or behaviors that you fall into easily, having grown up as an oldest, youngest, middle, or only child?

- Which of those habits work well?

- Which habits get in the way?

- For habits you'd like to change, how can you begin to do that in some simple way, starting today?

Filed Under: Musings, People at Work, People watching, Serendipity

A moment for thanks

May 25, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

The seasons of life continue, originally uploaded by jcgr.

Memorial Day is a day to pause.

To acknowledge.

To feel, to miss.

To remember.

To thank.

Filed Under: Images, Musings

Concentrating to move forward

May 23, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

Scattered thoughts?

A "to-do" list that you dread?

Settle down.

Pick one thing.

Start there.

Let the work guide you.

Focus.

Concentrate.

Move in to move on, move beyond.

Especially if something went wrong.

Figure out why so you don't repeat the past.

Now let it go.

Move into the future, instead.

Here's how others see this advice, as well:

When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.
Michael Leboeuf

Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is wise to direct your anger towards problems – not people; to focus your energies on answers – not excuses.
William Arthur Ward

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.
Denis Waitley

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.
Ansel Adams

Filed Under: Business Results, Knowledge Management, People at Work, Process Management, Quotes

Almost across the finish line

May 21, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

Almost across the finish line, originally uploaded by jcgr.

Are there big goals or distant dreams you are chasing?

Day by day.

Bit by bit.

Persistently, patiently, rigorously taking each next step, the finish is soon closer than the start.

And then, seemingly, suddenly…

The finish line is behind you.

Filed Under: Business Results, Images, Measurement, People at Work, Process Management

When “obvious” isn’t

May 20, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

"Do you want to know who wins?," I asked my husband about 3/4 of the way through the American Idol finals.

Twitter had provided me the answer seconds after the East Coast knew the results. Half our family HATES knowing the results before the end. Half of the family thinks it's fun.

And for American Idol context, my husband is an amused, some-time watcher.

I catch it regularly, as I do "The Amazing Race." I like to watch how the competitors handle the pressure:
- In the face of so much great competition, all collected in one place
- Under the bright lights
- On the big stage
- In the rapidly changing environment where, week by week, one of the competitors gets an much-unwanted ticket home

But back to the immediate American Idol moment: did my husband want to know who'd won?

"I think I know," my husband asserted, confidently.

"Who?" I asked.

"The obvious one," he answered.

But the "obvious one" wasn't.

When was the last time in your life when the "obvious" choice was ultimately incorrect?

Was the situation a significant one?

Or was it more like this American Idol circumstance – one in which it was fun to know the answer (for me, at least…not for my husband), and in light of that, to watch the story unfold, bit by bit?

It's important to periodically check your assumptions.

Ask yourself:
1. Do I really have as much information as I think I do?
2. Are my sources of information solid?
3. Have I interpreted the information that I have correctly?
4. Does something need to change, based on what seemed "obvious," but was not?

Filed Under: Business Results, Knowledge Management, Musings, People watching, Strategic Planning

Celebration

May 18, 2009 By Jan Richards Leave a Comment

Celebrating, originally uploaded by jcgr.

Enthusiastic celebration requires:

- People you care about
- Who care about you
- Sharing time
- Making memories
- Enjoying an experience that brings out the best, truest, most "you" in you

Today is a celebratory day in our family. May 18 is our dear daughter's birthday.

In a photo from earlier this year, Anne laughs and enjoys time with good friends as they celebrate a different and also important milestone together.