Switzerland (Day 2) Wintherthur

Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit. ~Frank Borman

Slept for 11 hours last night, much needed sleep after a day/night of travel and walking around picturesque Zug. Where to go today? I asked Google which recommended a visit to Winterthur, an hour train ride from Zug via Zurich including a train change in Zurich. I was two minutes from boarding my train when I noticed I had forgotten my camera. I walked back to the hotel to get my camera and took the next train about an hour later.

The train system in Switzerland is nothing short of amazing. They run like clockwork to cities and towns all over the country with buses taking over for the locales not served by train.  Unlike my second trip here when I boarded the wrong train late at night with a buddy and we took the express to Lucerne instead of the local to Kollermule, which cost us a good two hours, I find myself easily navigating the system. The once cryptic signs now read like a child's book to me. The train yard in Zurich with it's 50+ tracks is a little city and a marvel of Engineering. I can see why cars are infrequently used here. From the train, I could revel in the beauty of the countryside, see the fall foliage just past it's peak.

The train/bus payment is on the honor system, a reflection of the Swiss' penchant for following rules. Tickets are purchased by machines or from a ticket agent. The train may or may not have a conductor to check your ticket. I have had less than half my rides being checked for a ticket. However, if you get caught cheating, the fine is 100 Swiss Francs, so it's not worth the risk.

Winterthur is a pretty little town similar to old Zug and old Luzern with candy colored buildings and cobble stone streets, I found Luzern to be prettier with the crystal clear river running through the heart of the city.  I saw signs advertising concerts but they were all for Saturday events, nothing on Sunday. Because it was Sunday, most everything was closed and there weren't many people about. It's frustrating for me, coming from an area that seems to never sleep, to find an entire city shutdown on the one day I have the entire day available to sightsee.

The highlight of my time in Winterthur came when I found a church near the city center,  St. Laurenz church dating back to 1264 AD. I love visiting places of worship be they Christian Churches, Indian Temples, or other. These cathedrals and temples to man's spiritual side express man's desire to build a holy place fitting of the deity he worships, creates a place of beauty worthy of the presence of God, are the most ornate of man's creations. I have been to places of worship in England, Germany, India, and Italy. For me, none was more magnificient than Il Duomo in Milan Italy.

I entered the sanctuary, found I was the only one in the church, and slid quietly into the last pew where I sat unmoving for a few minutes letting the completeness of the silence wash over me, allowing me to gradually feel the very presence of my God. In this sanctuary, it felt wrong to talk, to make any noise. All I heard was my own breathing then my heartbeat. Eventually, I walked toward the front of the church, toward the altar and cringed as my footfalls shattered the silence, the sound made me conscious of myself rather than conscious of my God.

The architecture was magnificent, arches lined both sides of the church, murals covered all the upper level walls, pews had beautifully carved end pieces, all windows were of stained glass depicting Biblical scenes. The masterpiece, the peace de la resistance, was the massive pipe organ in the loft at the back of the church, silver pipes with carved wood accents. I would have loved to sit in a service, though I wouldn't have been able to understand the language, just to hear the music bellowing out of the the massive pipe organ. I would have closed my eyes and let the sounds of the organ, the raised voices transport me back to the days of yesteryear with the worship songs of old. In that instance, the words would not have mattered just the sound, the glorious sound, the resounding voices and resonating music engulfing me in harmonic beauty, harmonic perfection.

The church was my last stop before heading back to Zug. As frustrated as I was that the country pretty much closes down on Sundays, I was happy that, in that church, I had seen the best Winterthur had offer.

Switzerland (Day 1) Zug

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time. ~T.S. Eliot


I'm back in Switzerland. After not having been here for a few years, I am now back on business a second time in less than two months. On my last trip, the weather was picture perfect for wandering the streets of the Zug and Lucerne, which are the only two cities I have really had the time to explore. Today, the skies of Zug were overcast (typical Zug weather) and the temps are in the 40s to 50s. Unlike the last trip, I did not need a day in Zug to re-familiarize myself with the lay of the land. I easily walked the streets seeing many familiar places. The change in season/weather also allowed for some scenic pictures with a different lighting texture.

I always head on down to the Zugersee near the old part of Zug because I love the view of the colorful buildings,a rainbow of pastels side by side lining the street, as seen from the water's edge. From this vantage point, the city looks near idyllic, like something out of a fairy tale. I like revisiting places. The first time a place is visited, it's so new that it's like a bright light shining in your face, overwhelming such that you focus on the drastic. On subsequent visits, the light dims and we see those things hidden in the shadows, the nuances that give a place it character, the color of it's vitality.

I walked through the old section, through the narrow, cobblestone streets before heading up into the hillier sections of the city to explore  places I had never before visited. Unlike the bustling center of commerce in downtown Zug, the streets were largely devoid of people and vehicles. I did happen upon a couple of groups of kids playing soccer in the local parks. I wanted to join in but was not dressed for the occasion. Had their been a match, I would have stopped and watched. Alas, it was just kids kicking the ball around and taking shots on goal.

I was surprised by the seeming lack of friendliness of the Swiss I did encounter in the streets. In other small towns I have visited home and abroad, people in small towns are generally quite friendly when meeting strangers. The norm is a smile and a "Hi". When I made eye contact with the locals, and smiled, not a one smiled back.

As I wandered, I became a bit unsure if I was headed in a direction that would take me back to the city center. I felt like I was making proper turns that would lead me back but, in the hills, I could not identify any familiar landmarks, could not get my bearings. I finally found a grandma and her grandson and asked how to get back. She, in an English accent, said to keep following the street I was on and I would be there shortly. Sure enough, another mile or so down the street, I saw the familiar sites of the downtown Zug. I was frustrated that I did not trust my instincts and, instead, asked for directions.

For dinner, I went to the very first restaurant I ate at in my very first trip to Zug many years ago and had the exact same meal, a wafer thin Magherita pizza. I remember the meal clearly because I was not a very adventurous eater back in those days.

Tomorrow, I plan to explore another part of Switzerland. Perhaps Zurich or Basel or Bern. I will wait and see what the day brings. For now, I am exhausted and need to get some sleep.

Right? or Wrong?

Shades of grey wherever I go

The More I find out the less that I know

Black and white is how it should be

But shades of gray are the colors I see.

~Bill Joel

I was giving a training presentation to a group today. The presentation was about working with people from another culture, one that is similar to ours in that it is Western based but is different enough that working with this culture represents a challenge for those of us raised in the US. I caught myself saying a few times that something was neither right nor wrong, it was just different, at times very different. And that difference might be difficult for us to understand but the difference did not make them, or us for that matter, right or wrong.

For a good part of my life, I grew up believing in yes and no, right and wrong, positive and negative. Life is pretty easy when everything can be stuffed into one of two categories, when all situations are black and white. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and, in that world, things are either on or off, things either work or they don't - black or white. Do I think that way because I was trained in an Engineering school or did I go into Engineering because I was a black and white kind of guy? Taken far enough, this concept of right and wrong can eventually lead one to the world view I once had that, simply stated, everything can be categorized into my way or the wrong way.

It took me a long time to realize that many of the decision we have to make in life cannot be safely tucked into one of those two boxes, that situations have countless nuances in which there is no clear cut right and wrong, that many situations have multiple right and multiple wrong answers.

My colleagues around the world work in a different cultural context than the one in which I was raised. Frequently, they go about performing work in a way that is different than I would have done. I am not always comfortable with their methods and decisions but I cannot argue with them because they also get good results in their product developments.

I leave for Switzerland tomorrow to meet with a team of colleagues from Germany, India, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland for a week of planning on the next phase of a software project being developed globally. As we go forward with our planning, I am going to have to keep in mind that the plans we make are going to have to work on three different continents. For the sake of the project, I will have to keep in mind that just because they are not doing things the American way that they are not doing things incorrectly. I will have to refrain from thinking in black and white. Thinking in shades of gray also will not be enough for us to come to an effective solution. We are all going to have to think in vivid color.

Chicago Remembers

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. ~Edward Abbey

I was out riding my bike the other morning. It was a chilly day, in the 40s, so I had to put on the biking tights, layer the upper body with base layer, shirt, and jacket, wear an ear warmer under my helmet, and don the long fingered gloves. I am not a big fan of riding in the cold but will, on occasion, ride in the winter snows just so I can get some time on my bike. Winter riding in the woods is strangely quiet except for the wheels of my mountain bike crunching on the snow. It's not winter yet so I was out on my vintage, early 1980s road bike for a city ride.

My goal for the day was to see more of the city and to stop by the Marilyn Monroe statue. I road on the shared lanes on some of the main streets in Chicago, up California, down Milwaukee Ave, across Chicago until I arrived at Michigan Ave then South to the Marilyn Monroe statue, the one with the skirt raised in the back. I sat there for a while people watching then took a few pictures before heading out. From a bridge, I saw a path along the river so carried my bike down a flight of steps and hit the path. I rode toward the lake, turned around on a pier, then headed back along the river.

In my meanderings, I accidentally stumbled came across the Chicago Remembers memorial to the Vietnam War. Actually, I don't really believe in accidents. I believe God orchestrates events in our lives, that everything happens in our lives for a reason. And, for a reason as yet unknown to me, I was supposed to 'happen' upon the memorial this day. I parked my bike and stared at the memorial.

The Chicago Remembers memorial is similar to the one in Washington. It is one the largest in the nation outside of Washington, D.C. It features a fountain and a black granite block etched with the names of Illinois soldiers either killed or missing in action. As I read some of the names, I felt the tears welled up in my eyes, as they always seem to do when I think back to that war. So many wasted lives. So much untapped potential.

Although I was just 14 years old when the Vietnam War ended, it has always been an event that aroused strong emotions in me. I remember sitting in front of the TV with my dad and listening to the body counts on TV. I remember worrying that I would someday be drafted into the Military Service. My dad and I used to have intense arguments about the validity of the war, about the purpose of our country being in a far away foreign land where young lives were being wasted on a daily basis for a dubious cause. I remember hatred, hatred for the soldiers I dubbed as baby killers without really knowing the circumstances in which they had to operate. I remember seeing the movie Platoon for the first time at the Evanston theatres and, after the movie ended, sitting in my seat unable to move as tears streamed down my cheeks. It was many years before I could see that movie a second time.

The war, rather the way our government lied about the war, created a great gulf between the people and the politicians. Prior to that war, the people as represented by my father backed the government in all decisions, trusted the people elected to represent the people of these United States with honesty and integrity. The legacy of those lying politicians, I believe, has lived long past the war, long past their reign in power of these United States. The legacy began with the civil unrest of the turbulent 60s and 70s from a youth that refused to be hoodwinked, perhaps the most tumultuous times on our soil since the Civil War. I believe we are still suffering under the legacy of those politicians in the form of a populace that has a difficult, if not impossible, time trusting modern day politicians. I think we mistrust government first and foremost. I don't think this is always a bad thing for I think a people should always question the elected, to hold them accountable to the people.

I have thought about seeing the memorial quite a bit the last three days. I still don't know why I 'happened' upon it, however, I am glad I did for it resurrected long buried, cherished memories of my interactions with my Dad, a man I miss very much, the man who brought me into this world and who taught me a great deal about living a full life and leaving a legacy worth remembering.

Two Gifts

There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success. - George Matthew Adams

This week, I received two incredible gifts at work. This, to me, was surprising because I have gone extended periods on the job without receiving gifts such as these and, this week, incredibly, I received them on consecutive days.

My annual reviews for the past few years have been a sore spot for me. I have felt they missed the point, that my reviewers were blind to the talents I brought to the table, that the reviews were written for someone else and mistakenly given to me. 

Last year, in particular, I was incensed at the review and wrote a very long rebuttal to the review committee and our Human Resources department, neither which ever contacted me to discuss my concerns. In short, I was marked down because of the perception that I did not coach and mentor the people reporting to me. I was incensed because spend a good part of my time coaching and mentoring the people that report to me and others that come to me for advice at my company. I view this as a private matter between me and an employee because, frequently, an employee needs mentoring in an area where they are struggling and this is not the business of anyone else in the company. There was no way anyone would know, short of talking to the people I coached, if I was mentoring so to mark me down for not coaching was to tell me they didn't know enough or care enough about the work I did to accurately assess me. To make matters worse, I was told that I was on the bubble for being demoted to a lower ranking supervisor and I had one year to prove myself.

Fast forward one year. Have I changed my management style? No. While I continually seek feedback to improve myself, I have a deeply held belief that the way I manage people, a servant leader, is best for my direct reports and the company. And I felt last years review was so off base that it made no sense to change my style. 

This year I was rated as a performer with potential which, in my company, is viewed as high praise. What was different this year? Only one thing changed and that was my Manager. My previous manager and I got along quite well and he typically gave me some great feedback to improving, however, I never felt he quite bought in to my management style. And I always felt that no matter what I did, I would never measure up in his eyes.

My new Manager believes in me. How do I know? He told me so this past Monday and that was gift number one. He told me that my biggest strength is how I work with my direct reports and that I am strong in the area of coaching and mentoring. I felt vindicated.These words of encouragement have given me a strong desire to surpass his expectations in the upcoming year. A little encouragement goes a long way to motivating others. Having someone who I feel believes in me and is seeking the best for me and my career is also highly motivating. And it makes me feel that I can grow much as an employee under his tutelage than I can from seeking other positions.

I was relaying this to one of my workmates, told her how great I felt having a boss that understands me and believes in me. And she said, "I completely understand". I looked at her quizzically. She smiled and said that she understands because she also has a boss that believes in her and makes her feel motivated to excel. It took me a second to comprehend what she was saying and to connect the dots. You see, I am her boss. She was giving me a great compliment and this was my gift #2. One of the people reporting to me was validating that my management style is effective.

I have this ongoing angst that I am supposed to be making a difference in the world and that I am falling short of my calling as a leader of people. This week, for a moment, that angst was relieved. I had received confirmation from both a boss and a direct report, that I am on the right path, that what I do makes a difference in the lives of people. All I could think after these two conversations is that they both had given me incredible gifts.

100 Questions

I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions. ~ Lou Holtz

I was listening to a book on mp3 called How To Think Like Leonardo Davinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael J Gelb. My favorite part of the book was the insights into the life of Davinci most of the rest seemed lackluster by comparison. I did pick up a couple of other interesting tidbits. One was that Davinci always carried around a notebook to capture information thoughts, definitions, etc. I, too, carry a notebook which I use to capture fleeting thoughts that become fodder for this blog. Another concept I liked in his book was to write 100 questions at one sitting and analyze them for patterns. I was so intrigued by the concept, questions immediately started popping into my head as I drove my car where I could not safely write down my questions. So, I found a coffee shop and went inside. I sat with classical music playing, a bottle of carbonated grapefruit drink, and started furiously scribbling questions in a notebook.

I had no idea where my questions would lead but am not really surprised as to the theme that emerged. The overall focus is one I have struggled with for many years. I want to live a life of significance. I want to be a difference maker in the world. I want to hear on judgment day when I am finally standing face to face with my Lord and maker that I did not waste this one life that He gifted to me.

This is an angst I have suffered periodically throughout my life. It usually surfaces when I am in a time of intensive journaling. In my garage, beneath the workbench I wrought with my own two hands, is a collection of journals that spilled forth from my psyche during my most intensive time of putting my life to paper. I now find myself in another time of introspection. My writings have again resurrected that all too familiar angst. The words I write are increasingly gnawing at me, accusing me of not living a life well lived.

There have been seasons in my life when I was fairly sure I was making a difference. For a few years, I worked at my church with young children whose parents were working through marital distress. For two hours on Monday nights, I hung out with 2 to 3 year olds so either their parents could attend a group that helped them heal their marriages or the already divorced could attend a group and work on themselves.

For 14 years I coached youth soccer. In the later years of my coaching, when I finally began focusing a lot more on sportsmanship and helping kids develop confidence, I believe I made an impact. My personal goal was to be a voice of reason bring a bit of sanity to the crazy world of youth sports. Particularly in the last years, I was able to maintain a focus on player development (physical and emotional) over winning at all costs. I told the kids, if they came to practice and worked hard, they would play a minimum of half the game no matter the game situation. That was a promise I kept religiously. I always wondered if coaching them the way I did made a difference in their lives. Two incidents occurred in the last year that lead me to believe I may have made a difference.

I was at a party along with a number of the kids I had coached, kids I hadn't seen in four years. They all hovered around me and one of them smiled at me and said, "Hey coach, remember the good old days? then gave me a hug" Those words touched my heart. The other happened a few months ago. I received a letter from one of my former players, a little blond girl I coached for one year. She won an award at a soccer camp and told her mom, "I was so lucky I had coach Dave!" Her mom went on to tell me that I had given so much to so many and was glad her daughter was one of the lucky ones that was coached by me. Again, my heart was touched.

The days of Sunday School and Coaching Soccer are past. Those were seasons in my life that I thoroughly enjoyed but, I sense, are not the direction I need to move. I attempt to make a difference in my workplace where I am a manager of people. In my role, I try to ensure my direct reports have corporate life that is satisfying, rewarding, a place where they can grow in their professional careers by using their unique talents and gifts. I thought this path was going to take me on a year long delegation to India where I could continue to grow my leadership skills but this now appears not to be the case.

I consider leading people a calling and believe this is where my future lies. Despite my past successes, I have this gnawing feeling that I am meant to do something of greater significance, that my life will be incomplete until I have a role in which I can make a much greater difference in the world. Somewhere, I believe, is an opportunity that will intersect at the paths of success and significance which will fully utilize my talents and allow me, when I pass into the next life, to stand before my Lord and maker where I will be hugged and hear the words I long to hear on this life I have lived, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Servant Leadership (Part 3) - Who's on Top?

Leadership must be based on goodwill. Goodwill does not mean posturing and, least of all, pandering to the mob. It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping followers. We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and of tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them. What we need for leaders are men of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job, never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away. ~Admiral James B. Stockdale


The typical organizational chart takes the shape of a pyramid with the Leader on top, followed by sub leaders, on and on to the bottom layer, the largest layer, the worker bee layer. This representation of the organization results in  the mindset that those at the top of the pyramid are the most important. And those at the bottom....well....we all know what flows down hill. I ask, who is really the most important people in the organization? I say, it's the people who create / deliver the product or service to the customer. An employee cannot be entirely focused on the customer in a top down structure. Don't believe it? When your boss asks for something, do you drop other, more pressing tasks to complete the boss’ assignment?

A customer does not care how important the man at the top is if the product he receives is substandard. If everyone is looking up the pyramid and trying to please their bosses, who is focusing on serving the customer, without whom, there would be no organization to manage.

The mindset of the Servant Leader is one that understands the importance of the people that face the customer, that make the product the customer purchases. The mindset of the Servant Leader is to turn the pyramid upside down such that the people at the top of the pyramid are the worker bees for they are the ones that truly add value to an organization.

The Servant Leader has the responsibility to remove any impediments the people doing the work have that inhibits their ability to serve the customer. The Servant Leader is there to ensure the workers are trained and empowered and energized to optimally meet customer needs. The Servant Leader must create an infrastructure that unleashes that talents of the workers. From the perspective of the Servant Leader, the workers are his customers and he should do everything he can to serve their needs so they are free to give the end customer outstanding products and outstanding service, to produce Outstanding Customer Value.