Take 'em With Me

Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction. ~John C. Crosby




I was talking with my boss the other day regarding his position at the company. I found out he is on a delegation in the US for three years and, at the end of the three years, he may elect to stay in the US or he may elect to have a delegation to another country, or he may go back to Germany. Since he has been working in the US in my department, I have seen a marked improvement in the way the department is run. People are seeing a plan for their future, are experiencing a work environment where their skills and interests are being more closely aligned with the work they are assigned, are receiving the training necessary to ensure their skills are current and growing, the morale, which was low due to high pressure projects and a perceived lack of caring by the company, is changing in a positive direction.

I casually remarked that I didn't think I would want to continue working at the company if he was not running the show or, at least, running in my department. The change has been so positive, the thought of it reverting to a time before he came on board is a world in which I don't see myself thriving as I am under his tutelage. He looked at me and said that he would take me with wherever he went because he likes that way I think. I said thanks for it felt very good to be appreciated, felt very good that my contribution to the company is being recognized. The final thing he told me was that he thought I was doing a great job. I said thanks again. He said, I don't think you understand, this is a German that says you are doing a great job and that really means you are doing a really great job. The implication was that it was much higher praise than those same words coming from an American because Germans have a much higher standard on excellence.

As I reflect on that conversation, I can't help but smile. I don't recall, in my 27 years of professional life, anyone ever singling me out for such high praise, can't recall anyone even hinting that my work was so highly valued that they would take me with them as they worked their way up the corporate ladder. The appreciation of my talents had definitely infused me with a heightened desire to perform at a level nothing short of awesome.

This heightened level of motivation level is not based on an increased salary or promise of promotion or any tangible offer. It is based on appreciation of the uniqueness I bring to the organization, an appreciation of a manager that I have grown to admire, a manager who's method of leading people is one that I espouse to achieve myself. I can honestly say, I have never been happier in my work than I am right now. I find myself enjoying going to work, find myself looking forward to my 5:30 am alarm clock because it means I will be at the office by 6:30 am, at the office and doing what I do best, leading people.

As I ponder my job, I can pinpoint three individuals I work with that I would like to have on my team wherever I work, three individuals I believe are outstanding leaders, outstanding in what they do and would surely bring excellence into any endeavor they undertake, three individuals I would go out of my way to ensure we continue a working relationship and continue in friendship. The sad thing is, I have not told them of my admiration for them as people and workers, not told them valuable they are to the company and the high esteem they have in my eyes. This is a situation I must rectify when I go back to work on Monday. I am going to tell them that wherever I work, I would love to take them with me.

Book: The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance. ~Confucius

There was a time in my life when I was a mystery book aficionado. As a youth, I devoured The Hardy Boys series of mystery books, the tale of two teenage, crime solving brothers, Frank and Joe Hardy. I was engrossed in those books so much so that, once I started a story, the world around me ceased to exist and I would pretty much read nonstop, cover to cover.


Another series of mysteries I absolutely loved were the Jim Chee & Joe Leaphorn stories created by Tony Hillerman. I discovered the author via an interview on radio program by NPR (National Public Radio) when Tony, discussing his novels, said that he wrote these books primarily to give a depiction of the Navajo, a people he greatly admired. With each book Tony published, I found myself rushing to the store to buy these and, again, becoming immersed as I devoured the books cover to cover.

Over the years, my interest in mysteries has declined mostly because I found them to be to predictable. It became rare that I was not able to figure out 'who dun it?' well before the end of the story. This was a demotivator because I enjoy being surprised (after all it is a mystery), if not with each turn of the page, then definitely by the end of the book.

A friend recently recommended I read one of the Harry Bosch mysteries. Despite my reluctance, I decided to read one of the mysteries. I chose The Last Coyote because I have an affinity for coyotes, find them to be a symbol for fierce independence and surviving by craftiness, qualities I like to believe exist in me.

I was pleasantly surprised by the work.  The story kept me interested, the main character drew me in, and the story had enough plot twists such that, when the book was finished, I thought, I didn't see that coming. I read the book pretty much in two sittings. It would have been in one sitting but I had a family function to attend on Easter so, reluctantly, had to put the story on hold at the half way point for a day.

I already purchased another book in the series, the follow up to The Last Coyote. I can't wait to see how Harry's life progresses.

Easter 2012

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there. ~Clarence W. Hall


For those of us in Christendom, today, Easter, is the most important day in the calendar year, a celebration of THE most important day in all of history. It is bigger than Christmas for, though our Savior was born, all people that walk this planet have been born. Christmas was a promise. Easter is the manifestation of that promise. Easter is the day Jesus, God in human form, rose from the dead. It is the day that flung opened the gates of heaven, the day evil was conquered, the day the devil hoped would never occur. Easter is the day that gives hope to all that believe in an afterlife in Heaven.

Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. ~Haruki Murakami


First, a word about the Kindle version of this book which I found to be disappointing. Not disappointing because of the story but because of the errors throughout the electronic document. Punctuation was messed up in numerous places where a period was placed either where a comma should have been or placed at random points in the sentence. There were also places where the wrong word was used. Not in the sense that is was mistranslated but an actual word was used that made the sentence unreadable. Now, on to the story.

The book is written in the The magical realist style. The style blends magical elements with real world happenings in a straight forward, matter of fact way. The characters in the story accept these magical happenings as if they are a normal aspect of every day life. To my knowledge, this is the first book in this style ever to pass before my eyes. I found the style enjoyable in much the way a science fiction fantasy with it's own magical happenings is enjoyable. The magical events happen in a very plausible way without disrupting the flow of the story.

The book chronicles the history of the Buendia clan from the time the mythical town of Macondo was founded by José Arcadio Buendia, the elder statesman of the Buendia clan, through the death of the last member of the family, Aureliano Babilonia Buendia II, and the corresponding end of the town itself.

The book held my attention from beginning to end. I enjoyed the many characters that were members of the Buendia clan or members associated with the clan as friends, confidants, and harlots. They were developed to a fine level of detail and were, for the most part, believable. The family had a continuity through all seven generations, a continuity that saw the passing of character flaws through the male lineage.

The book was originally written in Spanish by a Colombian author before being translated into English. I have read that it contains much symbolism associated with Latin American countries in the 1960s but that symbolism escaped me in much the same way Monty Python humor was more biting to the English than to Americans. Not understanding the symbolism did not, for me, detract from the story line.

This is a book I highly recommend. However, I would recommend reading it with a companion book that explains the symbolism so the full richness of Gabriel García Márquez's story can be experienced.

One Month to Turkey

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." ~Daniel J. Boorstin

It is one month to the day before the plane takes off for Turkey with me as one of it's passengers, one month to the day before I leave the West and land the next day in a country that bridges the West and the East, in a country which has been both West and East, Christian and Muslim.

This is a trip I eagerly anticipate both for the wonder of visiting a new country and because I will be with an experienced traveling companion, someone that has set foot in many countries and has a knack for seeing the world in ways obscured by my vision. I can normally see the obvious but am not privy to the visions of a poet. My companion is a poet, one who sees beneath the surface, sees that which is beyond the purveyance of the mortal. I am excited for this trip for she will open to me a world previously beyond my comprehension.

We will, at times, be off the beaten path. When we come to a fork in the road, I expect her to edge me toward the road less taken, I expect her to drag me to those places where the real Turkey will appear before our eyes, the Turkey that does not cater to the common tourist. The naked Turkey unencumbered by the veil that attracts the common tourist.

I am excited for this trip for I expect a new door to be open, a new page turned in the book of my life. I expect this book to have many such pages in the future each with a marvelous story to tell. I am excited for my mind will be forever changed, forever freed of a few of the preconceptions that hinder my ability to understand life on this planet.

Christmas in April

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~Kahlil Gibran

My second class in my Leadership Training Program is scheduled for tomorrow! My excitement reminds me of when I was a kid anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus and I couldn't sleep. I am very wired tonight. Not because I am not nervous for there is not a nervous bone twitching in my body though it feels as if my entire body is vibrating from an electrical current passing through my nerves. I am wired because I put a lot of preparation hours into my training and I feel it encompasses the leadership concepts which need to be presented to this class.

I am excited because I am giving. I am giving the gift of myself to this initial group of seven blossoming leaders, a group of people eager to learn, eager to grow their leadership skills. I am sharing concepts which took me years to learn, years to understand, years to make manifest in my leadership skills.

I am excited because, I believe, leadership is a sacred trust and, as such, is the duty of every leader to raise the next generation leaders and I have been provided the formal opportunity by my supervisor to share what I learned with theses inexperienced leaders. I am excited because I have been entrusted to help grow the next generation of leaders at my company. The Bible says in Acts 20:35:

It is better to give than it is to receive.

I have found this to be true with my loved ones when I have given them gifts and watched their eyes light up. I am finding this to be true as I am giving the gift of my knowledge to eager minds seeking to grow their leadership abilities. For me, this feels like Christmas in April.

Book: Leadership Lessons of the Navy Seals by Jeff Cannon

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. ~Unknown



I just finished the audio book, Leadership Lessons of the Navy Seals by Jeff Cannon. I finished it while bike riding on a chilly Sunday afternoon in Chicago, the Windy city. One of the really odd things about riding in the downtown area and by the lake is that the wind seems to always be in your face, seems to always be opposed to the direction one is headed. There were a few times I wanted to cut the ride short because I was not 'comfortable' in the chilly wind, a few times I thought it was just too cold for a training ride, a few times I thought it was too bitter when, like clockwork, the author would highlight a leadership concept with a Navy Seals training story, such as sitting in a pool of ice cube water until limbs go numb and then staying a while longer, that pushed me to keep going.

Most of the book covered leadership topics with which I was very familiar, concepts that I have encountered a few to numerous times in my twenty year study of leadership. Three of these were really worth hearing yet again either because they hammered home something I feel strongly about or because the military angle put a slightly different twist on something I viewed from a different angle. Those three areas are; Communication via a single channel, being candid is a sign of respect, and attempt what is taught for true learning.



Communication via a single channel
I have long held the belief that communication between teams separated by distance should be via a primary conduit. This worked for me on projects I have lead during my many years in Project Management. I am on the periphery of a team that has chosen a different approach, the scatter gun approach. Everyone is copied on every email so everyone is in the loop in the hopes that no one will miss anything and am watching both teams struggle.

Much time is wasted with this technique. Time is wasted reading emails which, typically, contain little value for the task at hand. Focus is taken from the primary task the person should be accomplishing. When someone context switches they lose more than the time on task, they also lose the time remembering where they are and getting back in the task frame of mind.

I believe and have believed for many years that someone from each team should be a focal point of communication and that person then disperses information to the necessary members of the team. And that person ensures two people from different teams communicate if discussion on a topic is required.



Being candid is a sign of respect

Candidness is a perspective I became acutely aware of after reading Jack Welch's book titled Winning. The Navy Seals author drove home the understanding that being candid is a sign of respect to the recipient. As a leader, I expect people to be candid with me on the status of a project. It is only respectful that I give them the same courtesy when being candid about their work. Without candid feedback, especially when things are of kilter, puts the person in a state of not knowing what is going on and, in some cases, at risk of losing their job for underperforming without being aware of the discrepancy between expectations and performance.

I do my best to show respect to everyone with whom I work. I have a personal goal this year of giving candid feedback to my direct reports even when it would be easier on me to avoid the topic. Viewing this as a sign of respect gives me additional impetus to be more candid.



Attempt what is taught for true learning

This is another understanding I have had for what seems like forever. In my college Calculus class, the professor would solve problems on the board and it always seemed so easy, easy until I went home and attempted them myself. Since then, I have normally tried to apply what I read into real life situations.

In my training class, I am providing a great deal of theory to my students. I recognized a hole for them as I was putting the 2nd class together in that I don't hold them accountable for going back to their teams and applying some of the theory. Staring with my 2nd class, homework is being assigned to apply to their teams one of the theories they were taught. In the subsequent class, everyone must then give a summary of what they tried and the subsequent results.



Overall, I enjoyed the book. Primarily I enjoyed the book for the Navy Seal stories that encouraged me to go above and beyond, that allowed me to fantasize living the life of a Seal, a fantasy that is easy to have when one is sitting comfortably in the warmth of the home sipping a hot beverage.