Crap Done or Crapped On?

What did she just say?  Both my boss and I did a double-take; this was real.  

A third party had just commented on my work.  But had she said that she could see "that (I) am obviously used to getting crap done?"  Or, had she said what I thought I'd heard, that she could see "that (I) am obviously used to getting crapped on?"

It makes all the difference; and exactly how is one supposed to respond?

After an awkward silence, I ventured an "Excuse me?  I'm not sure I understand."  She offered some examples, unknowingly clarifying herself, and it became clear that everything was okay.  The rest of the day went swimmingly.  This little, near miscommunication was a non-factor.  But my boss and I convened later in the day to review what we both really thought we'd heard and share a laugh.

Oh well, just a lesson that even kind intentions can go awry; and that what matters most is how our words are received, not how they are intended or thought to have been delivered.  And, it pays to take a moment of reflection before responding; there's no sense in escalating a conflict that isn't there.

Labor Day Labors

With all my recent travels, the intense, crepuscular fishing in Maine and the frenzied End of Summer, I wasn't too motivated to take on much of a fishing expedition during Labor Day Weekend.  When it became evident on Sunday morning that other options for my time (and wind) would likely scrub out even a local trip, I started looking ahead.

Of course, there were other trips planned for the coming weeks, and what better opportunity would I have to prepare for them?  Pretty quickly, my tackle was assembled, batteries were being charged and the hubs on the trailer we re-greased.  But a few years ago, I had switched the trailer's rear lights from incandescent to LED; why not complete the job and go Full LED?  Why not complete the job at this time?

I know Why?  This trailer is a veritable Cadillac among trailers and OEM Parts are difficult to find.  Finding, fitting and installing the rear LEDs had ultimately gone just fine, but I had some continuing reservations about tackling the various other running lights and markers.

Long Story, Short:  one man, one trailer, two days, three trips to the store and a surprising amount of satisfaction later, Numenon's trailer is 100% ready to embark on its next 32,000 miles.  I had to make a couple of compromises along the way (let's just say that electrician's tape and zip ties were not part of the trailer's OEM design), but I'm okay with that.  Once we get to wherever we're going, she'll still fish the same!

***

This might be the most boring topic and entry in the entire blogging enterprise, but this task kind of symbolizes (at least to me), that things are going well.  Perhaps I have simply grown up, but I  actually embraced this "chore" and immersed myself in it.  Instead of fighting it (trailer lights are on par with Christmas Trees, Plumbing and hosting Cousin Eddie when it comes to the Reward:Effort ratio), I chose to focus on not only on the simplicity of the mechanics, but also the valued investment, reward and kaizen of the task.  I didn't even resent the missed fishing opportunity; I chose to spend my time in the manner that I thought it could best be utilized; and I'm pretty sure I was was right!

But I am also reminded that the concept of "boring" often resides at the level of What?  instead of Why?  Writing about trailer lights; probably boring.  Thinking about why this task was satisfying; possibly interesting.

Good Morning!

Evidence that fishing isn't entirely about the fish; sunrise on Lake St. Clair on Saturday, October 21, 2017 successfully countered an all-day/full effort skunk while searching for muskies.  I never touched a fish, although maybe I am making progress; I had a very brief hook-up and three follows from small muskies.  My pursuit of them gave me just cause to be first at the ramp and to witness this.

On Being from Rhode Island

I've been gone for over 35 years, but Home is always Home.  I couldn't wait to leave back then, but can now appreciate Rhode Island's unique offerings and her (occasionally positive) influence on me.  I recently grabbed this screen shot from an on-line fishing video that was "featuring" the salt-water fishing opportunities of Little Rhody's shoreline; none of these seemed to exist in my youth.  Regardless, I thought it captured the depths to which Rhode Island is misunderstood and under-appreciated.  But that's okay, because what's more natural or easier than that?

In Celebration of a Better Work Schedule

With my recent relocation and work adjustment, I have been able to work on a "Flex Schedule" for the first time.  This gives me every other Monday "off" in return for slightly longer work days for the rest of the pay period.  I'm working the same amount, but now my work days have been reduced by 10%, while my "off" days have increased by about 25%.  I've tried to make the most of this situation; I am certainly getting used to it!  

But before such an arrangement seems normal or mundane, I'd like to take the opportunity to celebrate what this time has allowed me to do.  Here are some pictures, in chronological order, of each of my "Flex" days so far:

A Monday on Lake St. Clair; Check This Out!   The Premiere Flex Day featured a 6-pound smallmouth bass, a large and scrappy catfish, and bonus white bass and walleyes!

***

Who can argue with Fun Family Fishing for panfish at Kensington Metropark?  For details -  go here!

***

A day on Traverse Bay is always rewarding; details are here!

***

An entire week of Maine Fireworks!

***

Reeds Lake comfort and fun is discussed here!

***

M with her first bass in a while!  What details there are... are Here!

***

A week of work in Baltimore, a family week of travel and a Sesquicentennial Striper; it's mostly a blur, but certainly included a sanctioned Flex Day in there, somewhere!  Read all about it! - Here!

***

The bass fishing wasn't great, but this fine pike was a welcome by-catch of my Lake St. Clair offshore drop-shotting efforts.  For a summary of another weekday crack at this fishery, Look Here!

***

OK, I'm cheating little bit here.  I'm not sure which day was the official "Flex Day", but when combined with a couple of vacation days and a trip North, good things happen every day!  Here's the Summary!

***

Each day has been filled with adventure (big or small), and each has produced noteworthy fish and/or experience.  What a gift!

Jackie Chiles Meets Buddha! -or- Going APE!

So, I've adopted the practice of Anticipation! Participation! and Elaboration! as a part of my program for maintaining mental health and simply enjoying life.  Look here! to get a sense of what I'm getting at.  I thought I'd stumbled upon a simple, fun practice that could stretch out memorable events, but I suspect that it is possibly much more powerful than that.

Jackie Chiles; from the web!

Note that Anticipation! Participation! and Elaboration! (or for my purposes today, APE!) represents the future, present and past.  Simply enough, we anticipate future events, act in the present, and can elaborate on past events.

Meanwhile, this Buddhist has reminded us that control of our reaction to current conditions is the key to ongoing happiness.  While this is an easy statement to acknowledge, we know the difficulty lies in doing so, productively.

Let's face it, the Past and Future are basically eternal, while the Present is a razor-thin, ephemeral instance.  How can one hope to remain Present?  It's such an unlikely nano-target.  What are the odds of simply Being There?

I now can see that my practice of "Going APE!" is really about maintaining these events in that most fragile of times, the Present.  Whether I am Anticipating! or Elaborating!, I am in the current act of actively appreciating and/or understanding my experience.  (Anybody who has fished or played ball with me will attest that I Participate! to my fullest ability.)This really is an exercise in Being Present and maintaining that presence.

There's a huge difference between these exercises of active appreciation (and here, I am suddenly reminded of Appreciative Inquiry) and other approaches that distance ourselves from an experience.  Here, I'm thinking of "fearing" or "hoping" for a future outcome, or "longing for" or "missing" a past event.  These create some sort of artificial barrier between our current selves and mindset and the event(s) in question.  These do not allow us to fully immerse ourselves in the event; the very nature of these feelings is one of disconnection.  My exercises foster connection.  I think they do so even in the face of time; there's a certain time-independence in actively planning or dissecting an event towards a positive end.

It's pretty well documented that simply Being Present is a key to a sense of happiness, effective relationships and overall wellness.  Little did I know that my fondness for fishing stories and experiences would provide a meaningful framework for me to realize (actualize?) something so fundamentally important.

So, here's today's advice: to be more human, feel free to Go APE!

Change for the Better

So, a lot has gone down in my life since I've written anything of substance.  It's all been voluntary, it all gone according to plan, and I think it's all been for the good.  In the last couple of months, I've acquired and/or undertaken:

• New Teeth
• New Smile
• New Home
• New City 
• New Job 
• New Home Lake

Apparently, I've also acquired a New Attitude about day-to-day life and work, because in just the last few days my longest-term and closest friend verbally recognized my change for the better, and a new-but-trusted co-worker mentioned that he couldn't even imagine me wound up over work.  I might even be starting to believe that my efforts towards multifaceted self-improvement might be working!

This is all reward enough, but let's explore how this isn't just about life and work, it's about fishing, too!

My new home lake might now be Lake St. Clair, and it's a large, shallow body of water.  It gets rough and muddy, and my limited experience there indicates that neither of these is conducive to my bass fishing.  The last weekend was Super Windy, out of many points on the compass, and Monday (my targeted day for fishing) was simply Less Windy.  Given these conditions (and incorporating cost, lack of good intelligence, risk of failure, fear of failure, general lack of confidence and such), Old Steve wouldn't have undertaken a trip, even to a world-class fishery such as Lake St. Clair.

That's fine, as there are many other decent options available, but when one is so close to so many giant smallmouth bass, and the window on the availability of pre-spawn lunkers is closing, should not one who really cares about such things at least give it a shot?  After all, the dream is valid, and there are no real consequences to failing; and so New Steve decided, What the heck?  Why hold myself back?  Let's go!

And so I did go!  I came home, 13 hours later with a half-broken spine (figuratively, but descriptive) and one less tooth (literally.)  I'd gotten two bass bites all day, the water was stained to muddy in my area of choice, and Lake St. Clair had beaten me into submission with wind and boat chop.

But it was a Good Day!  It was a weekday fishing expedition, after all, and one of the two bass bites turned into a Master Angler giant, possibly one of my Top 2 or 3 smallmouths ever, and certainly the largest ever aboard Numenon.  

But this wasn't even the best part of the day!  The day was another learning experience for me, and I know I'll take the best of what I learned (locations, logistics, presentations, boat control) with me on future trips.  I'm more prepared for whatever comes my way.

This is NOT a bad way to operate.  It might be Kaizen, it might be Appreciative Inquiry, it might be just good luck, but it might become natural.

Work hard, be smart, do your best and enjoy some occasional good fortune!

My Leadership Challenge

As written in December, 2016:

During a recent continuing education event sponsored by my employer, the Five Best Practices of effective leaders, as identified by Koeze's and Posner's "The Leadership Challenge", were starkly projected onto the screen.  Here they are:

• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

I've not (yet) read this particular book, but my immediate reaction to this list was that it represented a perfect formulation for Parenting.  What is Parenting, if not a crucial form of Leadership? There's nothing I am more certain (or proud) of than A's and my collective parenting efforts.  The practices outlined above were naturally (unwittingly?) adopted by us as new parents, and practiced with love ever since.  The proof of our efforts might very well be in the resultant, wonderful pudding; both girls appear to be well on their respective paths toward becoming Good Citizens of the World (and more, and each in their own right.)

But this isn't about my girls.  This is about me and my work.  I've not exactly been inspired there lately.  But change is possible.  In fact, meaningful change is more possible than ever at this moment for a variety of converging reasons.  My timely, stark introduction to the Five Best Practices, in conjunction with my immediate, visceral recognition of their meaning to me, has served as a sort of personal wake-up call.  I'm already doing these things at work, too, and it's about time to make sure that some of the right people know it!

So, here's what I am doing; here's why I should be heard!  I don't want to come across as trite or boastful; this is (in part) a clearing of my mind, simple practice for future discussions at work.  In the broadest sense, this blogging exercise is how I've implemented these practices for myself in my quest for personal balance, meaning and purpose at work.  In the strictest sense, I am establishing my arguments to help facilitate some positive change for myself and my employer.

Model the Way; I walk the talk.  I show up, prepared, and I do the work.  I do it with expected excellence.  I try my best, I do what I say, and I treat others as they would like to be treated.  I am competent, productive and pleasant.  I am an effective Ambassador for my employer.  Perhaps most importantly, these efforts might earn me some cred when it comes to being a positive influence within my workplace and with my customers.

Inspire a Shared Vision; I've always been a selfless teammate, whether that's on a tournament boat, on the ice or diamond, or at work.  The teams I am on know where they want to be, and in many cases have over-performed to get there.  I generally have no formal authority over my teammates, and so I have to rely on my positive influence with them (inspiration?) to get their fullest buy-in, participation and contribution.  What better source for inspiration than enthusiastically modeling the way toward a common goal?

Challenge the Process; Certain things have to get done, and available resources are always limited!  You have to work smart to get the important things done!  If things are going well, I still want to improve; and if things are not progressing nicely, then I am among the first to recognize that more of the same effort will likely not lead to a more acceptable result!  Both improvement and necessary change require recognition and management of boundaries, barriers, resources, processes and possibilities.  Innovative perceptions and mixes of these ingredients, combined with a general willingness to actually initiate positive action can result in new and improved outcomes, tools and norms.  My quest for process improvement and initiating positive change at work is well documented; and it can be positively infectious, if only because it can ...

Enable Others to Act; Whether it's with internal teammates or external customers, when headed in the proper direction, a group can build a head of steam and can accomplish much more than any individual.  In fact, I've concluded that I can do little (if anything) to effect change in isolation; I have to rely on others to execute Real World tasks leading to meaningful results.  Hopefully I can empower folks to act with confidence and effective tools; but I also need to provide a safe haven  for recovery from small mistakes and failures.  We are engaged in a process, and we'll never be done; setbacks are simply inevitable.  We're not dealing with matters of immediate life and death, so there's no reason to get too upset about momentary impediments.  Rather, these offer an opportunity to learn, and to move on even more effectively.  

These practices all cultivate mutual trust, and that (precious, earned) trust is the grease that lets people work together effectively.  Who wouldn't want to excel in an environment where one felt safe, part of a directed, winning team where one could appreciate the fruits of one's labor and still share in the team's success? Where one had mentors and role models, some flexibility and a voice?  Unfortunately, all too frequently I've seen this trust broken or eroded dangerously thin; the synergies quickly disappear, and nothing worthwhile gets accomplished.  It becomes too easy for all parties involved to choose to vilify, judge and dismiss.  It becomes too easy to lose one's way or become a loner doomed to ineffectiveness.  Fortunately, there is a vaccine to help prevent the loss of earned trust.  That is to ...

Encourage the Heart;  It is important to do so for yourself, as well as for those around you.  Largely to save myself from despair at work, I've been nice to myself in many ways (travel, fishing, maintaining a desk diary of only positive things that I notice), but I've also gone out of my way to actively share good developments with others.  I've explored and shared Appreciative Inquiry as a mechanism for positive change, I've battled The Nocebo Effect,I've accepted barriers as opportunities, I've chosen to verbalize kind thoughts and have been quick to recognize and celebrate small successes.  This has been truly important for me, and I know this has had a positive effect on my teams and local work unit.  I've climbed multiple Judgment to Value Ladders, and I can now enjoy the lofty perspective provided.  Meanwhile, additional seeds of trust have been sewn in many directions; these offer hope for future productive harvests.

While I am naturally a realist, cynic or Omnihilist, having learned these practices through experience both at work and at home, I know that I have grown to build and accept a more satisfying outlook on life.  I think it has been good for those around me, too.  My respect (and love, for those who've earned it!) is now deeper and broader.  This growth and acceptance might also be the key to enabling others to graciously Model their Way, which as either a parent or co-worker, is probably the greatest possible gift.

I've learned so much from my girls.  I'll never be able to thank them enough for the innumerable ways they've brought light to my life.  They are the true paradigm for all I truly seek and hope to leave behind.

Knowing this, they've helped me engage in this, my (current) Leadership Challenge.  I'm looking to effect a quantum leap into a new position in another city.  For a few reasons, it's a long shot.  For many reasons, I think it's the right shot.  Time will tell...

***

As written in very early March, 2017:

While I was told that I was a very competitive candidate for the position in question, and that it had been a difficult choice, the hiring committee chose to go with the acting incumbent.  This was based on experience within the position, and I can't really argue against that.  I am glad that I made the effort, and this is the only acceptable alternative outcome for me; at least those making the decision know what they are getting.  I suspect that is comfortable and "good enough" for those involved.  In the meantime, I'll try to convince myself that my thoughts and actions at work have any credible, positive effect.  

Meanwhile, we are productively preparing our home for sale, and I'm working with others on making a lateral move to a different city with my somewhat unique position.  It will be more of the same, but it will be different, too; and maybe I don't have to concern myself with stretching myself or serving others so much as tending to the work at hand.  That will be okay to me, because I should have plenty more time and energy available to me for living and fishing than I might have, otherwise.  I'm on the verge of confronting some new leaves; it's been a long time coming.  I'll take my beliefs and practices along with me; it will all work out, just fine.

***

As written in late March, 2017:

Things appear to be working out appropriately; the house sold in a matter of days at our requested price.  Life will be easier and more rewarding when A and I are again working in the same city, and we have the (potentially fun) opportunity to find a new, satisfying home for ourselves.  The details of moving my work are being handled and supported by others, and I can now imagine real change for my work life.  It might not be as grand or meaningful as I had hoped; but it will not be as stressful, either.  I'll be leaving a lot behind in West Michigan, but I have much to find and appreciate ahead of me, too.  I hope to do the best I can with these new opportunities.  Time will tell...

***

As written in late April, 2017:

It's official.  This home is no longer ours.  We are eastward-bound.

In a couple of weeks we will be moved into a new home in our new city.  Life will be somewhat simplified, and I'll be surrounded by a new set of team-mates.  There will be substantial overlap in my work, but it will all be different, too.  I hope to make the most of my new situation.  My girls are gone, so there's no more direct parenting; but that doesn't mean I can't still utilize the best available practices for making a difference.

Cubicle vs. Root Canal

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a personally meaningful experiment; I got to address the question, "Which is currently preferable, my work cubicle or a root canal?"

 36 years (so long!) ago, I shed my block, broke off the offensive line and ran a short pattern over the middle.  I was pretty well covered, but as I made eye contact with our calm and collected quarterback, I vigorously yelled while pointing to the ground.  He got the idea, threw low, and I made a sliding, touchdown catch to seal the win.  My momentum was abruptly interrupted by a forearm to the face.  I got off the ground, planted a front tooth back in place, spit some blood at the feet of my assailant, smiled and went back to my teammates.

After the game, my tooth seemed a little bit misplaced, but it didn't hurt, and it seemed firmly implanted. I barely gave it a second thought.  Over time it became obvious that the tooth was damaged, but it was functional and never bothered me, so it remained low on my list of personal maintenance priorities.

Recently, I embarked on a program to replace a stubborn baby tooth.  Despite my advanced age, this tooth was still with me.  The idea of this program was to avoid any future,  inevitable problems with it.  But this tooth was only a couple of positions away from the damaged tooth discussed above; and the tooth between is the wrong type,  in the wrong position, and needs some help, too.  So I agreed to address them all at once.

Hence, I found myself in the chair, awaiting my first root canal.  The dentist had convinced me the front tooth was, indeed, dead.  Even I could see the internal damage and changes on the X-ray.  As the technician prepared me, she asked how my day was; and I realized, I'd rather be doing this than addressing the work and atmosphere at my work cubicle.  At the moment, a root canal seemed preferable to my cubicle, and that gave me pause for thought.

After a week or more of thinking about this, overall, I think I have to call it a draw.  While my job isn't physically painful, it does take a mental toll.  That constant toll can wear me out, and it makes some of the current personality displays and individual dramas a bit less palatable.  On the other hand, while the root canal went well and I didn't have any immediate issues with pain directly from the procedures, I have had some unpleasant, bothersome quirks while healing. On a third hand, work often seems like a treadmill, but the dental work might represent progress and improvement.  

I think a tie-breaker might go to work, if only to avoid a conclusion that a root canal is the preferable choice.  I don't want to think that way!  But I can't quite seem to award a clear win to my cubicle, because my time in the chair, at the very least, provided another boat name candidate.  During the procedure, the dentist repeatedly asked the assistant for some canal lube.  I'm sure there's a perfectly good role for such a material during such a procedure, but my mind was elsewhere.  All I could picture was Canal Lube on the transom of a boat.  Maybe the owner was a dentist, and maybe hundreds of these procedures had paid for it.  Or maybe ...

In Which I Find Solace in Irish Poetry

I'm not a poet, but I may have some poetic tendencies.  I'm neither a trained philosopher nor writer, but I think and type.  I'm not a scholar in any of these fields, but I can appreciate those who are.

*****

This has been a long and surreal week.  And yet, it has had some high points.  These might as well be recognized. **

I've been visiting distant family.  Well, close family at a distance, actually.  This trip provided lots of time in the truck on a fairly loose schedule, alone with my thoughts.

On the morning of the first day, with close to 750 miles ahead of me for the day, I turned to the radio.  I quickly settled into an agreeable program on Michigan Public Radio.  It was entitled "On Being" ***, and while I was intrigued by the title, I stayed for the content.

The hostess interviewed a lauded Irish Poet (Michael Longley, about whom I was totally ignorant.)  Despite my ignorance, I couldn't help but admire the World View offered by this gentle man.

I'll not do these justice; but here are a few of the thoughts that were shared, in some cases with the twist that I added over the course of miles of highway:

Sanity and happiness reside in ordinary Small Things, so it is best to be present, aware and open. It could be Mr. Longley's wild orchids, but it could be appreciating a surprise freshwater drum on a hair jig, too.  It could be the morning's sunrise, but it could also be noticing the caress of warm soapy water as one does the daily dishes. It could be a memory of a past life, but it could be a shared, positive thought with whomever you next encounter.

Mr. Longley described the use of poetry to identify and describe the Core Essence of a situation, and the poem itself as the core essence of this description.  Go ahead, check out the header at the top of this page!  There's nothing in life more beautiful or meaningful (to me) as potentially recognizing the numenon of our being.  I'll be honest; I think this recognition begets love, whether it's romantic, familial or simply passion for a task or quest.

Once challenged to define poetry, Mr. Longley declared, "(I)f prose were a river; then poetry is a fountain."  That is, it provides form to function; and also function to form.  Shape and utility are inextricably intertwined; and this cannot help but be beautiful.  Without this connection, something is (at best) less than it could be; and (at worst) a wasteful distraction.  He further described poetry as "Care with words."  But I believe that he provided this with double meaning.  Of course, words are selected and presented carefully in poetry; but the real care is in the healing and compassion conveyed by sharing these words.

Mr. Longley opined that the Opposite of War is not necessarily Peace, so much as it is Civilization.  As I've tried to state elsewhere (here, for instance) there is nothing more human than protecting and supporting a civilized state.  With the current situations in Syria and Iraq, the Presidential election looming  and the pending anniversary of the Paris Bombings, I couldn't have agreed with him more.  

I found this solace before I even knew I needed it.  Because a few days after my trip began, unexpected election results "trumped" any direction or progress with my ruminations.  But that's okay, because I am a practiced thinker and I had already started the exploration of my philosophical beliefs.  I do know with great certainty that I'd rather be beaten than embrace the thoughts of an emboldened "friend", who literally thanked God for the opportunities currently afforded by Concealed Carry.  

*****

** I almost finished this post without including these!  I could start with the pleasure of finding a new (to me), substantive and interesting radio show; and "discovering" Mr. Longley.  Let's not overlook some home-cooked favorites and experiencing pride in hearing strangers praising my octogenarian, volunteering mother.  I completed a few chores, and I ate nothing but fried chicken and apple pie well into Mr. Trump's reign as President-Elect!  I spent more time with my brother and family than I have in years.  I met my nephew as a grown man, I took a road trip to Hammond's Fishing Center in Cumming, Georgia to look at the bait and day-dream, and I received a gift of a pair of Water Bugz planer boards.  It was a good trip!

*** Link to this episode of "On Being"

50,000 Hours

Please let me preface this with an acknowledgment that I have willingly subordinated my professional life to the needs of my immediate family and to my personal sense of life balance.  I need to be there for my kids, we've needed to share meals and talk, I need the flexibility to experience life and take advantage of unexpected developments, and I need to fish! My current job has been absolutely awesome in accommodating family life while providing just enough security and compensation that we've all had ample opportunities to partake in all of the above.  We've collectively benefited a great deal, and for that, I am truly thankful.

***

I am just a bit premature in claiming 50,000 hours at my current job, but I am close enough to legitimately reflect on this milestone.  And rest assured, if I were to include the hours from my previous, related job, I could clear the 50,000-hour bar with a wide margin to spare.

Let's simply assume familiarity with the common maxim that it takes 10,000 hours to truly master a skill.  Have I done so with my time at work?  Have I simply continually beaten a 40,000-hour, long-dead horse while coasting?  Have I refined my initially-honed skill?  Have I moved on to other skill(s)?   Have these other skills complemented the initial and subsequent skill(s)?  It's at least worth thinking about!

I've divided my experience here into very approximate five-year chunks and reflected on what might have dominated my efforts during that time.  Here's what I came up with: in many ways it reflects Simon Sinek's Golden Circle*, and my long journey towards peace with my work.  I'll admit, this journey that has become increasingly difficult for me to continue without consideration of some major changes. But simply going through this exercise has increased my understanding of the personal value of these 50,000 hours.


Chunk 1, Hours 0 to 10,000 (What? I)

Here I learned about my employment situation, the workplace rules and expectations.  I learned the nuts and bolts of my general program, the rules and physics of Air Pollution Control.  I continually got exposed to different scenarios, and I started developing some specific areas of expertise and personal style.  I learned from my mistakes, learned how to avoid the mistakes of others and to build on common successes.  Let's just say that this period was devoted to the development of Skill 1: Building the Necessary Foundation.

Chunk 2, Hours 10,000 to 20,000  (What? II)

Fortunately, I believe that I grew beyond simple mastery of the basic position.  Here I got increasingly involved with the implementation of a very specific program in support of general programmatic needs.  I had to work with many and varied co-workers, but my role was still largely as a doer and worker bee.   My scope of understanding became both broader (in general) and deeper (focused on the needs of this specific program.)  I ran with this program to the best of my abilities, and improvements were meaningful and measurable.  This program became the least of concerns for my management.  While this sounds like a desirable outcome, there is perhaps the real possibility of future, collective amnesia about the actual accomplishments achieved.  Let's just call Skill 2: Developing Specific Program Expertise.


Chunk 3, Hours 20,000 to 30,000  (How? I)

At this point, I had considerable experience and recognized expertise.  Now I had an opportunity to build on these by focusing  on programmatic effectiveness.  With a foundation of proven, historical effectiveness and a free rein from above, I was able to leverage various Outside Partnerships to address some pervasive, important programmatic issues.  Using Skill 3: Working Effectively with Others was actually a lot of fun!

Chunk 4, Hours 30,000 to 40,000  (How? II)

This period was probably simply dominated by too much to do with too few resources.  But with my independence came an opportunity to define, at least in part, my work priorities.  On a singularly important day early in this "chunk" I was exposed to a Customer Service model simply presented as "COKE".  The premise; Which is most important to effectively addressing a customer's needs; Conscientiousness? Openness?  Knowledge? or Empathy?  

I'm a pretty smart guy; I am even a scientist; I am an expert in a technical field; and at the start of the exercise, I knew that I brought Knowledge to the table.  That was the hammer I could wield.  From the start, I even thought that those other traits might just get in the way of the actual work of solving problems!  (No wonder he'd been brought in to speak with us!) But at the end of the exercise, I was convinced that Empathy (by which I mean recognizing the real humanity of the issue at hand and reacting in an appropriate, humane manner) was the answer to the fundamental question of effectively addressing another's needs.  At the very least, our presenter offered some fun and interesting anecdotes.  But his ideas are still with me; it really was a singular day for me.

Somewhat awakened to empathy and its two-way nature, I pretty quickly realized that I could not actually accomplish much without the significant help of others.  Moreover, they will only help if they've bought into my plans.  We needed to identify and share a deeper understanding of a common, accepted goal.  And dare I say, finding this common goal is a tremendous tool for earning trust from others; and that my code for honoring that trust demands sincere, mutual efforts to achieve that shared goal? I'm willing to summarize this period as Skill 4: Sharing a COKE.  

I may have just been growing up, but work and life became more than knowledge, expertise and Analytical Thinking.  It became more about just being a better, more effective person.  I certainly found that there is considerable freedom and joy in recognizing this as a legitimate function, especially when compared to being simply correct, perfect or accomplished.

Chunk 5, Hours 40,000 to 50,000  (Why?)

At about this point, I had clearly developed my unique professional perspective.  I have specific ideas about what is important, what can be changed, and what is best left alone.  But acceptance of this question Why? into the personal meaning of my work can either motivate or deflate.   When possible, I have utilized the question of Why? to help me prioritize my directed efforts and interests.  But I'm not sure my current employer or business unit has the luxury of examining Why? we do certain things or pursue certain goals.  Our collective myopia commands attention to immediate needs and rarely any farther.    Unfortunately, this is a rather important issue for me; after all, the answer to Why? ultimately defines the purpose of my work.  Without an acceptable purpose, I'll likely not ever be satisfied with my work.

Like many of my other less-than-light-hearted posts, this entry has simmered for quite a while.  Meanwhile, back in the office, my acceptance of my work has recently worn bare thin.  I've not much hope that an acceptable Why? will emerge locally; and so I've initiated several steps for some real (if only theoretically meaningful) change.  Perhaps as a result of actually taking these steps, I've recently had a moment of clarity: 

I have enough personal perspective to know that I am not defined by my work.  I have so many other interests and good things going on that I don't have to pigeon-hole my self-esteem in any such manner.  I am the positive sum of all my Relationships and Partnerships.  I am close to the heart of a small group of truly amazing folks.  I sometimes even influence them for the better of all.  I am fortunate to be near the crest of Maslow's Hierarchy; I've time and resources for leisurely thought and introspection.  I stand on the Shoulders of Giants with respect to what I know, the ease and technology of our modern life, and even the sweet functionality and performance of my beloved fishing gear.  

Bottom line, I've enough awareness to know that I've got it good and am more likely to share this goodness than to to take it from others.  And this has remarkably little to do with how I've spent the previous 40,000(+) hours.

Out of such a blurry rant, emerges my version of Skill 5: Creation of Meaningful Personal Focus.

I now know that I may not find that Focus at my current desk.  But I am okay with that; I think I can let myself relax a bit and go make it happen.  I don't need to fix things there.  There are plenty of other possibilities that deserve my attention.  If pursuing these can help develop my own version of Meaningful Focus, they will prove to be truly worthwhile endeavors. I should now be ready to take them on.  Time to start!

***

*Maybe any reader should just cut to the quick and google Mr. Sinek or his book "Start with Why", and save one's time. 

Regression to the Mean

Things always average out appropriately in the end, and last weekend's much-better-than-average fishing was subject, and vulnerable, to correction.  I just didn't think the correction would necessarily be this immediate.

I had blocked off a few dates on my calendar to accommodate (a) trip(s) to Lake St. Clair.  But with such good fishing so close to home, my thoughts had shifted to Reeds Lake and the local advantage I'd been enjoying.  I had pretty much decided to sacrifice a trip to St. Clair and take Friday off to fish Reeds Lake again!

Imagine my thoughts when I drove by the lake this afternoon and saw multiple, prominent, yellow posted warnings.  I recognized these from afar as public notices for aquatic weed treatment; but I stopped to confirm my thoughts.  (There was always the possibility that these were notices for a future event.  I am, after all, an optimist!)  I've never had good fishing coincide with these treatments on any lake, and given a choice, I'll avoid a treated lake for a couple of weeks.  

Chemical weed control took place today!  This is a temporary game changer for my bass fishing.  Just in time for the pike opener, too!

Just in case one hadn't noticed the conspicuously posted warnings...

There are plenty of other lakes and many other options for my time away from work.  I will still go to Lake St. Clair, hopefully repeatedly, and maybe even on Friday.  But suddenly, my short-term bass options don't seem as easy or as promising.   Fortunately, Muskie Season opens on Saturday; maybe I'll use that as a distraction from this unwelcome development.

Frenemy***

(This one has been sitting for a while, unfinished, but when I encountered another TED talk from Mr. Ricard today, I decided to just share this.  In the time since I first drafted this, I think I have become better at controlling my reactions to situations, as opposed to trying to control the situation itself.  I know I am better for those efforts.  And I like Mr. Ricard's ultimate message; we are all likely better people than we give ourselves credit for.)

***


“We deal with our mind from morning till evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.”  A Buddhist thought from Matthieu Ricard

Disregarding the grammatical issues with the quote as presented, and noting that I don’t want to get too deep or alarm anybody, here’s a Daily Chart* I produced earlier this year: 

This was generated on a particularly “bad” day, when a series of ultimately insignificant threads of my work life weaved into one giant (but thankfully, ephemeral) tangle.  It’s a bit daunting that my chart depicts four “dark” categories only, but I’m sure it just reflects my feelings at work at that moment, as I firmly recognize that there’s always lots of good in my life.    Interestingly, my work calendar indicates that I was contemporaneously killing it; field, office, independent and collaborative work; it all got done, and got done well, too.  

I alone reside in my body, with my brain.  I can’t do much about that.  I have some darkness in my life, but even I can feel kind of optimistic when I see that I have some control over the majority of my life, even as depicted above.  The dizziness was temporary and the physical pain is generally manageable and being controlled.  On that particular “bad” day, more than half of my issues in the chart are “mental”, and so are mine alone.  As referred to at the start, I can either be friend or foe to myself.  I can choose to accept (manage? defeat?; or not) the depression and the negative emotions.  Little did I know that this too was actually a Buddhist way of thinking:

“Enlightenment is eliminating mental confusion (and a litany of bad characteristics and emotions)…That’s very simple and straightforward.”   (Pico Iyer; another quoted Buddhist)

OK, here’s a formula to my liking; acknowledgement, acceptance, identification, management, learning; these can can all lead to clarification. And because the quote says eliminating the mental confusion (not eliminating the problem or bad thing itself) is the goal; I know I can work on this. I'm not asking myself to tackle the impossible, but rather simply to not get distracted by other aspects of these issues. I can co-exist with these dark elements, I just can't let them confuse my thinking of what is important.

Unfortunately the quote continues:

“Whether you can do it or not is another matter.”

So, like everything worthwhile, “it” probably won’t be easy.  But at least I feel that I have a map for the path ahead.  That is comforting.  I know that certain things are under my control.  That’s empowering.  I’m not even sure I know what “it” is, but I suspect I have some choice; and some clarity of thought with which to address these choices.  These are powerful tools.  I should be able to do it.  Heck, my chart could just as well be portrayed as this:

I could be OK with this.



***Fonts are apparently the enemy with respect to this entry.  Sorry.

*As part of my Individual Development Plan at work this past year (a good thing), I chose (in part) to pursue some PowerPoint and Presentation Skills. To help cement some of what I’d learned, I started honing my PowerPoint abilities by developing a new slide every work day, either for use or just for practice. Many of these have become a “Chart of the Day!” such as this one. These are usually timely and topical for the workday, but sometimes they are simply light-hearted conveyances of my fishing endeavors, time budgets, etc. Strangely, I’ve completely very few of these since the one first depicted here appeared…