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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Think in new/old/best ways!

by Rick Baker
On Oct 31, 2013

 

 

Many months ago I attached a Post It Note to my computer monitor. The note read, "Think in new ways!"

I wanted to remind myself to be open minded and creative. 

Some time later, while tagging a Thought Post with 'Wisdom: Surviving the Test of Time' I felt the need to cross out the word "new" and replace it with the word "old". 

I wanted to remind myself there's much value embedded in the wisdom of the ages and there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

Some time later, the Post It Note was crying out for more...like it was struggling between the "new" and the "old".

I quieted it by crossing out the word "old" and replacing it with the word "best".

 

Now, I am reminded regularly, throughout every work day, to 

Tags:

Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich | Wisdom: Surviving the Test of Time

The Drive to Make Sense of Things

by Rick Baker
On Oct 17, 2013

Human Beings are driven to make sense of things.

There's an argument to be made we are slow learners. Compared to other creatures we are very helpless for a long period of infancy. It takes us about a year to stand on our two feet. That's just one example of our slow learning. For other creatures, walking comes much easier and quicker. Yet, people learn to walk the slow & hard way.

Why is this?

Perhaps, it only makes sense if we accept the fact the human brain is preoccupied from the start by a much larger project than actions like walking.

At birth, the human brain is busy doing two things:

1. Making sense of self – things like: What's the best way to fill this aching stomach? How do these arm-things work? Etc.

2. Making sense of what's out there - Who's that making those soothing noises? What's that thing moving toward me? Etc.

Perhaps, other creatures have little need to understand these things?

Perhaps, other creatures are not driven to make sense of things?

Regardless, people are driven to make sense of things. At least, most people are. Most people spend an entire lifetime doing just that. All leaders do just that.

Tags:

Leaders' Thoughts | Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich

Put your foot down...say "No" to "No"

by Rick Baker
On Oct 15, 2013

Beliefs: some good, some not-so-good

Beliefs intertwine with perceptions and patterns in your brain. Then beliefs manifest their influence, acting as your 'internal filters'. These filters guide your view of the world. These filters guide your behaviour. Your beliefs become deeply-held in your subconscious mind. From that strong base, your beliefs generate your habits…some good, some bad. Your beliefs determine your appetite for new things, your attitude toward change, and your ability to replace bad habits with good habits.

Do you know the true nature and depths of your beliefs?

Have you taken the time to 'dig deep' and understand your most-powerful beliefs?

These beliefs, your strong-and-deeply-rooted beliefs, govern your life: deep beliefs are the roots of your greatest joys; deep beliefs are the roots of your darkest fears.

Your deepest and most-strongly-held beliefs aid your efforts toward certain goals while they resist your efforts toward other goals. In these ways, your beliefs are fundamental to your life. They are fundamental to how you feel during your life and they are fundamental to whether or not you achieve the success you desire.

Where did your beliefs come from?

When it comes to questions like this, all of us are students. None of us know with certainty why or how we have beliefs. Yet, certain things make sense to us. As examples:

·         We perceive things and our perceptions of those things are taken to our brains

·         Our brains file vast amounts of information in memory, for future reference

·         Our brains like to simplify our lives so they sort things into patterns/concepts

·         With repetition bits and pieces of information solidify into bigger pieces and then into patterns

·         Diversity of perceptions expand and complicate perceptions, building a hierarchy of sorted/related patterns [and concepts]

An illustration...

When we are infants we hear our parents say the word "No". That's an audio perception. As our parents repeat the word "No" we learn "No" is an important part of our lives. Simple repetition of that spoken word causes neurons in our brains to construct deeper "No" pathways. Recognizing the importance of "No", our infant brains begin to build a "No" pattern. Our infant brains quickly pick up diverse perceptions that will feed into the "No" pattern. A parent may show an angry face while saying the word "No". The visual body language signal and the verbal sound signal send 2 separate messages, both of which feed into the growing "No" pattern in our infant brains. We notice/perceive that different situations precede our parents’ "No" messages. We perceive more diversity, more repetition and the "No" pattern becomes stronger, deeper, and more-nuanced. Even as infants we have a very broad and deep understanding of the word “No”. We recognize its sound, we recognize what it looks like when it is written, we recognize the facial expressions and the various forms of body language that accompany the word “No”, and we know the word “No” is expressed to us as a result of a wide range of different situations.

We learn our parents are not the only ones who deliver "No" messages to us. Other family members, to varying degrees, deliver "No" messages. We meet neighbours who have little people of their own and both those neighbours and the toddlers they bring into our lives add more "No" to our perceptions.

Why all this discussion around the word “No”?

That question begs the questions…

Do you understand how the pattern/concept “No” has fed negatives into your belief system?

Do you understand the extent the pattern/concept “No” throttles your efforts toward your desired goals & success?

Do you understand how to go about repairing the damage the word “No” has done to you belief system?

Are you willing to make an effort to find out?

Thought Tweet #843

by Rick Baker
On Oct 9, 2013

Thought Tweet #843 Self-Improvement happens when mind-sets come to aid skill-sets.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Some people embrace life-long learning. Those people become the best leaders. They tend to understand their talents & strengths. They tend to apply their brainpower to focused work-tasks. That allows them to build skill-sets and master work-tasks. They take talent to task. They bolster that talent with knowledge, thinking, and practiced-skills.

That wasn't a perfect storm, it was another rogue wave.

by Rick Baker
On Oct 2, 2013

About 20 years ago, a business colleague was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas with his young family. While walking along the beach, he and one of his sons were swept away by a rogue wave. They drown. Instantly, a vacation became a nightmare. When I heard the story, I thought – what an unfortunate tragedy. As details were confirmed, we learned the beach my colleague’s family happened to walk along was known for its rogue waves. Warning signs were posted. If you Google ‘cabo san lucas rogue wave’ you will find numerous articles about the area and the inherent risks.

Yet, year after year, people drown at Cabo San Lucas.

It’s not like it’s a perfect storm situation…it's not like freaks of nature are conspiring against you to bring you down.

No, it’s a rogue wave situation. It’s not about freaks of nature. It’s about situations that recur with some level of predictability. We may not be able to predict with accuracy when they will occur, however, we can predict with accuracy that, sooner or later, they will occur. And, as is the case in Cabo San Lucas there are warning signs. While you may not be familiar with the territory or the situation, others are.

In business, we have rogue waves. They appear in the form of business cycles and market trends and in the form of aged accounts receivable and toxic employees. These rogue waves of business have their warning signs. And, if you turn your back on those warning signs then you do it at your peril.

The question is…

In your business…

Are you blaming bad results on perfect storms?

And…

How many rogue waves does it take to catch your attention?

 

[Some people wouldn't recognize a rogue wave if it slapped them on the back.]

Tags:

Solutions & Opportunities | Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich

Failure To Perform- WHY?

by Rick Baker
On Oct 1, 2013

Often, people don't do tasks because they don't know how.

In other words, they lack knowledge or skill that is required to be competent at the task.

In other situations, people are competent but, regardless, they don't do the tasks.

There are many reasons why people fail to perform tasks.

Here are some of the reasons:

  • they don't like the task 
  • they don't think the task is important 
  • they don't feel appreciated
  • they don't feel their co-workers are supportive 
  • they don't like the boss
All of these things are flavoured with bad attitude. That is - all of these things could be remedied quickly if people adjust the way they think and feel about work [and prior to that, the way they think about themselves]. There are several ways to improve attitude: focus on talents & strengths, taking talent to task; communicate values & shared values; communicate visions of a better future; communicate the importance of all roles & tasks.
 
Here are some more reasons:
  • they are lost in work-multi-tasking 
  • they are work-distracted
  • they are work-stressed
All of these things contain an element of bad process...individual's bad work process and, more often than not, a work-culture of contagious bad work process. There are several ways to replace bad work process with good work process: apply the 80/20 Rule, shaving off bad-work-process fat; systematize routine-work tasks & work-task strings [automated processes]; teach time/self-management; adjust work environments to enable focus & concentration.

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.