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by Rick Baker
On Aug 3, 2015
Sometimes expectations adjust themselves to fit the realities of situations; sometimes expectations do not align well with realities of situations; sometimes expectations stray far from the realities of situations.
Perhaps, expectation-adjustment is a matter of IQ, or is it EQ, or is it both?
Do you ever think about how easy or difficult it is for you to adjust your expectations to fit the realities of the situation at hand?
Do you ever judge others according to their ability to adjust their expectations to react to or align with the realities of situations?
Are you influenced by real-life stories about people like Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Steve Jobs?...people who had such conviction about their own ideas that they refused to hear when others said, “No, that’s impossible. That cannot be done.”
And how about Churchill's "we shall never surrender"…that dogged determination rallied a country in the midst of severe adversity.
We see such doggedness in business. The problem is, sometimes, we see an over-abundance of dogged expectations. We see people being doggedly determined over the smallest of items in the most unwarranted of situations.
It seems some people must win control at all costs, at all times, in all situations.
For these people, every conversation flirts with or hammers into crucial territory.
Some people underestimate the importance of selecting their battles with care. For them, everything must be contested and few topics offer a safe haven for discussion or escape from conflict of opinion.
Some people must expend energy at every point of what could be conversation.
When will must win at all costs, expectations become blind to the realities of situations.
***
Which reminds me of advice I have received from people who have been important to me:
- Pick your battles carefully.
- There's a time to march and a time to fight.
- Better to remain silent and be thought a fool...
by Rick Baker
On Jul 31, 2015
Have you noticed technology is a double-edged sword?
Technology makes our lives easier by automating tasks, which reduces our manual processes and workload. Yet, technology is presenting a whole new set of workplace complications.
To function properly, computer technology [including off-the-shelf software] demands very specific actions. Put another way, technology is rather unforgiving. We learned this in the early days of card punching…one small typo ruined the software program. We called that problem something like garbage in, garbage out. Garbage out today appears in the form of error messages or (worse) unannounced problems, for example, problems hidden in the logic of Excel file cells.
Unannounced Garbage Out - have you seen that at your workplace? Do you see your off-the-shelf software spitting out little and big errors that surprise you because they strike you as violations of common sense? When you see this sort of garbage out do you think to yourself, "How could our people make errors like that?”
As the sophistication of off-the-shelf software continues to expand [exponentially], have you noticed your people making far more errors while doing relatively-simple tasks?
…like an error epidemic has attacked the basic processes at your workplace.
Have these computer garbage out errors become the norm at your workplace?
Do your people seem resigned, accepting garbage out as if it is a necessary evil of the workday?
Have you noticed that?
Have you noticed your production sputtering and grinding to an unproductive, unprofitable, painful crawl?
Have your clients noticed your production is flawed and pitted with errors?
Have you noticed your people getting carried away with and by technology?
If so – what steps are you taking to fix that problem?
by Rick Baker
On Jul 27, 2015
Willpower: that's when the brain, through conscious thought, forces/guides the body to behave in ways that lead toward [are consistent with] long-term goals.
Willpower requires two things:
- will &
- power
Science tells us power is the rate of doing work. And, we all know work takes effort, consumes energy, is hard to do relative to other things.
The human brain cannot perform negative thoughts and exercise willpower at the same time. Since willpower is tough to do and negative thinking is easy to do the brain favours negative thinking. So - the slightest amount of negative thought energy has the ability to totally displace willpower. This is how your negative thoughts kill your willpower.
They key to exercising willpower is learning how to nip negative thoughts in the bud.
In order to nip negative thoughts in the bud, you need a plan & a process. I suppose there are many ways to go about nipping negative thoughts in the bud. However, I have only found one that works for me. I find two things must be done before I can nip negative thoughts in the bud:
- Stillness: I must stop moving and remain as still as possible for, at least, a short period of time.
- Silence: I must be silent and, to the extent possible, be in a quiet environment.
I have found Stillness & Silence provide the best opportunity to monitor thoughts. When I monitor my thoughts I can quickly determine my negative thoughts. They show us as worries, anxieties, and little stresses and strains and they do not take me toward my desired goals. My negative thoughts are trouble-causing servants of my Ego. They are the signals of my bad habits and the catalysts that drive my bad habits. They reduce my ability to achieve my desired goals.
Only after negative thoughts are identified and recognized as negative can they be removed. Negative thoughts come to us so naturally and are very easy to do...so it can be difficult, or seem difficult, to remove them. With practice, difficult things become easy. Practice improves the ability to remove unwanted thoughts.
When we remove our negative thoughts we pave the path for our willpower. Actually, we partially pave the path. Willpower will never walk on easy paths. Willpower can come easier...but never easy. Willpower will always require 'will', which is a good habit that takes hold when you have and practice a plan and a process. Willpower will always require 'power', which can only exist when negative thoughts are removed.
by Rick Baker
On Jul 23, 2015
We are surrounded by swelling waves of Future Shock. As the relentless waves of change ebb to regain momentum then gush with renewed vigour, many Baby Boomers falter and stall as they hit the breakwalls of change.
Downsizing and other clamours for efficiency have led to increased diversity in roles and that, in turn, has led to failed efforts at multi-tasking.
Technology advances at accelerated pace, render the 'old ways' useless.
On top of all these Baby Boomer challenges, relationships have evolved, not necessarily becoming less valuable but definitely becoming more textured...more fragile, in light of downsizing and technologies. For example, the exponentially expanded ability for people to obtain information and education on-line has had a radical impact on relationships and ways of doing business.
When Baby Boomers feel themselves hitting the breakwalls of change they ought to reassess their levels of comfort with their situations, their talents, and their appetite for personal change...and related to these things people need to understand their appetite and capability in the areas of self-analysis, self-education, and self-development.
Our level of comfort in situations is closely tied to our goals and our feelings about our performance relative to those goals. If our goals are being met then we are more comfortable. If our goals are not being met then we are less comfortable. If we have no clue about our goals or whether or not we are comfortable then… well, I must admit, I'm not sure what that's all about... my feelings fall only in the comfortable and uncomfortable zones.
For most people, talents are a grey zone. Most people believe they can accurately assess other people's talents while, in reality, they spend little time or no time working to understand their own talents let alone the talents of other people. When it comes to an unrealistic understanding of talents, Baby Boomers are at the most-guilty end of the spectrum. Baby Boomers were, in relative terms, blessed with manifold (and bountiful) opportunities. For business success. Baby Boomers were able to build careers on the backs of the technology age, the age of deregulation, the age of personal entertainment, and the age of global commoditization. Now, Baby Boomers find themselves in the age of the Human Brain, the brain, of course, being the spot where Talents live and/or wither...either by chance or by choice. And, the struggles encountered by most Baby Boomers are a result of leaving things, especially Talents, to chance.
We've all heard the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Baby Boomers who aspire to continue to deliver value in business better hope that saying isn't true. I'm not calling Baby Boomers 'old dogs'…I'm simply trying to play upon a metaphor of 'old wisdom'...a metaphor which I know is 'flawed wisdom'.
I know Baby Boomers can choose whether or not to crash against the breakwalls of change.
by Rick Baker
On Jul 9, 2015
”Our main thinking habit is to analyse situations so that we can recognize standard situations and then apply standard answers.”
Edward de Bono
`The Six Value Medals`, (2005)
As you analyse Situations, do not limit yourself by assuming they are 'standard'...explore and see if there are important nuances that deviate from familiar patterns:
- direct your attention toward the key parts of the Situation [the People, the place, the level of urgency, the 'props', the background noise, etc.]
- compare those parts, looking for similarities - the parts that fit a pattern you recognize
- compare those parts again, looking for differences - the parts that do not fit a pattern you recognize
- look for the parts that catch and pull at your attention...they can be the most-important aspects of the Situation
- set logic aside and take some time to focus your attention on your gut feel
- use your special insights to fully appreciate the value contained in the situation/circumstances
Strive to identify Situations that contain special circumstances…special circumstances that serve as catalysts for your unique talents and gifts. Be confident in your ability to either rise above problems and grasp hold of opportunities. Be confident in your ability to customize your exceptional contributions in reaction to the signals you [alone] receive as you analyse Situations.
And always remember…
”Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.”
Bruce Barton
American Author & Politician (1886-1967)
Footnote:
”Circumstances - what are circumstances? I make circumstances.” Napoleon Bonaparte
by Rick Baker
On Jul 1, 2015
In his first inaugural address, in 1933, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Starting with this sort of thinking, FDR proceeded to take the series of planned actions that broke the back of the Great Depression, bringing vitality back to the U.S. economy and the economies of many nations around the world [including Canada’s economy].
FDR was one of the most-influential leaders of the 20th Century. FDR understood people. FDR understood the power of positive thinking backed by decisive action.
While his words "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." have puzzled many people, FDR knew what he meant and when he took decisive actions in the form of 'fireside chats' about what to do with money & banking the American people quickly understood how to bring about positive change. FDR understood fear and he understood how fear could be mastered.
Perhaps FDR thought along these lines...
Fear is a necessary part of life. It is not a ‘necessary evil’...it is not a burden we have to bear in order to have the opportunity to more fully appreciate the good parts of life. We should not look at fear in that sort of light.
Rather, we need to accept that fear contains value.
Yes - in excess fear can debilitate or craze, wreaking havoc. But, fears do not have to become excessive. We have the power and ability to make choices that limit and remove fear-damage.
The key is to face each fear and nip it in the bud, before it swells to excessive proportions/perceptions.
When faced and nipped in the bud, fear educates and serves as the catalyst that triggers courage. When faced over time, fear can be a vital part of the process for building self-confidence. Fear, properly faced and nipped in the bud, is the fundamental building block for strong character and influence.
Perhaps fear is a necessary precursor to, the essential ingredient for, true self-confidence. That seems to be an accurate description of one key role fear plays in our lives, the other key aspect being self-protection.
Fear protects.
Fear is at the roots of strength of character.
Really, considering the positive roles fear alone serves better than all other mindsets combined, we do not have to fear fear. We simple have to muster the conviction to work through our fears.
The key thing: we need to understand how fear affects our energy. Is it killing our energy? Is it kindling or sparking our energy? Shun the former. Embrace the latter.
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