365QOD- Day1210

Habits of The Mind - Relevance

"Why does it matter?"- Deborah Meier

In the last four posts we have been talking about the habits of mind that Deborah developed.  We considered:

1. Evidence

2. Viewpoint

3. Connections

4. Conjecture

And today we will add Relevance.

The beauty of these tools is that they force us to question.  They guide us through looking for evidence, softening points of view, previously seen patterns, and looking for differences. These are all wonderful tools. 

But what if what we are drilling through does not matter?

This thinking process questions whether the answers or even the thing we are trying to understand even matter.  What if it does not?  We need to stop and focus on important things that will make a difference to us and others and not waste our previous time.

Long time ago I read a story of how Edison inspired himself to pursue an idea.  In the story he would write out a memo to himself add to why it is important to pursue an idea.  For example, a memo about the light bulb might talk about how getting a light bulb to work will eliminate the need for had lamps in homes.  Also by providing the light source a family might stay up later.  He would also mention that by getting petiole comfortable with the light bulb families would also look for other machines that could improve their lives.  Machines such add washing machines.  Edison the figured his company would provide those.  Similarly he saw that these new devices will need a power source and his company would provide that.

After Edison had created this memo he could clearly see the larger purpose to his work. He could see that by providing this he would improve the quality of peoples lives and enrich himself.  This wad enough to keep him going if the end goal was worthwhile.

Today's question is:

"What is your process of determining Relevance?"

365QOD- Day1209

Habits of The Mind - Conjecture

"What if it were different?"- Deborah Meier

In Day1208 post I talked about finding connections by looking for patterns.  This idea allows us to come up with new innovative ways to question and determine better answers.

But what if we paused and we did not see a pattern with which we are familiar? It is something completely new.  This is wonderful.  We will experience something with which we can expand our tools and knowledge.

But how do you solve it?  Well,  many posts ago I told a story of a boss who asked his team for a new idea that had been applied in other fields at least three times.  Initially it sounds like the boss wants to punish the team.  But the beauty of the lesson is that we should get out of our own small world and see what someone else is doing that we can copy instead of having to invent.

This search is the answer to our new dilemma.  We need to put on our researcher hat on and look for those examples.  Our solution might be a modified version of what has been successfully applied in other fields.  

A great example of this idea is genetic algorithms.  It uses ideas from genetics to solve a minimization or maximization problem dealing with search.  It uses genetics in an usual way outside of its normal field.  That makes the idea fresh and applied in a different field.

 Today's question us;

"Do you ever look for ideas outside your field of interest?"

365QOD- Day1208

Habits of The Mind - Connection

"Connection: Is there a pattern? Have we seen something like this before?"- Deborah Meier

 As I have written before I believe that we tend to live busy lives.. Because of this we often tend to miss obvious things that we should be noticing.  It is not only new things that we miss.  We also miss things and experiences that we have gone through before.  By missing them we end up repeating them and the mistakes.

I believe that Deborah wisely advises us to stop and notice patterns.  And more importantly, ask ourselves if we have seen that pattern before.  That pause allows us to remember what we did in the past and recall if it was effective.  This could completely change our strategy so that we do not repeat our mistakes.

By noticing the pattern we are more likely to be able to get out of the"do the same thing but expect a different result" infinite loop.  That infinite loop is the ultimate sign of insanity.  The pause should kick us out of the pattern and allow us to pose new questions and find new answers.

Today's question is:

"Do you pause to see old a patterns?"

365QOD- Day1207

Habits of The Mind -Viewpoint

"Everything looks easy, until you have to do it yourself."- old adage

The second habit of the mind is Viewpoint.  According to Deborah Meier, "Viewpoint: How might this look if w stepped into the shoes, or looked at it from different direction?"

Many years ago I read of a technique.  This powerful technique has us experience an event differently.  It looks an event from three points of view.  As an example consider an argument between yourself and another person.

First point of view is yours.  According to the technique, we should replay the argument from your eyes.  Focus on the persons reactions to your words.  Observe their body, their eyes, their voice.   What do you see?

Second point of view is from the other persons eyes.  Replay the argument but this time observe it as if you were looking through their eyes at yourself.  Take a look at your body, your eyes, your voice.

Last point of view is of a person ten feet away to the side of you two.  That person is observing both of you.  Replay the argument but this time look at the interaction between the two  the body positions, the voices, the tonality.

I believe that this technique is very powerful and should be used after arguments and sometimes before events.  After arguments it can serve as a tool to examine what went wrong.  As a coaching tool it can teach us how to improve the likelihood of a better interaction.

Today's question is:

"Do you consider the point of view of other?"

365QOD- Day1206

Habits of The Mind -Evidence

"Without data, it is just an opinion"- slogan on my cup

I believe that the quality of or level of thinking can always be improved.  I recently got through reading a wonderful book called A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger.  It detailed a technique that  Deborah pioneered.   It consists of five learning skills.  We will explore these in the next five posts. 

Evidence is the first of the five learning skills.  

"Evidence: how do we know what is true or false? What evidence counts?"- Deborah Meier

We need to question whether something is true or false.  Just because we want something to be true  does not make it so.  In my opinion we should start with assuming  that it is false.  Assuming  falsehood is a better position than assuming that it is true.  This takes the pressure off that it has to be true.  

We can then focus on the second part.  Whether it is true or false the only way to be certain is to seek evidence.  What evidence do we need to prove it one way or another?  It might require that we conduct some experiments to get the evidence.  Or simply look for a source outside of our immediate  surrounding.

Remember that it is better to fall in love with evidence and not your belief.

Today's question is:

"Do you always look for evidence that counts?"

365QOD- Day1205

BREATHE

"I want to feel good, I want to feel God"- my breathing mantra

During the last seven posts I detailed the BREATHE technique for outsmarting stress.  Recall that

B- Be present in the moment(live in the now)
R- Realistic goals(set them)
E- Everyday events(notice positive events)
A- Acts of kindness(practice acts of kindness)
T- Turn negative events around(reframe bad events)
H- Humor( have a belly laugh)
E- End the day with gratitude and appreciation

I suggest that we all take an index card and carry it with us.  Each day, several times a day, pull the card out and read it and note opportunities that are being presented to us.

Remember that things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.  So don't ignore this simple technique to help manage your stress level.

Today's question is:
"Did you practice BREATHE today?"

365QOD- Day1204

Gratitude

"THANK YOU!"- words that we do not use enough

The last E in BREATHE acronym stands for End with Gratitude and Appreciation.

If we sit down at the end of the day and we pause for a minute or two we can easily find several people to whom we owe gratitude and appreciation for something that they did or said.  Most often it is for little things that we most likely just overlooked as it was being done for us.  We blindly missed it.

Wouldn't it be nice to sit down and jot a note to that person thanking them for that?  I recently wrote about a CEO who starts his day by writing three thank you notes. Wow!

I believe that he is correct to do so.  It shows appreciation and gratitude daily before starting the day.  Maybe it is better to start the day instead of ending it with gratitude?  Both? Or simply model the behavior during the day.

Today's question is:
"Do you end your day with gratitude?"

365QOD- Day1203

Funny... Ha Ha

"If you can't laugh at yourself, others will."- wisdom given to me many years ago

I tend to disarm criticism by being more critical of myself than the attacker.  This tends to completely take away the sting of the criticism.  After all, they figure I am harder on myself than they can ever be.

One of the beliefs that I hold dear to my heart is not to take myself too serious.  Man I laugh at my silliness all the time.  After all if I can not laugh at myself then others will have a field day.  So why not get it in before they do.  Overall I tend to be an upbeat person with very few worries than bring me down.

A good belly laugh can soften stress and has been found to improve immunity.  I also believe that laughing together will help strengthen relationships.  No one likes a grouch who just sits there and mopes.

Today's question is:
"When is the last time you had a good belly laugh?"

365QOD- Day1202

Reframing

"That is the best that could have happened."- difficult advice to accept

Not everything that happens to us is positive.  No matter how positive we attempt to be, life will sometimes knock us down so bad that we will need to get up.  The getting up part could take time.

The T in the BREATHE acronym for outsmarting stress stands for Turn Negative Events Around.

I believe when something negative occurs we need to consider what more negative events could have occurred. Do not just focus on how bad the even it.  Really dive deep into what is the worst thing that could have happened.

Once armed with the most negative, we need to take a look at what happened from the side and reframe it as a much better starting point than the worst case.  We need to reframe it as a much more positive result.  And lastly, develop a plan on how to move to a better result- to turn negative events around.

Today's question is:
"Do you reframe bad results to look for the silver lining?"

365QOD- Day1201

Acts of Kindness

"Karma is... the principle of causality where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual"- wikipedia

The A in the BREATHE acronym stand for Acts of Kindness.

I believe that we need to realize that others around us are simply parts of ourselves.  Even the most evil spirits around us are a part of the universal source to which we are all attached. Yes, even the evil ones.

AS this part of stress reduction guides us, make it a point to perform an act of kindness and make someone's day.  Even better try to create a positive event for someone randomly.  This would make it even more meaningful to them.

One of my favorite commercials shows how one act of kindness leads to another which leads to another and it keeps going.  The ending of the commercial comes back to the original act of kindness giver.  That is karma.  You get what you put out.  Put out warmth and love and you will recieve it.  Whatever you want, put it out into the universe.

Today's question is:
"What random act of kindness di you perform today?"

365QOD- Day1200

Everyday Events

"Stuff happens everyday that we miss"- an observation

The E in the BREATHE acronym for reduction of stress is Everyday Events.

One of life lessons is that life moves on while we are making plans.  In a rush, we often tend to just notice the negative events in our lives.  We seldom stop and just notice the positive events.  BUT noticing is not enough.

We need to celebrate the positive events.  When they happen, we need to share them with our family, friends, and co-workers.  This is just as important as complaining about the bad events.

Why is that we complain daily BUT celebrate seldom?

Our focus tends to be negative based.  Noticing the bad creates the stress that we need to reduce.  We must balance that by trying to increase the number of positive events in our lives.

Today's question is:
"What positive even did you notice and celebrate today?"

365QOD- Day1199

Realistic Goals

"Be realistic!"- words often given as an excuse to not follow a path

The R in the BREATHE acronym is Realistic Goals

It does not serve our purpose to be too realistic and also it does not serve our purpose to be too unrealistic.  This is just my opinion.  There is a fine line between those two types of goals.

In my world, when dreaming then dream BIG.  But when applying then make sure that the dream can be realistically executed.  Otherwise stress will show up at your door.

So what is the right mix?

I am back to the 80/20 rule.  20 percent of your dreams need to scare the hell out of you.  They have to have a feeling that you can fail.  And often you will.

The other 80 percent need to be realistic and achievable.  When I say achievable that means that with a plan and persistence the achievement is certain.  You only have to keep moving to get to the goal.

For the "unrealistic" you still need to create a plan as if it is realistic. BUT hopefully as you move towards the goal you will start seeing things that will help guide you.  There is no guarantee except that you need to keep moving.  Without movement and action the goal will stay unrealistic and you will fail.

As Dr. Sierpina advises, "Make these(realistic Goals) for the moment, the day, and celebrate their achievement."

Today's question is:
"Do you have Realistic Goals?"

365QOD- Day1198

Breathing

"BREATHE"- label to stress reduction technique by Dr. Victor Sierpina

Dr. Sierpina writes a column in my local paper The Daily News.  He recently wrote an article in which he gives a technique for outsmarting stress.  I will break down his technique over the next seven posts.

B is for Be Present

I have written before about the ides of being present.  We often find ourselves reliving the past or looking forward to the future so much that we fail to live in the present.  Our ability to reduce stress is limited by the percentage of time we spend being present.

How do we become more present?

In past columns I have talked about a mindfulness bell.  It is an app that can be set o randomly go off and allow you to ask yourself if you are being present.

Another column talks about a faceless watch that vibrates every five minutes to remind you of the passage of time.  This is another great tool.

Today's question is:
"How do you keep yourself in the present?"

365QOD- Day1197

Serial Mastery

"Now master this."- unusual advice

Most of us are lucky if we master one thing in our life.  I mean truly master it to the point that there is only a few others who are at the same level as us.  This is why the title of tis post is intriguing.

Are we headed for a life where we must master more than one thing?

I believe that with the speed of innovation we are.  We must develop systems where we can walk into situations and quickly develop skill and within a year or two develop mastery.

Within a year or two?

Yes!  There is so much change that is occurring around us that we need to become more adaptive.  The hamster wheel has started to move faster and faster.

The nice part of this level of change is that no matter what you pick to master, even if you are wrong, then you will get another chance in two years.  So enjoy the quick learning and mastering!

Today's question is:
"What techniques and tools would you use to truly master anything in two years?"

365QOD- Day1196

Knowledge is Overrated

"Right now, knowledge is a commodity.  "- Tony Wagner

This statement is pretty scary.  Could it be possible?  It is possible but what does it mean?

In past posts I have talked about the difficult transition from raw data to information.  And the even  more difficult transition from information to knowledge.  It is the process from data to understanding  the data to how to use the information.

This quote suggests that the process is overrated.  That anyone can do it without putting in the time  to work with the data until it becomes information.  Not to even mention the long time it takes to  convert the information into knowledge.

I disagree with Tony.  The process is too difficult and time consuming and individual to be a  commodity.  It is not possible.

I believe that there exist a lot of sources of data and information on the Web.  But just because you  have access to a cookbook it does not make you a chef.  To become a chef you must know the raw  ingredients, the procedure detailed in the recipe, before we can put our own twists.  The twist might be the type of seasonings you use and knowing when to put it into the food.

Today's question is:

"Do you believe that knowledge is a commodity?"

365QOD- Day1195

Sitting is the New Smoking

"Sitting for most of the day reduces your life "- wisdom

For most of our history men has been a hunter or a farmer.  Both of these types of ways to make a   living force men to be active.  Modern day work does the opposite.

Recently a new trend is emerging.  I have seen coworkers purchase desks that are able to raise in  order for them to be able to stand and work.  Varidesk is one brand of such a desk.

Another type of desk includes a treadmill.  The person walks at two miles per hour.  So in theory if  one uses the treadmill for just for hours a day, the person would have walked about eight miles.   Pretty  impressive.

I believe that if someone has an office to themselves this could be wonderful way to get exercise in  during the day.  But if you do not then using a treadmill could be very disruptive.  Walking is a great way to clear the mind and this type of desk could be very helpful to the creative process.  So there are positive and negative aspects of it.

Today's question is:

"Could you use a treadmill for a full day?"

365QOD- Day1194

Do Not Question

"Stop asking questions!"- a frustrated adult

Kids from ages two to five have a straight up line as to the number of questions that they ask.  

It peaks at about 400 per day.  That is a lot of questions!

What is sad is the second part of the curve.  From the peak at five to end of high school the curve is  also a straight line but this time straight down.  If we max out at 400 then by end of high school we   are at 40 questions per day.

Wow!

So the bright eyed bushy talked kids are reduced to zombies.  They are reading more and writing   more by end of high school.  But unfortunately those two are simply ways of capturing facts and  opinions.  Seldom does reading and writing question everything as a five year old.

The magic of questioning is lost in favor of fact regurgitation.  Sadly this is how we become prepared 
for the corporate world.  No wonder we do not question silly ideas?

Today's question is

"How many questions per day do you ask?"

365QOD- Day1193

Deleting Instead of Adding

"Delete an app a day" -my new idea

 We are always adding things to our lives.  We add projects that will never get completed.  We add  people and then we do not keep in touch. We add and add.

One of the things that we quickly and painlessly add is new apps.  We see an ad or get a  recommendation and pretty soon we just hit download.  But no different than projects and people, we never use it.  Even though we thought the app was great we simply never open it.

So I have been thinking.  Maybe we should get rid of an app pet day.  Probably for many apps this  will not cause us pain.  But after many days we will reach a point where it will cause us pain.  The pain I am talking about it the mental  pain of not wanting to get rid of it.  

I believe that this deletion process will help us get clarity as to what we truly use or not use.  Maybe all of the tools are not the right tool for us.  Or maybe we have outgrown them.

Today's question is

"Could you delete an app a day on your smart phone?"

365QOD- Day1192

4000 People Power

"Company X laid off 4000 people today."- a news story

I was talking with a friend today and he told me a story that when he went to San Francisco last year a local company announced the lay off of 4000 people.  He could not get his mind around that big of a loss. Nor could I.

In yesterday's post I talked about the Lifetime Value of an Employee.  These days employee work product sometimes sticks around far longer than the employees. So we should nurture work that will stay around and help other employees.

When I see stories like these it makes me wonder about the loss of brain potential of these employees to the employer.  Sometimes these decisions are make for a reason but often to improve the bottom line.  Improving the bottom line is important but the work typically does not go away and it gets absorbed by the employees who won the beauty contest.

It makes me wonder what would happen if those 4000 people joined up and formed a company to compete against their old employer?  If they all chipped in a few thousands and took a portion of ownership instead of salary for a few months, would they be able to create a business with a better product than the one offered by their former employer.

The only reason why I can come up with that they would not is lack of money on hand to get started not ability.

Today's question is:
"What stops 4000 people from uniting to create a new business?"

365QOD- Day1191

Lifetime Value of an Employee(LVE)

"What is the LVE of this employee?"- My question to a hiring manager

Most of us in business like to think in terms of Lifetime Value of a Customer(LVC).  Simply the LVC is the perceived value that doing business with that customer will contribute to your business.  Some are very valuable and others are not.

No one talks about the lifetime value of an employee.  So this is a concept that I am proposing. Why?

Many years ago I worked in a steel mill.  While there I created many procedures and papers.  I would predict that if I walked into my old office there will still be two three inch binders full of papers.  So even though I left 13 years ago the value of what I worked on is still being utilized by my former employer.  The same is true for my other employers.

How do you measure this?  If you are an employer or manager you need to give your employees some time to create things that you might utilize over time.  This requires vision from you as to what is important and will not change greatly in the next several years.

Even better, can you look at your current tasks and identify tasks that will increase your LVE.

Today's question is:
"What is your LVE?"

365QOD- Day1190

Stopping Oneself

"What prevents me from making the changes I know will make me a more effective leader?"- Marshall Goldsmith question in Inc.'s 35 Great Questions article

When I read this question I immediately thought why should it be limited to leadership.  Not every one of us is  a leader.  Some of us are doers.

The question could easily be rephrased as:.
"What prevents me from making the changes I know will make me a more effective X?"  where X is anything you feel needs improving.  If you want to be a better boss then you fill boss for X.  A better parent? Better husband?  Better X where X is meaningful for you.

The question is really a gap identifier.  If answered honestly you should be able to quickly state what needs to change in order for you to be a better X.  Now making yourself change it is another hurdle.

Today's question is:
"What prevents me from making the changes I know will make me a more effective X?"

365QOD- Day1189

Insignificant Distractions

"What is that?"- loss of focus

I love two word combinations that make me stop and think for a moment.  Are there such things as insignificant distractions?  How do you measure that?

Most of us have our days tightly built around getting things done.  So when someone comes into our office to ask a quick question, we get distracted.  If it is honestly a simple question then we can rebound and continue with the flow as they leave.

Another example could be looking at a Yohoo web page and seeing an new story that catches your eye.  Well, you stop to investigate and an hour later you are still investigating.  This is more of a significant distraction.

As you can tell both of these started off as insignificant but both could turn into significant if we do not manage them.  So how do we manage distractions?

Well, when a person walks into your office unexpectedly, start walking towards the door while talking with them as if you need to go get a drink or use the bathroom.  Continue talking as you take this mental break and answering the question.

For self-abuse you have to give yourself an IF-THEN rule.  IF I read this article THEN I will go back to work within 5 minutes. This way you stop the temptation to surf.

Today's question is:
"How do you stop distractions?"

365QOD- Day1188

MBWA

"What?"- my question

I had a boss who one day walked up to my office door.  I asked him what he was doing and he said MBWA.  I could not help but ask him what the heck is MBWA? He said management by walking around.  He then continued to walk past my office.

I could not believe my ears.  He was not managing by walking around.  What he was doing was simply snooping around- MBSA(managing by snooping around). Not surprisingly in his case, he just did not know the difference.

What is the difference?

When a manager is looking to be of service then he practices MBWA.  He makes himself seen in order to help their team with any issue that they need to bring to them.  This free access builds trust and bonds over time.

MBSA is a silly power game of looking to catch people doing something you can reprimand them for.  It is a waste of time.  If you look you will always find something.  You should be looking to build strengths and not slam people for weaknesses.  Unfortunately, many bosses do not understand this principle.

Today's question is:
"Are you MBWA or MBSA?"

365QOD- Day1187

Management By Walking Around

"Do you want a ride?"- my question to the plant manager

Several years ago I worked in a refinery.  Because of its vast size we used to use little SUVs to get around.  It was that or ride your bike or walk.  (Eventually we went to a bus system)

In winter time I would often pick up anyone walking so that it would make it easier for them. One person that always refused a ride was the plant manager.  I knew him well so his refusal did not surprise me.

I would offer and he will tell me that this was his way of getting exercise and meeting people.  He liked to be able to go on the different units and really see what was going on instead of being reported to.  I admired this.  Interestingly, his immediate staff did the opposite.

After several attempts I joined Dan's club and started walking everywhere in the plant.  He was correct.  You do meet new people and see things from a different perspective.

Today's question is:
"Do you manage by walking around?"

365QOD- Day1186

Unusual Uses

"Who uses our product in ways we never expected"- Kevin P. Coyne

As inventors we tend to think of a singular use for anything we design.  But this quote provides us with an idea that maybe we should not be so ready to jump in that one box.  Maybe we have multiple boxes? Let me tell you a story.

Many years ago I designed a physical puzzle that was very unique.  I had the puzzle built by one of my co-workers out of wood.  Later on in the day, I added the chains, balls, and rings.  Cool little puzzle.

Later on that evening when I went home I could hardly wait to play with my new game.  Over the years I have learned that physical puzzles need to be solved in forwards and backwards direction.  So for the next several hours, at about 1-2 a.m. the next day, I felt that I had found the only solution to my puzzle.

I was so proud. This pride went for a couple of months as I watched people attempt to solve my puzzl and they were using the solution I had identified.  But then things changed soon.

During the summer I had an intern working for me and he wanted to solve the puzzle.  Well, I said OK.  He took it to his office and found a completely original way to solve the puzzle.  I was blown away.  I had been certain that my solution was unique.  BUT in the end he showed that it was not.

Today's question is:
"Can your product be used in an unexpected way?"

365QOD- Day1185

To Be List

"What are you going to be in the future?"- a question to a child

The other day I was reading an article on The Difference Between Successful People and Unsuccessful People on LinkedIn by Dave Kerpen.  He gives 16 differences that he noted on a postcard by Andy Bailey.  All differences were good but the title of this post clicked with me immediately.

We often ask this question of small kids and kind of chuckle to the response because we know that most likely they will change their mind.  But what about if we asked the question of ourselves?

As adults we should know what we want to be when we grow up. Heck...at least by middle age we should.  But I believe there is a bigger lesson in this list.

To me the list is a great way to chart your future.  You are dreaming about what you want to be.  It could be as simple as being a better parent.  A better presenter.  More successful.

I believe that we should all get our journal book and think through for each key area in our lives a To Be goal.  These could be one for each area such as: spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, financial, creative, etc.  Each of these key areas will vary for each of us.  Let your child imagination come out.

Today's question is:
"What will you put on your To Be list?"

365QOD- Day1184

Long Term Remembering 

"and then you place the tire under the car..."- my dad instructing me on how to change a tire

When I was young my dad worked on his car often.  He would have me sit by him and observe.  Once in a while he would ask me to hand him a tool.

I learned how to repair quite a few things.  But I never actually did those until later when I had a car of my own.  So I was never sure that I had learned how until I tried it out when needed.

The other night while coming back home in the middle of the night I had to replace a tire by the side of the road.  The tire had a nail in it and it leaked out.  So at 11:30 at night by the side of the road, without a flashlight,  I had to change the tire.

Just because changing a tire is simple does not mean you can do it quickly or easily at night by the side of the road in total darkness.  Phones do not give out a lot of light to work by.  Similarly, finding a grove under the car to place a jack under is hard when you can not see too well.

To say the least, there were many issues but in the end I managed to replace the tire.  The challenges I ran into required me focus and not panic.  In the end knowing the flow helped but I still made a couple of amateur mistakes: not placing rocks behind and in front of the tires, not placing the damaged tire under the car after removal.

It made me wonder how we re-construct old learnings when we need them.  In this instance I had seen my dad changing a tire so I can go back and play the film in my mind.  But other learnings might be only read from a book and harder to re-construct.  They might require thinking for a while.

Today's question is:
"How do you reconstruct something you learned many years ago when needed?"

365QOD- Day1183

High Impact Short Duration

"Have you seen Millenium park?"- my question to my Chicago suburb students

On Saturday I drove four and a half hours to Dallas for a meeting. Couple of friends and I had six hours when we were there to see the city.  So the night before I did research on what there is to do in downtown Dallas.

It was amazing how much activity you can squeeze into six hours.  We saw Kennedy's assassination spot, two museums, Pioneer plaza, a couple of parks, etc.  It required a lot of walking but it was worth it.

To point of this post is for us to realize that often where we live are many things to do and see.  We live as if we can always do those things tomorrow.  Unfortunately, we do not.

Tourists come to a city with a plan and limited time.  They want to see the most important places during the short duration that they have.  So with a plan, a date, and willingness to walk you can be like a tourist and visit places of high impact.

Today's question is:
"Which places in your home town are high impact places that you have not visited? When"

365QOD- Day1182

Motivational Conversations

"The core of her program(Dr. Wendy Slusser), however, involves communicating with kids in a style known as motivational interviewing.  Instead of dictating advice, doctors try to get patients to articulate by themselves how they can change their behavior.  A statement like 'You could ride your bike for an hour instead of sitting at the computer.' will never have the same impact as asking the child what activities they like to do and figuring out how to help them do those activities more often.  It's more time consuming, but the payoff is worth it."- Alice Park, Time article on Young Kids, Old Bodies

At this point in the year, most employees have gotten their yearly evaluation and their adjustments.  How many feel great about the process?  Well, probably the small minority that got higher raises this year than their counterparts.  How long does that good adjustment last?  I believe the effect of a great raise lasts about a month.  After that the grind gets in the way and you quickly forget about the few extra dollars in your check.

How is this related to the quote?

Well, having conversations with team members and employees is something that a leader needs to do more often than once a year.  However, I have had leaders who refused to meet with me regularly even though I was their direct report.  Sad.

This quote teaches a great strategy for improvement.  It spells out that to effectively change a behavior we must get the person doing the behavior to verbalize what change they will implement instead of us driving the change.  This gives the person power instead of it feeling like punishment.

Any reasonable change has to come from the inside.  It has to be intrinsically driven.  It can not be externally driven or it will only last a short time.  If it is external, the employee will satisfy the change request but the behavior will re-appear after a year.  The employee will go back on the "in trouble" list.

Motivational conversations are very important to team development.  It allows the team to self-evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and out loud voice what the team member will do for the benefit of the team.  They are more likely to fulfill the self imposed demand because they do not want to let the team down.  Very powerful!

Today's question is:
"Do you practice motivational conversations?"

365QOD- Day1181

Small Solutions

"What is the smallest subset of the problem we can usefully solve?"- Paul Graham, founder Y-combinator

This is a question that I have asked myself many of times in my life.  It eliminates the paralysis of having to do it all in one shot.  It allows for the belief that by solving a smaller problem we will be flexible enough to solve the bigger problem.  Let me give you an example.

While studying for my Masters I had to derive proofs of why a concept was true or false.  I would always look for the initial case and then the next case and lastly extrapolate for the largest case.

For example, lets say I am trying to prove a math theorem for matrix of size n by n.  I can quickly show that for the smallest matrix possible 2 by 2 it holds true.  Then I can show that for 3 by 3 it holds true.  I can then theoretically show that for some number k the matrix k by k the property holds.  Lastly, I can conclude that as k moves towards n the property will hold true.

The same idea can be applied for developing products.  Get the minimum acceptable product out the door and then slowly modify one thing about it and study the feedback from your customer.  Next improve the product and release a better version.

Today's question is:
"Do you try to solve the whole problem or do you aim for the smallest subset?"

365QOD- Day1180

Short, Medium, and Long Term Thinking

"What are the implications of this decision 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years from now?"- Suzy Welch

I believe that often when evaluating decisions we operate in the short to medium time frame.  Most decisions do not seem to affect our long term visions and therefore we use the 10 minute and 10 month horizons.

Unfortunately, this sets us up for failing to see the big trends in our lives.  The decisions that are good for us in the next 10 minutes might be horrible when viewed in 10 years time frame.  Cheeseburger anyone?

I believe that Suzy's quote offers a pause for us to quickly ask ourselves the three questions:
1. What will be the implication of this decision in 10 minutes?
2. What will be the implication of this decision in 10 months?

3. What will be the implication of this decision in 10 years?

In my opinion we should be able to answer this from the top of our head and quickly get a feel for the level of this decision.  Consider the cheeseburger question.

1. In 10 minutes my hunger will be satisfied

2. In 10 months my waist will increase if I repeat this choice

3. In 10 years of this bad choice my arteries will be plugged

Immediately, we can see that choosing to eat the cheeseburger only is beneficial to our short term self.  Maybe there is a better choice for a meal?

Today's question is:

"Do you pause to consider the 10min/10month/10year implications of your decisions?"