Recently I finished Tribes by Seth Godin. His books are always interesting and insightful. In Tribes he had a point that hit home for me. The point went something like this.
(more…)The Stories People Believe
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Observations and Interpretations
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Driving any work forward and making progress is difficult. When there are individual people and feelings involved (as there always are) it makes it even more difficult. In the past few months, I have used what I will call observation and interpretation mapping to help me and others focus on the work and less on the people involved in it.
(more…)Standards
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I recently attended a talk given by Noelle Pikus-Pace who won the silver medal in the sport of skeleton at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Before she got into skeleton, she was dedicated to becoming a collegiate athlete in track in field. Noelle competed in the decathlon which is an event that covers ten track and field events including the high jump and pole vault.
The jumping events have a horizontal bar held up by two poles called standards. The standards mark the height of the bar and when the event begins the standards move up as jumpers clear the bar. The standards and bar never go down throughout the competition, once they are set, they only go up.
(more…)Rumination
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Nearly a year ago my wife, my son, and I went through what I would describe as a traumatic experience. My son who was just a little over one sustained burns on his body, primarily on his feet and hands. This experience kicked off a series of problems or challenges that we have faced and continue to face as a family.
(more…)Loss and Purpose Determine Your Progress
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Sometimes you meet those people who distill information down in such a way that it feels obvious. One day I hope to be one of those people.
Recently in a conversation with leaders we were talking about resistance to change and one of the leaders had a formula that resonated with me.
(more…)Prune to Strengthen
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In my backyard I have two trees that are young and still seeking to take strong hold in the desert.
At the bottom of the tree were little saplings that looked very healthy. They were present early in the springtime as little buds and by the time I did anything about them it was nearly a whole tree by itself at the root of the trunk.
(more…)Change Your Behavior Through Small Sustained Experiments
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I have written a few times about what I am learning from an accident my son experienced and this week I learned something new from the physical therapist.
My son’s toe requires stretching to have it lay flat like the rest of the toes. The physical therapist showed us the few stretches we need to be doing and then said:
(more…)Connecting Mental Maps
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For as long as I can remember, I have been directionally challenged. I grew up in Washington state where the roads curve, the trees are tall, and major landmarks to help with orientation are difficult to come by. Navigation anywhere for me (even to this day) can be incredibly difficult without the aid of Google Maps.
This does not mean I have not been getting better. Since my wife and I have been married (nearly 12 years) we have lived in eight different cities. The pattern is always the same for me. I do not know how to get anywhere; I rely 100% on Google Maps to get me to my destination. Over time I start to build a map in my head. My pattern has been that after about 6-8 months in a single place I have a few maps built in my head. Once I get to a certain place where my map starts, I can figure out where I am, but my mental maps do not always connect. Common locations are mapped out first, the kids’ school, grocery store, and church. Then less common areas start to populate and grow the maps.
(more…)Becoming a More Effective Leader
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On a recent star tour in Bryce Canyon, I had the opportunity to look through several high-powered telescopes.
Some of these telescopes were almost as big as I am, and all required a step ladder to get to the eye piece and see the object it was directed at in space.
(more…)Seeing Myself and Others More Clearly
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For years, my wife and I had on our list of things to do a star gazing tour at Bryce Canyon National Park. It is advertised as one of the darkest places on the planet.
This summer we were finally able to do it and I had an insight related to a post I wrote a while back on light pollution.
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