Second Degree

I don't know about you, but my world has been a whirlwind during these last few weeks.  A lot has happened really quickly and I continue to learn things throughout this process. 

As we all move through life, the people that we count on are those we keep closest to us.  They are those we count as our closest friends and our dearest confidantes.  They are the folks that support us through the tough times and tell us how wonderful we are ... all of the time.  I have leaned on these people in the last three months in ways that I can barely describe.  I will always be thankful to each and every one of them.

In the middle of everything, though, there was something else I learned.  Within this group of closest friends, and it is the same for all of us, we all have the same information.  We all  know about the same open jobs, the same opportunities, and the same things that the rest of the group knows.  I think that it is part of what makes this group really comfortable for us.  It often even seems that this kind of group has its own language.  If you doubt what I say, spend a little time around high school or college students who are close friends with each other.  You will quickly learn that they know their universe very well and those of us on the outside are barely able to understand their language, either spoken or written.

Okay, now comes the part that was most interesting for me.  It is not necessarily from within this group of our closest friends, that the most unusual, wide-ranging opportunities come from when you are in the middle of a job search.  The most interesting leads come from the friends of your friends, or maybe even one level beyond that.  Now you may ask why I think this is true.  I believe that it is because as you go out into the levels of relationship, that is the point that you find people who are operating in completely different circles.  They are just like all of the rest of us, they have friends and acquaintences that they count on, the only difference is that their sphere of influence comes from a different overlap with the person whom we know quite well.

So, through this comes the power of a tool like Linkedin.  This is a place that glories in the layers of relationships beyond our closest friends.  It is about your entire network, all of the levels and all of the things that those levels know.  I have thought about the connections that are out there, but I have not spent enough time growing those relationships.  It is something for me to work on going forward because now I understand that within these levels are found ideas that are different than those I typically find in my circle of close friends. 

Once I begin to assimilate these new and fresh ideas from the extended network, I need to come back to my closest friends, who will help me think through what to do with them.  Well, that is what I have been thinking about this week.  I really need to figure out the best way to ask all of these smart, interconnected people questions so that I start with the widest range of possible solutions to the things that I face.

How about the Toybox?  Well, I am up to my armpits in projects.  First, there is a bunch of work we are doing for YESS for their upcoming Human Foosball tournament.  Oh, and by the way, if you have not yet signed up, there are still just a few slots open for your team and it should really be a good time.  Lets all work to make Max's event a monstrous success.  Then, I finally got the call that the lumber is ready for Terri's table.  This needs to be done for Thanksgiving.  Wow, that is really just around the corner.  We will just have to see what is possible.  You all know of course that I want this to be beautiful.  Then after that I have cutting boards to do for YESS and some for a curling bonspeil in Maine.  Looks to me like sleep may truly be optional between here and the end of the year.  Actually though, I am very excited about all of the work.  Keep your fingers crossed that I get it all done.

Have a GREAT week

Law of the Lid

As you know, I start thinking about things and then later in the week you all get to go through the thought process with me. This week I've been thinking about the Law of the Lid.  I know you can go out and Google this, but I'm going to explain what this means to me. My understanding is this: It is impossible for an organization to surpass the level of the leader.

So, if you have an organization that is led by a person that is a 6 on a scale of 10, the law would tell you that the organization will never be any more than a 6.  I have to tell you, I spent my early management years not truly believing this.

What changed?  When I was at Payless, we had a store in the region that just couldn't gain any traction.  The manager was a nice enough person and we had "stacked" the team in there with some of the best people that we had in the region.  And still, the store would not flourish.  After many visits and a great deal of angst, we decided that the problem was with the manager.  Not that he was bad, he was just not the best.  One of the best indicators of this was that in the middle of everything else, we lost a really top-notch assistant manager there for no real reason.  He just wanted to go to a different store.  We made the decision to change out the manager in that store and almost overnight, the everything changed. Customers seemed to appear from nowhere and the sales accelerated to a level not before known.

A couple of weeks ago, Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State's head coach spoke to our Rotary.  He was very interesting and a good story teller as well.  The story that went the farthest with me, though, was about when his years as a professional basketball player.  He told about a year that the team struggled, winning barely half of their games.  The coach had been a task master, focusing on the little things, even when things went well.  The following year, the only thing that changed was the head coach.  The new coach took the position that the players were professionals and should go out and do their job. Guess what? The team won virtually all of their games that year. 

With this background, what have I really been thinking about this week?  I wonder if the Law of the Lid applies to our educational system?  And even more than that, does it apply in a couple of ways.  First, is our system putting people in charge that limit the degree that an individual school, and therefore the children in the school can be successful?  It seems to me that in education, the people that come to the most senior levels of the organization are there only based upon seniority.  I wonder if this is best for the students, or is it applying a "lid"?

The second thing that I wonder is if things like "common core curriculum" and "No child left behind" are adding a lid.  Are we limiting the children that can truly fly based upon the way our system works?  I completely agree with everything that these programs are trying to accomplish, but I wonder if we are actually pulling the group down?  So, when we teach or train to the "lowest common denominator," are we limiting the way that the rest of the group can soar?  I have spoken here of education, but we see this in business all of the time in the way that we bring employees up to speed on a new procedure, or roll out a new program.  The odds are that there are people in the affected group that could do more with the new training than ever imaginable, but because we are teaching and training in such a way that a lid is applied, we will never see it.  I really wonder what would happen if we took the position that we were managing professionals and that they know the right thing to do.  Just like the team that Coach Hoiberg played on, the results could amaze.

Well, that is probably enough from me today.  I certainly don't have all, or maybe any, of the answers.  It seems to me like it is time to get smart people around a table and decide what the right thing to do is, and then get out there and do it.  I can tell you that from my perspective, I want to be able to work with and hire people that are elevens on a ten scale.  That is the way that you really move a team forward.  Make sure that your lid is never an obstacle.  And, if the time ever comes when you recognize that you are in the way of your team, figure out how to make a lateral move and get out of their way.  I know that I never want to be "the lid."

Have a great week.

Crystal Bullet

As it does in so many weeks, this topic has floated around in my head all week long, and then, just so the world reminds me that this is really what I wanted to talk about, out of the clear blue sky, the person who taught me this concept called this morning. Thanks Gene for the call and the push to action.

When I was in training, doing a lot of stand up presentation, I anguished over the fact that at the end of any presentation I knew there were people who just didn't get it.  You could tell by the look in their eyes and the questions they asked that they weren't there yet.  On the other hand, you could also tell when someone had that moment of clarity when they not only understood the concept, but owned it in a way they could use it back on the job.  I once asked Gene (my boss at the time) about this because he had done the job a lot longer than me. He explained to me this way: When you are teaching or training, you are "shooting" the person with the information that you want them to understand, embrace, and ultimately use.  Sometimes, they aren't ready to learn and the information just goes right on through (yes - in one ear and out the other).  But sometimes you have the crystal bullet.  You present the information just right, and they're ready to receive. It goes in, bounces around, and sticks.  You have true teaching at that point.

This concept has been part of my understanding for the better part of 25 years, and there have been moments when it has come back loud and clear.  There have also been times that I seemed to let it slip from my consciousness. But it's always been there.  And, as those of you that follow my blog know, I was thinking about it earlier this week, and I have continued to think about it.  This morning just helped to push me over the edge, in two ways.  The first was Gene.  The second was an acquaintance at Rotary.

After our meeting this morning, I sat down with someone that I have been trying for over a month to find time to speak with.  The problem has been completely mine.  I needed to reschedule each and every time and Jennifer has been generous enough to go along with all of these changes.  Anyway, the conversation was good this morning, covering the various corners of our collective worlds. And as happens so often, we discovered that we are connected in a very close and direct way.  This time it was through my niece, Mattia.  I never expected that one, but in the middle of the conversation we found it. 

Anyway, the crystal bullet in the conversation was about how we are all so interconnected.  The way that we know each other and the way that we all connect over time and distance.  It was a good conversation and Jennifer spoke to me about going through her career search and that found her current position through people she knew.  It completely reaffirmed for me the fact that getting to know people and allowing them to get to know me is the best way to live.

Then, after the chance to connect and have a cup of coffee, I came home to a call from the person who taught me about all of this so many years ago.  On top of that, he wanted to tell me that another mutual friend of ours, someone I've worked for in the past, has just bought a company up here. Well, at least the company that he works for has, and they will be looking for some good folks in this part of the world.  I hope this will be an opportunity to begin paying back all of the kindness that I have received in the last month.  I'm sure there is an opportunity to partner here and help good people strengthen a good company.

Finally today, just a note from the Toybox.  I have started work on a dining room table that I am crafting for some friends and am very excited the project is starting to come together.  I roughed out the legs on the lathe last weekend and will be working to finished shaping them over the next few days.  Then, hopefully, the company that has sold me the distressed heart pine, will finish their part, so I can begin work in earnest on the top.  They want the table by Thanksgiving. I'd have a lot to be thankful for that day if the table is done and in place.  More fun and pictures to come.  After that, I have some pieces to complete for a Curling Bonspiel in Maine, and I need to get some items ready for YESS for one of their fund raisers.  Lots going on here.

Have a great weekend.  We will talk next week.

A HA Moment

This isn't my regular (mostly) weekly post, just something I had to share while it was still on my mind.

In the last couple of days, I truly had something strike me that others have been trying to tell me for years.  I guess the timing and personal inclination were just right.  I just had to share this with all of you.

Yesterday I had a breakfast meeting with a gentleman who is a career coach.  One of our mutual connections suggested that it would be a good idea and also joined us to make the introduction. It was a good meeting. 

In the middle of the conversation, he suggested that I should be journaling throughout the career search that I find myself in.  People have told me for years that I need to do this and I've regularly ignored that recommendation.  But on this morning, in this conversation, I finally asked why he felt it was important and he gave me a great explanation.  He pointed out that people process thousands of words about multiple topics mentally, but when you write, you have to slow down and focus. It naturally causes you to go deeper in your thought process.  That made sense to me. After all these years, it finally makes sense and I had something concrete to hang on to.  Fascinating.

Fast forward to this morning and in the middle of a whole different conversation with a friend, all I can think about is that he should be writing and then using that platform as an entry into the world of professional speaking.  And, at the same time (you know - the mind can capture thousands of words about multiple topics - that's what I was doing) I also considered why I wouldn't entertain the same idea somewhere along the line, so maybe there will be a book from me somewhere in the not horribly distant future.

Anyway, just thinking today and needed to share.  More later in the week.

Iowa-Centric

I know that I have a tendency to repeat myself, but sometimes something comes up that is worth mentioning again, and this is one of those.  Today I want to take a moment to point out and be grateful for the way that people from the Midwest, and especially Iowa, treat each other.  In the same vein, I will give a nod of the cap to Maine, because when I've spent time out there with my sister Jaye, I've found Mainers to be very similar - they just speak a little funny.

In the last month, as I've looked for where my next passion will lie, I have run into some of the most genuinely nice people that you would ever have the opportunity to meet.  Folks have gone out of their way to introduce me to others and make sure that I am receiving everything that I need to move forward.  In several situations, people have taken time to come to a meet-up they suggested just to personally handle the introduction and ensure that the meeting got off on the right foot.  How amazing is that?

My family and I have moved six or seven times since the kids were born and we have also lived separately for a couple of extended periods.  Everywhere that we've been, we had the good fortune to meet great people and live in nice neighborhoods.  But in all of those moves, I knew I would find my way back to Iowa.  It was always about the people and the way they are interconnected.

I have to share an example.  My first day or so in this new endeavor, I had lunch with a businessman I've known for several years.  The meeting was scheduled before any of this change occurred.  I told him what had happened, and that I was exploring several options, including buying a business.  Without hesitation, he took out a pen, and on a napkin at the restaurant, wrote the contact info for an accountant and attorney I should speak with.  What an amazing gesture.  Now, fast forward 5-6 weeks to earlier this week.  My phone rang and it was the same acquaintance, wondering how things were going.  I got him up to speed, telling him that I've been working with his accountant as we look at the business purchase.  Then he tells me that he has been thinking about it and knows another person I should meet as part of my networking.  Today ... plans are made for coffee, all three of us, early next week.  This is true generosity ... Iowa values ... the right way to take care of people.

Now for the flip side of the way things work.  As you might know, I am pretty good in the kitchen.  Not brilliant, but I do all right.  Well, the day before Thanksgiving, I will be "lecturing" on sugar cookies at at the home of a man I met just this last month. I've never been to his home before.  How does this happen? As you meet new people and get to know them, all of a sudden there is a discussion about cookies and the next thing that occurs? Signed up as a guest lecturer ... on how to make sugar cookies.  We will have a ball, and trust me, I'll be making a bunch of sugar cookies between how and then. But that experience continues to point at the way that we are here.  We introduce you to others that can help your career AND invite you over to make cookies.  Like the sign on the way into my hometown said, "Just Naturally Friendlier."

If you're reading this from another state or another country (because the reporting shows that there are some of you out there), tell me about where you live.  I'll include your note in a future blog.  Looking back, about every three months something wonderful happens in Iowa to remind me about this topic, so send your thoughts and I will use them.

On a final note, I have to tell you about my daughter's twenty-first birthday.  I know she felt fully celebrated as the event went from about noon to the end of the day. Friends and family from all over stopped in to see her.

But, what I want to tell you about is a little place that we happened into on Saturday afternoon.  It is in the East Village of Des Moines and is called the Up Down: Des Moines Arcade Bar.  What a blast from the past.  They are a bar, but the fun part is that they have a bunch of classic arcade games as well.  I thought it was 75, but their website says 40, and it's only 25 cents a play.  If you want to play Pacman, Frogger, Galaga, or any of the classics, they are there.  And, to top that off, we got there for their happy hour. Two-for-one tokens.  Oh my, we were in nerd heaven.  So, next time you are in the East Village looking for something to do, I highly recommend Up Down.

Have a great week.