Monthly Archives: October 2016

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Halloween is back

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A year ago on Oct 31st I mused about whether Halloween was a holiday or not.  My conclusion was strictly speaking, based on the common definition of a holiday, Halloween is not one.

What goes around comes around

As I was thinking about today’s post it occurred to me to rant a bit about how people treat Oct 31st as a holiday even though it’s not.  I suddenly had a sense of deja vu.

I checked last years post and sure enough, that rant was already covered.  At least I am consistent.

Some more thoughts on All Hallows Eve

Holiday or not (and it is not) the common practices of wearing costumes and going around the neighborhood in the evening asking your neighbours for treats does have some real merit.

Merit you say; well the act of giving makes most feel good and for the young (who make up most of the recipients) the act of recieving candy, or some similar treat, is not too bad.

The candy manufacturer’s in North America do 50% of their sales in October so they are happy too.  A day which has celebratory behaviours that give pleasure to most can’t be that bad (holiday or not)

Fortunately, although the catchphrase is “trick or treat”  I find that not too many play tricks, mostly being happy with the treats.  Of course we have consistently given out candy, so no reason to pull tricks on us.

All for Now

Those costumed blighters are at the door screaming for a trick or a treat so I got to go.   Happy Halloween all.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Enjoying every moment

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From birth, we have been given  a great opportunity to seek personal pleasure, happiness and joy.  Whether we do or not is a personal choice.

Emotions like anger, frustration, anxiety and others like them don’t fit into the pleasure category for me.  Yet they exist, and although my goal is pleasure I sometimes cannot stop myself from feeling these unpleasant emotions.

Emotional Management

Meditation, quiet reflection or solitary comptemplation are just some of the techniques I have observed others using,and have used myself, to comtrol manage and even eliminate these negative emotions.

I have found though that the most powerful practice is self awareness.  That is interpreting how you are feeling, diagnosing why you feel that way, determine if it acceptable or appropriate and accept or alter the feeling based on this analysis.

At peak operation this self awareness operation is all completed “in the moment”.  A highly skilled practitioner of self awareness rarely gets hooked by external factors and behaves for their own pleaasure (as long as it does not impede on that of others).

Developing the skill

Self awareness is a consciously practised learned behaviour.  You are not born with this skill (i.e., not an inherited trait) but rather must teach yourself the practice.

Like so many skills, you start at the bottom range and through experience and practice you mature your capabilities.  The pre-requisite is only recognition this skill exists, is of value and is key to you maximizing your personal pleasure.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

How you get there matters

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Understanding and accepting a goal, setting a plan to achieve it and then executing the plan.  This is a generic description of the achievement cycle each of us goes through repeatedly.

You might not consciously flow through the steps, however it is highly probable, if not a certainty, that you have completed this cycle at least once, if not hundreds of times in the past 6 months.

What’s the Point?

As I have noted many times in the past, knowing where you are going, that is, what you are trying to achieve (i.e., the goal) is a critical component  to success.

In this context, my reference to success is specifically about the accomplishment of a aim or purpose with the assumption that the purpose is positive, desirable and fulfilling.

What Matters Most

Assuming you buy in to the value of the achievement cycle, the question for today is which aspect matters most?  The goal itself, the determing of the goal, the plan or the execution.

Think of it this way, the goal is to deliver a new product to your customer.   You are not sure if the customer needs the product and the plan is to figure out how to create the product (and even what it is) as you go along.

During the execution phase, building something you are not sure is wanted, according to the seat of your pants, you remove all roadblocks with dynamite leaving a trail of bodies.

Good Outcomes

The product is created so the  goal is achieved.  The overall outcome though is another question.

This exaggerated example is intended to highlight the need for effective completion of ALL aspects of the achievement flow (including goal selection, planning and execution).

Focusing just on the final outcome can be very a very dangerous approach and often not at all sustainable.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Justifying yourself

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My collegues and I had a robust discussion today about how leaders ( good or bad) will use external concepts to support their ambitions.  Things like religion, race, culture, language and so on.

Real or Imagined Differences

The most common theme focuses on the percieved danger by tolerating and co-existing with those who practice different religions, cultural behaviours or speak a foreign language.

The funny thing is most of these practices have more in common than differences.  Religion is a prime example of these.

The names of the religions and their detailed behaviours may vary, however, on the whole all religions acknowledge a higher power (some deity) and profess to follow a basic set of values commonly recognized by humans as good.

That is respect of others, charity , humility, honesty and the list continues.  So why do followers cast these beliefs aside and wage wars, torture and humiliate others in the name of their religions.

Power Grab

Sadly , persuasive leaders can use things like religion, culture, race, etc. to encite actions in their followers.  Not surprising, on the whole the prime objective is to benefit the leader.

The use of misdirection and scapegoating are well known and effective techniques to build a power base.  This is a well known way to leverage the emotions of the masses to your bidding.

And throughout history repeated misuse of this technique leads to takeovers of countries, wars and violence/ death of many innocent millions.   We see it, we document it, but we have not stopped it.

Take a moment to think about the current US presidential race.  Donald Trump’s huge popularity and rise to power is just another clear example of this type of misuse.

In this case abuse of other cultures (Muslims, Mexicans and others)  are one of his key stepping stones to popularity and yet conceptually his prejudices go against the basic human value of respect for all.

And yet, he still may be elected.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The Art of Dying

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On my drive to work this morning an old George Harrison song was played on the radio.  It is from the “All Things Must Pass” album of which I had bought a copy back in 1973 ( the original release date)

I had not listened to the song in years and found myself really listening, particularly to the lyrics.  This time around I wondered “What is this about”.

Previous listens to the song focused on the music and the tunefulness of the lyrics, much more so than the meaning.  Maybe because I am older and closer to death, the meaning of the lyrics really peaked my interest this morning

A spiritual concept

Following a read through the lyrics and a little research (what would we do without Google) I determined the main theme of the song.   It is based on the Hindu concept of reincarnation.

Simply stated, if your soul is not ready to rise to Heaven on your death (due to too much Karmic debt) you are reincarnated.  The cycle continues until you have mastered the ” Art of Dying” and your soul is finally free of the material world.

Death is Inevitable

What initially attracted my attention to the song this morning was the underlying philosophy that life is not really about the art of living but rather should focus on the enevitable conclusion of life, no one escapes – death.

An interesting perspective, your live is perhaps best spent preparing for death, that is, teaching yourself the art of dying .

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Investment Risk Management – more thoughts

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I continue to blog on and off about investing.  That is expending money with the expectation of a profit or positive material gain.  Of course just expecting profit or material gain does not make it so.

Things to avoid

Obviously the number one event to avoid when investing is to have a return of less value or benefit than the original amount invested.  More simply stated “taking a loss”.

It is easy to conceptualize this goal, it is a little harder be confident in it’s achievement.  Simply stated, when investing you run a risk of loss  and taking steps to mitigate that risk is just prudent.

There are many approaches to mitigating risk.  Some common terms you have probably heard include diversification, hedging, insurance, guarantees and holding real property (e.g., gold bullion).  To nane just a few.

Top Risk Mitigator

My own personal approach to reducing  risk, the first thing I always do, is my own research, not relying on someone elses.  This does not mean other advice, research and consultation is not extremely valuable.

It simple means you are the one expending the money so only you can properly understand and accept the risk.  This is no ones decision but your own.

Regardless of any specific risk mitigation actions you might take (diversification, guarantees and so on) the first step toward risk mitigation is the expenditure decision itself.

My advice, never delegate that and never let anyone persuade you as to what is the best decision.  In this case, only you can choose wisely, it’s your money (of course it it all about you).

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Sending a Message using Humour

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Simply put, behaviour that provokes laughter or provides amusement can be considered humerous (English versus American spelling).

Typically humour creates good feelings.  Try laughing and being angry or sad at the same time. It is possible but hard to do and usually the humour would at worst temper the angry or sad feelings.

Sending. message with Humour

Using humour to send a message might reduce the clarity and impact of the message; however it undoubtedly increases receptivity.

Hiding a message within a humerous interaction can often cause it to be missed or downplayed .  This can be both an advantage (the message is softened so receptivity increased) and a disadvantage in that the message could be completely ignored and have no impact.

Use with Care

Highlighting a behaviour you would like to see modified in a light and airy way is easier than the direct and difficult conversation.  I often see less effective leaders/managers opt for this approach.

They are uncomfortable with the difficult discussion and so avoid it. Humour lets them get the message out and save themselves some stress.

As I have noted here , there are a lot of good reasons to use humour to effect behaviour change, unfortunately this is not one of them.  It can often result in the situation not being resolved.

Since the direct approach is shunned,  in these cases the issue often remains unresolved.  Additionally the manager/leader might try to use the humour repeatedly.  It did not work at first so try again.

Funny thing about humour though, on repeated use it often morphs into something offensive.  At that point the chances of eliciting positive change become severly diminished.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Organizational Politics in Action

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Yesterdays post was a high level view of the games that are played out within organizations. I referred to these as office politics.  In fact these are serious strategies usually targeted toward harming others, and not really “games ” at all.

The disclaimer

First the disclaimer, this is a fictitious example, I am making it up.  Any similarities or resembalance to situations or people you know is purely coincidence.

Given this type of scenario plays out in homes and offices across the country at, possibly daily, it would be no surprise to me if you can associate it with a personal real life situtation, but again, I am making it up to provide clarity about office politics.

Seeking Power – The Example

A given manager seeks more granted power from the organization.  This can be through a promotion or an organizational change or even just a title change that creates the perception of importance.

Achieving these results through performance is one strategy to achieve this goal. It probably entails hard work and takes time.  Is there a short cut?

The behaviour associated with organizational or office politics is in fact usually just that, a short cut to the power.  First the manager plots their strategy.

In this example it is to discredit a peer such that the disfavour will result in their demotion or even termination.  He or she can then fill the void, grow their power and prestige.

Of course there are lots of ways to do this, most entail stabbing them in the back while seeming like a friend.

These strategies include things like sabotaging thier work, fixing outcomes to make them look bad, planting  negative rumours and gossip, undermining their authority without appearing to do so and the list goes on but hopefully you get the point.

As I posted yesterday, when I see these plays underway, my most common reaction is to run for the exits.  Unless of course I am the target, but how I would react in that case is a topic for a future post.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Playing Games

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Organizations of all types (charitable, corporate, government, social)  all are subject to some form of internal politics.  Some more skeptical people simply refer to this as game playing.

Often called office politics, to put a boundary on the play space,  these are strategies that people play to gain advantage, personally or for a cause they support.

The term often has a negative connotation, in that it refers to strategies people use to seek advantage at the expense of others or the greater good.

What to do?

The first, and most important, step in sucessfully navigating organizational politics is identification.  That is recognizing that a strategy is in play.

While not always possible, determining the goal of the strategy and forcasting how it will be played out can be very helpfu to you when deciding how to react.l

The key though, is understanding a political strategy is in play, even if the way it is playing out is not really clear.  From this point the question is will it benefit or harm me?

The next step is to determine your reaction – that is either play or avoid.  If you decide to play be sure you can be in control, limit your risk, and won’t be played yourself.  Otherwise select an avoidance approach.

Well played strategies can cause you harm, this is true if you are the target or even just an innocent bystander.  This is where recognizing somethings in play and staying away can be beneficial.

If you choose to play, obviously you should have a personal goal in mind (if there is no benefit to you, why play) and remember this is the riskier approach.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Apple TV

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I have a second generation apple TV.  At the time I got it the HD standard for apple tv was 720p.  Many display devices were not better than that, so it was okay . Today most monitors, projectors and TV’s do a minimum of 1080p.

Apple TV Options

I was surprised to find a new generation 3 apple TV was the same price as my gen 2, about $90 cdn (could vary slightly if retailer has a sale on).

The main difference between the gen 2 and gen 3 is the availability of 1080p resolution.  Gen 3 has an A5 processors vs. the A4 in the gen 2 device but the A5 dual core is not active and the clock speed the same on both by default (1 gigahertz)

Finally there is the gen 4 which comes with 32 gig storage ($190) or 64 gig ($260).  interesting that they brought device storage back (gen2 and 3 basically have none, although gen 1 had 40 or 80 gig)

The gen 4 processor has an A8 processorwith the dual core activated and 1.4 gigahertz.  It also has a rechargable Siri remote (worth $89 if purchased on it’s own) vs. the manual replacable battery remote on gen 2 and 3 (no Siri, no bluetooth)

 Available New

Both gen 3 and 4 are available new.  Given the heavy competion in set top TV boxes (Roku, Android like Kodi, Gobbang, etc) Apple wants to make sure they  a competively priced device that features the iStore.

They still want to offer a technology upgrade for those that want it, albeit at a higher price point.  This case the target is not new set top TV buyers ( whom will buy from the iStore) but more upgraders.

Given iStore sales are a real profit driver more so than the hardware, Apple continues to sell and market both gen 3 (focused on new buyers) and gen 4 (focused on functionality upgraders.

Pretty smart on Apples part.   I went for the gen 4 because the remote connects via blue tooth so does not need IR line of site – that was a big pain for me.