All posts by steve@kerrzone.com

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Keystone is back – abuse of power?

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One person can reject an $8 billion oil pipeline, as former U.S. President Obama did when he exercised his veto.  And one person can override the veto as current President Trump plans to do.

President Trump rejected the TPP (Trans Pacific Trade Protocol) and asked Trans Canada Pipelines to reapply for Keystone pipeline approval.  These are two separate points but both occurred this week.

Should one person wield such singular power?

In Canada the Head of State is largely a ceremonial role.  The leader of the elected political party (the Prime Minister) has little stand alone power and needs to rely on the consensus of elected officials to approve or reject things like trade agreements.

Canada is a monarchy led the the Queen of England whom is technically the Head of State. In the U.S. the President, as Head of State is elected and therefore it is possibly reasonable he or she could have greater unilateral authority.

This is not to say the U.S. senate and congress are not valid counterpoints to the balance of power, still though, there are things a President can proclaim uni-laterally.

Not withstanding the nations checks and balances (congress, senate and the judiciary) with a President like Mr. Trump I do get a bit uneasy.  More so than I would if say Rob Ford (deceased) had ever become the Prime Minister of Canada.

North Americans, if not the entire world, are in for an interesting four years as Mr. Trump flexes his muscles.

Ultimately, environmental decisions taken in the context that global warming and destruction of the earth are myths that should not stand in the way of progress could be his legacy.

I guess I am lucky to probably be dead by the time the impacts are really seriously being felt.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

At least two ways to travel (or more)

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Lately, for reasons unknown, my collegues and I have been exploring philoshophical and practical ideas associated with multiple options.  Yesterday’s post focused on individuals and multiple positions they might have.

Today is about the multiple ways to  a destination.

Its a two way street!

Collaberative group decisions and agreements (even if just a group of two) depend not only on the participants positions but also on which bi-ways and highways you choose to arrive at the decision.

There are always multiple paths to follow.  Today’s musing is about how you get to the destination.  Is it the winding mountain path, multi lane super highway or even a road not yet constructed and you need to blast your way through?

Also, to confuse the issue the directions chosen by different participants can be opposite at first (i.e., its a two way street and people are going both ways). You need to be careful to avoid head on collisions.

To make things more difficult, not only might the directions be opposite but the conclusions (i.e., the ultimate destination) might not be in sync.

Herding Cats

Traditionally people believe herding cats to be a difficult task.  Cats are perceived as individual and strong willed.  Getting them to follow common routes can be challenging.

The best approach is not to challenge this.  Remember, everyone is important.  This should be your mantra.  Respect everyones chosen direction.

Determining a common path for everyone to follow , through  dialogue and communication results in the best solution.  Not only is everyone going in the same direction on the same road, but it is by choice.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

There are always at least two sides.

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For this post I am going to dissect the old truism, “There are always two sides” .  I believe there is some real accuracy within this statement when you dive in a little deeper.

I will begin by clarifying the context.  In this discussion I consider the statement as it applies to a situation where more than one person is involved.

Lets Start with Sides

My simple take on this is a “side” represents a position.  Of key importance is the simple reality that each participant  will have a position.  Often we assume the statement implies these positions will be different.

In fact the number of positions is equal to the number of individuals involved but each position might be the same or very close to the same.

Reaching Consensus

Given any multiple person interraction will involve multiple positions (sides) the first step toward agreement (positions are equal) or consensus (positions are complimentary) is to determine what the various positions are.

This clear and open communication of each position enables determination of the best approach to resolution, i.e., full agreement, concensus agreement or full disagreement.  (Although it might not be an optimal resolution, agreeing to disagree and whatever action is associated with that, is still a resolution)

It is not bad, in fact it would be unusual to have less then one position per involved stakeholder.  The point here is not about whether there are multiple positions or not (because there are) but rather how you deal with them.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Living with Yourself

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This post is advice on how to consistently you are comfortable with yourself.

When you behave in a certain way,  the best approach to ensuring you have no regrets is to manage your behaviour in ways that ensure it was what you wanted to do.

In essence, this means acknowledging your behaviour choices as your own and yours alone.  For example, consider the statement “He made me mad so I behaved badly”.

No Regrets

You might regret the way you responded in anger and even beat yourself up with self talk.  The outcome is probably not positive from your perspective and blaming the other takes the edge off.

Blame, unfortunately,  does not solve the problem.  You feel bad the other participant feels bad.  It does not have to be this way.  That is not to say it’s inappropriate or inadvisable to follow your emotions or react in the moment.

The key is, before any reaction, ask yourself in the moment, “Is this how I want behave, is this right, is it fair, is it justifiable?”. When your answer is yes, whatever the resulting outcome  – negative or positive –  because you made a conscious  decision, all will be fine with you.

Accountability Matters

Consciously deciding what to do, how to behave means you accepted accountability in the moment.  When you have internal support of knowing the personal accountability was yours, it is highly unlikely you will have any regrets.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Whats your culture

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Whatever your day to day activities are, from corporate professional, charitable or non profit support to a life of leisure and everything in-between, it’s likely to involve other individuals or groups in some way.

How you interact with others, (whether formally prescribed, informally or somewhere in-between)  is the defining attribute of the culture you are most immersed in (assuming this about a regular day by day role you perform ongoing).

How do you feel about your culture?

I like the definition of culture fron anthropologist  E.B.Taylor.   “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”

When you consider the culture you are immersed in as part of your daily routine, do you like it?  This is a subjective question typically influenced by your own values.

If the cultural complex whole you are a part of on a regular basis does not map to your basic beliefs, morals, custom and habits (i.e., the underpinning of values) then you are likely to be unhappy.

Influencing, Adopting, Maturing

In the case of a cultural mismatch, changing your circumstances is certainly an option.  Other choices are changing yourself and adapting to the culture or influencing changes in the culture itself.

Choosing to stick it out and live with your unhappiness is probably the worst option to choose.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Everything Changes

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About 10 years ago I stopped going to MacDonalds.  This was nothing in particular against the restaurant chain, just the food is really not the healthiest and my wife decided, no more.

Of course I had been eating at MacDonalds since I was sixteen and we frequently took our children there (they do after all cater to kids, who does not like the happy meal toy?)

I thought it was forever!

Given myself and family regularly ate at MacDonalds for over forty years I am quite familiar with the architecture, layout, tables, counter, service methodology and so on.

And really, in forty years there has been little change.  I was eating big Mac’s in the 1960’s and I can still get them today.  The cash registers became digital and I could pay by debit but these were not huge changes.

But I was wrong!

My wife had a dinner engagement tonight and although I am an excellent cook and relatively self sufficient I decided to just do a quick trip to MacDonald’s.

Suddenly I was shocked, MacDonald’s have changed the way you order and receive food.  Maybe for the better but certainly not for a traditionalist.

Is nothing sacred?  Do I really want to custom order a burger from MacDonald’s at a kiosk, or even using my smart phone.  Then wait at a counter for my number to be called.

A number, at MacDonald’s, horrors.

The future is here

Wow, I can rest easy the digital future is here and now it is endemic.  Fortunately MacDonald’s is no longer a fast food choice for us, I don’t think I could go back – unless I can find an old fashioned styled franchise.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Getting Better All the Time

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One aspect of leadership I have not specifically posted about in the past is the continual strive for improvement.  Strong leaders continously pay attention to the results of their behaviour.

Like the optimistically titled song from the Beatles Sargent Pepper Lonley Hearts Club album, leaders need to make sure- “It’s getting better” all the time.

Why Bother?

Ongoing improvement starts with identification of opportunities to do so.  The key underpinning and base quality of an exceptional leader is acceptance that there is always a way to make things better.

Champion athletes are a shining example of this.  Winning first place, setting a record, beating the toughest opponent findable is only the start for star competitors.

For them another challenge, a peak to conquer, a record to break is their lifeblood.  As for great athletes, or great anything, continuosly striving for the best is a critical underlying attribute.

How is it done?

It all starts with awareness.  That is self awareness.  As a leader you need to be able to accurately assess the answer to the simple question, how am I doing?

Not just once in a while but continuously.  Improvment, striving to be the best, can never stop if you truly desire to achieve greatness.  This is not about being the best at any moment, but more uniquely being the best all the time.

Coupled with your ongoing assessment of how you are doing comes ongoing behaviour changes.  This changes cause the results of your leadership (i.e., the results of your behaviours) to be better than the last assessment.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Does anybody really know what time it is?

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Live in the present . Whether a good time, bad time, snack time, bed time or TV time, live in the moment.  Embrace the present, visualize the future, revere the past but don’t live there.

This sentiment resonates intuitively with most people and seems to makes sense.  Time moves forward and a moment lived is a moment gone.  It is unrecoverable.

But what time is it?

Can we define a moment in time?  If we do give it a label does that impart meaning to that moment.  Or is the meaning of the moment defined by the actions we take within that moment?

Humans have developed inumerable descriptors for time, just a few are mentioned in the first paragraph.  Generically many would say they are seeking a good time.

Defining a good time is very subjective and can include many sub-categorizations for example things like snack time, party time and so on.

What about free time?

Free time is an interesting favorite of mine.  Does this refer to time you are not paid for ( i.e, when not working) or time when you are not paying (e.g., when time taking a lesson you pay the teacher for) or both these things.  That is if you are not making or paying money the time is free.

I am probably over thinking this, but I am almost always either being paid or paying for something ( property tax to live in my home, fuel to drive my car , purchase of alcohol when drinking.)so I guess I don’t have free time by this definition.

Alternately, some say free time is just the time when you decide what to do.  Given there always seem to be some external factors driving what, admitedly some are small influences, this definition leads me to believe I never have free time.

And finally, until next post, time to say goodbye. (Hope you thought reading this post was time well spent).

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Where did that come from?

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You casually greet a collegue or acquaintance with “Hi,how’s it going?”,   The snappy come back in a snarly tone “What’s it to you?” leads to one of those “where did that come from ” moments.

It’s impossible to answer that question without cllimbing into the mind of the other person and checking out the baggage they are carrying around. And even at that you cannot be sure of the trigger.

What’s the Cause?

I heard a great analogy at a seminar I attended years ago that explains one possible root cause of this type of behaviour.   Understanding the cause might not hep you avoid these sudden outbursts from others, but it can help you manage yourself.

As we move through our day from waking up until we go to sleep each encounter we have with others either we recieve a bag and a stamp or we pass a bag and stamp or both pass and recieve a bag and stamp.

The bags represent the content of the exchange and we may keep our bags or pass them on as we wend through our day.  In this analogy the stamps are the emotions passed with the bag.  These we keep through the day and they build up.

An example may be colleague passing you a folder full of tasks for you to do with a statement requesting the actions be completed by the end of the day.  The folder is the baggage and the comment is the stamp.

The emotions you associate with the stamp could be anger, frustration, fear or excitement about the tasks and so on. It all depends on your circumstances and how you view the situation.

Good stamps and Bad Stamps

Obviously as you move through your day you will collect good stamps and bad stamps.  If you cannot drop the bad stamps, or maybe slip them to someone else,they build up.

When the tipping point is recieved it would not be unusual for you to snarl a sudden outburst.  That is where it comes from.  You are releasing the bad stamps on someone else.

The Solution

Avoid getting more bad stamps then you can handle during the day and make sure you get a good nights sleep in order to purge what you do have.

This purging ensures you have a clean slate for collecting bad stamps the next day and thus can keep the daily accumulation at livable levels.  Explosions avoided.

If you can’t avoid collecting a bunch of negative emotions, before you get to the tipping point,  find other ways to purge  like forcing some happy thoughts into your mind or just getting away and meditating in peace.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Making the Wrong Choice

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Not choosing for fear of making the wrong choice can actually be more harmful then choosing incorrectly.  This is commonly known in bureaucratic  circles as analysis paralysis.

Choosing incorrectly can have catastrophic potentially irreversable results but within reasonable risk limits, not choosing can lead to different but still painful negative results, possibly over a longer term.

Mistakes are Necessary

The value equation associated with decision is a balance between the potential negative outcomes versus positive outcomes  weighed against the time factor.

In many cases the longer it takes to make the decision (usually the cautious approach) can diminish the likelyhood of positive outcomes.

On the other hand, deciding without enough factual information increases the risk of negative results.  Taking too long though could result in the decision seeming sound but in fact due to changes over time it has become flawed.

Don’t Focus on the Mistake

Lack of action most frequently leads to lack of results.  This is an argument for making a decision and acting even if there is a potential for error.

However, this needs to be a balanced approach based on the decision value equation.  Ultimately, there is never a certainty of a positive result but with reasoned analysis the likelyhood of success can be estimated.

Fear of being wrong should not be a factor in whatever action is selected but rather likelyhood of a positive versus a negative result.

The message of this post, don’t let fear rule, no worries being acting and being wrong is far better than not acting at all.