A Story of Catching the Wind... and maybe a metaphor for success.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here

Is there anything that invites nostalgia more than the thought of a spring fed pond? Long carefree days filled with the sounds of laughter and the endless escape into the cool water from the hot summer sun; a harmonious balance with nature - Except when it isn't. 

It seems a pond is a dynamic creature with thermal layers, aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, a constant amount of "nature" going in, and unpredictable movement; all of which can lead to an overgrowth of algae and pond scum if not in balance, and this was very much my pond.

In looking for a root cause, it seemed to be an imbalance between aerobic and anaerobic bacteria; as oxygen in the water is depleted, the anaerobic bacteria flourishes and creates ideal conditions for algae, pond scum and bad smelling water. The solution it seems is to simply put oxygen back into the pond that encourages the aerobic bacteria to restore the harmonious balance of nature.

So, with an environmentally friendly windmill to aerate a pond on order, the Story of Catching the Wind begins.

An unassembled sixteen foot windmill comes in six boxes that includes a compressor, a large number of galvanized metal pieces, what seems to be a countless number of bolts, nuts and washers, and an abundance of one off parts. Also included is one very detailed twenty-five page manual to aid with assembly. 

There was never any doubt that I would do the work myself; with the help of Big Red and a long in the tooth Toyota Tercel named Doris we planned to start early Saturday morning, under what turned out to be a cloudless sky. I suppose I could have hired someone but skills and competencies are developed when you do it yourself; to truly understand something, including yourself, you have to become a practitioner - In the end, this windmill (as well as catching the wind) was an exercise in patience and perseverance.

The assembly process was systematic and not to be deviated from; the legs, cross supports, bolts, washers and nuts were put together but left loose; as the tower took shape, the holes did not always align, necessitating the need for shear muscle to coerce the bolt through the hole. With the sun high in the sky, we were now able to divide and conquer with Big Red working on the blade assembly and I (awash with déjà vu) readdressed the nuts and bolts of the tower to fully tightening them. With the tower and blade assembly complete, that left us just with the compressor assembly and then final windmill assembly. 

The compressor housing assembly consisted of inserting a pivot tube through two holes in the compressor housing (and fastening it) and then sliding a brass bushing over the pivot tube. What we quickly discovered was the pivot tube too large to go through the holes of the housing and the brass bushing was too small to go over the pivot tube. Two and a half hours later (after some cursing, creativity, tools used outside their design specification and lots of muscle and sweat) the "what should have been a 15-minute" task was complete.  

With the top of the tower now resting at a 15 degree angle on a bench, the pivot tube was greased and inserted into the hole at the top, the blades were attached to the compressor shaft (involving the ongoing equal tightening of bolts and nuts until the blades were balanced) and the tubing that would carry the air to the pond was secured - With he windmill now fully assembled, all we had to do was get it vertical! After two failed attempts to lift the windmill into place and the shadows around us started to get long, the possibility of leaving the windmill lying on its side was a real and would be a monument to our failure.

Now enter the ever-dependable Doris whose only desire is to help you get from here to there. With Big Red behind the wheel, Doris strapped to the windmill, and me guiding and directing progress, the windmill started to rise. There was a moment where it almost fell over onto Doris and then back onto the ground but in the end the windmill settled majestically into its new surroundings. After celebrating a little, we secured the windmill to the ground, attached the air tube to the air diffuser and sank the diffuser in the middle of the pond. We were now set; in theory the wind would turn the windmill, the windmill would pump air into the pond, and the diffuser would inject micro-bubbles of oxygen into the water.

As we looked at the water and then at each other, we slowly looked up at the windmill with the realization that the early evening air was dead still - The windmill was motionless. Our day was now done, so we packed up and left the property to its own devices. In the end, the 16-hour day positioned us to "catch the wind" and that was all right by me. Literally it is about being in the right place at the right time and I knew the wind will come. 

Metaphorically speaking in a professional sense, "Catching the Wind" (or "catching the wave" if you identify with surfing) means you are in the right place at the right time to catch the energy of the "moment" to propel yourself fast and far in your career. Metaphorically speaking, the assembly of the windmill that day was a reminder of what it takes to position yourself to "Catch the Wind that propels your career far": 

• Depending what you are positioning yourself for, it may come with any steps and some are such that you just can't "skip over" them - Know what you need to do.
• You can't do it alone, and you need good people to help you along the way - Their support is crucial to learn, to develop and motivate you.
• It is hard work. Don't think otherwise.
• Unforeseen problems will arise and they have to be solved before you can continue - This will most likely take creativity and perseverance to work through them.
• The only one stopping you from quitting is you - Don't quit!
• Sometimes the wind just isn't blowing. Make sure you are positioned in the right place and have a little patience.

So my windmill is ever vigil and waits to catch the wind.

So does my pond for that matter.

iamgpe 

They say it's bad news, but is it really?

I've had the privilege to meet with many smart people on my journeys and have always been better for it; a meeting a few days ago was no exception.

I was part of a sit down with a "domain expert" to discuss an opportunity we were working on; as we worked through the time available to us, she was quick to offer constructive criticism, injected astute observations, identified realities we were going to have to overcome, and came up with many suggestions. In the end, she looked at us empathetically said, "Sorry to deliver all this bad news."

We told her that her feedback was appreciated, that it had given us much food for thought (mostly because it was all very insightful and spot on), and thanked her for her time. As we debriefed later, worked through our disappointment and started to get our heads around all the work that needed to be done, I couldn't help dwell on her parting words because nothing in what she had said was "bad news" in my mind - I have heard bad news before and what she said was not it.

Bad news would be the doctor has just told you that you have incurable cancer. To offer an even greater perspective, horrific news would be the doctor telling you that your child has incurable cancer - Bad news takes away potential and the future possibilities.

The "news" we heard did none of that. 

There is this tendency to identify "easy news" with GOOD and "hard news" with BAD, where in fact it's simply an aspect of the degree of difficulty to deal with it (be it work involved or emotional effort); be it "easy or hard" (as well as the iterations in between), your potential to deal with it is not impacted - It becomes an exercise in how to figure it out.

Truly BAD news (and some of it's more horrific versions) takes away your potential to figure it out and your future possibilities. That is what makes it so BAD.

So in the end all we heard was "hard news", as our potential and future possibilities were still intact.

iamgpe

"The Project Oriented Business Life" and other such things.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

With an air of triumph he slid the piece of paper across the table as if it was the final offer after a series of long negotiations and proudly announced he had sketched out the business life model he uses.

As I looked at the drawing, it was apparent that penmanship was not a core competency; after he dismissed my quip regarding his mastery of the crayon, he went on to explain "The Project Oriented Business Life".   

For him, business was all about the opportunity - Something that had a beginning and an end, that was ultimately closed off, and offered a chance for reflection before you put it behind you and moved onto the next opportunity.  

As I listened to his passion, it was his view on the time spent to "go away" and "regain energy & perspective" that offered me the greatest pause for thought. Like most of us, his business life model had him reviewing the outcome (be it either a "win or a lose") but instead of jumping right back in, he would take time to change his context to regain energy and perspective before starting over. Analogous somewhat to taking a walk in the forest when all you do is drive in the city I suppose... "It's opener there in the wide open air"*.

As I walked out of his office with a copy of his "Rembrandt" in hand, I could not help but think of other business life models that people have offered up over the years. 

A very competent business leader I have known for years explained to me that for him it was all about working backwards from his goals. He went on to explain he would set out a goal and then work backwards to determine what he needed to get there, how he would get there, develop the timeline and the milestones he needed to ensure success. He went on to say that this just wasn't about developing the right skills or networks but it was important in helping him understand the emotional wherewithal needed to make it happen... achieving a goal, particularly a big one, can be exhausting physically, mentally and sometimes spiritually, so you have to be prepared. 

Another insight came with an idea of the iterative development of core competencies and strengths - The thinking in this instance was to understand what you are good at and then start building on it. In doing so, you create an iterative process of development that continues growing as your awareness for new skills increases, which was a result of what you have learned. It was visualized as a spiral forever increasing in size with the centre getting tighter and tighter over time; the reflection of true domain expertise.

Is any one model of thinking better for success, wellbeing, and happiness? Who's to say, and luckily for me it was never my intension to answer this "bunny hole of a question" as I zigzagged my way to making a point.

And that point is it's important to understand and be able to articulate the business life model you use. We all operate using some sort of model (whether we recognize it or not), and the need to understand what it is, how it works, and how you use it is imperative for one important reason - It will help ensure you have aligned what you do with what you want.

This actually brings me back to that "bunny hole question" I was trying to avoid which it seems turns out to be rather straight forward... the best work life model is the one that will help you meet your goals, with each being as unique as the dreams and goals of each person.

In the end, knowing how you operate your business life model increases the chance that you are aligned with your goals and ensures you are using the best tool for your success, wellbeing and happiness.

I will admit I am very surprised how much you can glean from a collection of chicken scratchings... so grab a pen and a piece of paper and get on with it.

iamgpe

* A line from "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss.