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 

The struggles with having a PLAN B, but not so much with burning a few ships.

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

There is nothing better than a short road trip with three old friends* to generate a wide range of conversations and topics; the spectrum ranging from the benign, through the downright crass, to the "somewhat brilliant". One of these conversations brought out an idea that included the PLAN A and PLAN B that would lead to its realization. 

To this I chimed in, "In my experience many times your PLAN B becomes your PLAN A as people end up defaulting to PLAN B when things get difficult". This "self indulgent profoundness" continued when someone pointed out that invading Vikings would burn their ships, and in doing so, leave only two available options... success or death. After that, the conversations continued to ebb and flow through the spectrum but it did leave me with two nagging questions -

1. Did the Vikings really burn their ships after they invaded?
2. Why would I suggest having a PLAN B negatively impacts the effectiveness of your PLAN A when I believe it's important to have a PLAN B?

I wasn't able to definitively confirm the Vikings burned their ships, but did find references to a legend that the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the burning of the ships when he landed in the New World so his men would realize there was no chance of retreat; to be victorious, they would have to give it their all. There are also similar references throughout ancient times, so I think we can safely say at least one military leader in our storied past came up with this motivational idea. 

With the issue of the charred remains of Viking ships put to bed and the meaning tucked away, I needed to understand the issue of PLAN B becoming PLAN A by virtue of prudently having a backup plan; I was struggling with the contradiction it inherently caused because I truly believe having a PLAN B leads to a better chance of success. After a little thought and introspection, it became clear that I misspoke and was simply being loose with language that was confusing everything. Please let me explain and correct my error.

I probably should start with two simple definitions:

An objective: a thing aimed at or sought; a goal (or in the case that started these prose; an idea).

A plan: a detailed proposal for doing or achieving a goal.

Where I got myself into trouble was playing with loose language regarding the definitions of a GOAL and a PLAN and then struggled with the concept of not having a contingency plan(s) to drive success as a result. What I should have said was "In my experience many times your GOAL B becomes your GOAL A as people end up defaulting to it when things get difficult", which strangely enough brings us back to the Vikings.

The Vikings (or Hernán Cortés) had a single goal... their GOAL A if you will, that was to invade and conquer. They didn't have a GOAL B that was to invade, see how things went, and if it just wasn't working as they had hoped go somewhere else. This is what I was trying to say with my loose language but was ultimately said much better by burning a few ships - You should only have one GOAL; any more and you will surely default to the easiest and never achieve what you really want.

And with this whole issue of loose language all sorted out, having a PLAN B made more sense than ever. Achieving goals aren't always easy and the best laid plans may not always work out as expected. Having a contingency plan, a PLAN B per se, makes it easier to adapt to the situations that stand in the way of achieving your goals. 

There is also another advantage to having a PLAN B - With it's very existence it ensures you have your GOAL, have looked at the situation, and developed a PLAN A; inherently, it also indicates that potential challenges and the proverbial "wrench(s) in the machine" have been identified and that actions to address them are in place... all increasing the probability for success.

So celebrate your PLAN B! It is a nice indicator that you will succeed.

iamgpe

* Thanks to Huey, Dewey and The Duke for a great road trip, and our continued search for a great tasting bourbon. 

The "rookie attitude" for making amazing things happen, and continuing the trend.

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

A number of years back I was in a meeting where a leader professed his enjoyment of working with new "rookie" employees and the excitement that came with it. I was not surprised when some in the crowd offered a contrary perspective regarding inexperience, the training burden and the "baby sitting" that needs to be done - I may be paraphrasing slightly when I use the term "baby sitting" but that's more or less what some were saying.  

The leader, after offering some thoughts on the definition of "leadership" and the apparent lack there of, pointed out that he really liked the energy someone new brings to the job and the opportunity to be involved with "all that potential". He went on to say, "Sure they make 'rookie mistakes'. But sometimes, because they don't know any better, can make amazing things happen". This has resonated with me for years.

In this context, I should point out a "rookie" refers to anyone new to an endeavour and not just the 21 year old standing on the pitching mound with the 100 mph fastball - This is probably a good point for a reminder that being a rookie is something all of us, in one role or another has been (and probably more than once)... not to mention that all of us have made that so called "rookie mistake" (and probably more than once). In my experience, this is something that tends to get forgotten along the way.... definitely the leader I spoke of earlier thought so.

Aside from cutting "rookies" some slack because we have all been there, it needs to be recognized there is a fundamental perspective that rookies have which we need to continue tapping into; something that many of us loose as our experience and achievements snowball and something we need to continue our momentum. As they say, "rookies don't know any better", but as you gain some experience and achievement under your belt it is expected that "you do know better" - Here in lies a problem and an opportunity. 

When you "don't know any better" you are forever looking to achieve and grow, whereas when you "know better" you are looking to protect what you have - In effect curtailing the drive that comes with "not knowing any better" so you can maintain what you have, forever worring about losing what you have gained:

• "I've done that before and that was a waste of time"
• "I know all about that, it is too risky"
• "I won't do that. I've worked too hard to get this far"
• "Sounds like a great opportunity but that's not where my expertise is"
• "etc"

I am not questioning the value of the experience that comes from the trials and tribulations of work and life (in fact it's crucial) , but rather suggesting rookies put it all out there and are not impacted with the considerations and doubts as a result of experience and lessons learned. It is about maintaining the balance of experience and achievements with the "rookie attitude" that allows you to continue making amazing things happen, and resist that urge to stop, maintain and protect.

Of course this is easier said than done, but here are some ideas that come to mind: 

• Remove the term "retirement" from your lexicon.
• Cultivate the "rookie attitude" by adopting new technology.
• If you are in a position to hire a "rookie" - Do it.
• Search out rookie friends and colleagues. Talk to them and listen to them - Their attitude is infectious.
• Make a point to trying something new that makes you uncomfortable.
• Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen if you do something with all the gusto of a rookie. And then weigh that against the benefits.
• Remember life is short and as the saying goes, "If not now, when?"

And lastly, the time of being a rookie is just so much fun*. That alone should be a good enough reason to strive for that "rookie attitude" and go after whatever is in front of you with gusto, no matter how much experience you have.

iamgpe

* Spend some time thinking about your "rookie" days and I will guarantee a smile comes to your face and you say to yourself, "Yes ... it was so much fun"