Brady Helps

The word ritual" comes from the Latin, "ritus": a rite performed in the customary and usual Roman manner. Typically, a ritus can have four parts:The ApproachThe Gesture and PrayerThe RequestThe ReplyMany different types of rituals were developed over time. In addition to those rituals meant for the many gods, families/clans/tribes would have their own as well.  Rites would include an approach to a god using words. You'd then use several gestures and prayers as an adoration followed by your request. Last, you'd wait for the reply. "It's in the gods' hands."Flash forward to the present - now. How many people do you know "hold on" to the past? Perhaps they're worried about the future? These people often have a hard time focusing on "here and now." Perhaps these people need a rite?  Perhaps what needs to happen is that we need to pay a bit more homage to ourselves?  I have a ritual every morning, and it's served me well.  Open eyes and smile.  I greet the day with, "today is going to be a great day."I walk downstairs, I make coffee (always adding cinnamon and cardamom).I walk upstairs, take out my Evo Planner, and plan today.  I write out my fears, the things I'm thankful for, and how I intend to have fun that day.  Finally, I close the book and move on. "It's in God's hands now." (I'm a Christian/Catholic, so I used capitol "G.")Who am I approaching? Myself. I'm approaching the part of me that yearns to see possibility, fun, and adventure. I'm also approaching fate/God/deity/universe/insert-whatever-you-believe to take things I can't control and do something with them.  What are my gestures, prayers? Greeting the day. Asserting to myself that "today will be a great day." I give substance to those words by engaging in a mindful activity, which brings me joy - making coffee.  What's my request? To get the things that keep me awake at night out of my head, on paper, and to let the things I can't control be what they'll be.What's the reply? My own productivity because I’m less burdened down by the things I can’t control, because I have given myself a direction, and because I’ve started my day out by asserting an intention. The results - I can do something each day that I’ve never done before, make an impact, and come alive.  If you could be more productive, consider creating a ritual.

Seth Godin, in a recent Akimbo workshop, asserted that "being productive is doing something that's never been done before." I agree. Being productive doesn't mean the number of hours you spend checking emails. It's not the massive amounts of projects you're working on. It's not checking the box. For me, it's doing something new. Failing. Learning. Working alongside the edge. Making an impact. Humans tend to overeat when we're bored. Eating triggers pleasure sensations, and that's a feeling I think we'd like to experience instead of boredom. Instead, I suggest you "Embrace Boredom." Embrace the idea of not having anything to do. Allow your mind to idle. Then start to think of something you've never done before. Maybe it's learning a new skill? Reading a book? Getting outside? Not eating when you feel like you should? Doing the hard work of connecting with others like you. I'm not offering you medical or diet advice. I am offering you, no, giving you the authority to give yourself permission to do something simple and new each day. You can see what I'm working on by visiting my Now page. What are you doing now?

I use Grammarly to write these entries. I use Grammarly because I still make mistakes, and this app supports my learning. Today, before I started typing, I noticed the placeholder for the title read: "Add a title. Stay safe; stay well." If you're like me, you have recently learned how many mailing lists you were on. It's almost as if each company/brand had to release their "COVID-19 Response" - because if they didn't, they've done nothing - right? I ended up doing quite a bit of unsubscribing. Also, I did a bit of reflection - I don't need a hundred updates from a hospitality group about their COVID-19 response. I'm getting enough news and media about the thing, I don't need more of it in my inbox. It would be nice to see something that focuses more on me. A simple message to say - we're not trying to show our corporate responsibility, "We're just trying to make sure you're well. If you are, simply click the button for a picture of a cute animal." Or how about this, from Grammarly. Not even an email, but a simple and thoughtful message in the title placeholder - "Add a title. Stay safe; stay well." For me, that's care.

Imagine you're at home. Physically distanced for the good of public health. Perhaps you've lost your job, maybe you're homeschooling your kids, your parents might be sick... you've got a lot of stress in your life at the moment.

But to take your mind off things, you take out your phone. Open your Facebook app. You're part of a few community groups, and you just happen to see a post from a neighbor that you respect.

The neighbor has posted a picture of a house with several cars in the driveway. Your neighbor is upset and believes this to be unjust.

Maybe you feel that there are too many cars in the driveway?

Who are these people to challenge our health?

Maybe you are immune-compromised?

These people want to kill you.

You need to call the police.

They're liberal pigs.

They're terrorists.

They're heartless.

They're...

STOP.

Traditionally, when an organization decides to hire a new employee, a recruiter will meet with a hiring manager for an intake meeting. At the intake meeting, the two would discuss the deliverables, a timeline, and end with an executive summary (hopefully).  First, I take issue with this entire process.  Second, my explanation will take a minute to read - please read.Hiring Manager - the name sounds industrial. A throwback to bygone days when companies had personnel departments. Let's call it what it is, a human being needing another human being to do something amazing for them and produce.Intake Meeting - psychiatric and rehab facilities have "intake" departments. Why not see this meeting as a creative conversation? I see answering two questions - what's the work that matters? Who's the person that will care enough to do that work?Deliverables - people are not deliverables. 'Nuff said.  Hiring is already a stressful process, but it doesn't have to be. It can be creative, artistic, and human.  If you're in the business of recruiting - consider looking as yourself as a people artist. One that connects people with opportunities to do something that matters.  If you're an employer - consider writing job descriptions that show the opportunities an individual has to make an impact with your organization. Ask them to solve interesting problems. Break the mold!  If you're a job seeker - know that this is your time. With so many people laid off, there will be a mass hiring when things clear up. You have a chance to determine what employers serve you and your values.   Art exists at the moment when a communicator's idea generates a response within the listener.  Art exists at the moment when a job seeker comes alive from the opportunity a recruiter presented to them.Art exists at the moment when their stress turns to relief once their newly hired team member actively engages in their work and ends their day fulfilled.  To me, recruitment isn't a process.  It's not a numbers game.  It's not sales.  It's an art, and it's human.

When I used to lead a cruise line music department, I'd always be asked to look at average team performance as a way to measure, "how we're doing?"  Based on the fleet's average performance, we'd make different decisions that would support the operation.There are two rules that I've learned in this work:What can be measured gets managed - often times poorly.Average only exists as a number - it doesn't actually exist in real life.You can argue that the fleet's average offers you insight into how a majority of the groups might operate. And yes, that's a healthy way to consider performance. But that's like grading on the curve, we're only helping the late majority/laggards. The law of diffusion of innovation would say these teams are going to be slow to adopt change. So why make the investment?  I argue, let's prop up those sites that are making the most significant change. Something happened that made their work special. Or, why not look at the outliers - the extreme high and low performers? What are they doing that's working? How can we continue supporting their efforts?When the outliers, the innovators, the neophiliacs, the drivers are invested in your mission, they'll pull the rest of the curve with them. When you try to push the curve from behind to catch up, you risk starving the innovators of the chance to innovate. Or, worse, you're killing their creativity.  The average only exists as a number.  And numbers don't have heartbeats.

If I am to be human, I am to have hope.

I, therefore, believe that we will create a new culture that's better for us - one where we ask each other questions like, How are you feeling?

Are you safe and healthy? We are limited now. Social distancing, electing to stay at home for the community's health. I am motivated by these limitations to try and find a way to help others.

I know there are others like me. I work with many at Cloud Harbor Music and Colorful Connections.

I don't see us "coming back" to the way things were, I see us moving forward to the way things will be. My life has been that way, and I imagine there are others sharing the same story.

Now, we are in a transitional phase. We must believe something good will come. Perhaps we will see a different side of ourselves. Maybe, just maybe, that different side might be better.

I won't give up on you, even after you might have given up on yourself.

Don't lose hope.

Or does it? Working from home can expose your poor work ethic if you let it. It's easy to roll out of bed, head over to your computer, log-on, and do something that matters for someone else. And you might operate well that way. But how easy is it to slip back in bed? To say, "I'll just keep my computer on in case someone needs me," but then slip away to the couch and watch tv? To go to the kitchen and make food and cite that "checking your email" is working? Maybe you can still be productive this way. Perhaps you've spent a majority of time becoming better at tackling the challenge of remote work. But for some, this is brand new. We're not used to seeing our homes as workplaces, and vice versa. The patterns of behavior we develop at our work are not always the same as what we have at home. We can become confused, overloaded, and we do what all humans (including this writer) do, default to the easiest possible thing - the things that take little to no effort. If you want to do work that matters, to do hard work of connecting with people and producing something for them that makes a difference - it will take effort. If you're not used to working from home, more than ever, it will require effort. Start learning some best practices now. There are tons of people on the Internet telling you how to do it - I'm not going to be one of them. What works for me may not necessarily work for you. Find what works for you. Find what makes you most productive - your flow, and do more of it! Why? Because the feeling of being in flow is addictive. So what? Because when we're in flow, we create magic. Who cares about magic? Because what the world needs now is magic, we need to believe that everything and anything is possible - because as far as we know now, it is.

My mother first introduced me to music. I can remember going to Chicago's Lyric Opera to experience all types of performances. As a kid, I was totally fluent in Italian and understood opera like nobody's business. No, really, I did! Who am I kidding? Of course, I didn't understand any of it! But I loved going! We used to sit in the balcony, and I would pull out my mom's antique opera glasses (small binoculars) to watch the performance. Here's the thing, opera glasses need to be focused. And, like binoculars, if you try to focus too much, you end up losing sight of what you're trying to see. Trouble, stress, anxiety, depressed thoughts, pain, suffering, COVID-19, social distancing, isolation, joblessness - just to name a few, are no different. When you ultra-focus on your stress, are you able to see beyond the fear and find a solution? When you ultra-focus on the anxiety of not having enough work, are you able to focus on how to make something better and adapt to the "new work" that's going on now? When you ultra-focus on COVID-19, and its effects, are you putting your body in a state of fear that ends up compromising your immune system? It's not easy to stop focusing on the things that create fear. It's not easy to just put our anxiety to sleep. I live with bipolar disorder and suffer from crippling anxiety - that's never going to go away. But, if I stop, take a broader view, and focus each day on something that makes me happy, brings me peace, or brings about gratitude, I might just have a chance of doing the work that matters. Like binoculars, when you stop to re-focus, you have to zoom out, take a broader view, find your target, and home in.

When I first moved back to Milwaukee, I came from an "unusual" industry - entertainment, music, and cruise ships. Everyone, okay, ALMOST everyone, pegged me as a musician, asked if my concept of recruiting was to "go to bars and hire bands." Heck, a few people even told me I was "too different" for the city. Too different?! Yes, I've never hired a welder before. But, the people I recruited in my last role most-often had graduate degrees, and a few had doctorates. The technical expertise required to execute is considerable. Yes, I've never sourced a programmer. But, I've programmed databases, built scopes for platforms, and - in case you didn't know - music is a language. Yes, I'm new to the city and rebuilding my network. But, musicians are networking samurais. We know how to connect with people, build meaningful relationships, and deliver an exceptional experience in the process - that's our business model. Yes, I did not finish school. Instead, I opted to start my own business connecting entertainment seekers with entertainers - the foundations of recruitment. Am I complaining? No! I love my career. I love that it's eclectic. I love that I work on finding new ways to help people discover what makes them come alive and find opportunities to do that for others! For you eclectics out there that never seem like you fit in, that don't want to do things the "cookie-cutter" way, and that might be feeling a bit frustrated - don't give up! Now is our time. To be versatile. To be a service for others. To draw on all of our experiences and to help create something new and better for our culture. If you are like me, let's connect! If for no other reason, just to meet someone else like ourselves. For the eclectics out there, that never seem to "fit in," You Do You!