I work with engineers and they LOOOOVE flow charts and process maps. I’m likely understating the amount and intensity of their love for flow charts and maps. Engineers use fancy symbols like diamonds, triangles, circles, ovals, squares, and a host of icons to mean different things. An engineer can look at a process map, see the symbols they recognize, and instantly make sense of what happens and how it can be improved. For the non-engineer, it can be a bit frustrating. At the same time… here I am with a blank piece of paper that contains using my pencil to make lines, circles, triangles, and letters with minus signs and crazy uses of #s.
If I’m playing a musical theater show or a pop show, then my role as the keyboardist is to come fully loaded with the right sounds. For instance, I’m playing “Treasure” by Bruno Mars today and there are specific bell, brassy, and electronic sounds required in order to render the song the way you know and love it. I spend time listening to the song closely. I go through that process I wrote about in an earlier post. I wonder what combination of instructions or patches (musician term for “electronic sounds”) was used to produce the record. I research the production methods and I try to recreate the sound with my computer. I test, fail, and retry. I compare my sounds against what I hear in the recording. I aim to get it as close as possible before I consider it “done.” I spend hours in preparation. Would you notice the difference? If I didn’t do the work I did, you’d think something just didn’t sound right.Intention and quality time whittling away at a craft, any craft, makes all of the difference in the world to those we seek to serve - our customers.
A question I’ve entertained a while. I can’t afford a home; and I don’t want to take on debt for a place to live. I’m in my 40s, I started saving a bit late, and I don’t know that I want the stress of property ownership. I break the problem down a few ways:Big picture: am I brought joy and deep fulfillment from owning a piece of property? I can’t say definitively “yes,” so I will default to “no.”Will it cost more in the aggregate to own vs rent? It will cost more to own. I’ll need more cash to purchase and maintain a property than I have or could earn in a realistic period of time. Strike two for ownership.How will I retire if/when I do? I don’t know. I know i have a vision of a simple life, possibly as a store clerk. I’ll make a simple hourly wage, I’ll take the bus to work, I’ll read books, and I’ll do gigs as and when it feels good. The home doesn’t play a role.I don’t think this question gets filed under existential. I do think about it more now than I have before. Sharing my thought process with you if it helps.
Besides showing up on time sober and in a good frame of mind; I think patience and persistence is the next winning combination of traits… followed by skill and ability to create outcome.
I’m learning a bunch of songs for a show later this week. Here’s my process:Listen to the song I need to learn once through.Listen again, but this time write down the outline of the song — the form.Listen again, this time listen for the ups and downs of the song. Identify the most important moments, words, and musical ideas.Listen again, and figure out the harmonies — the underlying structure that makes things happen.Write out what I think I know.Play it back with the recording to see how I did. Realize everywhere I failed, go back a few steps and try again.I’m learning other subjects that way too.
Another post for leaders —- meetings.Meetings are better when they’re conversations.Conversations are engaging and fun when we get to produce something that’s valuable.Producing something that’s valuable is awesome when it moves us closer to our goals.Goals are great when they make an impact - when they mean something.Drop meetings and agendas.Pick up conversations and outcomes.
Leaders ought to be more honest. And, as hard as it is to say, we ought to say “I don’t trust you” to the people on our team we don’t trust. Where do you go from there? You show a path to trust.“I don’t trust you. What I am not seeing consistently, and we’ve talked about this, is ____ (behavior) which lead to ____ (outcomes). I don’t see consistency from you, and therefore can’t trust you’ll deliver. If I can’t trust you, then I can’t give our leaders confidence and certainty as it relates to the health of the business. Can I and the team count on you to _______ by _____?” It’s a hard message to hear, but it’s the truth. We need more truth.
Questions to ask before performance review time:How might we discover more of the best of you next quarter?How would you rate the quality and quantity of my engagement in your work? Where do I, your leader, need to focus my efforts more? What percentage of your work this quarter tied to your most important goals? How might you flag unimportant work when it creeps in?Someone told me the questions helped and were appreciated. Try ‘em out.
Sam Rockwell’s character in “Argylle” gives this brilliant line: “you’re always looking up at the cliff that you forget what’s 3 feet in front of you.”How many times have we heard that message?As much as we spend time focusing on the future or the past; they don’t exist yet. What exists is what we can perceive right now. Work right now.
- Thoughtfully making a decision followed by thoughtful reflection.
- Listening to people who did step 1.