Words, they’re so easy.
Like breathing, in and out
Without meaning.
Action, behavior, deeds.
Show me these, so
I don’t have to listen to words,,,
Simple, empty words.
17 Friday Jan 2014
Posted Growth and development
inWords, they’re so easy.
Like breathing, in and out
Without meaning.
Action, behavior, deeds.
Show me these, so
I don’t have to listen to words,,,
Simple, empty words.
10 Friday Jan 2014
We live in Michigan and, many years ago, almost purchased to house in Ann Arbor, next door to Bo. His death was sudden,a surprise and devastated me. Bo was a guy who knew how to win,,,, and how to lose. It’s just life and you don’t win every game.
I salute the person who loses a game, or takes a big hit, and gets back up and re-enters the game. Losing shows our core character. Don’t let a failure kill your desire to excel. It’s a bruise and it hurts; hell, you might be bleeding; but as long as you feel the pain, you’re alive! Get up, brush yourself off, remember who you are and where you’re going. Then,,,, take a deep breath and keep going. Don’t let the bas&$:ds get you down!
Sadly, Michigan football just hasn’t been the same since Bo left.
09 Thursday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
inI’d love to hear your stories. Do you know the moment that you “knew” that you had to dig deep and push yourself forward to strive so you’d be better than you were? Will you share that story with me? I’m very curious and want to learn what drives people. There’s a corollary here as well. If I can learn what sparks people to push forward,,, if I can understand what factors are usually acting,,, if I can see a general pattern; I can be better prepared to help others get themselves into situations and into a mind set that is conducive to making this type of internal decision and commitment.
Write up your story and leave it as a comment. I’ll compile the stories in this blog. J
08 Wednesday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
inMelinda Gates gave a TED Talk and described what she learned from studying Coca Cola. There are some implications for people who are striving towards excellence.
1. Use real-time data analysis and make feedback directly into the system.
2. Make use of local people’s entrepreneurial spirit.
3. Market using positive and unifying images.
Melinda described looking at data after a project is completed as being similar to bowling in the dark. This is a great simile. You throw the ball and hear pins drop, but you don’t see what happened until the lights are turned on. Good luck throwing the second ball in that frame.
Many times we collect data and look at it too late to make any useful adjustment to the process. Worse yet, some people collect data and never really look at it. This is simply a waste of time and effort. People seems to take comfort in knowing that they can show others data if they ask for it. They seem to think that there is some redeeming value in holding data.
If we want to use fancy language, data collected at the end of a project is called a “summative evaluation.” At best, it tells us how we did. The better use of process data is called “formative evaluation.” Here we collect data while the proces sis still rolling along. We extract information and use our new insights to adjust and refine the process.
Our job is to make certain we have access to data/information that gives us a true reflection of our performance and that we extract information in real-time. BTW, a good teacher or performer is always reading the audience and knows how their performance is working before the audience draws their own conclusions. I have a very good idea what student will put in course evaluation long before they open the survey forms. I love teaching because your brain and entire body really has to be engaged. This is a perfect example of “flow.” Some day I’ll complete and record my thoughts about teaching as a dramatic act. I think every teacher should do some acting on a stage in a small theater or do some stand-up comedy. Yes, the risk and chance of failure are pretty high, but you will get almost instant feedback and will quickly refine your presentation. There is nothing like delivering a good joke, having your timing spot on and making 100 or more people laugh. If you can do that, you can certainly teach in a university lecture hall or a public school classroom. In this case, telling jokes is not valuable. Knowing how to read an audience, whether it’s one or one hundred, is priceless.
This reminds me… Bill Gates wrote a large article in the Wall Street Journal some time in 2013 and described the value of measurements in making cultural change. His thesis is, we can only improve if we know what our current performance is and assess the gap between where we are and our goal performance. I saved that article, will dig it up and post some annotations in a future post. j
07 Tuesday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
inI am the proud father of four wonderful women and married to a woman who has more talent than I can imagine. If I could rule the world, or whisper in every father’s ear, I’d have every daughter watch and then critically discuss the Amy Cuddy TED talk. This is fantastic information. If the Hawthorne effect causes improved result, use it. If using a different body language influences your hormones and performance, use it. This is NOT cheating. If I didn’t work towards my dreams and desires… If I didn’t watch and act like some academics my parents knew, I’d be an unemployed machinist in an old steel mills town just north of Philadelphia. (The mills have long since closed and are now the site of a casino. Nope, I can’t deal cards.)
Fake it until you become it. All the while you are thinking that you are that person. If these are genuine goals and desires you will become that person. That’s the core of the trick.
06 Monday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
inJanuary 6, 2014
I’ve talked with several of my friend over the past few days and have considered some ideas about the pursuit of excellence. I think I know how to help people improve. I can help you train for a marathon, sing a solo, give a great speech, or design a sophisticated research experiment,,,, but one thing I can’t do is give you the desire to do it. The drive and burning desire to achieve has to come from within. You have to want it. I can ask a bunch of questions and try to help people see reality, but I can’t generate that initial spark that becomes the “want” and drive for excellence. A buddy of mine said the spark comes from our background and can be due to either positive or negative experiences. In some cases, we see something, have an interaction, or are touched by an experience that we want to relive. We want to recapture and have more of it. This desire becomes so strong that we develop a craving. We feel so strongly that we work, sacrifice and defer gratification so we acquire the resources or circumstances to actualize that experience.
In other circumstances, we encounter something that we want to avoid. To avoid the distasteful and unpleasant, we work to establish an environment in which the occurrence rate is nearly obviated. I think the positive forces are stronger than the negative and are more likely to be the drivers for sustained efforts. However, I’ve been poor and I don’t want to live like that again. I can see that I’ve worked pretty hard to avoid this negative and have built a set of circumstances that keep my family and me well fed, clothed, and with good shelter.
Notice how both of these forces are laden with emotion. I used the word “want” over and again. But this is not an empty or even a voiced desire. These are powerful forces that go to our core personalities and that can act for a lifetime. If we can stimulate this spark in others, we make life-long converts and contribute to life altering decisions.
A corollary question is, “Why do some people say they want to improve, but do not act?”
I see three fundamental reasons for people not wanting to improve:
I’m in the education and coaching business. I try to model the quest for excellence and encourage everyone to improve and strive for the next level. My goal in life is to work at fulfilling my God-given talents and capabilities and to help others do the same. It may be a cliché, but my student’s success is my greatest reward.
I hate fear and find it debilitating. When I am afraid, really fearful, I freeze and stop dead in my tracks. I abhor that sense of helplessness and work to overcome it. I understand fear and try to be supportive, act as a cheerleader, and try to show people that fear is often just an illusion. Now we can’t be fool hardy and put ourselves in dangerous situations thoughtlessly, but I always want to overcome mere trepidation and apprehension so I continue to act.
Laziness, slothfulness, and apathy – I have a very short fuse here and have very little patience for people who do not act because of these. This is especially true when people are getting paid to do the work. Now if folks don’t know any better and don’t see that more and a better job can be done, well,,, we’re back to number 1.
I might be facing the end of my career and even be facing the end of my life on this green earth,,, but I’m coming to realize that we don’t have much time…. We certainly don’t have time to waste when we consider that some development plans can take a decade or more. So who do you want to be? Look deep inside and understand your core desires and then start on building a path towards excellence. j
05 Sunday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
inThese are my thoughts and insights derived from a career helping engineers push to higher levels of product quality and manufacturing efficiency. Most of my work has been in the automotive component industry, although I’ve worked in medical device, medical packaging, and aerospace industries. In addition to working as a consultant, I’ve also taught in undergraduate and graduate university programs in schools of engineering, business, and nursing.
This blog site focuses on professional and personal development and what we have to do to pursue excellence.
I crave your feedback, insights, and thoughts. Please leave comments and replies so we can engage a conversation. If you are a first time visitor, take the extra time to read the comments. Some of the thinking and interchange of ideas happens there.
04 Saturday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
in03 Friday Jan 2014
Posted Uncategorized
inHere’s a perfect example of pure self-discipline and dedication to self-development.
You will never know what you can accomplish unless you set a goal and go for it. Who cares if you fall short of the stated goal? The great fun is in the journey and preparing.
2:23 Maybe it’s my fault….
God-given gift or something I worked for every day of my life.
… or maybe you’re making excuses.
You miss every shot you never take.
5:27 Battle with myself to keep challenging myself.
Michael missed 9,000 shots in his career.
Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion.
02 Thursday Jan 2014
Some Thoughts Concerning Professional Development – shared with undergraduate students
1-18-2013
If you want to excel and attain improved performance, you need to follow a basic process. This is true for almost all arenas; academic, physical fitness, athletic, musical, artistic, crafts, wood working, yoga, etc. (I think about people as multidimensional beings and believe that this model holds development of our mental, physical, and spiritual selves. This is a little out of bounds for the typical “business discussion” but I think it fits and is important. In fact, if we over emphasize development in one dimension at the expense of the others we wind up hurting ourselves and never fully optimize our real performance.)
It’s a simple three step process:
1. You need to have a vision of the end goal.
2. You need an honest assessment of your current state.
3. You need a plan for getting from where you are (2) to where you want to be (1).
I don’t think there are any short cuts to this process and see a whole pile of failure mechanisms. Here’s a graphical schematic of the improvement process.
First, we need a vision of who we want to become. This is part of our self-concept and many people put barriers and constraints in front of themselves by not allowing themselves to dream. This is sometimes an issue of circumstances and environment. When people are surrounded by poverty and limited means, it is very difficult for a person to see themselves as achieving a professional career. Without the vision and self-concept, people serve as their own constraint to growth and development.
We need to dream and allow ourselves to envision success. We can encourage each other and serve as models, but we can’t do it for someone else. It might sound like cheerleading but we need to encourage and support each other in dreaming large and spectacular dreams. This is important because an element of fear of the unknown accompanies each large dream. By definition, the goal is beyond our current experience and the unknown can scare people into inactivity. Some people acknowledge that their current situation is not very attractive, but at least they know what to expect and have a track record of surviving in the environment. Besides the unknown, there is the fear of failure. Some people simply cannot stomach the risk of failure. Their self-confidence does not allow them to risk a venture that has unproven rewards. We need to support each other as we face the fear and risks of going towards our dreams. We have to remind ourselves that there is no risk in dreaming.
Next, we need an honest measure of our current state performance. This is really the first step in developing an action plan (3) for achieving our vision (1). Many times, people see themselves through a lens that distorts their actual performance. We all think that our singing voice sounds great in the shower. Our parents think our sketches are museum quality and that we play the piano better than most professionals. We need to be brutally honest and understand what we can and cannot do. Now just because we can’t do something today does not mean that we won’t be able to perform that task someday. We need to dig deep and understand our true ability. Sometimes we think that we have accomplished something when we really had many people helping and making that task successful. If we truly stand on our own, we may not be able to perform the action. On the other end of the spectrum, we sometime deceive ourselves into thinking that we are not as skilled or as intelligent or as loveable as we really are. We need to know where we are and what we are able to do. We all carry biases and may need an external, unbiased coach or mentor to break through our misinformation and help us see our true capabilities.
The third step in the process is developing a path that takes us from our current state to our dreams and end goals. This path may not be a simple and straight path. I drew the path in the illustration as a curve that over reaches the goal and then descends to a plateau. This is an image of a development model that I used while training for a long distance endurance running event. As I reflect on my academic development, I see that this model holds in this arena as well. The idea is to acquire skills and abilities that are more than needed for the end goal. We do this to explore the larger range of activities and learn the set of supporting and ancillary skills and concepts. The plateau is where we recover from the stretch exercise and refine the performance. Our goal is to develop our skills so that we can act with mastery and confidence. Skills are honed and refined wit repeated practice so that small nuances of performance can be uncovered, practiced, and polished. This is not the only path and the actual trajectory of development is seldom smooth and easily illustrated by a simple curve.
If you look at the illustration, you see that there is no scale or label on either axis. Each of us needs to decide on our own axes and scale. The vertical axis for someone might be entitled, “Playing the Piano.” One musician may desire to play Rachmaninoff 2nd piano concerto with a large metropolitan symphony orchestra while another may have a model to play Scott Joplin and being able to improvise a medley of rags. Others may want to develop themselves so they become a skilled thoracic surgeon while others want to complete a minor in micro biology and genetics as part of their undergraduate degree. Each of us needs to define the overall goal and scope of their development.
The horizontal axis is typically some measure of time. Again, the axis is not scaled. The time horizon for some may be a matter of weeks while others engage in a development plan that spans decades or a life time. Some musicians are never content with their artistic craft and are continually evaluating and refining their technique. The model may have a fractal characteristic. A fractal is an image that is comprised of a series of self-repeating images or patterns. The overall goal may be sub-divided into numerous incremental steps that follow the same pattern or model. Students usually understand this as the way they work towards a certification of degree. To become a skilled surgeon, a person must prepare for the MCAT and earn a set of credentials that help them gain access to a medical school. After acceptance to med school, the person must progress through a series of courses and clinical experiences. Each step of this process can be plotted on the figure as a developmental process. If an enlargement of the overall development process is made, we see a whole series of nested development or achievement, each fitting the stated development process.