37,000' is where I do my best thinking
Dreaming is easy when you have lots to dream about and lots to draw from to facilitate the dreams. Doing is easy when you have lots to work with and a pretty clear picture of what you are doing and where you are going from the dreaming. Nirvana occurs when visionary dreaming transitions to passionate […]
We live in an information flowing world. We are bombarded with updates, breaking news, monitoring alerts, and spam. In the midst of all that, we also get a significant number of very significant information items that pertain to the very thing we’re thinking about or working on. Many of us may react very negatively then […]
Dictionary.com defines a twinge as “a sudden, sharp pain”. I bet there’s been a lot of twinges in business these past few years. Changing markets. Bankrupt customers. Financial collapse. All create twinges. And there’s been lots of them lately. I grew up believing that twinges weren’t solely from pain, but also from excitement. And I […]
Jul 9th 2011Business
In the toughest times for a business, the headwinds are extreme. The headwinds slow down an organization – the thought processes, the decision cycles, the time to execute even the no brainers. In those times when the headwinds are the highest, some businesses seek a low, wind-resistant profile, hunkering down and marching methodically forward.  Their goal is to […]
As I was walking through a village in Alaska north of the Arctic Circle, I smiled when I saw this: In these villages, nothing is discarded, but instead, things are stashed away just in case they may be needed at some future point either for what they were originally designed and built for or as parts […]
At dinner with a friend last night, he told me about his dad saying this: Experience is the worst teacher. Unfortunately, you get the grade before you learn the lesson. How true. The older I get, the more I cherish the wisdom of elders. The older I get, the more I wish young people and […]
We’re receiving more messages than ever right now, from more sources than ever right now. We’re also sending more messages than ever right now, in more ways than ever right now. Our problem isn’t the communications; it’s the content. How much of the stuff flowing through any of the communications paths we have is important? […]
Do you customize everything that’s yours? Your car? Your office? Your float plane dock (I don’t have one but saw this one today at Lake Hood in Anchorage)? Many people go to extraordinary efforts to make anything that’s their’s something very special. It then becomes a place to be proud of, a place to be […]
Jun 18th 2011Business
I spent about 70 hours working this week, and now I’m going back and figuring out the breakdown of that time into people, places and things. Here’s the definitions I’m using: People – time spent working issues related to motivating, nurturing, supporting, disciplining, so basically leading people Places – Time spent going somewhere to learn […]
I brought donuts into the office this week, because for some reason, donuts create smiles. But the smiles started long before they ever made it to the office, because it was an artistic and logistical masterpiece to pick out 54 donuts, with tender loving care to get some of every kind and package them in a way […]