Thank Goodness It's Monday #449

STRIVE FOR PERFECTION

... BUT ACCEPT LESS

Coming away from the 2014 Winter Olympics I’ll note that, while all the gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded, no athlete achieved a “perfect” score or performance.

As usual. Truth is, even in that world of dedicated, skilled and well-drilled elite performers, the perfect performance is in the neighborhood of as statistically unlikely as your Power Ball Lottery odds.

 

In other words: L-O-N-G. Very, very L-O-N-G.

 

Now let’s be clear. This observation doesn’t at all mean I think we should not strive for perfection.

 

We should. “Striving” is important and necessary for success, no doubt. But in doing so we must be prepared to be less than perfect (and allow the same for others).

 

And since the Sochi winter games are now in the record books and many of us are weary of the burdens of winter weather, let’s turn elsewhere for our baseline (literally) point of reference for today’s TGIM message. 

The Great American Game. Another baseball spring training season is newly underway, complete with highly compensated elite players hell bent on achieving record-breaking performances.



Aside from pitching “perfect” games: One of the most amazing and yet little-appreciated records in big league baseball is the one for a player handling the most "chances" in a row without making an error.

 

John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis (1890-1960)

was a first baseman and manager

in Major League Baseball.

McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster

in the Boston suburban leagues,

where his spectacular playing
brought shouts of "That's the stuff, kid".

For years the record was held by Stuffy McInnis -- an especially solid -- you might even say "cracker jack" -- defensive player. 

And talk about perfect: In 1921 and 1922, McInnis handled 1700 consecutive chances --1700 throws, pop-ups and grounders -- without making an error.

But do you even know his name? In the game as a player and coach for decades, until only recently* our guy Stuffy held major league fielding records for first basemen over one season.

*In April 27, 2008, Kevin Youkilis established a new major league record for first basemen when he fielded his 1,701st consecutive chance without an error, passing the old mark set by McInnis. Youlilis’ streak was snapped at 238 games --2,002 fielding attempts -- on June 7, 2008.

Interesting trivia, but what's the point? 

Well, one point is: Who (besides me) talks about Stuffy McInnis these days? 

While laudable, perfection isn’t necessarily the stuff that legends are made of -- not in baseball, and perhaps not often in the "real" world.

Outside the rarified space elite athletes occupy, most of us don’t have the need or time or wherewithal to laser focus our efforts so intently.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Beware perfectionism. You’re falling into perfectionism when you keep working on a task long after the point where extra effort adds meaningful value. 

Your live-your-life thinking must be to know that there is a point for most things in the workaday world where the effort you put in is more than good enough to fulfill your obligation.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Stop there. 

And no “gold plating.” You’re probably familiar with that concept. It differs somewhat from the chore-like persistent drive of perfectionism in that it probably pleases you to be going that extra mile … putting in more and more time making whatever it is bright and shiny – more bright and shiny than anyone else cares about. Stop now.

But … But … What if I goof? Slip up? Make an error? 

You can still get the Gold. Or Silver. Or Bronze. Or recognition for having been at the big show. 

Successful people know that, while mistakes may be painful --

 

They are also instructive. (That's one reason such people are successful.) They possess the spark and courage to take action where others hesitate. And when they do commit an error, they don't chalk it up as a complete loss. They try to learn something from it that will sharpen their judgment the next time around.

TGIM TAKEAWAY: If -- actually, WHEN -- you or others make a mistake, don't compound the error. Assess the situation calmly and decide what corrective action is needed. To minimize the damage, if nothing else can be done, a wise course is simply to inform everyone affected. Avoid covering up. Curb the tendency to look for a scapegoat.

Once things are under control, don't continue to place emphasis on the mistake.    Concentrate instead on what you will do in the future to see that it doesn't happen again -- to you or anyone else.

It's great to strive for an Olympic “Perfect 10” or Stuffy McInnis-level failure-proof performance. 

But not at the expense of progress. Have the courage to try new ideas and don't discourage others by being overly critical of reasonable efforts that don’t work.

Swing for the fences and don't worry about batting 1.000.

Now this seems like a perfectly good place to end today’s TGIM.

 



In a 1992 interview Leonard Cohen said
about his “imperfect offering” of Anthem:
 
"There's not a line in it that I couldn't defend...
I delayed its birth for so long because
it wasn't right or appropriate or true or it was too easy
or the ideas were too fast or too fuss,
but the way it is now it deserves to be born."

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. Ring the bell that still can ring,

        Forget your perfect offering.

       There is a crack in everything.

       That’s how the light gets in.

 

Singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen makes that observation in the lyrics of his song “Anthem” which, curiously, he says took him something like ten years of writing and refining to get to a point he was willing to record it.



 

Thank Goodness It's Monday #448

CAN YOU NAME THE U.S. PRESIDENTS?

IN ORDER?

I can’t.  Probably will never be able to. Even with a visual aid.


Who held the job before the guy who was before Lincoln?

Who replaced Ulysses Grant? Who followed Woodrow Wilson?

(The end of this post fills in the blanks.)

But on this Presidents Day 2014 it feels like something that, perhaps, a patriotic citizen ought to be able to do.

 

Of course I do know someone who, even more than simply knowing the Presidents in order, uses the appeal of that bit of memory mastery to demonstrate the potential of, and train others in feats of, monumental mental dexterity.

Now if I could only remember his name …

 

Just joking. Of course I know it. He’s two-time USA Memory Champion -- 

 

Ron White. You may know him as well from numerous television appearances.

Or perhaps you met him live and in person at programs I was involved with some years ago, produced locally by my friend Eric Taylor.

 

And in that regard, while I do not embody much of what Ron preaches and practices, those among you who know Eric personally may recognize that Eric did learn from the master and has achieved a level of proficiency, particularly in the discipline of name retention.

 

But before this turns into an advertorial …

Let’s get back to the TGIM Presidents Day theme.

 

At those ‘live and in-person” events, after sharing his refined-for-the-21^st Century version of the 2500-year-old Roman “loci” structured memory training and development strategy, Ron used physical cues in the hotel ballroom where the training was taking place to aid the attendees in recalling the Presidents, in order.  And, by and large –

It worked. After a drill or two, folks who were initially challenged (me, too) were pointing at objects in the room and calling out – 

George Washington,

John Adams,

Thomas Jefferson,

James Madison,

James Monroe,

John Quincy Adams,

Andrew Jackson,

Martin Van Buren,

and so on …

Impressive, right?

Well … You’ll note that at the outset of this TGIM I allowed that I could not replicate the Presidents-in-order listing feat.  So you might, quite correctly, conclude that perhaps –

 

I’m not so enamored of the idea.

Before I get down to why, I do want to say I don’t demean the ability to do this kind of memorization. There’s a place for it and usefulness to it, I’m sure. But it’s something I just can’t get enthralled with.

In fairness, I do wish I had the personal horsepower to incorporate the basics of face/name recall into my repertoire. It’s difficult to argue with the legendary Dale Carnegie Principle #6 from How to Win Friends and Influence People: 

“Remember that a person’s name

is to that person

the sweetest and most important sound

in any language.”

And, when I have a “the face is familiar, but I just can’t get the name” moment, I hang my head in shame when I recall Ron’s admonition, “My dog remembers your face, right? And he’s never once gotten a name right.”

Bow, Oww. But about the idea underlying the application of these memory hooks …

I stand with Albert Einstein. (See TGIM #447. Seems I’ve stuck on Uncle Albert these days.)

 

Point is:In response to a reporter’s query admitted not knowing the speed of sound, Einstein is alleged to have expressed the view –

"I never commit to memory

anything that can easily be looked up in a book."

Truth in quoting: The more accurate citation of that sentiment, dating back to the New York Times in the 1920s and alluded to by scholarly  Einstein biographers ever since is:

“[I do not] carry such information in my mind

since it is readily available in books.

...The value of a college education

is not the learning of many facts

but the training of the mind to think.”

AH-HA! Moment: I know the first version of the quote because I’ve heard it enough times to have it “memorized” albeit perhaps somewhat imperfectly. 

AH-HA! Moment in Action: I get to share the more accurate version and get to use it to support my position because I’ve tried heartily to train my mind to question and challenge and think. And then I took the time and trouble to dig down through the search engine layers (somewhat the equivalent of reference books in our wired world) to find trustworthy, vetted, authoritative sources with citations.

TGIM PRESIDENTS DAY TAKEAWAY: We err greatly when we mistake rote learning and accumulating “facts” for gathering knowledge and wisdom and reaching for understanding. 

Consider: No doubt the Presidential giants who come easily to mind on this day embodied the always-be-learning ethos. 

Surely they had a remarkable command of much factual information. But they didn’t let it sit idly in their heads or parrot it back as the unyielding answer to challenges that confronted them. They explored what they knew … added to that knowledge … adjusted their thinking for the circumstances of the moment … gathered input and counsel from others and were open-minded in evaluating it.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: On this Presidents Day, rather than fret about whether we can pass the POTUS-listing test, we might consider it our patriotic duty to take an oath to resolve to be more Presidential in our thinking – emulating the best who held the office (whomever and whatever that means to you; no doubt your list doesn’t match mine).

Hail to the Chief. 

And hail and farewell for today to you.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. They may all be giants. Of course you have an opinion about who are/were the Best Presidents and Worst Presidents. 

We all do. And over the years there have been repeated attempts to gather the objective opinion of historians and political scientists to rank POTUS office holders, focusing on presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures and faults. 

In the spirit of this TGIM message I encourage you investigate on your own, if you wish. But as you proceed I’ll share a cautionary observation voiced by John F. Kennedy (who, these days, ranks in the top 20 but seldom in the top 10). 

In 1962, speaking to David H. Donald, noted biographer of Abraham Lincoln, Kennedy voiced dissatisfaction and resentment with historians who had rated some of his predecessors. Kennedy said, "No one has a right to grade a President—even poor James Buchanan—who has not sat in his chair, examined the mail and information that came across his desk, and learned why he made his decisions."

Thank Goodness It's Monday #447

IT’S TIME TO “BUT…” IN

AND CHALLENGE

SOME TIME-MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

Wasn’t one of your 2014 resolutions to get more value from your time?



Albert Einstein told us,
“All of science is nothing more than
the refinement of everyday thinking.”

Today TGIM takes its cue from Uncle Albert
(see especially #3, below)
 
 

Good!

So I can save a big hunk of our time from the get-go and simply make the observation that, if we would start by applying some of the better time management principles that we’ve read and heard about from the beginning of time, we might have a solid foundation to build on.

 

Or maybe not.

Here’s a big catch: We’re all human, and with that “humanness” comes fallibility.

And a great deal of the “classic” time management advice doesn’t seem to take that into account. It doesn’t allow room to be reasonable with our expectations for ourselves or others.

Human beings are not automatons – mindless, emotionless mechanical beings who perfectly carry out every task or order like clockwork. And we don’t perform at our best when we’re treated that way.

 

So let’s invest the rest of our TGIM time together today reviewing and challenging golden-oldie time management thinking and investigating some strategic alternatives.

Time Challenge #1:

Fast action pays off

We’re reminded time and again that it’s important to be decisive … keep meetings short … keep the ball rolling. Doing things quickly supposedly saves time.

But …

Let me tell you a story: An executive in one of our client firms, desperate to do all these things, trained himself to be as brief as possible in meetings and abruptly cut through discussions with curt remarks like, “Get to the point” and “What’s your problem?”

 

By doing so he apparently saved time. But, as it turned out, he and his coworkers often had differing ideas of what had been decided and what would be done after a particular meeting.

Result: Fast action can slow results. Because of miscommunication, resolutions would inevitably become garbled and confused down the line. In the end the exec would spend twice the time that had been “saved” straightening out the mess.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Be clear about being clear. Stay alert for times when rushing the decision-making process might backfire. Be more intent on reaching sound decisions than with quickly dispatching meetings and the like. Take a little extra time, even when you’re sure you’ve reached the end and everyone concurs, to recap -- and hear others recap -- for the benefit of all, “Who will do what, when.”

Time Challenge #2:

Priority vs. Interest

Many time-management experts place great emphasis on doing things in order of priority. And, as a rule we would all agree it makes sense. Between watering the garden or putting out a raging fire, the right “priority” choice for the person with a hose in their hand is clear.

But …

Sometimes it’s better for people to do what they’re psychologically ready to do, even if it’s not the highest priority item. People are more interested in doing better, and therefore actually do better, when they’re able to follow their own “normal” routines rather than always being or feeling forced to do things strictly in some prioritized order of importance.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: All things being equal (or almost equal), don’t force priorities onto the daily routine. Do what’s most interesting when it attracts you. 

Added point: If you have the power to lay out the agenda for others, allow them as much set-your-own-order leeway as possible, unless you can give them a compelling, high-priority reason to do otherwise. 

TGIM Time Challenge #3:

Efficiency isn’t always “efficient”

Stopwatch toting time/motion study champions – the so-called efficiency experts – extol doing things in the most time-economic manner possible.

But …

Sometimes doing things a little less efficiently is far more enjoyable and more beneficial in the long run.

Let’s take another “meeting” example: One exec we know could easily cut the time he spends in meetings, probably by half. But he usually doesn’t want to. He enjoys talking and listening. Although it seems less efficient, he feels he gets a more nuanced sense of what’s going on with his staff and in his company and that he’s a better leader and decision maker for that. 

Added benefit: His employees like the relaxed atmosphere too. And without “this meeting will end in a half-hour, precisely” pressure, they feel free to raise issues that might otherwise go unaddressed.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Enjoy your time. And use more of your time for the things you enjoy. As Albert Einstein pointed out –

It’s relative. He actually said, “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute.”

I may not comprehend the math and the physics of Einstein’s Theories of General and Special Relativity but that the “hot stove/pretty girl” stuff makes sense to me.

TGIM Takeaway: Good time management principles are not immutable Laws of the Universe that apply equally to every situation and every person. As a group we are all so varied that few prescriptions can cover everyone at all times. So, in the quest to maximize the value of your time, realize that principles are neither absolute nor infallible and apply them with common sense and tact.

The only true test is to find what works for you over time. Experiment, then – providing it doesn’t waste the time of the others you interact with -- go with what works for you. 

So now it’s time to test that Einstein wisdom. I’ve no doubt about the stove part, so I’ll skip that.

It’s on to part two.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “I believe that misconceptions about oneself that one does not correct where possible act as a bad magic.” Poet, critic and essayist Laura Riding (1901 – 1991) shared that observation.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #446

A LUCKY RED ENVELOPE FOR YOU

(AND AT LEAST ONE IDEA

MORE VALUABLE THAN $$$)



Sculpture of Chinese zodiac Horse 
in a park in Zhejiang Province, China

Welcome to the Year of the Horse.

 

You may know that, based on an ancient system of astronomy and astrology, last Friday -- give or take a few hours depending where in the world you were/are -- the so-called Chinese New Year began.

 

So called? This New Year observance is determined by a lunar calendar. In China, the festivities are known as Spring Festival (春節) or Lunar New Year (農曆新年). From late January to mid-February, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and other countries also celebrate Lunar New Year.

 

Or maybe you know because you clicked through on the seasonal Google Doodle.

No matter how you come by the information, the Lunar Year ahead (year 4712) is designated the Year of the Horse -- particularly the Wooden Horse, incorporating a traditional Lunar New Year designated “element” into the mix.

You may also recognize some of the traditions that will be observed over the stretch of 15 days of ceremony and celebration to attract and welcome good luck and happiness.

Not surprisingly, many are customs that would fit in any cultural context at the beginning of a new year.

• People dress in finery to represent contentment and wealth.
• Homes are scrubbed clean.
• Rooms are decorated for the holiday.

Other traditions are unique.

• The room decorations are paper lanterns and flower blossoms.
• Walls are adorned with the Chinese characters for “Happy New Year” – Gung hay fa choy in Cantonese.
• Dragon-dance parades snake along streets with clashing cymbals and firecrackers exploding to ward off evil spirits.

And --

• Children and single, unemployed adults look forward to receiving red envelopes stuffed with cash from elders.

As the “elder” co-creator with my friend Eric Taylor of the Best Year Ever Program! some years (both lunar and solar) ago, I sort of feel obliged to commemorate any “New Year” observance and tie it to our message that –

Any time is the right time

to begin Your Best Year Ever!

So, although you may not be a child or an unemployed single, here’s –

A Red Envelope for you.

Sorry, no actual cash.

(Awwww …)

 But in the spirit of all these TGIM messages, I believe that “sharing an idea” is a time-proven strategy that’s –

More valuable than money. 

Think of it this way: If I have a dollar and you have a dollar, and we give our dollar to one another, we each still have only a dollar.

But, and it’s a Big BUT: If I give you an idea, and you give me an idea, then we each have two ideas that we can contemplate, be inspired by, work on with our individual talents and craft into something even greater than the original inspiration.

So, having “horsed around” with that concept some, let’s get back to this idea of astrology and universal truths.

According to the astrological aspects of the holiday, babies born in a Year of Horse are expected to have the following traits:

Strengths

People born in a Year of the Horse have ingenious communicating techniques and in their community they always want to be in the limelight. They are clever, kind to others, and like to join in a venture career. Although they sometimes talk too much, they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, earthy but stubborn. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are popular among friends, active at work and refuse to be reconciled to failure, although their endeavor cannot last indefinitely.

Weaknesses

They cannot bear too much constraint. However their interest may be only superficial and lacking real substance. They are usually impatient and hot blooded about everything other than their daily work. They are independent and rarely listen to advice. Failure may result in pessimism. They usually have strong endurance but with bad temper. Flamboyant by nature, they are wasteful since they are not good with matters of finance due to a lack of budgetary efficiency. Some of those who are born in the horse like to move in glamorous circles while pursuing high profile careers.  They tend to interfere in many things and frequently fail to finish projects of their own.

Were you born in a Year of the Horse? You probably don’t know. But you also probably felt that some of the characteristics – especially the positive ones – fit you. 

Now for me, almost any astrological stuff is –

Beyond understanding. Yet, as I’ve confessed before, I do look at my horoscope in the newspaper. I’ve got the daily Libra prognostication popping up on my computer home page.

And I read them with the fascinated knowledge that there is guidance to be gleaned in the cryptic messages (although that it is celestial and unwavering universal is highly suspect to me).

Year of the Horse TGIM Takeaway: I figure, at the least, horoscopes are well-intended advice. I’m certainly open to that. So that leads me, at the auspicious new beginning of the Year of the Horse, to this –

TGIM Takeaway: “We are wiser than we know.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said that some solar years ago in 1841.

How does that relate to this New Year 4712? We all would want the positive characteristics of those born in a Year of the Horse as well as the Water Snake (last year’s creature designation) or the Dog (my Chinese astrology birth year; I looked it up) and the other nine Chinese astrological animal signs.

And who wouldn’t want to embody the best parts of Libra, Scorpio, etc., etc.

 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: If we’re wise enough to know what characteristics are desirable, then we should be wise enough to set our own course in raising our skills in those areas in order that we might become all that we might become.

 

Our fate is not in the stars. The future is in our own hands. Self-improvement is the precursor to all improvement. So --

 

Quit horsin’ around.

Gung hay fa choy!  Get started on Your Best Year Ever! NOW.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “The horse, the horse! The symbol of surging potency and power of movement, of action, in man.” British author D. H. Lawrence (1885 -1930) made that observation in 1931 (which was a lunar calendar Year of the Sheep.)