My Riffs

Having kids makes you very aware of the different stages of life. At younger ages, just a few months difference puts a child in a very different stage of life. What we may tend to forget as adults is that everyone is still at different stages in life. It should make us much slower to judge if we just realize that the other person is at an entirely different stage of life than us.

Pet peeves and dislikes are like a magnet. In a weird way we're drawn to them. They pull from us rants, rage and the behaviour of bashing. But it's unwise to bash that which you are trying to reach or change. Use the dislike you have inside to form a positive reach. Pull the person or situation from bad to good rather than try and bash it from bad to good.

It's possible to take different routes to the same end result. Sometimes we let other peoples routes completely distract us. If somebody isn't doing it the same way as you, wait and see, they may end up with the desired result. Yes, people take wrong paths, but it's usually recoverable. It's an opportunity to learn. If someone is on a fatal path, by all means shout, scream and wave your hands to get them off it! But if someone is merely taking a different route, try and trace out how they could conceivably get to the end result desired. When we insist on those around us doing things the exact same as us, we hamper the creative process and discoveries to be made from that process.

My kids don't seem to have the understanding of the fragility of certain objects and materials. Broken toys are a very common occurrence. Understanding how and when things break is something we have to learn. This knowledge doesn’t seem to come naturally. Adults can fail to learn this lesson properly too though. When adults don’t know limits, we break things and even people some times. We need to know the limits of people. We need to know the limits of our influence. We need to know the limits of our strengths and weaknesses. We need to learn the limits of our given authority and roles. Overstepping limits always breaks something. So kids have to learn when toys break, and adults have to learn when much more precious things break.

Systems need to be updated and changed constantly or else they become outdated. Their original purpose and intent may not change but the implementation needs to be updated or the system will stray from it's original purpose. I've seen people buck up against the system from the outside. And they rarely make a dent. They fight the system from the outside and aren't able to make the changes they attempt. But those who change and update the system do so from the inside. Inside is where they can push, bend and change the system. I'm not referring to undermining something, but pushing to make the system more relevant and better. Pushing to enhance and grow the system. Systems have in place a certain amount of inertia that can be tapped into. Outside the system you won’t find the same inertia to tap into. Creating that inertia from scratch can be slow, cumbersome and almost insurmountable. Tap the system and make it better when possible. Bucking up against it is a a ve...

Our differences often lead to exclusion. While exclusion is sometimes right, what if we took a different approach? What if we viewed differences as opportunities instead? Differences can be huge opportunities. Opportunities to grow differently, to think differently or to at least confirm what we're doing. If there's a difference, leverage it as an opportunity. Don't automatically view it as a threat. Viewing differences as a threat wastes an opportunity.

What a good team in place, there are times to take your hand off the wheel and let the team perform. They will come up with things impossible with a leaders hand on the wheel. There is obviously a time and a place for this, and it needs to be done at strategic times. But when it's time, something magical can happen. Happy New Years!

Every rule has an exception. But we cannot let the exceptions become the rule. This will skew the rule and not allow the rule to benefit the greatest amount of people possible. The rule will cater to the exceptions and alienate the ones the rule is to help.

When is the right time to sacrifice quantity over quality? Probably when the product is cheap. When the product is valuable, sacrificing quantity over quality is the wrong choice. Most the time we should be preoccupied with quality over quantity. Unless it's those little things that truly don't matter. Make sure those things are produced quantity over quality.

There's a lot wrapped up in those words and instructions. Those who always leave something better than they found it, usually possess a number of character traits that are above average. Leaving something better than you find it means at least the following things: - You have a good sense of self awareness - You are good at reading people and situations. - You have enough self respect to take pride in your work. - You have a positive view of the world around you. So, always leave things better than you find them. You may just inherit some great character traits as you make things better.

Some things break when you use force and other things require force to be used. Knowing when to apply force and when to use finesse is one of lives great lessons to learn. Those who master this have the ability to work with people on a whole other level. The decision of which to use is always situational. There is a time for both, but using the wrong one at the wrong time can be a mistake that takes much effort to recover from. Pro tip: always err on the side of finesse.

The energy it takes to prove someone wrong is quite something. Courts of law are busy and essentially exist in a large way for the purpose of proving someone wrong. We will go to extreme lengths to prove someone is wrong. But where does that leave us? Proving someone wrong doesn’t validate us. If someone is wrong, it seems the laws set forth in nature will take care of the wrongdoing more often than not. What if energy was instead focused on showing that what we’re doing is right. Not in a “I told you” kind of way, but in being a steadfast, self explanatory example? That energy is far better spent. Leave the proving of wrongness to someone. Invest your focus and energy on building what’s right.

Being intolerant of things in people around us seems to increasingly become the normal. What if we decided to give those around us the same allowance we have for ourselves? We all have our rough edges, but don't allow others the same. We all have our weaknesses, but don't allow others the same. We all have our bias, but don't allow other the same. Etc, etc. We can have a double standard in not allowing others the things we allow ourselves. The world would be a better place if we afforded other the things we allow ourselves.

Energy has to come from somewhere. We often need to tap into an energy larger than ourselves to drive us forward. It takes energy to power a person or a team. Where can we get energy for ourselves, our family, friends or communities? Vision. Vision is energy. Clear vision can be converted into energy. Running low on energy? Renew the vision.

I love simplicity. If things aren't simple, people won't do them, follow them or understand them. But life is very complex. Caution is required when distilling things of life down to a singularity. Life and people are complicated. When we say definitive things about a person or situation, we are often reducing it and taking away from it. The complexity of life is what makes it so full and rich. It's a fact that things are tied together far more often than we realize. And things are connected that we take for granted and maybe even overlook. So to reduce complexities is to make them poorer.  If we reduce someone to a singularity, we reduce them. If we reduce a situation to a singularity, it becomes less valuable. The thing to remember is this, if you have reduced something or someone to a singularity or if you've been reduced to a singularity, much was overlooked and the singularity is only at best partially true.

More hours. More process. More controls. More demands. More training. More money. More perks. Maybe in a tiny way all of these help. The real key? Appreciation. If people feel appreciated, they will feel like what they're doing is valuable, effective and thus productivity will be maximized. More appreciation.

The ideal team has a good mix of old and young. Of course it depends on the purpose of the team, but for many teams you want a good mix and range of diverse abilities in general. But for sure you want young and old on the team. Young provides the energy and drive. Older provides the guidance and wisdom. When you have a balance of this, the team is poised to succeed. Young people have the energy and ideas to bore out the tunnel, or to cut out the path. Older people have the wisdom and experience and can make sure the young don’t waste time. Synergy between generations is critical. When it doesn’t exist the creative and forward moving process is stalled.

Best solution: each side gives enough to meet in the middle. Bad solution: one side gives way more in order to reach the other side. Worst solution: neither side gives and the bridge isn't built. Best solution: requires compromise. Bad solution: requires dominance. Worst solution: requires pride.

Because something has always been done a certain way, doesn’t make it the way to move forward. Because something previously worked doesn’t make it the way to do things going forward. History should teach, not be something we attempt to carbon copy. When we get stuck on the historical methods we’ve always used, we limit our future. History should teach, not be repeated. We may say if it’s not broken don’t fix it. But if we don’t maintain and improve, it will break.

The best growth and expansions require venturing into the unknown. Not to the complete unknown, but partial unknown. It takes a delicate balance of staying within the known and venturing into the unknown. Expanding a business, expanding our learning, expanding our skills requires going somewhere we haven’t been before. Getting past our comfort zone. The comfort zone is the known, and it’s needed. But if you fully dwell there, you will die. The unknown is uncomfortable, but you have to go there to live. You can’t fully dwell here either as the risks here are too large and likely could end up destroying you too.