Posts in Meandering Genius

Ever forget what you planned to blog about?

Blogging Meandering Genius 1 Comment

Here I sit, first thing in the morning, ready to start writing my daily blog. Yesterday, I had two great ideas for topics, but this morning, they completely escape me. Does this happen to you?

This isn’t the first time that I’ve drawn a blank on what I was thinking about the day prior.

Without having anything else to write about this morning…well, nothing top of mind…I thought I would examine my problem and discuss a solution.

This helps me think through the problem–I’ll call it Blog Brainstorming.

For some people, ideas come to them when they are in bed or in the shower. Not so true for me. I have about a 30-minute commute to and from work every day. It’s mostly one straight highway–IH 10 between San Antonio and Fair Oaks Ranch. That’s when the ideas tend to come to me; mostly when I’m driving home from work, because on the way in I tend to be thinking about the day ahead.

So yesterday, as I was driving home, I was thinking about “things” and one of them struck me as a potential blog topic. Every time I have these ideas, I tell myself not to forget the idea. Nine times out of ten! I do.

So, how to fix this?

As I was about three paragraphs into this blog, I remembered the topic that I was thinking about on the way home. I was thinking about writing about why you blog…exploring the reasons why people might write blogs. This idea came based off a discussion yesterday with a good friend of mine at work that is planning to start up her blog.

So, how do I capture that idea? Do I tell myself not to forget the idea, which I will probably do anyway? No, that doesn’t work.

I had considered going into my WordPress app and posting it as the title for a draft blog and then saving the draft. I have done that before, but that can have issues. One of those issues is that I just remembered the topic while I’m writing this blog and that would mean saving this draft blog, opening a new one, and then saving that draft. Those steps on the app are not that easy. Additionally, two things happen when you do that in WordPress. First, the blog takes on the date that you saved the draft. So, I have to remember to change the posting date or what will happen is it will look like I posted it earlier than I really did when I publish the blog. Second, the app doesn’t allow you to simply publish once you’ve saved it to draft. To actually publish blogs on the app, I have to do some things to get it to post.

All that said, I think my screen would be pretty cluttered with bunches of draft blog ideas mucking up the system. So, I am discarding that idea.

I could carry around a pen and paper everywhere I go. That way I could write down the blog ideas when they hit me. That sounds like a good idea, but then I would have to always have that notepad with me…in bed, near the shower, in the car, at work, out to dinner. You get the picture. No pad with me, no blog ideas written down.

So, that idea, however potential, probably wouldn’t work for me.

But then I think about what do I have with me pretty much all the time…the electronic leash. That’s right, I almost always have my cell phone with me. I don’t take it in the shower, but it’s in the bathroom when I’m taking a shower. I literally take the cell with me always. Also, Monday through Friday I blog on my iPad, not my iPhone, so it’s free to use and I don’t have to hop out of The WordPress app to save an idea. With any mobile phone, you have some Notes app and there are a ton of them I’m sure that you can download that might have better features. I use the notes apps for a few purposes already…mainly to put together my weekend to do list so I can check off things as I get them done.

As I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve not only added the first idea from yesterday that came back to me, but I have listed two other blog ideas. They are right there on my Notes app ready for use tomorrow and future days. So, I think I will try this idea capture tool for a bit and see how it works.

The phone is with me all the time. It has a simple way to capture ideas and save them. It is separate from my iPad, so I don’t have to switch apps and it won’t clutter my app screen. Sounds like a good idea.

What type of ideas do you use to capture those fleeting ideas for blogging?

Do you know where you want to be…strategically?

Meandering Genius

Where are you in your career? Are you happy or is there somewhere else you would like to be? Would you like to make more money, have more responsibility, or have a specific job title that you don’t have today?

If you answer yes to these things…have you given thought on how to get there or are you just waiting for it to happen?

Obviously doing good work in your current job will get you noticed, but it won’t definitely get you where you want to go. You need to think about how you will strategically achieve what you want.

In the Air Force, time in grade and time in service were two of the primary factors that drove your promotion timeline. Once you made it to E-4, you had to start testing for the next rank. Even with the test, time added points to your overall promotion score. If your score met or exceeded the cut off then you were promoted. My first two times testing for E-5, the cut off was so high that it didn’t matter if I aced the test, I wouldn’t have enough points to get promoted because of high cut off scores. Once you start testing for the senior enlisted ranks, they introduce a board score that takes in account many additional factors than just time, test, and evaluation scores.

The reason that I explain this system is to provide an example of how one might strategically achieve a senior rank in the Air Force even when first starting out. Obviously, you can’t jump from E-1 to E-9, but you know when you are eligible for each promotion and you are in control of studying. With proper planning, you can be prepared to move to the next level. Ten years before you start testing for senior NCO ranks, you start planning out your career with special duty assignments, volunteering, and trying to get key jobs and assignments. This way, your board score, which is based off the last ten years of service, reflects well. If you apply this same mindset from the start of your career, you open yourself up to the possibility of below the zone promotion to E-4 and potential STEP to E-5 or E-6.

If you know where you want to be, or how much you want to make, what are the steps that it will take you to get there? What experience will you have to gain, what education and training do you need, what line of promotions do you need to get there?

When you have someone sitting at the bottom of the pile and they want a corner office, they simply don’t apply for those positions and expect to get them. If you look at the qualifications of the position and say to yourself, “I meet these,” that doesn’t necessarily mean you are really eligible for that role.

What are the promotion steps between where you are today and where you want to be? You need to navigate these promotion steps one at a time, with the emphasis of building your experience, credibility, and capability along the route. If you are coming into an organization with a career under your belt, there is a possibility of hopping more aggressively, but you need to learn the business and be respected.

Things to think about when strategically planning your career path:

1. Write down each promotion step to your desired level.

2. At each level, list out position requirements like education, certifications, training, and experience.

3. As these positions rise the ladder, consider the level of management and leadership they have–the span of control they have. Think about how you can gather this type of experience through something like volunteering.

4. Build a network within your company that will help you as you grow. Look for mentors and contacts that can provide advice and guidance along the way.

5. Develop your business acumen based on where you are headed.

6. Plan your route and specifically look for opportunities elsewhere in your organization that will broaden your skills and challenge your capabilities.

7. Understand the time requirements or expectations for each step along your career ladder. Plan for that and work in things like appropriate education and training along the route.

8. Look for opportunities to excel in your current job, like special projects and assignments that show your willingness to be challeneged.

9. Every day, try to do the best job you can in the job you are in today.

10. Don’t get discouraged. Just because you have a plan doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen the way you planned it. Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Life will punch you in the face…learn to roll with the punches.

Whatever happened to Apple?

Meandering Genius

So Steve Jobs is gone and what happened to Apple?

I haven’t seen anything new come out of Apple in a couple years…I think the last “big” thing was a color case for the iPhone 5?

Can one person have that much influence over an entire organization? Was Steve Jobs the innovative wiz behind Apple or did he simply bring out the innovative in everyone else?

This is a great lesson for those who aspire to lead and who wish to leave a legacy. How do you build the skills in people to do what is needed? When you leave–and we all leave eventually, what will you leave behind?

When I look at Google today, with Google Glasses and their Autonomous Vehicle, I can definitely see who is leading the pack with innovation. I guess Simon Sinek was right about Apple and Steve Jobs…he was the Why for Apple.

Without him, they only know the How and the What.

Blank Page Bingo Blogging

Blogging Meandering Genius

Do you have days where you stare at the blank blog page and simply have no idea as to what to write about that day?

The harder you think, the more menacing that blank page becomes. Just starring back at you laughing and mocking you.

Here’s a way to solve it…Blank Page Bingo.

It takes a little bit of preparation, but it’s worth it.

1. Build a six by six table and number the rows and columns 1 to 6.

2. Down the left side, next to the numbers, list six big things you normally like to blog about. For example, mine might be things like Strategy, Process Improvement, Employee Engagement, Blogging, Leadership, and Communication.

3. Across the top, above the numbers of each column, write done these words: Getting Started, Educational, Something Funny, Pro, Con, and Future.

Now, when you’re staring at that blank blog page, roll a six sided die twice. The first roll is your Blogging Interest (row) and your second roll is your Topic Generator (column).

In my example, let’s say I rolled a 1 and a 1 (snake eyes). Then I would talk about Strategy and Getting Started. So, what I could write about is getting started in strategic planning…how did I start…how could you get started. Now all kinds of ideas can flow from these two things–strategy and getting started.

If you write about more things than six in your blog, then create 11 rows and label them 2 to 12. Your first two rolls are added together for a 2 to 12 number. Need more Topic Generators…create 11 columns the same way.

I wouldn’t recommend that you use this generator every day you blog, just when you get stuck. If you roll your numbers and you still can’t think of an idea, then roll again…no biggie. You can also close your eyes and point, toss a coin onto your grid, literally however you would like to pick.

If you have ten rows and ten columns, you could use the month number and the last number in the day to do your picking, but that’s less random.

I think you get the concept.

Blank Page Bingo is nothing but a simple idea generator for you to come up with a quick blogging topic if you can’t think of something to write about. Anyone should be able to write about the things they know something about, once you have a direction.

Have fun with this tool and feel free to change it out if you use it a lot. Honestly, I was having a bit of blog block myself this morning and I was thinking about how to get over that while staring at the blank page and this idea popped in my head.

So, what I’m telling you, it was like I rolled a 4 for Blogging and a 2 for Educational. Additionally, I just made this up so it’s about as simple as that. Use it with caution, this method has been know to generate some pretty interesting blogs.

Have a great Friday!

Who do you work for anyway?

Meandering Genius

Often times I have to stop and ask myself this question when working for others in some kind of change situation.

There they are, across from me, complaining about the “impact” of the change and how it will affect their people, the program, or even themselves.

All I can think about is, “Who do you work for anyway?”

Not once do they ask the question, or pose the argument, “How will this change impact the customer?”

If…really IF…they would think about the customer first, these questions would melt away. We–all of us to include me–exist in a business to serve a customer. Without a customer, there is no business!

For my Thoughtful Thursday, and relatively short blog, when you are thinking about how something is impacting you, your team, or your process, stop and ask yourself first, how will this impact the customer.

Maybe you will find that the first three questions no longer matter.

So you call yourself a professional

Meandering Genius

If you’re a lawyer a doctor, an EMT, and many like professional services, you are required to maintain the professional designation by continuously learning and by participating in professional conferences and associations.

The “career field” I’m in is considered a professional career field. It doesn’t have the same rigorous level of education requirements that you find with doctors and lawyers, but it’s professional just the same.

Even the military has the Profession of Arms and believes there is a level of professional training throughout your career to maintain and consistently build upon your capabilities.

If you maintain a professional certification common in my career, and they are from PMI and/or ASQ, then you have to maintain a level of continuous education requirements. This is true for doctors and lawyers and even as an EMT, I was required to keep the certification current through various activities.

There are, in my career, many (like me) that hold certifications that don’t require continuous education and certification requirements. These certifications, Lean Six Sigma and Change Management are essentially the same as those offered by PMI and ASQ, so, in my mind, they require the same level of dedication.

This brings me to the crux of this blog. If you hold a professional certification or status, then I know there are conferences and organizations that support that. At least some of them probably have local meetings in your area. The ASQ Section in San Antonio meets monthly and takes a break for summer. Additionally there is a Continuous Improvement Professionals (CIP) organization that a friend of mine and I stood up here in San Antonio that is now run by UTSA and meets monthly. Everyone that works in the fields related to this should be attending at least some of these meetings.

When I was actively involved in project management, but didn’t have the certification, I regularly went to PMI meetings and there were easily over 100 people that would attend. I went to the ASQ meeting last night and they had one of their biggest showings with about 32 people. The IIBA meeting in town sees about 10 people on average.

I work with over 70 others that call themselves Process Engineers…many of them are certified in Lean Six Sigma. Additionally, there are easily 30 to 50 Change Managers, most certified in Prosci. Add in Business Managers, Business Architects, Business Analysts, Business Support Analysts, and the list goes on. All total, there are probably easily over 1,000 professional positions and their leadership running around my 26,000-person company.

At most, I have seen four (including me) attend the local ASQ Meetings. Three of those (including me) regularly present at the meetings.

So, you call yourself a professional?

Holding a job title and just doing a job does not a professional make. I think there are a few very specific things that all professionals should do:

1. If you are in a professional role, you should have an appropriate level of education and certification. Personally, not only do I have have a Master’s Degree, but it is in Quality Systems Managment–way beyond a basic MBA, but very focused on what I do every day. Very few people in the world have this degree–it’s from National Graduate School, which I’m now adjunct faculty with. I have earned a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, and Master Black Belt in my career. Additionally, I have a Master’s-level Certification from Georgetown University in Change Management and I am certified in Change Management from Prosci. Although not a project manager, I’ve been fully trained in Project Management through PMI. Over the next few years, I plan to get my PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Now some of you might be looking at that paragraph and thinking, “Really, do you need all that education and certification?” If this is your job, how much is “good enough?” Is that the type of person you are…a good enough person? This is my job and if I’m not constantly learning, then I’ll grow stale in my position and not be able to effectively perform my job. Personally, I have a desire to be the best at what I do. If you think what you have is good enough, then obviously, you are not interested in being the best at what you do.

2. Be well read. Every month, new business books come out on the professional types of jobs that I work in. Officially, my position title is process engineer, but daily I do much more. I bring to the table strategic planning; change management; strategic communication; organizational design; strategic human capital; education, training, and development; program and project management; performance management; as well as process management and improvement. So, to stay current in all these things, many of which don’t even have a career certification, I read a lot. As a matter of fact, I probably have a third more books than I have read. I’m always buying books that relate to what I do. Some I read cover to cover and some sit on my shelf for future reference or reading. To this end, I’m building a full wall built-in bookshelf in my office at the house. Additionally, I receive many business magazines that I review and sometimes read and review many blogs and websites dedicated to the above fields. I guess I have a desire to be as up to date in current technologies and practices as possible so what I’m doing is current. What’s good enough for you?

3. I started this blog with a discussion about professional organizations. I was in the military for 21 years and I am a life member of every professional military association that one could normally join for my branch. I’m not even in the military anymore (retired) and those associations keep me current and up to date with what is happening to the military. Some of them even fight for my benefits on the Hill. In my profession; however, I belong to several organizations and I have popped in and out of others, like PMI and SHRM based on the current work I was doing. I have been an ASQ member for over ten years–after I returned from overseas–and today, I am a Senior Member of ASQ. However, I’m not just a member, I often attend local meetings and when possible attend conferences. Many times I have funded my own way to these conferences. In some cases, I have held leadership positions. For the Air Force Sergeants Association, I have held some of the highest nonprofit leadership positions. So, joining is great…you get to list it on your resume, but participating in professional organizations is where you grow.

I know I’m the oddity in this because I belong to so many and participate all the time. But, why am I the oddity? Why am I one of the few that thinks it’s important to have a great network, to stay current, to hear differing views and approaches, and to actively professionalize my career field? Is what you’re doing good enough?

4. There could be many other things I might recommend to being a true professional, but the one I’ll end with is sharing your knowledge. Day in and day out you do the job…that’s what you’re paid for. But how to you share what you know? Do you regularly teach others on things they need to know, even if you don’t know it that well yourself? Do you not only attend professional meetings, but offer up to regularly present at the local meetings? Do you set up impromptu lunch and learns for teams at work? Are you involved with local educational programs teaching others coming into this career field? Or is doing your job good enough?

Obviously I could have called this blog “good enough,” but really it’s about what it means to truly be a professional. Doing the job every day isn’t enough. If you aren’t constantly growing and sharing, then you aren’t learning you’re just doing. If you really want to be a professional, stop saying that what you’re doing today is good enough and start saying that it’s never enough.

I’ve had enough…not coping anymore

Meandering Genius

Have you ever experienced a significant lack of sleep?

Do you actually know how much sleep you get every night?

Well, I know how much sleep I get and I am experiencing a significant lack of sleep. I’ve had enough and I’m not coping with the lack of sleep anymore!

Two years ago I purchased a Lark. It’s a wearable sleep device that tracks your sleep patterns and gently wakes you up in the morning. When I first bought the Lark, the amount of sleep I was getting was pretty good and most every night was being rated as “well” on the Lark scale. The scale goes poor, fair, ok, well, and very well.

The Lark judges your sleep based on the amount of time you were actually asleep and the overall quality of the sleep (i.e., how much you toss and turn). It also tells you the length of time it takes for you to fall asleep, after you put the device on, and how many times you actually wake up durning the night.

Over the last month–the Lark provides a 7-day, 30-day, and Overall Summary–my sleep quality has been good, but the amount of time sleeping is averaging at about 5 hours and 45 seconds. That’s not good!

Yesterday morning, on my way into work, amidst a series of yawns, I really started considering how much sleep I was getting lately. Then I get into work and I had a daily health email in my Outlook and it talked about the effects of lack of sleep.

Sometimes two by fours have to hit you in the face for you to realize what’s going on. Everything they were talking about in the article I was (am) experiencing.

I printed out the article and pulled out my iPhone to see what the Lark was telling me–I really hadn’t been paying attention to the numbers, just using the Lark to wake myself up.

Overall–since I bought the Lark two years ago–my average time sleeping was six hours…not good. What the Lark tells me is that, if I want at least seven hours of sleep, I need to get into bed no later than 8:30 pm so I would be able to fall asleep by 9 pm. Most of the time I was falling asleep around 10 pm or later. Basically’ if I fall asleep by 9 pm, I will get about seven hours sleep.

So, plan is in place.

Last night I climbed in bed at 8:24 pm and was in bed for 8 hours and 6 minutes (I normally wake up at 4:30 am during the week). I slept for 6 hours and 45 minutes. Actually, I probably had another 15 minutes, because I turned off the alarm (and Lark) at 4:30, but went back to sleep for about 47 minutes.

It’s my intention to get to bed now at 8:30 to get at least seven good hours of sleep a night. Over the next couple weeks to a month, I will look for changes that are outlined in the article that I printed.

Essentially, I’m not coping with a lack of sleep anymore.

When opportunity knocks, are you there to open the door

Meandering Genius

When I was in the military, people used to complain that the people getting recognized all the time were always in the right place at the right time. Sometimes this is true, and luck takes hold, but I have found that in many cases you make your own luck.

Being in the right place at the right time doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to respond or that you’ll even recognize what’s going on.

I think that sometimes it’s simply about being in the right place all the time and when the right time comes along, you’re ready.

How prepared are you for opportunity?

I guess that would depend on what you saw as an opportunity…I’ll bet that your opportunity is different from mine.

Here’s a rather fantastical example of what I’m talking about.

An extremely rich man is choking in an extremely expensive restaurant. Some run-of-the-mill guy jumps in and uses his CPR training and saves the rich man’s life. In reward, the rich man gives his savior a million dollars.

You might say, right place, right time; what a lucky guy. Right?

Well, first off, he was at the restaurant. If you sit at home watching TV all the time or playing computer games, this would probably never happen to you. Basically, stuff happens outside your house…if you aren’t even in the right place, it doesn’t matter the timing, does it?

Second, the man had CPR training. You might want to help, but without proper training that prepares you for this situation, you might be in the right place at the right time, but still watch as someone else trained saves the day and gets the million dollars. There you are, thinking, “What a lucky guy.”

I know my example is far fetched, but the lesson rings true. Do you put yourself in the right place for your opportunity to occur as often as possible? The right place might be coming in to work a little early and staying a little late in case someone needs your help on a special project–a project that might turn out to be key to the company and/or your career.

What about if you end up in the right place at the right time…are you prepared to deliver if needed? Do you just know your job, or have you expanded your skills to other non-specific job skills, like communication, software skills, etc.

It’s late in the afternoon, and most of the employees are out the door at the sound of the buzzer. The big boss comes down to the floor and is looking for someone to give a quick tour for a new director on the board. Are you there? Do you know the operation well enough to provide an impressive tour? Do you have the communication skills and experience to provide the tour with flare? What impression would you leave?

Think about the opportunities you think would be important in your personal and professional life. Ask yourself if you are putting yourself in the right place to make those happen? Ask yourself if you have the right skills to deliver at the right time, if you were in the right place?

Here’s a thought…

Does opportunity knock if no one is there to open the door?

Key leadership trait to pass to your admin assistant

Leadership Meandering Genius

Many times, the leadership traits that are the most recognized go unnoticed until they aren’t there. So, you could be demonstrating a great trait all the time, but no one will know it because, by demonstrating it, people don’t even realize you’re doing it.

The problem can be that those that “speak” on your behalf sometimes might not even be aware of that leadership trait or even care. After all, they aren’t in your position and they might not even realize the importance of the trait. They might me doing what they think is right at the expense of your reputation as a leader.

This can be especially true of the leader’s administrative assistant. This person sends out messages, accepts meeting requests, and sends out meeting invites on your behalf. That’s just a small part of their job, but in this aspect, they are often speaking as you.

So, let’s examine the leadership trait of Respect and how it applies in this situation.

In a business environment, a stellar way of demonstrating respect for others is to not schedule a meeting with them when they have another meeting scheduled, when they’re planning to be out of the office, or when they’re taking the day off. In today’s day and age, most big businesses use Outlook where you can look for open time on someone’s calendar. If you don’t have this tool at your disposal, it would be proper protocol to ask when is a good time. Outlook has definitely streamlined that process.

Additionally, once you schedule a meeting with someone’ you really want to try to keep that meeting as scheduled and not juggle it around. The person(s) that you’re meeting with have other priorities and are probably scheduling around your meeting and might actually turn some important things down to be respectful to your meeting request. So, it can be really disrespectful to be constantly moving a meeting date and time after it’s been set up.

This pretty much rings true for meetings that others requested as well. You don’t want to be constantly moving, canceling, and adjusting meetings that someone else set or requested once they’re set.

This is a very easy thing for us, regardless if we are in a leadership role or not, to ensure we do. For the most part, most of us do this, but some however have to learn this. Not respecting someone’s time and schedule is essentially not respecting them. If you respect someone using this rule, the people you work with probably won’t even notice. Don’t do it and they’ll get the message.

So, what if you are leader and have someone that manages your calendar? They respond to meeting requests and send out meeting invites on your behalf. You might have the ultimate respect for people’s time and schedule, but you’re not the one sending out the emails.

This person’s job is to literally manage your calendar and make sure you get to the meetings that are important and your time is managed effectively. Sometimes, that means the person doing the work might not be focusing on the same thing you might–they may be disrespecting people all day long through your Outlook calendar.

I have dealt with these people. They schedule meetings based on the boss’ time without regard to what is currently on your calendar–it’s not what’s best for you, but what’s best for their boss. They also propose alternate times for meetings you set up that aren’t convenient for you. The last and most frustrating thing they do is constantly moving meetings.

Leaders are busy and sometimes their schedules get high jacked by others who are more important than them–normally their admin assistants. The little guy or gal, are the ones left in the lurch. They get meeting requests when they’re planning to be on vacation or out of the office for errands or appointments. They get double booked by the boss and then they have to cancel some other meeting they planned to attend or they even set up themselves. Of course, when bowing out or canceling the meeting they are respectfully sending an email apologizing and then reschedule based on the other person’s open schedule.

Leaders…you need to share your trait of respect to your administrative assistant. They need to respect other people’s time and schedule just like you would. If they don’t, they’re giving you a bad reputation.

The impression people get is that you are rude and could care less about others as you constantly ignore their lives and upset their day. I’m pretty sure that you do not intend for this to happen, but it’s happening anyway. And what’s worse is that it has your name on it.

For those leaders that don’t give two cents about other’s time and schedules, this blog is not for you and it’s a wonder how you got to where you are today being that way. I will tell you that everyone that works for you thinks that you are a total jerk.

For those who have assistants that act this way without regard for others, everyone also think you are a total jerk.

If I were you, I would take a closer look at what’s going on in your front office. What message are you unintentionally sending?

Do allergies slow you down?

Meandering Genius

This morning is a slow one for me. I haven’t had much issue with allergies in the past month, but this morning something is clearly in the air.

When I have issues with allergies everything seems to take longer. My brain is fogged and I can’t seem to think of things. I’m always stopping to blow my nose.

It’s days like these that blogging material just doesn’t “come to me” and I just don’t want to try to invest myself in a long blog post because it seems to take forever.

Are you dealing with allergies or do you? How do they affect you?