Category Archives: Short and Sweet

Haiti 2012 Recap Video

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On Sunday, Grace Foursquare showed the following four minute recap video focusing on the Torcelle Orphanage construction. While construction was the main focus of the trip, there were a myriad of stories and experiences which did not fit into this video:  The orphanage at Sarthe including a medical clinic, the journey to the lookout, a business class, a lot of bloopers including a blazing hot rendition of John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” and a mouse hunt. Until that video is complete, enjoy this four minute video:

The Worst That Can Happen Can Also Be The Best

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I often ask others: “What’s the worst that can happen?”

I recently had a scenario where the worst that could happen, did indeed happen.

The outcome was unexpected.

I felt relieved, as if I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else anymore.

Sure, life is a little more difficult than I would like it to be right now. But, I’m taking responsibility for living the life I want to live, as opposed to listening to the collective “they” telling me how I should be living.

As my friend Bruce Elgort tweeted earlier today: “Your communication is the response you receive.”  Life is similar, except that it is your response to the response of others. Or simply put, making lemonade when life gives you lemons.

Coming Up Short

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I often come up short, failing to meet the expectations of others.  This reality makes me human.  In my failings, it is the feedback of others which enables me to address and facilitate change.  However, in the past month, I have noticed an increased trend in criticism without feedback.

I am not opposed to being judged, critiqued, or graded according to certain standards.  As long as the standards of judgment are defined and shared.

It is the mark of a coward, not a critic, that takes a cheap shot without explanation.

It is my responsibility to ignore the coward, but the attitude of inexplicable superiority will eternally piss me off.

This anger drives me to act appropriately when I am in the position of grading someone else.

I will always tell you what I think and why.

Is it too much to ask for the same in return?

2011: The Year Of Phoning It In

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I look back at this year and see how much I “phoned in” my performance all year long.

The numbers aren’t lying either.

2011 was a year full of stupid mistakes, a lack of interest, and a severe inability to take risks.

I’m not proud of much this past year.

I held on when I should have let go and I lost grip of what was important.

As I move into 2012, I need to remember one thing: Eventually I need to push all-in and risk everything. I will either win big or lose small. I will never know if I don’t.

If I write this same post next year, it is because I’m still sitting at the table, short-stacked, realizing I’m no longer getting free drinks.

But Will It Last?

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It’s amazing what happens in sixteen years: I graduated from high school, went to college, dropped out from college, went back to college, visited multiple countries, worked a couple of jobs, started my own business, got married, got fat then skinny then proportionate, started working on graduate studies, and about a million other milestones and mundane life markers.

Throughout each of these life events, I had a trusty confidant by my side (more accurately, in my mouth, cemented behind my lower teeth).

Keeping my teeth in line, I never really thought about my confidant, it was always there.

Until recently…

My confidant became loose.

My teeth slowly started to shift.

I think about how strong the cement was, holding a small piece of wire in place for sixteen years.

I think about how much food and drink I have consumed over the years.

Not much in this life is made to withstand the brutality food and drink had upon the poor little wire.

I could probably say the wire is a metaphor for life and the need for time-tested confidants to keep us in line, but the wire is not the metaphor, the cement is.

Without the cement, I would have choked on the wire long ago.

The Psychology of Group Photography

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Today I received a “Christmas Greetings” letter from a beloved organization. On the front was a group photo of the employees, spread out across several rows of chairs. After looking at the photo for a minute, I thought, “What is this image saying to me? Surely, they didn’t mean it to come across the way I am taking it, right?”

There is an underlying psychology to group photography.

When there is physical distance between two or more people, a viewer may naturally think there is emotional and relational distance as well. Multiple the effect depending on the size of the organization and the amount of distance between subjects, and the result may be an unintended psychological response of, “Whoa, how do they function? I hope they like each other more than the photo suggests.”

The art of group photography isn’t just about making a pretty, hip, or technically-perfect picture.

It’s more than making sure everyone is smiling and no one blinked. It’s about accurately conveying the vibe of a group, taking into account the multitude of ways composition affects the psychology of an image.

Now, if this is the feeling the photographer was going for, then job well done.

If not, the next time you want to be hip with a group photo, make sure you know what your composition will tell your customers about the psychology of your organization.

Are You Going To Blog About It?

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As I talked about writing a paper on leadership, the inevitable question was asked, “Are you going to blog the paper?”

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes. I will be blogging homework that is interesting enough for my blog after the class is over (without grades and evaluation attached of course). I’m sure I’m not the first person to think about this, but it was definitely a thought-provoking question.

Longer answer: If my foundations for thought and analysis on leadership can be found in each paper that I write, then surely I can build upon those ideas in order to continue the conversation in a public forum. Because, as I am writing, social interaction is just one of many aspects of leadership that define a leader.

Two Views Of Changing The World

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Steve Jobs and Bill Gates: They will forever be compared for their impact upon the world.

Steve Jobs created great products that redefined how we use technology, consume media, and what we expect from companies in terms of excellence and perfection. Jobs pushed his employees to create the impossible, set the standard for demoing products, and was often ahead of the times.

Bill Gates created an empire built upon Windows, accessibility and affordability. He was less concerned with aesthetics and more focused on building a great company. Upon stepping down from running Microsoft, Gates has used his wealth for the purpose of changing the world through his philanthropic endeavors.

Great products can change the way the world works.

Great ideas can change the world.

Both are required in today’s world.

It is easy to compare the virtue of one man over the other, but the truth is that we must be both the product genius AND the philanthropic benefactor of the disenfranchised, sick and poor.