I awoke this morning to another beautiful snowfall. The early shades of grays and whites laying out a calm, peaceful palette before me. The tree forms gently swaying in tandem to the snow-filled breeze made me stand a few more moments ... breathing deeply. Praises singing in my head.
And then I checked my Blackberry.
A LEXAlert message cueing me with a flashing red light... no school for the district. Really, another snow day? A quick math equation told me the kids were now going to classes into the first week of June. Bummer.
The next tick in thought. Ah man, why doesn't the district stop calling snow days for a mere 2 inches of powder? What are "they" thinking? My internal rant proceeded. Including a question in my prayers asking why the schools made these decisions. Huh God? The tranquility of the previous mood shattered.
I looked in on Gregg and the kids. Decided to let them sleep in. And headed out. Still in a bit of a dander.
Ahhhh, back to the gray streetscapes. The empty early-morning roads. The darken skies filled with dancing flurries...
A stop sign ahead. A car coming from the other street. I could see his brake lights pumping gently like mine - both allowing extra time to stop given the road conditions. We both skidded, swerved.
Missed.
My heart skipped a few beats. My pulse raced a few more. Sheepishly I ran through the interplay of my dual moods and thoughts this morning.
Ummmmmm, nevermind God.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Critical Alert.
Rare electronic virus to hit
YMCA of Central Kentucky
week of 1/11/10 – 1/ 15/10.
Email communication will run the risk of distancing staff, allowing miscommunication of messages, delaying communication efficiencies and diminishing professional interactions.
Recommended action: pick up the phone or walk down the hall and actually say the message and listen for response.
(dramatic pause)
As I looked at the staff surveys we will review on Friday at the Management Team Meeting and as I continue to align my personal work habits to Gulick aspirations, I wanted to issue this challenge to everyone. Are you up for it? I am going to start it the very minute I press send.
It’s just an experiment but could it teach us something? I wonder.
If you are up for the challenge, let’s make as much of our communiqués between two people face-to-face or via phone call this week as possible.
It’s just as an experiment so no need to beat yourself up if you by habit send an email rather than walk literally one door down…
But let’s try to mimic the very behaviors our health seeking members crave from us.
Interaction. Relationship. Listening.
Just say no to email when a simple chat could do… the challenge is on.
Rare electronic virus to hit
YMCA of Central Kentucky
week of 1/11/10 – 1/ 15/10.
Email communication will run the risk of distancing staff, allowing miscommunication of messages, delaying communication efficiencies and diminishing professional interactions.
Recommended action: pick up the phone or walk down the hall and actually say the message and listen for response.
(dramatic pause)
As I looked at the staff surveys we will review on Friday at the Management Team Meeting and as I continue to align my personal work habits to Gulick aspirations, I wanted to issue this challenge to everyone. Are you up for it? I am going to start it the very minute I press send.
It’s just an experiment but could it teach us something? I wonder.
If you are up for the challenge, let’s make as much of our communiqués between two people face-to-face or via phone call this week as possible.
It’s just as an experiment so no need to beat yourself up if you by habit send an email rather than walk literally one door down…
But let’s try to mimic the very behaviors our health seeking members crave from us.
Interaction. Relationship. Listening.
Just say no to email when a simple chat could do… the challenge is on.
Enjoy the View
When you are about 42” high the world looks a lot different in a crowd-crushing community-wide event like the Thriller dance.
A blur of coat backs, bottoms and push and pulls make up the experience. Grumbles, bickering, boredom build. And well, it becomes not much fun for the 42” folk and those around them.
The sights and sounds, colors and merriment of the higher view get lost in the shuffle. Really? This is supposed to be fun?
But then….
The adults risks just a bit. They let go of your hand so you can head to the front of the crowd and enjoy the view. Who knew pushing through, dodging around could be such an adventure?
Whoa, the whole world changes. Moods lift and spirits lighten. It’s a whole new experience.
I’m sensing a lot of that lately and I am not just referring to my little guy Nate.
As senior staff step aside to let other leaders from our association influence and guide our Gulick initiatives, there seems to be a shift occurring. And it is noticeable.
I am regularly hearing stories from the executive and senior leaders of a different group pushing to the front, scouting out new opportunities and beginning to lead us in new ways of work.
It is not always perfect. There are times we all have to catch ourselves from creating a barrier rather than an opportunity. But I think the experiences for all are richer, more challenging.
It’s exciting to see the broadening out of our thinking, to see new faces at the table, to hear conversations about whose strengths fit a particular task better.
Way to go team. I couldn’t be more excited with the early shifts. Way to seek out and embrace the changing vistas. Imagine the views to come.
A blur of coat backs, bottoms and push and pulls make up the experience. Grumbles, bickering, boredom build. And well, it becomes not much fun for the 42” folk and those around them.
The sights and sounds, colors and merriment of the higher view get lost in the shuffle. Really? This is supposed to be fun?
But then….
The adults risks just a bit. They let go of your hand so you can head to the front of the crowd and enjoy the view. Who knew pushing through, dodging around could be such an adventure?
Whoa, the whole world changes. Moods lift and spirits lighten. It’s a whole new experience.
I’m sensing a lot of that lately and I am not just referring to my little guy Nate.
As senior staff step aside to let other leaders from our association influence and guide our Gulick initiatives, there seems to be a shift occurring. And it is noticeable.
I am regularly hearing stories from the executive and senior leaders of a different group pushing to the front, scouting out new opportunities and beginning to lead us in new ways of work.
It is not always perfect. There are times we all have to catch ourselves from creating a barrier rather than an opportunity. But I think the experiences for all are richer, more challenging.
It’s exciting to see the broadening out of our thinking, to see new faces at the table, to hear conversations about whose strengths fit a particular task better.
Way to go team. I couldn’t be more excited with the early shifts. Way to seek out and embrace the changing vistas. Imagine the views to come.
Squint
E
H C F
A G U K
L R Y V H
I P C R F N S Z
G U L I C K
Which one is better?
(clicking sound)
This?
or
(pause… clicking sound and blurriness)
this?
For those of you blessed with perfect eyesight this might sound odd to you, but for anyone wearing contacts or glasses, you know exacting what I am talking about.
At any eye exam, an optometrist has you sit there. The lights dim, the anticipation builds, anxiety may set in. Then the doctor has you read as far down the eye chart as you can. You strain, you squint. You try as hard as you can to reach the lowest row possible. You pray the “C” you just called out is really a “C” and not an “O” or the “E” is not an “F.” You may second guess yourself, the eye doc, heck the whole darn exam process.
Immediately you find yourself placed behind this odd machine with lens in front of your eyes. One eye is blacked out, the other has a fuzzy lens in front… and so the questions begin. Which is clearer – this or this? How about now…?
Through a series of controlled trials and errors the eye doc brings you closer and closer to seeing more clearly; until boom, you see clearer than ever before. In fact, you may get to the end of the experience and realize, “boy, I had no idea how messed up my vision was!”
I am wondering if you may have felt like Friday’s “Transfer of Learning” felt a bit like that.
As we developed and will continue to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Health Seekers, there are moments of clarity then periods of fuzziness (clicking sound). Trust the process. Clearer vision is coming.
This Learning Session 1/Application Period 1 process is our equivalent of reading the eye chart and getting you behind the lens’ machine.
We begin our Application Period 1 gathering the baseline data on New Members, Youth & Family and Health and Well-being. We have to know our current line of sight before we can experiment with making it clearer.
We purposefully dabbled a bit Friday in asking you to define Health Seeker. The initial viewpoint a whole lot of negative, a lot of “they” language, judgment statements cautiously thrown about. We brought it closer to home by reflecting on what our individual “haves” and “wish we had more” statements. Wow, you mean we all have things we are working on and toward?
The Health Seeker interview video shared how individualized, intimate a health seekers journey is… and what a privilege it is to join someone on that journey. Finally we took a look back at that Health Seeker word association exercise. What a shift (in two hours no less!) in our lens (clicking sound, clicking sound, sigh).
Relative to the three areas of New Members, Youth & Family and Health and Well-being, let’s use the next six weeks to honestly read and document the equivalent of our “eye chart.”
Again, in the immediate near-term, let’s focus on the 20/20 portion. Learning Session 2 is around the corner, and we promise… the new lens and cool frames selection process is coming.
Take it one line at a time. I know I am.
H C F
A G U K
L R Y V H
I P C R F N S Z
G U L I C K
Which one is better?
(clicking sound)
This?
or
(pause… clicking sound and blurriness)
this?
For those of you blessed with perfect eyesight this might sound odd to you, but for anyone wearing contacts or glasses, you know exacting what I am talking about.
At any eye exam, an optometrist has you sit there. The lights dim, the anticipation builds, anxiety may set in. Then the doctor has you read as far down the eye chart as you can. You strain, you squint. You try as hard as you can to reach the lowest row possible. You pray the “C” you just called out is really a “C” and not an “O” or the “E” is not an “F.” You may second guess yourself, the eye doc, heck the whole darn exam process.
Immediately you find yourself placed behind this odd machine with lens in front of your eyes. One eye is blacked out, the other has a fuzzy lens in front… and so the questions begin. Which is clearer – this or this? How about now…?
Through a series of controlled trials and errors the eye doc brings you closer and closer to seeing more clearly; until boom, you see clearer than ever before. In fact, you may get to the end of the experience and realize, “boy, I had no idea how messed up my vision was!”
I am wondering if you may have felt like Friday’s “Transfer of Learning” felt a bit like that.
As we developed and will continue to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Health Seekers, there are moments of clarity then periods of fuzziness (clicking sound). Trust the process. Clearer vision is coming.
This Learning Session 1/Application Period 1 process is our equivalent of reading the eye chart and getting you behind the lens’ machine.
We begin our Application Period 1 gathering the baseline data on New Members, Youth & Family and Health and Well-being. We have to know our current line of sight before we can experiment with making it clearer.
We purposefully dabbled a bit Friday in asking you to define Health Seeker. The initial viewpoint a whole lot of negative, a lot of “they” language, judgment statements cautiously thrown about. We brought it closer to home by reflecting on what our individual “haves” and “wish we had more” statements. Wow, you mean we all have things we are working on and toward?
The Health Seeker interview video shared how individualized, intimate a health seekers journey is… and what a privilege it is to join someone on that journey. Finally we took a look back at that Health Seeker word association exercise. What a shift (in two hours no less!) in our lens (clicking sound, clicking sound, sigh).
Relative to the three areas of New Members, Youth & Family and Health and Well-being, let’s use the next six weeks to honestly read and document the equivalent of our “eye chart.”
Again, in the immediate near-term, let’s focus on the 20/20 portion. Learning Session 2 is around the corner, and we promise… the new lens and cool frames selection process is coming.
Take it one line at a time. I know I am.
Look for the Hat
While undertaking the Christmas decorations ritual in January, I had the opportunity to sort through a bunch of children’s books. One of Nate’s favorites was in the pile. Where’s Waldo. The undertaking of searching for this quirky character was a nightly bedtime regime for years.
You know the books… a barrage of images fill a double page and your mission is to find the funny little dude, Waldo.
The pages depict dozens of people doing amusing, theme-related things at some fun location – the beach, a deserted island, a warehouse, etc. Waldo’s always in a red-and-white striped shirt, bobble hat and his round glasses make him slightly easier to recognize. But there are so many distractions on the page. And some illustrations contain "red herrings" that use loads of deceptive red-and-white striped objects. It can be quite overwhelming to look for that one special face in a sea of so many.
This weekend you can imagine my dismay when I saw one of my Facebook friends post this message y… “You can tell it is the beginning of a new year. The Y had a ton of new faces there this afternoon. Don't worry, by February 90% of them will be gone. Happens every year.”
Ouch.
I know you join me in hoping the cynical prediction of this Facebook user just isn’t true this year. But as I have said before, hope is not a strategy. Hope’s good, but it’s not a tactic that leads us too far.
So right this minute, I want everyone of us to think of one way we are going to search the sea of so many and make sure our new members (who themselves are so full of hope) make it beyond the February doomsday mark. How might you build a new relationship, ask about their goals, call someone by name? How will you notice and respond when that distinctly different individual looks lost, confused, discouraged?
The distractions are many. Seemingly important red herrings fill our days.
But we must look. We must notice. We must listen.
Now Waldo may be an odd some experiment. But looking for small steps to ensure we retain new members in the next critical 30 days, is not a whimsical past-time. It is our mission. Start looking.
You know the books… a barrage of images fill a double page and your mission is to find the funny little dude, Waldo.
The pages depict dozens of people doing amusing, theme-related things at some fun location – the beach, a deserted island, a warehouse, etc. Waldo’s always in a red-and-white striped shirt, bobble hat and his round glasses make him slightly easier to recognize. But there are so many distractions on the page. And some illustrations contain "red herrings" that use loads of deceptive red-and-white striped objects. It can be quite overwhelming to look for that one special face in a sea of so many.
This weekend you can imagine my dismay when I saw one of my Facebook friends post this message y… “You can tell it is the beginning of a new year. The Y had a ton of new faces there this afternoon. Don't worry, by February 90% of them will be gone. Happens every year.”
Ouch.
I know you join me in hoping the cynical prediction of this Facebook user just isn’t true this year. But as I have said before, hope is not a strategy. Hope’s good, but it’s not a tactic that leads us too far.
So right this minute, I want everyone of us to think of one way we are going to search the sea of so many and make sure our new members (who themselves are so full of hope) make it beyond the February doomsday mark. How might you build a new relationship, ask about their goals, call someone by name? How will you notice and respond when that distinctly different individual looks lost, confused, discouraged?
The distractions are many. Seemingly important red herrings fill our days.
But we must look. We must notice. We must listen.
Now Waldo may be an odd some experiment. But looking for small steps to ensure we retain new members in the next critical 30 days, is not a whimsical past-time. It is our mission. Start looking.
Hot Hot Hot
Quick. 3rd grade science quiz. Do you know what the boiling point for water is? (And for those of you into details, water at standard pressure.)
212 degrees Fahrenheit.
(that is 100 degrees Celsius for those of you who did actually learn the metric system)
Now the interesting thing about that is that right up until that magic 212 mark, water things are going along, changing maybe… but not boiling. The boiling commitment point is 212 not a degree less.
You probably have heard the parable about the frog. For the few of you that may not have, the story goes that if you put a frog into boiling water it will react and jump out, saving it’s life. Now the other extreme would be that dropping a frog into a boiling pot of water would kill it. Either way the reaction by the frog, well it is immediate.
However, if you put a frog in a pot with relatively cool water, it will sit there, swim a bit, and lounge around. Ahhhhh. If you continue to turn up the heat, the frog won’t really notice, even as the water heats up to the boiling point. By then it will be too late. Result, boiled frog. Nice for those who like frog legs I guess but sucky for the frog.
We can learn a bit from both frogs.
During all the changes occurring with the strategic plan, with Activate America – specifically Gulick, we must be alert of immediate change and gradual change. Surely we have to be watchful of imminent changes that signal yowie, pay attention, perk up, react! But we also need to be alert for changing trends that occur over time. Those can sneak up on us as well and the moment to react may be lost.
As leaders we can also learn a bit from the water side of this parable. Think about it, you know, people are a lot like heating water. Until they reach some magic “boiling point” you may not even notice they are hot on a topic, truly passionate about an issue. And until conditions change (remember the standard pressure comment earlier), people may just go along with the flow.
But BAM! Change the circumstances a bit… say a spouse loses a job, a child gets sick, finances get tough, and job descriptions change… and people can boil quicker as the pressure increases.
Today, I had to “turn up the heat” a bit for our board of directors. It was not something I took lightly, and I only did so with the permission of our current board chairman. The results of that temperature rising are yet to be fully seen. Will people jump on the band wagon and become zealots for Campaign for Kids? Will they opt to jump out of the board now that expectations have shifted? We’ll see. But I do know this…
Teams can be a great thermometer for us as leaders. They provide a broader, diverse perspective.
We have to walk a line at times of turning up the heat – to say “we are serious;” “heads up, change is a comin’!” But we also have to listen to our teams to see if the temperature is too hot too fast.
Are we using the amazing range in thinking inherent in our teams for solving problems and looking for innovative ideas to tackle our new ways of work? Or are we so focused on just getting things done that we have become complacent as we and our teams are slowly warming up to the boiling point?
Keeping the balance for our teams between ever-vigilant observation and the “JUMP!” mode is tricky! There is no easy answer. Frog, water, leader…. Stay alert, speak up, align and we all succeed.
212 degrees Fahrenheit.
(that is 100 degrees Celsius for those of you who did actually learn the metric system)
Now the interesting thing about that is that right up until that magic 212 mark, water things are going along, changing maybe… but not boiling. The boiling commitment point is 212 not a degree less.
You probably have heard the parable about the frog. For the few of you that may not have, the story goes that if you put a frog into boiling water it will react and jump out, saving it’s life. Now the other extreme would be that dropping a frog into a boiling pot of water would kill it. Either way the reaction by the frog, well it is immediate.
However, if you put a frog in a pot with relatively cool water, it will sit there, swim a bit, and lounge around. Ahhhhh. If you continue to turn up the heat, the frog won’t really notice, even as the water heats up to the boiling point. By then it will be too late. Result, boiled frog. Nice for those who like frog legs I guess but sucky for the frog.
We can learn a bit from both frogs.
During all the changes occurring with the strategic plan, with Activate America – specifically Gulick, we must be alert of immediate change and gradual change. Surely we have to be watchful of imminent changes that signal yowie, pay attention, perk up, react! But we also need to be alert for changing trends that occur over time. Those can sneak up on us as well and the moment to react may be lost.
As leaders we can also learn a bit from the water side of this parable. Think about it, you know, people are a lot like heating water. Until they reach some magic “boiling point” you may not even notice they are hot on a topic, truly passionate about an issue. And until conditions change (remember the standard pressure comment earlier), people may just go along with the flow.
But BAM! Change the circumstances a bit… say a spouse loses a job, a child gets sick, finances get tough, and job descriptions change… and people can boil quicker as the pressure increases.
Today, I had to “turn up the heat” a bit for our board of directors. It was not something I took lightly, and I only did so with the permission of our current board chairman. The results of that temperature rising are yet to be fully seen. Will people jump on the band wagon and become zealots for Campaign for Kids? Will they opt to jump out of the board now that expectations have shifted? We’ll see. But I do know this…
Teams can be a great thermometer for us as leaders. They provide a broader, diverse perspective.
We have to walk a line at times of turning up the heat – to say “we are serious;” “heads up, change is a comin’!” But we also have to listen to our teams to see if the temperature is too hot too fast.
Are we using the amazing range in thinking inherent in our teams for solving problems and looking for innovative ideas to tackle our new ways of work? Or are we so focused on just getting things done that we have become complacent as we and our teams are slowly warming up to the boiling point?
Keeping the balance for our teams between ever-vigilant observation and the “JUMP!” mode is tricky! There is no easy answer. Frog, water, leader…. Stay alert, speak up, align and we all succeed.
GRACE
\ˈgrās\
1 a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b : a virtue coming from God c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
2 a : approval, favor b archaic : mercy, pardon c : a special favor d : disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency e : a temporary exemption : reprieve
3 a : a charming or attractive trait or characteristic b : a pleasing appearance or effect : charm c : ease and suppleness of movement or bearing
4 a : the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful
I wanted to add to this blog some of my previous off-line blogs that have been going to my staff each Monday. So there will be several postings today to load up some of my thoughts and whims. Thanks in advance for your grace in humoring me as I do this! Here is one.
Let us go about our week showing others a degree of pardon when things go just a bit astray and our first instinct may be to cry foul.
Let us go about our days showing simple acts of kindness and courtesy even when we ourselves feel rushed, bombarded, weak.
Let us go about the hours with charm and thoughtfulness for others when a trigger may have set us up to be grumpy and self-serving.
Let us go about this minute thankful for a greater grace from above that blesses us each and ever second.
I am betting that we will find an ease to the week… no matter what life throws our way.
\ˈgrās\
1 a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b : a virtue coming from God c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
2 a : approval, favor
3 a : a charming or attractive trait or characteristic b : a pleasing appearance or effect : charm
4 a : the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful
I wanted to add to this blog some of my previous off-line blogs that have been going to my staff each Monday. So there will be several postings today to load up some of my thoughts and whims. Thanks in advance for your grace in humoring me as I do this! Here is one.
Let us go about our week showing others a degree of pardon when things go just a bit astray and our first instinct may be to cry foul.
Let us go about our days showing simple acts of kindness and courtesy even when we ourselves feel rushed, bombarded, weak.
Let us go about the hours with charm and thoughtfulness for others when a trigger may have set us up to be grumpy and self-serving.
Let us go about this minute thankful for a greater grace from above that blesses us each and ever second.
I am betting that we will find an ease to the week… no matter what life throws our way.
Hour by hour
Beep. Beep. Beep. For 53 days, I have been heard that sound about every 60 minutes of my waking days. A timer set to remind me to be purposeful in my prayers. To be mindful of what it means to be in relationship with God... hour by hour, moment by moment.
How hard can it be? Plenty.
My particular timer goes off every 50 minutes then at the 55 minute mark and finally full on at the 60 minute time. At 50 minutes the double beeper has reminded me for 53 days that I am to be mindful, relational, aware. Usually that means it is a reminder that I was suppose to be mindful, relational, aware. I perk up at the 50 minute mark, determined.
55 minutes a single beep says "hey, I am not kidding... the hour's almost up." Pay attention. Live moment-by-moment with God.
And then the space happens... even in as short as five minutes, I forget. I wander. I get distracted. Geesh.
When the 60 minute beep comes, I have been amazed at how in the moment, I am most vulnerable for needing to be in living connection with God. Did I just say, that? Think that?
And yet... I yield in the moment. I stop. I tune in to prayer as a way of life.
How can I do anything but that. Me, imperfect. Me, distracted. Me, grateful as a child to be forgiven for my conflicts, stumbles big and small.
Every 60 minutes. A reminder to live in encouragement to others. To be grateful for my joys and my trials. To live authentic to my frailties and my strengths.
Truth be told: I should be setting the timer for five minute increments. Every five minutes in celebration, jubilation for a Father who knows and loves me in all my shadows and who calls me to the light - hour by hour.
Beep.
How hard can it be? Plenty.
My particular timer goes off every 50 minutes then at the 55 minute mark and finally full on at the 60 minute time. At 50 minutes the double beeper has reminded me for 53 days that I am to be mindful, relational, aware. Usually that means it is a reminder that I was suppose to be mindful, relational, aware. I perk up at the 50 minute mark, determined.
55 minutes a single beep says "hey, I am not kidding... the hour's almost up." Pay attention. Live moment-by-moment with God.
And then the space happens... even in as short as five minutes, I forget. I wander. I get distracted. Geesh.
When the 60 minute beep comes, I have been amazed at how in the moment, I am most vulnerable for needing to be in living connection with God. Did I just say, that? Think that?
And yet... I yield in the moment. I stop. I tune in to prayer as a way of life.
How can I do anything but that. Me, imperfect. Me, distracted. Me, grateful as a child to be forgiven for my conflicts, stumbles big and small.
Every 60 minutes. A reminder to live in encouragement to others. To be grateful for my joys and my trials. To live authentic to my frailties and my strengths.
Truth be told: I should be setting the timer for five minute increments. Every five minutes in celebration, jubilation for a Father who knows and loves me in all my shadows and who calls me to the light - hour by hour.
Beep.
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