So what are you going to do, ugly people?
People are beautiful, for the most part. All except for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Lately I’ve been reading this book by Edward de Bono called The Six Value Medals. It’s really a great book.
Now, reading this book reminded me of one of de Bono’s other thinking techniques, which I recall as “To Po Lo So Go.” Briefly, what this stands for is:
- TO – where are you going to? What is your target or problem you which to solve? What is your goal?
- PO – now, with TO in mind, what are the POssible solutions? What could you POtentially do? What are your creative ideas regarding your goal?
- LO – what is the LOw-down? What is the bottom line for each of the possibilities? Gather information. Analyze the creative ideas you came up.
- SO – now decide, “SO what are you going to do?” Determine your path.
- GO – do it. Get GOing. Take action.
For me, the critical step here is “so what are you going to do?”
This brings us back, in a round about fashion, to the rock and roll icons, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Back in 1981, I had the great privilege of seeing the Rolling Stones in concert in Seattle. What an incredible concert, great music, inspiring musicians. Mick Jagger really charged up the audience.
I haven’t been thinking of the Stones that much until lately, I saw a concert they gave on television. Mick still has it. Keith Richards, well he just keeps playing that guitar. One of the songs they played has been stuck in my head for the last couple of days. These are really beautiful people, yet outwardly, and strangely, they both look so odd to me, even ugly if you will, but not repulsive. Strangely attractive.
These guys are consummate musicians. They don’t need stage props. They don’t require makeup or a make-over. There is no pretense in their performances. They are musicians.
I can just imagine going through the de Bono exercise, and then asking Mick the critical question: “So, Mick, what are you going to do?”
What he would respond seems pretty obvious. But then, turning the question inward, things aren’t quite as clear. Am I the sort of person that so throws myself into my job and my profession that it is obvious to others what I am going to do? Do I have the same, through-and-through commitment of a Mick Jagger?
Is my appearance what counts, or is it how I do my job?
I can just imagine Jagger’s response:
“So what are you going to do, Mick?”
“I’m gonna sing, man. I’m gonna sing.”
Accountability – the Social Pressure Solution When Integrity Doesn’t Work
So lately I’ve been reading a book on getting things done in an organization, the book is called “Leadership Without Excuses.” So first of all, when reading a book, I skim for the key points, and here it is….
To help people get things done, you need to make sure they are clear on their responsibilities.
So, how do you make sure they are clear? Basically, an open discussion with them or a group discussion where everyone’s primary job is listed in public for everyone to see. In project management, this means putting an individual’s name right next to the task that needs to be done.
Well, in the past, this simple approach, while obvious, wasn’t used by me. I just listed the tasks, said “let’s get ‘em done” and then when people didn’t do what they said they would do, guess what? Excuse after excuse. But by making it really clear who is responsible for what, maybe this will change. Just maybe, the social embarrassment of not doing your job will help everyone on the team get their jobs done. Not just the workers. Not just the conscientious. Not just the committed. Everyone- even the slackers! Those that focus on “looking good” at the expense of others? This ends. Those that are driven by ego to be a “leader” in the organization, but not do anything themselves? This ends. At least, that’s the theory.
But why is social pressure- peer pressure- the necessary tool to get people to do their job? What about personal integrity, or the value of your word? What about personal responsibility and ownership of a challenge? Relying on these alone hasn’t worked for me, maybe because some people view their responsibility to keep their word a “relative” value, not something solid or firm. But maybe this lack of keeping their word really only hurts the individual who rarely keeps their promises. Maybe we all need to take a lesson from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Act III:
But I am constant as the Northern Star,
Of whose true fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks;
They are all fire, and every one doth shine;
But there’s but one in all doth hold his place.
The Northern Star… the one star in the sky that stays fixed all year. You can count on it. When you look up into the sky, in a specific direction (north), you see the North Star. Everytime the sky is clear…. it’s there.
I’m going to think a bit about the north star tonight. The beauty of Ursa Minor and Ursa Major; the wonder of the sky and our place in this universe; and the value of having people know that they can count on my word. By keeping my word, I’m going to spread the beauty of the north star, the singularity known as Polaris, to my friends, family, coworkers, and everyone else I come across. And hopefully, maybe just a little bit, doing so will enlighten their life. Like looking up at the night sky.
Caving In: hunger, Ramadan, and staying focused on what’s important.
This is the first Ramadan that I have spent living in the Middle East, in the UAE. Prior to now, to me, Ramadan was a vague word, a concept I knew nothing about. Now, my friends are fasting and I’m joining in. My initial efforts were half-hearted because I didn’t know why people fasted, and didn’t know the spiritual meaning of the daily fast. But now I do, and it is a remarkable thing.
The fist thing I noticed was seeing signs all over saying “Ramadan Kareem.” What? I was confused. So I asked my buddy, born and raised Muslim, what it meant. He told me that it indicates generosity. During Ramadan, we fast during the day to symbolize that we are giving up something in our life in order to help others. Then at night, when the daily fast is broken, we eat a light meal together with some friends (an Iftar) and discuss how we can help the less fortunate.
What is pretty amazing to someone who grew up on the other side of the planet, in a completely different culture, is that the entire country fasts during the day during Ramadan. In fact, if you are an apparently healthy adult and are seen eating or drinking during the day, someone could complain and call the police. I haven’t heard of the consequences of such a thing, but it is clearly the respectful and courteous thing to do to not eat or drink during the day in front of others, even if you happen to be a Christian or an atheist or follow some other religion.
During Christmas time, a common sermon I’ve heard over and over is how we all need to get the spirit back into Christmas, and it’s got me thinking about the spirit of Ramadan. It isn’t so much about the fast, but that we focus on doing something for the less fortunate (not just thinking about it, doing it). And during the Iftars, it isn’t just about a pleasant social time with friends, it’s a time to pool our ideas and generate an action plan for giving…. a plan that we WILL carry out.
By this self-imposed hunger, we are reminded about how we need to help those with less than us. We get determined not to cave in to the temptations of the physical world and instead strive to live a spiritual life of good deeds. It focuses our thoughts on what’s important.
|
|
|
 |
|