Great Scott!

It's been 25 years since the events of the original Back to the Future movie.  I think we're supposed to measure the predictions on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, from the second movie.  At that point, we can look forward to hoverboards, a $39,999.95 hover conversion for our cars, and skewed skyways.  Predictions in movies and television aren't always too accurate.  In Blade Runner, we saw Atari and other companies becoming big names in the future.  In Back to the Future, now semi-defunct Texaco was in the spotlight.


However, we've got less than five years to pull it off.  Not wanting to be a naysayer, but I really don't think we can leap forward that much in such a short measure of time.  As I'm fond of saying, progress can usually be measured one inch at a time. Now where's my Pepsi Perfect?  I'd like to catch Jaws 19 in the theaters.

See ya.

Ok, Now I'm Finished

No, I'm not discontinuing the blog.  It helps a lot to have a creative outlet at times.  I just experienced a layoff at work.  I have never been through this process before.  You would expect a flood of negative emotions -- the hurt, anger, bitterness, confusion, depression, and so forth.  However, it really isn't healthy to dwell on the negative.  Many others were also impacted, and out of the ashes, the circumstance created a really positive environment and confirmed the fact that bonds of friendship transcend the halls of the workplace.  In fact, I even got a call from a colleague who went through the process last year, welcoming me to the club.  I think there is a sense of widespread relief, happiness and hope.  Sounds odd, doesn't it?

I still think the people with which you surround yourself will continue to contribute to your own success.  It doesn't apply only to current jobs.  It's also something that applies to daily life.  I'm starting the job search, and I'm sticking close to those who were also impacted.  A layoff has nothing to do with the quality of the work or people.  I continue to submit that you can define success as the sum of the yourself and the people with which you choose to surround yourself.  So it's no longer time to contemplate change.  It's time to act upon it.

Life continues to move forward, and so do I.

See ya.

Not Quite Finished

It's been noted that some people define themselves by a career.  That can be a trap that can easily snare anyone.  I've been caught in it a couple times when contemplating changes in my own career.  Reflecting upon past accomplishments does make it difficult to separate one's self from a job.  I've often stated that we are all more than the sum of our experiences.  In fact, I'll go a step further to say that we are all more than the sum of our experiences, careers, and accomplishments.  It is not just the individual, but also the sum of our relationships.  I have often found that in order to be successful, you have to surround yourself with talented, diverse individuals that are able to constantly share skills and learn from each other.

I'm no expert on existentialism, but the idea about working within the sum of our own experiences seems out-of-date in the modern world.  Beyond the scope of your own experience, we are starting to become a collective.  We have seen social networking take off in recent years.  Crowdsourcing has now become a great marketing tool.  Separating the individual from the collective is becoming exceedingly difficult.  Just take a look at services like Facebook.  If you don't have an account, it's becoming increasingly hard to keep up with your social circle.

Back to the career. I've been fortunate to be able to surround myself with the best talent in any industry.  It's time to contemplate some changes, but I'm not quite finished just yet.  I came to the realization that it isn't the job or responsibilities or the career.  It's the people.

See ya.

It Begins Again . . .

Several years ago, I decided that it was time to break away to a new city and career. The past several years have been tumultuous, but still exciting and enriching. In my career I have seen various companies go through tough times. In every instance, I have seen quite a bit of corporate downsizing, right-sizing, or whatever you want to call it. I think the most common term is layoff. Sometimes it is hard to recognize when the time is upon us. There are other times that it is painfully obvious. This time, though, I am observing behavior from the company that goes beyond the painfully obvious. It is a lot more disturbing prior to corporate layoffs than the actual event.

Another thing is obvious -- it is time to explore some new challenges. This time, though, it might be time to try something a little different. In the last several years, I discovered that you have to break away from the baggage you carry that can cloud your vision. Since the last time I searched for a job, I have the realization that I am more than the sum of my experiences, and I don't have to define my career by those limits. For those of us that have put decades into a specific profession, product, or position, it is difficult to find your way through the clutter.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Would I have left my comfort zone several years ago to do something completely different? Probably not. What I did learn is that you do need to leave some things behind in order to move forward. The search begins, once again.

See ya.

Stop Hearing And Start Listening

Suddenly, more than a decade later, I finally have some time to myself again. So, I decided to go through a few of my decades-old papers from college and high school. I found a bunch of text books, papers, and other materials that are as useful as buggy whips. Some of the theories of that era were interesting, to say the least.

While technology, operations management, and industrial processes have changed tremendously in the last few decades, there are some lessons that are more enduring. Many papers talked about the importance of active listening. In the last few years, I have often overlooked the fact that many people are hearing but not listening during conversations. Sometimes, I have been guilty of this myself. When the listening stops, dysfunctional behavior flourishes. As the fractured communication continues, it becomes more difficult to recover. While I have lived through many good examples of this, it takes more than one person to overcome the challenges in communication.

I think I'm going through one of those cycles right now in many different aspects of life. People are hearing me. However, after listening to the responses, I sense great difficulty in the listening skills of many others this month. It would be nice if people stopped hearing and started listening for a while.

See ya.

Back In Training

There comes a time when I have to realize that I need to get back in shape. I think certain life events often trigger this. Last time, it was related to a different type of loss. This time, I just came to the realization that I've been neglecting myself in my intense desire to help others. So, I've decided to scale back just a little, while I get myself back into shape. I did it once before around seven years ago, and I think I can do it again. And so it begins. Back to the gym for me...

See ya.