Treework

The neighborhood has been abuzz with chain saws these past few weeks.

One crew came in and took down 7 medium to large trees in one day. They were incredibly efficient. They laid down those trees precisely where they wanted them, limbs flying everywhere when they hit the ground with a powerful “whoosh”! They had trucks and a tractor with a big claw for picking up debris and nudging falling trees, and all the climbing gear you could imagine. They had huge saws they checked, filled, and sharpened after each tree. I’m not even sure they stopped for lunch. It was amazing. A few days later they were down the street doing more work.

Farther down the street and around the corner was another tree guy. He was by himself most days, his wife came by in the evening to help with debris. His rigging was all homemade ropes and rings and boot spikes that looked like they’d been around awhile. His saw was older and smaller and sounded more like a bee than a tool. He’d climb a tree carefully cutting each branch dropping it gently to the ground on his way up until the only thing left standing was the totem and then he worked his way back down cutting sections off until it was finished. It took him over a week and a half to bring down two large trees. I started to wonder how he was making any money at all.

But there was one other difference between these two. The guy working on his own just seemed more deliberate and focused to me. Like he had an understanding of his work. Like trees meant something to him. Like his work had it’s own satisfaction. He wasn’t rushed. Heck, it was almost like watching mediation. He was getting paid by the tree just like the other guys, but speed didn’t seem to matter to him. He took his time. He sized up his work and planned his day accordingly. And once both those trees were finally down he carefully placed each cut up section on his trailer by hand making sure the load was balanced and secure. It felt like he took pride in what he was doing. His work. His business. Done the way he wanted to.

You don’t find that a lot these days. Most people who get paid by the job want to do the work as fast as possible. Time is money. Hurry, hurry, hurry! No doubt he’s not making as much money as the other guys, and it’s hard to say why he works as slow as he does. All I know was there was something different about the way he approached it. Maybe he found peace in the work. Maybe it gave him pride. I don’t know. All I know is it was like watching an artist lost in his craft, and I can certainly appreciate that.

Spiritual Synaptic Receptors

We are made up of the genetics of our ancestors, the ever present connection of family, the warm laughter of friends, the passionate intensity of lovers, the intellectual contributions of educators, the interactions with coworkers, and the events of our lives.

In the airy gaps that lay between we find and define ourselves based on how these factors interact with our distinct personality. They act as spiritual synaptic transmissions that bind with that most magical of receptors. Who we are at the core of our being. Our truly unique soul.

Here’s the magic of it all. The most amazing fact. We have the ability to turn those receptors off and on. To be willing to be influenced and changed or to wall ourselves off from them. That switch, that determining mechanism, is fear.

Fear does not exist on its own. Most of the time the things that make it tremble aren’t even real. And yet the power it can have over us is very real. It can hinder us, cause us to withdraw, make us cynical, and reduce our ability to fully live life and enjoy all that it has to offer. Fear is the ultimate off switch. But we must remember who it is that mans that switch.

Fear has it’s place. In large part it has been critical to the survival of our species. We should always be afraid of what can kill us. It is our irrational fears; fear of failure, of being inadequate, of being rejected that should be examined.

At one time I worked for a company where I was the one and only IT person. I constantly lived in fear I was not up to the task, that I didn’t have the knowledge or experience to do the job. And yet I persisted. I cautiously walked through each day the best I could. I did this for 7 years until I ultimately left that position for a lesser paying job that I hoped would be less stressful.

That job was with an international company that had a large IT force, and although it took a while for me to get my confidence back, I eventually was seen as an important resource. A knowledge keeper. A person who had seen and experienced enough to be able to effectively troubleshoot and solve problems.

Most times I was not the person who actually fixed the problem but I was able to perceive it, come to an understanding of it, and make thoughtful suggestions to those who could.

What was the difference? I was no longer isolated within my own self limiting insecurities. I belonged to a tribe of peers who were open to each other for knowledge and ideas – even my sometimes unorthodox MacGyver ones.

This is why it is important to keep our “receptors” turned on. To allow open interaction with the things that can mold us, shape us, improve us, and love us into becoming the best we can be.

You see, it all depends on how you flip the switch.

Worker Bees

In all my working career I’ve never felt the need to “drink the Kool-Aid”. I’ve never been much for company rah-rah or understood the need. I haven’t seen a company yet that truly follows it’s mission and vision statement, at least to benefit or improvement of the lives of it’s workers and ultimately it’s customers. When it comes down to it companies care about earnings and profits. It’s just a fact.

If you’re in business and you think it’s all about the product or services you provide you’re only half right. What really makes your company stand out from another is your people. From those who make the product, to those who sell it, to those who service it, and especially those who interface with your customers when the need arises. Each and every one of them is a reflection of the company and how it is viewed in the marketplace.

Swag will only get you so far. Rah-rah sessions at company events have a short shelf life. Allowing employees to discover their own intrinsic value within your organization is the real challenge. People want to feel what they contribute is important. That they make a difference. That they themselves are as valued as the product or services the company is known for. And this is where putting the wrong people in management is a company killer.

Most times when a management position opens companies look internally to promote, as well they should. And here, specifically, is where companies fail their employees. Not every tenured employee is qualified or capable of taking a leadership position. Leadership and management skills need to be fostered early at the ground level so that when positions do open there are multiple well-qualified internal candidates to choose from. By indiscriminately plugging the next in line into a leadership position you potentially set your best employees up for failure.

During my second interview with Rockport Shoe Celeste Kramer told me she was going make me a Supervisor in a year. I laughed and told her, “You don’t even know me! I could be a sociopath.” She replied, “No, I know you.” And so it was that over the course of that year she sent me to training. Training about working with and motivating people. Training on conducting reviews. Training on time management. She signed me up with organizations where I could network with people focused on customer service. I learned about businesses and finding efficiencies and streamlining processes. She made sure I had everything I needed to be a success. And, true to her word, at the end of that year I was promoted to a Supervisor position.

That single vote of confidence in my potential propelled me throughout my entire working career. I didn’t always have the answers, but I knew that treating my direct reports with respect and understanding not only raised their level of confidence in me, but also in their ability to make a difference themselves. Whenever I saw potential I encouraged it. I never left a positive word unsaid. When praise was due I made sure they got the credit. When a correction was required I made sure they knew it wasn’t personal. That it was about performance and not who they were as a human being.

I’m sure I made plenty of mistakes (I’m hardly perfect), but I tried to be the leader Celeste saw in me that day and one I myself would want to follow. To make the hard decisions when they had to be made and to make sure everything was transparent and open to question if the folks I supervised thought I was wrong (which saved me many times). All of this was a direct result of one insightful exceptional manager who had faith in me and made sure I was prepared and ready when the time came. And for that I’m forever grateful.

Generation Next

Things are changing so rapidly now. Just how do we prepare the next generation for work that doesn’t even exist yet? How can schools adequately provide the training and expertise for careers that won’t be defined for another 10 years?

When I started working in IT back in 1997 it wasn’t like I had prepared for that type of work. My actual degree was the farthest think from computers. As a matter of fact my degree wasn’t very useful at all except that it got me in the door. I guess they figured if a person could actually earn a degree they must have something going for them.

And that’s what happened. Once I started working someone saw in me the ability to think clearly and logically when it came to problem solving. When “A” needs to be put together with “B” to make “C” then you need to get creative and I had buckets of that. And this is how our current students are going to take those next giant leaps in an ever changing job market where restructuring and rewiring are the norm.

What will prepare them is an understanding of how the world works (math and science), how things fit together (logic), what end of the hammer or wrench to use (the trades), how to accept and get along with all sorts of people (humanities), and how to unleash their creativity (the arts). These are the things that have propelled us and this great churning economy since the beginning. Things that have allowed us to meet some of the most amazing challenges of this modern age.

I’m not fearful that robots will steal our jobs or that technology will reduce our ability to earn a living. What I am afraid of us that we are short changing our kids by not challenging them to be creative thinkers. To be confident enough to try new things and figure them out. To be adaptable, agile, and inquisitive. To work with each other in collaborative and constructive ways. And above all to dream things into existence through their incredibly powerful imaginations. That, my friends, is where the gold is. That is the true future. You give me someone like that and they can just about go anywhere.

Read the Directions

You don’t have to know everything to figure things out. With just a basic sense of how things work you can surmise what to do. Of course, reading the directions doesn’t hurt either.

So here’s some simple directions.

1) Life really isn’t as complicated as adults let on. You have to make money to buy the things you need. Things like a place to live, food to eat, clothing to wear, a decent hair cut, and gas in the car to get you where you need to go.

2) You have to have a job to make that money and while you’re at it you should do the absolute best work you can so no one can ever say you didn’t earn it. Take pride in everything you do. If it ends up you’re pushing a broom, push that broom like no one else!

3) Always be nice to people you need help from and never pass by an opportunity to help someone else along the way – even if they don’t appreciate it. Even if they never appreciate it. Because it’s not your job to worry about that.

4) Stuff is just stuff. Life is about relationships. Those aren’t things that just happen. You have to put effort and time into them to bring out the value. Sometimes it’s just plain hard work. You have to push through the hard times, because that’s the forge that melds us together. We stand with each other or we fall with each other, and I don’t know about you but I’m all about standing.

5) Remember where you came from and never look down on someone else. We all have the same hopes and dreams. We just take different paths to get there. Some of us take longer than others, and that’s okay.

6) Above all else, be yourself. That’s the single most important thing you can do, because you’re the only one in the world who can do it.

Enough said.