Category: Everything else

Celebrating constructively

I saw this short clip of the Argentinian football (“soccer”) team players celebrating their victory against Brazil in “Copa America” – the South American variant of the Euros.

A few seconds in, we hear one of the players begin singing a song that makes fun of Brazil. Lionel Messi – Argentina’s star captain and arguably the greatest player of all time – stops him immediately. “No no” – he nods vigorously as he walks away.

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It is a powerful moment for many reasons. It speaks to the importance of leadership in reinforcing culture. By immediately saying no, the Captain made it clear that “this is not how we do things here.”

Messi also underscored a simple idea – we can celebrate constructively. Enjoying our own victory doesn’t have to include mocking someone else’s failure or defeat. It is an idea that is easy to forget as we go through our lives – especially in competitive endeavors.

Finally, it is a reminder that money and success do not guarantee class.

And that is exactly what that was – a moment of class.

Giant goldfish and connected ecosystems

There was a fascinating article about giant goldfish being found in lakes around the United States.

Those innocent looking fish grow to between 0.2 to 0.6 pounds in a tank. But, when fish owners dispose them in the wild, they can grow up to 30-40 times bigger. Here is an example.

Giant goldfish found in Minnesota lake

Here’s another example to get a sense of size.

As is the case with species that aren’t part of the natural ecosystem, these goldfish are invasive and end up messing with the ecosystem within these lakes. Disposing these fish in lakes is now illegal in many states.

A few months ago, there was a remarkable paper posted about the influence of the 2019 wildfires in the Amazon on global climate. While deforestation was thought of as the only contributor to these fires, the researchers showed that climate analogies originating in the Indian ocean likely was ~40% contributor to the problem.

This is a particularly powerful finding because deforestation in the Amazon causes climate anomalies all over the planet. When said climate anomalies come back to affect the Amazon, it speaks to just how connected the global ecosystem is.

Deforestation in the Amazon is a particularly sensitive global issue because the Amazon used to be one of the world’s largest carbon sinks. However, that is sadly no longer true. In an ingenious study (paper, article), a research team studied the Carbon dioxide and Carbon Monoxide profile of parts of the Amazon between 2010 and 2018. And, they’ve found that the South Eastern Amazon is now a Carbon source rather than a Carbon sink.

That’s both the powerful and challenging thing about understanding ecosystems – especially that on our planet. Things are more connected than we think. There’s more nuance than we think. And the balance is more delicate than we think.

Transformation

I’ve been thinking about the word “transformation” recently. It means “a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.”

It reminds me of a quote about learning – “To learn and not to do is not to learn.”

So, learning inspires change. These changes are often small – most learning, after all, is done incrementally.

But, learning also compounds. With compounding, small steps effectively become leaps over time. Continuous learning thus results in dramatic changes over time.

That right there is the recipe for transformation in my mind.

It is tempting to think of transformation in people and organizations as a dramatic event.

Of course, that might happen. But, odds are that it probably won’t.

We’re far better off betting on continuous learning instead.

Past and ego, future and pride

Milwaukee Buck’s star Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked about how he keeps his ego in check despite his many accomplishments at age 26. Here’s an excerpt from his answer:

“When you focus on the past, that’s your ego: ‘I did this. We were able to beat this team 4-0. I did this in the past. I won that in the past.’

When I focus on the future, it’s my pride: ‘Yeah, next game, Game 5, I do this and this and this. I’m going to dominate.’ That’s your pride talking. It doesn’t happen. You’re right here.

I kind of try to focus on the moment, in the present. That’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s not setting no expectation. That’s going out there, enjoying the game, competing at a high level. I think I’ve had people throughout my life that helped me with that. But that is a skill that I’ve tried to, like, kind of — how do you say it, perfect it, master it. And it’s been working so far. So I’m not going to stop.”

A focus on the past is ego, a focus on the future is pride, and a focus on the present is humility.

Brilliant.

The Post Office feedback survey

Every few months, I visit the nearby USPS post office to mail something. When I do, I often have a good experience. Each time, the person behind the counter requests me to scan the QR code and leave feedback.

I assume they’re incentivized for this and get the process started.

Each time – I think my recent attempt was the third – I drop off when I see a 6 or 7 step survey.

My behavior fits Einstein’s definition of insanity – trying the same thing again and expecting different results. But, some combination of hope and memory loss (given the time intervals between visits) compels me to try.

The lesson – keep feedback surveys short. They’ll actually get done that way.