Category: Everything else

Learning a ZERO error sport

I sat for 7 continuous hours yesterday with a friend in an attempt to get an IT system up. As is the case with meddling with SQL and code (he did most of the meddling, for the record), it generally takes 3 times the amount of time you expect.
Since university days, it was my first tryst with IT in a long time and boy, was it frustrating. It is a continuous process of ‘trial and error’.
Now, our computer exposed generation is used to the concept of ‘trial and error’. That’s very acceptable but it’s easy to forget that the previous generations didn’t necessarily have the same approach to learning.
I realized this during lunch with a senior partner who comes from a family of pilots. He spoke about how his daughter’s attitude towards learning changed when she took a sky diving course. All of a sudden, she was faced with getting everything absolutely right. After all, one mistake and that’s the end of life as you know it.
He spoke about how it was contrary to her learning style then and how it massively impacted it. And he said that’s why learning a 0 error sport like flying, sky diving, parachuting etc brings with it a unique learning experience.
And that made me reflect. I’ve never learnt a zero error sport. Maybe it’s time to think about trying one.

Style does matter

We care about the packaging. Full stop.

Packaging, in itself, is an ever flourishing industry. No – this is not limited to the physical packaging of items. It’s to do with the packaging of anything these days – products (think: discount sales), people (think: matrimonial websites, Resume ‘enhancers’, public speaking coaches) or anything else we can think of.
Better packaging doesn’t mean the content is any better. It just adds emotional value. And that makes all the difference in the world.
And I can fully understand why.
Let’s think about it. Think about the last 10 times you have been received ‘No’ for an answer. (Maybe you’ll remember 5, or 3 – that’ll do). I can bet that you clearly remember what was a nice ‘No’ and what wasn’t. In fact, you probably harbor very positive feelings for the person who gave you the nice ‘no’ versus the person who wasn’t so kind while saying ‘no’.
The result was the same – the answer was ‘no‘ after all but boy, did the packaging of the answer make a difference!
When it comes to people, I refer to the packaging as style. And like it or not, if you are in a game that involves interaction with people, your style makes more difference than you can possibly comprehend.
This, my friends, is a biggie.

The Pebble in my Shoe

‘It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe’ – Muhammad Ali

Pure genius. I discovered this in full force today.
I was geared up for the day. The ‘high priority‘ list was so long that it didn’t look like a ‘high priority‘ list any more. But, nevertheless, I was all set to fight this.. I had signed up for such days in the coming month.
And a day which I would have normally gotten through by giving 110% required a 150%, thanks to my…. headphones!
Yes, these..
As everyone on the project sits together in a team room with no walls or barriers, the team room is a hub of activity at all times. And the only way to get ‘focus‘ work done for me is to put on my headphones to block out the activity.
And today, for the first time in a long time, I forgot my headphones. And boy, did it wear me out as suddenly, it required a lot more mental effort to shut off the distractions.
Worth remembering that not once did I feel the weight of the the long task list but the headphones..
Muhammad Ali’s insightful quotes never fail to get the wow reaction where I’m concerned.

‘Being’ world class:

John Yokohama is famous for a reason. He has taken a fish market (yes, a fish market) and a bunch of fish mongers and made them world famous.
And one of the key factors in this transformation has been John’s, and hence Pike Place Fish’s focus on ‘being’ vs ‘doing’.

Whenever a new fishmonger joins ‘World famous’ Pike Place fish, he is always eager to understand what to do. And that’s where he learns his first lesson – he will not be told what to ‘do‘, rather, he will be taught how to think about who he would like to ‘be‘.

For example, if John finds a certain fish monger enjoying the adoring attention of the crowd too much, a question he always asks is ‘Are you being famous? Or are you being someone who is making a world famous difference?’

His team understand the difference. They don’t expect John to tell them to stop enjoying the attention. They just expect him to remind them to ‘be‘ who they have committed to be.

Reading about John Yokohama’s philosophies and his focus on defining our actions by ‘being‘ vs ‘doing‘ has been very inspiring. Armed with this insight, John has transformed an ordinary Seattle fish stand to ‘World Famous’ Pike place fish – a stand known for the enthusiasm and energy of their crew as well as their ‘world famous’ fish throwing. They are SO famous that viewers even tune into a live feed of their stand online! Isn’t that inspiring? Do check out more on http://www.pikeplacefish.com/
—

Fully charged

Note: Today i.e. Saturday is the equivalent of ‘Monday’ here in Oman and hence, is the first working day of the week.
The term that would best describe today would be – ‘Surgical precision’

There was something special about the day today. I woke up with a spring in my step, had one of those truly awesome days when you are ‘on the ball’ the entire time, meet your goals for the day and yet, feel fully energized and positive at the end of the day. And the 3 contributing factors are –

1. A weekend that was as close to ideal as it could be. ‘Alone’ time to recharge, lots of sleep and great food, sufficient time on all side projects and of course, enough time to write my book as well. That meant the weekend was ‘fulfilling’ on most front.
2. Amazing online meets/phone catch ups with loved ones. This ensured full emotional recharge.
3. Woke up to my beloved ‘Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock’ . If you have a chance to invest in good alarm clock technology, I would recommend it. This alarm clock and it’s graphs analyzing my sleep have greatly added value, and joy, to my life.
All in all, today was a day I would like to repeat from time to time. If I could have 3 such work days in a week for a start, that would be the start of the end goal to have productivity rivalling Bill Gates.
Okay, I don’t quite know how productive he is but I’m guessing he must be churning out days like this out of habit.. :)