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Browsing Posts published by David C. Buchan

The Real Conversation is an honest one

November 24, 2010 No comments

The private conversation you have with yourself when it’s quiet, or you’re sitting in a meeting wondering if you should speak out, or when fear strikes in the dark hours of the night is the opportunity to be truly honest with yourself.

For several years I have kept a journal. It is where I converse best with myself. As this is a topic most people don’t speak about I can’t know how common it is to be constantly in conversation. Judging decisions, weighing up actions, reflecting to note improvements for the future or even observing why I might not have just said something I thought to say (incidentally this was the topic of tonight’s writings).

Over time I’ve come to value the journal as the ultimate truth teller. Thinking without pen in hand can run too fast. Important thoughts can overshoot contemplation or pushed aside by the next thought rushing forward. With my Waterman fountain pen poised over paper this changes. Thought slows. Ideas expand. And if I chose to be honest and really listen I find the contradictions in my actions are screaming at me.

These are the moments like when I realised my reason for not taking action now was not fear of the present but fear of not fully understanding what the future would become if I took the action; or more precisely fear of who I would become. These are realisations that appear first like a flash out of the corner of my eye and are understood only if I determine to turn my head and investigate. Most often it is a feeling of discordance that comes when I know in my heart that what I’ve just put to paper is not the real truth of the matter.

If you were to read my journal the entries may confuse and leave you wondering, “How did he get anything out of that?” It doesn’t matter in the end what is written. The journey of the conversation and the insight found along the way provides wisdom. Once learnt it won’t be forgotten. My journalling has improved who I am. May it do the same for you.

Self improvement , , , , ,

Recommended phrase for non-commitment

November 20, 2010 No comments

Lunch is over and you’re into the afternoon board meeting. Perhaps your division hasn’t been performing so well in the past month. Just before you accidentally commit to any improvement this month, why not roll out, “That should improve over time.”

It’s perfect.

Last month’s productivity was down by 10%. We’ve looked into it and that should improve over time.

In next month’s board meeting you won’t (can’t) be held to account. After all you did promise that it should improve over time. You have become the master of the slippery promise. It will confuse your boss. You promised, and yet you didn’t. You should be held responsible, and yet you won’t be.

It gets better. Use this phrase with your supervisors and soon your reports will be using it with (against) you as well. No one in the whole company will be held responsible for their promises.

Trust me

If you enjoy low morale and distrust why not make this part of your induction.

Or, if you would prefer to work in a high trust environment with positive morale you could be specific about what you intend to improve for next month, by how much and how…but no, you wouldn’t want that would you.

Self improvement , , ,

Dangerous Language

November 20, 2010 No comments

The primary focus of activity within a workplace is towards getting things done. One of the factors contributing to success in this area is the use of language to coordinate action between employees.

We tread a dangerous path when we fail to understand how “sloppy requests” and “slippery promises” negatively effect the efficiency of a workplace. This is a material issue and lies at the heart of people understanding one another.

This is a short presentation I did in 2004 is a brief, yet practical, introdcution to the importance of language in the workplace.

Coaching others, Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement , , , , , ,

Simplify

July 4, 2010 1 comment

How much of your routine is preventing you from reaching your goals and dreams? Or more precisely, what are you willing to give up and say no to in order to succeed? To find the time you need.

That’s the question I asked myself on Friday and this time I listened to my answer instead of brushing it aside. So easy to do as it flashed past in a instant.

I love writing on Quantum Gardener but write much less than I’d like because I don’t have time to do it properly. Therefore, and perhaps non-intuitively, blogging is something I choose to stop until I have time. You see the commitment to readers is more than typing. The recent upgrade to WordPress 3 has stolen at least 5 hours. They could have been better spent working towards earning my financial freedom so that I can write all day if I choose. Do my valued reader this will be the last post for a while. I will still be on Twitter @quantumgardener.

There are other tasks and projects valued to me that I now realise are taking too much time. Or at least interfering with progress towards my dreams. Each is a commitment I’ve made to myself and I find I need to honour them before other things. Partly because of the effort already invested. The good news it was me who made the initial commitment so I have full and unhindered power to renegotiate or declare completion. This blog post is a public declaration of my recommitments .

Renegotiating smaller tasks links to a habit I have of wanting to finish them in order to create space for large tasks. Eventually all I achieve are small ones.

In addition to a halt on blogging I put my photo cataloging on hold. Though justifiably proud of having catalogued 15,000+ family photos and video clips with date, location description, gps coordinates, event and people in them it distracts me and can wait until I have more capacity. As one of those tasks that never ends, I’ll keep up only the essentials of backup.

There are similar commitments I have around music in iTunes and my DVD/Blu-ray library.

Then there are books unread, movies unseen, podcasts unheard and games unplayed. I find myself working relentlessly trying to finish lists that grow quicker than I can keep up. Kind of like Lucy on the assembly line. All I generate are more ideas of projects to complete. Valuable for sure but costly when compared to what I’m missing.

I will however keep my 50 Book Challenge lists up to date. It’s easy to and provides a useful record.

Until I have the time to write and serve you better take care.

David

Quantum Gardener, Self improvement none

The meaning of flags from a six year old

This morning during breakfast my youngest daughter and I were discussing flags on the back of a conversation about the countries competing in the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

I asked, “What are flags useful for?”, and she replied,

  • “For the Queen’s Birthday”
  • “Parades”
  • “Sticking on the moon to say it’s yours”
  • “Your planet”
I then asked what it meant if a flag was left half-way up a flag pole i.e., at half mast.
  • “Your country is half finished”
Can’t say fairer than that.

As adults we are often told to “think outside of the box”. Maybe the best way is to never build one in the first place. I’d challenge many adults to come up with that last answer.

Miscellaneous ,

Genghis Khan – A story untold

Genghis Khan book cover

by Jack Weatherford

I bought this book because it sounded interesting and was the most efficient way to use my monthly credit on audible.com. What an amazing story. Genghis Khan in my mind is undoubtedly one of the most successful men in history. All that you know about him is probably wrong. My world view has shifted significantly. He’s responsible for the structure of most of Asia, trade routes between Asia and Europe, the separation of church from state and the idea that a country’s leaders are not above the law.

The book chronicles his life and that of his direct and not-so-direct ancestors. The latter chapter finish with discussion of how the world view of Genghis Khan moved from admiration to loathing. It’s sad to recognise how some of the cultural narratives I’ve grown up with have been seeded by people who knew nothing or were so self centered as to impose their views for their own protection.

This story has only come to light in the past ten years as areas of Mongolia became open to scholars the world over. I hope you take the time to read his book and learn about the framework in which most of our world history resides.

Inspiration and motivation , , , ,

It’s Time for 360 Degree Leaders to Move On

Finished two good books this week. The 360 Degree Leader by John C. Maxwell and It’s Time to Move On! by Ralph Bruksos. Both are listed on my 50 book challenge (2010) reading list.

The 360 Degree Leader

I first heard John Maxwell speak of the 360 degree leader on an audio CD and was intrigued by the power of the realisation there are people like me who need to lead in all directions. Up, down and across.

This book outlines a framework for leadership which the eager learning leader can use to home their skills and understand the particular quirks and responsibilities of leading from the middle.

It’s Time to Move On!

Like being slapped in the face whilst simultaneously receiving a kick in the rear and a stern, “Tsk! Tsk!”, this book may prove to be just what I’ve needed to make the changes I’m after in my life.

Almost every page was like a mirror of my own experiences. Well, at least as far as they pertain to the feelings and emotions of dealing with change. To my knowledge I’ve never been thrown in the brig or done a stint as a fishing charter captain.

Change is all around us and we have the choice to fight it or embrace it. The trouble with fighting is that we always lose. For coping with unwanted change the book alone is worth a read yet the gold lies in it’s chapters on how to move past the resistance to embracing change and allowing yourself to go where you want to in life.

Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement , , , , , ,

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

May 12, 2010 1 comment
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion cover

by Robert B. Cialdini

Defend yourself against the Click…whirr response engendered by your built in need to reciprocate, keep consistency with what you have said you’ll do, be part of the crowd, like people who take advantage of you, follow authority without question and your desire to own something scarce.

In Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B Cialdini explains with easy to understand examples, backed by scientific testing, how the social systems we’ve created as necessary to work together are taken advantage of by marketers and others. With understanding comes the ability to recognise when we are being conned and hopefully take steps to counteract our natural tendencies.

I found most interesting the discussion on social proof and in particular the notion that when faced with an unusual situation we look to others around us for guidance under the assumption that they will know something we don’t — at the same time failing to realise everyone else is doing the same. They assume we know more than them as we simultaneously assume the same in reverse. The result is stalemate and nothing happens. All it takes is for one person to take action and the others will follow on, free to help as they can. The author’s example of what to do if you have a heart attack in a crowd is potentially life-saving. Instead of hoping someone will help you, be direct and pick out an individual to call an ambulance. Otherwise you risk those around you waiting for someone else to call.

There was not one example given in the book that I couldn’t match to my own life experience and an associated regret at having been done over by someone more persuasive than myself. Protect yourself as I have by learning about the hidden influences in your life.

Personal knowledge management, Self improvement , , , , ,

Plaxo account deleted due to security concerns

After almost seven years of membership I have been forced to delete my Plaxo account due to security concerns.

Yesterday I received notification that “Artur” had accepted my connection. This is a highly unusual name for Australia and if I’d ever met an Artur I would have remembered.

Plaxo support guessed this was an outstanding invitation sent in 2007–2008.

“As per our records, you had sent out many invitations and connection requests to the contacts in the year 2007 and 2008. I guess the connection request to the Plaxo member “Artur” was also sent during that period.”
This is their response to the claim of a security breach.

Plaxo has been a wonderful service, providing a central service for the notification of address changes. Sadly I’ll lose out on that now but save myself further privacy violations.

Networking , ,

Updated book lists

I’m now using Goodreads to track, rate and comment on the books I’m reading as part of my annual 50 book challenge. I’ve updated the 2009 list and will have 2008 posted once complete. Thanks to Jack Vinson’s post for the idea.

Quantum Gardener none
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