212 reminders
my favorites
continued thought
And perhaps you should too.
they arrived
12 pounds of pure joy.
Some of it's for a friend... I'm serious.
It's not like I have some sort of problem.
I don't.
Really.
They do.
(some of it's for a friend, too)
lessons from the bathroom
We were having lunch today at Gramercy Tavern in New York and the boys and I hit the bathroom. My expectations were high given the reputation of the place.
Everyone was impressed.
I said to the boys...
"The guy who runs this place..."
...and Sam (10) finished the sentence for me...
"Thinks."
Gabriel (7) chimed in...
"And cares about the people who come here."
A great reminder for me that it all counts (and a bright training moment).
(our boxed up leftover number... fancy place)
Everything was great.
opportunities
Watching the last installment of PBS’s documentary on New York, we learn of the 50-year-old architect Minoru Yamasaki who was chosen over many other legendary architects at the time to create the World Trade Center.
“And this was of course for him the opportunity of a lifetime,” the narrator mentions.
I wonder if approaching more of our work as “the opportunity of a lifetime” would lead to it actually becoming the something special we all hope to contribute.
"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."
Marian Wright Edelman (1939 - )
American founder and president
of the Children's Defense Fund
(tgim)
an awakening
I remember sitting in the car with The Spaniard. It was after some school or sports event. One of the other parents came to the car to say a few words… all smiles… completely and genuinely happy and kind.
When he left, I asked The Spaniard…
“How does he do that?”
“What?”
“How does he always seem so happy and nice all the time?”
She said, “Maybe he just is, Sam.”
(which reminded me...)
overheard
"Last one to the car is a tapeworm."
(my boys leaving church)
easter
"We know that we are like kinds, and we should work together to make this as good an experience as possible.
Tikkun Olam -- let us repair the universe.
Now Islam believes that. Buddhism that has no god believes it. Every ethical humanist I ever met believes it.
Those two principles: we're supposed to love one another and we're supposed to work together to make the experience better. That's all the religion you need, really, to make a success of this planet."
Mario Cuomo (1932 - )
52nd Governor of New York
Happy Easter
(closing remarks from the final installement of the 17-hour PBS documentary on the history of New York City... the photo is The Bethesda Fountain in NYC)
mocs
As my youngest is getting older, I'm starting to notice dwindling moments of cuteness (MOCs) in the house... translating to less MOC content for the blog (time to pay rent chilis).
I'm now outsourcing these moments to these boys...
For a few reruns from the Parker house...
deep thanks
A couple weeks ago, Keith Ferrazzi’s email tip caught me… “How to Thank Your Valuable Employee.”
He suggested going a little deeper with the words than just the simple thanks.
“For a long time I have been so happy and impressed with your enthusiasm for the company and your willingness to dive in and help wherever needed. You have gone from gofer to being my go-to guy. When someone else dropped the ball, you were there…”
I wonder how many of us (really) work in such a way that we deserve a deep thank you.
TGIM
12 - 2
"I don't look at it like we beat those guys. The most important thing is we didn't beat ourselves."
-- Ryan Newman
Daytona 500 winner 2008
Another 212 finish (as always) but this year it almost finished 2 - 12 (how loud do you think it got at the Parker house?).
Of course, it all depends on how you look at it.
lucky enough
“The doctor will be with you in just a second.”
25 minutes is the new second. I timed it.
(what other professions allow this?)
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Last night, The Spaniard and I went to one of our favorite restaurants. Reservations were for 7:40 and we were seated after 7:55.
I love the place.
But when I have a reservation, I find a quarter of an hour wait to be inconsiderate. It starts everything off wrong (so the food better be fantastic… and in this case, it is).
Seth Godin recently blogged about the importance of “the last interaction” of the customer experience (very much a 212 message) but I don’t think it’s a beginning or end thing. I think it’s an all the way through thing.
Start strong. Work strong. Finish strong. Repeat.
If we’re lucky enough to have people talk/engage/buy/hire us then we should obsess over their experience… the whole experience... making it better and then better again. Very tough to do consistently but that’s the goal.
If we take any of it for granted, it makes it much easier for someone else to teach us a lesson… the hard way.
(this includes the work we do for our colleagues)
work is good
Be sure to look deep. Question things.
The headline reads…
Work-related stress can kill, study finds
The lead sentence…
“Work really can kill you, according to a study on Wednesday providing the strongest evidence yet of how on-the-job stress raises the risk of heart disease by disrupting the body’s internal systems.”
Later in the piece, the person who led the study points out...
“Behavior and biological changes likely explain why stress at work causes heart disease… For one stressed workers eat unhealthy food, smoke, drink and skip exercise…”
The problem with this story (other than it only studied civil servants) is that some people will take only the headline and the first 5 words to heart… making “work” a bad thing… locking it down as a fact never to be questioned again… futher perpetuating the idea that work is bad.
I love my work and I know many people who do as well. I think I could do without some of the stress at times but it’s also helped make me stronger (and helped me help others).
(and my stress on a relative scale isn’t really stress at all)
My suggestion for those civil servants in the study is to care more about how they help people through what they do, exercise, stop smoking, drink less, and enjoy good food.
Our work is one of the ways we create value as people. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
a day on
14 years ago the US Congress established the King Holiday and Service Act encouraging “A day on, not a day off” in celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
(how is it that it took me 14 years to learn of it?)
What a great way to support the truth that every day should be a day of service… even holidays.
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“So somehow the "isness" of our present nature is out of harmony with the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts us. And this simply means this: That within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)
American civil rights leader
Nobel Peace Prize recipient
truth
“The forecast today – a perfect day to call in sick – 72 degrees and sunny.”
I woke to those words from my radio alarm one morning – literally the first sentence I heard for the day.
For those who might agree (or feel it was just in fun), please remember two things…
A beautiful day doesn’t mean one shouldn’t work and a beautiful day doesn’t mean one should lie.
I believe it’s these small statements, peppered in throughout our conversations, media and entertainment that start making small lies “no big deal”. And unfortunately, once they’re no big deal it’s almost as if they’re not lies anymore.
Lies are anything that isn’t true.
(that’s a period at the end of that sentence)
A small cheat to our favor… taxes, a sick day, extra change… whatever… if it’s not true, it’s a lie (and that includes omission of the truth).
We shouldn’t play games with our integrity.
Each lie, omission, rationalization, or stretch of the truth makes us less believable to others (which just screws everything up).
(I saw that shirt on someone the other day and could only think, “Do everyone a favor (your employer, fellow employees, and customers)… quit.”)
new year's moments
We sat at dinner a few nights ago discussing possible resolutions for 2008… family resolutions.
The Spaniard suggested increased kindness toward each other and my youngest got all excited.
“Can we really do that? Can we make that our thing… to be nice to each other all the time? That would be great!”
He said it with such sincere concern and enthusiasm that it struck me.
We want that so much, don’t we? Continual kindness.
Why aren’t we addicted to giving it?
Why don’t we indulge in absolute and continual kindness and care? Shouldn’t that be our indulgence rather than indulging in our self and our petty little cares?
I’m sick of New Year’s resolutions.
I want Every Day and Every Moment resolutions. That’s what helps resolutions stick.
We can choose. We can move forward. We can fall. And we can get back to holding ourselves accountable.
That’s what 212’s become for me.
Accountability.
Happy New Year.
the lifeblood of business
"O negative can be used by babies..."
A couple years ago, those words inspired the world's first virtual blood drive with a twist. It's for those who sell (isn't that almost everyone?).
There’s a week to go (and we've included some prizes).
Please visit salesblood.org to learn how you can be a part of it.
If you’re not in sales, could you start something similar within your profession (you’re the lifeblood of something… aren’t you?)?
perfection
"Tom Brady and the Patriots complete the first undefeated regular season in 35 years by beating the Giants 38-35."
As a Redskins fan since childhood (remembering our 14-7 loss to the Dolphins in the Super Bowl), I read that blurb this morning on the NFL's website and thought...
"35 years? I don't think so. Miami did it in '72."
Oh yeah... I'm 42.
a promise for santa
I catch The Spaniard kissing Santa Clause this year and I’m kicking some butt.
the brand
I was running on a sidewalk in my neighborhood that runs along the front of a (high-end) private school’s campus (K - 12).
Two boys were walking toward me. As we got closer to impact, I was sure one would give me at least half of the walkway as a simple act of courtesy.
No luck. I was forced to run off the curb and into the street.
Given they both were wearing sweatshirts with the local campus name, I assumed they were students of the school.
Fair or not, in my mind, the school’s brand suffered. And I have a rising high school student (and a couple more to follow).
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Driving down the road, a truck runs up my tailpipe. I move to the side and it passes with its company logo reminding me who’s boss.
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Standing in line, waiting to check out, the person in front of me treats the cashier with complete disrespect. They turn and leave with their company logo (or yours) on their shirt letting everyone know where they’re from.
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I drive down the road in my rush to get to my center of my universe, being a bit too aggressive in my effort, squeezing and cutting through traffic because my schedule is more important than yours.
You see my plate (pick one).
A brand is created.
What if everyone knew who you were?
freezer love
Sam (10) took out the frozen waffles and put them in the toaster. Gabriel sat watching (7).
"Would you like me to make it waffle chop," I asked.
"Yes, please."
Some chopping. Then I grabbed the confectioner's sugar and sprinkled a little over top (we call it "a little love").
"You can do that?" Gabriel asked.
"What?"
"You can use the love with waffles from the freezer?"
Now, as you see, I may have taken this food thing a bit far with my kids. But, we got our metaphorical lesson...
"Yes," I answered. "Love works with anything... even frozen food."
(waffle chop: pre-cut waffles making breakfast easier)
christmas cards
I love the web and technology.
We put together our Christmas cards today in about one hour.
Took the picture of the kids, put it on the computer, cropped it, sharpened it and visited Tiny Prints to choose a card (they do all kinds of occasions).
Great design choices, decent user interface, and several ways to customize the cards. The kids even enjoyed the process.
The whole thing with preprinted return addressed envelopes, rush shipping and production charges, and a 10% discount (use promotional code: HOLIDAYTEN) came to $2.13 per card.
If these things arrive on or before the date promised, we are loving life.
(those of you getting a card from us, don't look)
lovin' my lady
I was leaving for work yesterday, packing up my things. On the pile were three empty envelopes. In a rush, I just scooped them up with everything else and went in to the office.
When I got home, I asked The Spaniard about the envelopes (assuming she put them there).
"They were from your recent pay stubs."
"Yeah?"
"They were perfectly good. I thought you could reuse them at the office."
Now that's hot... shareholder hot.
(of course, I'd find it equally hot if she had the same attitude toward shoes)
focus
"The major problem of life is learning how to handle the costly interruptions. The door that slams shut, the plan that got sidetracked, the marriage that failed. Or that lovely poem that didn't get written because someone knocked on the door."
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)
American civil rights leader
Nobel Peace Prize recipient
We need to focus more.
And interrupt others less.
It’s one way we can serve each other better, I think.
If we focus more, we’re better able to contribute our verse to the world (and less likely to interrupt someone else from contributing theirs).
And of course, if we’re not interrupting someone, hopefully we’ll be focusing more.
meez
We’ve been renovating the kitchen over the past few months.
This morning, we started putting things back in place… utensils, flour, canned goods, glasses. As we were planning out proper placement (mise en place, of sorts), The Spaniard said…
“This drawer is for things we hardly use.”
It caught us both.
About an hour later, my 7-year old…
“Hey, Mom… Do people bury people with their valuable stuff?”
“Sometimes.”
(both seemed silly and blogworthy for some reason)
it's all relative
I’m a very lucky person and forget it much more than I should.
Up in until this point, relatively speaking, I’ve had very few significant challenges (if any really). Relatively speaking.
And neither have many of the people I know.
So when I get into a complaining session with some of my friends, I’ll sometimes throw this out… the idea that our challenges are far from real challenges (even though I’ll likely get right back to complaining the next day myself).
This is when I might hear…
“Well, it’s all relative.”
And they’re right.
We’re all human beings and relatively speaking, most of us with a roof over head, food in our stomachs and more fancy things than we know what to do with are living every day relatively wonderfully.
So… let us zip it, complain less and love the day.
(happy thanksgiving)
time time time
What life are you waiting for…
to…
do your work
take a risk
follow your calling
bounce back
give more
enjoy more
be kinder
breathe deeper
encourage more
be patient
be awake
listen more
create something wonderful
soften your heart
love people
We had dinner with some friends. One really wanted to do something else for her work. A question was thrown out and it had us thinking.
“Look around, leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.”
Paul Simon (1941 - )
American music artist
Tic… toc.
diet
Far from squiz...
Even further from squiz...
(pepperoni flavored sausage? do grown ups really make this stuff?)
Squiz...
The Squiz Diet... Waste no calorie intake on mediocrity.
(weight loss not guaranteed... fun more likely... consult your physician)
interbeing
Next to me and my regular group of middle-aged tennis players was another regular group of older-than-middle-aged tennis players (the kind that come out onto the court, throw away their canes and kick your younger man arrogant butt). They seemed like they’d been together a long time.
It had me wondering if my group would stay together long enough to become that group someday (hopefully kicking butt along the way).
Several weeks later, I stood opening car doors at my boys’ school, helping the traffic of kids and parents make their way in at the start of the day. That morning, I looked around and realized many of us have been together for 6 years now (parents and kids)… Not an insignificant amount of time. In fact, that’s some good potential relationship building time.
A couple of weeks ago, I met two people who’ve been working with their company for just over 20 years (amazing to me… that corporate commitment). They started on the same day actually. As they reminisced and shared a couple “early day” stories with me, I wondered if when they started they’d have ever thought they’d be together so long.
All of these have me thinking… if we approached more of our relationships with people, knowing we might be together a very long time, would we be kinder… more supportive and encouraging… smiling… listening more… patient?
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“When understanding is there, we know what to do and what not to do to bring happiness and peace to the other person. This is true love. We nourish our understanding by practicing deep listening and loving speech.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Vietnamese Buddhist monk
from The Art of Power
