Archive for 2009
Time flies…
Time to evaluate
We are 25% through 2009. It’s a good time to take a look at your goals for 2009 and see how you are progressing. Here are some questions to ask yourself and your organization:
- What progress are you making toward the goals that you set at the start of the year?
- What is getting in the way of accomplishing your goals? Read the rest of this entry »
Fresh Eyes
Assessment Tools
Ever notice that things that are obvious to an outsider looking in are often hidden from the people on the inside? Many times the most needed changes are changes that cannot be seen by the leaders and team members of an organization.
That’s often where Kanon Clarity’s assessment tools play such a vital role in helping organizations close that gap on where they want to go. We offer multiple assessments that are designed to uncover specific areas where organizations and individuals can capitalize on their strengths, mitigate their weaknesses, and make course corrections to help them navigate in the right direction. Read the rest of this entry »
A Message of Hope
Keep Moving Forward
I’ve been asked a few times lately, “What’s with the ‘keep moving forward’ thing?” That phrase is in most of my emails. My employees hear it from me dozens of times per year. My kids have a relentless Keep Moving Forward theme in their life.
On March 30, 2007, Meet the Robinson was released to theaters. My family and I went to watch Meet the Robinsons on April 12, 2007.
March 2007 was a deadly month in Iraq. In fact 2007 cost us more U.S. lives than any other period in the last 38 years. 1971 was the last year that we lost more than 900 soldiers in the same year. I was born in 1971. Read the rest of this entry »
Sharing the Stage
The “Uninfluential” Genius
Ever hear of Joshua Bell? Joshua Bell is the world’s greatest violinist. He is also a heartthrob. He is tall, dark and handsome. Unlike many classical performers, Bell is also cool. He walks onto stage in black pants with a black untucked shirt. He is in excellent physical condition and it shows in the way he plays. His whole body is involved. He plays a 3.5 million dollar violin crafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari. People pay thousands to see Bell and his concerts are always sold out.
On January 12th, 2007, Joshua Bell and his 3.5 million dollar violin strolled into the metro station during the morning rush in D.C. Bell played a 43 minute, six piece classical concert while 1,000 morning commuters walked by. Guess what happened…
Take a look at this:
Did you see what happened?
Nothing. That’s right, the worlds best violinist playing a 3.5 million dollar violin received almost no response. The vast majority of the 1,000+ people who walked by said and did nothing. Most treated him like he was invisible. Read the rest of this entry »
Course Correction
Facing Reality
Dolly Sods didn’t turn out quite the way we had anticipated. We arrived Thursday evening around 4:30 prepared to hike to a nice winter destination and set up camp. We ascended to an area called Bear Rocks. As we climbed a howling wind kicked up in our faces. At the summit we encountered 50 mph winds that ripped through our clothing like a knife through butter. Read the rest of this entry »
In The Wilderness
Simple navigation
I’m in the Dolly Sods Wilderness as this email is being sent. I am trying to practice what I preach about getting distance from things so that I can see clearly. It is probably in the teens right now and the wind is kicking up at about 20 mph. We should be approaching the famous Lions Head as you read. It is also snowing.
The Dolly Sods Wilderness is in West Virginia. It is place that is very easy to get lost in. It takes an accurate map and a good compass to get you where you want to go. In that respect it is like most of life: you need to know where you would like to go, have a “map” that will show you how to get there, and have a compass that will steer you in the right direction.
No vision of where you want to go, no map, and no compass = no trajectory. If you hear from me next week I have at least navigated out of the Dolly Sods Wilderness. Head cleared, ready for anything.
Keep moving forward,
Greg
Imaginative Gridlock
What is your thinking chained to?
Mull on this for a while:
“When any relationship system is imaginatively gridlocked, it cannot get free simply through more thinking about the problem. Conceptually stuck systems cannot become unstuck simply by trying harder. For a fundamental reorientation to occur, that spirit of adventure which optimizes serendipity and which enables new perceptions beyond the control of our thinking processes must happen first. This is equally true regarding families, institutions, whole nations, and entire civilizations.
“But for that type of change to occur, the system in turn must produce leaders who can both take the first step and maintain the follow through in the face of predictable resistance and sabotage. Any renaissance, anywhere, whether in marriage or a business, depends primarily not only on new data and techniques, but on the capacity of leaders to separate themselves from the surrounding emotional climate so that they can break through the barriers that are keeping everyone from going the other way”
Edwin Friedman, A Failure of Nerve.
Friedman knew that without appropriate separation (or distance) from things we can’t unlock our imagination and move beyond where we are stuck. Read the rest of this entry »