@work – Page 2 – Mixing Pods

Checkpoint: How are you doing with your goals and that one word for 2019?

So it’s already March 31st, the last day of the first quarter of the year (dang that went fast!). It’s time for a checkpoint on those goals that we set for the year and how we are doing on that one word for 2019 that we talked about on January 1st.

Commitment. That was my one word for 2019. I also posted a blog in December on why having fun at work would be a top goal in 2019. I’m doing pretty good so far (this blog is still getting posted), and there is always room for more fun.

However, those that know me well (or have picked up on it by reading this blog) know that I am a goal fanatic. I love setting goals, creating sub-goals, grouping goals, prioritizing goals, and talking about goals. I sort of treat personal goals like Wayne Gretzky treated hockey goals.

” You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Wayne Gretzky

My take is that it costs you nothing to set a goal. So why not put a goal out there if it is something you are thinking about achieving. Goals can be dynamic and might change season to season.

So my 2019 word, commitment, has developed into more of a theme that applies to the goals across 4 categories: Family, Work, Community, and Personal. (Commitment to …)

To measure progress, I take a simple color-based approach to see how I am doing and where to refocus my energy. I score myself as either ‘green’, ‘yellow’, ‘red’, and a new label of ‘blue’.

Green = On Track – Making progress and hitting milestones
Yellow = Need to Recommit – Put more energy and focus on it
Red = Way off Track – Totally Refocus or Evaluate if it was the right goal
Blue = Eliminate = The goal it was DOA (Dead on Arrival)

This past week, I listened to Seth Godin’s, The Dip and he talks about ‘strategic quitting’. So for those goals in red, determining if it is worth persevering get through the dip or if it’s a cul-de-sac, and the goal is a dead end. Should that goal that is in red, be turned to blue? It’s a quick read/listen, so I won’t dive too deep into Seth’s book here, but I highly recommend checking it out.

The good news is tomorrow is April 1st. We have an opportunity to start the next quarter off fresh and it’s a perfect time to do an assessment to determine if you had the right goals to start with or not. How are you doing with that one word you set at the beginning of the year?

Take some time to celebrate your successes and ways to keep the momentum in areas where you are on track. Determine if you need to make some minor adjustments or totally refocus in the areas you aren’t makeing progress. Or lastly, the insight from this blog may be evaluating if it is time to ‘quit’ a goal or think through a word that is a better fit.

There is no need to beat yourself up if you are not on track because no matter how awesome you are, even you can’t change the past. And if you never set a goal in the first place, why not start today? You have nothing to lose.

Addie’s version of writing down her goals!

Is it time for a road trip?

The past 4 weeks have been incredibly busy and I have been mixing in another pod, my altMBA cohort. Saturday is reflection day.

This weekend we took a little road trip up to Glenwood Springs to watch the high school musical production of Mamma Mia! We were there to support my sister Lisa, who puts her heart in soul into engaging with her students. We were definitely due for a family trip and my parents joined us for the 4-hour car ride.

For me, road trips are less about rest and relaxation and more about connection, presence, and reflection.

Long car rides allow us the time to connect with others about things on our mind, as well as, provide an opportunity to dive a bit deeper. It also gives us time to listen without distractions (of course while focusing on the road). The good news is that the other person can’t run away from the difficult ones. Their verbal and non-verbal queues (like turning up the radio) let you know if they are into it or not. Katie and I have talked over a lot of our dreams, goals, and our futures together on the highway.

Our girls Maggie and Addie can’t get enough traveling and it doesn’t matter where we are going. They love the snacks in the car, the occasional stops, and of course the hotels (especially if there is a pool). These trips provide an excellent opportunity to be present and focused on experiencing an adventure together. Getting all of us out of daily routines and focusing on each other. I’m starting to realize PTO doesn’t stand for Paid Time Off, but Present Time On. This is where those boundaries become so damn important.

I also use road trips as a time to reflect and give extra thought to those ideas that have been incubating and just need a little bit more of my attention. Not in a to-do list sort of way, but in a way that allows my mind to wander the outskirts of the idea. I surround it with other thoughts that act as catalysts. The open road provides a reminder of this vast world and an opportunity to be grateful for so much in our lives.

So if you are going through a major change in your life or just need some time to reset, maybe a road trip is what you need to get your mojo back. Or maybe you just need some time to be present with others or even just some space by traveling alone. There is so much for you to explore outside and in the inside!

*Maggie and Addie LOVE their road trips. I hope to see this picture 20, 30, and 40 years from now!*

WTF… Did I really just eat 5 doughnuts?

Yes, yes I did.

Tuesday was a really crazy day at the office and things didn’t necessarily go to plan. Our team was not operating on all cylinders, leadership was a bit on edge, and everyone was in ‘urgent’ mode.

So driving into work on Wednesday morning, I thought I had a brilliant idea. I’ll bring in Doughnuts to set a new and positive tone. I mean, who wouldn’t want a doughnut in the morning? Especially during valentines week when there were heart shaped ones, pink frosted ones, and lots with red and pink sprinkles.

The thing is, I love doughnuts. When I was in second grade my dream job was to work at Winchell’s Donut House. Although, it looks like I wouldn’t have made it very far in the business, since I apparently may eat all the doughnuts. I also have passed down the love of doughnuts to our little ladies. My daughter’s 4th birthday was a Donut Party.

Nothing better than a donut party celebration!

Well, Wednesday ended up being even more crazy than Tuesday. In addition, it turns out there are a lot more healthy eaters at the office than I expected. My 3 dozen doughnuts were not going as fast as I thought they would. I was actually having trouble hawking the doughnuts.

One of the boxes ended up staying near my desk and about every 2 hours, I just grabbed a doughnut. I didn’t have to leave my desk, I didn’t go have to outside. It was like having an IV of solid sugar (with Bavarian cream and raspberry filling). So when leaving the office at the end of the day, it occurred to me that I had eaten 5 doughnuts and nothing else. Ouch.

Thursday morning was rough! My body begging for something healthy.

So here are 10 things to do to stop you from eating 5 doughnuts at work:

Don’t stop on your way to work and buy doughnuts!
Understand your demand and don’t buy 3 dozen doughnuts!
Don’t put the box next to your desk! (Maybe put the box on your bosses desk!)
Put the doughnuts in the breakroom, people eat doughnuts when no one is looking!
Realize that peer pressure doesn’t always work with doughnuts (which is weird because it works on me every time)!
Bring a lunch, buy a lunch, go to lunch. Don’t have doughnuts for lunch!
Don’t think doughnuts can change the world!
Accidentally drop the box of doughnuts, there is no 10-second rule at work.
Have a posse at work that encourages you to take a lunch break! (and actually eat a lunch)
Save your doughnuts for the weekend with your kids!

However, the true insight from this blog has nothing to do about doughnuts.

It’s that when we take our work so darn seriously that we can’t stop for lunch or to take care of ourselves, then we may have ended up in the wrong place. Sure, there are times of crunch time, when it’s all hands on deck to get something shipped out the door and you can’t seem to catch your breath. But I’ve been here before where crunch time was 6 months long and my mind, body, and relationships paid for it.

A coffee break isn’t a coffee break if you just come back to your desk with a cup of coffee. Gve your self a break and take care of yourself!

P.S. The diet starts on Monday!

“You ARE a process guy… right?”

This is one of my wife’s favorite lines and part of our friendly married couple banter.

For some background, I started with Anderson Consulting (now Accenture) in May of 2000. At the time, the consulting workforce was organized into 4 main groups. Strategy, Process, Technology, and Change. I was placed in the Process group. My wife Katie and I had just gotten engaged a month earlier.

My first project involved reengineering customer call center process flows for a major telecommunications company. It was the first time I got to use Visio to do flow charts. I loved working with people to capture their processes, getting them documented, and analyzing them to make them more efficient. I was enamoured by swimlanes, ensuring a process was designed effectively, and making sure that every shape was aligned, etc. I was really into it. Then I learned about Lean, green belts, black belts, etc. I didn’t even know this kind of job existed when I was in college.

So I would bring my work home, staying up late at night to put together the perfect process. Back then, I would try to describe my job to friends and family and they would give me a funny look. I resorted to referencing commercials for companies like Subway, and say I was a ‘process artist’ instead of a ‘sandwich artist’. Another go-to comparison were the BASF commercials, “we don’t make the products you use every day, we just make them better.” Blank stares. It turns out that apparently, not everyone likes to watch commercials as much as I do (That is a topic for another blog).

In the meantime, Katie took on the noble profession of teaching elementary school. But I quickly learned that her way of thinking was very process oriented and she applied it to everything she did. So now that she knew what I actually did at work, and that I thought I was pretty good at it, she would keep me on my toes.

Getting home schooled!

At the grocery store: Why did I need to go back to a section we had already been? She planned her route before we even walked in the door.
Meeting up downtown: Why don’t I take the bus in the morning and she’ll meet me there that evening? That way we will only have one car coming home.
Going upstairs for something: Why don’t I take those things that she staged at the bottom of the stairs while I’m at it? Ohh and put them away since they are already in my hands.
Driving: Why would I go to the gas station that requires a left turn, when there is one on the right side of the road? There really isn’t a need to be loyal when they sell the same thing at the same price.
Changing Diapers: Why would I not have a process in mind for changing the diaper before starting the changing process? Yes, it was possible to change a diaper without using 10+ wipes.
Toothpaste: Why would I squeeze the tube there, when her method yielded a clean and efficient way to get the toothpaste out? Ohh and since you are there, wipe out the sink, please.
You ARE a process guy… right?

So it turns out Katie is the true lean operator of the household. She was my Alexa, Siri, Watson, Waze, and Uber long before they were in our lives. I used to call her MapQuest, because even if she had only been somewhere once, it was like she dropped a pin and knew exactly how to get back.

It’s amazing to see the speed at which we are improving processes and unlocking efficiency in everything we do and touch these days. We live in exciting times, but sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming. I just have to remember that it is all just processes, and I am a process guy… with a better process girl by my side.

“Your next blog: Is it over committing or under prioritizing?”

That was the text that I received from Jensen on Friday, November 16th. I had cancelled lunch plans with some of the guys that morning after waffling the day before. I sent a text indicating that I had over committed myself and had to take care of some things at the office.

Sure, Jensen was teasing me and most likely laughing when he wrote it. He knew how much it would bother me.

Getting the boys together is one of those things that gives me a ton of energy. We have a really good crew of lifelong friends and we spark creativity in each other, razz each other for stupid decisions, and do a lot of laughing. Finding the time to get together is getting harder and harder.
My work calendar was wide open when we made the plans and I have been trying to keep personal commitments as much as possible.

Did I over commit or under prioritize? This is one of the questions that I struggle with every day. Balancing activities with friends, family, and especially with the girls; while trying to exceed client expectations, grow an account, strengthen the firm, develop our team, and invest in my own self-development. My word for 2019 is commitment and it applies to all of the above… but has to be handled with care.

One of my challenge is that I’m the king of creating lists of things that I am going to do on a given day (like most of you reading this blog). I have them in categories and usually in the order of importance. However, I seldom apply any constraints to completing them. That means accounting for how long they are going to take or how much time I actually have in the day to get them done. Combine that with the fact that I really like to talk and engage with the girls, it usually results in some late nights.

Unfortunately, it seemes to be the immediate and tactical things that fall into the over committing category. All those things that old people try and tell young people to not take for granted, and say that they regret the most later in life, tend to fall in the under prioritizing category.

Three months later, the question of over committing and under prioritizing hit me in the face again. I actually told Katie that maybe I needed to skip the weekly Sunday night dinner with her family because I have some homework and a few big presentations due this week. I thought it through and after remembering the question, I refocused and shifted the way that I approached the day and made it to dinner.

So even though we didn’t end up having lunch that day in November, the insight and the lesson from one of my best friends made its mark, even if it was just a text.

What is your one word for 2019?

This is the sister blog (if that is a thing) to my Perficient Blog (What is the one word that will define success in 2019!) In that blog, I tied this concept to business strategy and operating model metrics. However, since Jensen makes fun of me for using business speak in the ‘friends pods’, I thought I would tailor this to be much more personal.

I have definitely been in a transitional phase over the past couple of years, making a significant move from being work-centered to family-centered. I think this phase was at its peak towards the end of 2016. Maggie was 2 years-old, and Addie was born that September. It’s not that I was I was a dead beat dad or husband, but I was still getting used to staying present and focused on the family throughout the evening. I used to put in a lot of time in the evenings making sure all of my client and firm deliverables were completed to my satisfaction. I was finding myself gasping at the end of the night when I looked at the clock and realized how tired I was. Things had changed.

Over that Thanksgiving, I read Angela Duckworth’s book Grit, the Power of Passion and Perseverance. She talks about how to build grit and the need for an “ultimate concern”, which is a supreme goal that is so meaningful to you that it provides structure and discipline to everything you do. She described a method for gaining focus by listing 25 goals, circling the top 5 and avoiding all others at all costs, while discovering themes. Her hierarchical approach of rolling up low level and mid level goals to the ultimate concern really resonated with me.

At the time, all of my goals and the ultimate concern at the top of my hierarchy ended up bringing out the word ‘engaged’. I covered my four goal categories in the blog a couple of days ago, Why having fun will be my top work goal in 2019! I could assess everything that I was doing in every aspect to my life in that moment to the word engaged. The best part is that I could quickly get back on track if I found myself not being present or missing an opportunity if necessary.

It started off being something to focus me on work/life balance and being engaged with the kids. But I also found that I was using it to assess if I was engaged with my work, team members, and clients.

I think this approach is way more productive than doing New Year’s resolutions. So I recommend taking some time to think about it. Lay out your goals and see what theme surfaces and the one word that sums it up. There is no right or wrong word, you just have to describe a meaningful word to you. A word that describes how you want to show up every day. Then do it! Everything else will fall into place.

This year, my word is ‘commitment’. I’ve signed up to do a lot and I have some ambitious goals. I’m going to need some serious commitment and discipline to maintain the right balance and get the results that I’m striving to achieve. I’ll need some help. It’s important to engage others in this so that they can be in your corner, help you stay focused, and keep you accountable (not to be confused with judging).

So what will your word be:

Creativity?
Kindness?
Focus?
Discipline?

You may have one for work, one for your family, or it can all be the same. But at the end of the day, it’s kind of like the “one thing” that Curly is referencing in the 1991 movie, City Slickers. It’s your one word.

Why ‘having fun’ will be my top work goal in 2019!

This time of year, I spend hours writing and honing my goals for the following year. You could say that I am super compulsive about it (it’s sort ridiculous). I refuse to call them New Year’s Resolutions since that sounds so temporary and everyone knows they always get broken. I try and elicit my friends and family into the ritual and in return, I get a lot of eye rolls. After 20 years, Katie will at least humor me know and she’ll have at least 3 things on the ready for when I bring it up. She makes sure that I know that she is done and doesn’t need any help editing them.

The good news is that this year, I will really be building on and executing a well rounded set of goals from last year across all the categories (yes, there are goal categories). Family, Work, Community, and Personal. I usually land at 3-5 goals in each area, but no more than 5 and they all have to be meaty and measurable.

I use trello to organize them on the computer and love the mobile app. You can do all sorts of stuff with the cards like move them around, label, color code, create checklists, due dates, etc. However, this year I’m also going to go back to a physical paper planner again. My friend Candace Mau and I been talking about the power of using pen and paper when you are getting creative and laying out your month, week, and day.

Anyway, the thing is that every year, I seem to put a goal to have fun in my list of work goals. Mainly to protect myself from myself and to put in a reminder in there to not take things so seriously. I’ve had some years where I was just wound up too tight, stressed about work, and and ended up in quite the funk (thank goodness for friends and family).

So this year, I think I’m leading with the goal to have fun, and will use it as a competitive advantage. I am definitely at my best when I am having fun with the people that I work with, bringing positive energy, and just being conscious of my mindset. I think the chances of getting the results that I am looking for across the other goals will be much higher and I’ll be more engaged (more on that in another blog). I’m hoping it helps keep things in perspective, enables me to stay grateful, and laugh a bit at myself.