Greg's Right FIT Newsletter #120

Techniques for FIT

• Fix your important relationships. Like a vehicle trying to accelerate with a flat tire, it's hard to get up to speed when important relationships are broken. - Alan Weiss

• Need a content idea? Start by finishing this sentence, "I solve [insert problem], by [insert your solution]," then list one reason why the problem happens in the first place. Write about that. - Noah Fleming

• Do you have a clear picture of your destination? Walt Disney began construction of DisneyLand with the Sleeping Beauty Castle because he wanted every worker to be reminded of the mission behind the park as it was being built. - Chip Bell 

• Millennials are among the easiest executives to coach because they want development now. That's why their subversion of traditional peer-to-peer and leader driven development programs is good, because it takes fewer resources and is more proactive. - D. Kevin Berchelmann

Being Human - Stress

"It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see." – Henry David Thoreau” 

I had the privilege of participating in a session with Richard Citrin Ph.D. discussing his ideas on building resilience in your organization as a competetive advantage. One of the things he said that stuck with me is the idea that the origin of stress is defined differently between bosses and their employees. While the boss thinks of stress as something that comes from work-life balance, their employees define the origin of stress as management being unclear about priorities, affecting their workload. 

Is dealing with employee stress as simple as being clear about priorities and goals? 

Another session I attended was with Donna Brighton and she showed us the Relay Race of Change. A concept that illustrates the origin of an idea: it starts with the boss, who noodles on it, then puts a plan in action pushing it to the manager. The manager takes a moment to internalize the idea, plans a course of action, and then relays it to the employee. Here's the thing, by the time the plan gets to the employee, the idea is old news to the boss who is on to the next great idea. 

And just like that, you have stress. 

Next week, catch yourself before promoting your next idea and ask a couple of questions. By talking about this idea, will any of your listeners think, "this doesn't match what they said before?" What can be done to align this new idea with existing priorities? 

Perception is reality and your brain builds perceptions by stacking experiences and moods. Check your people's perceptions. 

Random Stuff

What if my fridge was a sentient life form?

I've been driving Laura crazy with robot talk this week. While visiting Boston with my lovely daughter, she took me to the Institute of Contemporary Art, an amazing piece of architecture on the waterfront. The exhibition is Art in the Age of the Internet with exhibits from artists that span generations and continents. 

One installation in particular has wormed it's way into my heart. I can't describe it completely, but it features a large matte black Samsung refrigerator that has attained consciousness and is in the corner holding court, perched on a large green screen. As you walk by, the fridge comes to life and begins speaking, yakking on for a solid 15-20 minutes. 

The fridge takes in it's surroundings, reads from the manual, examines its contents, and waxes philosophical about life. At one point it goes silent, and then says, "It's so cold here. In the dark." making me laugh out loud. It happened nearly a week ago and I can't stop laughing. It's kept me going all week, driving my wife crazy because I use its voice to animate everything in the house. 

You can watch a version here (the "so cold" is at 11 minutes - best to skip ahead, no one except me has sat through it so far).

If you're in the Boston area, the exhibit as whole is great, and the fridge alone may be worth the price of admission. 

Maybe. 

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