When I used to lead a cruise line music department, I’d always be asked to look at average team performance as a way to measure, “how we’re doing?”  Based on the fleet’s average performance, we’d make different decisions that would support the operation.There are two rules that I’ve learned in this work:What can be measured gets managed - often times poorly.Average only exists as a number - it doesn’t actually exist in real life.You can argue that the fleet’s average offers you insight into how a majority of the groups might operate. And yes, that’s a healthy way to consider performance. But that’s like grading on the curve, we’re only helping the late majority/laggards. The law of diffusion of innovation would say these teams are going to be slow to adopt change. So why make the investment?  I argue, let’s prop up those sites that are making the most significant change. Something happened that made their work special. Or, why not look at the outliers - the extreme high and low performers? What are they doing that’s working? How can we continue supporting their efforts?When the outliers, the innovators, the neophiliacs, the drivers are invested in your mission, they’ll pull the rest of the curve with them. When you try to push the curve from behind to catch up, you risk starving the innovators of the chance to innovate. Or, worse, you’re killing their creativity.  The average only exists as a number.  And numbers don’t have heartbeats.

Or does it? Working from home can expose your poor work ethic if you let it. It’s easy to roll out of bed, head over to your computer, log-on, and do something that matters for someone else. And you might operate well that way. But how easy is it to slip back in bed? To say, “I’ll just keep my computer on in case someone needs me,” but then slip away to the couch and watch tv? To go to the kitchen and make food and cite that “checking your email” is working? Maybe you can still be productive this way. Perhaps you’ve spent a majority of time becoming better at tackling the challenge of remote work. But for some, this is brand new. We’re not used to seeing our homes as workplaces, and vice versa. The patterns of behavior we develop at our work are not always the same as what we have at home. We can become confused, overloaded, and we do what all humans (including this writer) do, default to the easiest possible thing - the things that take little to no effort. If you want to do work that matters, to do hard work of connecting with people and producing something for them that makes a difference - it will take effort. If you’re not used to working from home, more than ever, it will require effort. Start learning some best practices now. There are tons of people on the Internet telling you how to do it - I’m not going to be one of them. What works for me may not necessarily work for you. Find what works for you. Find what makes you most productive - your flow, and do more of it! Why? Because the feeling of being in flow is addictive. So what? Because when we’re in flow, we create magic. Who cares about magic? Because what the world needs now is magic, we need to believe that everything and anything is possible - because as far as we know now, it is.

My mother first introduced me to music. I can remember going to Chicago’s Lyric Opera to experience all types of performances. As a kid, I was totally fluent in Italian and understood opera like nobody’s business. No, really, I did! Who am I kidding? Of course, I didn’t understand any of it! But I loved going! We used to sit in the balcony, and I would pull out my mom’s antique opera glasses (small binoculars) to watch the performance. Here’s the thing, opera glasses need to be focused. And, like binoculars, if you try to focus too much, you end up losing sight of what you’re trying to see. Trouble, stress, anxiety, depressed thoughts, pain, suffering, COVID-19, social distancing, isolation, joblessness - just to name a few, are no different. When you ultra-focus on your stress, are you able to see beyond the fear and find a solution? When you ultra-focus on the anxiety of not having enough work, are you able to focus on how to make something better and adapt to the “new work” that’s going on now? When you ultra-focus on COVID-19, and its effects, are you putting your body in a state of fear that ends up compromising your immune system? It’s not easy to stop focusing on the things that create fear. It’s not easy to just put our anxiety to sleep. I live with bipolar disorder and suffer from crippling anxiety - that’s never going to go away. But, if I stop, take a broader view, and focus each day on something that makes me happy, brings me peace, or brings about gratitude, I might just have a chance of doing the work that matters. Like binoculars, when you stop to re-focus, you have to zoom out, take a broader view, find your target, and home in.

When I first moved back to Milwaukee, I came from an “unusual” industry - entertainment, music, and cruise ships. Everyone, okay, ALMOST everyone, pegged me as a musician, asked if my concept of recruiting was to “go to bars and hire bands.” Heck, a few people even told me I was “too different” for the city. Too different?! Yes, I’ve never hired a welder before. But, the people I recruited in my last role most-often had graduate degrees, and a few had doctorates. The technical expertise required to execute is considerable. Yes, I’ve never sourced a programmer. But, I’ve programmed databases, built scopes for platforms, and - in case you didn’t know - music is a language. Yes, I’m new to the city and rebuilding my network. But, musicians are networking samurais. We know how to connect with people, build meaningful relationships, and deliver an exceptional experience in the process - that’s our business model. Yes, I did not finish school. Instead, I opted to start my own business connecting entertainment seekers with entertainers - the foundations of recruitment. Am I complaining? No! I love my career. I love that it’s eclectic. I love that I work on finding new ways to help people discover what makes them come alive and find opportunities to do that for others! For you eclectics out there that never seem like you fit in, that don’t want to do things the “cookie-cutter” way, and that might be feeling a bit frustrated - don’t give up! Now is our time. To be versatile. To be a service for others. To draw on all of our experiences and to help create something new and better for our culture. If you are like me, let’s connect! If for no other reason, just to meet someone else like ourselves. For the eclectics out there, that never seem to “fit in,” You Do You!

Our world has become more and more distant. Before COVID-19, you’d be hard-pressed to get people to stop looking at their phones and make eye contact with you. Networking events felt more like speed dating than actual connection. Forget trying to get someone on a video call. Now, everything is different. I’m not going to call this an “uncertain time.” For me, it’s not. I am certain. I believe my time is now, and that it requires me to be intentional with how and what I do. I also know that we are seeing something in each other that we haven’t always seen before - safety. Now, being “together is better” (HT to Simon Sinek). Even if it’s a virtual happy hour, an isolated innovation challenge (HT to The Commons), or conversations that end with a heartfelt, “be healthy.” Now, we are seeking more ways to help one another. Kiley Peters led a great webinar about how organizations negatively impacted could quickly recover and start thinking about the long-term. Now, we are seeing a redefining of our culture - people caring about people. That’s not uncertain. Nor is it unusual. It’s natural, hopeful, and certain - It’s our “new normal”. I’m choosing to embrace the new “new normal” and enjoy how our culture will change. What will you do?

And why didn’t we know about it?! Probably because we didn’t think to look for it. I know people that are obsessed with COVID-19. I know people that seriously approach the health of themselves and the community and embrace the guidelines. I know people that think this is a hoax and will blow over. I can say that both types consume a lot of news that supports their beliefs - an echo chamber effect. These are the same ones that didn’t know about the Van Gogh. When you only consume media that validates your worldview, it’s easy to miss everything that’s happening around you. When you miss what’s happening around us - when we stop observing, we miss the opportunities to be helpful to each other, or our tribe.When we help the others around us, we receive the benefits of learning, socialization, and enculturation. All of which help us build a stronger, healthier, and more vibrant culture.

If you try to understand “why” humans are purchasing toilet paper at an alarming rate, you’ll probably come up with a few reasons

• The coronavirus.
• Quarantine.
• Everyone’s buying one, so we need to have one.

Consider the below:

• Where were we before toilet paper?
• Why aren’t Filipinos buying more toilet paper?  
• What are you really scared of?

First, we’ve existed without toilet paper before. Be it a bidet, or a leaf, we were and will survive.   

… Go with your gut!According to my phone’s GPS, it takes 15 minutes to go from my home to the airport. Mostly, by way of the expressway. Interestingly, it takes five minutes longer if I use the city streets. Depending on what time I leave for the airport, I may choose to take the 5-minute extended version. My gut just says it’s the right thing to do at 8am. Why? Because, while it might take more time to reach my destination, I have the option of 10 different paths to reach the airport using a combination of side streets. By contrast, while the expressway is faster, it leaves little in the way of options should there be a slow-down. Our phone’s GPS doesn’t account for our desire for options, scenic routes, or variety. It dispassionately calculates based on distance, possible traffic, and speed - it doesn’t feel what we feel, it doesn’t feel. Life is no different. If we play life by a set of rules (read: the phone’s GPS), we get life by a set of rules. I’m not interested in living my life that way. I’d like to take the scenic route every once in a while. Or perhaps, enjoy the experience of having options. Or, maybe, just maybe, do something different because it felt good. Trust your gut!

Everything!When I was a kid, I used to play outside with other children, and we used to sword fight with sticks. My parents would run out of the house, yelling, “You’re going to poke each other’s eye out!” I’m happy to have proved them both wrong as I still have both eyes. But I am even more pleased to reflect on that experience as I think about careers. As children, we do not have lethal steel swords to battle with; we have harmless wooden sticks. We leveraged the constraint of lacking a deadly weapon and utilized the resources we did have - dead limbs from trees - sticks. Our childlike minds enabled us to see this opportunity in the environment and leverage it to engage in play. As adults, do we practice the silly, the absurd, the illogical often enough? We embrace constraints by looking at our abilities, lack of slack, bandwidth, time, spreadsheets, projects, models… ugh, the list goes on! Let’s go back to basics. Let’s try to tap into the magic of being a child and see our career limitations as lands to be explored, opportunities for adventure, and with only the sky as our limit. Hit a brick wall climbing the ladder? Start your own business.Not getting responses from employers? Try connecting on email and offering a proposal to a problem.Not getting the salary you want? Think about other ways to feel fulfilled outside of work.People not lining up to go to your website? Consider giving them less to focus on.Consider the absurd, the illogical, the thing that no one else does. They might not work, but you’ll never know unless you try. The worst thing to happen to you is that you fail and learn. As I write, it’s -6C/21F, sunny, and 8:30 in the morning. We’ve elected to avoid socialization with others for the public health. And as I look outside, I see nothing but a world of opportunity - even if that world is just me, a stick, my nephew, and a beautiful park.