People never expect random and absurd questions. When received, people can’t seem to let them go. Almost 100% of the time, teams become way more present when engaged with a random question.Almost 100% of the time, teams don’t know if they should expect a random questions and are on the lookout for them.Almost 100% of the time, a random question is welcomed with a laugh, a smile, a “really?” and a thoughtful response. My last prompt to my team revealed the following (my team is based in Manila, Philippines):100% of people surveyed approve of bacon and believe there should be more of it.Mexican food is delicious, but there should be other diverse cuisines available in Metro Manila. Apparently Philippines is not great for curing meet or hard cheeses because of the humidity. In case you’re wondering if work gets done, it does. With a happy and productive heart.

I can remember going outside and seeing raccoon paw prints on the garage door. What were they doing? Looking for food? Shelter? Were they curious about the garage? The prints tell us that the raccoons crawled on the garage, we don’t necessarily see the impacts of their romp. The people you meet and the teams you lead may be like a garage door and you could see paw prints of people who left a mark before you encountered that person. Before judging a person, remember that what you’re seeing now is a shadow of their past. Being curious is always a better strategy than jumping to conclusions.Granting grace is almost always zero cost, with high benefits.

On a hike today I encountered deer and coyote tracks at the same place. The deer, the coyote, and myself were all at the same place, but we were not there at the same time. This is a useful metaphor for working with humans. I am writing this message to you from the past. I am thinking about you, I am thinking about what I saw and how it might be useful for you. I am trying to find the words to project this idea from my brain to your eyes. Now, you are here reading this message. My idea is with you and you get to decide if this is useful for you or not. When you are creating things for other people, keep in mind where those you seek to serve may be when they get your message.

Me: What is the conversation you most want to overhear and haven’t heard yet?Brian:“Ma’am, thank you for your work to help us over the last decades. We now have the full capacity and capabilities to deploy nuclear fusion power globally. We will never need another source of power. It’s amazing how your discovery of The Process also used the byproducts of fusion to reverse carbon in the atmosphere and restore the ice caps. Would you like to do the honors of approving this order to flip the switch on for the world?”

If you’re a leader that is talking with a direct report one-on-one, make that the most important person in your world at that moment. That’s a signal to your direct report that they matter. When a person perceives they matter, they make and ship work that matters.That principle works outside of work too.

What if “passionately disagreeing” was fun? And as the level of “fun” rises does “seriousness” fall? Disagreeableness can mean competitive, skeptical, blunt, uncooperative, and/or insensitive. What’s not listed is: “fun.” The opposite of disagreeable is agreeable. Attributes of agreeable people: trusting, cooperative, considerate, sincere, and modest. What’s not listed: “fun.”The idea of “fun” or “play” doesn’t appear to be a factor of any type and intensity of agreeableness. “Seriousness” the same — it doesn’t appear attached to agreeableness.“Play” and “seriousness” are also not opposites of each other — they can exist at the same time. I “play” music and I am “serious” about how I play. If all that is true, then disagreements ought to be seriously fun.

1. What is the most interesting conversation you overhead?
2. What is the conversation you most want to overhear and haven’t heard yet?

From an earlier post: The work you build is only as good as the utility people get from it. Utility is another word for value. Think of music. How much of the same artist can you listen to before you need to change to something new? That time frame could be a representation of utility. Think of coffee. How much coffee would you drink before you say “okay, that’s enough coffee”? That number could be your max utility. Now imagine - if you had the choice to between listening to the same artist for a length of time or having coffee, which might you choose? And which would you gladly have more of? That’s another way to talk about utility. In terms of our work - what utility do people interacting with our work get? What do they want more of? What do they get enough of? Which aspect of our work do they prefer? If living is a work, that work ought to create value for those we seek to serve.

The other day I realized an entirely-not-novel idea: our interpretation of the world is our interpretation of symbols. I got to this idea by writing out music using the Nashville number system. It’s a different way to write music using numbers like “1” or “5” versus note heads. If I played music with notes or music with numbers a similar outcome might be achieved. The words I am writing to you are symbols. If you can read these symbols and make sense of them, you presumably understand English “letter” system. The actions I make in the world are symbols. If you’re used to seeing me as a fun loving person, you might be surprised if I’m quiet. If you’re used to seeing me quiet or moody, you might be surprised if I’m fun loving and boisterous. You mind developed a “symbol”, in this case a prototype, of me. Like with any symbol - it only means something to the person who can interpret the symbol. Also, it only means something if you can consider the symbol in context. Also, it only means something if the culture that birthed that symbol remains unchanged. If the only constant in life is change, then our interpretation of life must be one of caution and curiosity.

It sounds dull and boring - but it’s not.I see documenting a process the same way I see writing music - it’s a work of service that requires intention and attention to detail. Documenting is service because what and how you write may help or hinder the person who has to perform your music, or execute your process, in the future.And any good art is intentional — it’s focused on the experience of the person who will receive your work.