Can we truly be original? Perhaps yes, and perhaps no. The ideas you and I have now are built on something — our past and how well we connect our past to our present. I might go further and say — what we think of “creative” may be our ability to connect things, filter them through our taste/perspective, and give what we notice a voice. What’s the filter? The filter is our perspective, taste, our lens by which we see the world. Your filter is shaped through your exposure to things. Listen to enough hard bop (a style of jazz) and you’ll develop a taste for assessing hard bop. Don’t stop there. That same filter can be used for assessing country music. If you read a ton of Seth Godin, you will develop a taste for direct marketing and product development. If you work in advertising, you’ll view your work through the lens and filter of someone who follows Seth Godin. If you believe college is the only path to a good carer, you will see education through that filter. The filter is shaped by our experience. The filter is how we look at and assess things. What’s the voice? The voice is the medium for transmitting an idea — carriage. The voice can take the form of spoken word, written word, images, music, dance, etc. Like your filter, the voice is shaped by your experience. Your voice and your filter work hand-in-hand. What’s noticing? Noticing is stilling your mind enough to see things without judgment. To experience the world around you and not judge. You notice an idea, you filter that idea, you give to your voice and others respond. What’s the response? The response is how your ideas is perceived by others. It’s someone else saying, “hey, that’s a real creative and original idea.” It’s not really creative and original, it’s just something an idea they noticed, they filtered, and they hope to give voice to.

“Real power is not in momentary desires, but in complete calmness.” - Leo Tolstoy, “A Calendar of Wisdom”Yes.

I need to get better at working with people that need permission to do work. I don’t want people to believe they have to come to me to ask permission to start or stop something. I want them to believe they can. There’s a manager out there that believes the same thing. That manager might think it’s their team that needs to be fixed. That manager would also do well that it might be them — the manager.I don’t pride myself as a great manager — I got to work on myself too. I try to speak and communicate in outcomes to my team: “here’s what I need you to accomplish.” What might help is establishing some guard rails — “here’s what you need to know about as you set yourself to accomplish the mission.” I’m going to work on it. And if you have any ideas, feel free to share them in the comments. This won’t be the last time I share more about how I am working on myself. Maybe your ideas might help!

Software development teams spend time defining what “done” means. Once they have that definition of “done” they can begin their work. The work ends when the definition of “done” is achieved.I’m oversimplifying the concept a bit, but I think it helps make my point.Begin your day by defining what “done” looks like. Learn to stop when “done” is achieved. HT to Dr. Mike for that idea.

I am starting to think life is more about discovering what it means to go little too far or a little too short — finding the happy medium

Candidates tell me that my interviews are different. I’m not sure what makes me different— I’m told it’s good.I start by asserting the outcomes I need to create on the call.You, candidate, walk away with total clarity about the role.You, candidate, believe I perceived you the way you want to be perceived.You, candidate, believe you got some of value from this time.I then ask, “what would make this the most valuable time for you?”I love that question because it allows me to be curious. I ask questions about what’s important to them. I clarify what I hear, I reflect back what I learned.People invariably tell me that they learn a ton about themselves in 45 minutes.If you want to get better at assessing talent, ask people what they value most. Then get curious.

You are exactly where you need to be at this moment.You are exactly who you need to be at this moment.You get to choose if you’ll do what we need you to do.You get to choose when.You get to choose how.Put this way, most things are up to you.

I spoke with two people in the last month that felt speaking up against management may create more hassle than benefit. The marginal cost far outweigh the anticipated marginal rewards. I have a working theory — change doesn’t happen if nobody knows what to change. And, if an organization lets go of someone because they tried to make change happen, that organization is likely not for change maker.Change makers are not cogs in a machine. Change makers may be the wrench that brings down the system and makes it better.Complaining about one’s boss won’t make the boss better. Saying, “hey, I think we can make our customers’ lives better by this things better. Here’s my recommendation…” may yield marginal benefits that far outweigh the marginal cost.You won’t know until you try.

A reader, like you, commented on this post. Their thoughts are potent.“And never, ever try to make up for a lack of compensation or a broken promise with praise - just respect me enough to tell me the truth.  People respect honest leaders even when their honesty brings bad news. Nice liars are still lying."

I love a super busy week. I lie. I love a super productive week.I love my mind engaged.I love that I’m shipping my work.I love that I’m doing.Sometimes it’s not what you do, it is that you do that matters.