Month: December 2014

I hate being interrupted.
I find it rude
and frustrating.
If I’m interrupted
more than once
in a conversation,
I usually stop talking completely.

I suspect your employees,
partners, customers
feel the same way.

Richard H. Anderson,
CEO of Delta,
shares

“Our goal is to be clear
about the courteous culture,
open communication,
financial discipline,
and efficient operations
that Delta should maintain.
Some of the rules are extremely specific
—for example, “Don’t interrupt”—
because we believe that behavior matters.
That is how you demonstrate values.
I am 59 years old,
but I still sometimes have to be told
to keep quiet
when others are speaking.”

Make this an exercise
at a meeting
or one of your holiday parties.
Go an entire conversation
without interrupting once.
It is amazing
what people will tell you
and you will learn.

You and I are likely
working during the holidays,
during that week
between Christmas and New Year’s.

Odds are
your partners, vendors,
employees, contractors
are working also.

But suspecting this
and expecting this
are two different things.
I don’t mind
voluntarily working
during the holidays.
I begrudge
being told I’m working.

Look at the
before the end of the year
tasks
you need other people to complete
and
assign them now.

Allow them to decide
when to complete them
and whether or not
they’ll be working
over the holidays.

As we creep closer to year end,
to New Year’s Eve,
many of us will be
making resolutions
and setting goals for 2015.

It is a worth while exercise
to first think about
what our life’s mission is.
Be specific.

I was discussing this with a loved one.
He said “I want to make a difference.”
“Do you?” I asked.
“Yes, I want to be remembered.”

Making a difference
and being remembered aren’t necessarily
the same thing.

I could donate a large sum anonymously
that would make a difference
in the world
but I wouldn’t be remembered.

I could schedule a reminder
on social media
but not necessarily make a difference.

Think about what you truly wish
to achieve.

If we’ve learned anything
from the Sony Hack,
it’s that everything
we say or text or email
can go public.

All information is stored in a system somewhere
and every system is hackable.
EVERY system.

If we’re not recording our deeds or thoughts,
someone else is.
Every public moment can be recorded.
Everyone has a phone
and every phone has a camera,
or some sort of recording ability.

There’s also no longer
any debate in the media
about whether or not
a story should be reported.
It WILL be reported
by someone,
either someone official
or an anonymous person on the internet.

What does this mean?

Watch what you do or say or write.
Ensure that the people
you’re open with
can be trusted.

Realize that if you become famous,
you WILL be named in some scandals.
Pretending to be perfect
is a very risky branding.

But all this shouldn’t stop you
from doing,
from changing the world.
It’s worth the exposure.

Recently,
a prominent reviewer was removed
from an equally prominent writer’s
group of friends
on Facebook.
The reviewer assumed it was personal,
that the writer was punishing her
for not reviewing her books.
She vented.
The writer became upset.

After some heated words,
they discovered
it was a system bug.
Facebook randomly unfriended them.

Unfortunately, their relationship
will never be the same.

Social media isn’t perfect.
Facebook randomly unfriends people.
Twitter randomly unfollows people.
Blogs send legit comments to spam.

Social media is a tool
to help us communicate.
Don’t assume this tool works perfectly
and NEVER assume
actions taken via this tool
indicate the status of a relationship.