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“When a meeting gets cancelled… I actual hear a sigh of relief… that isn’t good! That’s a part of your (employee) culture.” “We can save (companies) millions of dollars…” “What happens when people get engaged at a company? They start to share ideas with each other… they start to care for each other… productivity goes way up.” “If executives start walking the talk, engagement levels can go up by 50%... you’re going to get more productivity, make more money, expand and grow…” “I know how to make it work.” Special thank you to Justin Spicer of Globeville Studios - he's a terrific man and a wonderfully visual artist.
GlobevilleStudios.com
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 Sure, we can talk about the weather. Aaaaaand, now you’ve lost me. That’s about how long I stay interested in whether I should wear a coat tomorrow or not.
Unless, it’s a blizzard, a drought, a tornado, or a biblical blood-red moon moment, the weather is the weather. Its everydayness is about as interesting as a nat. Even the meteorologists often make snippy side comments: “It’ll be a blah day tomorrow, with some scattered showers.” “We’ll need to wait a few days as this storm passes before we see the sun again.” “It’s partly cloudy today.” Partly cloudy? How about partly sunny! Let’s kick it up a notch, shall we? Or, let’s learn to embrace it. Embracing (acceptance of) our situation is one secret to an elevated enjoyment of home-life and work-life. Here are two examples of how I spun my perspective 180 degrees: Home-life I used to say I didn’t like the rain. I liked nearly all other weather patterns – wind, snow, sun, clouds. I just didn’t like the rain, until… one day, I decided I will like the rain. I embraced the rain, so to speak. I looked for the good in rain. It waters the grass, it washes my car, and it provides a reason for me to cozy-up inside and read a good book. More - it helps me concentrate, it relaxes me, it provides a great sound for napping, I love to drive in the rain. And after a good rain, the neighborhood is clean and the air smells wonderful. Work-life It’s Monday. It’s Tuesday. Ouch. Those are the two toughest days of the week, don’t you agree? In fact, Tuesday has been diagnosed as the most stressful day of the work week, according to The Telegraph among other sources. And Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. – forget about it – worst day AND time! Therefore, I chose to embrace it. I offered up bagel Mondays at my workplace. I set my calendar for an extra hour of ‘me time’ during these mornings, to allow more time to acclimate. I did not schedule weekly team meetings on Tuesdays, or if I did, we met for breakfast (yes - food works in the realm of boosting happiness!) And now, back to the weather… If you say to me, “Hey Blaise, let’s discuss the weather today.” My head will think, and perhaps my mouth will spit out, “Ok, fine…you’ve got 10 seconds,” or the unrulier side of me may take over and say, “No. Let’s not.” At times I’ve hosted a workshop for kids titled: How To Make Something Boring Into Something Interesting. Now, I do that for a living. I’m a writer and a storyteller. I turn the 'boring' into the 'interesting', so my audience will enjoy receiving the information. Most people work off the same concept: boring, we’re done; interesting, I’ll listen. Merriam Webster defines it as follows: interesting is an adjective that describes the thing that a person or people are responding to. Things that we like and want to know more about are interesting. If we turn something boring into something interesting, we’ll capture our audience. Consequently, if we wish to speak of the weather, here’s how to kick it up a notch: More interesting topics, specific to weather patterns:
The last one, yeah, I’m doing a bit of research. This may be a Spring project. More interesting topics, period (how dare you speak of this!):
Careful with these last two. Let’s be civil, people. Limit, or don’t, bring these up in the workplace – unless our workplace is a church or a government facility. Now, where can I purchase a small palm tree… Yours, Blaise Visit me and say hello! www.fivelevelsconsulting.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaisetracy/  For me, the biggest Heartbreaker was when Tom Petty passed. A living legend for more than 40 years gracing us with his talent for songwriting, his grit, his love for his fans, and for his legendary stage performances.
Petty’s 40th Anniversary Tour was led by this man who had broken his hip, and yet continued to perform until the end. Literally. He had a fractured hip for the 53-date tour. Tom loved his job and he was remarkably dedicated to his band and his fans, of which, 600,000 of them were lucky enough to see him live on his last tour. Imagine, loving our job and being so dedicated to performing well, that we’d continue to work through this type of adversity for our team and for our cause. It is possible, if we want it. Tom Petty’s servant leadership can be an example for us. It’s inspiring in so many ways. His reflective storytelling pours out within his tunes. During his live concerts, he most often complimented other artists by playing their songs. He was genuine, humble and giving. Did I know the man personally, no. To understand what type of character he was, I didn’t have to. It’s the same for us. People know our character – our reputation – whether they meet us or not. Especially in these prolific days of data capture, social media, and the town gossip. Somewhere out there on the nearly 5 billion pages within the internet, our character floats around and is accessible. And as we float around speaking to folks, expressing our opinion, sharing our stories, producing work product, and posting photos, our character continues to expound. Word gets around. Petty released thirteen studio albums as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in addition to three solo albums. He was the lead of the band Mudcrutch and one of the five musical all-stars on the albums produced by the Traveling Wilburys. In total, he wrote 200 songs, give or take. And they were good. Word got around. Tom Petty didn’t compare himself to others. He did his own thing. He was original. And we are too. Each one of us is a unique brand with talents to share, if we so choose to share them. Since Tom did such a good job sharing his talent, I’m listening. Pun intended. Here are a few tunes that will help us handle what life tosses at us, compliments of Mr. Petty: Listen To Her Heart
The Waiting
Here Comes My Girl
Dogs On The Run
I Won’t Back Down
Wildflowers
Thank you, Tom. Rest in Peace. Yours, Blaise Visit me and say hello! www.fivelevelsconsulting.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaisetracy/ |
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