Monday, March 03, 2014

Feedback is a Gift, so Spread it Around



A colleague recently gave me some unsolicited, direct feedback about my poor facilitation skills, and I'm not gonna lie - It hurt!  Actually, I'm very grateful as it helped me reflect on behavior that I had NO IDEA was going on - and I consider myself a reflective fellow (he said, humbly").  However, this reminded me of a quote that Russ Roberts of Econtalk is fond of quoting from Richard Feynman, "The most important thing is not to fool yourself, and  you are very easy to fool."

As a Principal, I give a lot of feedback and getting a taste of that feedback makes me want to give direct and clear feedback to others more and more.  True professionals want to improve their craft and get better and they will only benefit from honest feedback provided in an environment that is safe and supportive.   I will definitely press forward to give clear, specific, and actionable feedback to others and gladly solicit that feedback for myself.  

Sunday, March 02, 2014

From Chaos to Clarity

Chaos, multitasking, overwhelming, Television and Social Media, Inbox NOT Zero
7 open books, 17 open tabs on Chrome, 15 active windows on desktop
Open loops, indecision, Watching, Tweeting, Superficial
Divided Attention, Weeds, Choking, Distraction
Pruning, Cutting, Prioritizing, Eliminating
Choosing, Saying No, Humility
Audience of One
Totally Present
Clarity