Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Somewhere, somebody's praying

Well, I'm back from my family reunion and reflecting on the connections and reconnections of the past week.  We not only had a reunion (around 50 people were able to come), we celebrated my grandmother's 90th birthday about 4 months early since it's easier when the kids are out of school.

We were all particularly grateful to spend the time with my grandmother - you see, she had congestive heart failure about a month ago and the doctors told us she probably wouldn't make it out of the ICU.  I'm happy to say, she was well out of the ICU and able to hang out and have some of her own birthday cake with us last Saturday.  She's a strong woman, that's for sure.

After the reunion we went to my aunt's house, chewed the fat, and set off fireworks for the rest of the evening.  Later on, I received a copy of a prayer that my great grandmother wrote in her family Bible 30+ years ago. 

I like to believe, in some mysterious way, her prayer helped my grandmother muster the strength she needed to make it to the reunion.  Here is the prayer:

Dear God, this is the hour in my day the lull begins and I find myself alone.

Oh God, all my children are beyond my sight and voice.  They live and move, but not beyond thy care.  Guide these precious ones of mine and yours. 

Keep them from all things that make them weak and lesser souls.  God be with my dear ones all this day...

Amen

Read More

Book Review: "Now, Discover Your Strengths"

I just finished reading Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton's book, "Now, Discover Your Strengths."

As the title implies, the book seeks to help you identify your strengths and then spends some time discussing how you can capitalize on those strengths.  It even has an online assessment you can take to identify your top 5 strengths (you need to enter a unique code that is printed on the book jacket to register for the assessment).

All of this sounds really cool but, I must say, the book and quiz really left me wanting more.  There was nothing revolutionary here for me - perhaps because I've read lots of books of this ilk, and I found this one to be rather basic compared to others I've read. 

The analysis of my strength areas seemed fairly on target (in their terms, my strengths are Intellection, Learner, Connectedness, Ideation, and Input).  However, I didn't get a lot of substantive information on how to develop those strengths, what kinds of people I should associate with to counterbalance my strengths, or anything like that.

The book also contained a fair amount of material on how to use this method as an organizational development tool.  With good faciliation, that might be helpful since it would provide a way to play to the various strengths within the team (though I have been through some great team workshops with other tools).

In summary, I felt this book was a good introductory-level book, and if you're just getting into self-analysis and self-improvement, it could be very useful. 

If, on the other hand, you've had experience with things like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, the Birkman Method, or other tools like them, you may not find a lot of additional learning in this book.


By the way - the tools I mention above are not free, and generally require a paid facilitator.  If you're just dabbling, you can get a good (free) approximation of them by taking HumanMetrics' free Jung Typology test. Then, you can read more about the various types online or in the books Please Understand Me II, or Type Talk at Work.

Read More

[Updated] Review: "Danger - Quicksand - Have A Nice Day

[Note: Update is at the end of the review]

I've just finished reading David St. Lawrence's book "Danger Quicksand - Have A Nice Day." After reviewing David's blog, Ripples, I found out he'd published the book and I ordered it. After I placed the order, I read the cautionary post on the Bent Crow Press site. I began to brace myself as the book came to me via the US Postal service.

I'm very happy with my job and company at the moment, so I tried to read it with the lens of someone in a job that's sucking the life out of them and negatively impacting work/life balance (yes, I have those memories and can draw on them vividly when I choose).

To me, the book felt like a journey seen through David's eyes. The book begins with a primer on how to determine whether your job truly is a pit of despair. During this portion of the book, I was a bit unnerved by David's cynical tone - perhaps the old feelings were becoming too vivid... He calls them like he sees them, and his unvarnished observations were eerily close to some of the experiences I've had.

Suddenly I realized, "Wait - this is Quicksand. Don't fight it, you'll only make it worse." I pressed on - and I'm glad I did. The cold sweats were worth it. I feel I got a glimpse of the pain and frustration David experienced while trying to be effective in dysfunctional environments.

The book then moves in to the "OK, so do something about it." phase. The next several chapters deal with creating your exit strategy so you can move out of bad situations with as much dignity as possible. There are also pointers on how to recognize when your employer has flipped the bozo bit on you, in which case it's time to start updating your resume' - and fast.

Once you get out of the pit (regardless of how you leave), the book talks about how to get to the next phase of your life. In this section, the positive side of David's philosophy really comes through. These chapters are all about what to do next, how to take responsibility for your post-Corporate existence, and how to create a new reality in which you can work with integrity, fulfillment, and life satisfaction.

If you (or a friend) are working in a dysfunctional environment, this book can help you move on to a better situation. If you are having a tough time finding a new job after leaving you old job, the last 1/3 of this book provides great methods to lift your spirits, design and define your 'dream job.'

There is also an interesting section on how to start a "micro business" and some terrific insight on working for yourself.

In summary, I liked it. This book is unique blend of dry wit, cynicism, and practical advice. If you work in a dysfunctional company, or have unexpectedly lost your job, I recommend this book. David's hard-won lessons may be what you need to get up the gumption to move on sooner rather than later.


Update: July 10, 2005

This past week, I recommended David's book to a guy I met who feels like he is either a) being set up to fail, or b) hung out to dry in his current job. I think there are some great techniques to help him in these pages.

Like Bren at Slacker Manager, I yearn for an index so I could just point people at specific topics. Also like Bren, I think this book works better when you're having less-than-ideal work experiences. If your job sucks, this book could be just what you need to get yourself out of the pit of despair.

Read More

Updated: What my diet can teach me about personal productivity

In a previous post, I shared my success with The Zone Diet.  I am now one year into it, and as I reflect, I realize that I can learn a lot about personal productivity.  When you boil it down to its essence, The Zone Diet is all about managing your hunger through portion control, planning, and maintaining a balanced diet.  Furthermore, it tells you what to do if you eat a really unhealthy meal, and makes it easy to get back on track if you have a weekend of decadent food.

How does that relate to personal productivity? Let’s take them one at a time:

Portion Control: Don’t overeat, and don’t over-commit.

You start with The Zone Diet by calculating what you should be eating based on your height and body size, and you start eating that way from day one.  This is followed by monitoring and controlling what you eat at every meal. 

With personal productivity, you can start with an accurate assessment of what you can handle, by figuring out what your hard commits are versus your discretionary time and activities.  This is followed by monitoring and controlling what you do (and don’t do) each day.

Planning: Success favors the prepared

With The Zone, I can resist the temptation of junk food because I always carry healthy snacks.  I also spend more time planning what I buy at the grocery store, and choose restaurants that will provide me with options compatible with my diet. 

With Personal Productivity, I follow David Allen’s advice and spend time doing (mostly) weekly reviews, I resist the urge to waste time by bringing my Read & Review folder and other optional work with me in case I get stuck in some kind of delay, I listen to audio books in the car, and use other techniques to make the most of my ad hoc time.  I’ve also become more mercenary about accepting meeting requests – so I can choose meetings that are more compatible with my time management goals.

Maintaining a Balanced Diet:  Stability comes from balance

With The Zone, you strive for 40/30/30: 40% of your calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat.  This keeps your metabolism and blood sugar in balance, making it easier for you to eat a healthy diet and not send signals to your body that might encourage it store fat or cause fluctuations in your energy levels. 

With Personal Productivity, we all need to maintain balance of health, work, and family to increase our success and happiness.  This is similar to the Covey philosophy of “First Things First” and its “Sharpen the Saw” mantra.

Knowing what to do when you fall off the wagon:

With The Zone, you forget about it and try to get back on track at the very next meal.  Persistence and the law of averages will pay off. If you stick to it most of the time, and don’t let yourself get out of control when you stray from the diet, you’ll do OK. 

With Personal Productivity, I find it helps to get back to the basics.  As a follower of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology, when things get crazy a good mindsweep and a comprehensive weekly review do wonders for me.

Whether I’m dealing with diet or productivity, the more disciplined I am, the more dramatic your results.  The same will be true for you.  It’s important to find a system or philosophy that fits your lifestyle and philosophy.

This reflection has also helped me spotlight an area where I need improvement in my Personal Productivity world: Balance.  I'm way too skewed toward Work with the way I balance things now, and need to adjust my "diet" to include more time devoted to my family and personal fitness.

Update, July 7, 2005:

I have spent some time this week with folks who haven't seen me in a while, and we've been talking diet.  This has made me realize another common trait of diet and personal productivity:  Knowing what to do is quite different from doing it.  And, you don't get the results without being willing to change what you're doing. 

Simple as that.

Read More