Yesterday a couple of cohorts and I were teaching a class on how to do IT audits of change management. This consisted of some lecturing, followed by a few role plays in which auditors interviewed us acting out the parts of a CIO and a Director of IT Operations.
During the exercise, we noticed how large groups of people can hear the same thing and emerge with different pictures of "the truth."
After the class, one of the other instructors said it reminded him of a story he heard once:
A shoe company sent two salesmen to a remote part of Africa to scope out the market.
The first one comes back and says, "It's a terrible market - nobody wears shoes."
The other one comes back and says, "It's a great market - nobody wears shoes!"
A good story, whether it's true or not. Then, on my morning drive today I was listening to "Getting Things Done Fast" and David talks about how you sometimes have to "tune yourself to a different frequency" to change the outcomes your getting.
A good reminder to reflect on what filters might be affecting our results.
Read MoreThanks to TiVo, my favorite time-shifting time saver, my wife and I have really gotten into the BBC series "The Office." It is extremely funny, and makes you really uncomfortable in an "oh man I can't believe I'm watching this - please just let me watch some more" kind of way.
It's a mockumentary kind of format set in a typical UK office, and the actors are convincingly real (and oh, so funny).
As of a couple of weeks ago, there is an American remake of the series under the same name. It uses pretty much the same script. But it just isn't the same.
Why do the studios insist on remaking things that are perfectly good to start with?!?
Read MoreLast week, I posted about how great the Boy Scouts program is for helping boys become responsible citizens, and I mentioned I was going camping up on Mt. Hood over the weekend.
Well, the campout was great, we had snow, the boys had a great time, and we managed to squeeze in some considerable training on first aid.
However, while my minivan was parked in the parking lot overnight, some idiots decided to smash one of my windows and steal (of all things) a roadside repair kit. The kit costs around $45 at Costco, and it will cost me more to fix the window than to replace what they stole. They also stole tools from another vehicle (they were kind enough not to break the glass on that one).
I found the damage Sunday morning as I went to put my gear in the car while our Troop was cleaning up and mopping the lodge, and re-stocking the firewood we'd used. There were other Boy Scout Troops at the lodge camping with us. Some of them noticed the mess I was dealing with in the parking lot. (Without me asking) they helped me clean up the glass, cut cardboard to the right shape to keep the snow and wind out of my car, and let me have some duct tape.
I'd bet money that the people who broke my window were never Boy Scouts. I sure wish they'd had better role models and support when they were growing up.
So, I ask you again - please support Scouting and encourage the kids you know to get involved in Scouts.
Read MoreI hear all the time that we live in a "service economy." But that doesn't necessarily mean the service you get is very good.
I was hanging out with several co-workers the other day, and they started comparing horror stories about dealing with general contractors. One guy's contractor lied about having permits for some work he did on their house (litigation ensued). Another had a contractor take his deposit and then file bankruptcy.
Another story kind of summed it up for me, though. My friend wanted to have a room added on to his house, but he had heard about problems with contractors so he decided he'd be really careful. He spent a lot of time interviewing and checking references on contractors. Eventually, he narrowed the list down to two different guys:
One who cited his experience, the quality of his work, his attention to detail, and his ability to create a distinctive room for them.
The second, who basically said, "I'll show up and I'll do a good job."
My friend went with the experienced guy who promised to create a distinctive room for them. Things got off to a good start, but a couple of days into the job, the contractor didn't turn up. Over the course of the next few weeks, he came by a few times for a few hours but didn't make much progress. My friend hounded and hounded the guy. No luck.
Finally, he terminated the contract with the first guy, and called the second guy. Guy #2 came to his house every day until he finished the room, and did a good job.
Promises can sound really cool, but at the end of the day there's a lot of value in just showing up and doing a good job.
Read MoreI work with a lot of companies who are changing how they operate because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These companies are being asked to do a lot of things to hold them accountabe for how they use company resources to maintain and increase the value of shareholders, then report accurately on the results.
On my latest cross-country flight, I was wondering what it'd be like if I were suddenly forced to be scrutinized by an independent auditor. If I were held accountable for attesting to how I've been using my time and energy, then report accurately on the results of those efforts, how would I fare?.
OK, so maybe that's kind of an odd way to look at it, but it sure helped me take a different view on life management.
I think, like the companies I work with, that I'd really struggle to get there. And, like those companies, I might be tempted to look for a quick fix to the problem.
How about you?
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