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.

 

If you love something, set it free. If it comes back…

hourglass I’ve been heads-down at a conference these past several days, so I’ve been quiet here on the blog (though I’ve been active on Twitter, as some of you may have seen).  I have some pent-up posts that I’ll be writing up in the next few days.  My nice, long plane ride ahead tomorrow would be ideal for that, wouldn’t it?  Some of the items in the hopper:

  • Interesting thoughts after attending a talk by Stephen M. R. Covey on “The Speed of Trust” – not just the book, but the awesome concepts underlying the book.
  • A review of a radically improved version of the Netcentrics “Getting Things Done” add-in for Outlook.
  • A couple of gadget-related reviews, and a couple of other books.

In the mean time, you might enjoy my latest post on the newly re-designed “Joyful Jubilant Learning” site about “Early Abandonment and Boomerangs” (hint – it’s sort of about social media, sort of about gadgets, and may strike a nerve with you).

So what does the title of this post mean?  It’s an obscure connection to the “Early Abandonment and Boomerangs” metaphor.  At least they connect in my mind.  If they don’t connect for you, forget I said that, and just enjoy the other post…

Hip & Sage – it’s a journey, not a destination

I just finished reading an awesome book: “Hip & Sage: Staying Smart, Cool, and Competitive in the Workplace,” by Lisa Haneberg.  As you may know from my prior posts (linked at the end of this review), I’m a huge fan of Lisa’s books and her Management Craft blog (which is 5 years old this month, by the way)."...if you need unlimited minutes on your cell phone more than you need unlimited texting, this book is for you."

This book is aimed at Baby Boomers & others from generations with more mileage on the tires than Gen-Xers and Millenials.  You can think of Hip & Sage as part “New Technologies 101” and part “how to find tech savvy tour guides,” and it’s designed to help you become conversant, proficient, and comfortable with social media and other new media technologies. 

But I think this book could be relevant to lots of folks.  Regardless of your age, if you feel like a poser talking with people about Twitter, Facebook, RSS, LinkedIn – or even blogs – then this book can help you.  In short, if you need unlimited minutes on your cell phone more than you need unlimited texting, this book is for you.

What does it mean to be Hip?

According to Lisa, Hipness is is about engagement an energy:

“Our ability to communicate, connect, and collaborate with younger generations.  In business, our hipness determines how effectively we work with, inspire, and influence younger workers.  Hip entrepreneurs are able to enroll, engage, and exicte younger customers and business partners.”

If you work with younger people, being Hip can be a game changer (and becoming Hip can be fun).  Lisa provides a set of techniques and philosophies to help you enlist the help of younger mentors in a way that will tap into their knowledge and excitement, and (I believe) make them want to help you get up to speed.

One of the fastest paths to Hipness is to practice genuine curiosity about the things hip people care about, and ask someone who’s already hip to feed your thirst for learning.

If you can find a social media-savvy “workout buddy” that will help, too (@MattHixson is one of mine, for example)

What does it mean to be Sage?

Hip_Sage_Cover In contrast, Sageness is about sharing hard-won lessons:

“Our natural strengths and characteristics, goals and priorities, and experiences – manifested as skills, drive, judgment, and knowledge – that have been honed, carved, seasoned, and polished through the years.  Our sageness is unique; it may or may not be visible to others or in use contributing to the world.”

Lisa’s section on “Cultivating Our Sageness” is all about tapping into your experiences, but not just so you can be the guru on the mountain that others seek out.  Her guidance is to actively inject your sageness into the business so that the business can benefit from your experience.

Her advice on goal setting and becoming more self-aware can dramatically improve your effectiveness – you should check it out, for sure.

Putting it all together

The magic all happens in the third section of the book, where Lisa discusses how to become both Hip and Sage, including a discussion of how to challenge your beliefs and leverage new knowledge & skills to achieve non-linear success.

The third section also includes some worksheets to help you achieve greater clarity and document your thinking in a useful way.

The bottom line

This book is so rich with useful information I can’t begin to do it justice in this short review, but the bottom line is this:  pick up a copy of Hip & Sage.  On their own, the two chapters on “Job Seeking and Hiring for the Hip & Sage,” and “A Primer on the Generations” are worth the price of the book, particularly if you’re on the wrong side of this economy.

Lisa provides other resources, as well, including the awesome Hip & Sage blog and a voluminous list of resources at the end of the book.

Related items:

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Need a GPS for your mind map?

A few months ago, I started working with Adam Sicinski’s amazing mind map diagram called the “MasterMind Matrix.”  I’d like to tell you a little about it, since I think it is a very interesting and useful self-coaching tool.

At first glance, I felt that Adam’s work was impressive – this is one of the largest and most comprehensive mindmaps I have ever seen.  You see, Adam is a Life Coach, but is also a guru/student of self development.  He set out to find a way to allow himself and others to answer questions like:Mapgrab1

• How do my emotions interact with my beliefs, values and other building blocks of my personality?
• What influence do other people have over the development of my personality?
• How does my Brain interpret what I do? And how does it consequently influence my future decisions & actions?
• How do each one of my choices and decisions influence all other aspects of my personality and life?
• How do I know if I am on track moving towards fulfillment, or off-track moving towards disappointment?

The result is a terrific tool that helps you drill down on various challenges and strengths so you can improve your performance and break through bottlenecks by better understanding how your strengths, blind spots, and emotional tendencies interact.  It’s tough to describe without experiencing it yourself, but I found the process to be very intriguing and invigorating.

mapgrab2

You can get a PDF version of the file (that’s what I’m using), or you can order a wall poster.  I am thinking about going for the wall poster, since I can’t interact with the PDF as easily on the screen (though I’m glad I have the PDF for use on the road).

If you want a taste of what this tool is like, you can download the accompanying MasterMind Matrix mind map for free.  This is kind of like an index that can guide you to the right places on the bigger map.

I recommend you read Adam’s “Journey through the MasterMind Matrix” for his perpective on this tool.

You can find out even more about the matrix at the IQMatrix site, or get your own copy at the IQMatrix Shop.

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Does the iPhone OS v3 fix my top gripes?

Several months ago, I wrote about the top 3 things that I felt were missing from the iPhone.  This week, version 3 of the iPhone OS was released and I’m using it now.  I don’t have the new iPhone 3Gs hardware – I’m running on the “old” iPhone 3G hardware, but since that’s the bulk of the installed base right now I figured it might be useful to share my findings here.

Gripe Status
I couldn’t cut & paste. Fixed – and it works very well in iPhone OS v3.
I couldn’t invite others to appointments (i.e. initiate meeting requests). Fixed – it works fairly well.  Would like to be able to check the availability of other attendees, but at least I can invite people to meetings.
I couldn’t attach / forward contact information to others. Fixed – it is now possible to “Share” contact, which opens an email and attaches the contact as a .vcf file, which is fairly standard.

gagapeople

The v3 OS update is free for iPhone owners (iPod Touch owners must pay $10 for some reason) so it should be an automatic for you if you have an iPhone.

Killerest feature

The “killerest” new feature (my opinion) is “Spotlight Search,” which provides the ability to search for things on the device.  It was very painful to find things in old emails before – it was all manual and time-consuming.  Now you can search for items, messages, songs, appointments, etc. and find them in a jiffy.  The only limitation I’ve found is in searching email folders other than your inbox: if you haven’t opened the folder on your iPhone, or you haven’t opened it in a while, you won’t find recent emails in the search – you’ll have to open the folder so it will sync.

To make this slightly easier, each folder now has a Search field at the top of the folder so you can easily find things within that particular folder.

…And the rest(ish)

Some other improvements I’ve noticed in this version (not a complete list – there are even more):

  • Support for stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) so you can use wireless headphones
  • You can now sync Notes between Outlook and the iPhone (not wirelessly – only when you dock with iTunes)
  • Better rendering of HTML in the browser
  • Addition of a Voice Memo application (ideal for those “notes to self”, though I still prefer Jott)
  • Better support for clicking on links, phone numbers, etc. in appointments if you’re syncing with Microsoft Exchange (though for some reason, you can’t click on any of these if they are in the subject of the appointment – only in the body, and only if they aren’t inside an attachment) 
    • This capability, along with cut & paste (which also won’t work in the subject line for some reason) will save a lot of idiotic instances of needing to write down meeting phone numbers and passcodes
    • This also means you can put addresses inside the notes part of a meeting, click on the address, and it will automagically look up the address in Google Maps – again, don’t put it in the location field because it won’t be clickable there – put it in the notes
  • The podcast controls, which I mentioned in my last post
  • Lots of cosmetic/usability improvements in the recent calls, favorites, and other phone-related lists
  • The ability to rent movies from your iPhone
  • Better support for seamless password storage when using WiFi networks that require account names & passwords
  • Support for saved passwords and autocomplete on web forms
  • Improved VPN support

That’s my list off the top of my head, and I know I’m forgetting a few things.  If you’re lucky enough to be able to get an iPhone 3Gs (the new hardware) you’ll get all of that plus a compass, faster processor, and the ability to film and edit movies on the phone (and you get a higher-res camera).

Hope that helps update you on the iPhone. 

If you don’t care about iPhones: this isn’t an iPhone fanboy site but I will post something about them from time to time, particularly around big releases.

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The power of not positive thinking?

I was just reading Kare Anderson’s thought-provoking post on daily affirmations, where she discusses some research that indicates that positive affirmations aren’t as powerful as we’ve been led to believe.thedark

We’ve all heard the “positive self talk” pitch before – repeat the affirmations, become more like them.  (“…I’m good enough, and smart enough.  And doggone it, people like me.”)

Turns out, the conventional wisdom around affirmations may not be entirely accurate (read Kare’s post for more). 

I thought about that one for a while.  Why don’t these affirmations work that well?  What works better?  I’m no expert but I do have some thoughts on this.

  • Maybe the affirmations can create too much dissonance inside us.  In other words, even though we say the right things, perhaps some part of us (and even deeper inner voice) remains skeptical.  Could be.
  • Maybe some affirmations work better because the don’t define us, they merely inspire us.  For example, maybe we’re more apt to believe an “I can do this.” kind of affirmation before we believe an “I’m a good person.” affirmation.  There is a subtle difference – one encourages us to succeed, while the other places more of a subjective label on us.

Perhaps this is why setting bold goals works for so many of us:  we are more likely to be inspired and motivated to do something than we are to be something.

What do you think?  How well do affirmations work for you, and what works best in getting you through challenges and tough times?

 

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