"And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more." - Erica Jong
Risk is a challenging thing. History is written by the winner. This was an idea that was most poignant when I was reading a delightful book titled, "A Brief History of Everything" by Bill Bryson. Bryson takes time to share not only the souls whose names are taught in schools and lauded by the world for their brilliance, but the obscure and equally brilliant characters who had the same insights, crafted the same theories, but for some cruel reason, lacked the ability to telegraph their message to the world. I learned a lesson here that is a truth about our world. In order to acheive your goals, whatever they may be, you must risk. Sometimes you risk small, sometime you risk it all.
Perhaps the most visceral example of this kind of risk was the birth of our children. I had the privilege of participating in this incredible event. In hindsight, I was really just a bystander. My participation came 9 months earlier. What I marvelled at was the level of risk that my wife had to take. She really didn't have much choice in the matter. That risk was thrust upon her. Childbirth is both natural and incredibly risky. So many things can go wrong. Complications can occur. Death can occur. We were scared.
For me, theatre was all about risk. Every night the curtain went up and the show began, there was risk. Being an imaginative theatre person, it was easy to play out all the possible risks in my mind. What if the audience doesn't laugh? What if I can't hear the music? What if my hearing aid batteries die? What if I trip and fall? What if... What if... What if...
I learned that these "what if" questions I was imagining could either cripple me or empower me. I learned that I could reinforce my doubts if I wanted. These "what if'" questions could help me identify all the reasons not to take the risk. In contrast, I learned that for every "what if" question I could devise an answer and come up with a solution. I could recognize the possibility of failure and meet it head on. I could find courage.
I believe that courage lies in being able to intimately know your fear. I believe that heroes and other brave types are also the ones who know their fear. They don't shut it off or ignore it. They embrace it and dance with it until they are able to channel the energy into action.
Einstein had every reason to doubt himself. Every reason to think that some established physicist might steal his ideas and publish them. He had every reason to keep his insight secret and protected and safe. But he didn't. He risked. Steve Jobs had every reason to be bitter at the company that fired him. He had every reason to doubt that his dreams were technically impossible. But he didn't. He risked. The Dalai Lama has every reason to fear for his life. He has every reason to hide in seclusion and make his teachings exclusive to only those whom he knows he can trust. But he doesn't. He risks.
When I put the risks I face in light of these people and the risks they take. Each of these people: my wife, a great scientist, a great capitalist, and an inspired teacher, all have taken risks that put me at ease with the fears and doubts I have. These heroes of mine inspire me to recognize my doubts and fears. I get to know them well, so that they may serve me in my journey through the risk to the learning that awaits me on the other side of it.
OB
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Just do it.
"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
I just finished writing an article about optimism. Let's look at doubt. Doubt is a rationalized fear. I had a very strong doubt of the water when I was 5 or 6. The local swimming instructor at the neighborhood pool gave me that doubt. I had a rather traumatic experience. First, the instructor either didn't know I was hard of hearing or didn't know what to do with me because I was hard of hearing. Either way, the information that was supposed to get to me didn't. This was that everyone was going to jump into the deep end. This was my first day. I didn't know what the heck to do. I had enough trouble with the shallow end let alone the deep end! So, I was put in a situation that I wasn't comfortable with. I panicked. Suddenly my concern grew from a doubt to a deep fear. It stayed that way for several years.
Finally, one day a few years later, my parents announce to me that I am going to go to the local YMCA and take swimming classes. I was not impressed. My initial doubt had grown to a full-blown confirmed fear. Water equals drowning. Drowning equals death. Not interested! I had been in the water. It is a scary place!
Now I was being taken to that same place by my parents who, I thought, loved me. Fortunately, they had arranged with the YMCA an instructor that was prepared to work with a hard of hearing kid who was scared on two levels. First was the aforementioned fear, second was the discomfort at not being able to hear. (I had to take my aids out before going on the pool deck.) The second discomfort wasn't a big deal but it wasn't helping me in the fear department. Over a period of time at the pace that I was prepared and comfortable handling, I slowly got comfortable with the water, then I got comfortable doing things in the water, and finally I started to swim.
What I learned from this experience is best articulated with a "what if." What if I had experienced this calm, easy process the first time? I probably would not have developed and rationalized my fear. Much of the time and energy in those early classes was spent just getting me to overcome my fear. Once I had managed to beat the fear, I was on my way. I went on to take more and more classes and eventually achieved my Bronze Cross. I became an Assistant Instructor and considered going into Lifeguard training.
How often do we allow our doubts to convince us not to do something? The fear of failure. The fear of ridicule. The fear of someone else being able to say, "I knew that would happen." If there is a 50% chance of failure and we have little doubt, it is quite possible we will more than likely take the chance. If the risk is low (or perceived to be low) we will more than likely take a chance. There is very little different between those risks that we doubt or fear and those that we don't. The possibility of failure still exists. "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate." This statement was made by Thomas J. Watson. He was the Bill Gates of the early part of the 20th century. He created IBM.
As I look down the road at the opportunities that lie ahead in my career, I realize that there are some things that are scary. I have my doubts. It is these times that I realize I need to follow the wisdom of my Swimming Instructor. The biggest thing in my way is my doubt. The water didn't change, I did.
OB
I just finished writing an article about optimism. Let's look at doubt. Doubt is a rationalized fear. I had a very strong doubt of the water when I was 5 or 6. The local swimming instructor at the neighborhood pool gave me that doubt. I had a rather traumatic experience. First, the instructor either didn't know I was hard of hearing or didn't know what to do with me because I was hard of hearing. Either way, the information that was supposed to get to me didn't. This was that everyone was going to jump into the deep end. This was my first day. I didn't know what the heck to do. I had enough trouble with the shallow end let alone the deep end! So, I was put in a situation that I wasn't comfortable with. I panicked. Suddenly my concern grew from a doubt to a deep fear. It stayed that way for several years.
Finally, one day a few years later, my parents announce to me that I am going to go to the local YMCA and take swimming classes. I was not impressed. My initial doubt had grown to a full-blown confirmed fear. Water equals drowning. Drowning equals death. Not interested! I had been in the water. It is a scary place!
Now I was being taken to that same place by my parents who, I thought, loved me. Fortunately, they had arranged with the YMCA an instructor that was prepared to work with a hard of hearing kid who was scared on two levels. First was the aforementioned fear, second was the discomfort at not being able to hear. (I had to take my aids out before going on the pool deck.) The second discomfort wasn't a big deal but it wasn't helping me in the fear department. Over a period of time at the pace that I was prepared and comfortable handling, I slowly got comfortable with the water, then I got comfortable doing things in the water, and finally I started to swim.
What I learned from this experience is best articulated with a "what if." What if I had experienced this calm, easy process the first time? I probably would not have developed and rationalized my fear. Much of the time and energy in those early classes was spent just getting me to overcome my fear. Once I had managed to beat the fear, I was on my way. I went on to take more and more classes and eventually achieved my Bronze Cross. I became an Assistant Instructor and considered going into Lifeguard training.
How often do we allow our doubts to convince us not to do something? The fear of failure. The fear of ridicule. The fear of someone else being able to say, "I knew that would happen." If there is a 50% chance of failure and we have little doubt, it is quite possible we will more than likely take the chance. If the risk is low (or perceived to be low) we will more than likely take a chance. There is very little different between those risks that we doubt or fear and those that we don't. The possibility of failure still exists. "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate." This statement was made by Thomas J. Watson. He was the Bill Gates of the early part of the 20th century. He created IBM.
As I look down the road at the opportunities that lie ahead in my career, I realize that there are some things that are scary. I have my doubts. It is these times that I realize I need to follow the wisdom of my Swimming Instructor. The biggest thing in my way is my doubt. The water didn't change, I did.
OB
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Optimism
It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though limits to our ability do not exist" - Teillhard dy Chardin
I am sometimes criticized for my optimism. I find this interesting because these same critics are, in their own way, optimistic. My entire life is about doing things that "realistic" people would have called impossible. I was born with a 75% hearing loss. I have never had 75% of my hearing. I don't know what it means to hear many sounds that others take for granted. One evening my wife and I were watching a documentary on whistling (we admit it, we are documentary junkies) and much of the show was lost on me. These whistlers were whistling at a frequency that I couldn't hear. My wife was fascinated by this. While she understands that there is much I don't hear, this was a visceral example of what my hearing was and was not.
I have met other people with similar degrees of hearing loss as I have. I am humbled by the fact that my mom was able to teach me to speak even before I was diagnosed with a loss. I am humbled by the fact that I don't have any audible deaf accent. I am humbled by the fact that I have lived my life doing things that many people with full hearing would find difficult, if not impossible.
I received my first pair of hearing aids when I was five. I was about to start Kindergarten and my parents were lucky enough to find a doctor who was willing to pass us on to a specialist who could confirm my hearing and fit me with aids. Amusingly, my mom was too successful. We had a great deal of difficulty convincing the medical community of my situation. I could speak well, I paid attention and I answered questions intelligently. "He'll grow out of it," was the prognosis.
I sing. When I was in Grade Six, I was invited to audition for my home city's All-School Choir. This was a choir that only the best of the city were allowed to join. I made it. I was cast as a First Soprano in the choir. Later, I went on to musical theatre and not only sang, but danced too!
I was bitten by the performer's bug. I loved the stage. I wanted to pursue more. I took acting classes and various mime, clowning, theatresports classes. I was admitted to the Grant MacEwan Theatre Academy, even though at 14 I was technically too young. I eventually was invited to audition for a TV show being co-produced by the CBC and a small theatre company called Catalyst Theatre. I won a principal role and was able to work with some wonderful professionals in the business. Our show went on to win a Special Jury Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival and then later, it won the CBC National Prix Anik Award.
I completed High School and decided to pursue musical theatre. I enrolled in the Theatre Arts programme at Grant MacEwan College. This experience gave me opportunities to study voice, dance, acting and work on professional level shows of all types. We produced works by a range of greats ranging from Bertolt Brecht and Eugene Ionesco to Leonard Bernstien and Frank Lerner and Frederick Lowe.
In the middle of my studies, I was cast in two roles during the summer season that would have a profound effect on my life. First was as a chorus member in "Alice in Concert" where I worked closely with the woman who would become my wife; though it took us a further 8 years to get that all worked out. The second was as Candide in Bernstein's "Candide." The musical version of Voltaire's tale of an innocent optimist who is beaten up by a cruel world. I had the pleasure of singing with one of the biggest vocal talents in the world, Iren Bartok. Her voice has illuminated many roles including, and perhaps most famously, Christine in London's production of Phantom of the Opera.
During my professional career as an actor, I had the opportunity to successfully live and work as an Equity Actor (union) for a variety of theatre companies in Ontario. I had an agent, and lived the Life of an Actor. What amazes me is that no one ever told me I couldn't. No one ever said, "don't bother with that, you are hard of hearing and you will just be disappointed when things don't work out."
There are more stories, but the you get the idea. My life has been all about doing things that more "realistic" people would have said no to. I can't help but be an optimist. So much of my life has been about doing optimistic things in an optimistic way. Poets and playwrights wax eternal about love and loss. Has there been loss in my life? You bet! It hasn't been a painless ride. There has been lots of hard work and frustration. Some pretty nasty failures. Those things sting. But that pain pales in comparison to the empowering uplifting and humbling experience of taking risks and succeeding.
OB
I am sometimes criticized for my optimism. I find this interesting because these same critics are, in their own way, optimistic. My entire life is about doing things that "realistic" people would have called impossible. I was born with a 75% hearing loss. I have never had 75% of my hearing. I don't know what it means to hear many sounds that others take for granted. One evening my wife and I were watching a documentary on whistling (we admit it, we are documentary junkies) and much of the show was lost on me. These whistlers were whistling at a frequency that I couldn't hear. My wife was fascinated by this. While she understands that there is much I don't hear, this was a visceral example of what my hearing was and was not.
I have met other people with similar degrees of hearing loss as I have. I am humbled by the fact that my mom was able to teach me to speak even before I was diagnosed with a loss. I am humbled by the fact that I don't have any audible deaf accent. I am humbled by the fact that I have lived my life doing things that many people with full hearing would find difficult, if not impossible.
I received my first pair of hearing aids when I was five. I was about to start Kindergarten and my parents were lucky enough to find a doctor who was willing to pass us on to a specialist who could confirm my hearing and fit me with aids. Amusingly, my mom was too successful. We had a great deal of difficulty convincing the medical community of my situation. I could speak well, I paid attention and I answered questions intelligently. "He'll grow out of it," was the prognosis.
I sing. When I was in Grade Six, I was invited to audition for my home city's All-School Choir. This was a choir that only the best of the city were allowed to join. I made it. I was cast as a First Soprano in the choir. Later, I went on to musical theatre and not only sang, but danced too!
I was bitten by the performer's bug. I loved the stage. I wanted to pursue more. I took acting classes and various mime, clowning, theatresports classes. I was admitted to the Grant MacEwan Theatre Academy, even though at 14 I was technically too young. I eventually was invited to audition for a TV show being co-produced by the CBC and a small theatre company called Catalyst Theatre. I won a principal role and was able to work with some wonderful professionals in the business. Our show went on to win a Special Jury Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival and then later, it won the CBC National Prix Anik Award.
I completed High School and decided to pursue musical theatre. I enrolled in the Theatre Arts programme at Grant MacEwan College. This experience gave me opportunities to study voice, dance, acting and work on professional level shows of all types. We produced works by a range of greats ranging from Bertolt Brecht and Eugene Ionesco to Leonard Bernstien and Frank Lerner and Frederick Lowe.
In the middle of my studies, I was cast in two roles during the summer season that would have a profound effect on my life. First was as a chorus member in "Alice in Concert" where I worked closely with the woman who would become my wife; though it took us a further 8 years to get that all worked out. The second was as Candide in Bernstein's "Candide." The musical version of Voltaire's tale of an innocent optimist who is beaten up by a cruel world. I had the pleasure of singing with one of the biggest vocal talents in the world, Iren Bartok. Her voice has illuminated many roles including, and perhaps most famously, Christine in London's production of Phantom of the Opera.
During my professional career as an actor, I had the opportunity to successfully live and work as an Equity Actor (union) for a variety of theatre companies in Ontario. I had an agent, and lived the Life of an Actor. What amazes me is that no one ever told me I couldn't. No one ever said, "don't bother with that, you are hard of hearing and you will just be disappointed when things don't work out."
There are more stories, but the you get the idea. My life has been all about doing things that more "realistic" people would have said no to. I can't help but be an optimist. So much of my life has been about doing optimistic things in an optimistic way. Poets and playwrights wax eternal about love and loss. Has there been loss in my life? You bet! It hasn't been a painless ride. There has been lots of hard work and frustration. Some pretty nasty failures. Those things sting. But that pain pales in comparison to the empowering uplifting and humbling experience of taking risks and succeeding.
OB
Friday, January 13, 2006
Writing My Way to Understanding.
The devil himself always seems to get into my inkstand, and I can only exorcise him by pensful at a time." - Nathanial Hawthorne
The activity of articulating my thoughts in words is an interesting process of dividing my thoughts from my emotions. The power of the mind to play out entire dramatic renditions of events of your recent or distant past is what makes us humans rather unique. Perhaps other creatures here on Earth have similar things going on in their minds, but I can't find evidence of it. My cat doesn't treat me any differently depending on its recent daydream of my previous treatment of it. This is true of other people though. I do it all the time.
The process to take these dramatic renditions and write them down is both a challenge and a joy. As I work through various events in my work life and try to understand them, I find that the emotion rich environment of my mind can lead to greater drama but less understanding.
In theatre, any play I ever worked on started with some form of a script. From the script I developed a character and built an entire set of fictitious memories to create the illusion of a real life for the character I was portraying. In a funny way, it is very similar to the implanted memories that the Tyrell Corporation put into the cyborg minds of the androids they built in "Blade Runner." By taking these memories off the page and into my head, I was creating an emotionally rich environment for my character.
Writing is the opposite of this. The process of dismantling the emotional landscape from the story and just simply stating the story as I perceived it, gave me to opportunity to reflect and analyze my perceptions that would be nearly impossible in my head. Now my perceptions were separated from the emotions and I could look at these perceptions with a clear eye and find the flaws, gaps in logic, and just plain unfair judgment. Or, I would discover that maybe I was correct in my perception and I needed to look at others around me and do an analysis of them. Ultimately, this process of writing the story helped me find my way to understanding.
Why is this so important to me? I guess because I pride myself on being fair, reasonable, kind, forgiving and understanding. I personally believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This belief is something that is at the core of who I am and how I live my life. So, of course, when I am presented with a person to person challenge, I go into high gear on the analysis. I work hard at finding a common ground. I don't always succeed, but I give it everything I've got.
The devil in my inkstand is my emotional nature and how it can get the better of me. I despise being taken advantage of. I despise seeing others being taken advantage of. I like a good competition when it is played fair and everyone can shake hands at the end. I like to trust my team and I like my team trusting me. I believe that when you get to the top of the mountain you climb down and help others up. I hated the King of the Mountain game as a kid. I played it, but I felt kinda lonely when I was on the top. I wasn't a sissy. I played water polo and lacrosse and rugby...
The point is that we can't rely on our emotionally charged mind to present us with an accurate picture of what is happening in our lives. Ours perceptions are coloured by our emotions. Theatre has been telling the same stories over and over for millennia. Why do we still enjoy them? Because we enjoy the emotional journey. That is what makes us human.
For me, writing is my way of finding understanding. What's your way?
OB
The activity of articulating my thoughts in words is an interesting process of dividing my thoughts from my emotions. The power of the mind to play out entire dramatic renditions of events of your recent or distant past is what makes us humans rather unique. Perhaps other creatures here on Earth have similar things going on in their minds, but I can't find evidence of it. My cat doesn't treat me any differently depending on its recent daydream of my previous treatment of it. This is true of other people though. I do it all the time.
The process to take these dramatic renditions and write them down is both a challenge and a joy. As I work through various events in my work life and try to understand them, I find that the emotion rich environment of my mind can lead to greater drama but less understanding.
In theatre, any play I ever worked on started with some form of a script. From the script I developed a character and built an entire set of fictitious memories to create the illusion of a real life for the character I was portraying. In a funny way, it is very similar to the implanted memories that the Tyrell Corporation put into the cyborg minds of the androids they built in "Blade Runner." By taking these memories off the page and into my head, I was creating an emotionally rich environment for my character.
Writing is the opposite of this. The process of dismantling the emotional landscape from the story and just simply stating the story as I perceived it, gave me to opportunity to reflect and analyze my perceptions that would be nearly impossible in my head. Now my perceptions were separated from the emotions and I could look at these perceptions with a clear eye and find the flaws, gaps in logic, and just plain unfair judgment. Or, I would discover that maybe I was correct in my perception and I needed to look at others around me and do an analysis of them. Ultimately, this process of writing the story helped me find my way to understanding.
Why is this so important to me? I guess because I pride myself on being fair, reasonable, kind, forgiving and understanding. I personally believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This belief is something that is at the core of who I am and how I live my life. So, of course, when I am presented with a person to person challenge, I go into high gear on the analysis. I work hard at finding a common ground. I don't always succeed, but I give it everything I've got.
The devil in my inkstand is my emotional nature and how it can get the better of me. I despise being taken advantage of. I despise seeing others being taken advantage of. I like a good competition when it is played fair and everyone can shake hands at the end. I like to trust my team and I like my team trusting me. I believe that when you get to the top of the mountain you climb down and help others up. I hated the King of the Mountain game as a kid. I played it, but I felt kinda lonely when I was on the top. I wasn't a sissy. I played water polo and lacrosse and rugby...
The point is that we can't rely on our emotionally charged mind to present us with an accurate picture of what is happening in our lives. Ours perceptions are coloured by our emotions. Theatre has been telling the same stories over and over for millennia. Why do we still enjoy them? Because we enjoy the emotional journey. That is what makes us human.
For me, writing is my way of finding understanding. What's your way?
OB
Embracing the Void
"Something will turn up." - Benjamin Disraeli
Sometimes in my work life I have been faced with voids. The word void here means a big fat "I don't know." In the workplace this can send most people into a panic. Suddenly fear consumes them and they tumble down Maslow's pyramid to the survival mode. I have seen this this panic throw ordinary people into a fight for your life struggle over their position or point of view where they will do anything and say anything to defend their best guess.
What lies underneath the big fat "I don't know," is a small but powerful "I might be wrong." At the core of that "I might be wrong" is a poisonous "I might fail." For many, this is a paralyzing poison. Failure is not an option. Failure is a sign of weakness and in the dog eat dog world of business there is no end of the pain and suffering that can come from being wrong. I exaggerate. But only slightly.
In theatre school and specifically in acting class we were taught to confront this fear of failure. My acting teacher, Ken Brown, used to refer to this as "embracing the void." For an actor this is a very scary place. It is that moment when you have used up all your bits, all your dramatic tricks that you fall back on when you are faced with an unexpected moment. These things happen, and the show must go on. The "void" is the place where you just plain and simple don't know what you will do next.
In these moments, you learn to trust your intuition. You learn to let go of your ego. You become open to new ideas and new possiblities. But before that happens, you must embrace the void. It is chaotic, uncontrolled, and rich in creative inspiration.
In business, teaching, and consulting, I learned to leverage this "embracing the void" thing by realizing that it was okay if I was wrong. I gave myself permission to fail. I also recognized that creative inspiration comes from many places, including other people! By releasing my ownership of my ideas, I discovered that I was surrounded by talent and brilliance. More importantly I realized that I was an equal in that brilliance, not more and not less.
What is sad to watch is a person who's lack of confidence and fear of failure constipates them. Every creative idea they have they must fight for because they are so bunged up, they don't know when they will get another one. Somehow, if someone else manages to come up with something better, that person is now inferior in some way. Sadly too, I have been that person. I have gone through periods of insecurity and fear that have made me fight tooth and nail to protect the precious few good ideas I had.
Part of being able to get past this fear, is the ability to trust. If you are working in a team that is unhealthily competitive or people don't play fair or a manager insists on editing in a brainstorm session, you are likely not going to be able to trust anyone. You won't risk embracing the void. But, if you have a team where there is respect and support. You have a manager who actively follows you, coaches you, and guides you. Taking that leap into the void isn't so scary.
Edison said, "if you want to increase your successes, double your failure rate." Innovation is doing things in novel and new ways. This requires that you throw out your bag of tricks.
Don't worry, something will turn up.
OB
Sometimes in my work life I have been faced with voids. The word void here means a big fat "I don't know." In the workplace this can send most people into a panic. Suddenly fear consumes them and they tumble down Maslow's pyramid to the survival mode. I have seen this this panic throw ordinary people into a fight for your life struggle over their position or point of view where they will do anything and say anything to defend their best guess.
What lies underneath the big fat "I don't know," is a small but powerful "I might be wrong." At the core of that "I might be wrong" is a poisonous "I might fail." For many, this is a paralyzing poison. Failure is not an option. Failure is a sign of weakness and in the dog eat dog world of business there is no end of the pain and suffering that can come from being wrong. I exaggerate. But only slightly.
In theatre school and specifically in acting class we were taught to confront this fear of failure. My acting teacher, Ken Brown, used to refer to this as "embracing the void." For an actor this is a very scary place. It is that moment when you have used up all your bits, all your dramatic tricks that you fall back on when you are faced with an unexpected moment. These things happen, and the show must go on. The "void" is the place where you just plain and simple don't know what you will do next.
In these moments, you learn to trust your intuition. You learn to let go of your ego. You become open to new ideas and new possiblities. But before that happens, you must embrace the void. It is chaotic, uncontrolled, and rich in creative inspiration.
In business, teaching, and consulting, I learned to leverage this "embracing the void" thing by realizing that it was okay if I was wrong. I gave myself permission to fail. I also recognized that creative inspiration comes from many places, including other people! By releasing my ownership of my ideas, I discovered that I was surrounded by talent and brilliance. More importantly I realized that I was an equal in that brilliance, not more and not less.
What is sad to watch is a person who's lack of confidence and fear of failure constipates them. Every creative idea they have they must fight for because they are so bunged up, they don't know when they will get another one. Somehow, if someone else manages to come up with something better, that person is now inferior in some way. Sadly too, I have been that person. I have gone through periods of insecurity and fear that have made me fight tooth and nail to protect the precious few good ideas I had.
Part of being able to get past this fear, is the ability to trust. If you are working in a team that is unhealthily competitive or people don't play fair or a manager insists on editing in a brainstorm session, you are likely not going to be able to trust anyone. You won't risk embracing the void. But, if you have a team where there is respect and support. You have a manager who actively follows you, coaches you, and guides you. Taking that leap into the void isn't so scary.
Edison said, "if you want to increase your successes, double your failure rate." Innovation is doing things in novel and new ways. This requires that you throw out your bag of tricks.
Don't worry, something will turn up.
OB
Monday, January 09, 2006
On Writing and Subtext
"The Soul lies buried in the ink that writes" - John Clare
Something that an actor spends a great deal of time thinking about is something called subtext. Simply put, subtext is the words beneath the words. If you have ever read a script you will see that there is a great deal of room for interpretation. Unlike a novel, where the writer is able to suspend time and imbue character interaction with descriptive narratives that leave no doubt in the reader's mind what the various character's intentions are, the plight of the playwright is to create a script where this extra layer is carried by the performer.
Let's look at an example, "I love you." Depending on the context of the situation, this seemingly obvious statement can be said a variety of ways. The playwright creates the scene and provides the actor with as much background as possible, but ultimately the control of how this line is performed is up to the actor himself. It is what the actor's mind is saying, the subtext, that colours the words that the actor's mouth speaks. It is incredible how subtle yet powerful this is.
I saw this same thing happening in the business organizations I worked in. Email is a fast and effecient method of communication. It is also ambiguous. The reader colours the subtext of the email with their own understanding of the writer. If they perceive the writer to be an inspiring team player, they will colour the words of the email in a completely different way than if they perceive the writer to be a condescending misanthrope.
Combine that with the use of email as a shield for those workers who lack the confidence and trust to speak directly to someone they have difficulty communicating with and you have some serious miscommunications happening in the office. I found myself not only observing this in others, but also in myself. I realized that I was sometimes "reading into" the email subtleties that weren't necessarily there. Suddenly, I found myself drawing on my acting skills to work through these difficult emails.
The first thing I would do is to do what I could to understand the writer. What are they trying to accomplish? What do they think they are saying? Sometimes I would force myself to read the email aloud with a smile on my face. Done honestly, I can discover some nuances in the message that you might have missed. Also, I would take the email to a trusted associate or objective third party and discuss it with them. This removes all the subtext that you read into the email and ultimately can expose perspectives I might not have seen. As I got better at re-interpreting these emails, I found that I was able to more easily work with the difficult person.
On the flipside, I have also found that some people come across very differently in email than in person. I have encountered individuals whose email character is completely different from their face to face character. While their personality might be short and abrasive, their emails are eloquent and patient. In these cases, I often try to ensure that before any face to face dealings I have with them, I re-read their emails to help filter what they say and do in person.
All in all, I have found it is important to remember the power of subtext as a tool for understanding myself and my co-workers. I am no saint, I don't always react well to email and have been known to over-react at times, but my acting skills have saved my butt more than once!
Something that an actor spends a great deal of time thinking about is something called subtext. Simply put, subtext is the words beneath the words. If you have ever read a script you will see that there is a great deal of room for interpretation. Unlike a novel, where the writer is able to suspend time and imbue character interaction with descriptive narratives that leave no doubt in the reader's mind what the various character's intentions are, the plight of the playwright is to create a script where this extra layer is carried by the performer.
Let's look at an example, "I love you." Depending on the context of the situation, this seemingly obvious statement can be said a variety of ways. The playwright creates the scene and provides the actor with as much background as possible, but ultimately the control of how this line is performed is up to the actor himself. It is what the actor's mind is saying, the subtext, that colours the words that the actor's mouth speaks. It is incredible how subtle yet powerful this is.
I saw this same thing happening in the business organizations I worked in. Email is a fast and effecient method of communication. It is also ambiguous. The reader colours the subtext of the email with their own understanding of the writer. If they perceive the writer to be an inspiring team player, they will colour the words of the email in a completely different way than if they perceive the writer to be a condescending misanthrope.
Combine that with the use of email as a shield for those workers who lack the confidence and trust to speak directly to someone they have difficulty communicating with and you have some serious miscommunications happening in the office. I found myself not only observing this in others, but also in myself. I realized that I was sometimes "reading into" the email subtleties that weren't necessarily there. Suddenly, I found myself drawing on my acting skills to work through these difficult emails.
The first thing I would do is to do what I could to understand the writer. What are they trying to accomplish? What do they think they are saying? Sometimes I would force myself to read the email aloud with a smile on my face. Done honestly, I can discover some nuances in the message that you might have missed. Also, I would take the email to a trusted associate or objective third party and discuss it with them. This removes all the subtext that you read into the email and ultimately can expose perspectives I might not have seen. As I got better at re-interpreting these emails, I found that I was able to more easily work with the difficult person.
On the flipside, I have also found that some people come across very differently in email than in person. I have encountered individuals whose email character is completely different from their face to face character. While their personality might be short and abrasive, their emails are eloquent and patient. In these cases, I often try to ensure that before any face to face dealings I have with them, I re-read their emails to help filter what they say and do in person.
All in all, I have found it is important to remember the power of subtext as a tool for understanding myself and my co-workers. I am no saint, I don't always react well to email and have been known to over-react at times, but my acting skills have saved my butt more than once!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Creativity is Messy
"Blot out, correct, insert, refine...
Be mindful when invention fails,
To scratch your head, and bite your nails."
- Jonathon Swift
Art is pristine, creativity is messy. The creative process in any vocation is guided by technique. This technique cannot be allowed to hinder creativity. Technique refines and shapes and perfects. Creativity gives you the material to apply technique to. Over the course of my two careers, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most creative people. I like to count myself as one of them. Creativity is a talent but, like any talent, creativity alone isn't enough. Creativity plus technique results in a
What amazed me with the creative process we all followed was how much time was spent building, and tearing down. The creative process was not one of create, refine and finish. It was messy. It was a pursuit of something less scientific and more organic. Singing, dancing, acting, music, fine art. All of the Arts depend on creative talent to take the technique to the next level. The same could be said of sports, science itself, and... you guessed it... Business.
There are formulaic aspects to everything. What people sometimes forget is that the formula grew out of something messy. Even mathematics are messy. A good friend of mine, who is also a mathematician, told me once that a book on mathematics can't be read like a novel. Mathematicians don't start on page one and read to the end. They read and re-read and work and play with the various problems and proofs presented. The highly readable "A Brief History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson is full of anecdotes of science and its messiness. This is science at its most creative.
One of my mentors taught me many things about being a great manager. This included the idea that you manage the individual. This was further supported in various books on management that I have read. This is messy management. All of a sudden you can't treat everyone the same way. Throw out the Golden Rule! A friend of mine said, I prefer to use the Platinum Rule. "Treat others they way they want to be treated." It really is the Golden Rule framed differently. This is management at its most creative.
A recent issue of "Mind" magazine talks about creativity in an article titled "Unleashing Creativity" (Volume 16, Number 1, page 16). The article discusses how some unique cases of fronto-temporal dementia, a dementia that selectively damages the temporal and frontal lobes. The symptoms are almost a dead-ringer for the reported behaviour of Vincent Van Gogh in his later and most creative years. Others who suffer this dementia see an incredible growth in their creative powers. The article contains a sidebar that describes steps to a creative mind-set. Creativity is not something that is controlled, rather it is something that, as the title of the article suggests, is unleashed.
In today's work world, creativity is essential. Tools and technology have pushed the limits of productivity. To gain that competitive edge, workers must use a high level of creativity to prosper. Every level of an organization must view conventional wisdom with fresh eyes. Ideally, throw out conventional wisdom altogether... but that is another blog entry!
OB
Be mindful when invention fails,
To scratch your head, and bite your nails."
- Jonathon Swift
Art is pristine, creativity is messy. The creative process in any vocation is guided by technique. This technique cannot be allowed to hinder creativity. Technique refines and shapes and perfects. Creativity gives you the material to apply technique to. Over the course of my two careers, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most creative people. I like to count myself as one of them. Creativity is a talent but, like any talent, creativity alone isn't enough. Creativity plus technique results in a
What amazed me with the creative process we all followed was how much time was spent building, and tearing down. The creative process was not one of create, refine and finish. It was messy. It was a pursuit of something less scientific and more organic. Singing, dancing, acting, music, fine art. All of the Arts depend on creative talent to take the technique to the next level. The same could be said of sports, science itself, and... you guessed it... Business.
There are formulaic aspects to everything. What people sometimes forget is that the formula grew out of something messy. Even mathematics are messy. A good friend of mine, who is also a mathematician, told me once that a book on mathematics can't be read like a novel. Mathematicians don't start on page one and read to the end. They read and re-read and work and play with the various problems and proofs presented. The highly readable "A Brief History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson is full of anecdotes of science and its messiness. This is science at its most creative.
One of my mentors taught me many things about being a great manager. This included the idea that you manage the individual. This was further supported in various books on management that I have read. This is messy management. All of a sudden you can't treat everyone the same way. Throw out the Golden Rule! A friend of mine said, I prefer to use the Platinum Rule. "Treat others they way they want to be treated." It really is the Golden Rule framed differently. This is management at its most creative.
A recent issue of "Mind" magazine talks about creativity in an article titled "Unleashing Creativity" (Volume 16, Number 1, page 16). The article discusses how some unique cases of fronto-temporal dementia, a dementia that selectively damages the temporal and frontal lobes. The symptoms are almost a dead-ringer for the reported behaviour of Vincent Van Gogh in his later and most creative years. Others who suffer this dementia see an incredible growth in their creative powers. The article contains a sidebar that describes steps to a creative mind-set. Creativity is not something that is controlled, rather it is something that, as the title of the article suggests, is unleashed.
In today's work world, creativity is essential. Tools and technology have pushed the limits of productivity. To gain that competitive edge, workers must use a high level of creativity to prosper. Every level of an organization must view conventional wisdom with fresh eyes. Ideally, throw out conventional wisdom altogether... but that is another blog entry!
OB
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Surrounded by Genius
"Follow your genius closely enough, and it will not fail to show you a fresh prospect every hour." - Henry David Thoreau
I have been fortunate to work with some of the brightest talent I have ever met. Part of my career included several years as an instructor of New Media and I met a great many talented people. Some I had the privilege of teaching with, others were my students. I have even been able to work with my former teachers. All in all, I have met some people with gargantuan talent.
Thoreau's words resonate for me because I have discovered something. In order to follow your own personal genius, you must first know it. I equate genius with talent. I think most people would agree that those people who are credited with genius in a particular field also had that difficult to define thing that few others have. I don't think I have ever met a genius who wasn't passionate about their field. With every great talent, I have also discovered that they know what they are talented at and what they aren't.
My wife told me about an article she read recently where a painter, who was applying for a grant, was asked to write an essay about his art. His reaction was, "I am a painter! If I could write an essay to inspire you, I would be a writer! Asking me to write about painting is like asking an architect to do a dance about architecture." Follow your genius, but first figure out what your genius is. How many of us are continually asked in our work lives to excel at something we just don't have a talent for?
I just finished reading the wonderful book "First, Break all the Rules." In this book the authors define talent as "a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behaviour that can be productively applied." The idea here is that great workers have something they do that makes them great at their job. Just like the talented artists I know.
While I was working for a telecommunications corporation, I met someone who had a gift for fact gathering and information research. This was a great thing because I have a talent for taking information and organizing it into a cohesive whole. I hate research. I can do it, but I just don't have a passion for it like I do assembling a bunch of facts into a cohesive whole. This couldn't have pleased my co-worker more, because he hated trying to put the facts into a narrative. If it were up to him, everything would be bullet points.
As a result a partnership was born. This is another thing that is described in "First, Break All the Rules." Great managers and great workers don't bother worrying about fixing what they aren't good at, they find a partner who can excel in the areas they don't. Jobs & Wozniak, Gates & Allen are a couple of popular examples of this kind of partnership. In my home city, a hugely successful entertainment computer gaming company, Bioware, was formed by a partnership.
With this in mind, it is possible to not only look for and recognize the genius in yourself, but also the genius that surrounds you. Every person you meet, including the hotel cleaning person, is a genius at something. The authors of "First Break All the Rules." use the cleaning person as an example. They identified cleaning staff who excelled at their job and interviewed them. They found that those people who excelled had a passion for what they did, did it very well, and stood out. They had a "talent" for their job. This can be said of any profession. Lab technicians, real estate agents, call centre workers... you name it, there is a way to excel.
On a personal level, I saw this in action recently. I hired a company to build my garage. They were amazing! The garage was built in one day. I chatted with the construction team a bit, and they LOVED what they were doing. They were motivated and self-managed. They worked so well as a team they behaved like a well oiled machine. When the inspector came to review the work he took one look and asked who built the garage. I told him. He replied with, "they're the best."
It is rare that I meet someone who has acheived genius in an area and isn't passionate about what they do. They know their stuff inside and out. On a technique level, they can dance circles around everyone else, except other geniuses. Da Vinci experimented with different types of paint. Kurt Browning loves the mastery over every muscle in his body where to the point that he doesn't have to think about technique. Talent and technical mastery go hand in hand.
Knowing your talents, recognizing genius in those around you and partnering with those who are strong where you are not or don't want to be. If you can manage to put these things into action, you will be on your way to genius.
I have been fortunate to work with some of the brightest talent I have ever met. Part of my career included several years as an instructor of New Media and I met a great many talented people. Some I had the privilege of teaching with, others were my students. I have even been able to work with my former teachers. All in all, I have met some people with gargantuan talent.
Thoreau's words resonate for me because I have discovered something. In order to follow your own personal genius, you must first know it. I equate genius with talent. I think most people would agree that those people who are credited with genius in a particular field also had that difficult to define thing that few others have. I don't think I have ever met a genius who wasn't passionate about their field. With every great talent, I have also discovered that they know what they are talented at and what they aren't.
My wife told me about an article she read recently where a painter, who was applying for a grant, was asked to write an essay about his art. His reaction was, "I am a painter! If I could write an essay to inspire you, I would be a writer! Asking me to write about painting is like asking an architect to do a dance about architecture." Follow your genius, but first figure out what your genius is. How many of us are continually asked in our work lives to excel at something we just don't have a talent for?
I just finished reading the wonderful book "First, Break all the Rules." In this book the authors define talent as "a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behaviour that can be productively applied." The idea here is that great workers have something they do that makes them great at their job. Just like the talented artists I know.
While I was working for a telecommunications corporation, I met someone who had a gift for fact gathering and information research. This was a great thing because I have a talent for taking information and organizing it into a cohesive whole. I hate research. I can do it, but I just don't have a passion for it like I do assembling a bunch of facts into a cohesive whole. This couldn't have pleased my co-worker more, because he hated trying to put the facts into a narrative. If it were up to him, everything would be bullet points.
As a result a partnership was born. This is another thing that is described in "First, Break All the Rules." Great managers and great workers don't bother worrying about fixing what they aren't good at, they find a partner who can excel in the areas they don't. Jobs & Wozniak, Gates & Allen are a couple of popular examples of this kind of partnership. In my home city, a hugely successful entertainment computer gaming company, Bioware, was formed by a partnership.
With this in mind, it is possible to not only look for and recognize the genius in yourself, but also the genius that surrounds you. Every person you meet, including the hotel cleaning person, is a genius at something. The authors of "First Break All the Rules." use the cleaning person as an example. They identified cleaning staff who excelled at their job and interviewed them. They found that those people who excelled had a passion for what they did, did it very well, and stood out. They had a "talent" for their job. This can be said of any profession. Lab technicians, real estate agents, call centre workers... you name it, there is a way to excel.
On a personal level, I saw this in action recently. I hired a company to build my garage. They were amazing! The garage was built in one day. I chatted with the construction team a bit, and they LOVED what they were doing. They were motivated and self-managed. They worked so well as a team they behaved like a well oiled machine. When the inspector came to review the work he took one look and asked who built the garage. I told him. He replied with, "they're the best."
It is rare that I meet someone who has acheived genius in an area and isn't passionate about what they do. They know their stuff inside and out. On a technique level, they can dance circles around everyone else, except other geniuses. Da Vinci experimented with different types of paint. Kurt Browning loves the mastery over every muscle in his body where to the point that he doesn't have to think about technique. Talent and technical mastery go hand in hand.
Knowing your talents, recognizing genius in those around you and partnering with those who are strong where you are not or don't want to be. If you can manage to put these things into action, you will be on your way to genius.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Villains in the Workplace
One of the wackiest things I learned while I was in Theatre School was doing a character analysis of a villain. You see, the best villains are rich, deep, compelling characters that pull you in. Sure you can have your over-simplified obvious stealing candy from a baby archetype. Those are easy. The tough ones are the ones that you really need to get inside and understand. While I was studying, I heard an interview with an actor famous for his villains. His goal was to understand his character so well that he started to see his character as the hero. This was crazy. What do you mean the bad guy is right??!! That is insane... oh! wait... If the villain sees himself as a hero. If he sees what he is doing as the necessary and right thing to do... Bingo! This is what gives nightmare-ish fellas like Dr. Hannibal Lecter more depth than your garden variety moustached, black-cape wearing, "nyah-ah-ah" sniggering and ultimately flat and predictable villain.
What does this have to do with the workplace? Everything! We see villains all over the office. The snide and gossiping co-worker. The overbearing and nagging boss. The aloof and condescending executive. They are all over the place. The nice thing about theatre is that the characters tend to be more exaggerated than real life.
In one of my very first jobs in a private telecommunications corporation, I ran into a villain. This guy was mouthy, smart, snide, rude and a real bully. He was impatient and argumentative and I had to work side-by-side with him. How the heck was I going to survive? I am not the type to go to my manager with every problem. I try to work it out myself. I had to figure this bully out.
I decided to start asking him some questions. I asked him about his school life, his likes and dislikes, his friends. As I got to know him, I realized this guy wasn't a bully. I discovered that he was mouthy because he really cared deeply about the decisions that people were making. I discovered that his lack of patience was because he really cared about the perfomance of the team. I discovered that in his mind, this guy thought he was being the hero and everyone else around him was playing the villain. Suddenly, I could understand him. Because I could understand him. I could work with him.
This work relationship came to a turning point when he and I were working on a project together. We realized that we both had skills and talents that meshed. We also realized that we both respected each other for our individual strengths. As a result, we not only worked together, we had fun working together. A friendship was created. He has since married and is now a father. We stay in touch and I am proud to count him on my list of long-term friends.
I credit my previous experience in the theatre with giving me the ability to remember that people are multi-faceted and not flat cardboard charicatures. By analyzing and thinking about why he was behaving in ways that were villanous to me, I was able to get to know this person that I originally perceived as a villain. The old saying, "walk a mile in another's shoes" comes to mind. By understanding I was able begin to trust him. This had the wonderful effect of being able to change through persuasion... but that is another blog entry.
Not all villains are like this. I have worked for some who I just didn't understand, and others that even though I understood, I couldn't empathize with their perspective. But I still use this technique of trying to understand and then to empathize with those who appear to be villains to me. It often works and is worth it.
OB
What does this have to do with the workplace? Everything! We see villains all over the office. The snide and gossiping co-worker. The overbearing and nagging boss. The aloof and condescending executive. They are all over the place. The nice thing about theatre is that the characters tend to be more exaggerated than real life.
In one of my very first jobs in a private telecommunications corporation, I ran into a villain. This guy was mouthy, smart, snide, rude and a real bully. He was impatient and argumentative and I had to work side-by-side with him. How the heck was I going to survive? I am not the type to go to my manager with every problem. I try to work it out myself. I had to figure this bully out.
I decided to start asking him some questions. I asked him about his school life, his likes and dislikes, his friends. As I got to know him, I realized this guy wasn't a bully. I discovered that he was mouthy because he really cared deeply about the decisions that people were making. I discovered that his lack of patience was because he really cared about the perfomance of the team. I discovered that in his mind, this guy thought he was being the hero and everyone else around him was playing the villain. Suddenly, I could understand him. Because I could understand him. I could work with him.
This work relationship came to a turning point when he and I were working on a project together. We realized that we both had skills and talents that meshed. We also realized that we both respected each other for our individual strengths. As a result, we not only worked together, we had fun working together. A friendship was created. He has since married and is now a father. We stay in touch and I am proud to count him on my list of long-term friends.
I credit my previous experience in the theatre with giving me the ability to remember that people are multi-faceted and not flat cardboard charicatures. By analyzing and thinking about why he was behaving in ways that were villanous to me, I was able to get to know this person that I originally perceived as a villain. The old saying, "walk a mile in another's shoes" comes to mind. By understanding I was able begin to trust him. This had the wonderful effect of being able to change through persuasion... but that is another blog entry.
Not all villains are like this. I have worked for some who I just didn't understand, and others that even though I understood, I couldn't empathize with their perspective. But I still use this technique of trying to understand and then to empathize with those who appear to be villains to me. It often works and is worth it.
OB
Turning Corners
As I write this post, I am turning another corner in my career life. For the first time, ever, I have been asked to resign from my position. This is a first for me and I am in the midst of navigating uncharted territory. Not to say that I am some kind of perfectionist, it is just that I have been fortunate enough to be proactive and be the "dumper" not the "dumpee." Now for the first time, I am in a transition that I didn't plan for. What a rollercoaster! My emotions have ranged from despair to lividity. I have been concerned and worried about my direct reports and pissed off that they didn't protest and walk off the job in support of me when they found out.
The last time I felt cast adrift like this was in 1994. I had just found out I was about to be a Dad. I went to work to share the news and was informed by everyone there that the company had gone into receivership and I was out of a job. At that time, I was still pursuing my theatre career and I was working part time at an Art Supplies store. It was then that I decided to shift the focus of my career from the arts to business. You can take the boy off the stage, but you can take the stage out of the boy. I was lucky that this shift happened at about the same time that the Internet was starting to take a serious hold in my home city. I took a couple of courses and stepped into Business Life.
What I soon discovered was that my Theatre training didn't leave me. If anything, I was using this experience in "the Business" to survive in business. I was applying my skills and talents for character analysis to learn more about my co-workers and superiors. I was using my creativity to help in brainstorming meetings. I was leveraging my comfort in front of an audience for presentations and I was constantly utilizing my skills of improvisation to handle unforeseen challenges with people, technology and even office furniture.
I am now embarking on an adventure in corporate training. I am going to be tackling a wide variety of topics related to Business Communications. The past 11 years in business has put me in every setting imaginable. I attribute this to the incredible pace that most people in the Internet related field have been allowed to grow. I have worked in private, public, and institution (post-secondary school) business. I began at the entry level (on a Help Desk) and worked my way into management and executive level positions.
Now I want to share the stories from the past 11 years and take you on a trip of an actor's life in business. Think of it as my pot of spaghetti and I am throwing it out there for anyone. Some of these stories will "stick" others won't. Some might inspire and others might make you laugh. Ultimately, I hope you will come away looking at your life in business a bit differently.
OB
The last time I felt cast adrift like this was in 1994. I had just found out I was about to be a Dad. I went to work to share the news and was informed by everyone there that the company had gone into receivership and I was out of a job. At that time, I was still pursuing my theatre career and I was working part time at an Art Supplies store. It was then that I decided to shift the focus of my career from the arts to business. You can take the boy off the stage, but you can take the stage out of the boy. I was lucky that this shift happened at about the same time that the Internet was starting to take a serious hold in my home city. I took a couple of courses and stepped into Business Life.
What I soon discovered was that my Theatre training didn't leave me. If anything, I was using this experience in "the Business" to survive in business. I was applying my skills and talents for character analysis to learn more about my co-workers and superiors. I was using my creativity to help in brainstorming meetings. I was leveraging my comfort in front of an audience for presentations and I was constantly utilizing my skills of improvisation to handle unforeseen challenges with people, technology and even office furniture.
I am now embarking on an adventure in corporate training. I am going to be tackling a wide variety of topics related to Business Communications. The past 11 years in business has put me in every setting imaginable. I attribute this to the incredible pace that most people in the Internet related field have been allowed to grow. I have worked in private, public, and institution (post-secondary school) business. I began at the entry level (on a Help Desk) and worked my way into management and executive level positions.
Now I want to share the stories from the past 11 years and take you on a trip of an actor's life in business. Think of it as my pot of spaghetti and I am throwing it out there for anyone. Some of these stories will "stick" others won't. Some might inspire and others might make you laugh. Ultimately, I hope you will come away looking at your life in business a bit differently.
OB
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