What books constitute your ideal bookshelf? It’s a question they asked at the local independent bookstore, where they also provided this template for you to create your own.
The exercise is inspired by Thesslay LaForce’s book My Ideal Bookshelf, a collection of ideal bookshelves of leading cultural figures. The responses to the reflection – even which categories you choose, let alone the individual books -- speak volumes about the person and can be a fun exercise for you to ponder.
Examples of books to put on your "shelf" include: the book I never finished, a book that makes me laugh out loud, my childhood favorite, the best book I ever read, a book that makes me laugh out loud, the book that makes me look smart, the book I would grab if the house was burning, the book that gives me happy tears, the book that made me who I am, the book that changed my life, the book I read again and again, a book my best friend gave me or an unforgettable book. Or you can just follow the template which allows readers free reign to pick the “ten titles you can’t live without.”
If you’re an avid reader, choosing one per category or ten titles overall can be a challenging task, but a fun one too as you reconsider all the treasures that have crossed your path. This weekend, instead of curling up with a good book, think about using a template and some colored pencils to create your ideal bookshelf instead. Then share it with others at #idealbookshelf for a fascinating read in itself.
Why is it that we often spend more time figuring out who to blame for the problem than we do trying to fix the error?
A colleague recounted the story of inquiring about wastebasket that had disappeared from the conference room. When she asked about it, she learned that a substitute custodian inadvertently threw the garbage can away. (The trash cans are small and sit inside the recycling can that is much larger.) But two weeks later, there was still no replacement wastebasket.
Staff knew the wastebasket was thrown away and likely had a discussion with the custodian to make sure they were aware of their error as to not repeat it in the future. But no one thought to place a new wastebasket in the room? It seemed people were so focused on the fact that the custodian threw away the trash can that they missed thinking through the next step.
Wouldn’t it be better if the focus became less on the error (mistakes happen) and more on how to respond to the error and get back on track with what needs to be in place? Problems seem to derail people from taking the logical next step to resolve the issue, instead of just to identify it.
It’s one thing to learn what happened, but it is so much better to follow through and rectify the problem instead of just stopping when you receive an explanation. Find a new trash can when you learn that one was inadvertently tossed. Wipe up the mess instead of walking around it and asking: “what happened?” Fix the copier or call repair when you see that the indicator comes on instead of just tossing up your hands. Let someone know that the website isn’t working instead of just growling about it.
The key information isn’t who caused the problem; the crucial element is who resolves it.
A colleague was struggling as to how to get more feedback from her supervisor and asked for my advice:
“Is it the responsibility of the supervisor to modify behavior to meet the expressed needs of the employee or is it the responsibility of the employee to modify expectations of what the supervisor can provide? For example, the employee says she would like feedback from the supervisor as it would help her morale and let her know the supervisor is invested and confident in the employee's success.
The supervisor says she has multiple employees and it is not possible for her to function that way. She cannot be proactive but is committed to being immediately reactive when asked. So now there is an impasse - the employee made a request that will improve performance and the supervisor is not willing to accommodate that request. Is that where things sit? Should the employee now change her needs or should the supervisor attempt to accommodate the employee? Or is it a combination of both?”
Two thoughts come to mind. One is the Marcus Buckingham quote about clarity in supervision that I have written about before. The supervisor was clear that a) she won’t be proactive and b) she doesn’t have time. While not the employee’s ideal answer, it sure beats having a supervisor that is wishy-washy. Really.
My second thought is for the employee to take the supervisor’s answer and run with it. The supervisor said she would be responsive, so ASK. I have been working with some younger staff members that also want more feedback than their boss is giving them. I suggested that they frame their question around “one thing.” What is the one thing I did best this month? What is the one thing I could do better to improve? What is the one thing that worked best for you to close sales? What is the one thing that you see as a gift I have? What is the one piece of advice you would have for me before I meet with Company X?
What I heard the supervisor say is that she doesn’t have time. Whether explicitly stated or not, it is true for many supervisors, so I suggest that employees frame their questions so they don’t take a ton of time. By asking for F.E.E.D.B.A.C.K., it requires a lot of thought (aka time) to formulate a response and to be inclusive. The supervisor doesn’t want to say A and B when later she might think of A and B and C and then get caught because she left something out. By asking for “one thing” you let her off the hook by saying just A. It could be A-Z, but she doesn’t need to take the time to think of all those things. And the thing that is top of mind is the most important to her anyway.
The desire for more feedback is an on-going struggle, especially between Baby Boomers and younger generations. Try the question approach as a way to meet in the middle.
OneNote, binders, baskets, Moleskins, notebooks, index cards and files – I have tried many systems to collect the ideas I amass for dots, articles, sessions, class, etc. – but none of them have really hit a sweet spot for me. So the other day, I decided to make a list of the “pending” ideas that I have out there – collected from emails, clippings, notes, saved social media links and cut out articles.
There are many days when I feel like I have no ideas from which to write a leadership dot, but in reality, my problem is that I have too many ideas. Because there is more than one option, I waste valuable time and energy trying to decide which ideas connect with each other or what topic to pick for the day.
It reminded me of this quote (also in the pile!) from Box of Crayon’s Great Work Provocations: “One paradox is that creativity needs boundaries to flourish. How could you tighten the parameters?”
The people that created a human-centered design class I am taking certainly subscribe to this principle. We had about 90 minutes to interview subjects, assess needs, brainstorm options and develop a crude prototype for possible solutions about how to make the morning commute better. If we would have been given 90 hours, our prototype would have been more elaborate, but I don’t think our proposed options would have been significantly better. The constraints kept us focused on the task, instead of wasting time hoping to come up with the perfect answer.
Whether for writing dots or completing other creative pursuits, too much time or too many options seem like it should be a good thing, but, counterintuitively, it isn’t. If you erect some fences, you’ll be free to run within them.
Source: Great Work Provocation, September 14, 2017. Subscribe here.
For the umpteenth time, I watched The Shawshank Redemption and loved it as much as when I first saw it. The same is true for It’s a Wonderful Life, one of my favorites that I will watch yet again during the holiday season.
Both of these movies have become popular classics and are shown over and over on television. Yet neither of them were Oscar winners – in any category.
Although they were both nominees for Best Picture and had several nominations in other categories, the only Academy Award or Golden Globe win between the two of them was a Golden Globe for Frank Capra as director. (Ironically, the Japanese Film Academy awarded Shawshank as Best Foreign Film!)
Yet today, both movies have been included by the American Film Institute in the top 100 movies ever made. The Library of Congress has preserved Shawshank in the National Film Registry as a movie that is “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” It’s a Wonderful Life has been called “one of the most loved films in American cinema.”
Filmmakers may think that the Academy Awards or Golden Globes are the ultimate prize and such recognition is necessary for validation of their work. These two films show that it is not.
Don’t let your self-esteem or fortitude be dampened because you did not win the equivalent of your Oscar. Keep creating good work and let knowing that you did be your prize.
Source: imdb and Wikipedia
There are many things that you take for granted: that the city will notify you when your taxes are due, that they have the correct address to do so and that your sidewalks and streets aren’t for sale. But for a San Francisco community, none of these things proved to be true.
In a fluke case, an unpaid tax bill on the common areas of an exclusive private street (including sidewalks, the street and parking) caused the city to put the property up for sale. The bill ($994) went unpaid because the accountant’s address hadn’t been updated since the 1980s. So when the land went on the auction block, a real estate developer bought it and wants to charge the homeowners to park in front of their homes. Now there will be far more than $994 in legal bills as the new landowners and the long-time residents duel over who has control.
You know the morals of the story: Don’t take things for granted. Details matter. Little things can turn into large problems if left unchecked. Today is just a reminder to heed the wisdom.
Thanks Meg!
