Lorne Mitchell's Thursday Thoughts

16/01/202016/01/2020

TT2003 – Calling For More Generalists

Image by Miguel Ángel Ramón from Pixabay

When people ask me what I do, I tend to freeze.
I dislike labels. If I have to be labelled
I prefer to be known as a Polymath.
Something like that. And yet that doesn’t help
When you are looking for your next piece of work.
The market is skewed towards hiring specialists.

The world of HR and recruitment love labels.
It somehow makes the hiring process less risky
For them when they can you put you into a box.
Specialisms, industry knowledge, groupthink.
It’s a disease which is rife and one where
Renaissance (wo)man stands no chance!

How can generalists become more useful?
Some give back by working as a volunteer.
Charitable work is very is rewarding
But does not pay the bills.
Others enter academia to become
Priests to the religion that is education.

Others become authors or artists. Yet in business
Creativity clashes with corporate straight jackets.
Squashed between policies and boring routines
We need a revolution! A revolution
In the way that cognitive diversity is
Recognised, commissioned and rewarded.

Ahah! I hear you say! It’s up to the generalist
To market their skills and get themselves a job!
However, generalists don’t like being tied-down
To particular job descriptions. They don’t like
Being put into a box. They are too inquisitive,
Onto the next idea before the last has closed.

What if there was a pool of generalists
Who could be engaged for an hour, day or week?
They know lots of things about many things
And can challenge like the Court Jester.
Crazy ideas might lead to a great product or service.
Who would commission them? Would you? And why?

10/01/202010/01/2020

Lunch Boxes at the Embassy

We met twice in 2019.
Lunch boxes at the Embassy.
He was once a beekeeper.
We had fascinating and ranging discussions,
All listened into by unknown ears
From a foreign country.
Last time I saw him was in court
After they arrested him.
Now he’s in Belmarsh Prison.
We pray for him every day.

As a New Year’s Resolution,
I’ve decided to re-join the local writing circle.
This week’s exercise is a short story in 55 words.
This is my contribution

09/01/202009/01/2020

TT2002 – On Plans and Planning

As we enter a new year of a new decade, have you
Ever thought about how effective your plans are
At helping you achieve your objectives?
Winston Churchill once said:
“Plans are of little importance,
But planning is essential”.

Have you also wondered whether alternative strategies
Might produce better results to get you there faster?
And how the plan will go down with the rest of the team?
Planning is one of the riskiest activities we undertake
(And with the undertaker is where many plans end up!)
Wherever you are, it’s never too late to start planning!

How can we give our plans the greatest chance of success?
Aside from Churchill, many great leaders have determined
That is is the planning process that is most valuable.
The end-result of a published plan being far less important.
Yet without setting your sights on creating the latter,
The former is very unlikely to happen!

Some people (like me) think in pictures
Other people prefer words or spreadsheets.
So it is important that the plan is gamed-out
From a number of different views or perspectives,
Each one providing valuable insights into areas
That might cause problems down the line.

Involving the wider team from the outset is vital.
A plan that has no buy-in from them is bound to fail.
It is the planning process that gets the buy-in
By negotiating key friction points on the way ahead.
Yet too much sharing can also be counter-productive
Leading to too many cooks spoiling the broth.

In our modern-day world of information overload,
Artificial intelligence, social media and fake news,
It is ofttimes difficult to understand
Where things are going and where they might end up.
The planning process is more important than ever,
Even though the plan will end up being pretty worthless!

_____________________________________________________

If you would like to book a free 15-minute slot
In the month of January 2020 (no strings attached)
To discuss a plan you are currently working on
So I can give you three valuable ideas
To make it a better plan, then please book me here: https://calendly.com/gameyourplan/three-ideas

02/01/202004/01/2020

TT2001 – Into a New Decade

New Year’s Eve 1989/90 – Licenced – Alamy Stock Photo D: 2A84TB4 (RM) – Fall of the Berlin Wall

It was the turning of the 89/90 decade.
I was in Berlin for New Year’s Eve.
Fireworks were only allowed then
To celebrate the turning of the year.
I was at a party well away from the wall
But had this urge to move up on up to it.

We made it just in time! A large crowd swarming
Five hundred metres way up to the Brandenburger Tor.
That symbolic centre of both the wall and Berlin herself.
There was a determined push towards the gate
Both in front and behind us, surging like a tidal wave
As if the whole crowd moved with a collective psyche.

And then the fireworks began. Lighting the sky above.
The dark shadow of the gate ahead, I could move
Neither back, nor left, nor right, but only forwards.
As more and more people joined the push
Towards the tiny gap only created a few weeks before
On, on, on, there was no going back.

I then realised I had no passport. My friend from Berlin
Was allowed to go through with no papers, but I should not.
Too late! The powerful crowd took that decision for me.
We were pushed through the tiny gap and there –
On the other side were two 12 ft replica cans of Coca-Cola!
The American marketing machine had beaten us to it!

Illegal or not, there were no guards: it was a surge to freedom.
We were discharged out onto the Unter den Linden,
The boulevard of lime trees on the Eastern side of the gate.
A calm peace after the hectic push and scrabble.
We spent an hour or so soaking up the atmosphere
Before returning back home to the Western side.

Elias Canetti, summed up in his 1960s book “Crowds and Power”:
The crowd always wants to grow – it has no natural boundaries.
Within the crowd there is equality. Differences … are irrelevant.
The crowd loves destiny … it can never feel too dense.
The crowd needs direction … and moves towards a goal.
And so it was. The wall collapsed to create modern-day Europe.

06/12/201904/01/2020

TT 1950 – Where did Santa come from?

Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop
He was born in about 280 in Patara, Lycia
Which is in modern-day Turkey
His parents both died when he was young
And he used his inheritance to help
The poor and the sick.

There are many legends surrounding Saint Nicholas
He is supposed to have saved three men
Who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death.
He is said to have died on 6th December 343.
His reputation went before him as a gift-giver
As well as the protector of children and sailors.

So how does that explain where Santa Claus cames from?
Well, his story as a Saint became popular in Europe
Until the Reformation when Saints became unpopular.
However, the Dutch kept celebrating his feast day
On 6th December – children put out their shoes at night and
In the morning would discover the gifts he had left for them.

In the 1700s, Dutch immigrants took the legend
To the Americas where he was known as “Sint Nikolaas”
Or more commonly by his nickname “Sinterklaas”
There, he went through many transformations to become
Known by his present-day name of Santa Claus, although
The present-giving was moved to the Christmas festival.

Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem in 1820 called
“An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas”.
He described Santa Claus as a jolly, heavy man
Who comes down the chimney to leave presents
For deserving children. He also drove a sleigh pulled by
Magical Reindeer flying through the sky.

Cartoonist Thomas Nast added to the legend in 1881
Drawing Santa with a red suit trimmed with white fur.
In the early 1930s, Haddon Sundblom illustrated
A marketing campaign for the Coca-Cola Company.
And so the kind, charitable bishop from Turkey morphed
To became the jolly Christmas icon we know so well today.

04/12/201904/01/2020

TT1949 – A Call for Change

A Call for Agent Provocateurs, Revolutionaries & Change Agents

I’m often out-spoken. It has caused me problems in the past.
But I’ve never done anything like this before.
I know I am not the only one reflecting these sentiments.
Sometimes I challenge because I believe that is what is needed
To change the system – or at least to draw attention to
The main areas that could and should be improved.

I have met only a few of the people who are here.
We live in a virtual world of listeners and applauders.
Most online fora are self-congratulatory, ego-boosters for the author.
People feel uneasy to join in if there is any dissension or (c)rudeness
For fear of going against the crowd like the cheeky monkey
That’ll have their legs broken so that they are eaten by the lions first!

Agent Provocateurs, Revolutionaries & Change Agents!
Where are you? You can hide away in the corner
Whinging & whining about the structures & systems that don’t work.
Without the guts or enthusiasm to change anything – mainly because
The whole darn system is so fragile, it might break anytime – and
YOU don’t want to be accused of being the person who finally broke it!

Where are the innovators, the disruptors, the risk-takers?
The folk who are up-ending the Establishment (with a BIG “E”)?
Where are the young folk who want to bring on the change?
They are in the cool start-ups, earning peanuts – for the chance
Of creating something new. And one day, they’ll say: “I was there”!
It’s a casino, for sure, but a lot more fun than those tied into BIG E!

Not all ideas come to fruition. You never know which ones will work.
But that is not the reason to keep the ideas flowing.
There is a big difference between a good idea and an idea which
Has support, is properly funded and is successfully implemented.
Without good ideas, you never get momentum for real change.
It’s a clash between different types of people, thinking and processes.

The only action that comes from this is that the ideas keep flowing.
The only leadership required is one of keeping an open mind.
The only communications skills required are for active listening.
Good ideas will stick and grow. Not-so-good ones will get overtaken.
Presence over process. Curiosity over Knowhow and “BIG E”.
Keep listening and I’ll keep posting! Give me a role and I’ll step up!

25/11/201904/01/2020

TT 1948 – Metatron’s Cube

There are too many things going on.
I’m stressed, RED with anger
And getting over-emotional
I can’t do everything!
I’ve got burn-out!
PLEASE HELP ME!

The future’s bright,
The future’s ORANGE
So they used to say!
Time to get a grip!
Recast my ambitions
And create a new future

How best to do that?
Listen to myself and others
For a while. Don’t rush!
GOLDEN friends who know me well
And care about me: they know the answers
It’s all going to be fine!

Step into the circle, the WHITE zone
Take a break.
Get some rest. Sleep in. Then –
Move around. Walk outside.
Eat more plants. Enjoy life!
Life’s for living, not for stressing!

It’s time to get creative!
Write out a list of all I want to do
Like the colour PURPLE,
What am I passionate about?
Which small projects can I get underway NOW
That will help me to achieve my dreams?

No point in feeling BLUE
More complex things require the help of others
Important things need to be negotiated
So things end up as WIN-WIN
Don’t rush it! There’s an underlying
A collective intention that needs uncovering.

And then all becomes lined-up.
All becomes clear!
Time for action!
GREEN light for go!
Action with clarity and purpose
No one can stop me now!

21/11/201905/01/2020

TT1947 – Learning to Learn Again

When faced with a challenge, some folks lark about
Thinking it’s funny. I used to do that sometimes.
But as I get older, I find that those that behave like this
Are oft lacking some training, skill or knowledge.
Perhaps even covering up some learning difficulty …
Because they have not applied themselves to MASTERY.

I was reminded by this last week by my flute teacher
His name is James and he has a first-class degree in Music.
He’s versatile enough to play in both a symphony orchestra
As well as in a jazz or blues band. Read music and improv –
After years of what he calls “shedding” it (which means
Long, tedious practice in the garden shed!)

James has helped me to re-learn the Art of Mastery.
I’m not sure if you ever took music lessons at school
My first piano teacher was very solemn and stunk of perfume
She didn’t like my casual attitude to learning.
I hardly ever practised one week to the next
And she became more and more frustrated by me!

She taught me FACE and “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit”
(As well as others I can’t remember for the Bass Clef).
These have been useful with the flute because
All the notes you play is in the Treble Clef.
Since then, I have not read music. I’ve just “larked around”
But if you want to play with others, you need to read music.

What does it take to become a Master in a given field?
Malcolm Gladwell said in his book Outliers that
It requires 10,000 hours of practice.
That’s catchy and easy to remember but completely false!
It’s not the number of hours that are important.
It’s about the quality of time spent practising & rehearsing.

James tells me there are two types of students.
Those who want to learn to read and play in an orchestra
And those who just want to play by ear.
I used to be the latter, but am now re-learning the fun
Of reading music for the first time.
It’s a slog, but getting easier as each week goes by.

James wasn’t born when I started to learn to play the piano
But I still remember my first teacher’s perfume. Yuk!
James is many years younger and wiser than me,
He has taught me how to learn (again)
And he has three words he uses to describe the Art:
DISCIPLINE, FOCUS and PRECISION.

Dedicated to James Penny – my awesome flute teacher who gives me lessons over Zoom every week (or so). Let him know I sent you!

14/11/201904/01/2020

TT1946 – Where to Find the Answer

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Have you ever noticed
When you have to decide between
Two different points of view,
Or two contrasting futures …
The best answer is almost never found
At one extreme, nor the other?

Have you ever seen leaders
Giving passionate speeches about a future
That requires short-term pain for long-term gain?
Dividing those who can stay (on uncertain terms)
Against those who will need to go to “save the ship”?
All in the name of some grand plan no one understands.

Have you ever wondered if there might be a better way?
We oft need reminding that you can’t follow fear.
Fear doesn’t know where it’s going.
It only knows where it’s not going.
Through the confusion of fear, uncertainty and doubt,
The spin-doctors weave a web of contradictory messages.

Why is thought-control through fear so common?
The “leaders” are even more fearful of losing their positions.
They oft say nothing, for fear of any negative reaction.
They become angry and throw tantrums like a 3-year old child.
They cannot see their way forwards through the confusion.
They become tired, despondent and ill.

Apparently it was Eleanor Roosevelt who once said:
“The past is history. The future is a mystery,
But today is a gift – which is why we call it ‘The Present’”
As we move into the time of the year where we think
About which gifts to exchange, have you ever thought
That giving love in the present moment is all that’s needed?

“Deal” or “No-Deal?”; “Blue or Red?”; “Haves” or “Have Nots”
Where can we find the best answers to all our struggles?
Settle into a place of stillness and quieten the mind.
Then focus on a higher purpose: centred in love, not fear;
One that both excites you and is of service to future generations.
You’ll find that the answer lies in the space between!

07/11/201904/01/2020

TT1945 – On the Magic of Flow

You know the feeling.
When you are flowing with effortless ease.
When everything is “firing on all six cylinders”
And working in harmony.
Plans and ideas move into place, with no friction
And all things work in the way they were designed to be.

Flow isn’t just a great feeling;
It’s also one of the main contributors to the success
Of any great project, team or company.
The dividends are great for those that design for flow.
They become faster, more efficient, more successful
And out-perform those around them that ignore her.

How can we work better with this mysterious thing called flow?
Flow starts to move in the channel of the listener.
She takes the easy route: the path of least resistance.
Like a stream or river heading down to the sea.
She flows around any obstacle, rock or pebble
To get down to the next pool and onwards to the sea.

Flow is fragile when she appears and is hard to retain.
She can vanish and nobody knows where she has gone.
The strange thing in a business is that no single person
Is responsible for creating or destroying her.
Nor does anyone really have the overall power or responsibility
To get her back when she is gone!

Without flow, everything slows.
Deadlines slip and budgets bloat.
People get irritable and start blaming one another.
Games are played that increase the blockages
Which makes flow vanish even faster.
She is as mysterious and transient as the Queen Bee!

Jazz players call it “being in the groove”. Each player feels the beat
Each one dancing with harmony, discord and periods of silence.
In the moment. There’s no score, just a few hidden rules to be broken.
Performing with no effort, she demands hours of practice.
Whilst listening for the beat, flow rewards those that study her.
Invisible and ephemeral, we love to play with her hidden mysteries.