Author: William Kerr

…might be a good time to take a closer look at how one has things set up when they’re not running smoothly.

When things are running smoothly, we take it all in stride, often taking responsibility for things running smoothly.

When things aren’t running smoothly, we declare that there are problems or obstacles in the way of things running smoothly and find difficulty in taking it all in stride.

This seems to be two sides of a single coin except we have accepted things running smoothly and taken responsibility for them, while rejecting things not running smoothly, the other side of our work/life coin, and not taking responsibility for them.

Making room and providing space for things not running smoothly, and taking responsibility for them, gives us a way to always take life in stride, no matter what side of our work/life coin shows up because we’re never going to get rid of things possibly not running smoothly.

PS: This blog post was thought of and written by me, no AI here, and is a mosaic of my experience, reading, and forward learning.

…seems to be on the mind of the Websphere as of late. DEI, at the moment, is the predominant platform on which the concept of diversity has surfaced and is discussed. This is often referred to and centred around what is called visible or demographic diversity.

A team consisting of this commonly considered diversity, while important on numerous levels, may not be the total scorecard though from an innovative solution standpoint.

A visibly/demographically diverse group of people coming from the same or similar backgrounds, educations, and work experiences could lead to what Shane Parrish termed ‘The Stormtrooper Problem,’ where everyone working on a problem thinks about it in the same way, and therefore may not rise to an innovative solution level.

The visible/demographically diverse group of people, all from an Ivy League Executive MBA program and growing up in a Western society, may have a greater challenge finding innovative and alternative solutions as compared to a similarly diverse group made up of engineers, physicists, artists, and lawyers from different countries and societies across the globe.

Adding team members from, not just adjacent, but totally different societies, disciplines, work, life, and education experiences can add a measure of depth and creative problem-solving to the already understood value of a visible and demographically diverse group.

PS: This blog post was thought of and written by me, no AI here, and is a mosaic of my experience, reading, and forward learning.

…and expecting different results is a quote many of us may have heard over the years. It’s usually attributed to Albert Einstein as a definition of insanity, but the real author of the phrase is apparently Rita Mae Brown from her 1983 book, ‘Sudden Death.’

On a similar trajectory but in a different context, Twyla Tharp once stated, “If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won’t fail. You’ll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that’s failure by erosion.”

Though Twyla Tharp was speaking from a dance and creative perspective, there is personal and work-related relevance we can glean from both her and Rita Mae Brown’s quotes.

The work mantra for the last number of years has been to focus on strengths with a seeming implication to ignore or minimize a focus on weaknesses. Though probably a great idea for productivity or just getting through the day, it doesn’t seem to be a great strategy for personal or professional growth. 

Abandoning everything one does, or knows how to do, for the sake of growth would also be an unuseful strategy in the opposite direction. 

A useful way forward might be to find a little time and locate a weakness or two one could work on, take back a small part of one’s job that is usually given over to someone else, or put oneself in situations or take on a project where a stretch is needed. 

If we keep delegating or handing off work we think we’re not good at, we’ll probably never grow beyond where we already are. 

And in a world that is changing and evolving ever more quickly, this may be the quintessential mindset of personal and professional insanity, doing the same thing and expecting different results.

One of the best things I’ve encountered this week is Nassim Taleb’s 2016 Keynote address on ‘What it takes to be antifragile.’

PS: This blog post was thought of and written by me, no AI here, and is a mosaic of my experience, reading, and forward learning.