Category: This is all a test

…though necessary for a stage play, tv show, or movie may be just as important internally for the organizations that are creating them.

And, might even be useful for companies looking to rethink or redesign their operations to keep up with the pace of change.

A well-told story, as defined here, is not so much a narrative from above, or the marketing brand of a company, but the conversations and stories happening throughout an organization.

Processes, work, and outcomes are usually related in some fashion to how people within an organization view the company; and that view comes from the conversations and stories people have about, for example, what is possible and what is not, what can change and what can’t, or who’s in and who’s out, etc.

Since a company is comprised of people, at least for the moment, it’s a platform, or a web so to speak, of conversations and stories. Good stories well told within an organization could therefore be where change can happen and spread.

So, a good story well told can be about an organization’s people and a company’s work as well as about what’s on the stage whether that stage is in a theatre, on a screen, or in the marketplace.

Paying attention to both might be a different way forward not usually considered.

And maybe, ‘good stories well told’ are useful for just about everything we do in life.

Written while listening to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

(Thanks to Raymond Chandler of Middle Kingdom Entertainment for the phrase, “Good stories well told.”

I watched as a landscaper finished off their work at the building next door which entailed using a leaf-blower to ‘clean’ the parking lot.

It took the landscaper about thirty minutes to go over the entire lot and though I’ve heard and seen this happen every week, did not really think about it until today, while having a cup of tea sitting in the sun on the balcony.

The landscaper was blowing the dust and dirt towards some end but as I continued to watch, I noticed that much of the dust and dirt just settled back where it had been blown from.

I later walked over to where it seemed the landscaper had aimed her efforts and a pile of dirt might have been left but found nothing of note so I wondered, why blow the dust around in the first place. Was it just for appearance’s sake or did she really believe that her efforts were actually necessary and doing something?

A wind storm that hit the next day certainly showed an extraordinary amount of dust and dirt being blown around in the parking lot that was blown clean just 24 hours before.

So, how much of our daily work is similar to that landscaper blowing clean a parking lot, moving stuff around and having it settle back where it began and leaving, “nothing of note” done.

What I did find, walking back through the parking lot was a thin layer of dust on the cars that were in the parking lot when it was being blown clean.

And, like above, how much of our daily ‘leaf blower’ work does little more than leave a layer of dust on the people and initiatives that are in the vicinity.

Written while listening to a Jethro Tull concert.

…How to properly use a can opener.

…

When I came across this a number of years ago I was surprised at the controversy that ensued when I would mention it. In many instances, there seemed to be only one-way people perceived the information, either it was a revelation or it was nuts with each side quickly providing the reasons why they held their opinion.

The level of debate was somewhat astounding regarding the verticle vs horizontal use of a can opener.

In like manner, a controversy raged years ago that sitting was the new smoking so everyone should work standing up. For quite some time pundits and scientists weighed in to stake their ground with the requisite data to prove their side.

Like the can opener, consensus came down to an ‘either/or’ division, some stating that working while sitting is bad for our health and the other side convinced that working while sitting is better for focus and our well-being.

Enter ‘and.’

Though it seems common sense would suggest that maybe working while standing some time ‘and’ sitting at other times would be logical, we have probably all realized at one time or another that common sense is not always so common.

How many things in our work and personal lives do we battle with an ‘either/or’ model when ‘and’ might be a more effective way forward.

Or maybe remaining in an ‘either/or’ confrontation mode helps us hide a bit longer instead of actually getting on with things.

Written while listening to Rory Gallagher

Here’s a link to last week’s post which spawned this week’s topic but did not connect with some of my social platforms