LearningAsExperience

One of the interesting things about human intelligence is the role of experience.  John Dewey wrote about experiential learning extensively (in the early 1900's) and current research bears it out.

No doubt, we can learn a lot of stuff by reading. We also learn a lot by hearing and by watching.  And, with the internet, we are most blessed to have the collective knowledge of the world in our pockets and at our fingertips.

Yet, real and lasting learning comes from DOING, from experiencing.  Deep understanding of a concept or skill rarely occurs without interacting with that content in some experiential way.  It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about cooking, welding, mathematics, matrimony, or transcendental meditation.  If we really want to learn something deeply, then we must engage with it on an experiential level.  

In fact, the deepest and best learning (regardless of genre/discipline) is accomplished through engaging with the content on all levels - intellectually, physically, and emotionally.

What do you REALLY want to learn about today?  Experience it!

AssumedDeficiency

Leaders in the best businesses and organizations assume that not all systems and processes are peachy keen.  That’s why they adopt an attitude of and commitment to continuous improvement.  They understand clearly that, despite constant revision and polishing, 

inventories deplete unexpectedly, 

equipment fails, 

customer service needs improvement, 

supply chains bottleneck, 

performance metrics suffer,… 

The list of “things to work on” goes on forever. 

Even on our ranch, Moe (my lovely bride of 37 years) and I have a never-ending list of things to patch, repair, replace, re-locate, re-build, re-purpose.  We recently read a quote by an old rancher that struck a chord with us:  “If you can’t find something to fix, you’re not looking hard enough.”  

Exactly!

Thus, it matters not what kind of organization or endeavor we are involved in, attention to continuous improvement must be an assumed mindset.  It’s not about blaming someone for failures or malfunctions.  It’s not about finding fault.  It’s not about cursing conditions or circumstances. 

It’s about getting up everyday and heading to the office/pasture/classroom/field with the intention of getting better, every day, on purpose.

MessyWork

Leadership is not for sissies.  

While many look enviously at those in leadership positions, they rarely understand the kinds of issues that leaders are usually trying to resolve.  The list of challenges that require the best of leaders includes: 

> dealing with special interests (which always have an agenda), 

> discerning and mitigating the contaminants of team chemistry and productivity, 

> finding and wisely allocating precious resources, 

> predicting the future in relation to the organization, and 

> crafting adaptive measures in response to those futures.

Nope, none of those challenges come in the form of multiple choice tests.  And, all of them are fraught with political, organizational, and financial implications.

The best leaders I know are VERY aware that leadership is a collective process, not a singular undertaking.  

The best leaders I know interact often and meaningfully with folks in every division/wing/building in the organization, constantly probing for feedback, data, ideas for improvement.  They speak often and well of the organizational members who invest themselves with gusto in the work of the organization. 

And, they focus their eyes, 

                                             their ears, 

                                                             their words, 

                                                                                 their thoughts, 

                                                                                                          their hearts 

on the BIG mission drivers of the organization.

(And consequently, help others do the same). 

The late Stephen Covey phrased it beautifully: 

“The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the MAIN THING.”   

Amen!

RoadTripLessons

I spent three days last weekend on a road trip with my three younger brothers.

We traveled to a number of locales and venues in central Texas (including Fredericksburg, Hunt, and Luckenbach).

The itinerary was loose, the schedule was relaxed, the activities spontaneous.

The four of us (ages 47-56) are now officially (pretty) old guys, but we had a great time.  We reminisced, we laughed, we philosophized, we debated...  

All things considered, here's some powerful learning I took out of that reunion:

• We were blessed as children, not with riches or material possessions, but by loving parents who had high expectations for us and were NEVER afraid to say "no."
• Knowing how to do "stuff" is more important in life than being able to buy "stuff."
• You can't escape your genes (all bald, all with quirky senses of humor).
• "Character" takes many forms, has many definitions, and allows for many interpretations - yet, it is unmistakable in its manifestations.
• If for no other reason, I must keep my mind sharp simply to understand my brothers' jokes.
• Hard work does not necessarily make you wealthy, but it makes you happier.
• Helping/serving others can be executed from any station in life (and should be).

(Notice the traffic light, and heed the warning)

For you, my brothers: Brotherly Love (Keith Whitley and Earl Thomas Conley, 1996).   I'm thinking we shouldn't wait 30 years to go on another road trip...

Boldness

Like so many things in life, boldness is a two-edged sword that can either accelerate us toward the growth and performance we desire, or it can be the barrier that prevents the same.

When boldness operates in us as a good thing it tends to cause us to think/act in the following kinds of ways: 

optimistic, 

     tenacious, 

          confident, 

               forward-thinking, 

                    risk-willing, 

                         progress-oriented, 

                              energized, 

                                   persistent.

In its uglier form, boldness morphs into brashness.  Here are some ways that kind of boldness manifests itself in us: 

offensive,          bombastic,          reactive,          lacking thoughtfulness,          selfish,          brutish,          argumentative,           arrogant,          rude,          ill-mannered.

As always, at the end of the day, we get to choose for ourselves how we will think and how we will act. 

This is not a multiple-choice test or check box activity.  We have to WORK to make ourselves into what we want to be.  That's the bad news (but not really too bad).  The good news is none of the things in either list is genetic (like male-pattern baldness is).  

We really do get to choose...

CottonCandy

Over the years I’ve observed organizations that have had all kinds of folks in leadership roles. I suspect you have, too.

Some of those leaders remind me of cotton candy.  

Their persona is attractive and sweet, yet vacuous and inconsequential.  

Their words are lofty and their ideas are often noble.  Yet they repeatedly fail to manifest grit, dependability, steadfastness, trustworthiness.  

On the contrary, they often prove to be hollow, even bogus.  Time and again their actions fail to align with their words.  

In effect, a pretty and delicious temptation, hanging on nothing but thin air.

Leaders of substance for me, please.

Divergent

^{I recently read Divergent, a novel written by Veronica Roth (2011).}

The book was brought to my attention by both Moe (my lovely bride of 37 years) and my daughters.  

<sup>Heroine Beatrice (Tris) Prior navigates the transition from childhood to adulthood in this adolescent fiction.  The story is set in a post-apocalyptic American urban setting, in which the remnants of society have organized socially into like-minded, like-behaving clans (called factions).  As adolescents reach the age of 16 they are given an aptitude test to determine to which faction they are most dispositionally inclined.  However, at the sixteenth birthday they are allowed to choose the faction to which they desire to attach themselves for life.  

The story plots (of which there are several) are weaved into and around this societal segregation structure.  Typcial adolescent themes are explored: dealing with authority, struggling to find identity, the emergence of romantic feelings, and the search for meaning and one’s moral compass.</sup>  

I found it to be a good read (my first fiction in a while).  In fact, good enough to start the second book in the series.