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Jean, My New Role Model

This is not Jean.

I met her at last week’s Weight Watchers meeting. It was just the two of us who stayed after class for the introduction to the program. She talked casually about losing her “middle,” which she grabbed in her hand to show me. “About 50 pounds,” she said. I smiled. I have something similar going on.

Just as we were comparing mid-sections, a woman came into the room and exclaimed, “There you are!”

Looking at me, she said, “Guess how old she is.”

I shrugged. “80?”

“No! Tell her, Jean.”

Jean looked at me and said, “Well, I was born in 1915. I guess that makes me 95-years old.” She smiled with satisfaction. Honestly, she looked like 80.

The instructor began to talk about the program … while I still hung on the 95 years. As she went through the program booklet, she reminded Jean that she’d see it all when she got home. I hadn’t understood what that meant until I realized that there was a white cane parked under Jean’s chair. She had a “reader” at home to help her see.

She was wearing jeans and bowling shoes.

As we got up to leave, she talked about the bus schedule and which one to take in order to get to the meeting on time next week.

OK. That’s enough. Ninety-five years old; looks like 80. Outgoing and interesting. Working on getting her figure back. Legally blind. Gets around on town on city buses. Wears blue jeans.

Thanks, Jean. I had been feeling a bit over the hill. But I have a long way to go to catch up to you.

Funk Interrupted

In retrospect, I was feeling grumpy. As I drove along Knoxdale Road to work, I was reviewing the long list of broken, undone, and mismatched things in my life. In short, I was not being appreciatively inquisitive about the day that was unfolding before me. I was defying the laws of attraction.

I stopped at the red light and waited … and waited some more. Getting impatient, I inched forward to the cross walk. The vehicle beside me inched forward too. Strange. I looked over to see a middle-aged man in a red van with a young girl in the passenger seat. Nothing unusual for 8:25 am. They weren’t looking at me. It hadn’t been an invitation to a drag race.

The light turned green. We both turned in the double lanes onto Woodroffe Avenue, and I resumed my funk. Another red light. I stopped and waited. The horn of the vehicle beside me tooted, and I looked over. It was the van, the man, and the girl … again. He motioned expectantly toward me as the passenger side window of his van went down. He must need directions. I opened my window, as I shifted my thinking to the logical fact-finding problem-solving mode.

“I love your haircut,” he said loudly, leaning over the girl in the seat beside him. “Where do you have it done?”

Click, click, click, went my brain. Huh?

Quick, succinct responses have never been my forte, but I managed to say, “Bayshore. Kenny!”

With a smile and a nod, he saluted, closed the window, and drove off through the green light.

Was he a hair stylist? Was he asking for his wife? I’ll never know.

Dog Breeds, CEOs, pi, and Tony Robbins

Someone once told me that when you experience synchronicity (events that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality), it means that “the magician” is near. I am not sure what that actually means, but there are lots of rabbits being pulled out of the hat these days for me …

1. As I prepare to have my mother come to live with us, I am in complete decluttering-sorting-redecorating-mode this summer. I have been eyeing the 12″ of shelf space in my office, that is occupied by Tony Robbins’ Personal Power II cassette tapes, and thinking about putting that space to better use. I haven’t listened to those tapes in years! On the ODNET listserv yesterday, someone asks what others think about Tony Robbins. Huh?

2. In less than 14 hours, two people have spoken (one, to me; the other, in a radio interview) about the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle (a.k.a. pi). One was determining the amount of maple syrup she might get from the maple tree in her yard. The other was trying to determine how much space the tree in her yard would take up once they cut it down. When was the last time you used pi? Or talked about it? Me? Probably not since high school.

3. Again on the ODNET listserv, someone shares an article on “What Breed is your CEO?” (sorry I don’t have the link for that one). Meanwhile, elsewhere in cyberspace, members of a LinkedIn group are talking about the veterinarian who describes online MBTI results using breeds of dogs – http://myevt.com/mbti/assessment.

Go figure.

Twitter – Keeping it Simple

Despite the fact that Twitter boasts about 100 million users since its creation in 2006, I find that many of my colleagues and friends are quite hesitant or reluctant to join in the fun. I admit that I still have some Twitter block myself, but I have had some really interesting connections in the time that I have been using it.

Here are a few of “my simple rules” for tweeting:

1. Post only worthwhile content!!! You are the judge of what is worthwhile and interesting, but really … how many people are going to want to hear that you are watching another CSI rerun or browsing for lightbulbs in WalMart?Actually, tweeting things that I find interesting, has saved my neck many times! “Now where did I file that article? Oh, right, I tweeted it! There’s the link!”
2. I only follow people who put their real names on their profile. When there is no name, just a company name or twitter handle, I find the content is often promotional or spammy in some way. The same holds true for a picture of the person. How can you make a meaningful connection with a corporate profile?!
3. But there are exceptions to #2. Sometimes companies have several people tweeting on one account. But check out their content before following them.
4. When someone follows me, I always go to their profile and read their basic information and their most recent tweets … for two reasons. The first reason, is that sometimes the content is completely inappropriate, and I block those people immediately.The second reason, is that I like to send a message to them. Never promotional! Something like: “Greetings from Ottawa. Thanks for the follow.” Just a simple, personal touch. What a thrill to say hi to someone in Belgium or Australia! It often opens up interesting conversations.
5. When I read a yummy tweet, I retweet it!! This is considered a compliment in Twitter World; it’s oh, so simple to do; it’s a way of keeping track of news, ideas, quotable quotes, and such; and it’s a way of keeping your own tweets up-to-date and content-rich. Definitely a win-win-win!
6. Put an interesting background on your profile, rather than using a generic one. Remember: you only get one chance to make a first impression! Go to your settings to get creative.

That’s it for my basics! Follow me at http://twitter.com/JanYuill

When a tree falls in the forest …

… does anyone hear? I still don’t have an answer to that one, but today I believe that it is possible for a single hummingbird to be noticed around the world. Read John Fox’s first blog posting at – http://foxmancommunications.blogspot.com/ I think you will see what I mean.

Networking Idea – Trade a Favourite Book!

For some reason Seth Godin’s blog posting of April 25, 2010 – Empty your Library – has been playing on my mind. In this posting he suggests finding someone you care about, giving them your favourite book, and insisting that they read it. “Do it with all the books that have changed you, regardless of author or age. They’re not earning interest unless people are reading them. Ideas that spread, win,” he says.

At our local OD Network’s Annual General Meeting this past week we brainstormed on events for the coming year, and this morning it hit me …

Why not have everyone bring a favourite book, of personal or professional interest, and trade it with someone at a networking event? Make it a mixer exercise to introduce people and warm things up. Or make it the main event, and have each person introduce themselves, their book, and why they enjoyed it so much. Then barter for it, bid on it, or receive it as a gift. Or turn it into a riotous party game, where each person, in turn, receives a book as a gift … but alternatively could snatch one they liked better from someone else.

Good News. Happiness. Awesomeness. Thanks.

When times get tough, the tough get going. It seems I keep finding “feel good” blogs, articles, and websites that are making me smile. Just gotta share …

1. I recently signed up for Gimundo: Good News … Served Daily and have found that, indeed, it is some good news every day. Everything from the latest new sport, Walking on Water, to the beatboxing dog, to …

2. Estonia’s Bank of Happiness: Trading Good Deeds described in an article at Times Online. It’s not really a new idea (a bartering of sorts), and I couldn’t actually read from their website (I don’t speak Uralic)… but there it is for you to see. Is this “people changing their culture” or the manifestation of the existing Estonian culture? Either way, Bravo!

3. On April 28, 2010, I listened to a CBC radio interview with Torontonian, Neil Pasricha, about his blog – 1,000 Awesome Things – which won the Webby “People’s Choice Award in the Blog/Cultural category.” He describes it as “a time-ticking countdown of 1000 awesome things.” Neil manages to remind us of all the awesome things in our lives, every thing from the cold side of the pillow, to hanging out with your mom, to putting on underwear fresh out of the dryer,  to picking up “q” and “u” at the same time in Scrabble, and on and on! Check out his Tops List.

4. I came across – ThxThxThx: A Thank You Note a Day – through a blog posting by Seth Godin. ThxThxThx is Leah Dieterich’s blog. Her mother told her to write thank you notes. So she does. A daily post-it-sized thank you note. My favourite is “Dear Meeting, Thank you so so so much for being over. You’re beautiful when you are over. Don’t change a thing. Best, Leah.”

These tough times are changing us.

This article was first posted on Technorati: http://technorati.com/blogging/article/good-news-round-up-from-the/#ixzz0nXshBubo

Business Depends on Simple Repetitive Tasks

The Desert by Agnes Martin

What would you pay for the 72 x 72 in. acrylic and graphite painting by Canadian artist, Agnes Martin, shown in the image on the left? Not much? Think again. It is expected to sell for between $4-6 million at a Sotheby’s auction this month. You can place your bid here.

The painting is a faint depiction of a desert painted in 1965, and is an “extremely subtle grid of light grey pencil lines set against a soft beige background.” Yup. That’s what I see too. Not much.

When I first read the article I thought it was a joke. I laughed. And then I read more closely and realized it was no joke. And then I read more closely still, and remembered seeing the many colored brush strokes of the woman’s dress in Renoir’s Dance at Bougival up close and personal when it was at my local gallery. It was amazing. Mesmerizing. Each color, each brush stroke, took incredible thought and care and precision. It was still just paint on a brush applied to a canvas … but it was done by a master.

What does this have to do with business? Well, whenever simple, repetitive work is done to perfection … it is nothing but remarkable. According to Michael Gerber (The E-Myth Revisited) it becomes an art form. Think of the person changing the sheets in a hotel room, flipping a burger, driving a bus, cleaning your teeth, or tailoring a suit. Repetitive, yes. Simple? Maybe the action is simple, but the attitude, skill, and dedication applied to quality, consistency, and accuracy is not so simple.

But every business requires simple repetitive tasks to be done consistently, routinely, accurately, and with a smile. Customers demand it. Profits depend on it.

How do you see those simple, repetitive tasks in your business? How do you see the people who are responsible for doing those tasks? You can be sure that their day-after-day commitment and expertise is no small accomplishment. Without them your business would be in big trouble.

This article first appeared at http://technorati.com/business/article/your-business-depends-on-simple-repetitive/#ixzz0n5bdifO3

Partners and Sponsors

Isn’t it wonderful when we work together? We have an Organizations Alive! WORKOUT planned for March 12 with The Centretown Emergency Food Centre in Ottawa. Ten professionals will devote their time and expertise to work with representatives of the centre on their current challenges and opportunities.  More information about it is at – www.yuill-associates.com/ce_registration.htm.

And now AMICA at Westboro Park (a resort-style retirement community) has joined forces with us and offered to sponsor the WORKOUT! This means that the money for the meeting expenses will be donated to the centre. Now that’s a win-win-win. Thank you, AMICA at Westboro Park!