OK… This video clip is a little long… sorry… but… They really are extemporaneous. Except for the quote... that was planned.
I think the thing that surprises me in this video is how the issue of asking for help and coming across as demanding plays into the issue of motivation as an issue of taking responsibility.
I do think about these things ahead of time, but they're not scripted. As I watch them, I'm often surprised at the things that come out and the things that I thought I would say and didn't.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
(57th Entry) Crap in, Crap out… Good Luck, Bad Luck!
Things happen in life. We’ve experienced many unexpected problems… potential problems, interruptions, etc. in our attempt to do the things we’re trying to accomplish. We used to have a saying in corporate life… crap in crap out… if you have bad input you get bad output. You make decisions based on the information that you’re given. When you’re given bad information you make bad decisions. It’s that simple.
We’re in the middle of building a new factory. I was given some very bad information and I made some very important decisions based in this information in regards to building the factory or moving to a new location. There’s no reason to go into all of the details. Needless to say it’s frustrating!
It’s always easy to blame everyone else when things happen to us in life. In this case I could and sometimes do, but this is business. Business is business. I should have had several quotes before making any decision, but I didn’t. I trusted one person. I made a bad decision. I have to live with the consequences.
Building a building is much like dealing with a disability. You get the best advice, consultation and then you have to make your own decisions. You then live with those decisions… the consequences.
Almost twenty years ago some very good friends of mine called to ask me questions about a decision that they were about to make regarding their daughter. They were making a decision to have an operation that could have life long consequences. There were no clear cut answers and the results were not completely known. It seemed… this is the clue… What seemed logical, intuitively correct… is! Sometimes this is what you have to go on,, all you have to go on.
We make decisions in life based on the information that we have. Sometimes we have to make decisions for others. In those cases we and they must live with the consequences. Twenty years later everyone looks back at that operation and concludes it was a great decision. But what if it wasn’t? Everything has consequences… positive or negative.
I’ve had to make decisions that I’ve had to live with that those close to me didn’t necessarily agree with or even really understand why I was making them. Sometimes we make decisions and things happen that we didn’t imagine would happen. Sometimes there are good unexpected results.
I haven’t found the good unexpected results in the factory debacle yet… but I’m looking.
We’re in the middle of building a new factory. I was given some very bad information and I made some very important decisions based in this information in regards to building the factory or moving to a new location. There’s no reason to go into all of the details. Needless to say it’s frustrating!
It’s always easy to blame everyone else when things happen to us in life. In this case I could and sometimes do, but this is business. Business is business. I should have had several quotes before making any decision, but I didn’t. I trusted one person. I made a bad decision. I have to live with the consequences.
Building a building is much like dealing with a disability. You get the best advice, consultation and then you have to make your own decisions. You then live with those decisions… the consequences.
Almost twenty years ago some very good friends of mine called to ask me questions about a decision that they were about to make regarding their daughter. They were making a decision to have an operation that could have life long consequences. There were no clear cut answers and the results were not completely known. It seemed… this is the clue… What seemed logical, intuitively correct… is! Sometimes this is what you have to go on,, all you have to go on.
We make decisions in life based on the information that we have. Sometimes we have to make decisions for others. In those cases we and they must live with the consequences. Twenty years later everyone looks back at that operation and concludes it was a great decision. But what if it wasn’t? Everything has consequences… positive or negative.
I’ve had to make decisions that I’ve had to live with that those close to me didn’t necessarily agree with or even really understand why I was making them. Sometimes we make decisions and things happen that we didn’t imagine would happen. Sometimes there are good unexpected results.
I haven’t found the good unexpected results in the factory debacle yet… but I’m looking.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
(56th Entry) Time flies…
March and April were sparse months for entries into my blog. It was the beginning of March when things became difficult with the grabado factory (glass carving). Our maestro decided to leave on a whim. We wondered what we would do to survive.
Well time has passed and we’ve managed to keep on going. Things seem to work out…
In our grabado factory we have four workers. Two of whom are disabled. Things have settled down since I last wrote about this and we’re producing glass. We also have a new maestro teaching several times a week who really seems to be a positive influence on the employees. (Entries 45 to 49 talk about the maestro from Hell who left)
We’re also in the process of building a candle factory as well. And of course this is a whole other source of issues and repercussions… to be discussed later.
Where am I in terms of “My Dream”, my goals and my Mission Statement? And of course Reality!
Hiring disabled individuals… We’ve found 3 to 5 individuals in wheel chairs that Mary (my office manager) and I are going to interview next week. I’m really excited about this. Of course this brings new issues that will have to be resolved. We’re going to have to make new grabado equipment that will accommodate wheel chairs. We need more machines anyway. We currently have six stations and are looking to add 4 to 6 people.
The real problem is transportation… and then some issues with accessibility of our buildings. So far I’ve found only one van in town that has a lift. This belongs to one of the local government agencies. We’re working with several government organizations that have an interest in helping us. They’re visiting next week and hopefully will help us address this issue. If not, I’ve thought of several other possibilities.
Last week our four grabado individuals produced 425 pieces of carved glass. The week that the maestro from Hell left we produced 300 pieces. Now the maestro was full time and was producing glass as well during the week. Our new maestro comes only to teach, not to produce and is there approximately 8 hours a week.
It’s funny about having dreams, goals! When they’re laudable people tend to be enthusiastic, say how wonderful it is, etc. You enter into new endeavors full of energy, thinking that you can accomplish them.
Life is full of surprises… first, when you have a dream you’re really on your own no matter what. This should be obvious, because it’s your dream. However… It’s so easy to think and feel that others will jump on board, because of the comments that you hear. And because it’s your dream! Why wouldn’t everyone want to jump on board? It’s a good cause.
Second… people do jump on board… just sometimes not the people you ever really imagined or in ways that you would have thought. But it’s still your dream!
One of the things I mention in my Mission Statement is that I want to work in the area of motivation… so I’ve been thinking a lot about this subject lately.
One of the bottom lines about motivation is that it’s about responsibility. This is my dream… I am responsible. An inevitable result of motivation is responsibility. Once you start, and especially if you involve others and other’s lives, you’re responsible for finishing.
When I started all of this I had no idea how it would unfold. In the middle of this I have no idea where it will lead. The amazing thing is that with every hurdle that we’ve encountered we’ve survived.
Well time has passed and we’ve managed to keep on going. Things seem to work out…
In our grabado factory we have four workers. Two of whom are disabled. Things have settled down since I last wrote about this and we’re producing glass. We also have a new maestro teaching several times a week who really seems to be a positive influence on the employees. (Entries 45 to 49 talk about the maestro from Hell who left)
We’re also in the process of building a candle factory as well. And of course this is a whole other source of issues and repercussions… to be discussed later.
Where am I in terms of “My Dream”, my goals and my Mission Statement? And of course Reality!
Hiring disabled individuals… We’ve found 3 to 5 individuals in wheel chairs that Mary (my office manager) and I are going to interview next week. I’m really excited about this. Of course this brings new issues that will have to be resolved. We’re going to have to make new grabado equipment that will accommodate wheel chairs. We need more machines anyway. We currently have six stations and are looking to add 4 to 6 people.
The real problem is transportation… and then some issues with accessibility of our buildings. So far I’ve found only one van in town that has a lift. This belongs to one of the local government agencies. We’re working with several government organizations that have an interest in helping us. They’re visiting next week and hopefully will help us address this issue. If not, I’ve thought of several other possibilities.
Last week our four grabado individuals produced 425 pieces of carved glass. The week that the maestro from Hell left we produced 300 pieces. Now the maestro was full time and was producing glass as well during the week. Our new maestro comes only to teach, not to produce and is there approximately 8 hours a week.
It’s funny about having dreams, goals! When they’re laudable people tend to be enthusiastic, say how wonderful it is, etc. You enter into new endeavors full of energy, thinking that you can accomplish them.
Life is full of surprises… first, when you have a dream you’re really on your own no matter what. This should be obvious, because it’s your dream. However… It’s so easy to think and feel that others will jump on board, because of the comments that you hear. And because it’s your dream! Why wouldn’t everyone want to jump on board? It’s a good cause.
Second… people do jump on board… just sometimes not the people you ever really imagined or in ways that you would have thought. But it’s still your dream!
One of the things I mention in my Mission Statement is that I want to work in the area of motivation… so I’ve been thinking a lot about this subject lately.
One of the bottom lines about motivation is that it’s about responsibility. This is my dream… I am responsible. An inevitable result of motivation is responsibility. Once you start, and especially if you involve others and other’s lives, you’re responsible for finishing.
When I started all of this I had no idea how it would unfold. In the middle of this I have no idea where it will lead. The amazing thing is that with every hurdle that we’ve encountered we’ve survived.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
