Work life continues...

Small Business...
It's sold.  That's a lot of hours recovered per week.

Job/Employment...
I'm back in the work force negotiating a new deal.  All that remains is 'What are you going to do' and 'How much do I charge?' 

Daily Life...
Three years ago I purchased an Amazon Echo. It's been in use daily for music, news and ordering stuff. My recently purchased an Echo Dot which was going to wake me up instead of my cell phone waking me up. Remember alarm clocks?
The Echo stopped working, The 24 volt $18 power supply failed. Shortly thereafter the Echo Dot quit working and I spent about three hours attempting to reconfigure it, updating the iPhone Alexa app, resetting routers, wireless access points, etc. With each attempt the Echo Dot provided a new and elusive error message. Google, with the competing Google Home device, would appear to intentionally give not good returns to 'Echo Error Message' searches.

A final hour was spent attempting to start at ground zero and do a reset of the Echo Dot. Of course I kept reading the '1st Gen' instructions for my '2nd Gen' Echo Dot.
Winding the Big Ben alarm clock would have been a more prudent use of time. At a point in life you need to seriously consider how many three hour blocks of time you have left. Spend two minutes winding and the rest of the time with friends and family, talking, sharing, laughing and enjoying a little rock and roll.

No exuse...

When Standard Process Goes Awry...

Philandro Castile was stopped by a police officer.  He announced to the policement that he had a carry permit. Individuals with carry permits are not required to make that announcement.  Police officers do not have online access to that information.

Asked for his license and insurance information Mr. Castile reached for them.  The officer claims to have seen a gun.  If someone says they have a carry permit it's likely you've going to see a gun.  Mr. Castile's handgun was buried deep in his right pocket.  It's unlikely that the police officer saw anything except Mr. Castile's wallet.

The officer panicked and fired seven rounds into Mr. Castile who then died.

I was  within a block of that shooting at the same time.

If I had a carry permit would I have announced it?  No.  Mr. Castile was a black man.  I am white.  Would I have been stopped for the same reason?  No.  Would the police officer have shot me seven times?  No.

Mr. Castile worked in the school cafeteria and knew the names of all the children including members of my family.  He was a decent guy who went to work each day.  

The police officer lost it.  He did not do a felony stop.  He did a traffic stop.  He failed at standard procedure and now a good guy is dead.

This is my neighborhood.    

Gizmo Vortex

Officially my office, the space with the 1960s green desk, piles of paperwork done and undone, three or four computers, extra drives and cables and connectors for gizmos past and present, may be the location that I do my best creative work.  The quality can only be attributed to the office chair from my former gig that complemented my bottom from 1987 to 2001 at which point I simply rolled it into the elevator, through the Skyway and home.  The topic of previous blog post, the chair has served for thirty good years.  The office contains an iPad rarely used, an Amazon Echo and a small SONOS unit used daily for music.  There are three desktops and a couple of notebooks and three printers.  My good stuff comes from a single thread of technology through that mess.

The Samsung Chromebook upon which I'm writing goes everywhere.  When I want to look serious I carry a briefcase that also contains a high-end Lenovo notebook which usually has a depleted battery.

The night before last I had a weird dream in which a guy named George sold me an airplane for $13,999 which I proceeded to hide in my uncle's basement.  Currently I am working with a guy named George, airplanes are of a casual interest and my uncles was special but has been gone thirty years.   Before going to sleep I'd looked at YouTube content on warbirds.  Perhaps that triggered the airplane purchase.

But really I think my weird dreams of late have occurred because I don't have a job (not even a dumb job) and my brain has been invaded by technological gizmos.  When I headed off to sleep the eve of the airplane dream I brought my Chromebook (in case I woke up in the middle of the night and needed watch something with a video need (nothing planned), my iPhone (alarm, weather check, Instagram, Google Tasks, Google Keep), another Lenovo notebook (I keep forgetting it's there), an Amazon Echo Dot with Bluetooth speaker, my original Amazon Kindle (just restored the battery), an early Amazon Fire (previously used for video) and my new Amazon Paperwhite Kindle.  This is too much.  In the old days you read a book and then fell asleep.

• The danger, as tablets, smartphones, ever more powerful (and complex) PCs and cloud options continue to develop is falling into the 'gizmo' trap.  
• Track how much time you spend on you own personal technology support such as upgrades of software, new phones, data plans, internet resources.
• Drive a stake into the ground
• Define your business and personal goals...what's important
• What are the measurable business and personal outcomes for your goals that you hope to achieve.
• Have a business and personal mentor...not another Gizmo person...find a balance.

I'm going to cut down on the the extra stuff.  Three Kindles are crazy.  More than a couple PCs is crazy.  Standardize onsite and cloud storage tools (currently I use Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and far too many onsite storage devices.    

Following Teaches Leading

*Note:  At times I leave my editing strikeouts in place, for no reason (Actually there is.  I'm attempting to write more directly, leaving out the extra verbiage.) 

Staying within the lines...

Convention is practical., often the result of 'on the job' learning or directed process improvement initiatives where bureaucracy (corporate or government) has stifled change.  

Intuition and impulsive moves can lead to innovation.  Some people would have told me to move my vehicle;  I am dropping all people who tell me to stay within the lines. 

Learning to lead...

Ft. Lewis during the Viet Nam era was a training ground for 2nd Lieutenants just out of OCS (Officer Candidate School).  For good reason they were referred to as 'shake and bakes' and little question existed as to which would be successful.

Most had spent little time in the military.  They were trying to lead without mastering 'following.'  OCS provided an opportunity to delay the trans-Pacific trip to the Republic of Viet Nam.   

Wall Street Journal..."When Second is Best"

My previous posts have addressed the importance of being a good follower:

• ...listen more than you talk
• ...master your discipline...be good in others
• ...network with peers outside your organization...you'll find that what you find unique or peculiar about yours probably is not 
• ...always be employable elsewhere
• ...speak positively
• ...be extremely cautious  offering criticism of staff you don't supervise

Recognize that even as a leader you are a follower of someone; you're probably a #2 when you think you are a #1.

The April 19, 2017 issue of the Wall Street Journal contained a great article, "When Second Is Best" under the "Work and Family" category.  

The WSJ is well-written.  Sitting at work and reading the WSJ is a somewhat accepted activity to avoid work if you are an executive or aspiring corporate man/woman.  During my C-career I was usually a bit too busy which was a mistake.  It's important to invest in yourself first.

In the process improvement work a good focus is 'CEO.'  Focus, in order on the Customer then the Employee and finally on the Owners.  My advice to employees was to remember that but also to focus on themselves each and every day...learn something new...one more thing before going home (this would be a great place for an 'easy to remember' acronym if I had one).  

These were the WSJ's points for being a good '2nd.':

 

Excuses for not blogging...

• ...needed to do a year's worth of small business accounting in a month
• ...unlike POTUS, had to do personal & business taxes
• ...going to sleep with no job to wake up to has caused me to have an infinite number of 'projects,' all of which I could ignore when employed
• ...the break convinced me that I had nothing to say...the standard writer's block.  Today certainly does not mean that I have anything to say but it did open the faucet again
• ...our community put in new water treatment facility with the purpose of removing iron and manganese; we overdosed on black particulates; probably manganese (causes nervous disorders)

Lack of Focus...

This blog post certainly has a lack of focus.  I'm ending it with a link that caused me to smile which has not happened much lately.  On Facebook I commented that I would 'unfriend' anyone who did not enjoy this video.  

Countdown Clock...No Overtime

Not having a job is time-consuming.  Writing about not having a job takes time...sort of like a job, which I don't have.

The goal was to create a log of events leading to the next job, re-education, re-branding, etc.  Once you reach the age of "you're almost done" you fight it.  "I AM NOT DONE!!!"  The reality is that you're now working on a countdown clock. There are no overtimes (Bill Murray's line is something like "This is not a rehearsal.").

Being remiss in writing has several reasons:

1.   The small business remains small but takes a great deal of time.  There's not really any money in it but I spend time explaining "it's not about the money."  People don't get that but they don't want us to stop.  We are a community thing.  On Facebook one of my acquaintances is a guy from Western Minnesota, a farmer and writer who thought the small town cafe should be open, be a community resource for people to meet and to use the commercial kitchen to add value to their small crops,  and become an incubator of sorts.  He applied for a Bush Foundation grant to do some upgrades.  Following his efforts has been comforting, a bit of a parallel path to our small business.  He committed to four years which has now expired with a new owner taking over.  We've done this for six years.  I've been there the last three.  We'd like to transition from day-to-day operations to pursue some ideas.  There's a book or two of experiences, practical and human interest.  I'm working on a draft, sort of a Studs Terkel "Working" format.
2. The election campaign was exhausting.  The Presidency has been
   
   exhausting.  The Russians have been following my numerous posts.  Many Facebook friends have dumped me.  I hear voices all the time.  Some are worried that their microwaves are spying on them.  That is something I've always known, ever since the first Little Litton entered our kitchen.  My original one is in the barn, still listening, sending encrypted messages to the KGB.
3. "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg inspired me years ago to start writing.  I remember carrying a copy in my briefcase to my 'real job' and reading it during breaks.  Her premise is to just write.  Every book on writing that I've read since includes the same theme.  The demons in our lives, jobs, relationships, distractions, the internet, music, obligations and hunger cause us to stop writing.  The re-start process is complex, like cold-starting a barn-find car left sitting for forty years.  There's hope.
4. My daughter owns a new dog.  I've had "let the dog out duty" a few days.  It's not really taken any significant time but I wanted to work the dog into this post.  Dogs know stuff.  It's been good having conversations with him.
5. Year-end small business accounting and business and personal taxes.
6. I've been putting locks (literally & figuratively) on doors that have been unsecured for decades.

So getting people to read you blog is interesting.  My break was broken because another blogger mentioned the tediousness of blogging and the fact that it might be out of vogue and mentioned several people who seemed to have disappeared.  Not writing has hence motivated me to write. 

Apparently I either have to write more or get a job.

My Son Was Right But I Won $40...Motivation

Two years ago I bet my son $40 on the outcome of the Presidential election.  He looks at a great deal of data and understands the political history and process in great depth.  My position came from a gut feel.  It would be good if I could attribute my betting success to some specialized life experience from having been around the block a few more times, but I cannot.

When I started  this blog I was committed to writing every day about this odd status of not really having a job or certainly not having a 'real' job.  He remarked "you'll never do that."  His perspective on that topic also likely came from a 'gut feel.'  For a period of time I wrote daily to prove him wrong.  I lost.  Somewhere in my head I was also following some obscure guidance from other writers that encouraged simply sitting down and writing every day.  It's now clear that those writers, and those who write books about writing, write about writing every day when they are stonewalled by a blank screen.  It's sort of a 'go to' topic.  The issue is that you need 'seat time.'  Looking for motivation while not in the seat is usually a waste.  The screen is the motivation.

Writing seems to be the thing to do at this point.  Of course I've ground through quite a few texts and online seminars and so for looking for key motivations to get me down that path.  A while ago I read about a writing seminar on an island in Lake Superior with 'real authors' with 'successful formulas' for getting your work, your blogs into the mainstream.  That was interesting and the lazy part of me said "yes, wait until next summer when the ice is out, go to this seminar and pick up some good motivation and ideas and then you can start this part of your working world..."  Distraction.  Delay tactic, logical at that.  Chuck Close, noted portrait painter, offers the following real advice.  "Inspiration is for amateurs--the rest of us just show up and get to work." In hindsight that was the key to my former executive work.  I just went there, plugged away with the tools and resources at hand and did good work.  I need to simply leverage that path elsewhere.

The small business has taken most of my time that I would have dedicated to a 'real job.'  Real jobs pay real money, you sit in strategic planning sessions, construct budgets, hire and fire 'talent,' mentor, build relationships and other sorts of tasks.  Now at 66+ I find that people who want to manage money ask me what I want my 'legacy' to be.  I think that means what happens to any residual money after I'm dead.  If I contrast that with what 'real' jobs have to offer I don't find either particularly appealing.

AARP, which puts out nice magazines, always have articles and commentary about second careers, "doing what you're always wanted to do" and other consoling sorts of themes that attempt to make one feel all that much better about being unemployed.  The writing is well done but I'm resistant to feeling better about not having a real job.  This effort, this creative one, with a different set of tools (words, blank screens, intuitive and deductive melding and conflict, etc.) is likely the path.

During a late night browsing of either Amazon Prime or Netflix I came upon a series about creative design.  The first episode was about a German graphic designer, the evolution of his work, where and how he worked and the pressure of deadlines thrown into a more or less life of doodling.    The second episode showcased Tinker Hatfield, whose quote "If people don't love or hate your work you've not done all that much" I'd come across before I knew who he was.  He's designed every Nike Air, a small town guy, architecturally trained who's changed the world of shoes...and design.  It's a nice legacy.  

I'd like to leave a bit more that people love or hate.

Check your tie (or whatever), Read, Network

Every day starts with a checklist. 

• Am I wearing the right clothes for the tasks of the day
• Do I know what I'm doing (if not, read, do a search)
• What are the outcomes (get paid, be stronger, build a wall)
• Relax, re-group, re-prioritize
• Nourish  parts of your body as needed
• Promote yourself

It's easy to get off track.  Stay on-track to reach outcomes.  Go off-track to move beyond convention.

Read

The internet, tablets, big screens, etc. distract us.   It's easy to never read, never crack a real book, open two books at the same time, write in the margins, highlight key phrases, tell someone what you learned.  Review your own words.

During my IT career I consumed business journals and IT-focused publications.  Knowing that information provided great advantages in management, negotiation, purchasing, visualizing the future, etc.  Now that I don't really have a dumb job I've broadened that scope.  Instead of reading the tech sections of the Wall Street Journal I read all of it, even the 'Mansions' section promoting homes in the $5M+ range.  The Saturday issue is particularly enjoyable.  I read the Wall Street Journal in traditional paper format.  The New York Times is consumed more selectively in digital format.

Even People Magazine offers up a few bits of value, humor and self-reflection.

• Don't wear clothes that evoke "that's weird" responses
• Read
• Network outside your specialty
• Don't get locked in an age group (know more than 15 people in People)

Reading People Magazine

Somehow I ended up with a subscription to People magazine. Typically I pick this up only when I’m about

to get my deteriorating teeth cleaned or waiting for my diminishing hair to be cut. It’s actually a bit embarrassing to have it arrive in the mailbox. Given the range of publications arriving at our home address this would add thoughts the postman may have about “What kind of people live here? This is all odd.”

Usually I grab a Sharpie (It get 1/10th of a cent for everyone who reads that) and mark all the people I know in People. This is not a publication for sixth decade readers. Fifteen or sixteen people are usually all I can recognize. The current cover mentioned the Menendez brothers. “I remember that! It was a couple of years ago.” It was 20 years ago. The “Exclusive” was someone named Katherine Heigl. No idea.

“Brad’s Moving On.” I know who Brad Pitt is. He’s married to that woman who’s the daughter of not Dustin Hoffman but that other guy in “Midnight Cowboy,” a pretty good movie from a few years ago. The “StarTracks” page showed eight people. None were identifiable. I recognized Justin Timberlake because I learned who was from watching the CMA show. Ellen. Sure. Everyone knows Ellen.

There are a lot of ads for drugs in “People.” They all warn you to be on the lookout for heart irregularities, kidney failure, anxiety and diarrhea.

According to the “Passages” feature Roger Daltrey is 72. That seems unreasonable, perhaps an ‘alternative fact.’

Mel Gibson, 61, has a 26 year old GF. My staff used to tell me there was a guideline for this, something like “half your age plus or minus 7” was OK....61/2+30.5-7=23.5. No, I think the rule must be “half your age plus seven”...61/2=30.5+7=37.5. Gibson has a lot of cash. Trump=70...(70/2)=35...35+7=42. Melania=46. OK, that meets the “old guy (with lots of money) wants a younger GF rule.”

James Corden. I know him from YouTube and the carpool karaoke skits. Of course my favorite is his drive w/ the Red Hot Chili Peppers who are now senior statesmen of the rock world. Apparently Corden has a TV show...never have seen it.

There are two pages on the guy with the awkwardly long red tie and 4-6 pages on people uncomfortable with the awkwardly long red tie guy.

The Menendez article was succinct. They are in prison forever.

Crossword puzzles have always bored me. Obviously this one would be pointless. It would be similar to being on “Jeopardy,” knowing absolutely nothing and having Alex Trebek repeatedly ask you “Are you sure you know nothing?”