Making new laws and rules is a useless activity without the ability to enforce and review the ones already in place. Anyone willing to break the current law will not comply with the new laws. Control is imposed and managed with force: violence, economy, and livelihood. Privileges and rights are related but not the same. Wake up America. If you don’t take control of your life, someone else will.
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My assessment of your ability is related to my experience with others doing the same job and my desire for greater things. I don’t apologize for standards. I want you to do better.
Etiquette and Manners are important. Knowing what to say is something, but knowing when and where you can say it effectively is quite another.
Ignorance of environment is not acceptable in a mass/social comm environment and will absolutely diminish even the best of intentions. Assuming that others are listening, and care is toxic. Give them a reason to care and show respect. Ask and listen?! Freedom is about choice. If they choose to listen... that is a win. If they choose to act accordingly... celebrate. Above all, adjust your message and mode first and often. If they continue to offend and ignore the cues... it is perfectly fine to “unfollow” or even block. This applies in digital world and it applies in the physical world too. Seek the right audience and platform, not the largest. Speak and listen. Repeat. #TuesdayThinking #needmorecoffee Human understanding is about making sense when there is no sense to be found.
Don’t be so dizzy! 😉 consider, rationalize, discuss, prioritize, embrace, evolve and execute. Then, repeat. "The synthesizing mind takes information from disparate sources, understands and evaluates that information objectively, and puts it together in ways that make sense to the synthesizer and also to other persons. Valuable in the past, the capacity to synthesize becomes ever more crucial as information continues to mount at dizzying rates.” ~ Howard Gardner The idea that a meritocracy exists in academia and corporate America is largely fiction. There is a base level of information required and after that long term success is largely about relationships and resources. THAT is reality. #WakeUpAmerica.
Meritocracies only exists in small business and local local local and even then relationships and resources are key. Failure must be an option for merit to differentiate. Life is not fair. The sooner you learn to deal with this, the better off you will be. Doing more does not create successful outcomes. It isn’t enough.
Quality and focus are required for all activity. The assumption that every action is equal in results is a gigantic fallacy. Quality and Quantity are NOT the same thing. Every choice takes a toll and and every action requires resource expenditure. Grown Ups choose and focus. Children want everything and even attempt everything, and ultimately fail and diminish all. Knowing is not enough. Good intentions are not enough. Results are loud and clear markers. Doing the right things in the right amount with focus and excellence is how things change. Church. Family. Business : Strategy is same. QUALITY IS INDEED JOB#1 Personal, Organization… Change your culture.. use strategy, but change your culture.. repeat.. change your culture… and infrastructure… and culture.. REPEAT
Recognize and confront reality. Things are not okay. Why? If they ARE okay.. then you don’t need a change.. but awareness is the beginning.. Decide that you will be different. Say it out loud. Pray about it. Keep saying it. Keep discussing it. Learn how to be “different”. Study who is doing it well… and document what they are doing that is different from me? Where am I aligned.. Develop a priority model to enable you to qualify and “score” activities and plans against your new “different: Enlist friends and colleagues as accountability partners. neutral voices… to help you assess progress.. honestly.. objectively. Measure EVERYTHING that you identified in your learning stage. Constantly reevaluate priorities and actions against results.. Is the needle moving? Be prepared for successes and setbacks. Keep an INVEST - MAINTAIN - RETIRE list. for friends.. activities.. food even jobs, careers, and hobbies.. Your success is about what you say NO to.. It is not possible to do everything.. and/or be everything.. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS… and then adjust.. Repeat each of the steps every day… every week.. every month? … and check progress.. Celebrate your successes.. and learn from your failures… I spend a lot of time and energy reminiscing about my performing life, my time at Juilliard, and WCC and on stage... I am proud of my singing, and my family and my name/brand "vatenor". I consider my work in churches and with choirs over the last few decades and I aspire to be better.
I watch my friends disparage corporate america and I am sickened by the hypocrisy. Perhaps, it arises from a lack of experience and real world perspective. Here is mine: I am THANKFUL for my friends, and relationships and experiences and for my opportunities INSIDE Capital One, and Cisco, and with so many fine fine people. Those companies provided me chances, allowed me opportunities and encouraged me. Those companies are filled with AMAZING PEOPLE and with plenty of questionable people. The reality is that companies are made up of people. Enough with the high minded, condemnation of corporate america. It is wrong. It is just as easy to condemn churches, universities, and even small businesses as predatory... I can write the narrative. The sword cuts both ways. The big difference seems to be that successful companies focus on, and passionately care for their employees. In my experience, way back in the 20th century, that was not the case in performing world, academia, not as a student, not even as a young aspiring minister. As a performer I was one step above slave labor... expected to dance and sing on queue, with little to no respect for my artistry and skill. More often than not I felt exploited, and abused... and I was EXPECTED to just take it because that was the way it is... I contrast that with the nurturing and caring examples of some of my finest mentors in corporate America and the reality is stunning. All too often, those "EVIL" companies took care of me and my family. They paid me, they trained me, they allowed me to fail and gave me second chances. Above all I was RESPECTED. That is key I think. Respect followed with money, and security... and practice, not just rhetoric and facade and optics. Today, I am the man and leader that I am because of those opportunities. The roles that I play were not written for me. I lived them, and continue to live them. There are good days and bad days, but on THIS day.. I am thankful to GOD for providing me a career path and opportunities to work in environments surrounded by great people. They work hard, they compete, they win, and they lose. We do it together. We work hard and we play hard. Ultimately, my choices are mine. The accountability is mine for success and failure. I wonder how my life might be different if I had stayed on the path of performer instead of family. It matters not, my journey to date is set. My future is filled with opportunity just as it always was. How will I choose? I do not know. I give thanks for this day, this year, and for the opportunities to pursue many more ahead. #ATTENTIONRATIOS Some things get my time and attention.
Great thing about free speech... When you give mean and ignorant people rope, they invariably hang themselves...
ideas and principles are what is important, and the good ones are clear... — practical application for success requires experience and education and a platform, and infrastructure... and wide support. - these are rarely available to mean and ignorant people. TUES REALITY CHECK What I consider to be "High School behaviors and decision models" is outdated. Today's youth exhibit these behaviors and decisions in their 18-24 year old semi-adult selves. From work ethic, to relationships, to dating, to general life skills... Adulthood is developing later. This is not a criticism. It is a fact.
We as adults and parents need to get on board and realize it because we did it. They did not. If they aren't ready to live as adults, the parents are to blame.. not teachers, not society, not systemic oppression, not guns... PARENTS and FAMILIES. Decision and Behaviors have consequences. Right or wrong doesn't even come into play all that much anymore if you have teenagers... The ability to adapt, and overcome is what we need to do, and they need to learn. Is your example enabling others or disabling them? - consider carefully as I am.
Same for tools, tech, processes, words... LAWS... Are my friends and neighbors afraid to open up to me for fear of being wrong/judged? Do I listen to them? Really?! Does my view allow them to disagree? I serve and love in spite of the “law” all too often. I imagine an environment where people, processes and tools enable more than disable. We can do better. Authorities can’t fully protect us against individual depravity in a free country. We must recognize the problem is within our hearts and minds. We cannot continue like this my friends. We must live together more fully and love one another more completely. We must protect and value one another. Every life is precious. Every one.
How to get credit for being able to manage/hit life’s curve balls? Live.
Share success, even with those who can’t see. “People” don’t and likely won’t give you credit. Most of the time they don’t even see the plans or complexity... seeking credit is ultimately is the failure ... I fail every time. Just live = Just sing. The singing, the journey... is the whole point. Facebook and online media is a highlight reel.. its a version of me... but it is not me. If you want to know me, you can start here, but you have to go deeper... #WakeUpAmerica I don't apologize for living out loud. That isn't likely to happen. You shouldn't either. That said.. post your highlights for you.. not for everyone else. What are you proud of? What inspires you? What shocks you? Who do you serve freely? -- Those are questions that I ask as the editor in chief for my pages.
Being proud to be an American does not make you a bad person. It doesn't even mean that you agree with everything that "America" is doing. What I do is what matters. If you don't know what I do... you don't know me and you certainly aren't in a position to judge me.
I had an excellent conversation at my church last night re: politics.. yes it can happen... I said: We have plenty of mechanisms to actually manage disagreement but discussion and debate is critical to get to a decision/management point. Cutting one another off at the knees.. making so much commentary personal... invoking identity and emotion is mean spirited and dangerous. It destroys the relationships... which is a BAD THING. Division and Demagoguery are Destructive and Devastating. It is possible to disagree without those things. HOW 2 DISAGREE 101: VOTING My opinion is clear -- Telling your friends how evil they are and judging their hearts and intentions is pretty shaky ground for ALL SIDES. I am inspired by ideas and art far more than people.
I am impressed by actions and results. Identity is a combination of many intersections. Intersections of principle, art, and practice never cease to amaze with complexity. Communication in leadership is about achieving an outcome. If you spend majority of time trying to control drama and spin because of your lack of skill, you need to change something... maybe everything... channels are for attention but attention doesn’t equate to progress and success.
The outcomes are the goal... outcomes represent value. Communication and spin are only means to an end. Bad communication in leadership will lead to poor outcomes, division, and demagoguery. What is the state of your communication? |
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