Puzzled - Part III

Working on Puzzle number 3 this winter.  This one is Niagara Falls.  See a theme?  I like puzzles of places we've been.  I was born a couple miles from Niagara Falls and my first home was a small cottage on the Niagara River, just upstream from the falls (now there are bazzilion $$ mansions there and I think the cottage is a guest house, or servant's house).  My mom would ride me on her bike to the falls and back.  I was 2 when we moved to Nebraska so my childhood "memories" of Buffalo and Niagara Falls are limited to the pictures my parents have.  

But, we've taken our family up there a couple times and enjoy the splendor of the falls as well as the tasty food up there.  Buffalo Wings!!!  They really did start up there and a place called Anchor Bar and Grill is accepted to be the original home of the wings.  BUT a place called Duffs has the best wings.  Mmmmmm!!!  But, that's not it.  Anderson's Frozen Custard and Ted's Hot Dogs.  These places have been around at least 50 years and there is a reason.  

Anyway, Riley and I were doing the puzzle last night.  She got it started and then I jumped in.  After a while, she was done.  And so was I.  Puzzles are fun BUT after you've been working on the same puzzle for a while, you need a break.  Sometimes you just can't find the piece you are looking for.  Or, your eyes need a break.  When you come back to it later, its easy to jump back in and often that piece you couldn't find is right there, in front of you.  You just needed a break.  You needed to step away for a moment.  Maybe 15 minutes.  Maybe 2 hours.  Maybe a day.  

Life can be the same.  Lot's of puzzles being put together.  Kid's school and sports schedules.  Work.  church stuff.  family stuff.  If you just keep on working on those puzzles without a break, you will get worn out.  Your eyes will hurt.  Your head will hurt.  Your back will hurt.  And you'll probably experience quite a bit of frustration.  

Often stepping a way can help you be a more effective "puzzle assembler".  Ideally, you plan ahead and schedule moments to step away.  15 minutes during the day.  2 hours. 1/2 a day.  A full day.  A week.  Stepping away can be critical to your effectiveness.  Even if it's stepping away from something that is leisurely and fun.                         

        

Snow Days

2 10+ inch snow storms in one year!  Pretty crazy.  And beautiful.  And relaxing.  I'm guessing you did things during the snow that you might not have done otherwise.  AND, I'm guessing you didn't do some things you would have done.  Why?  Probably because you couldn't.  That was the case in my household.

So, I sat in my favorite chair, with coffee, a book and a fire in the fireplace.  And when I needed a break from that I moved over to the next puzzle we were putting together.  Then meal time came and we had some good "snow day food" like sausage balls, little ham/Swiss Hawaiian roles and a warm, tasty soup.  So relaxing and refreshing. 

Here is a question?  Why don't we do "snow days" more often?  Do we need snow to take a break?  It's the south.  We could go a couple winters without a real snow fall.  Why can't we just plan a "snow day" every month?  Or even every week?  Maybe Sabbath rest looks something like this.     

If you enjoyed the downtime during this snowstorm why not just schedule it into your life to have "snow days"?  It can be challenging when we have so many options normally.  Work, shopping, church events, sports, school, projects, chores...  There are alot of good things that can get on your calendar.  If we survived the shut down during the snow, maybe we could survive a regular, planned shut down every week, month, or even a short shut down every day.  Just pretend there is 12 inches of snow on the ground and you don't have all those other options. 


 

             
   

EMT Leadership

Regan has been taking an EMT course at Durham Tech this semester and is completing the clinicals now.  That means she is working 12 hour shifts on an ambulance or in an ER and participating in the patient services.  Pretty fascinating stuff.  After just 3-4 month of class she can help a patient keep breathing or even restart their heart.

As she has progressed I've learned about the roles of the people working in ambulances and in the ER.  It's actually surprisingly simple.  Their job is to keep you from dying.  Often, they aren't going to be curing the person or fixing whatever is wrong.  They just focus on keeping you from getting worse.  They do this until they can get the patient to an expert (specialist).

Sometimes that's what a leader needs to do when things start going wrong.  Sometimes we don't have the knowledge or ability to fix everything that is going on BUT we need to stop things from getting worse.  Then, we need to get an "expert" to help fix things.  Often, it's not "How?" that we should be asking but "Who?"  Good leaders know who to ask for help.  They know they don't know all the "Hows".

So, next time you find yourself stuck, unable to cure the situation, ask yourself WHO you know that could help.  Your patient is depending on you.         

Puzzled - Part II

Last night I was sitting in front of a fire doing the puzzle and Riley came over to join in.  When she took a look at the pile of pieces she immediately started placing them in their spots.  She was flying.  Pretty sure she made some comment to me about how slow I was.

Then, once she got some in, I was able to start finding pieces quicker.  What happened???

I had been working on the puzzle for probably 45 minutes before she came over so I'd gotten used to the pile of pieces I had and I had gotten bogged down looking for particular pieces.  She came over and had a fresh perspective.  She saw the same pieces I did but she saw them differently.  And then, as she started adding them, she changed my perspective because then we needed different pieces.  Some of the pieces I had been staring at now had a place to go.

Do you ever get stumped on a problem?  Maybe you've tried 2-3 things and they aren't working.  You probably should ask somebody to share with you what they think a solution might be.  Get a fresh perspective.  They may see a clear answer or they may be able to change the situation just enough so that the answers you'd been trying now work.

It almost never hurts to get a second, or third, perspective.               

Puzzled?

Every Christmas we set up the card table and do at least one 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.  And it’s usually a puzzle of something we’ve done or seen that year.  This year it’s San Francisco.  As you can see, I’m missing some edge pieces.  I prefer to get the edge done before doing the rest but so far I haven’t found those edges.  So, I’ve just been working with what I can find.  Right now, that’s the water pieces.  Then, it will be the buildings.  I’m pretty sure those edge pieces will show up as I’m completing this puzzle.

It’s kind of like our business.  Whether it’s doing the schedule, arranging catering orders, setting up the DT, staffing kitchen... we’ve got a lot of puzzles.  Sometimes the pieces are obvious.  Sometimes we can’t find the right piece when we want it.

This puzzle reminds me of a few things.  Keep looking.  Work with what you can work with.  Have fun.  It’s a puzzle.

Why I Don't Answer the Phone

Years ago at CFA I would answer the phone anytime it rang.  It made sense.  I was here.  I was available.  I could answer most questions.  AND when I wasn't at the store it wasn't uncommon for the phone to ring and ring.  No answers.

I asked why we weren't answering the phone and the common answer was "I didn't know you had left and thought you'd answer it."

That's when I stopped answering the phone.  But, I didn't just stop answering the phone.  Before I stopped answering the phone I set the expectation that the phone should be answered by the 3rd ring, no more.  I made sure we had a phone working and accessible to leaders at all times.  Then, I stopped answering the phone.  This was probably the most important step.  If I had told them expectations and put phones out front but kept answering the phone we probably would have continued to have the same problem  The key was me, the "leader", stopping the doing so that others could. 

(Oh, and I hate talking on the phone.  Sometimes good decisions can also be enjoyable.  It's easy for me to assume that if I like something or if I want something that it must not be the best idea.  Not everything good for you tastes bad.)

This can feel wrong.  Leaders can feel like they are dumping on their team when they stop doing something.  And, that could be the case if its not done the right way and for the right reasons.  But, as long as a leader does something they are in the way of anybody else stepping up and taking that task, learning that skill, growing...

Nothing in our store is owned by somebody else that I didn't have to first stop doing.  The "funny" part is I remember being frustrated that others weren't stepping up and taking these from me.  It took a while for me to realize I had to let go in order for them to take these responsibilities.       

What do you need to stop?  Where are you in the way of other's growth?


Hint:  ESRC is the tool to ensure this is done effectively         

The Last Game

Spring of 1996.  Put on my uniform for the last time.  I took did my last warm up tosses.  Took my last practice ground balls.  Took the field for the last time.  Last at bat.  Last play in the infield.

I read somewhere that you usually don’t realize when you are doing something for the last time.  But, that day, I knew it was my last competitive baseball game.  My last college game.  At the time I wasn’t sad.  I was kinda relieved.  The next season I didn’t really miss the game.

I do miss tossing the ball and taking some swings but I don’t often find myself wishing I could play it competitively again.  HOWEVER, when people ask if I have any regrets in life I don’t have many BUT I absolutely regret that I didn’t give baseball my best shot.  I was gifted.  Lots of talent.  But, I didn’t give it my best effort.  I didn’t play to win.  I often played not to lose.  I didn’t enjoy the game as often as I should have.

Having said all that, I’m thankful that I can say this.  Baseball was a big part of my first 20 years but it’s not my life story.  I’m thankful I got to learn the lesson with baseball that I need for the rest of my life.  I may regret that I didn’t give baseball my all but it taught me to ensure that when my last days of more important things come I will have given them my all.  I may not always get it right but I don’t want to ever have that same regret.  I’ll give my all.