The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

We saw the movie on opening weekend, which is what we wanted to do this time. And I can tell you the movie did not disappoint. The movie is very different from the first--which was more magical. This movie is very earthy and is about the continuing battle of good and evil as well as delving into the pitfalls of pride.

As the children are recalled to Narnia because of a crisis, they immediately resume their roles as kings and queens of Narnia without fully realizing the changes which have occurred in the intervening thirteen hundred years. Peter believes he is the natural and rightful leader and trusts in himself and his abilities. In his mind he is Peter the Magnificent and therefore because he believes it, it is or should be. His pride in his leadership abilities results in a failed assault which costs nearly half of the Narnian forces. It is not until he realizes his weakness that the story begins to turn.

The story is magical and it is violent. It has medieval sword fighting scenes—which are a bit long. There could be more interaction between the main characters, but the primary focus in on the competition between Peter and Prince Capsian. The bond between the brothers, Peter and Edmund, has developed and grown as each realizes the strengths of the other. The relationship between the sisters, Lucy and Susan, have developed a stronger bond too although it is Lucy who remembers the mystical side of Narnia and retains the strongest link to Aslan, the Lion.

The New York Times reviewed the movie with this statement: "So “Prince Caspian” is quite a bit darker than “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” both in look and in mood. It is also in some ways more satisfying. Its violent (though gore-free) combat scenes and high body count may rattle very young viewers, but older children are likely to be drawn into the thick political intrigue. The relative scarcity of digital effects in the first part of the movie allows the director, Andrew Adamson, and the director of photography, Karl Walter Lindenlaub, to explore the beauty of the Narnian landscape by more traditional cinematic means. Its lush glades and rocky escarpments provide a reminder that the supernaturalism of fairy tales originates in the magic of the natural world."

I felt that this movie is an excellent sequel to the original. It was thoroughly enjoyable, very watchable and I did not want the movie to end—it leaves you wanting more and wanting to remain for just a few minutes longer in the magical land of Narnia to enjoy the peace and prosperity which will be the inevitable result of the defeat of the forces of evil.

Rating: This is a must see—multiple times. Buy the DVD when it comes out. Suitable for pre-teens.

The Saga of my Pick-up Truck

Well--I own a 2000 GMC Sonoma with about 114,000 miles on it. I have owned it since December and I bought it with about 109,000 miles on it--after my 1998 GMC Sonoma (note the trend here) was stolen and subsequently totalled in Georgia. A long story for another day.

One day in late April, my oil pump decided to significantly reduce the oil being delivered to my engine--and since the light did not come on I did not notice the reduced oil flow until after the engine was toasted. Estimate for a new engine? $4,000. But, wait! For some seemingly unexplained reason I had purchased a high mileage vehicle warranty from CARCHEX serviced by Warranty America. And behold, since I had the vehicle for only 4,000 miles or so they actually covered the repair to the engine. My new outlay (for all the not covered stuff) about $1,000. I am having new parts installed instead of transferred from the old engine--(like the water pump, plugs, spark plug wires, etc) so it will be a new engine essentially with a 100,000 mile warranty.

Only problem is that they have used every means possible to slow roll and delay the repair process. So here it is, 16 days after my breakage and the engine was only finally delivered to my repair facility last evening. And then, it was not complete. For some unexplained reason there was no oil pump delivered with the engine--which is the part that failed and started the whole process.

So--the aftermarket service warranty is nice, but be ready for them to try to get out of the coverage. This is it--insurance companies are not in the business to pay out claims! They are in business to make money. If you buy a service policy for your vehicle, be ready to t document everything--they even did a test on my oil, in addition to an on site inspection, in addition to asking for service records. It has been a process, but (and I do not actually have possession of my truck yet) if it works out I will have a truck with an essentially new engine and still have coverage on my transmission for another 95,000 miles. So maybe it'll work out, but it's been a trial so far.

Fear--No Way to Live or Lead

Have you ever run into someone who is afraid they are going to lose their job? Or who is afraid of failure? Or who is just plain risk averse (which in my mind is another way to describe fear)? Are they usually successful? In my experience they are generally not successful or at least not as successful as they could be.

Leaders must understand risk and be able to accept risk. There are courses in risk management--but the important thing is that there is always risk. Everything we do comes with inherent risks. Driving to work in the morning has risk. If leaders are unwilling to accept risk, then they will be ineffective. Someone who is so afraid of losing their job that they refuse to take risks--will lose their job because they are ineffective. Think about it.

I have heard it said that caution and careful planning are essential. But I recently became aware of a bit of historical information that indicated that the Commanding General of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War Battle of Antietam in September of 1862, General George B. McClellan, was so cautious and methodical that he missed the opportunity to soundly defeat General Robert E. Lee's outnumbered Army of Northern Virginia and end the war in 1862. As we know, the war continued for three more bloody years.

Leaders must be able to adapt to the situation and be willing to accept the risk of failure in order to be successful. I have a phrase I use to describe this approach:

High risk equals high reward!

Leaders who are unwilling to accept risk must be satisfied with mediocre performance from their teams, their organizations, and themselves.

One of the worst leadership practices I have observed related to risk is what I call: "Evaluating the Pain Factor." For each idea, the merit of the idea is determined by deciding how much pain will be caused by implementing the idea. A survey (usually informal) is accomplished of those affected by the concept and if the pain factor is too high, the idea is not be adopted regardless of the inherent merit of the idea. Why? Fear, plain and simple fear of upsetting the "apple cart" too much. How do you assess the pain factor anyway? Leaders who employ the "Pain Factor" as to assess ideas let the status quo determine their future because of fear of failure or upsetting too many people.

Living in fear of failure is not healthy. Organizations need to reward risk takers and realize that it is the risk takers who propel organizations and teams forward. As leaders, we need to ensure that we do not stifle creativity by becoming risk averse. Reward the risk takers--even when they fail because that is where the ability of the team or organization to adapt to the changing environment is going to come from.

Leader must set the vision for the team or the organization. Realize there will be risks to fully achieving the objective and either accept the risks or manage them by minimizing their effect. Evaluate ideas on their merit towards achieving the ultimate organizational goal and not through the pain factor. Reward the risk takers and encourage the risk averse to accept risk as a means success.

Living or leading out of fear is paralyzing and will only result in failure. Live free from the fear of failure and embrace failures as learning tools and as stepping stones to success.

Jax - A Family Baptism

The miracle baby was baptized today at St Paul's Lutheran Church in Crofton. It was a great family day attended by family including one great-grandmother, two grandmothers, one grandfather (that be me), a great aunt, and a lot of uncles and aunts and family. It was a celebration of life and a celebration off Jax and all he has been through. He has been an inspiration to all of us and he has brought the family closer together as we all rallied during the days immediately following his birth in the hospitals (yes, two hospitals).

Each day of Jax's life since before his surgery has reminded each of us about his miracle and has served to bring all of us closed to God in our faith walk.

Today was a very special day in addition to the Baptism, it was Pentecost and Mother's Day. I think it could never be a better mix for a celebration of Jax and his new life in Christ as a Child of God. Pentecost, signifying the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles after Christ's Ascension and Mother's Day signifying the celebration of Motherhood and new life. Jax is truly blessed to have been baptized on such a grand day.

Iron Man - the Movie

Went to the movies last night. We used to be busy on Thursday nights, but or lives have changed a bit and we are now free. It was really nice to see a movie and have the theater mostly to ourselves.

The movie was Iron Man and it was great. The acting was strong, the special effects were not over done, and the action was sufficient for a comic book hero but still allowed for character development and a good story line too. The movie was a good update to the story for the current time period.

The cast was strong with Robert Downey Jr leading the way supported strongly by Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, Shaun Toub, and (the actor we knew but couldn't name until the end) Jeff Bridges.

The movie is a great ride and very entertaining. There were ZERO "watch looks" during the movie. (What is a watch look? How many times I look at my watch to see if the movie is going to be over soon, I hope). And the pace of the action was well done. Techno geeks will enjoy the computers. I wish I had a couple of his. And the robot with the fire extinguisher is especially funny.

Thoroughly enjoyable. WARNING: There is a gratuitous sex scene and some bad language in one place. Of course--people die and there is violence.

Rating: Highly recommend--see now in theaters, buy when it comes out on DVD. You might even want to see it a couple of times in the theater.

Teams: Setting Expectations

I probably got the proverbial "cart ahead of the horse" yesterday when I wrote about people problems and referenced expectations without actually having written something about expectations.

Leaders set the expectations. What are expectations? The behaviors, the values, and the ethics of the team. Teams need these to foster morale and smooth functioning. They are a reflection of the leader and the operating environment of the team.

Two important things to consider. Expectations should be clear and everyone needs to know them. Do they need to be written? Not necessarily as long as they are understood by everyone.

The second thing is--the leader needs to live the expectations and expect the team to also live the expectations. It is not a matter of enforcement when someone does something outside the expectation, it is encouraging those who work and live within the expectations.

So, if the expectation is that meetings will start on time--the leader needs to be on time.

If a value is for a safe environment--ensure the value is not violated through witting or unwitting personal attacks on team members.

I've worked places where the values and expectations are posted, but after a while they become just another decoration on the wall. It is more important to live the expectations and that is how everyone will come to understand what they are. The team will key off the leader's behavior.

Expectations should be lived. They should not be "shelf-ware" for reference only when there are problems.