Makayla Graduates

I missed it.

Last week, Makayla successfully completed her first school--puppy training class and graduated. She was tied for first in her class (of two).

I was away on a business trip to Colorado for the last class. But Mommy successfully took her through class and through her paces.

Makayla had been going to class every week for eight weeks and has learned an amazing assortment of commands that she can successfully demonstrate depending upon her mood at the time.

She has learned: sit, down, stay, wait, shake, come (sort of) and puppy push- ups. We are still working on roll followed by over. She doesn't like to roll over and would rather back up to get the treat.

But, being a keeshond, she does have a stubborn streak and being a puppy she is very much a creature of the moment--be that a new smell or a fast running rabbit (at least until she comes to the end of her leash).

So, in the beginning of many firsts Makayla was a DG from her puppy training class.

Oh yeah--DG? Not distinguished graduate--but rather done graduated.

Star Trek - Movie Review

Where to start? One word--FANTASTIC!

The movie is a great ride, has a tight plot and successfully restarts (some call it reboots) Star Trek in a manner which essentially provides the writers of any future sequels with a blank canvass. You will have to see the movie to understand how this movie, although set in a time before the other movies and the series, is not a prequel but rather a brand new start with familiar characters. And it works.

I am a Trekkie at heart. I have been part of the Star Trek empire since the series was running on TV originally (OK--so I'm old!).

The film opens with the Federation starship USS Kelvin investigating a "lightning storm" in space. It turns out to be a black hole, and the Narada, a Romulan mining vessel, emerges from it and attacks. The Kelvin's captain, Richard Robau (Faran Tahir) is captured and killed by the Romulan captain Nero (Eric Bana). First officer George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) takes command and sacrifices himself and the Kelvin by ramming it into the Romulan ship in order to allow the rest of the crew to escape. During the escape, George's wife Winona (Jennifer Morrison) gives birth to a son: James Tiberius Kirk.

And then it begins and it doesn't stop until James T. Kirk is promoted to Captain of the venerable USS Enterprise, NCC-1701.

The plot is the complex, futuristic plot complete with twists and turns that Trekkies have come to expect. It is a tight plot and all the loose ends are wrapped up. Yet, this is a new start--a "do-over" for the Trek empire compliments of the plot.

The possibilities are again endless not bounded by everything which has happened before.

So while NASA sems to be having trouble exploring the final frontier, movie makers have fighured out how to keep us interested and transfixed.

RECOMMENDATION: A must see! Good for kids--although there is one gratuitious (and somewhat disturbing) sexually oriented scene.

Monday Musings - May 4, 2009

And here they are!

1. Rain. Ugh! I know we need it, but where's the gopher wood and "what's a cubit?" I think I saw wild animals collecting themselves in pairs in the wooded area next to the house.

2. The pool is nearly ready--now if only the weather would cooperate I could actually swim and not develop hypothermia just thinking about diving in.

3. Puppies are a lot of fun to train--they are a lot like training children--and just when you think they've got it--you realize there is more work to do!

4. I hate it when both the teams I'm cheering for lose on the same day (O's and Pens)

5. I had 66 hours of plans for a 60 hour weekend but I only accomplished about 43 hours of the plans. What happened to the rest of the time, do I get it back? Is there the possibility of a "do-over?"

6. Grass grows really fast when it is warm and rainy. Now if it would only stop raining long enough for it to dry so we could cut it. Does it really make sense? We plant grass, fertilize it, and make it grow so that we can cut it. And then we do it all over again, why?

7. A rainy Sunday is a good day to sleep in late, take a nap, go to the store, and spend some time with family--like the grand sons! The hard part, is forgetting about what I should be doing rather than what I am doing and being in the moment. But an awesome lasagna cooked by my daughter really helped.

8. Makayla likes sleeping on the bed with the rest of the "pack!" Does that make me more of a dog, or her more of a person?

9. Business trips are a good idea when they are being planned, but a rotten idea when you actually have to go on them. I'm flying to Colorado Springs for the rest of the week. And guess what? It's raining there, too!

10. April showers bring May flowers. Hey, wait, it is already May! Turn off the showers!

My Weekend List--Stress Looking for a Place to Happen!

Last weekend it was all wine and food in St Michaels--this weekend?

Between 5PM Friday and 5 AM on Monday there are 60 available hours. Here is how I plan to use them:



1. Finish opening the pool (I figure four more hours conservatively)

2. Mow (again!) (one hour)

3. Fix the garage door--some kid rode his bike headlong into it (one hour)

4. Play with Makayla (two hours)

5. Dive Kitty somewhere, anywhere (one hour)

6. Pay the bills

7. Watch the Pens beat the Caps (or crapitals as I prefer to call them) with Jer and drink copious quantities of beer (three hours)

8. Nap (two hours)

9. Take another Nap (two hours more)

10. Play with Makayla, again (just because she's cute) (two hours)

11. Go to church (two hours)

12. Surf the Internet (when I can) (five hours)

13. Watch the O's play a reasonable facsimile of baseball (nine hours)

14. Go for a walk (one hour)

15. Drink some wine and eat some cheese (when doing nothing else) (two hours)

16. Say Hi to my wife in passing as she does whatever it is she has planned with the "girls!"

17. Figure out how to get a three-day weekend because there's waaay to much stuff crammed into this two-day weekend

18. Sleep (26 hours)

19. Happy Hour on Friday (three hours)



BTW--it adds up to 66 hours so far!

Unplanned items:

weed the gardens,

fix something that breaks,

read the magazines I got in the mail this week,

shopping,

transit time to shop,

do a blog entry,

whatever it is that Chris really wants me to do!

I'm not sure which is more stressful--
my weekend or my work week!

Leadership: The Power of "Good Job" and "Thank-you"

I have written before about encouragement and empowerment from a larger team framework--but I want to get really personal about encouragement.

How did you feel the last time someone--like your boss, told you "Good Job!" and they meant it!

I usually flush with embarrassment because I always try to do a "Good Job", but I always appreciate being noticed, too. AND, do you feel a little bit more noticed when the boss says these words in front of others--and they are not forced or preplanned?

Sometimes I think it is easier for us to say "thank-you" to a perfect stranger (like for holding a door open for us) than it is to say "good job" or "thank-you" to our co-workers and friends. A sad commentary on where we are in our society.

OK, OK -- we get paid to do a good job, right? So it's expected?

But we all know, some good jobs are harder than others. When people really give a little of themselves and sacrifice for the team--then we, as leaders, really owe them some recognition and "thank-you" goes a long way--especially the impromptu "thanks--that was a nice job."

AND now the hard part--a forced "thank-you" or an after thought "good job" is almost as worthless as play money.

When you say these words--you must mean them and they need to be a true representation of how you feel. Otherwise, they will be seen as gratuitous.

This is the hard part for some leaders--actually recognizing the hard work of their team members and appreciating their efforts. Leaders get wrapped up in the "crisis du jour" and easily overlook the team members who are there beside them day after day.

Leaders intend to recognize the team, it just doesn't make the "top ten crises" being worked right now.

Change that.

People, and especially your team, need to be in the top ten list--every day!

"Good job!"

Leadership - The Indispensible Syndrome

Ever get into a situation when you feel as if the team will totally fail without you?

I have.

I suppose we get the idea from sports where one key player goes down--like the quarterback on a football team, and the team fails to make the playoffs. We blame the lack of a quarterback on the missed opportunity. But really--there was another quarterback who stepped in. Think of the great back-ups who have taken their teams to the playoffs after the starter was injured--like Earl Morrall.

But really? How many times have you heard it said that it takes a team to succeed and even if someone makes a poor play or causes a penalty, or hits into a season ending triple-play, it is not as if that was the only opportunity that the team had during the entire game. There are many opportunities--we just seem to remember the dramatic endings as time runs out or the third out of the ninth inning.

The belief that the entire success or failure of the team is up to one person is not something seen in only the team leaders. Team members can also feel as if they are indispensable. Without them, nothing will get done and there will be total chaos and utter failure. And for a moment in time--just the right moment it may be true. But it cannot be and should not be an all-day, every-day thing.

Really?


Come on--what happened before you? And the mark of a good team leader/member is training your replacement--remember that concept of succession planning?

Think of the stress! If you really are the only one--then how do you ever take a day off? Even God rested on the seventh day! And, nothing personal, but believing that you are absolutely indispensable kind of equates your view of yourself with that of a god.

So what is really going on here?

I think it is a matter of low self-esteem or self-worth. Losing oneself in the team provides a personal boost of importance and hides a multitude of other problems.

Don't get me wrong, each team member needs to feel important and to be a true contributing member--but there is a difference between contributing to success and being indispensable.

Think of the broken relationships caused by being indispensable. Those extra hours and effort given to the team, or at the office, or to the church, or to whatever project/team you are part of are given at an expense in relationships with family and friends. I am a living example of the work-alcoholic approach to live. A classic Type-A military officer who takes charge and is the last one to leave the ship when it's going down! Pretty empty at the end of the day.


Balance. There needs to be balance.

True--the team may not be as efficient when you are gone--but stuff will still be done and if the absence is planned, others can step up to fill the gap.

In my business, people come and go all the time. We plan to fill gaps. We are always looking around and asking the--"what if ____ get's hit by a bus" question. Teams need to plan for success and not to burn members out. During each big project we strive to allow the "back-ups" to get some playing time so they feel more comfortable making decisions. There is nothing worse than getting called while on vacation with a "big problem" that someone else should be able to handle. If only I had trained them!





So here are some hard words: You are not indispensable! If you think you are you are doing yourself AND your whole team a disservice and stifling the growth of those around you. And, you are harming yourself by not allowing yourself to have healthy relationships with family and friends.

Get a life outside your team. Being critical and important and contributing is good. But, being indispensable is very dysfunctional.

"The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men." Charles de Gaulle

St Michaels, Maryland - 2009

Yes--I call it a vacation.

We stayed in a great hotel right on the harbor--our windows had a full view of the harbor. The temperatures were in the 90's and it was sunny. We were with friends and we attended the 2009 Food and Wine Festival.

What could be better?

Probably not much. The weather was awesome and I learned a lot more about wine at the seminars.

And the food was good, too. But mostly--it was a weekend away at a nice hotel with friends. We probably won't do all three days next year as we are planning a Spring Break getaway next year. But we will definitely do at least one day!

Pool Opening - 2009

The cover came off the pool yesterday. Now the work begins.

Ugh! I can't believe how much work I have to do on the pool this year. Old pools require lots of maintenance. It doesn't look like the picture from 2008 yet, but it will.

The water looks good. And I got the pump going. The new motor is purring. But the pollen. I read that the tree pollen is up over 1800 whatever (parts per ga-zillion or something like that). Everything is covered with a yellow dust--my truck, Chris' car, the surface of the water.

But--summer is approaching and the pool party season is already lined up and ready to begin. We have three pool parties already scheduled.

I worked last night until after dark with the lights on in the pool until I had made the water so cloudy I couldn't see.

But I keep looking at the pictures of fun from last season and i know it is all worth it.

Watching Makayla yesterday as I worked was a joy. The funniest thing happened after the cover was off and she was standing next to me while I was working with the vacuum. She got startled and backed up into the deep end. She was clinging to the top of the wall with her front paws--while her back end was all wet. It was a funny moment for me--but I could tell from the look in her eyes that she didn't find it funny, so instead of getting a camera I pulled her to safety.

Pools. Do they have doggie life-guards?

Monday Musings - April 27th

After a glorious weekend, who could possibly be upset about anything!

1. I love 90 degree days--bring it on!

2. A weekend at a hotel on a harbor while attending a Food and Wine Festival is a great way to kick-off the summer run.

3. Picnics in the living room are a unique way to enjoy variety in life.

4. The grass grows faster when April showers are followed by 90 degree temperatures.

5. It's fun to argure about mowing the grass when we both WANT to mow! Wait until August when the loser GETS to mow!

6. The problem with staying in a hotel near a harbor? Now I want a boat! A big boat! What on earth am I going to do with a boat?

7. The trees are getting green with leaves--wow, maybe summer isn't that far off!

8. How is a puppy supposed to learn sit, wait, stay, down, roll-over, leave-it, take-it, and come if I can't keep them straight? It makes my head spin.

9. Safety tip: do not tie a puppy outside on a leash that she can chew through! (Chris!) Cost? $27 for new leash!

10. Tires do not last forever and when they get out of balance, it can make the ride a real problem, like yesterday coming back from St. Michaels at no more that 60 MPH. I thought the passenger in the car was going to have a melt down. But the wobble at 65 was awful. Thank goodness for full-size spares.

Picnic Dinner in a Tent in the Living Room

There we were--the three (or was it four) of us gathered under a blanket strewn across chairs (representing a tent) for our evening meal of Chik-fil-A. Ethan wanted to eat in a tent, so E and Grandma, Poppop, and (briefly) Makayla gathered to share the evening meal.

Some observations:

Eating on the floor is fun if you are a dog--and it is actually too close to the dogs. Makayla had to be removed from the room to allow the dinner to continue.

A blanket across chairs is a good representation of a tent--and guess what? No bugs!

As this was a late dinner--after Makayla's puppy class, we were hungry.

Telephones really put a damper on meals--it rang twice.


The benefits of picnic meals in the living room? No ants! Easy of clean-up, and of course pack-up of all the materials is simple.