Passion...

Happy New Year everyone! I trust the Christmas season and New Year's holiday was as rewarding as the effort you put into making it that way!

Over the course of time recently, I've been wresting with several questions...perhaps some might call it my "mid-life crisis"...whatever the reason--I have found it to be challenging me personally and professionally. The areas of my thinking revolve around these words: Passion, Servant/Servant hood, Ownership, and Leadership. I'm convinced the longer a person lives and the more experiences they have...the more confident and retro- AND intro-spective they "can" become. I believe those who really care about making a (positive) difference and those who are willing to put in the effort to effect change go through similar personal exercises....or else what is the value?

Anyway back to my point...These four words have haunted me over the past several months. I've begun to evaluate almost everything I do in light of how I feel about those words. I'm convinced the four words reflect who and what a person is! The measure of success; the commitment of the person; the type/quality of work;... almost everything about someone is revealed if you look at how those four areas/words are viewed or demonstrated IN and BY that person.

Don't believe it....try it sometime. Evaluate someone with those four words in mind sometime and see if it doesn't give you a more clear picture of their intent, their level of commitment and even their motives! Take passion for example--I would offer that those who are truly passionate ("having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling") about something are more committed to its successful outcome. If someone cares enough or strongly enough about it, they tend to work harder to achieve it. Efforts by that person tends to be directed or targeted towards something they are passionate about. In essence they word harder, more effectively, smarter, whatever to make that passion come to be.

OK, maybe passion is easy you say....lets look at ownership then---Pick another subject...evaluate what you know about them in terms of how you see ownership demonstrated in them. Are they more willing to ensure success in something they feel they have a tie (or ownership) to? Do you see examples of this?...I believe we all have and we all do in our own lives. Those things in which we feel we have an ownership to, are the things we tend to put more emphasis on, we care about "it" more...we work harder for "it", we arrange other things around "it." Perhaps you are now able to see that many are even passionate about things they have "ownership" in.

OK, OK...maybe so...then how does servant/servant hood and leadership play out? Well we could take these two words and write a dissertation on it, but I'll try to be brief. Again from my perspective...I think you cannot truly Lead anyone or anything without being willing to be serve (be a servant) to someone/something else. The scope and scale of the ability to Lead is defined by the demonstration of the commitment to. How else can a leader (or one who desires to be) know the things that should/could be done without having submitted themselves to a higher offering at some other time. By being a servant here, I mean giving oneself to a greater cause----realizing perhaps that the world doesn't revolve around me--there is something bigger, better...maybe a greater good. In doing so, we can then recognize our place in relation to "it" and as such can then devise a plan as to how we fit into "it"...how we can then contribute...how we can move "it" forward.

Whew!! you're probably saying....some mumbo, jumbo there Jim... Maybe so, but I'd challenge you to give some thought to what've I've said (if you can understand any of it). Evaluate who and what you are in this Organization via those four words. I believe it will shed some light (insight), into your work life...and perhaps even you life in general. Are you passionate about what you do today? If not, then maybe you should rethink your priorities because if you don't care about what you're doing today, your work output will reflect it. Ask yourself---"have I ever been passionate about anything?" Identify what it was/is--what about it made you feel that way---what skill set were you using, what environment were you in, what work, what people were around you, etc, etc. I'd challenge you to find that passion---that is what is going to make you the most happy and most productive.

Maybe the way you are doing you job today isn't really rewarding for you. I'd suggest you think about the things you're passionate about see if there isn't a way to weave those into what you do at work. Perhaps you're passionate about learning, gaining new ideas, etc....then perhaps you can work in ways to read more about new or emerging technologies---or maybe you're passionate about people, getting to meet new folks, etc. Then make a tie to that and your job, find ways to interact--perhaps it's a training role you're suited for. We all know we can certainly use new ways of teaching/exposing people to technology....suggest it to your supervisor--I'll bet they'll be willing to listen to your suggests if they sense enthusiasm on your part and you can paint the picture of how it will benefit MDC.

I think in many ways, many of us are committed to the work/ideology of Conservation work---we are willing to submit ourselves to seeing those basic beliefs of clean water, wildlife resources for future generations, educating people on conservation practices, etc--whatever....we are being a servant to that mission. WE are willing to alter our lives to some extent to ensure its success. As a result we can have ownership to that success...we want Conservation and the things we do to be successful--or at least we should.

We have the perfect opportunity to bring to bear those four words in our work environment...should we choose to. If we choose not to, then I would argue it's time to consider something else to do, because you won't (can't) be as productive as someone who is.

Give it some thought...are you committed to Conservation Technology? Are you passionate about it? Are you interested in finding new ways to help those in the trenches get their work done faster, better, cheaper through the use of technology? Do you care enough to go the extra yard to find solutions, to help others find solutions...?

Believe it or not--everything I've talked about to this point reflects your heart. If your heart is in "it"...it shows, its obvious to those around you. We need people in this business who are passionate about Conservation, and/or, Technology, and/or Wildlife, and/or Forestry, and/or Fisheries. Real value is derived from those who are driven towards Conservations successes. I hope that includes you...if not, it's time for some soul searching and time to find ways that you can become more involved to the extent that you do care about the outcome...

TAFN

Complexity...

I hope you enjoyed the recent Christmas Holiday and spent some quality time with those you care about.

It's a been a while since my last post and perhaps you've enjoyed that break too.... I was recently cc'd on an article that think is worth sharing with all of you. The first sentence begins:
“Complexity is the defining character of our age.” My favorite quote in the entire article was, “Complexity is a symptom of confusion, not a cause.” I'll let you read the article and formulate your own opinions on where our work, no check that...where YOUR work falls when illuminated with the thoughts contained in this article.

How do you feel about what you just read? Are you one of those that shrug it off and say, "it's just more propaganda" or after you read it, did specific thoughts come to mind and/or did you see some examples of the work being done right here in our Organization? Were you able to cite specific examples of this "confusion"...and even more importantly...did the little light bulb go off in you head and a voice screamed ah ha!...and now you're formulating a plan to reduce the confusion...??

Of course the real value in this is the latter...the ability to take what you read and apply it to your current situation and formulate a plan, is where the real value come into play. If you did this, congratulations and welcome aboard the bus. If not, there's still hope....re-read the article and try to think of specific examples in your work life where this could be true...and THEN--ask yourself-- "Is there something that I can do differently that would change (read improve here) this process."

We all have a responsibility to find ways to improve -- improve in ways that enhance our work output, enhance our deliverables, enhance communications....whatever it is. I believe one of the best ways to improve...is to continuously ask the question(s). If you ask the right questions, the answers will reveal where improvement are needed. I think the article does a good job of asking the right question.

As we finish up the last days of 2007, give substantial thought towards what and how you will make improvements in the coming year. Both, on a professional and a personal front....YOU and this Agency will be better as a result.

TAFN/PO

Christmas...Give the Gift of ....IT

Well, at least I think the title is at least something that should make those who read it think… “Is this guy really thinking we should give a gift of IT?” Well yes actually I am…but perhaps not in the sense of giving in the sense that all folks might think. In this particular context…let’s let the “IT” just stand for, something used to represent a concept, thought, action, circumstance, idea, thing, person or animal….or something close to that.

Christmas season is certainly very meaningful to a multitude of people in a multitude of different ways. To some-- it represents the gift from God as in the birth of Jesus Christ into this world; to some it’s a strictly a gift giving time or a time to make big cash; to some it’s just another excuse to party; and to others it doesn’t mean much at all. Whatever your thoughts about the Christmas season, I’d ask you to consider a couple thoughts. The first is to consider giving…giving something, (preferably something positive), something that could help someone accomplish something in their lives. The second would be….just to enjoy “it.”

The gift of giving can be a motivating factor for those who enjoy watching people on the receiving end of the gift…certainly many parents could share pleasant stories of watching their children open gifts at Christmas. There seems to be a certain joy in that giving for most folks…the satisfaction of knowing (seeing in some cases) how warmly received your gift is/was. While my main point here is just to get you thinking about giving (giving of yourself in some cases) and in that mindset the gifts can be anything…my intent is also to stir up your thoughts about “what you can give.”

The “gift” you give could be anything…yes, it could be money or presents….or “it” could be something related to work. Did I just ruin it for you? I hope not, I hope you’ll read on and hear me out. Your gift this year will hopefully include some thoughts about what you could do differently at work, or perhaps even what you could do daily in your job that might be considered a “gift” by those receiving it. Maybe…your level of customer service is something that could be thought of in this case. Consider providing a level of customer service that those on the receiving end would feel like they just received the Christmas present they always wanted. Imagine how that would impact those folks…imagine if you will, how the perception of MDC IT would be affected…. Gosh, what a concept, customer feels great…and you feel good knowing what YOU did made them feel that way!!

I won’t harp on the idea of you giving a gift..back to work. I would ask that you at least consider the thought…and imagine how the workplace might change.

Regardless, I do hope that you, and those you care about, will experience the joy that this time of year can provide. I hope that you too are on the receiving end of a gift that will change your life or at least make it better…

Merry Christmas!

TAFN