I thought I would use this week’s “puff of white smoke” to clear my head of 10 questions or thoughts that have been bouncing off my cranial walls these past few weeks. I don’t know what you will think, but ignore what you wish!
1. Why do goats have rectangular pupils? They improve the goat’s peripheral vision and helps them see predators in a wider spectrum than animals with oval shaped pupils. Maybe our politicians could use them.
2. “Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes. I’ve experienced this a few times over the last few weeks. The more I do it, the more I like it.
3. Point of reference – did you know the federal income tax rate was 66% for inflation adjusted incomes around $200,000 in 1953? This was because we were still paying back the debt we accumulated during and after WWII. Good thing the political leaders of past generations were responsible, imagine what our debt would be today if they weren’t? Just shows you how irresponsible the leaders have been over the past 40 years or so.
4. I saw a homeless man with a laptop not too long ago in the evening. He was in the bushes near a Panera Bread and he had all his belongings with him. I stopped to talk with him because I was really curious. I learned he was on his Facebook account, he knew where all the wireless networks were, he knew where all the outside electric outlets were, and he liked the freedom that being homeless offered him.
5. Don’t forget Michael Collins. Astronaut Michael Collins is often forgotten. He was the pilot of the Apollo 11 mission that first landed on the moon in 1969. He was the one who piloted the command spacecraft and orbited the moon waiting for Armstrong and Aldrin to finish playing on the moon. He made 25 orbits around the moon and endured 45 minute communication blackouts each time the craft went dark on the opposite side of the moon. I think that, too, takes courage.
6. “The goal is common action not common thinking.” – Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education. I think this is great advice for anyone leading a team or organization. Encouraging debate and inquiry is an important job of the leader. Don’t avoid the conflict that comes with this.
7. Why do zebras have stripes? This is one question I have wondered about since I was a child and has been debated for years. No scientist really knows. Two popular theories are (1) the stripes fool horseflies and (2) the white stripes keep the zebra cooler. Whatever the reason, it is a marvelous example of how life mutates itself to adjust to surrounding conditions.
8. Boyle’s Law – a gas expands to fill its container. I often refer to this law, which I learned when taking SCUBA lessons. In organizations leaders need to be mindful that team members will always find ways to fill their day with tasks. It is our job to make sure they are the tasks that advance the mission of the organization and aren’t wasteful ones that create unproductive and unmotivated people.
9. Rhythm is everything when giving CPR. I heard recently in a podcast that to give proper CPR you need to do 100 beats a minute. One clever CPR trainer discovered that two songs deliver just the right tempo in his classes – “Stayin’ Alive” by the BeeGees and “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. Now that’s a clever tip I can remember!
10. “Do what you love with people you love and you won’t work a day in your life.” This quote has morphed over the years, but its message is a great one. I am very fortunate that it is true for me. Often, when I hear people talk about job satisfaction, this theme appears again and again. Is it true for you?
