Goodbye 2023. Hello 2024.

As we stand on the threshold of a New Year, I find myself reflecting with gratitude on the incredible journey we have shared over the past year.  Looking back at our accomplishments, opportunities, challenges and partnerships, I am truly in awe of what we achieved together.

As we set our sights on 2024, I am eager with anticipation to embrace change, challenge ourselves further, and define our goals with enthusiasm and unity.  The New Year offers us a blank canvas, an opportunity to paint a picture of success through collaboration and innovation. 

In the spirit of simplicity, I have chosen it – simplicity – as my 2024 word to anchor my thinking and intentions for 2024.   In our dynamic and ever-distracting world, I believe that simplicity triumphs over complexity each and every time.

So, let us declutter our paths and focus on the essentials that drive our collective success. 

As a member of a high-performing team, I encourage you to prioritize the essentials, streamline processes, and communicate clearly, fostering agility, embracing diversity, and modeling innovation.

This principle of simplicity extends beyond our workplace into all aspects of our lives.  Resist overthinking, steer clear of analysis paralysis, and concentrate on delivering excellent, best-of-class, work.  Cultivate robust relationships anchored in trust, remain focused on goals, and decline distractions. 

I believe in the harmony that simplicity can bring to each of us and with it, focus and success will unfold.

Happy New Year all.  Stay healthy and safe.  See you in 2024. 

As we bid farewell to 2023, let’s raise a toast to the exciting journey that awaits us in 2024! 

Happy Thursday all,

-srt

Practicing Curiosity in the Workplace

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” - anonymous

Curiosity stands out as one of the qualities I truly admire. To me, genuinely curious individuals are those who seek understanding through thoughtful questioning.

The mark of a curious person is their unwavering determination to work until they unravel the puzzle before them. This brings to mind my grand-nephew and his Harry Potter Lego Set – a project he approached with an unstoppable resolve to piece it together.

There's a certain hopefulness in the pursuit of knowledge that makes me eager to assist those who are curious in finding answers to their questions.

Reflecting on my time as a reporter for Channel 31 and The Auburn Journal, I recall the intrigue of the stories assigned to me and the diverse people I encountered while seeking the truth. In journalism, the quest involves answering the 5 W’s in every story: Who, Why, What, When, Where (and how). During my investigations, the narrative would often branch into various directions, requiring me to refocus and anchor myself in the core of the story. Despite my editor's reminders to stay focused on the immediate story, I found myself building potential leads for future stories. One such instance involved a Gulf War veteran who, after reading my article about a local jeweler selling military ID bracelets, sensed something was amiss. Although my editor hesitated, my persistence led to a revealing follow-up story exposing the jeweler's fraudulent actions. Tenacity coupled with curiosity can yield remarkable outcomes.

Bringing a curiosity mindset into the workplace necessitates embracing "what if" scenarios and being open to exploring possibilities. Cultivating a culture of curiosity involves:

• Considering all potential solutions in design sessions, regardless of how unconventional they may seem.
• Sharing diverse learnings in team meetings, even if they deviate from our usual sources of knowledge.
• Collaborating with product owners to conduct Voice of the Customer (VoC) sessions for insights that can enhance our products/services.

Now, the challenge for the upcoming weeks: Spend some time contemplating the "what if" I began this Thursday Thought with: "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" I'll be doing the same.

I am genuinely eager to hear your responses. Feel free to share them in the comments below, or you can send them to me via email or IM. Let's embrace curiosity together!

Happy Thursday all,

-srt

Courage to Change

Happy Thursday!

So, I did a thing last Friday.  I actually walked with my class to get my master's in business administration (MBA).  I wasn’t going to, but then my mom told me that I needed to and that she was going to throw me a party to boot.  😊 Gotta love moms.   As all good kids do, I whined about it - gave her the "you aren't the boss of me" attitude - and then did as I was told.

I am so glad I did.  It was a good reminder to take time to celebrate the accomplishments in our lives and celebrate those accompanying us on the journey. 

Courage to Change

With the New Year approaching, I have been thinking a lot about change - change we initiate and change that is delivered to us.  Both impact us, but the reaction and the accompanying emotions are quite different when the change is self-initiated versus delivered to us. 

Dictionary.com defines change as “to make the form, nature, content, future, course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone:  to change one’s name; to change one’s opinion; to change the course of history.”

As I read the above, I realized that is not how I would define change at all.  My definition would be so much more dramatic with a lot of passionate descriptors because change is the only constant thing that we humans experience on this planet (and sometimes it is just hard). 

I mean, think about the changes that occur in your life.  For example, one might have a change in personal relationships.  A change in their job.  The change that comes with aging or even watching a newborn grow up and leave for college.

My change examples above are joyful, but sometimes change is painful.  The death of a friend or loved one.  Or a relationship ending.  Or losing one's job.   And I think of the seasons changing from Fall, with bearable weather, to winter and its crazy coldness.  The painful changes aren’t necessarily bad, they just require a different mindset.

This different mindset led me to think about the caterpillar that literally disintegrates in its own enzymes – becomes liquid – so it can become a butterfly.  Matt Haig in The Comfort Book describes this as falling apart and becoming new. 

The reality is that everyday change is happening - joyful or painful - whether we are ready or not.

So, why am I again thinking about change? 

Because the year that is coming is full of opportunity and with it change.  We have to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead. 

There will also be an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and work on assignments that are new and different.  Pick up work on a different application within the L3 or my portfolio or learn a new skill. 

Adjusting our mental mindset, allows us to embrace change not run from it. 

Not suggesting you liquefy yourself (lol) like the caterpillar, just want you to have the courage to change.

Happy Thursday all,

-srt

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

 

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I met Alexander in 10^th Grade Geometry at El Camino Fundamental High School.   

First day of class my sophomore year, my instructor introduced himself and then pulled out the book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.  He turned to page one and started reading it.  He even lifted the book and showed the illustrations around to the class (can you picture that to a group of 10^th graders?). 

For those of you who haven’t met Alexander by reading (or being read) the story, here is a synopsis:

Alexander woke up feeling all wrong.  He could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day the minute he woke up. For example, he went to sleep with gum in his mouth and woke up with it in his hair.

And, when he got out of bed, he tripped on his skateboard and then dropped his jumper into the sink.  He just knew the day was doomed and it had only just begun.  His solution?  Move to Australia.

At this point, several of you just want to know why my Geometry Instructor decided to introduce himself to the class in this manner.  Right?   Honestly, I don’t know, the joke at the time was that he wanted to move to Australia. 

Others want me to just get to the point.  So here goes …

Today was a challenging day.  Granted I didn’t wake with gum in my hair, but I did start the day with a mandatory software update that required another update right after it.  After, it was just the succession of little things going wrong. 

As I stepped through each one, I kept having these moments where, like Alexander, I felt my day slipping away and becoming a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. 

And, while I recognize that we can’t always control the negative circumstances – we actually do have the power to control (or at least influence) our moods.

So, today, I want to share with you a few things I did to get control of my mood:

1. Smile - now before you mock me, studies show that smiling boosts your mood.  So next time you are caught between a mid-growl or a frown, turn it around for an immediate tension release. 
2. Smell Citrus (or lavender) - my go-to for stress release.  I keep a DoTerra Citrus Oil in my purse for moments when I want immediate calm.  Again, studies show that citrus and lavender, both natural scents, have components that can release stress. 
3. Walk - sunshine boosts serotonin.  Serotonin boosts your mood.  It is that easy.  So, take a walk!  I did and immediately felt better. 

The last thing I did today was take a moment to think of what I am grateful for in life.  I even pulled out a sheet of paper and started writing them down.  When I came upon a name, I decided to either call or write a note to share with that person my gratitude.  When things are not going well, like today, I find that focusing on all the things that are good and right helps me get back into the right mindset.

We all experience these types of days and there is so much to learn about oneself when working through the emotions that come with days like today.  One thing that gives me comfort is knowing I am not the only person who has bad days.  We all have them and how we get through them is what makes the difference.

When you wake up, and like Alexander know you are in for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day do you choose to tackle it head-on, or do you pull the covers over your head determined to sleep through it?  Maybe you do something in between?  Give me your coping mechanisms in the comments below or shoot me an email. 

Wishing each of you a lovely, motivating, cheerful, very good day. 

Happy Thursday all, 

-srt