Kicking off the new year with a Heart Attack wasn’t in my plan…but it was in someone else’s.  And it was perhaps the only kind of Heart Attack I’ll ever want to again as it got my heart feeling better. Here’s what we think happened.

News years eve we hosted a party for a group of 70 college aged kids from our church.  About 2 am the last few left for home( fun and whew!)   We collapsed into bed and didn’t even notice the heart attack until returning from church the next day(or later that day .

As we pulled in the kids noticed our front door was covered with hearts.  The mystery and excitement of who and what it was all about seemed to parallel the excitement of Christmas morning as we rushed from garage to front door to see who loved us.  Below are a couple examples of the many personalized hearts we found.

Many of the notes recognized and celebrated positive attributes of each family member.  As soon as this was discovered we were all looking for our personalized heart attacks while simultaneously celebrating each others.  In the midst of this moment as I saw the smiles on my teams faces and heard the excitement and joy in their voices…. I was “stroke” by a the thought of how this simple act of service had brought so much feeling, so quickly to so many.   For the rest of the day there was intermittent discussion about “WHO” had was behind the Heart Attack…and the good feelings continued to flow as we reviewed the possibilities of those who might love us enough to do this.  My team was happy…and when they are happy…. I’m very happy.

 JOY is such a powerful thing to give…and it was given to my home team in the form of a Heart Attack… perhaps with a little Care, Planning, Resourcefulness or CPR you can save life or at least bless one at the beginning of this new year.

You could rally your team to give one of you members a Heart Attack…or rally your department to give another a group heart attack.  If any of you do…I’d love to hear about it, see pictures of it and share it with others.  2012 is a good year to let our teams know that we love them… hopefully they won’t be surprised and shocked by their Heart Attack that they actually have one. 

 I’m excited to begin this new year with you… and together I hope we can really Grow For IT in 2012.

Kirk Out

Please forgive the lack of T4D’s the last few days… my kids have been out of school and I’ve been on holiday with them. My wife dressed up Ashlyn for the picture above. As she shared the picture with me… these words came to my mind.   Look at this, our miracle child holding the “Miracle Child of the World”….   it was a sweet moment.  And I want to thank you all again for your prayers and support for Ashlyn this year.   The www.miraclesforashlyn.com site has been busy…and I am hearing great things from many of you about the videos posted there and am glad you are enjoying them.

Those of you who happen to also follow me on twitter know that I yesterday passed along a link to a great blog post.  Here is the URL http://keepingitpersonal.com/2011/12/first-class-connection/ Now the post is called “A first class connection” …but in my mind it should be titled “ADD - KEEP - GET RID OF”… and it offers not just the advice of SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY…but a bit of strategy on how we can.    In this season of giving and receiving… it offers some timely suggestions….that can help us to give ourselves and others more…by giving less.

For me, greater mastery of this principle is very important.  For me to ADD more of what I really want/need will require me to first make room and GET RID OF a bunch of stuff that currently occumpies that space.    I want to travel light… and I want to travel in the light.  So anything that weighs me down, has the potential to slow me down…or that clouds my vision… I will need to GET RID OF. (easier said than done…I know)

Luckily I’m married to the Queen of all Chuckers. My Rebecca is the consumate simplifier… and our home (except for my office and another space) is clutter free….because she KEEPs very little and is very accomplished at the GET RID OF part.  There are so many reasons that she is something I want to KEEP around.

The T4Ds may be a little light during the holidays… because I am focusing on my family. I hope the same is true for you.

Kirk out

One of you wonderul readers sent this to me… and since I have been flying back from Sydney for the last 14 hours and am a bit punchy and foggy… it really hit me as pretty funny. The truths numbered 2, 10, 11, 22 resonant the most deeply with me. I hope at least one of them leaves you smiling too.

* 23 ADULT TRUTHS*

1 Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. (I can relate to this)

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong. (hey, did my wife send this one in?)

3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger. (ditto)

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet.

6. Was learning cursive really necessary? (I use it when I sign checks…which is almost never)

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. ( I so agree)

9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind-of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.  ( I really really like this one)

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.   (Hopefully this is not the moment you first show up to work!)

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection … again.

13 . I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. (me too)

19. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong brothers and sisters!

21.  Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.  BRILLIANT)

 23. The first testicular guard, the “Cup,” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only look 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important. ( does this mean this was written by a woman? )

Ladies …. Quit Laughing

 Make it a great day… no snoozing..find your way!!

Kirk

Disagreeable people can be among the greatest joy-suckers in our work and personal lives.  While I do have the occasional temptation to just dismiss them as entirely useless and pathetic….  I have also to come to pity them to some degree because of their utter lack of awareness as to why people generally avoid them.

2 Questions… What is an example of a disagreeable person in your life?  And how do you deal with it?  (in a healthy way )

 Kirk Out

When I was growing up - I remember hearing again and again about the importance of practice.  The phrase was “practice makes perfect” was intended to encourage us to practice.  Later I heard it put it a bit differently.

“Practice makes permanent.”   Only perfect practice can make perfect.  I don’t know that I have every achieved or experienced perfect practice… but I have practiced somethings until they are pretty near permanent.  I wish I could go back in time and practice them more perfectly…and some …not at all.

Do you know anyone who is really practiced at negativity?  How about at sarcasm or sexual innuendo?   Or do you know anyone who has practiced to seemingly near permanance…. the spirit of “good enough” aka as mediocrity.   Do you know anyone who has practiced the spirit of optimism or hope or awareness of the feelings of others?

I remember one of my leaders in the Rangers who would take us out in the field for training exercises.  We never knew how long we were going to be out there with him.  He would say… “Rangers, we’re going to train to standard, not to time.”    If it took us 3 days to meet “the standard” then we would be out there for 3 days.  If on the other hand we were able to consistently meet the standard in 3 hours…then we were done in 3 hours.

Train to standard, not to time…. practice as perfectly as you possibly can… the principles of excellence and positivity. Day by day…what we do, and how we do it…is who we become.

One of you sent me this link a couple of days ago… WOW, talk about practice.

Thank you all for your great comments in response to yesterday’s T4D.

Kirk Out

I began most of my presentations this month with this classic JC Penny clip from a couple years ago.  It was the launching point for a discussion on GIFTS leaders give.  Enjoy the clip and then let’s consider a question.

There are many ways to give thoughtless gifts…but I would instead like to focus on the most thoughtful gifts.  And more specifically what would you say is the most valuable gift a manager or leader can give to their people?

My answer… The gift of seeing themself in a better way. The leaders in my life who helped me see myself as more capable and increased my confidence in what I could accomplish and what I could become truly gave me a gift that has changed me for the better forever.    I guess we could also call this the “gift of change”.

So that is my answer….what is yours?  What is the best gift a leader can give to their people?

Please leave your answers where everyone can read them at www.kirkweisler.com/t4d

Kirk Out

Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be miserable.

(Isn’t that the truth)… Especially if the “busy” is in the service of something outside and greater than ourselves.

Have a happy busy weekend! 

Kirk Out

“Whenever encountering a troublesome person, do not identify him as being cruel or stupid or rude or anything else like that. Instead, see him as a frightened person.”   ~ Vernon Howard

We all know people who are habitually rude, obnoxious, or just plain jerks.  Why they behave that way is usually based in some form of
fear.  Fear of being found out, fear of the unknown, or fear of being hurt (this one has many forms).

Yoda …may have been a fictional character but he taught a wise truth when he said… “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate…and hate leads to the Dark Side!”

The opposite of fear if faith… or a belief and a hope that things can get better, things can work out, that we can do it, or that others will and do want to help us succeed.  Nurturing faith and hope through the creation of vision in others is one of the greatest challenges of leadership.  But, hey… I know you can do it!!  ~ Kirk

“The great paradox of the 21st century is that, in this age of powerful technology, the biggest problems we face internationally are problems of the human soul.” - Ralph Peters

I remember when e-mail was cool and new.  My kids think e-mail accounts are just what old people do.  It’s something they have to have to register for certain websites and functions in their minds more like a social security number than as a communication option.

I’ve been doing faculty training on a college campus for the last couple of days.  The IT guys here say the same thing.  Students don’t want e-mail … they want text and twitter updates and alerts.   The majority of professors on the other hand(the old people) refuse to do anything except e-mails.   Some students actually put their parents names in the required “e-mail” spaces and their parents end up getting their test notifications and class updates.

I heard a story yesterday of a company who just completely did away with all internal e=mail. They said it was based on 2 main factors. The amount of spam that continued to make it through their filters and that people weren’t talking to each other.

I wonder if productivity will go up or down? Hmmn. I wonder the same thing about the richness of relationships, the overall positivity of their culture, their person satisfaction with their work, the feelings of connectedness and the sense of community?

What do you think?   Would like to see e-mail go away entirely?  Is it even possible in our world today?

Kirk Out

“The great paradox of the 21st century is that, in this age of powerful technology, the biggest problems we face internationally are problems of the human soul.”

Nothing is either good or bad but thinking makes it so.  –Shakespeare

Words don’t describe reality, they create it.   –Shakespeare

I’m not sure I fully agree with quote about good or bad…but I think I understand the intent.  I think there is tremendous insight and power in the quote about the power of words.   Words truly have a tremendous creative power….or destructive.  There’s a new film coming out suggesting that Shakespeare didn’t actually do all of this writing… hmmn, I don’t know about that?

If Shakespeare were alive today… I guess he could tell us.   In fact if he were alive today… he might tell us this. (see below)

Logging off is such sweet sorrow.

Until tomorrow…

Kirk out