Sometimes it’s hard to say “Goodbye.” About three weeks ago, I told my boss and friend I was going to be saying “Goodbye.” We had worked together to help build his small agency into a pretty impressive creative shop. The catch for me was that I was doing my part from 300 miles away in my home office.

The home office is a beautiful thing and has many, many benefits. And, by using technology like video chatting, instant messaging, and email; you can really do quite well.

But it’s hard to replace regular face-to-face contact. Some of you may be saying “Geez, I’d love to replace my face-to-face contact with some peace and quiet!” I understand.

But, as someone who was to help develop the agency both in terms of new business and internally by developing our staff, it was extremely difficult to do that solely over iChat, email, and phone.

As I wrapped up my work with Morsekode, I finished a couple projects for one of our large global clients. The team on the client side was entirely distributed. Some in the UK, some spread throughout the US, and some in Germany. Some of the meetings we had were quite good, but none as good as when we all got together in one room for 2 days and hashed out what really needed to happen.

Technology can do many things. And, do many things well.

But I don’t think it can completely replace the experience of working together in person.

Not yet anyway.

Goodbye home office. I’ll visit from time to time, but, for now, I’m leaving you for the old-school-gotta-face-the-commute-office-with-a-desk-and-actual-people-downtown.

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(This should have been posted a week ago…but I went on vacation)

I really don’t travel much for my work. Not anymore. I used to. But that’s another post.

The last 10 days have been a bit of an anomaly. 10 days, 4 countries, tons of meetings, tons of new people.

Normally, I work from home. And, for those of you who do this, you know how hard that can be. You know how everyone [who doesn’t work from home] thinks it’s so great, but they never see the challenges, the isolation, and the discipline you have to have (and which most of us do – if you want to stay credible). They also don’t see how hard it is to separate work from your home life. It all becomes one.

It’s all a part of life.

One of my visits was in Germany. My wife and I lived and worked there years ago and that experience will always be one of our favorite times. (I’m sure I’ll post on that more. . . )

Going back to Germany messes with my mind. I love the way of life. The challenge of working in another language. Working/living in another culture. You can NEVER know it all when you are in a culture other than your native culture. It’s humbling.

Even more humbling is working in countries where you really don’t know the local culture or language. I had some meetings in Brno, Czech Republic. What a cool little place. This company I was working with is filled with young, energetic, animated, and hopeful employees. Not what you might expect from the Czech Republic. I love it when my attitudes are shifted to better understanding.

I’m not sure what my point is here. I’m pensive in Philadelphia, waiting for my final flight connection home. The thrill of new people, new cultures and simply touching other lives is so refreshing that it messes with all of my “what I want to do when I grow up” thoughts.

Would I give up “what” I do just to be in a specific type of environment – almost regardless of what it was I was doing to be there? That’s an interesting question.

I’ll ponder that on my next flight. Thankfully, this trip has been smoother than my last business travel.

Maybe I’ll stop all my lofty questions when I get home, hug my wife and kids, and simply be thrilled with all the great things/work/situations I already have.

That would be something.

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On the road for work. Parked at brother-in-law’s in suburban Chicago and grabbed a taxi to the airport. Interesting driver. Syrian medical doctor. Came to America to pursue the dream. Got married, nasty divorce and now his ex-wife is basically ruining any chance he has at grabbing the dream. (Screwing up his American residency.)

Obviously, I cannot know both sides of the story. (I’m sure he helped screw up the marriage too.)

What a crazy position I was in. I have the entire world in comparison to what he has. He is well educated, moved for a better life (took a huge risk, I imagine), and is at the bottom of the American food chain (or, perhaps better said, working a position far below his abilities).

He feels robbed, lied to by the American media, by Baywatch. . .(he brought that up, not me.)

His skin color continues to weigh him down in America – a land he animatedly referred to as 100% racist. (I politely disagreed with the full 100%, but do not deny that we have problems.)

He’ll likely be deported at his next immigration court date (April 13) because his visa is expired and because of some legal complications surrounding his ex-wife.

I’ve often asked myself (and God) why I was born into the (relative) wealth I was. A relatively easy life. A life that I’m so quick to complain about.

I’m trying to stop asking that question and simply give my life the best return on investment possible.

[time passes]

I finished Lawler Kang’s book, Passion at Work on the plane. In the last chapter he talks once again about all the “x-factors” that happen – things you cannot plan for – the unexpected – both good and bad. He also talks about avoiding the “victim” status. How it’s a dangerous trap that will steer you away from realizing your goals.

I wonder if I could avoid feeling the victim if I experienced the unexpected life of my cab driver.

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I admit it. I’m a bit of a Germanphile. I’ll save my ramblings about how that came to be for now, but it is partly why I own a VW. If you own a VW or other European car, you may understand the challenge it can be (outside of Europe) to find qualified auto technicians that you can afford – and trust.

A friend of mine had a VW and came across a small repair shop on the east side of Madison, WI that specializes in VW.

It’s basically a one-man shop. I think Tim is his name – I’ll find out for sure when I go back to get my work finished up (it needed a part specific to my vehicle identification number, which meant ordering from Germany).

UPDATE: His name is Dave.

It’s not exactly as convenient to go there as it would be to go to the big auto monopoly in our area, but my friend said this guy was great – and reasonably priced. So, I was prepared to like him before I met him.

When I picked up my car, I asked Tim about his training on VW, and how it came to be that he specialized in VW. It turns out that he has a Computer Science degree. He had worked in another shop in Milwaukee and decided he just really enjoyed working on cars. He said, “it’s all problem solving, so it’s not really different from what I might have done with computers.”

[As a side note, I did find it interesting to see a mechanic all tech-geeked out with a Bluetooth wireless headset, working on his computer when I came to pick up the car.]

As to how he came to specialize in VW? He said that basically it was customer demand. He had started as serving all brands, then imports, and then finally VW. Why? Because the business was steady and reliable and he could really focus work on the things he knew about (from simply having a lot of experience).

There’s two lessons here, I think:

• Even though he was pointed in a specific direction, he chose to simply do what he really enjoyed doing – and more than likely at a loss of potential income.
• Focus – Business books like Jim Collins’ Good to Great talk about focus. I like how Tim specialized and was able to be successful because of that.

I’m reading a book by one of my old bosses – Lawler Kang. Lawler’s book is called Passion at Work. Lawler takes a very methodical view at turning your work into a something that specifically fits who you are and what you are passionate about. I’ll post more on this later as I go, but I think Tim is a good example of that.

And it’s always inspiring to me to see people living life on their own terms as Lawler writes about. Maybe this is somehow inspiring to you, too.

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Like many of you, I go through periods where I really question my job, my career, and whether I’m in “the right place.”

A couple days ago, I spoke with a client in Austria. I had a great conversation. This guy was calling me at around 11pm at night his time. He was funny, interesting, personable – (maybe he was drunk? – no, just kidding!)

It’s good conversations and interactions with people like that that energize me. Even though I had a tough time traveling last week, I met about 8 people last week that I wouldn’t have otherwise met – and they were all interesting people. (Their jobs might bore me to tears, but they were interesting people.)

For me, it’s about people.

Helping those people. People like you and I that are asking some of the same questions we are asking about our own lives. People who have families and stories and lives that mean so much more than their role at a big corporate entity. Sure we run into people that define themselves by the role they play in their company or career, but even those people have something to offer (once you can dig down and get to the real person).

I have to truly be thankful for the opportunities that my work has given me to meet great people.

Have you ever thought about how many cool people your work has introduced to you?

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wound
with layers

ductape

at first,
it was just a couple

strands

It wasn’t uncomfortable

Then I noticed
additional

layers

Thick, sticky
spaces filled quickly

panic

I cannot breathe
I am round, wound, wishing to be
unbound, free

I push, flex
but the strands surround

I cannot be found

slowly losing

breath

me

–
14 June 2004
1st comment explains what I was thinking

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(That’s about -2 degrees Fahrenheit for the metrically-impaired.)

Discipline is doing things you know you should even when you don’t feel like it. Today it was negative 19 degrees Celsius at about the time I usually go for a run. I skipped yesterday for a number of reasons. (Ok, it was only actually one - I was grumpy.)

But today was different. I slept last night. A lot. I got up early. Had time to think – clearly.

My wife has told me – more than once – “You think too much. Stop thinking and start doing!” She’s probably right (most wives are, aren’t they?).

If you’re sort of joining me on this journey to being closer to who you were made to be; if you’re trying to move towards working in areas about which you are passionate; or if you are a creative type would like nothing more than to create, then here’s the deal: you’ve got to take steps in that direction. Regularly.

And sometimes that takes discipline.

Going for a run today reminded me of that. And it felt good.

I bet you’ll feel better the next time you do that thing you know you need to do, too.

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In reading Peter Block’s The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters, I came across an interesting revelation. It was, really, quite simple.

Ambition seeks recognition.

Block suggests we need to lose our ambition. And do things that simply matter to us. Not do things that we think others will find interesting or approve of.

How many things are you working towards right now in an effort to gain recognition? It might be working extra hard at work in hopes of a promotion, raise, or some sort of “attaboy.” It might be trying to write a book or song that you feel could be a worldwide hit. It might be trying to gain a large audience in the blogosphere.

Block argues that all of those goals put others in control of our lives.

I cannot distill it well here in a short post (without much more thought and effort). But think about it: Are you doing things that you love to do – regardless of who might notice - or are you doing them to impress or seek recognition from someone else?

It’s a scary question to ask. But it might help you align your life with the things that are truly important to you.

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Calm, but frustrated
At the tension between

What works?
and
What matters?

There’s something
- Right here
That matters

But what?

–
15 January 2007
1st comment explains what I was thinking.

1 Comment »

It finally snowed a bit here in Madison, WI yesterday. Not a ton of snow, but enough that it made sense to shovel. This year, I went all out and bought this semi-fancy shovel with a thick handle and, to really ensure I get it all, a metal edge along the bottom of the “solid” plastic scoop area. Seriously, this is supposed to be a great shovel.

After a clearing a small portion, however, this shiny new shovel was really disappointing. Sure, it’s got metal along the bottom, but it doesn’t seem to hit the pavement evenly. So, while fine for some types of snow, it wasn’t clearing my walk all that well. Looks great, but doesn’t really deliver.

I went back into my garage and grabbed an old, all metal scoop shovel that a retiring family gave to ours as they headed to Florida. This thing is old, orange, beat up, bent, rusty – some would look at it and simply put it out with the trash.

But this shovel worked perfectly. It cut right down to the pavement and performed exactly as I needed.

The shovel reassured me of something. So often I’m worried about improving myself, learning more, developing more, looking better or more impressive, or getting ready to – someday – be truly useful in this world. But my bent, rusty snow shovel shows me that sometimes the perfect tool for the job doesn’t look perfect at all.

Most of us don’t look perfect. But we wish we did. I love my bent, rusty snow shovel. It’s perfect for just the right job.

So are we. Right now. As we are.

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