Moments — an underlying sense of pride...

I will have ridden approximately 1,060 kilometres and raised a little north of $12,500 over the past five years at the end of this weekend — all to help conquer cancer in our lifetime. For my efforts I have been presented with a gold cycling helmet and a certificate of recognition beforehand.

To be sure, there are many other riders who have ridden more than me and have raised much more money than me, but these gifts of recognition have reminded me of my accomplishment, that I am participating in something much bigger than myself, and that everything we are doing contributes to a greater goal — even if it is just by riding a bicycle.

At the beginning of each ride there is a lone bicycle that makes its way through the crowd to the starting line — in silence, those who can no longer ride are honoured. In this silence I remember family and friends, and for the briefest of moments, there is a sense of being on hallowed ground.

Eventually the solemn nature of why we are there will be overcome by the energy of 5000 people who want to ride, and with the starting horn, my new helmet and I will make our way.

iamgpe

Fuck the 12 rules for work — consider these golden rules instead.

A little while ago I was inspired to write a blog entitled "12 rules for work — an antidote for chaos". I will admit in hindsight it was a little optimistic to think something like this could be "tackled" in 500 words or less... or maybe it was just arrogance (I do tend to confuse the two sometimes). For my efforts I received some great feedback, as well as a number of additional rules for consideration — including mine, I now had 27.

Ever the optimist (I think), I couldn't help but realize that 27 rules were just too unwieldy and there were probably a handful of "Golden Rules for Work" in the mix — and as the original title suggested, these rules would be an antidote for chaos.  In a list of 27 there must be gold... at least it seemed a reasonable assumption.

1. Be passionate about your work, or at least find an element of it that excites you.
2. Be prepared to do your best work. Be on time and get organized.
3. Admit mistakes early
4. Dress the part. Never show up looking like a slob.
5. Be open to ideas and input from others.
6. You will get nothing done without objectives and expectations.
7. It is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission.
8. Measure as much as you can.
9. Raise the bar once you think you know what you are doing.
10. People don't pay for easy.
11. Make decisions and move forward.
12. Measure twice; cut once.
13. Establish deadlines and adhere to them.
14. Establish objectives and meet them.
15. Be flexible enough to change your objectives or path if it no longer seems relevant or appropriate.
16. Share the load by offering help to others and by accepting help from others.
17. Admit your mistakes and dare to learn from them.
18. Be light-hearted. Nobody wants to work with miserable people..
19. Be brave and do the right thing, even when nobody else is.
20. Never forget work is much bigger than what you do.
21. Although you are good at what you do, remember that doesn't mean you are good at everything.
22. The person that you forgot about will throw a wrench into what you want to accomplish.
23. When someone asks if there are any questions... ask one.
24. Work is an intellectual pursuit, not an emotional one.
25. You know your business when you know your numbers.
26. Nothing gets done without good people.
27. Work / Life balance.

Using a secret process of consolidation, stack ranking, statistical validation and even a little regression modelling I was able to identify what I am now calling the "5 Golden Rules for Work™ " (Please note it's trademarked and backed by the weight of the internet). I've tried to make them easy to remember (even a little pithy) and are in no particular order except for the first one; the first one came to me from an old work colleague, and I'll admit feeling a little sheepish because I forgot to include it on my original list — damn the Capricorn in me because it's the most important one.

Golden Work Rule #1: Be Balanced — This specifically refers to the concept of Work/Life balance, and as I was reminded, "not having it could lead to personal conflicts, attitude decay, distraction and then the foundation crumbles"*. All that hard work will be for nothing.

Golden Work Rule #2: Measure Twice; Cut Once — This refers to really understanding the situation you are dealing with, that you use data to make decisions, know your numbers, and never make your decisions based on "I think", but rather "I know".

Golden Work Rule #3: Make decisions and move forward — It is all about progressive activity. Set things in motion, learn from your mistakes, course correct, and continue towards your goal.

Golden Work Rule #4: Manage to Objectives and Expectations — Having objectives and expectations will ensure your goals move forward, and please make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. This gives your efforts something to anchor to, and makes the measurement of progress easier.

Golden Work Rule #5 Listen to Others — This rule is about people... about how their insights and ideas will make the outcome of whatever you are working on better. Surround yourself with good people, engage them, and listen to what they have to say.

There you have it — definitely better than my original 12 rules. Thanks to RC, PC, JG and KW for helping me with my efforts; I'm better for your help.

Refer back to Golden Rule #5

iamgpe

* to quote PC.

Moments — Mousetraps and Milliennials

I should mention two things upfront — the mouse doesn't do well in this story, and although I am a very big supporter of the Millennial demographic (for all kinds of reasons), I experienced a situation that epitomized why there are so many detractors.

I only find myself a bit player in this little drama for no other reason then I happened to have a couple of mousetraps under the sink — and really, only because I answered the phone. The voice on the other end of the phone told me that a mutual neighbour was upset that there was a mouse in her place, and wondered if I had any ideas how to "get rid of it".  Moments later a knock came to the door and I was handing my mousetraps over with the suggestion that cheese works well.

"I heard peanut butter" was the response.

It wasn't long after that I received another slightly agitated call saying that they've seen the mouse and could I come over and help set the traps. Not having any energy to look for my cape I arrived shortly there after to find two people who were definitely not fans of mice (I should mention that I make no judgement here because I'm not a fan of spiders — we all have our things). Asking where the traps were, I was directed to a table that had my two traps and a jar of peanut butter; organic peanut butter to be exact. Looking at the runny, but tasty spread, I asked if she had any cheese. 

"Nope".

Ten minutes later I was back with some cheese (and still without that cape) and asked if she knew how to set a mouse trap. I was told that she used to live in the country, was familiar with mice, and knew how to set a mousetrap — but she asked if I could do it and remind her how the setup's done (fair enough). A couple of minutes later two mouse traps are locked and loaded, and placed strategically along the floor boards; I even left some extra cheese because mice can be "tricky". As we parted company I wished her luck and mentioned to be patient... end of story.

Nope.

A day later I received a frantic call asking if I could I please come over. Not even bothering to look for that cape I went over to be greeted by panic; they'd seen the mouse on the kitchen counter... and the cat is under the bed, and wouldn't come out. As I looked over at her boyfriend (who was holding a broom for some reason) I couldn't help but ask, "Cat? Where are the traps?" They explained that the night before they brought in a cat to catch the mouse and they removed the traps so the cat wouldn't step on them. The cat turned out not to be much of a "mouser" and spent most of it's time under the bed — mouse 1, cat 0, people 0.

After some discussion (which included their ability to set up a mouse trap and their request for me to do it), the traps were reset and put back into position. The owner of the cat was called and then it was suggested they should let the place settle down. Again we parted company, I wished them luck, and suggested they be patient. What happened next I only found out through that mutual neighbour — supposedly, thirty minutes after I left the mouse was dead and a cheer of victory erupted.

So what does this story actually have to do with Millennials (other than the people with the mouse trouble were in their mid to late twenties), and why does this epitomize what detractors have been offering up for more than a decade? Well let me offer some thoughts...

• Why does your mouse problem becomes everyone else's?
• Although I appreciate and respect we can't know how to do everything, you don't get to say, "I know how to do it" (with great conviction by the way) and then ask someone else to show you how to do it. Someone is fooling someone, and I know I'm not being fooled.
• Sure I appreciate the desire to celebrate, but let's be candid, you really don't have much to celebrate about when you're just "participating".
• Maybe a "Thank you" will eventually find it's way to me but I can't help think the lack of any acknowledgement is the result of a hardwired expectation that you are entitled to someone looking after you, and your problems
• When you borrow someone's mousetrap, there is a certain expectation you will fucking return it — I suppose it's another variation of the above.

As I mentioned at the outset I love this generation, and believe their potential will possibly change the world like no other... but for now, I'm shaking my head a little and will leave these two to their own devices when it comes to future mouse issues.

iamgpe

PS — And as for that poor mouse (who I might add, probably found it's way into the house because someone left the door open), I hope there is a lesson learned with it's sacrifice. I hope it reminds people not to be so self-centred because there is a very big world out there just trying to make it's way and your paths will cross — or at the very least, a simple reminder to keep your door closed because it's warm inside.