Hockey is for girls too!

This week marks the 100th day of school for my elementary school-aged children. My 8-year old daughter’s class was assigned a project to commemorate this milestone — they could do anything they wanted that had to do with the number 100. Nicole is a young hockey player and she wanted to do a video to demonstrate some of the skills she has learned from her minor hockey coaches as well as her coaches at home… myself and her two older brothers, Alec and Sean (most of the latter acquired in the garage or on the backyard rink).

I don’t know how many of you have young daughters or how many are hockey players but I cannot tell you enough about how much I enjoyed helping her to produce this video. It was a great dad / daughter collaboration. Like many kids her age, Nicole has a bright way about her (note: the boys’ soccer coach nicknamed her “Sunny” last summer). She has gigantic blue eyes and an infectious smile. Well, her eyes absolutely lit up when I agreed to help with this video. But there were a couple conditions… While I would provide technical assistance, she was responsible for choosing the skills to demonstrate as well as the music selections… And of course, she (and she alone) was to be the “demonstrator” in the video. She’s the definition of a self-starter so none of this was a problem.

The result is the video you see below. I can’t even describe the pride in her voice when she told her brothers and mom about it and asked if they could watch it… NOW. She was beaming when she walked out the door this morning in anticipation of presenting it to her class. I hope it went well (I’m sure it did).

And I must say, when I watch the video, I notice that she’s a pretty darn good little hockey player. She currently plays mostly with boys (because they dominate the sport in numbers) and she keeps up very well. If you’re a mom or dad wondering whether or not to put your daughter in a hockey program, my advice is to do it if that’s what she wants to do. My daughter has tried basketball, volleyball, and even dance… but none of those stuck. She wants to play hockey (just like her bros) and when I see the pride she takes in playing and practicing… how could I ever say no?

Make a difference… Part 2

Today, there was a great article in my local paper, the Daily Gleaner.  Check the full story out at Talk about 5,000 reasons to smile.  

A young woman was walking downtown in Fredericton, New Brunswick when she spotted a Hong Kong Bank envelope lying on the ground.  In it?  Five thousand bucks.  Yikes!  

And what did she do?  Well, to start… When she got home, she told her father and they counted the money – I’m sure they had the same WOW reaction that any of us would – and he simply said to her, “I’m going to leave the decision up to you.  Do what you feel is right.”

Fortunately, there was a cheque (or check if you prefer) in the envelope of cash so the woman was able to make a couple calls and connect with the rightful owner.  As you can see from the article, the owner was very grateful to have had an honest person find and return the money.

In a world where “finders keepers” can often rule the day, this is a great example of someone doing the right thing for someone else… a complete stranger no less.  We are absolutely surrounded but lots of good people and every day, there are people, a lot them anonymous, doing the right thing, making a difference and leaving a positive mark.

Doing good feels good.  Just ask Erica Myshrall of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.    

Imagine… a better life for New Brunswick

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future…  Heady questions have been the order of the year in 2011.  It’s been a year of introspection and thinking for me.

I grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick.  After moving away (briefly to attend McGill University in 1987 and again in 1993, after graduating from the University of New Brunswick, to pursue my career in Halifax and Toronto… then graduate school and more “experience” – plus three kids – in Boston… yes, this is a truly horrible run-on sentence), I returned ‘home.’  If you know nothing about New Brunswick, you can read here.

I’ve been thinking about how New Brunswick can become better.  By better, I mean prosperous and more sustainable (or self-reliant).  We have historically been a disadvantaged region, and quite frankly, I’m tired of it… We need to be better if we are to see future generations build their lives here.

So what does it take for a province like ours to become “better?”  What can we be the very best at?  We need to discover our “hedgehog” to borrow from James Collins’ “Good to Great.”  Finding the intersection of what we’re absolutely passionate about, what we’re capable of being the best in the world at, and what drives our economic engine…

Enough academia for today…

I think we can be the smartest province in Canada… highly educated people who are fit, healthy, and happy … have an incredible capacity for research and development … are hard-wired to be entrepreneurial… are starting more companies and social enterprises than anywhere else… and want to leave a positive mark on society… and change the world.  While daydreaming during a meeting, I wrote the storyboard for this simple video …

I can imagine that kind of future.  Can you?

“Shift Happens”

I read an interesting blog post today at B2C – business 2 community – published by Jim Clemmer (find it here).  In his post, the author recounted a leadership workshop that he had facilitated and the discussion surrounding the importance for organizations to “change rather than be changed.”  In the post, the author refers to a video called “Shift Happens: Did You Know?”.  I had not seen it before but found it quite interesting. I did a quick search on YouTube and found the one below (it looks to be the original, and I prefer the music so thought I’d show it here). The research in the video was conducted by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Brenman.

Make a difference.

Making a difference.  That’s what it’s all about.  That’s why we’re here.  It’s not to make money.  It’s not to amass power or might.  It’s not to achieve celebrity.  Each of us, no matter where we live, have a responsibility to make a difference in this world… to make it better, to make it nicer, to make it more sustainable, to make it more enjoyable.

I just came from the Richard J. Currie Center at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada.  Today was its grand opening.  It is a beautiful, state-of-the-art athletic and convocation facility that is among the best in North America.  And it is thanks to UNB’s Chancellor, Dr. Richard Currie, a Canadian business icon, who generously donated approximately $20 million towards its construction.

Few of us can afford to make these types of financial donations.  But everyone has the ability to give time, give energy, give passion, and do things that truly can have an impact on someone else.  When someone says something as simple as “thank you”… that leaves an impression.  It leaves a mark.  The recipient feels good.  When someone holds open a door, offers a seat on a crowded bus, teaches or coaches our kids, opens a business, or fights for a cause… each of these leaves a mark… makes a difference.

We each have a duty to leave our mark.  We each have it in us.

So what are you doing to make a difference…  To leave your mark?

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

October 5, 2011.

This is a sad day in the history of business, of technology, of consumer products, of innovation, of popular culture, and of life.

I never met Steve Jobs.  Never even came close to having a chance to meet him.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I do not know anyone personally who met Steve.  But I admired him.  And damn, did he ever give us so many amazing new ways to enjoy life and connect with each other.  That is what Apple has been all about.

Last year, I was searching for inspiration for a strategy I was developing for a client and I came across the legendary commencement address that Steve Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005.  I shared this in a post about a year ago (here).  In his speech, he talked about how “it’s impossible to connect the dots in your life when looking forward… and that you can only do it when looking backward.  And that you have to trust that somehow the dots in your life will connect… and trusting in that makes all the difference…” I think of those words often… of the importance of trusting that things will work out, that the dots will connect.  Yes, hard work and commitment are critical but in the end, so much is about “belief”… in what could be.  Imagine if Steve had not believed in what could be… for us.

Macintosh.  Pixar.  iPod.  iPhone.  iPad.

Another one of his quotes, which I have had written on my white board for… 3 years I think.  ”Do you want to make sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me and change the world?”  It is said that Steve asked this question while interviewing a prospective executive from Pepsi.  I have no idea if it really happened and I don’t really care… ’cause damn straight… I want to change the world!  I haven’t yet… someday…

It is certain that the business world has lost a giant, silicon valley has lost a friend and colleague, and that Apple has lost a dear member of its family.  I offer my deepest sympathies to those who knew Steve and say “thank you” for what he created for all of us.

(written on my Mac)

Yoda: Jedi Master or Change Guru?

My kids have recently rediscovered the magic of Star Wars.  When we were away camping in Maine a couple weeks ago, they, along with their cousins, broke out the light sabres and started duelling around the campsites… It was actually pretty fun to watch.

When we returned home, they spent their first two days reacquainting themselves with the 6 movies (in order… for the full effect of Anakin Skywalker’s transformation from young Jedi to Darth Vader).  When they were watching Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, I overheard one of Jedi Master Yoda’s most famous quotes…

“Fear is the path to the dark side.  Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”

According to one online source, this is his meaning (my abridged version):  ”Negative emotions are a result of fear. Understanding what we are afraid of is where we begin to conquer fear, and therefore anger and hate.  If we look at the things we hate or that make us angry… and ask why, it will usually lead back to a lack of understanding, and in turn, fear of the unknown.”

You know, Yoda’s teachings on the force and the ways of the Jedi could easily be applicable to strategies for managing organizational change.  So much of our resistance to change is about fear of the unknown, uncertainty, lack of understanding… or anger about something we like being displaced or taken away.  And don’t forget the resentment felt toward those in leadership positions or in the roles of “change agents”.  If we focus more on addressing fear and anger, I’m certain we’ll see better success rates for change initiatives.

If we were to recast Yoda’s words into something like this…

“ambiguity leads to fear… fear leads to anger… anger leads to resentment… resentment leads to inertia… and inertia is the path to maintaining status quo (i.e. failure to change).”

… we might be able to put ideas together to really address the things at the heart of the matter when it comes to change.  And let me give you a hint – it ain’t requirements, specs or better features.  Think people, spirit, enthusiasm, and feelings…  That’s the stuff of change!

“Ambiguity is the path to the status quo.”