Tag Archives: movies/tv

Allowing for Serendipity

by on January 15, 2005 in Creative, Life, Media

It’s funny how events sometimes happen in our lives, almost as if they have been planned and directed by someone else. Sort of like being in our own Truman Show. For instance: You sit down for a cup of coffee at Starbucks expecting to just be with yourself, but joyfully, you’re pulled into an amazing set of conversations that entertain, inform, even alter your worldview. It’s serendipity and when you’re open to all that the universe has to offer, it can lead to really great stuff.

As an aside, when I looked up the word serendipity at dictionary.com to make sure my spelling was accurate, I discovered the word’s origin:

We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that “this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word.” Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of “a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of….”

I like that…making unexpected discoveries through accident and sagacity. Here’s an idea for allowing serendipity into your life:

Ditch the script. Some of us have an easier time living spontaneously than others. That’s okay; we’re all made up differently. But, we all have the capacity to be spontaneous. If you find surprises and the unexpected scary, find the place where you are comfortable and hang out there. Notice what it’s like, what you are feeling and sensing. Then take a step toward discomfort (sort of like that first step into a cold pool of water). Again, be aware of what’s going on inside you and what’s going on outside. Take your time, but resist the urge to immediately go back to comfort. True growth occurs in places of discomfort.

What else has worked for you? Where else have you experienced a moment of serendipity in your life? Here’s hoping you make another accidental discovery today.

Looking for Leadership in Reality TV

by on December 3, 2004 in Media, Work

There’s an interesting critique of the business moguls on TV (Trump, Cuban, and Branson) and their leadership flaws in today’s Globe and Mail (Reality TV reveals real-life leaders’ flaws).

While each might provide great theater (Cuban and his reality show aside), I wouldn’t hold any of them up as outstanding models of leadership. But then, maybe it was foolish to expect this anyway.

What’s Your Voice?

by on November 28, 2004 in Creative, Media

I went on a rare date with my wife last night (those with kids understand the rarity) and saw the movie Ray with Jamie Foxx. I didn’t know much about the life of Ray Charles and found among the film’s themes someone pursuing his own voice. There’s an interesting scene where Ray is beginning to record for Atlantic Record execs and starts to imitate leading artists like Nat King Cole. For Ray, this is what he thinks the record company wants. But what the record execs want is Ray…they want HIS voice and what he brings.

It was a reminder of something that can elude me at times in my own work. It’s easy to imitate the work of already established voices. I mean, they’re established because the world knows and likes what they are saying, right? But the world doesn’t need one more person saying the same thing; the world wants a new voice. Continuing the thought of the last post, it may take time, patience, and courage for the world to understand that it needs this new voice. So, thanks for hanging out with me as I explore my voice and figure out what uniqueness I’m intended to bring to the discussion of careers, leadership, and organizations.

The Struggle of the Moth – Are You Ready to Take Flight?

by on November 9, 2004 in Career, Media

Isaac Cheifetz poses the following question: Can the principles of evolutionary biology be used to guide our careers?

In his article, he compares the “stop and go” path that some middle managers find in their journey to executive management to the evolutionary development theory of Punctuated Equalibrium popularized by Stephen jay Gould. In Gould’s theory, evolution tends to be characterized by long periods of inactivity that are “punctuated” by environmental forces leading to rapid, revolutionary development. Further in the article, Cheifetz clarifies what differentiates punctuated career development from a stagnant career path.

It reminds me of a recent episode of Lost where Locke talks to Charlie about the moth’s transformation and struggle to change. While he could help the moth escape from its cocoon with a slight cut of the knife, he would be doing it a disservice by robbing it of one of nature’s essential lessons. Struggle is what nature imposes in order to make things stronger. Without getting too Darwinian, there seems to be something there about our careers. Sometimes, there are lessons to be gained from struggle and if we give in and move on too quickly, we’ll rob ourselves of those necessary learnings.

When our careers seem like they’re stuck in low gear, maybe we need to be there for a reason. And maybe there is a rapid, revolutionary development on the near horizon if we’re open enough to look for it.

Dream Teams: Do They Actually Work In Organizations?

by on September 18, 2004 in Work

We all know how the United States basketball team fared at the 2004 Olympics and a similar thing seems to be happening with the U.S. Ryder Cup golf team. Both groups, filled with exceptionally talented individuals and seemingly dominant on paper compared to the competition, provide a stark reminder of one of the pitfalls of team-building. The pursuit to fill a work team with the best individual talent may actually lead to poor results. Instead, first consider the mission of your team (what’s your central purpose for existing as a group) and then build based on the answer. Need a strong marketing focus? Are you weak in bringing new ideas to the table? The best individuals to help with these needs may not be one of the “office all-stars.”

In the movie Miracle, Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell) tells his assistant, “I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right ones.” What he wanted was a team that shined together, not individual all-stars trying to shine on their own. Do you have the right ones on your team?