jdean3 - Tales of Transformation

I just returned home from spending the day with our youngest son attending the NASA broadcast of the launch of the 2010 F.I.R.S.T. robotics competition and the subsequent “initial strategy” meeting his high school team held to get started with this 6 week challenge.

I walked away more impressed than ever with the future of our world.

Without getting too deep into the logistics of what the FIRST initiative stands for [For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology], I can tell you that it has far more impact in changing lives than ANY other activity I’ve witnessed to date.

Although centered around building robots for competition, it is more about building people for challenges.

Watching the transformation of young peoples lives is more than fascinating, it is contagious and I would encourage EVERY person I know to go see for themselves what is taking place in these high schools around the world.

Nothing is more relevant to the challenges we face.  One guiding tenet of the FIRST experience is centered around something they term “Gracious Professionalism”.

I wish every executive or business colleague could re-enlist in high school for such valuable education.

Just for kicks, watch the animation that explains what these kids (grades 9-12) have the next 42 days to build.  This is in their “spare time”.  While it includes a competitive drive, a thirst for knowledge and the thrill of contributing to something cool, the real benefits come from living through the intense and demanding schedule rarely experienced at a high school level.

As a professional (not in a science or engineering role) I have found nothing more worthy of recommending other adults volunteer their time in mentoring young people.  Take time to attend one of the local competitions.  Check out the details at www.usfirst.org

Next Deadline:  1/16/10

One of the first questions I’ve asked myself when setting this blog into motion was “who in the world would ever take the time to read what I wrote?”

I’ve never been drawn to anything quite so narcissistic as a public diary (my original understanding of a blog) and my life is a tad bit boring (as my teenage kids will readily attest).  Yet, the more research I read on the art of penning one’s own blog, the more I feel compelled to try.

Clearly, my initial “pre-postings” were, at least, interesting for those that are close friends and family as they dealt with a number of personal issues.  The diversion from a normally secretive persona made the entries dealing with my physical recovery after an accident something to talk about.  Even if we’ve never met, most people can relate to injuries that require time to heal.  I was glad to get it all out of my system (so to speak) and it serves as good background for those that might find it interesting to watch how this blog has progressed.

I have been told by some colleagues that they are looking forward to some “dirt” on the Company we work for.  Unfortunately, this will never occur.  Aside from the water-cooler talk,  I have no interest in memorializing how close my corporate life is to the Dilbert comic strip.  Besides, there are plenty of other sites that rant on with automotive or employer bashing…we don’t need another.

Instead, I simply chose to document and follow a few of my own passions in a public forum.  Perhaps over time, this will reveal part of a transition I’m unaware of at the moment.  Nevertheless, I am compelled to find my own rhythm of starting the conversation.  I hope  that the more people I make aware of this site, the greater the chance we can actually have dialogue.  I continue to experiment with the “comments section”, but I clearly have hopes that I am successful in engaging readers along the way (or at least provoking a reaction).

So what can you expect to read and why should you tune in?

I hope to entertain you (at the very least).

My commitment to transparency quickly exposes the fact that I am simply a happily married, middle-aged, corporate grunt, father of 3 wonderful kids in college or high school.  I deny that I am going through any mid-life crisis (my kids joke that I must be) and I have no experience as an author of anything outside of grad school or work related activities. But after you get over my self-effacing boorish chatter, it will surprise you to learn my interests are…..well, interesting.

I promise to keep my postings short (600-800 words max) so it forces me to get to the point quickly.  As my confidence grows (no guarantees), I may post more than once a week.  I also leave room that I may decide to use video or audio clips, but for now I’ll stick with simple written submissions.

I’m also finding I have tons of friends that, like me, were really stuck in the past (the designer of my website called me “so web 1.0″).  I hope to also introduce them to the world of blogging as I teach myself a few new tricks.

So Stay tuned.  Bookmark this site…subscribe to the feed…or simply check in every weekend and participate (voting on the posts are also anonymous and a good way for me to judge if I’m on the mark or off base).

Next deadline: 1/2/10

I admit, I started my 2010 New Years Resolution last September when I initiated this blog.  I spent several months pre-populating the blog with various tidbits of a personal nature to practice using WordPress (the platform you’re reading) and to experiment with a number of topics.  While I have learned a great deal, I have far to go.

The point of this posting is to state that a New Years Resolution should be communicated. It should be a statement worth sharing.  It can be personal, which means you would only share it with close family members or a privileged few…but it is nevertheless a statement and requires the courage to communicate.  For it to “count” you must do more than just think about it.  You must have the courage to place it in view of someone.

I obviously told a couple of close friends & colleagues about this site while it was under development, even though I wasn’t yet sure I knew where it would lead.  It was necessary to gauge the level of expectations of my intended readers and to make adjustments when necessary. The best example was the revelation that anonymous postings were absolutely required if I wanted to entice people to participate.  At Ford Motor Company (and I’m sure many other fortune 1-100’s), it is a kiss of death to be viewed outside of mainstream.  So, the addition of the ability to join this conversation with an alias was born.  Anyone may log in and add value to this site without the fear of someone misinterpreting their devotion to their employer.

My resolution is simple:  I will stick with this blog and focus on  Transformations. I will post, at least, 52 weekly entries intended to spur conversation as well as personal & career reflection.

Of course, it’s not the only thing we will see on this site.  I fully intend to maintain my focus on mentoring others, pontificating my own “point of view”, sharing my own fascination with the study of the future and any/all tidbits associated with true value.  To make things interesting, however, something as personal as transitioning is worthy of my primary focus.

Feel free to jump in.  Learn from my mistakes (hopefully this blog isn’t one of them), learn from the experience of others commenting (tbd) and read my thought process and decisions during the next year or so and decide for yourself how you can do the same.

What is your New Years Resolution?

I am so glad I’ve hedged my bets and only told 28 people about this blog (actually I told another friend about it earlier this week, so I should start saying 29).  I really had no idea that staying motivated to writing a single posting per week would present a challenge. 

Perhaps it is my desire to shy away from any subject or comment that could breach the privacy of family members or be misinterpreted by colleagues or my employer (all of which I’m sure I’ve already violated accidentally).

Perhaps it is because I wanted to spend the first few months posting personal items just to get them off my chest while I learn the “ropes” of WordPress.

It might also be because the pace of work has been incredibly hectic for the past 6-8 weeks and I haven’t made time for much else.

Nevertheless, I haven’t allocated enough energy to do more than list hundreds of future topics that I hope to eventually tackle in this forum.  I will stick with my intention of starting fresh in January, but for now there are more pressing matters!

It seems this year is more difficult than prior years in getting into the “spirit” of Christmas.  While I promise not to impose on others religious beliefs, I can share a little tidbit of how some transitions don’t always come easily.

Those that know me well also know I am Christian and thus celebrate this holiday season in a special manner.  Not unlike every other religious holiday around the world it means something different to each of us.

Following a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration that has historically been a family reunion of sorts for most folks, December 25th comes close behind and since it includes the commercialism of every retail establishment, you can’t escape it.

The challenge, however, is to keep this holiday in perspective and not let it get lost in the process.

The best reflection of the God I know is revealed in the feeling of giving.  Finding, making or providing a gift to someone you love is a terrific way to celebrate the ultimate Gift from God.  As a Christian, this is a time of celebration.

In reality, however, a celebratory mindset requires preparation.  My experience has shown you must take the time and energy to prepare yourself.  When things around us work AGAINST a celebratory mood it means we must spend even more energy to do this correctly.  The economy, your job, your relationships with family & friends, your disagreements, your dreams & aspirations, your school work….virtually every part of our lives impact our ability to focus, keep things in perspective and control our mood.

Take time.  Make time for yourself this Christmas season.  Don’t let anything stand between you and this celebration.

Now, I’m off to heed my own advice.

Merry Christmas!

PS:  My New Years Resolution posting is next.

transition [trænˈzɪʃən] n : the period of time during which something changes from one state or stage to another

transformation [ˌtrænsfəˈmeɪʃən] n : the act of transforming or the state of being transformed (to alter or be altered radically in form, function, etc.)

I’ve caught myself on multiple occasions interchanging the terms “transition” and “transformation” when describing my intention to focus on specific topics in this blog.   Indeed, they are interchangeable for most of my purposes, but it does warrant some conversation.  In some respects, I use the term “transition” to represent softer changes than those implied by the term “transformation”.  I typically use the term transformation to reflect a “complete” turnabout or metamorphosis.

I believe life is FULL of transitions worthy of discussion.  Nothing seems constant except the inevitability of one transition after another…a constant state of transformation or some degree of fluidity. We often get use to many necessary transitions as they take time unfold:

• Childhood – Adolescence – Adulthood – Parenthood
• Social – Dating – Marriage
• Injury – Treatment – Healing – Recovery
• Grade School – Middle School – High School – College – Grad School

There are also multiple transitions we face with little or no stress (in hindsight, we often forget how stressful the moment was at the time).

• Meals, Sleep, Dressing
• Spring Cleaning, Seasonal decorating/clothing
• Daylight Savings Time
• Work days, Weekends, Holiday Schedules

There are clearly, however, a number of events or phases in life that can take us by surprise or force us to pause for reflection or make plans. These transitions (or transformations) are intentional, deliberate and usually require action (decision).

It is the transition that requires a decision that most interests me, although I will likely share some examples of transitions that I don’t believe required or were the result any particular decision point.  I hope the tales of transformation are as educational for readers as they are for the participants.

There are a number of transitions/transformations that I intend to include once we get officially started.  Some are deeply personal, some are simply professional or are stories I’ve gathered over time that have proven interesting.  You can be sure I will cover, at least, the following transformations/transitions in future posts:

• The Transformation of a COMPANY (ie Ford Motor Company)
• A new job…vs a new Career…vs a new assignment
• Transitions from Employee to Supervisor
• Retirement (assuming I keep blogging that long)
• Transformation of Religion
• Empty Nesting

I’ve been fortunate to have experienced more transitions in my life than I would care to list in a single post.  To be sure, I will focus on those transformations and transitions that have something of value for others (at least, in my opinion).

Note:  The real benefit of a blog is the ability to document a transition as it unfolds.  Transformations like the one Ford Motor Company has been undergoing for the past several years and will likely continue for several more, are especially unique to witness as it progresses.  I am hoping I stay true to my intention of honestly and accurately recording how it transpires from my own point of view.

This story of transitions, will document several transformations at once.  It is blurry and confusing in the midst of such upheaval, but I am hoping more clarity unfolds as the story develops.  In the meantime, I will simply write what comes to mind.

——————

I made a rather bold accusation in an earlier post that one of the terrible by-products of a massive downsizing was the loss of passion in employees.  Indeed, many lifelong loyal employees at my own Company were walked out the door (or asked to leave) in a massive restructuring that extended throughout the entire automotive industry.  The survivors of this restructuring are struggling with how to re-engage.

Even those that remain in positions of leadership feel the lack of cohesion and synergy around them.  Remnants of our old culture mixed with the birth of a new culture not yet embedded make for a confusing environment to encourage true passion in your work.

Many simply won’t re-engage.  They are aggressively pursuing other interests and it is only a matter of time before they find something that will draw their attention.

Others, however, want to stay and make Ford the best automotive company in the world.  They just don’t know what or how to mentally and EMOTIONALLY reconnect at the same level they were previously.  We shouldn’t underestimate this huge leap of faith and courage that will be required to do so.

Our HR departments are now tasked with the monumental assignment of kick starting “employee engagement”.  How much will it cost to recapture your heart?

It is not a criticism of leadership or negative commentary on the decisions that were made during a painful restructuring.  It is a simple statement of a natural human phenomena of recovery.  In a traumatic event many people enter a period of shock.  It is a self defensive reaction that takes some time and attention to resolve.

Unfortunately, the easy answer of money won’t fix the issue of lack of passion or true engagement.  Sure, we would all like to have more money…it helps compensate for a lot of other things.  But even if you gave everyone a 20% pay raise (which would be a ridiculous move for a corporation), it would be a short lived improvement in satisfaction and ultimately no impact on real engagement or passion in employees.

We have to get back to the fundamentals of what makes people tick.  It’s about each individual and their own desire to feel wanted and connected.  Restoring their sense of value can be helped with pay raises…but their sense of feeling wanted and connected takes something else.

The obvious mandate is to provide a sense of purpose for everyone.  Restoring the health of the Company, hitting profit targets, sales targets, product & service targets are all worthy goals that every member of the team can aspire to improve and know how their contributions impact those results.  I believe this is hard work but most managers are skilled in helping employees know how their department or job impacts the goals of the organization.

The more difficult task, however is encouraging true engagement (or “passion” as I call it).  Employees can easily resign themselves to simply having a job.  They may be satisfied with their job (even rate it “completely satisfied” on internal surveys), happy with their surroundings, work-life balance and generally enjoy the relationships they have in the office.  They may even acknowledge a sense of purpose in what they do and perform their jobs competitively and typically in an acceptable manner (sometimes even much better).

To some inexperienced managers (or worse, those that don’t know the difference), they could feel their department was fully engaged.  Their employee satisfaction scores look really good….they don’t have visibly unhappy people walking around…they see people having fun at the water cooler.  They may have no reason to suspect their Company is being “shorted”.

A passionate employee is more likely to be less satisfied in this environment regardless of how they answer corporate surveys.  They see more potential for themselves, their Company, their teammates, etc..  They are often frustrated with limitations, bureaucracy or micro-management.  They are incredible assets to any Company that can harness their energy and unleash them in the right environment.

Fostering passion in employees is not a skill set that is universally developed in most corporations.  In fact, a manager that has the ability to spot passion and channel it effectively is rare.  To fully succeed in a globally competitive arena however, it is a requirement.

What would make you passionate about your job?  What would it take to make you the biggest ambassador in the history of your Company?  If they made a list of the most influential employees (in the eyes of consumers) would you be on the list or do you aspire to even be considered?  It’s a question that EVERY company needs to ask if they want sustainability.

You can’t Buy passion….you can only foster it.