Last post of the decade

Love, peace, and happiness to all of you, my friends.

Let's have a great 2011 together.

M.

Trends of 2010

Scintillating Scotties	Pestering Pugs
My friends Road tripping in California 25th Annual Reading Toy Run The movie "My Name is Khan" Discovering how to hot smoke things on the BBQ Music by Citizen Cope Bourbon and Rye	The moronic incompetency of the NHS Anything to do with the X-Factor Millions of different size pillows on hotel beds Keith Lemon The nation's obsession with Z-list celebrities

Word of the week

pop·py·cock  (pp-kk)

n.

Senseless talk; nonsense.

Festivities taken to new level

I am reporting from Lansdowne House Caversham England in the Royal county of Berkshire. Unprecedented preparation in the kitchen did not prevent unusual happenings at the dinner table.

A menu consisting of tians of crab with vanilla cucumber salad  and freshly baked cheese scones, followed by duck cooked two ways, peas a la francaise and dauphinoise potatoes, topped with individual black forest gateaux for desert was to be a fresh take on 1970's favourites.

Who does not remember the famous prawn cocktail which adorned so many dinner tables in those days? The unspeakable pinkish mayonnaise drooped over three prawns with some limp lettuce leaves underneath. Yummo! Our creation was to be delicious and ironic, so the "cocktail" part was represented by Margaritas. One each or so we thought. As we settled in, the Tequila took over, the mood lifted, bellies extended and..... WE GAVE UP AFTER THE STARTER. We had been snacking all day after a sumptious breakfast and just simply could not face any more food. So, we had some more Margaritas, settled in the lounge around the fire and postponed the remaining courses until today.

Will we get past the duck today? I will keep you posted.

Merry Christmas

yes, I made it home, before the big freeze brought Heathrow to a standstill. The temperature swing between B's A's and London was 33 C - I went from a balmy summer night to proper winter.
My visit to Buenos Aires was truly amazing for many reasons and I will find a quiet minute in the next few days to write more about it.

For today just a hearty thank you to everybody and

A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.

Despedida

Andrew Reed writes on saying goodbye Argentina style

I enjoyed this blog a lot. Hope you will.

Passport in Argentina

Those of you who have seen my passport in the last 3 years know that it's a very sorry sight. It had a tumble in the washing machine in 07 and has not been the same since, regardless of many repairs.
It has also seen me safely in and out of China, the US, India, Uruguay, Thailand and Argentina several times in this time.
Today I ran into the immigration witch of Argentina. And for the second time in two years she gave me the most almighty dressing down about the state of my travel document. In Spanish of course. So all I could (and did) say was "sorry" - all in all 23 times. And just like last time she let me through...

Incidentally, I think all other border controls simply take one look and decide that no forger in the world could possibly be so dimm and create such an eye catching fake.

Safe travels all.

Living in the bubble

Unrest in Baires. 13,333 people squatting in a public park. Federal and city authorities at each others throats. 3 people dead after clashes with local residents and/or police. President on telly. Demonstrations downtown. Yet, we all continue as before - dont even talk about it in the office (at least I don't notice). We are living in the afluent middle class bubble. Untouched and uncaring.

Captain's log #3393 - On values and fears

In case you wonder - reading up on Personal Styles (yes, I know, yet again!), prompted this reflection.

What we consider rewarding is directly linked to what we value. Consequently our values are like our inner objectives and are vey powerful in driving our behaviour.

If we fail to follow our values, we create an imbalance in our lives and this can lead to disappointment, fear, and anger. (BTW - people only tend to get angry when something is important to them.)

What stops us from following our values?

Values have related needs and fears. Needs and fears are opposite sides of the same coin. When needs are adequately met, fear is reduced. When not, fear increases, and if this happens over a longer period of time, it has a negative impact on the way we relate to our environment and our overall happiness and therefore performance.

Some of us (or possibly all of us for some of the time?) allow fear to control our decisions and behaviour - but this is truly counter-productive. By focussing on your primary needs (as established through your values) you maximise the chances of breaking a negative, re-inforcing feedback loop and come closer to fulfilment.

Now this is pretty abstract, so here is my attempt to be practical about this:

I have a need for achievement, autonomy, power, rewards, and stimulation.
If my autonomy is undermined, I will develop frustration and fear - the fear that I might never again be able to be autonomous.
This in return will inform my decision to be "defensive", to ignore root causes, to concentrate on secondary fulfilment, instead of focussing all my energy on achieving a degree of autonomy which meets my needs.

Captain's log #3392 - On Extroverts and Introverts

I came across this in an ezine today and thought it interesting. You kind of have to read what the professor has to say before you read the conclusions at the bottom, sorry about that.

Dr. David Meyers, Professor of Psychology at Hope College:.

Inside the brain stem, extending from the spinal cord right up into the thalamus, is a finger-sized network of neurons called the reticular activating system (also called the reticular formation). Most of the spinal cord axons of sensory neurons travel up to the thalamus. Along the way, some of them branch off to the adjacent reticular system.

Thus, when sensory stimulation occurs, the reticular system is activated. The reticular system transmits information about its state to the cerebral cortex, which in turn arouses the brain. Under the influence of the cortex, the reticular system controls not only arousal but attention.

Some individuals are more sensitive to environmental stimuli and therefore shy away from becoming overly involved in the environment (Introverts), while others are less sensitive and tend to seek out environmental stimuli to maintain active levels of interest (Extroverts). All individuals try to shift their behaviors to the environment in such a way as to increase their level of comfort and to decrease their level of discomfort. 

The reticular activating system also affects individual attention levels. Introverts, being overly sensitive to the environment, pay more attention to weaker stimuli (less intense), often withdrawing from stronger stimuli (more intense), which tend to overpower them. That could be why introverts sometimes tend to magnify, distort, and “overreact” to experiences that are intense and/or stressful.

In contrast, extroverts—less sensitive to what is occurring around them—tend to become disinterested with weaker stimuli; they pay closer attention to, and are more motivated by, intensity.

Extroverts sometimes have a tendency to “underreact” to situations where there is not enough stress or stimulation. Thus, extroverts and introverts often prefer different activities, physical surroundings, and even friends or associates, due to their personal level of sensitivity and response to environmental stimuli.

Trending now

Top scotties	Irritating pugs
"Whatever works" Getting good feedback for members of my team A new LED television set 25th Annual Reading Toy Run English cricket (for once)	Temperature below 0C Slow responses on conference calls Idiots wrappend in morons Rain in Australia

Captain's log #3391 - How to please your boss #4 - Tuning in

The manner in which you project your messages, verbally and non-verbally, has a strong impact on how your boss will view you. Typical blunders are caused mainly by not tuning in. Understand the style preferences of your boss and "flex" your own style to suit. For instance, if your boss is analytical and quietly thoughtful, provide details and give him/her time to digest - don't put a person like this on the spot. If your leader is action oriented, reduce the detail, expect quicker decisions and a certain amount of impatience - make sure you grab his/her attention quickly and make clear that you are in command of the details and you have thought things through.

There are more general problems to overcome as well. Improper handshake, poor eye contact, inappropriate speech volume, hesitation/long pauses (especially on the phone) can easily be avoided through practice and a conscious awareness of your own demeanour. Even if you have to think about your actions constantly, practice will help you to change and eventually your behaviour will first appear natural and then become natural.

The agony

Of hearing a snippet of a song and not knowing who performed it...
Tonights agony: part of an ad for the Ashes series (England playing Australia in cricket) on ITV. After one hour I found it: Curtis Mayfield, Move on up. Phew...

Captain's log #3390 - How to please your boss #3 - Breaking bad news

This is definitely a multi-stage process. It begins the very first day of working together, when you establish the ground rules of engagement. How often do you review? How does your boss like to be kept up-to-date? If managed pro-actively bad news hardly ever comes as a surprise, for example when expectations are set correctly. It is also important to flag concerns at the earliest opportunity.

Now - however hard you try, now and then it will all go wrong. Un-foreseen circumstances or, heaven forbid, a mistake you or your team made, will lead you to the point where you have to break bad news unexpectedly.

Before you communicate - think! Get all the facts right and avoid over-reacting or un-necessary dramatisation.

If you made a mistake - own up. No boss worth a penny will hold a fully-fledged mistake against you (meaning you tried to do the right thing but it did not work out). Of course, you cannot make the same mistake twice without consequences.

Come with solutions - not just problems. Most bosses hate it when their team members only come with problems and give no indication that they have put effort into fixing the problem themselves.

Don't dress up and/or confuse your message. - it's the same as for giving feedback. Don't mix good and bad (the infamous s**t sandwich), because the good won't be remembered anyhow in that context.
Most importantly - don't delay.  Problems tend by their nature to get worse. The sooner all the facts are known and everybody is on the same page, a path to resolution can be defined and executed.

And - everybody who is a boss already (or will be in the future), should also think about this. Firstly bosses usually have bosses themselves, but secondly.... remember how it felt!

Captain's log #3389 - How to please your boss #2 - The most important things

Forget (for a moment) about your objectives. Your boss will naturally assume you are working on those and that you are doing your "day-job" ok. From time to time though you should quiz your boss about what's on hers or his mind. What are the pressure points, what are the current priorities. Volunteer to work on those. Ask where you can help. By tackling the hot issues of the day, you will be more visible and get more attention for your contributions.