Proceed Until Apprehended

My most political revelation ever: I’m a populist

OK, I’m not sure I’m a traditional populist, but I’m expropriating the word and it’s basic definition to describe what I believe.

In truth, I don’t want to have the discussion about the systems that govern my province or country. I think they’re broken. Addressing them is for another blog, one I’m not sure I’ll ever write.

When I say “populist,” I don’t mean in a political arena. I mean in relationships. I mean in how we trust and respect the people around us.

Populist means to trust the wisdom and judgement of the people. It implies also that we’re going to be wary and distrustful of the elite, the ones who profess to have the answers and directions already laid out for us. In a political setting, a populist is saying “remove the government and let the people directly have a stronger voice.” It’s a little more organized than anarchy, but it’s in that direction.

This is a shift that’s been going on for a while, but it’s time I call it out on my blog. You can be nice, do generous things for others and you can operate with an abundance mentality and you get more in return than ever before. I watched Conan O’Brien’s farewell speech on the Tonight Show. I was impressed, and I think he will be rewarded handsomely in the future for his authentic class and heartfelt honesty. I think there’s a few things going on that make this a new game for the Nice:

• It’s easier than ever to see and celebrate good things done by individuals
• It no longer requires large investments or big distribution to connect with individuals
• Those who want to protect the status quo have little to no control when you choose a different, more individual path
• These paths allow people to be authentic and, surprise surprise, when not going through bureaucratic filter, most people are nice

All of this is resulting in people that just get to be themselves and still create a following. Conan now has a legion of fans that will give him attention, credibility and yes, money. He won’t need a big network. If he just starts doing something, people can connect directly.

I want to follow and connect with people that are open, selfless and giving. The old system used to squeeze that out and more often than not produce closed and selfish. Now that this option is reality, it’s clear I wasn’t alone in my desire. Examples abound of success through giving. Just check my blogroll.

With a hat tip to Dan McCarthy, here’s a transcript of Conan’s speech:

“Before we bring this rodeo to a close, I think a couple things should be said.
There’s been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can’t say about NBC.
And this isn’t a joke.
To set the record straight, and this is true, tonight I’m allowed to say anything I want.
(Man laughs)
Um, and no it’s not a joke, but thanks sir. Tonight I really am allowed to say whatever I want and what I want to say is this.
Between my time at “Saturday Night Live,” “The Late Night Show,” and my brief run here on “The Tonight Show,” I’ve worked with NBC for over 20 years.
Yes, we have our differences right now, yes we’re going our separate ways, but this company has been my home for most of my adult life.
I am enormously proud of the work we’ve done together. And I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.
I really do.
(Audience applauds)
A lot of people have been asking me about my state of mind and I’ll be honest with you, walking away from “The Tonight Show” is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
Um, making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world.
I absolutely love doing it and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium.
I will fight anybody who says I don’t, but no one would.
But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian…every comedian dreams of hosting “The Tonight Show” and for seven months, I got to do it.
And I did it my way with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we’ve done here.
(Audience applause)
And yeah.
And I encounter people when I walk on the street now who are just uh who give me sort of a sad look.
I have had more fortune than anybody I know.
And if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven Parking lot we will find a way to make it fine. We really will.
I have no problems. And, I don’t want to do it on a 7-Eleven parking lot.
(Audience laughs)
But whatever, uh, finally I have something to say to our fans.
This massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming for me.
The rallies, the signs, all the goofy outrageous creativity on the Internet uh, the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain.
(Audience cheers)
It’s pouring! It’s been pouring for days and they’re camping out to be in our audience.
Really, you…Here’s what all of you have done.
You’ve made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.
So to all the people watching I can never ever thank you enough for the kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life.
And all I ask is one thing…and this is…I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch…please do not be cynical.
I hate cynicism. For the record, it’s my least favorite quality.
It doesn’t lead anywhere.
Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.
But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you. Amazing things will happen. (Audience claps) I’m telling you.
It’s just true.
As proof, let’s make something amazing happen right now. (Intro Will Ferrell)

Chris commented on my about page. As my response kept getting longer, I decided it needed it’s own post.

Thanks Chris,
It’s an interesting question. How does one get into this?

I think the start is mostly curiosity. You end up asking questions like, “Does it really have to be this way?” or “Why are things this inefficient/ineffective left this way?” Part of that examination for me was, “Do I really want to make a killing in business and be known for all the money I made?”

I know you see a better way. There is a better way. Let’s take that as a given.

With this knowledge and the need to do something with it, I’ve created sort of a self-imposed life crisis. Rather than wait until mid-life, I work myself up and get really anxious about the limited results I’ll have if I abide by the (artificial) rules of the game. I recognize, on a theoretical level, that moving outside of my comfort zone will create some positive results, either in what I learn or what I accomplish.

What you’re seeing on this blog is the result of me pushing my comfort zone and putting the theory into practice. I’ve also practiced it in how I conduct my employment search, how I speak truth to my friends and colleagues and even how I ride my bike, among other things. Each of these practices teaches me a little something about myself and the social boundaries around us. I’m constantly on the prowl for the next way I’m going to challenge my assumptions and I have ideas that are giving me heart palpitations right now. I should say though, that it is getting easier.

I’m sometimes accused of being fearless, but I’m far from it. This is a deliberate effort to discover who I really want to be. I’m acknowledging my fear, asking if it’s a rational belief and often discovering that it isn’t.

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris has some great exercises to build your comfort with, well, discomfort. I’d say try his exercises. His blog is here. He’s a fascinating guy who essentially applies this practice to everything in his life. 

Another way to start down the path is to find something you’re not doing because you think you’ll get fired and ask yourself, really? Will they fire me over that? The answer is likely no. Think of it as civil disobedience. You’re not explicitly fighting, you’re just not following the rules. They won’t fire you for that. It’s not in their rulebook. Worst-case scenario, you may be humiliated, demoted or snickered at, but you’ll still get your paycheque. The things you learn, however, will be priceless. That’s how I started. Literally, I said, “Well, they’ll give me a few warnings before they can me, so I’ll try it.” Still waiting for the first warning, FYI.

Here’s one last thought. If you (or any reader) wants to find me and make a plan or talk about this over coffee, lunch or over the phone, that’s an excellent use of my time. Just contact me.

This images is from typcut, found via Thank Goodness it’s Monday.

Love it.

Why do I want change so bad? Is it just for the sake of something different?

I don’t think that’s it.

I think I observe a lot of change around me and I feel like I’m living in a world that’s out of sync. Perhaps I shouldn’t say I want change. I certainly don’t want it just for it’s own sake. I want t0 put my energy into things that are adequately in tune with the reality of the situation. I could actually be pretty content without change if things were static. Hey, I like quiet, serene and unchallenging environments more than most. The world is not static, however, and it’s clearly not going to be static. I want change only because it’s the best strategy to deal with reality. I want responsiveness.

I have a little analogy to throw at you. Have you ever been caught wearing your parka on the day spring weather arrives? Worse yet, you’re wearing a light fall coat the day winter blows in. It’s actually a pretty crummy day until you can adjust. If you’ve got a few hours before you get home to your warm coat, it totally monopolizes your day. I feel like that about the things I want to change. The discomfort makes for a lingering dissonance you can’t shake. Let’s adjust to the new order. We’d all be more comfortable.

The new reality is that we’re in an age of participation. It’s easy for everyone to have a voice and to engage with the things they care about. This rule of engagement now just resides there. It’s not up for debate. Somebody else’s change made that happen. The internet, Google, social media, the end of a Baby Boomer labour era, reality has changed. I’m going to accept this reality and adjust accordingly, but I really dislike this “get it” and “don’t get it” divide. I want my face-to-face community members to join me, yet I feel the distance growing.

I can refer you to a long line of people that will tell you I’m being unreasonable. In my defense, I don’t think I’m pushing for something because it’s shiny or exciting. I just want equilibrium. To create that balance one side has to catch up…  or it’s going to be replaced.

I’m preparing a presentation for a School Community Council conference I’m speaking at in a couple weeks to a bunch of councils throughout the city of Regina. I’m working on memorizing this and I’ll do it with a powerpoint that is primarily images or bullet points of lists. This is just draft, but I thought you might be interested to see it. Any feedback you want to provide is greatly appreciated.

Thankyou.

I appreciate being able to come and speak with you today.

I am chair of the Dr. Perry SCC (school community council). This is my second year as a member of our SCC.

My daughter, Annika, is in the first grade this year.  My son Joshua will be starting kindergarten this coming fall.

The province-wide movement from Parent Teacher Associations to SCCs came with some pretty audacious objectives. SCCs are envisioned to be at the centre of the community and to drive a lot of value and services. There’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder being on one of these councils. We really are in a pretty influential position to do things not only for our school, but for our neighbours as well. I want to congratulate you and thank you for making this commitment and putting in effort for a greater good.

I’d like to establish a couple ground rules for my presentation.  First, ask me questions anytime you want.  This becomes a lot more interesting if it’s a conversation. Please, fire away. Second, please don’t take notes. Everything I’m saying and everything I’m showing is available for download on my website, which I’ll share at the end.

I hope to save lots of time at the end for more questions and discussion, too.

I’ve been invited to speak to you because the Perry SCC is taking some steps you might find interesting. Before we get to that though, I want to tell you a little bit about myself.

I’m passionate about improving the quality of life in my community.  I believe we’ve lost our sense of relationship at the local level. There’s too much of an “every person for themself” kind of vibe to the world. I’d like to help change that. I don’t think all the advances and technical innovations happening in the world have to come at the expense of knowing your neighbour.

This is easier said than done, though. I’m just one person and the trend towards anonymity is obvious.

Nevertheless, I want to help people and make a difference in my community.

Here’s the real problem, though. I’m not very good at the traditional things that would help people, like baking cookies, compassionate hugs or chaperoning a school dance.  I’m trying to play to my strengths, which are things like strategic planning, conceptual diagrams and theoretical models.

So while I want to help people, I’ve realized what I really need to do is help people help other people.

I think this actually works out do be pretty helpful.  When I’m working with SCCs or other public-serving organizations, it’s pretty clear that there’s a need for some assistance at the organizational level. This also allows me to maximize my reach. If I can help a community group get better that serves 300 people, I feel like I’m doing some pretty positive stuff.

This is all to say that the thoughts and ideas I share with you today come from an intention to make the world a better place. I worry sometimes I sound a bit too objective and unfeeling, but perhaps that’s just me trying to help get results in my own way.

I’ve got a fairly practical objective here today. Very specifically, I want to help you see how important it is to step back and evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing. I want you to examine WHY your SCC exists.

This is the same exercise the Perry SCC has gone though. Our council isn’t done. We’re still figuring it out and growing our capacity, but I think we’re on the right track.

As a starting point for a discussion about building focus in an SCC, I want to share my take on what SCCs typically are like right now.

They’re often stressful situations. There’s too much to do and there’s not enough time or people to do it.  There are lots of expectations, needs and challenges. Quite often, things don’t get dealt with until they’re an emergency. There’s not much planning involved. It’s pretty reactive.

Your own experience went something like this. Your kid started school. You thoughtfully determined that the quality of your child’s education and the formative years of grade school were important enough for you to get engaged. You showed up for that first meeting full of vim and vigour, eyes aglow with possibilities for the things you could do for the school… and they said, “Thank goodness you’re here. Jim just quit the fundraising committee and we need a new chair.”

You didn’t say no. You couldn’t say no. These people were pouring their hearts and souls into serving the school and you couldn’t bear to see them suffer. 1, 3, 8 years later, and now you’re completely invested in the projects you didn’t care about when you started.

I’d like to make a broad, general distinction between two different roles that come up in SCCs. There are individuals who are focused on Program Delivery and there are individuals that focus on Solution Development.

Both of these roles are necessary to make an SCC work, to make any non-profit work. If you have just one or just the other, you’re going to be out of balance. If you have all people that are focusing on Developing Solutions for the future, you have a lot of theory and ideas and no-one to do the work. If you have all people that are focusing on Delivering Programs, you have a bunch of people doing hard work, but we don’t know if it’s actually the right or best thing for the school.

My experience with SCCs is that they tend to err on the side of Program Delivery. Most people feel most comfortable if they’ve got a job and they’re working hard to get it done. Asking whether it’s the right job at the right time for the right people falls to the wayside.

When this is the predominant practice in an SCC, we often forget to ask why we are here. We get laden with tasks and responsibilities and don’t make time to ask if we’re pursuing the right goal. This is an activity trap. We get caught comforting ourselves that we’re creating value while we may just be making a flurry of activity. In short, the environment changes, but we sometimes don’t.

When I’ve spoken with SCC members, I see some recurring themes that happen. When we just keep doing, and we don’t ask why, that’s when we get in trouble. When we’re not asking WHY, here’s what happens:

We get too narrow in our focus and just do a few things for the school.

The SCC becomes a pretty small group that works hard but also burns out.

The SCC makes lots of assumptions about roles and responsibilities. We decide we’re supposed to do X and not Y, but we don’t really consider what’s needed or correct.

There can also be a lot of back-seat driving and micro-management.  Even if it’s not their responsibility, members start focusing and digging on some pretty narrow details of programs.

I want to stress a key point here. It’s not that this stuff isn’t important. It is important. There’s lots of other things that are important, too. The opportunity is for you and your SCC to decide, of all the imporant things, which one or ones should be our priority?

The Dr. Perry SCC went through an exercise to examine what our purpose is in meeting every month. Asking and answering WHY was powerful.

Let me tell you how we did it.

First, we acknowledge that we weren’t working to a plan. We were just doing stuff.

Second, we deliberately made space to ask ourselves a “Why are we here?” type question.

I used a facilitation method that worked really well for this, and I want to come do it for your school. We’ll talk more about that in a bit.

Third, we have been working hard to make sure we don’t fall back into habits of just “doing.” We’re keeping the plan alive.

Here’s what we came up with:

1 Enabling Parental Involvement

2 Sharing Spirit through Partnership

3 Acknowledging Student’s Value and Worth

4 Diversifying the Learning Experience

5 Growing Citizenship

I won’t get into too much detail about what each of these means to us. If you want descriptions, again, I’ve got them up on my website at nevindanielson.com. The point I’m trying to make here is that the exercise of stepping back and determining our purpose was essential and gave us real energy.

I will say, though, if you go through an exercise like this, it’s pretty easy to fall into the trap of defining yourself by your past practices. I’d encourge you to shake those conventions and ask yourself anew, “Why are we here?”

Here’s some assumptions you may have to get past:

• We’re here to raise money and buy stuff
• We’re here to make sure parents have a voice at school
• This one’s related, but it deserves it’s own statement: Our job is to assess school policy
• If it weren’t for us exceptional people, no parents would be involved
• We’re great at delegating

I can simplify the process we went through for your SCC to get on the right track:

one, take an hour to have a conversation about “Why are we here?”

two, commit to the results and change what you’re working on

I want to see your SCC get stronger.  If it’s of any help, please invite me in to do the same facilitated session we did at our SCC. I would discuss the key focus question that we’re going to answer. It might be as simple as “Why are we here?”, then we would go through an exercise to answer it. It’s called a Group Concensus Workshop.

As I said, today’s presentation is available for download from my website, nevindanielson.com. I’ve got contact info there if you want to find me. I’ve also got a link to an online forum I created for SCCRegina. To respect everyone’s privacy, it’s by invitation only. It’s a place for you to raise concerns and interests with fellow SCC members from across the city. Come find me at my website and ask me for an invitation. Everyone here is eligible to be a member.

Thanks very much.

I played rugby for a couple years in university. It was a great experience and I look back on the friendships and the competition with great fondness.

The social aspects of rugby can really suck a university-age guy in, but I also fell in love with the sport. It looks like a battle of brutish violence, but there’s much more to it. There’s a lot of nuance and complexity to the game. There’s strategies and techniques that compel entire nations to be gripped by the sport.

One of the things I really like about it is how it requires so many different skills and strengths. Young or old, fast or slow, slight or stocky, there’s a role for you.

As a rugby newbie, I think my path was pretty typical. All of the complexity escaped me. I couldn’t read plays, I wasn’t in position and I exerted tons of energy. In that moment, I was giving it my all. In retrospect, I was sure working hard, but I wasn’t being very effective. As time wore on and I gained experience and started to see the patterns of the game. I transitioned from blind exertion to a more targeted effort that created greater results.

It’s a pretty good analogy for choices we get to make in life, of course. We can blindly exert our energy or we can play with our heads up.

In rugby and in life, it’s easy to attain the feeling that you’re making tremendous strides. I mean, you’re sweating so much, right? It’s maybe a little easier in rugby, though, to see what actually puts points on the board.

Peter Drucker famously, brilliantly said “Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things.”

We get immersed worrying about being productive and efficient, but rarely do we acknowledge if we’re doing the right task to meet our purpose. It’s safe to just focus on your task. It’s scary to say that things need to change.

This video reminded me of the lesson. Here’s someone who has become as efficient as possible on a particular task. She’s doing things right. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s the world’s fastest.

The question, then, is it the right thing?

There is someone that can get through this book even faster. It’s the person that realizes it’s not about fast hands. It’s about process. It doesn’t matter how fast you can stamp when someone realizes you can change the policy to make the stamp unnecessary.

Perhaps we can say, “Management is stamping as fast as humanly possible; Leadership is asking why we need to stamp.” Which one are you doing?

First, let’s accept that risk is required. It’s required to cross the street, make a phone call, buy a product, sell a product, start a program, end a program, quit a job, start a job, continue in the job the same way you did yesterday… the list goes on. I think you get the picture. Any one of those things could have negative implications.

Each one of these examples also has a Worst Case Scenario that we could have all sorts of fun with. For example, as you cross the street, the city’s electrical system goes haywire and the intersection’s light changes color. A businessperson that’s on their cell phone at the light, complaining about the $1,000,000 they just lost that morning goes from seeing red to seeing green. In an instinctual response, they step on the gas a little too aggressively just as you put your right foot (the better of your two feet, in your opinion) in the path of their SUV. Squish, snap, hospital.

Is that an acceptable risk? Was it really worth getting to the other side? Let me assure you, you’ll forever regret choosing that particular restaurant for lunch.

The reason we choose to accept that risk, however, is that there’s a big difference between the magnitude of the implications and the probability of it happening. We choose to cross the street because the benefit significantly outweighs the real risk.

In reality, we don’t work with possible risk. We work with probable.

At work, however, our judgement changes. Why, all of a sudden, is the 1% probability up for discussion? It’s actually even more than just a discussion. That improbable event weighs heavier in the deliberation than realistic issues. We invest in low percentage concerns at too high a rate. Everything I’ve been reading lately says, “Start, then steer to correct.” Most days, I’m invited to “Steer, steer, steer, correct, steer, then maybe, just maybe, start.”

It’s a simple solution, I suppose, and one that starts with you and me. If we want to absolve ourselves of the risk, we identify the improbable to our boss or coworker. That makes them responsible. Instead, as an experiment, choose to accept some improbable risk and skip that step. Just proceed. What do you think will happen?

Here’s a hint:  The magic of Proceed Until Apprehended is that the Apprehended part rarely happens.

If you’re trying to memorize lines for a stage production called Catch Me if You Can by Weinstock and Gilbert (not the movie), boy, have you come to the right place. For everyone else, there’s nothing to see here. Mosey along now.

I’ve posted three powerpoint slides of all of the lines of Daniel Corban in the play, alternated with the “lead-in line” that prompts your line. If you view these in slideshow mode, they’re all animated. You can rehearse your line, click next and see if you got it right. For longer pieces, they’re broken into chunks so you can’t cheat. I found it to be a very easy way to memorize the lines… after I typed them all in. Here they are (right click to download): Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3. I hope this helps with your memorization.

If you’re playing Inspector Levine, Elizabeth Corban, Father Kelleher or one of the other characters, it’s still probably worth a look. Your lines are partially in here.

Hey, wait a minute. YOU aren’t playing Daniel Corban. You’ve never even heard of the play. What are you doing reading this? Oh. You just can’t believe I typed in all these lines. Fair enough.

Some other things, while we’re on the topic:

• I’m surprised how focused and obsessive I can get when I’m in a community theatre play. It’s a ton of effort, but I get more energy from doing it than it takes from me. It offers the most consistent feeling of being in “the zone” as anything I’ve ever done.
• The creation of these slides took a while, but even typing them helped me memorize. This character has the most lines in the play. Despite that, I had mine down pat well before many of my cast members. When it comes down to it though, I don’t know whether to credit the tool or a mild form of OCD.
• I’m curious to see if providing something extremely obscure but valuable will find a user. This is The Long Tail in action.

These powerpoints are free for you to use, modify, share… whatever you want. I only ask one thing. If you do actually use them, please let me know, for my own curiosity.

If you’ve created similar slides for a play you were in and would like to make them available, I’d be happy to post them.