Christmas Dawn

The house was quiet and dark, the sun hadn't yet started to warm the eastern sky.  The lights had been switch on so the Christmas tree glowed, shimmering reflections off the gilded wrapping beneath, untouched and unexplored by little hands. 

The house sang with memories of earlier days, the whispering and creaking of young feet approaching the area tentatively, almost expecting to see the big elf himself, hoping not to, and wanting it at the same time. It would be four or five am, the children realizing even in their excitement that it was too early to ask to be up. So they were quiet, at least as quiet as thrilled could be. 

The house remembered. It smelled of Christmas with pine and sweets and reflections of the neighbour's coloured lights peeked in the windows.  It was warm and safe and full of love and good.  Mostly, it was good.  Pre-dawn Christmas morning was a special time even when the now-larger kids slept, as it knew that on this day, memories were etched and impressions that last a lifetime are forged.  The house embraced the moment and was magical in that darkness.  That pre-dawn time and place where all Christmas past lived to be visited once a year, awaiting this years merriment.

2011 - 2012 What did we Learn?

I don't know about you, but I love this time of the year for the lists, the looks back at the year that was, and the look forward and predictions made.  It's a crystal perspective ball on writers - and shows us what they really think about things - in selecting the seminal moments from the last 12 months, or the attempts to seem clairvoyant looking ahead.  With the small chance others also enjoy this, let me do it for you here.

I've put this together around a premise - one that we should all live with - what did we learn, and how does that affect our world going forward..?

1. We saw Social Media mature into mainstream platforms in 2011, from the role it played in the Arab Spring through to various Occupy movements, from Facebook's continued stellar level of growth through to Linked-in's IPO.  The thought that Social media is a fad like pet rocks, or that is restricted to Gen. Z is widely accepted as absurd now.  Seth Godin whom I greatly admire for his eloquence characterized that we shouldn't be surprised when we self-publish (our photos, blogs etc). Rather, a brief respite (that took the form of mass marketing) for a hundred years or so allowed us to forget our self-publishing nature.  2012 will see a higher proliferation of self publishing activity as we don't appear to have our fill of it yet.
2. There was lots of pure science activity, but little in the way of world-shaking results in 2011.  CERN is due to give us big news, as are the various Mars-bound probes. 2012 will be a year marked by news in pure science.
3. Obama will be re-elected in 2012.  While the national split will remain largely in place in the US, there are no huge challengers to him in the horizon, and the end of the war in Iraq, coupled with a re-emergence of the election-pulpit pounding rhetoric that helped him get elected initially will carry the day.  We learned this year that he seems shy of reaching towards the remarkable, and he has favoured the middle of the road so as not to rock approval ratings.  Once it's clear to him that November is the only approval rating that matters, he'll be re-born. Wait for it.
4. Canada's RIM will be purchased by Microsoft in 2012.  I don't have insider info, just a sad, sinking feeling that the one-time darling of the tech world has suffered enough to submit.
5. 2011 saw device convergence in the mobile telephony world. Bad news if you're a stand-alone vendor of digital cameras, GPS units or handheld gaming platforms.  This was largely stimulated by the nice folks at Apple who do have a crystal ball it seems based on their attempts-to-win record.  2012 will see that trend continue, but the base platform will change - it'll go to TV's.  You thought perhaps 3D/4D was enough ?  Wait til the nice Apple folks build in DVD players, DVR capabilities and make TV's without wifi anachronistic.  Who is in Apple's cross-hairs now ?  Sony.  For what it's worth, they're susceptible to the pending attack. 
6. Politically, 2011 was a shaky year - an 'anus terribulus' in the Queen's vernacular for much of the Arab world. Governments fell, instability reigned and the protestor was omni-present.  2012 will continue that trend.  We'll see Syria's current regime crumble and see some structural changes - preventative measures in the quasi-free states - Saudi, the UAE etc.  It may not be enough.
7. 2011 also saw the departure of Kim-Jong Il, our fearless leader (My favourite reference of the week is from the Economist - "Farewell earthlings!").  While there will undoubtedly be a settling in period for his 3rd born as heir apparent, North Koreans should expect some respite in famine terms as he attempts to buy some love from his subjects.  The kid went to school in Switzerland, so it won't have been lost on him how to be neutrally positive.
8. Mainstream entertainment will continue to thrill a smaller and smaller portion of the population at large, which goes to explain why reality TV shows will continue to be dominant.  This is the long tail's gift to the rest of us.
9. The Cubs won't win, neither will Arsenal, or the Leafs.  Some teams just can't get their heads out of their own ...well, you know.
10. Global Warming rounds out the top 10 - the veracity of it will continue to be debated while vast chunks of the Arctic and Antarctic seas break away and melt at ever-increasing rates.   The sunken frozen methane in the tundras of the northern hemisphere will start bubbling to the surface, and it will be clear in 2012 that whether or not we ratify Kyoto and do our part, this was never going to have been enough.   It's remarkable that dinosaurs with brains the size of walnuts will have outlasted us as the dominant species on the planet by hundreds of millions years.  

That's it.  What we saw in 2011, and what we should learn from it looking forward.  I do promise to revisit this in 12 months to see how I scored.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my crystal ball - happy new year.

Canada's 3rd Party - Our Conscience

Canada is different that the US in one major political structure way, and it's an interesting and important difference.  Ours is a three party system, whereas south of the border, there are two.  Of couse in both places, there are peripheral groups that would like to be considered proper political parties, but they aren't legitimate in the sense  that they couldn't be elected to govern due to their geographic distribution or minority group specialization.

This third party provides a wealth of benefits for Canada - it provides for a greater likelihood of minority governments and therefore enhances the level of public debate in the country.  Often, it provides for the actual opposition party on a national or provincial basis - as it stands right now.  This takes place when one of the two dominant parties falters or fragments.  Very occasionally, this third party is elected to govern.  It's usually a disaster as while they have good intentions, the very nature of providing an ongoing critical eye of the governments' affairs doesn't qualify one to actually govern. They are missing the experience and awareness to do the job for real.

Nonetheless, the continued success of the third party in Canada is largely due to their leadership, which I'd like to characterize as the countries 'voice of compassion'.  We've seen this in the form of the late leader - Jack Layton - who recently passed away while in office.  Mourned disproportionately to his role, Mr. Layton embraced a set of values and virtues that was widely admired.  He lived and did his job idealistically, with his focus fixed on the greater good.   In an era of George Bush and Stephen Harper, Mr. Layton was celebrated for his humane character, something most politicos couldn't buy with any amount of money.  There was an outpouring of public grief at his passing as we knew that one of the great ones was now gone.  Jack Layton personified the best of what we think of ourselves, and his death sounded the bell tolling for political virtue.

I was thinking of Jack Layton today, and what kind of a national leader he may have become, and it struck me that there are other leaders in his party - past and present - that embody the same ideals.  Bob Rae and the indefatigable Stephen Lewis.   Both of these gentlemen embody what we consider to be the best parts of our national identity.  They are selfless, empathetic, and champions of the little guy in situations where a fair deal isn't offered.  Lewis is revered for his work in Africa battling Aids, and is probably Canada's most deserving recipient of knighthood - the acknowledgement of greatness that still holds sway in the Commonwealth.

What is it about this third party, these new democrats that attracts and develops national personalities that eloquently capture our spirit, and are the conscience of this country ?   And why can't the major parties see the respect and admiration that Canada holds for this kind of leadership and try to emulate it more.  Shallow, self-serving politicians with skeletons in their closets is the default expectation of many I fear.

We are lucky to have a respit from this political dreariness, and have the benefits of Layton's common sense, Lewis's humbleness and Rae's intellect.   Mostly though we are fortunate in Canada to have three parties and a nurturing environment where idealism and a belief in fair play are equated as the qualities of those we select to lead us.  Let's hope it never changes.

How fast am I moving..?

I'm in a commercial airplane - travelling from here to there, west to east.  I get up and walk from row 20 to row 2 going towards the front of the cabin.   I'm moving at 2mph down the aisle.  The aircraft is travelling over the earth at 500 mph.

How fast am I moving ?

The answer may be selected from the options below..

1)  I'm moving at 2mph
2)  I'm moving at 502 mph
3)  I'm moving at 18mps (where s = seconds)

Which is it..?









Look down here once you select an answer..




The answer, which may surprise you is that all three answers are equally correct, and the answer you arrive at depends 100% on your perspective.

I am moving at 2mph down the aisle, and if in the cabin of the aircraft with me, that's the correct answer.  To an observer on the ground, the aircraft is travelling overhead at 500mph, and if they knew I was moving in the same direction as the plane while onboard, they would conclude I was moving at 502mph.  That's the correct answer from that position.  To an observer standing on the Sun, (very warm feet) the movement I'm making and the aircraft too for that matter are a rounding error on the earth's rotation.  To them, i'm moving at 18 miles per second.  For them, that's the correct answer.

How can all answers be equally correct ?  It's because I never stipulated where you were in asking the question.  So you have to understand you are in any location.  For that matter, there are other answers if we locate you in the Andromeda Galaxy and ask for the observations from there, and so on.  I think you get the point though.

Perspective rules.  Remember to acknowledge that.

Social Media - Size Matters

When we speak about online interactions - social CRM, we often refer to "communities".  These are nice (small) groups of people with some common interest.  We see them collaborate and contribute in the best examples.

Let's examine a word here though - community.   It speaks to a group or area within a larger area or group of people - the community in the north-western part of the state, or the French community.  It doesn't denote large however - large area are called regions or cities and large groups are often categorized into whatever holds them together - race, ethnicity, religion, language and so on.

Online communities don't seem to adhere to the size rule though.  Facebook - doubtless the largest online community has more than 800 million active members. That's 800,000,000 people.  That's not a community by any stretch of the word.  That's a nation, or more precisely its the world's 3rd largest nation.

A few notes on this...active to Facebook means people logging in at least once in 30 days.  That correlates to 'alive' I'd suggest in a direct population comparison to nations.  Growth-wise, Facebook was at 250Million users in July 2009.  In July 2010, it passed 500,000 and in this past summer, it crested 750 Million.  At this growth rate, how long will it be before it eclipses India, then China ?

About this time next year.    They really ought to get a flag.

The next level down - the Google+, Twitters and MySpace are all growing fast too, with undoubtedly some of the same users.  Dual-citizens as it were.

This platform - any 'platform' that's geographically based, or ethnicity based or anything else that gets this large, ought to be reasonably held accountable in ways we hold nations accountable.  Whether we elect to acknowledge it or not, there's huge amounts of influence at play here.

A Perspective a Day

Stand on your head.

Walk in another's shoes.

Volunteer your time.

Do something different today.  Do something outside your own comfort zone to push another perspective - one you don't normally hold - onto yourself.  

A perspective change is perhaps the cheapest and most effective lesson we can give ourselves.  You will learn something.

Guaranteed.

Discipline, Our Self Image and Objective Setting

It's ok to read this without wearing leather - it's not that kind of discipline.  I refer to the kind were we push ourselves hard when the going is getting tough.  Where we persevere and keep moving, and keep our desire to quit whatever it is we're doing in check. It's the stuff character is made of - at least that's what Vince Lombardi would have said.

Discipline is required as we diet, or embark on an exercise program.  It's required if we elect to go to medical school, or take on another physical or intellectual stretch activity for ourselves. It's required when building a business, or changing course in one.  Discipline's required to put in Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours as in his hypothesis in Outliers suggests - the time at violin practice,  the gymnastics mat or the midnight hours spent at the university library.  Discipline is what keeps us going back, especially when we don't want to.

Discipline works and is reinforced when we make recognizable gains towards our goal.  Long periods of time with no perceptible movement towards our goal taxes our discipline and make us question the effort involved.  And it is important to recall that progress is measured a few ways.

Let's say we're in school, taking a course that's difficult for us.  The attendance in class, completion of homework and measure of our results in assignments and tests are what happens, but the discipline involved is to keep attending, keep doing the needed work.  The passing of each day being us a little closer to completion.  Now, compare this to a goal to lose 10 pounds/kilos.  That goal isn't time bound, it will be achieved when it's achieved.  The fastest though not the smartest path to success is to chop off an arm.  That gives you instant weight loss, though is admittedly quite counter-productive.  The goal more precisely should be - to lose 10 pounds/kilos of fat, and reduce your BMI to X% and become healthier overall.   Spending five weeks on a diet as the only goal statement is no more realistic than electing to go to class only until you feel smart enough in the topic being covered.

So why does this matter ?  Why the remedial overview of discipline..

Because discipline and realistic goal setting should go hand in hand, with an awareness of what's involved, and I'll suggest that too often it doesn't.  

We forget to make goals time-bound, or acknowledge the unimportance of time.  We overlook the commitment required to achieve a goal, or too often under-acknowledge it.  The problem arises when we try to push ourselves to maintain that sense of disincline, when the goal isn't achievable or realistic.  And then when we fail, when we fall short of the goal, our self image about our ability to maintain discipline in our lives is rocked and very disturbed.

I'd put forth that one's ability to maintain discipline in our lives is core feature of how we view ourselves.  We integrate that into our perspective on others as well.  Homeless people are 'too lazy to work' and obese people and 'too lazy to do something about it' is often heard. Not you ?  Think about that next time you pass the person with cup in hand on the sidewalk, or have a smug salad for lunch. Our self-image of discipline is integral to our view of ourselves in the world, and when we fail our own discipline yard-stick, we affect our own view of the world dramatically.  If we fail at something, we lump ourselves into that 'lazy' camp - and that's not a very nice place to be.

So what can we do about this.  The first thing I'd suggest is to be careful about how you set goals, and define your objectives.  Rather than being a proverbial Don Quixote tilting at your windmills, be very careful and invest as much thought into the goal setting phase, as in the thought about what it will take to achieve that goal.  Aim to push yourself by all means, but do so realistically.  Take into account not simply the achievement of the goal - to learn to speak Spanish for example, but how you might maintain that skill going forward.  Where will you be able to practice, and apply what you've invested time into.

Discipline is a wonderful thing, and leads to great feelings of accomplishment and pride - but remember it has a mirror image too, and if you set yourself up for failure you have only yourself to hold accountable for that.

Deceptive Pricing

I'm not a fan of this.  Sadly it's becoming rampant.

Charge me for the services I buy/use and don't include many spurious add-ons as if they're value enhancements in some way.   Airlines do this with fuel surcharges and other hidden fees, and still have the gall to try to get the public excited about $129 airfares that really cost $500.  The local toll road I use occasionally charges an account fee and toll collection fees on top of usage.  Just make the unit-fee larger - it's what you're asking for in the end anyway.  The natural gas providers break out all manner of add-ons   that result in $35 in gas usage really costing $110.

I'm not arguing about the (total) prices here - I'm suggesting transparency in the charging principles and treating your customers like they're intelligent people rather than idiots.

In all cases above, I elect to buy these services - and their prices are not an indicator of what it costs, and that's just wrong.

It makes me want to buy elsewhere.