The Measure of a Life

This phrase has haunted me of late.  It's part of the lyrics of a song I really like, but the harmonic that touched me was more about what's going on today around me.

I've been trying to determine how to get my head around the measure of one's life by somehow defining that yardstick and holding myself up to it.  This has come about due to personal circumstance changes, but I see others also struggling with this - often without recognizing the nature of their predicament.  I can share the struggle itself doesn't feel very good and drives self doubt and worry when our preconceived ideas no longer align to the current situation we may find ourselves in.  This can happen in a range of ways - employed to being unemployed or retired; married to unmarried and so on. 

How we value ourselves and deal with changes in our situations often tests our long term view (I am talking after-all of the measure of one's life moreso than the measure of a year or other period).  So in some ways my own "ah-ha moment" arrived when I recognized the unacknowledged variable here - time.  As in the shorter periods where we can't see above the waves currently around us.  But that doesn't mean we're drifting the wrong way, it simply means we can't see how we'll get there from the current vantage-point. 

Admittedly it's hard to do course corrections if you don't have a destination, a heading, or an idea where you are at any precise moment. But that's the very nature of the question here I think.   While the pathway was never going to straight, if we have an idea where we want to go, we'll be able to navigate to be able to get there. 

I don't think there is a universal truth here - what the measure of a life is (So long, and thanks for all the fish), rather, there is an answer we can each be at peace with and it is different for each of us. The trick is to be comfortable with your own answer, and then lean into it. 

Motivation - Keys to Crime Solving & Sales

When the police are trying to "solve" a crime, the tend to focus on a few key factors to optimize the pathway to success for speed - and one of these is motive.  In the best situations, I think it's very similar to when a sales person is trying to sell on a B2B basis.

As a disclaimer, I'll offer that I help experienced sales people sell more effectively - it's my day-to-day job.  So there's a chance I see similarities everywhere, where none really exists.  So - keep me honest in this argument I'm going to make.

(As another aside, I use the word argument to indicate that this is an un-tested opinion that I believe has merit. Like anything read on the inter-web, question me, disagree and form your own opinions - and always do that, as most stuff online is ill-conceived opinion whether on a blog like this, or on what is supposed to be a real news site)

Motive is the "why", and understanding the why helps narrow the field of potential suspects down significantly.  In criminal investigations, I've heard that something north of 90% of crimes are committed by someone the victim knows.  So, by playing the statistics and examining the why, the authorities are able to eliminate unlikely culprits much faster than by simply looking at "how".  

In professional selling there's a tremendous amount of focus on the "how", and I'll argue here that its the wrong question to ask.  There's a tendency to think about competing products, their features and pricing almost exclusively.   Sales people get caught up in it, instead of examining what is causing the customer to act - their motive.  When this latter area becomes the primary discussion point, then the whole dynamic of interaction changes and the game is played by rules the salesperson sets effectively.

Think of it this way - if I offer you two options - A and B, and ask you to decide between them, you will look at each, and debate their merits, price and so on.  Then you'll make a decision.  You may (but probably won't) vocalize your decision making criteria.  In this example, the fear of the seller of either option will be that their offerings can't stand up against its competition.  Now let's look at the same kind of situation differently.  Instead of passively playing along to the point of offering your option as a seller of either A or B, you engage the customer and work to understand the issue that they are trying to address.  What exactly is their desired outcome in sourcing an option. What purpose does it serve, what else is involved, and what is the end-use situation.  What's in it for them to do this...

In this revised motive-centric approach, the option we as sellers put in front of the client is more tailored to their need, and may end up being a different option than what the customer first sought. When it does come time to make a decision, the customer had engaged with you and explored their own situation and has an awareness that your option addresses the need they have.  You're more likely to win the sale with the awareness of motive.

Why don't more salespeople do this ?  That's unclear, but I suspect (another opinion here) it's because there is all sorts of silliness around selling skills  - it's an art, it's about who you know, etc - that covers up the need to follow a professional, systematic approach.  Going back to our crime scene..it's the equivalent to hiring a psychic to help the force.

Next up - the alibi.

Spooling Up

I had ideas about what I was going to try to capture here.  Then spellcheck suggested "spoiled up".  And the irony struck me of what getting back up to speed really means.

I'd like to deconstruct this a little if I may. Spooling means winding up and the "speed" part of getting back up to speed implies a positive outcome.  And that is the assumption here I find worth challenging.  We revel in the "I'm so busy, lots going on", world we inhabit as if it's a good thing.  Getting tighter, more wound up seems to be the desired goal.  Yet anytime we read any kind of deep, insightful perspective, it's all about disconnecting and appreciating the moment, savouring each breathe for what it is.  We fool ourselves that busy=good I think, and that being wound tightly is the state we should aim for.  But I'm not buying it.  I think the better phrase to deal with an increase in activity should be - "Looking to maintain a new balance".  We may have more on our plates, but we want to deal with all of it in a way that isn't compromising ourselves.  If the net result of my spool-ed up-ness is the requirement that I chill for a while, then my cadence is probably off, and I should have been approaching whatever tasks I face in a  different way.

It is after-all a marathon, not a sprint.

2014 - A Year in Review

It was a tremendously interesting year, and I've compiled my list of some the year's extraordinary developments and happenings.  As usual, the order reflects how my brain works, but little else that is discernible I imagine.  Rather than just a list, I've elected to do this as 'awards' - the most this, or best that, or biggest impact.  I hope you will see why I think that makes sense.

BEST MARKETING EFFORT
While there were many interesting events and new product launches and the like, the winner here hands down goes to the Coca Cola company for the names on bottles campaign.  I know many people that wouldn't ever buy Coke, but went out of their way to search for their own names (on a bottle) or
one for someone else.  The ads and supporting efforts were significant and noticeable, but also importantly stayed true to Coke's overall theme.  Perhaps most critically for the determination of success for a campaign, Coke financials for the nine months this year in an operating income sense were up.  In a market segment that is under pressure from many angles and brand that needed a boost, this effort was inspired.  Mark my words, this will become a business school case study in years to come.


BIGGEST NEW THREAT
While it's not a happy story, the reality is that hacking took a few ugly turns in the year, and has emerged as something significant that can have very broad implications, and a lasting effect.  Formerly understood as one of those things that hit a select few in society, hacking has emerged as being a huge financial threat as well as a potent political weapon. Early in 2014, Target lost $500M in corporate value, and their CEO due to a hack, and Julian Assange and his Wikileaks occupied the political headlines for a long time.  Sony's second big hack though seems to have crossed a threshold, as at the time of writing this, it's politically motivated against a company and has swayed that organization into loss making actions.  While that in itself is interesting, put this into the context of the web and the corresponding push to Cloud based everything.  The idea that your information isn't secure (it's not) creates a subtle and fundamental uneasiness for anyone and that's different than we have experienced in the past. Yesterday, we could lock our doors to keep intruders out, but today sees an open acknowledgement that anyone can roam our halls, and take what they wish.   We'll see the emergence of cyber crime detection and tracking move into the mainstream, and the Robin Hood perceptions of the little hacker guy fighting the bad corporation go away, but not before more get hurt.

LARGEST UNSEEN GEOPOLITICAL WAVE COMING AT US
Balance is something we strive for, and this is so true amongst nations and power.  Change happens, but usually not suddenly, and when that has occurred in history it's almost always been accompanied by

bloodshed.  Change is coming fast at us, and we all see it but I fear we don't appreciate it for what it means - the price of Oil.  What isn't being acknowledged here is that economies are built on certain assumptions and the price of Oil being +/- 15% is one of those assumptions.  Russia, China, Brazil, Canada and the US are all being economically impacted by the precipitous drop in the price of crude oil, as all buy and sell oil and that makes up sizeable portions of their GDP's and respective balances of trade.  If the economies are upset in these countries, what's bound to happen...well, I imagine that's the trillion dollar question with my own fear being about Russia primarily.  The culprit here seems to be the Saudi's who have vast stores of cheaply accessed oil, that pointedly remains a profitable source of income for them well below the thresholds of extracting it in other countries.   By continuing to produce at rates beyond market need, the price is dropping which is forcing other players to examine their own production bottom line.  It's akin to Walmart lowering the price of sneakers in recognition that their cost base is the lowest, in order to capture more share.  The underlying issue here however is that Payless Shoes doesn't have nukes at their disposal (or a crazy-ass Czar-guy) when they get hurt.  Let's not celebrate the lower price at the pump, instead let's try to remain calm as economies re-balance themselves into a revised geopolitical order.  Transition without blood is what's desired here.


BIGGEST CHANGE - THE FORMAL EMERGENCE OF NATION-LESS STATES
For what I think is amongst the first time in history, a war pitting one (or more) state against another state without a territory has begun.  ISIS isn't a country, its a set of individuals. While they are occupying land, they aren't the formal or even informal government there, and yet a coalition of many countries is formally fighting them.  This is seminal because it speaks to how conflicts could occur in the future, and the likely demise of bodies such as the UN, who were formed under the auspices of nations speaking on behalf of the people located there.  That ISIS is a terror-based organization and worthy to fight against isn't my point.  In future will we see a nation go to war with a set of individual people, that threat to their way of life being as real as an old fashioned invasion..?  It seems so.  

2014 has been remarkable so far, in the above ways.  Let's see what the next months bring.

I ran (Part 2)

I did it. And am thrilled.

 Not only did I finish it, I ran it the way I'd intended.  I had probably my very worst time in doing these things, but I'll chalk that up to lack of rest, some jet lag, the temperature and incredible humidity.  But regardless, even when my calves were spasming and I couldn't summon the will to start running again after walking for a bit, I was still in awe. You know you're doing something special when amidst lots of various body failures and pain, you turn, admire your surroundings and just say "wow".  It was a combination of little high fives from the children lining the route, and the idea we actually had the place sort of to ourselves, the runners owning the road in the otherwise highly congested Angkor area.  The race was well run with water every 2km's and I think I drank 6 water bottles in addition to what I carried and I still lost 8lbs on the run.  

Running as in some other sports takes place in your head. Sure, your legs and toso do the work, but it's your head that makes best times and defines the experience. And from watching another sunrise colour the sky over Angkor Wat waiting to begin, to passing a dozen elephants within the ruins and complexes to the smiling happy faces of the locals that celebrated our personal accomplishment, this was a day for me to cherish until I die.  Sometimes running isn't about the road, sometimes it's about the heart, and mine's bursting today.  

I run - part 1

You may have read a little about Angkor Wat and Cambodia and the big trip I've undertaken lately. It's because I run, or rather running is the reason I'm here.  The 2014 Angkor Wat Half Marathon. 7500 of my closest strangers set off at 06:10 on Dec 7th to run around and through the Angkor temple complexes.  I'm told you don't ever get a PB here - a personal best - and that's because we keep stopping to take pictures.

That's understandable, but it's the heat that has me a little worried.  It's being held at dawn because then it's "only" 25 degrees C / 78 Farenheit.  But by the time the race is done it gets well and truly hot. Factor in time zone difference and funky sleeps and I'm not sure what to expect.

I've been practicing and losing some weight which is surprising effective at helping to run better.  And I've been saying to myself since I got here in a quiet training mantra, "Just run my own run". After-all, I could bundle up and run the distance at home any old day. Here it's the sights, sounds and experience. It's not about running faster, it's about being in the moment.

Running in a race though is different. While pretty much all the others here would need to "DNF" for me to actually win, there is still a tension, a palpable feeling of competition in a properly organized run/race even when you aren't going for the win.  So my race today is about the struggle to just keep calm, keep breathing and just run my own run. 

Part 2 to follow.....

Angkor Wat

The grand-daddy, the poster child of the region.  Cambodia's crown jewel (it's on their flag!) A Unesco World heritage site, and this defining complex is considered the 8th wonder of the world.  So, expectations were a tad high.

 It actually doesn't dissapoint.  I awoke at 3:30 to be there for sunrise, and the play of light brought an etheral-ness to the place.  It's 5 main spires and long causeway can be over-run with people, but the size of the complex soaks it up.  Three terraces make up the structure, set in a monsterous garden, with the fashion of the times - a large 1/2 km bridge terrace depicting the walkway to heaven cutting across the surrounding water-way/moat that is measured in square km/miles.  

 Size mattered to these kings, such that Bayon which was made by the subsequent king was done 10X as large.  But the scale here really works to bring you towards an appreciation of what's in front of your eyes.  Bayon's size means you can't appreciate it all in one view. You can here.

 Angkor Wat is indeed mind-blowing.