gifts

Are you afraid to think?

For 12 years, I’ve had an ad on my desk that says “Are you afraid to think?” to push myself to consider new points of view, new ways of doing things, new possibilities, rather than sticking with only what I know. When I read Heroic Checklist in Fast Company, it reminded me of this ad. Why?

As described, people think that checklists are “basic”, “routine”, and “dull”. I would have said the same. And, while I loved the stats that Chip and Dan cite, like:

When Michigan ICUs put the checklist into practice over a period of 18 months…[snip] saving the hospitals an estimated $175 million…[snip] Oh, and it saved about 1,500 lives.

…what this article made me realize is that checklists actually free you to think. You no longer spend your time remembering steps, but rather noticing what is happening around the steps in your specific situation. Following a checklist does not make you dull or routine, it presents you with time and freedom that can be used for knowledge work — where you are more valuable.

TIP: The authors of this article are Chip and Dan Heath, who wrote Made to Stick, which I’ve blogged on already. While I find Fast Company to be a top quality magazine, generally, I’d subscribe to Fast Company for their column alone. It is that good.

Let me give you a checklist example close to my heart right now. Last year, I did my first Half Iron triathlon. I had a flat. I started to fix it and realized that I was too anxious to remember all the steps quickly. I ran my bike back to the start. While the official race saviors fixed my flat, a woman told me that she puts a checklist in her flat pack. Honestly, at the time, I thought, “Isn’t that cute? I don’t need no stinkin’ checklist. I just need more experience.”

Now, as I face my first IronMan (t-10 days and counting), a checklist for a flat is what I want in my flat pack. I know I can change the flat, but I need to pay attention to details to do it quickly and notice any issues that could cause problems later. I don’t need to spend time second guessing if I put air in the tube before or after putting it in the tire. I do need to notice if the tire is not seated correctly. A checklist would free me to think, rather than remember. Brilliant!

Based on the recent launch of a cool ad campaign of Holiday Inn Express (take a quiz and possibly win a free shirt that express your breakfast identity — powered by Spreadshirt), I recommended a “shop launch checklist” to our sales team. Nothing went wrong with the launch that prompted this, but I saw it could have been easier on the team. Creating multiple shops (for free t winners and non-winners) — each with many details and the strenuous tracking requirements of a contest — would have been easier if the team could have only focused where their thinking would add value, rather than the dull routine work of remembering when to dot an i and cross a t.

So, what is on my shirt today?

humbled by simplicity

 

A special request for my friends and family:

In 10 days, Evan and I are attempting our first IronMan. There is a terrific report written by an IMBrazil 2007 finisher that covers how lonely this course is. I wondered how we could take the spirit of you with us, and I had an idea. You know I’m addicted to personalized shirts now, as I love this form of expression. I’m asking that you to go to the Spreadshirt Designer, design a shirt that would inspire you (a quote, a graphic, a saying, one word), order it, take your picture in it, and email me the pic. We’ll take them with us on the 112 mile bike ride for when we need a boost. For free standard shipping, enter goeggers as the coupon during check out. You should order by Sunday to get the shirt in time. If you can and want to do this, thanks for giving us this special boost for the tough miles!

[For my EU friends, by late morning, goeggers will also work for free standard shipping in the EU Spreadshirt Designer. The .com coupon works now.]

3 things I bought in the month I wasn't posting

Ack! How has it been more than a month since I posted? I’m sorry! Let me get started with this post on three things I bought while I wasn’t posting. Then, this week, I’ll also answer the tag from Chris Shipley, as I do have my list of five things created. (Three before five, right?)

  1. Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson tickets. Evan and I had seen Luther at a blues festival in Portsmouth, NH years ago. The crowd would not let him go… Luther kept playing past his time slot, and the organizers literally pulled the plug… to many boos from the audience. We’ve been fans since. As soon as I saw tickets for Luther at Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, I bought them! The show was AMAZING… truly amazing. I highly recommend grabbing tickets yourself if you get a chance.
  2. Nana’s (vegan) cookies. I really don’t know why, but I did buy a Nana’s chocolate chip cookie in the Newark airport. My thought… something sweet, but not sugary would be a good idea on the overnight plane ride to Germany. Now, I’m a convert. I ordered a few dozen to have for traveling. While they don’t taste like the original Toll House cookie recipe (hats off to the engineers view of this recipe!), these cookies are amazing. I love Nana.
  3. Clocky. I read about Clocky, as it was being developed, and something recently jogged my memory recently to see if it was in production yet. Lucky me, it is! And what fun Clocky is. He does run away from you, and plays a lovely tune while doing it. I have to admit to not using it regularly for myself yet, but it is fun to give to guests. 🙂

What is on my shirt today? Well, still in the afterglow of the concert on Friday night:

I wish to be as happy as those that
                sing the blues

Baby, it's cold outside: 3 things I bought while shivering

Last week, I got a nasty cold; and this week was freezing here on the East Coast. I thought I’d share a few things that helped me survive.

1. Halls Defense. With my sore and scratchy throat and cough last week, I was looking for relief. I bought several different cough drop products, and Halls Defense worked the best for me. While Halls product comparison does not have put their Defense line as the solution to my symptoms, I found them to work great without the medicine-y, menthol taste. They get my thumbs up! (Halls Bursts did not pass my tests. Too small and traditional cough drop-ish.)

2. Tetley Drawstring tea. I love tea, and while I’m not likely to abandon my fav brands of Revolution and Mighty Leaf, I appreciate this innovation from Tetley. I didn’t buy this, it was in my hotel room this weekend… but I would have bought it to try it out. What is so cool? Tetley’s taken care of a customer problem… you don’t always have a spoon to quickly squeeze the excess out of your tea bag. Their drawstring bag worked great, and I recommend it, if you enjoy tea. I’m also hoping that Revolution and Mighty Leaf will learn from Tetley. Kudos to the Tetley team for solving this problem elegantly!

3. Tati from YES Watch. While I was avoiding the elements outside, I remembered to look at YES watch to see if they had released a much anticipated “low profile” watch I’ve wanted. Let me explain… I’ve had a Cozmo YES watch for years, and I LOVE IT! It it is a great geek watch, showing you when the sun and moon rise and set. This is terrific for photography, deciding when to run, and a host of other reasons. The biggest problem for me has been its profile. It is a “male” watch… heavy and bulky… so I can’t wear it with evening wear. The dear folks at YES have now come out with a lower profile watch, the Tati. YIPPEE… mine’s on order now. 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this edition of three things!

What is on my shirt today? I’m actually wearing this one, as I had made it early. Today, I’ll wear it in honor of the Tetley team:

Walk in your customer’s shoes

On my way to PBR, I bought three things

What is PBR you ask? Well, Professional Bull Riding, of course. Yes, you can take the girl out of Arkansas, but she still likes to watch those cowboys riding bulls! We went to see the top-level tour “Built Ford Tough” in Worcester this weekend with our friends, Peter and Christine. Went to shoot guns at the gun range before that. (Thanks to Peter!)

And what does one wear to a PBR event? Jeans, of course, and that’s the subject of my #1 most recent purchase:

  1. Adjustable-hem Radcliffe jeans. I can say this because it isn’t me, but the jeans… everyone who sees me in these jeans says they look awesome… not just polite “you look great”, but “W-O-W, you look great”. Again, definitely the jeans, not me. All of that aside, what I really love about them… they have an adjustable hem! Flats to heels to capris with a simple little cufflink-like innovation. My hat is off to Suzy. On the sizing if you want to order online, I read the charts and recommendations and whatever they said, I did. No problem at all.
  2. On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-Eye. I’ll likely be blogging a bit more on Target and include some info from this book, but I did buy it when I saw it recently. I’ve always liked Target, as I remember them featuring kids in wheelchairs just like regular models in their ads years ago. I liked that about them. I’m enjoying learning more of the history and culture. One clear indication on their culture: Corporate “jetiquette” is for the most senior executive to serve everyone else, “taking orders, setting up, handing out trays, cleaning up”.
  3. Mayan Chile Chocolate cake from Chocolate Maven in Santa Fe. Woah, this cake is amazing! I got to chose a cake recently while visiting Santa Fe… and as soon as I read about this one, it was mine. It has a wonderful chocolate flavor with just enough chile that you notice the hot and smoke, but then kind of wonder what that taste was… as you smile pleasantly and take another bite. You can’t get their cakes shipped, so I’m going to have to keep dreaming about it for awhile. You can hold off the urge a bit by ordering their Mayan Chile Hot Chocolate online!

Hope you enjoyed this list. I’m thinking of making “I bought three things” a series based on nice response from my first “3 things” post. What do you think?

Besides spilled hot chocolate, what’s on my shirt today? I imagine I’ve surprised a few of you with the whole PBR and gun toting thing. No, I don’t own my own guns; I don’t actually even feel comfortable in a house with them. But, yes, I do like to experience different things; and as long as they are handled safely, I don’t object to guns.

And, while I enjoyed watching rodeo and bull riding as a kid, it wasn’t until I read Josh Peter’s Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, and Bull Riders: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour that I was really hoppin’ to go. This book is well written and really covered the people and business of the PBR. A fascinating life.

So, for the “out of character” info I shared with you today, on my shirt is what I say to Evan whenever I surprise him by doing something odd… shoulders shrugging, I say:

I’m diverse

On my way to trying to be insightful, I bought three things

I’ve been flattered — and somewhat intimidated — that the most common word folks have used about my blog has been insightful. Yipes, that’s a high bar, and it feels like I have to think a lot. Today, I wanted to lean more towards cool and spontaneous, than pensive. So, how about listing stuff that excited me so much I actually bought them as soon as I saw them? Here’s my top three recent “cool” purchases:

  1. Moleskine’s small Japanese fold out pocket album. I found this when Fast Company profiled Scott Wilson, an up-and-coming designer. Unfortunately the online link doesn’t have the full picture of him that shows the accordian folded pages, which, as Scott said allows “a long thread of ideas… [seeing] how they progress.” (The middle Amazon close up pic does show this a bit.) I regularly have this problem that things flow, rather than jump to the next page in a notebook, and I’m looking forward to seeing if this works for me.
  2. SLEEPTRACKER watch. I must have been sleeping in 2005 when this won an amazing innovation designation from Time, and I can’t remember where I saw this recently, but as soon as I did, I ordered it. I have always believed there was something to waking up during the right sleep stage… some days you feel you were woken up in the middle of something. The idea that a watch can tell when I’m in the right stage and wake me up during the time range I set… I LOVE THAT.
  3. Remote control, inflatable Sumo wrestlers. The video on ThinkGeek is fun, but not near as fun as seeing these two guys in action. They are not easy to drive, as they like Weebles — bottom heavy. The sounds they make… you laugh just hearing them, period. Now, full disclosure… we’ve returned our first set because one of them had a mechanical failure within the first hour of play. I’ll tell you if the second set is also defective.

Now, after attempting to be cool, I have to admit an insecurity… I have a fear that “insightful” could be the new “interesting”? Are you folks trying to find a nice word to categorize my ramblings without telling me you fell sleep through them? Admitting that, on my shirt today would be…

Am I “interesting”?

P.S. With that said, I am on a personal crusade to wipe the bad smell off “interesting”. I use it all the time and really do mean it in the sense of intriguing, “you are teaching me something”, “it makes me go hmmmmm…”… in a good way! 😀

Sharing fun… some Christmas gifts revealed

I wasn’t going to post this because I’m spilling the beans on some gifts I bought, but I can’t resist! I im’d Peter to share in my fun, but he must be asleep or singing or something. So, I just did some Christmas shopping on Spreadshirt. I know, I’m a terrible leader for adding my orders into the last-minute rush, but wouldn’t it be worse for my family to not have t-shirts as presents?

Here’s a sampling of what I did:

  • Mom, substituting in her retirement gets: A lovely soft yellow shirt with “A teacher affects eternity”  in metallic silver on the front with a rhinestone peace symbol on the back (she likes sparklies).
  • Dad, fisherman when he can gets: A chocolate (mmmmm) shirt with a black flock fish on the front and the saying “Even a fish wouldn’t get into trouble if he kept his mouth shut” in flock on the back.
  • Lisa, my sister, gets: A chocolate (don’t shop while you are hungry) shirt with pink flock saying “Believe in the beauty of your dreams“. The believe is in Creampuff font and alone on a line.
  • Jennifer, jr. high-aged niece, gets: A snuggly hoodie with “We must become the change we want.  ~Ghandi” in silver on the front and a rhinestone peace symbol on the back.
  • Caitlin, grade school-aged niece, gets: A black t with “Live the life you have imagined.  ~Thoreau” and a red rhinestone heart on the front.
  • Richard, uncle, gets: A navy polo with “I’m the decider.   ~W” in the “logo” space, because I also get him a Bushisms calendar each year.
  • Jane, aunt, gets: A chocolate (I really like chocolate) long sleeve t with pink flock that says “Practice diplomacy: Think twice, say nothing“. The “practice diplomacy” part is in Creampuff font. I like that font… and I’m still hungry!

That’s all I can tell you because some of the other folks might actually be reading this.

Hope these made you smile! I had a ball putting them together. Feel free to drop in your favorite quote or saying. I still have some more shopping to do! (Just FYI, Spreadshirt’s last day for holiday orders is the 18th for 2-day shipping and the 19th for 1-day.)