The HR Juggler

Today’s post is written by Broc Edwards, author of the excellent ‘fool with a plan’ blog.

Artwork for today (and every day!) is provided by the brilliant Simon Heath.

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the less things change, the more they stay the same

The alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but it will in a few minutes. It’s 4:25am and I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I hurt. All over. In a few minutes, I’ll be getting up to run five miles in 32 degree weather. I’m officially ten days into my training program. Only one hundred and seventy to go…

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By all rights and measures, 2013 has been a banner year for me, full of accomplishment and rewards. Great things have been happening both personally and professionally and I accomplished several significant, long-held goals. I was asked to chair not-for-profit group that provides leadership development in the community, I received a promotion at work, I co-presented at several conferences, I published a book, my blog started to get noticed, and I contributed a small part to an e-book that was topping very established authors as a best seller on Amazon. This past year social media has opened my world in a big way and I am meeting and developing relationships with so many fantastic people who inspire me to do more and better. I’ve even been able to get out and mountain bike more this year. Hard to go wrong with a year like that.

I hope this doesn’t sound smug or braggy – I write this all in amazement and gratitude. We all have good years and we all have bad years, and in so many ways, this one was one of the years where everything seemed to come together. Many seeds I’d been planting for a couple of years began to bear fruit.

Yet… yet.. yet.

As I look back on the year, I see plenty of failure and set-backs. I see areas I neglected and things I didn’t do as well as I needed to. I’m disappointed with too much. While I was charging ahead and reveling in the new and novel in some areas, I got too cozy with the tried and true in others. Responsibilities I should have been maintaining moved far down the priority list or were just plain ignored. I started making and accepting excuses to myself, rationalizing, justifying, explaining away.

This showed up in my personal life. I really enjoy physical activity – it’s a great stress relief and some of my best ideas come while exercising. Years ago, I used to race mountain bikes and motorcycles and I miss the discipline that focusing on competition brings. My last race was seven and a half years and some 50 pounds ago. For a couple of years now I’ve had the nagging awareness that I need competition to inspire me to be in shape, but was too out of shape to compete. It was a vicious downward spiral leaving me frustrated and angry at myself on a daily basis. Every night I vowed I’d get with the program tomorrow. And every morning I’d find that tomorrow never came.

This showed up in my professional life. I took on a couple of huge challenges this year and surprised myself with how well it all panned out. But rather than leaving me sated, that success showed me how nestled into my comfort zones I’d become and how far below potential I’m operating on most days. It’s massively frustrating to do so much and be rewarded with the blessed doubled-edged awareness of how much more could be done.

There is a choice of course. There is always a choice. Every day there is a choice. I could choose to stay in my comfort zone. And I’ve demonstrated to myself that my comfort zone is big enough I could spend the rest of my days there and really have a pretty decent life. Sure, I’d still be frustrated but, ironically, I was clearly comfortable with disliking myself for being so comfortable. Staying the same is a realistic option.

Or… or.. or.

Or I could choose to change. I could do something big to ensure I stayed deep within my discomfort zone on a daily basis. Something frightening and inspiring and huge. For the past several months, I’ve been looking and searching and even winding down other commitments to leave room in 2014 to play bigger. I knew there was something out there, I just didn’t know what it was. By sheer coincidence, I had two brief exchanges the first week in November that led to me hammering stakes in the ground and making self-commitments to redefine myself for myself.

The first was Chris Ponder (@ChrisPonder) over at Performance I Create. He had recently completed a Tough Mudder event and when I congratulated him he responded, “You should do one.” Uh, yeah… 10-12 miles of running and a couple dozen obstacles involving mud, fire, electricity, freezing water, heights, and three or four hours of intense effort to complete. My initial response was “No” followed by “Maybe” followed by “I could do that” and finally “Where do I sign up?” I’m terrified. And apparently that’s what it takes for inspire me to get back in shape. I have exactly six months to be in prime condition – just enough time and completely doable if I don’t waste any time or effort. So every day I’m tired, hungry, sore, and enjoying the commitment to myself.

The second was a conversation with Tash Stallard (@StirTheSource) at Stirring the Source and WorldBlu. I’m a big fan of WorldBlu’s efforts create a world where 1 billion people work in democratic workplaces. I believe organizational democracy is the FutureNow of work and applaud their vision. To reach more people beyond their organizational certification programs, they are creating a leadership development program called Freedom Centered Leader. I was intrigued and interested in participating when I first heard about it, but hesitated to take action.  Then, in what was supposed to be a casual and unrelated conversation, Tash asked the simple question, “If you’re interested, what’s stopping you from signing up?” Sooo…. after listening to myself offer up some really lame excuses I gave it some good, hard thought and joined the inaugural class of 150 or so from around the world looking to advance their own leadership skills and improve the world by improving business.

As I reflect on that oddly pivotal week, I’m struck by a few thoughts. First is that I was primed and searching for ways to push myself and play bigger in very specific areas of my life. Cris and Tash provided sparks – gentle nudges – that would have been meaningless if I weren’t already looking. Second, is that these things are important only to me. Who cares if I do a Tough Mudder, return to racing mountain bikes, take up golf, or sit on the couch? What’s it matter if I learn from WorldBlu, take other classes, pursue another degree, or watch TV? Just as I don’t want other people’s goals, I wouldn’t wish these goals on anyone else (unless they wanted them). The only significance these goals hold is the significance I give them.

That said, these goals are highly significant for me personally. Both are big undertakings with plenty of unknowns, requiring commitment, belief, and willingness to push and test myself. I don’t know what either holds for me, but I’m simultaneously excited for the challenge and frightened of letting myself down.

Jim Rohn once said, “The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.” Yes, I’ve drawn the lines and set the stakes. But, the stakes I’ve put in the ground would be worthless if they didn’t inspire me to have the tenacious discipline to take action and be the person I need to be to accomplish them.

The less things change, the more they stay the same. If I want things to be different, I need to be different.

How about you?

Day 4’s post is by Andrew Jacobs, who you can find and follow on Twitter @AndrewJacobsLD. I don’t know Andrew well…and I love the insight that his post gives into the variety of different roles that he has held.

Artwork for today (and every day!) is provided by the brilliant Simon Heath.

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Presents…check.

Food…check.

Decorations…check.

And so it begins, the inexorable list of activities that you put in place for Christmas. You get the idea from the holidays in the past; those moments with family gone that mean you pause and reflect.

So pull up a chair for 5 minutes with me while I pause and reflect.

I remember helping to launch the Sinclair C5 electric car. That doesn’t usually sit high on my CV as it wasn’t a resounding success.

No really.

It wasn’t. It was a fun experience though with some great people who believed in what they were doing. It just liked to pause a lot on its own.

More fun was being a children’s entertainer. A 3 foot foam head, Royal Mail uniform, a stuffed cat and I became Postman Pat for children’s parties. Playing hide and seek with two dozen 5 year olds in a village hall prepares you for fatherhood. That was 20+years ago – 5 years ago I was a Santa in a Department Store grotto and remembered why Christmas is magical for children. In our desire to know we forget how innocence can cause so much delight.

I enjoyed being a butcher. Cold and hard work in a windowless room for up to 12 hours a day meant you had to be authentic – no hiding places. I’ve got good knives and good knife skills as a result and I learnt a lot about which meats offer best value. Wasn’t much fun with a girlfriend who was vegetarian at the time but has helped me become a pretty decent cook (if I don’t mind saying so myself).

Arranging housing repossessions taught me a lot about compassion and priorities. It also touched me deeply. I realised that it’s not always about the money – it’s about the life we lead. It also gave me a thick skin. Scared people react differently. It did help when I did stand up comedy for a while. A very short while – I learnt I’m not that funny.

That skill of being able to talk with complete strangers helped when I sold cars. I learnt a lot about needs and wants, why people buy and the remorse when you buy the ‘wrong’ thing. That talking skill didn’t help so much when I sold menswear; men didn’t like to shop then, let alone talk to someone while they were doing it. I learnt a lot about influence and negotiation in that role. That and how to fold jumpers.

Being a cashier was too routine for me but counting a quarter of a million quid by hand was a different experience. It changed my thoughts about money again – money as a tool. Spotting fraud livened the days, learning the extent of my trust and how far people would push it. I took my first steps in management there too; steep curves, not many plateaux.

The list above contains lots of indoor jobs.

For variety what about delivering papers and directories? Different experiences entirely. I learnt a lot about dressing for the weather. Being a pools man was interesting too. Being invited to become a regular part of people’s lives through a number of years was humbling. Being recognised by a syndicate when they won £300k a week before Christmas was especially nice – particularly with a significant tip.

Reading back through it’s an eclectic mix. A mix that doesn’t mention what I do now. Looking back, this work history seems chaotic, confused, complex. At the time it was just what I did. I’m reminded of a hundred different incidents and events, all great stories.

Stories. They’re what bind us together and ground us.

Have a good Christmas but don’t spend too long on your lists – spend time with the people who will add to your stories.

Day 2 is brought to you by Peter Cook, author, speaker, blogger and self-confessed provocateur. You can find him on Twitter as @AcademyofRock and over on his website. Artwork for today (and every day!) is provided by the brilliant Simon Heath.

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The discipline of yearly reflection and planning has been a constant since I started running a business in 1994.  I still commit the results to one side of paper, which I show to my wife.  She then ‘corrects’ my ramblings and we move on together! 🙂  In all seriousness, it’s incredibly valuable and has undoubtedly helped me run a business for nearly 20 years, through two recessions. So the opportunity to do this ‘online’ is well worth grasping, as it increases the chances of my looking rather foolish if I get my predictions for 2014 wrong!

Success Stories

After several years of incredibly difficult trading conditions, this year brought some respite in terms of projects and therefore producing a reasonable income to support my family.  The highlights of this were a major piece of innovation consultancy for a large pharmaceutical company in New York.  Two things were great about this.  Firstly we won the business against fierce competition from the market leader in the field and secondly, I was able to include Corporate Artist and all round good egg Simon Heath in the work.  He was an absolute rock’n’roll star in New York, and as I write this, I’m just about to take him off to Amsterdam to handle another summit event around making a European Supply Chain work better.

My normal ‘cycle’ for writing a book is around 5 – 7 years, but that was also broken this year.  I released my 5^th book “The Music of Business”, having gained an endorsement for the book from Harvey Goldsmith CBE, the man behind Live Aid.  I was also delighted to be invited to contribute to David D’Souza’s book “Humane Resourced”, which has a forward by Peter Cheese at CIPD and I contributed to a book on storytelling, which is a key modus operandus of my speaking career.  Hard times have clearly been good for my creativity and I’m now trying to fit in the writing of a major tome on innovation and creativity for release in 2014, plus a biography of the strange and wonderful next door neighbour of Peter Cook, no, not me, the comedy genius.

At the pure pleasure level, it has been a year filled with fun for the most part.  I compered and performed at a Charity Event, which raised a tidy sum of money for Demelza House Children’s Hospice, an absolutely vital charity ignored and overlooked by Governments.  I was also invited to jam with a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee at Dr Andrew Sentence’s garden party.  Andrew is an intellectual giant, having challenged various ‘sacred cows’ in terms of monetary policy during tough times.  He has just released his first book on the economy entitled Rediscovering Growth : After The Crisis. It was even more of a surprise that Andrew is an avid rock music fan and musician, with his hugely talented son, Tim.  I was honoured to be asked to perform with him and the band at his garden party in the company of a Bishop and other luminaries.  I hope I did not disgrace myself through nerves! 🙂

Rediscovering Growth – with Dr Andrew Sentence

Sticky moments

Recession not only rhymes with depression, it is a key component of what Baroness Susan Greenfield predicts as the fastest growing medical condition in 21^st Century Society.  Listening to Ruby Wax talking about depression and mindfulness reminded me of my own vulnerabilities in this area, having suffered from time to time with mild symptoms of depression due my inability to bring in a living wage for my family at times in the recession.  We can’t help our genes and I have a healthy ‘male gene’ of needing to be the breadwinner in the recession.  Although I’ve continued to face plenty of demand, nobody has had the means to pay for my services.  One of the more amusing moments was when someone asked me to travel 500 miles to present at an HR conference.  I asked what the commercial arrangements were to be told “It’s not our policy to pay for speakers”, to which there could only be one reply: “It’s not my policy to come then”.  Meanwhile, none of us get any younger and at 55, I’m acutely aware that new entrants to the market appear young, vibrant, willing to work for nothing and with ‘shiny toys’, which appear to be very attractive when compared with wisdom and experience.  Ah well, we make our choices etc.

In my case, if any minor thing goes wrong, I tend to ruminate upon it, which makes it worse.  Some years ago, I decided that (a) drugs were not the answer for me (b) physical exercise helps a lot – in my case swimming and cycling and (c) the key to good mental health for me is meaningful work, so I set about doing this to address my symptoms.  I’m pleased to say it has worked.  The recession is one thing that has weighed on my mind re my ability to bring in a family income from self-employment when all others are not buying from the market.  My antidote? I wrote a rock song to unleash some of my angst about how we have all contributed in smaller or larger ways to the ‘buy now, pay later society’.  The result?  A pithy and deeply ironic song about economics, banking and shopping called “Fiscal Cliff” which nearly reached the charts.  It was featured in The Evening Standard, City AM, Management Today and soon on the BBC World Service.  We had an absolute hoot recording it, with a Swiss Banker on vocals and a Class A rock God in the form of Ozzy Osbourne’s former guitarist.  Here’s the video, which we made from start to finish in two hours – Not exactly a Hollywood production but great nonetheless.  Feel free to download a copy on iTunes or Google Play for Christmas – All profits will go to Demelza Children’s Hospice.

The Show Must Go On – 2014 Resolutions

In 2013, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps from the depths of recession and achieved an incredible amount, professionally and personally.  I see my job as being one of firstly extending and consolidating this in 2014 as I enter my 20th anniversary of running Human Dynamics and The Academy of Rock.  For me this means:

Professionally: Continuing to challenge the stereotype that the ‘bigger branded consultancies’ are safer bets for procurement departments to choose.  As I write this, I am on a train to a meeting with Nokia to be followed by the delivery of some bespoke training and development at Lloyds of London.  For me, this means trading from a platform of intelligent content and thoughtful customer focus rather than handing out branded pens and fluffy toys to clients.

Developing the global network – for too many years, people have seen what I do as a one-man business and I admit that my antics with guitars tend to make people think that it is just me.  One sign of breakthrough happened last year when Nadine Hack asked me to collaborate in a piece of global consulting.  This was a true honour – Nadine is recognised as one of the worlds’ most trusted leaders on ethical behaviour in organisations. She has worked with Nelson Mandela, Barak Obama and many of the world’s greatest corporations to change their collective mindsets about ethical and sustainable business strategy and practice.

To complete the research and writing of my 8^th book on Business Innovation and Creativity.  This will require the usual ‘get up early, stay up late strategy’ if it is to all be fitted in…

Creativity takes time, most of my best work is done at night …

Personally:  To find more time for looking after myself.  Yes, this includes cycling when it’s cold and wet!  Damn – I’ve told everyone now, so I’ll have to do it :).  Making time for my son, who is suffering under the weight of constant tests and exams in an education system which now resembles the arrival of The Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at my local school.  And finding time to support my wife as she cares for her mum.

We leave with a reflection and muse on the one of the songs from the album with the same title of this blog piece.  Happy Christmas!