A joyous chore

Following my entry yesterday about chores, I realised that I had failed to comment on one of my favourite chores of the year. About this time of the year the autumn fruiting raspberries need to be pruned. This is a job that I love. I’ve blogged about this before, but I think it merits a few more words, as I did the pruning yesterday (but not the weeding or mulching).

I like this annual task because there’s an element of restoring order by removing the old, dead growth, and creating a blank canvas for the new year.

This year the pleasure is more about the promise or, at least, the anticipation of spring. It’s been an unusually harsh winter, and most of the plants are several weeks behind their normal schedule. Most of the spring bulbs are barely breaking the surface of the earth, when typically they would be in bloom by now. But the raspberries are tough, so hopefully they can take the treatment. Maybe it’s an act of madness; I prefer to see it as an act of optimism, or even an act of faith - time will tell!

Chores and simple pleasures

They are necessary for the continuation of everyday life. Yet the very term that we use for them carries negative connotations - CHORES!

Yet some of them bring a degree of pleasure - at leas that’s how I feel. I like polishing shoes - not doing loads at once, but polishing my work shoes every evening. There’s pleasure in the rhythm of brushing, and of taking something a bit scuffed and battered with the wear and tear of the day and restoring it to a state of shininess. Similarly with ironing - I like taking a crumpled shirt and ending up with a crisp, pressed end product.

By contrast, I find no pleasure (and little purpose) in car washing, even though similar principles apply. Weird, huh?

Lessons from Nelson Mandela #3

Third, last and - for me - the most important lesson from Playing the Enemy/Invictus/ the life of this amazing man.

Throughout the long years of his struggle he had one clear, overarching purpose. That's it! He used whatever strengths, talents, tactics, abilities he had available to achieve this one purpose. His grand vision never left him, although its strength may have dimmed at times when the world around him seemed hostile, bleak and dark. Yet he kept the spark alive, and poured his life in to fanning it into a country-changing fire.

How many of us can clearly articulate our purpose, let alone live it out, under all circumstances, every day of our life?

Lessons from Nelson Mandela #2

So, continuing with some thoughts from Playing the Enemy/Invictus.

I love the way that Mandela was able to challenge those around him - followers and 'enemies' alike.

He challenged his opponents, through the rugby authorities, about using the new flag, representing the new, inclusive South Africa; and he challenged his followers when they wanted to replace the green Springbok jersey. In both situations, he used his dominant position wisely - not jeopardising his influence over things that were of no consequence and not alienating people when he challenged them. In both cases, he was able to present his case on a reasonable basis, but also with an intriguing compromise.

The tradition of both sides dictated that their anthem had to be the one that was sung before rugby matches - the ANC wanted their freedom song 'Nkosi Sikeleli'; the Afrikaners insisted on the traditional, and equally provocative 'Die Stem'. The brilliant compromise was to combine them... and to convince the rugby players to learn to sing 'Nkosi Sikeli'. The version below gives the effect - although it lacks the power and passion of a rugby crowd.

Challenge and compromise - essential tools in the leaders kitbag.

One other impressive thing - in my opinion - about Mandela was the change in his attitude over the years. He developed a capacity for humility. Before he went to prison, his pride meant that his only way of engaging with his opponents was to go 'head to head', 'pride to pride' and the only possible outcome was that the dominant power would win. As time went by he cultivated a different approach, engaging with the other person, adopting a humble - but not subservient position. This frequently had the effect of disrupting the power equilibrium in the situation and changing the probable outcome.

And finally - for this entry - he developed an astonishing capacity to forgive. His lack of (obvious) bitterness was the key factor in persuading many Afrikaners that they could trust Mandela. It was expected, and would have been seen as reasonable, if Mandela had chosen to settle old scores when he was released from prison. Instead, he chose to establish relationships, heal wounds, and build coalitions.

Powerful lessons for all of us.

Booksneeze review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews

The Noticer by Andy Andrews has been on my Amazon wishlist for quite a while now, after reading several bloggers who loved it. So when I joined Booksneeze and saw that it was available, I jumped at the chance. (I received the book as a complimetary copy from the publisher - Thomas Nelson.)  This became my bedtime book for a few nights.

The story revolves around the mysterious character known as 'Jones' (or Garcia or Chen - depending on your ethnic origins), who notices things about people; offers them helpful advice about looking at things from a different perspective; and thereby fixing the things that are in their lives.

I notice things about situations and people that produce perspective. That's what most folks lack - perspective - a broader view. So I give them that broader view... and it allows them to regroup, take a breath, and begin their lives again.

Essentially, each chapter follows this pattern and, after a short time, I found this to be predictable to the point of irritation. The advice seemed to be twee, the universal engagement with a stranger dispensing often intrusive advice completely bizarre, and ultimately, this was not an enjoyable read.

I don't like positive such a negative review, especially as my first one for Booksneeze, but honesty requires it.

I should also acknowledge that I rarely read works of fiction. So, maybe, there is one piece of Jones' advice that I will follow.

Other people's experience is the best teacher. By reading about the lives of great people, you can unlock the secrets to what made them great.

I think that I'll stick with biographies at bedtime - at least for a while.

Lessons from Nelson Mandela #1

I said that I'd write about some of the lessons that I learned from Invictus/Playing the Enemy - I'll do some of this over the next few days.

It seems clear that Nelson Mandela is an amazing man. It also seems that everyone that he met succumbed to his charm and manner. We frequently hear about some people having 'presence'. From the portrayals in the book and the movie, Mandela had bucketloads of presence. He was naturally charismatic; he smiled a lot (there's a mini lesson in that for me!); and he took an interest in whoever he was talking to. He engaged them - even when they were hostile.

What follows is assumption on my part, so you can judge the validity of it. I think that Mandela was/is very conscious of the impact that he has on the people he meets. He knows that he can charm the birds from the trees, and he uses this to his advantage. I suspect that he also had to work hard to develop his natural ability into a skill that he could deploy to great effect.

In other words, he identified a key strength and carefully crafted it over many years.

So the question for us - do we know what our strengths are and are we actively honing them to maximise their impact?

Books and movies

On Friday night we went to see Invictus – the film about Nelson Mandela and the Rugby World Cup of 1995 (more of which in later posts).  I had just finished reading the book, originally published with the title “Playing the enemy” – I was determined to finish it before I saw the film.  However, this tempered my enjoyment of it.

I was constantly comparing and contrasting the two versions, which certainly took away from the overall experience.  Helen really enjoyed the film; I thought it was good.

Ironically I felt that John Carlin, the author of the book, overplayed the saintliness of Mandela and the power of his smile; for me, the film underplayed the sense of presence that Mandela apparently has.

How do you resolve the book/movie dilemma?  Does it even affect you, or am I just being a bit anal?

Spiritual 5-a-day for Lent

I prepared this for Nurture Group (inspired by nef), so I thought I'd share it.  If anyone does use it, I'd really appreciate honest, constructive feedback.  The idea is to print it as a booklet on one sheet of A4, so that it's portable.  It's attached as two pictures, 'cos I'm not smart enough to know how to do it more elegantly - any ideas gratefully received.

Lent words

http://www.wordle.net/

Lessons from rugby - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

Another dismal result for Scotland on Saturday - it really brings out the optimist in me!  Well, there's always the next match to look forward to (against Italy - 27 February).

So rather than focus on the negative aspects, are there any lessons that we can learn from the match?

I think there are a few things:

We played with more adventure (at least in the first half) than when we played France.  Things only started to unravel when we played more defensively, absorbing pressure and losing momentum.

LESSON - loss of momentum is a killer.

Our overall play improved - better execution of moves; better tackling and breakdown activity; played as if they knew each other (at times against France they looked like strangers meeting for the first time!).  But... they didn't finish it off.

LESSON - starting well is good, but ultimately fruitless if you don't finish well.

We finished the game with 13 men - the referee invited two Scots to watch the end of the match from the comfort of the bench/changing room.

LESSON - discipline and concentration on the objective are essential.

At the very end of the match, Scotland could have kicked the ball into touch and the match would have finished as a draw.  They didn't, Wales scored, we lost.  Bizarrely I totally agree with this decision.  Scotland set out to play a more expansive game; played to win; played - I hope - as they intend to play from now on, with a sense of adventure.

LESSON - stick to your principles - especially if they are the basis for future growth.

We suffered several notable injuries - most notably Thom Evans' neck injury which later required surgery.

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON OF ALL - be grateful for good health.

Seascape

Troon - 13 February 2010

The 45-minute hour

One of the ways that I try to manage my energy and concentration is to adopt the 45-minute hour.  What do I mean?

Well, I've discovered that my concentration span is no more than 45 minutes these days.


So when I'm working in my office at work or at home, I plan to work for 45 minutes on any one task, then take a break.


During the break I can make a cup of coffee or stretch a bit, or go and talk to someone else in the building.  I also take a minute or so before I start again to re-focus and pray.


I've even found that it helps to set a reminder to alert me when the 45 minutes is up.  As this rhythm is developing I find that I'm also scheduling meetings for 45 minutes, or having a break in longer meetings after 45 minutes.


It feels more productive and I've got more energy.  


Do you have any tips for using time wisely?  I'd love to hear them.

The 45-minute hour

One of the ways that I try to manage my energy and concentration is to adopt the 45-minute hour.  What do I mean?

Well, I've discovered that my concentration span is no more than 45 minutes these days.


So when I'm working in my office at work or at home, I plan to work for 45 minutes on any one task, then take a break.


During the break I can make a cup of coffee or stretch a bit, or go and talk to someone else in the building.  I also take a minute or so before I start again to re-focus and pray.


I've even found that it helps to set a reminder to alert me when the 45 minutes is up.  As this rhythm is developing I find that I'm also scheduling meetings for 45 minutes, or having a break in longer meetings after 45 minutes.


It feels more productive and I've got more energy.  


Do you have any tips for using time wisely?  I'd love to hear them.

Nothing is important

Nothing is important

Pacing yourself

So the French gubbed us on Sunday - they played well, we didn't.  But rather dwell on the aspects of defeat, I want to reflect on the French approach to the game, and one player in particular.

The French had clearly decided to rely on power rather than flair, pace and panache - no criticism there.  They fielded a team of big lumps, and they executed their tactics with aplomb (mainly).  They destroyed the Scottish scrum throughout the match, pushing it all over the park, buckling it as they saw fit.  They picked some monsters in their back line as well, including the 18-stone centre Mathieu Bastareaud - he was 4 stones heavier than his opposite number.  I know how that feels (I was only 9 stones when I played most of my (limited) rugby, so I was always outmuscled and thrown about like a ragdoll.)  But I digress...

I don't want to talk about Bastareaud - I might get nightmares!  I want to talk about Aurélien Rougerie.  He's a wee fellow - just 16 stones, and 6 feet 4 inches - who plays at winger (which was my position!)  Anyway, Rougerie had a remarkable game, his tackle count was unblemished, and unimpressive:

Tackles missed - 0

Tackles made  - 2

Minutes played - 4

Aye, he lasted 4 minutes.  Within the first minute or so, he flung himself into a tackle at full tilt - he was clearly committed to executing the tactics of the power game.  It was a shuddering tackle, which sent his opponent backwards to the turf.  But Rougerie came off worst by injuring himself.  He got back into the game, but clearly hadn't recovered properly.  Then he hurtled into another tackle - this time he didn't recover and had to be replaced.

What do we learn from this?

Well, experience should have taught Rougerie something!

But in any endeavour, while it's important to start well, it's also important to pace yourself so that you can finish well.  Sustaining our effort may mean holding back a bit at the outset, but it's a discipline that's worth learning.

I hope Rougerie recovers from his injury quickly - and that he maybe takes some time to reflect on this experience.

Passing the Buckfast OR fast buckpassing?

So once again, the unusual tonic wine is in the news here.  I resisted blogging about it a couple of weeks ago, when it was reported as being linked to 5,000 crimes over a three year period.  Now Scottish Labour has launched their own commission on alcohol and are calling for the amount of caffeine in Buckfast to be reduced.  Maybe they've got a point - but it's a minor issue.  

When you consider the extent of the problem that this country has with alcohol misuse, the use of Buckfast is all but irrelevant.  Still it gives the politicos in oor wee Parliament something else to disagree about.  Labour won't play with the SNP minimum pricing proposals, the SNP won't play with Labour's Buckfast proposals.  I've heard a lot of arguments about these two issues over the weekend, but I haven't heard anything about the root cause of the problem.  Nor have I heard any talk about working together in a consensual (call it adult) way to deal with this issue.  You see that doesn't make good headlines, doesn't show how different we are from each other, how much more impressive my argument is than yours.

It's the politics of the playground; while alcohol continues to blight lives up and down the land.  It drives me mad.

Pass the Buckfast - I need a drink!

Simplifying

In an effort to simplify my life I've decided to stop blogging here.  I will still be blogging as "Of dreams and visions".  Please join me there.

That reminds me...

Anne over at Get Out of Jail Free posted an entry the other day that triggered two thoughts.

Firstly, it seems that the planned trip to Peru might be the start of the deep involvement that I was advocating in a recent post.

The second (more trivial) thought was about a recent conversation with some longstanding friends who go to our church.  Many years ago, I preached a sermon where I was encouraging the congregation to think about the areas that we were willing to get involved in.  (There's a bit of a recurring theme here.)  I concluded my talk with the question, 'When did you last have breakfast with a prostitute?'

Surprisingly, the sermon had stuck in the mind of their son, who was probably about 10 years old at the time.  Over lunch, he asked, 'Mum, you're a prostitute aren't you?'

When she had recovered her composure and her thought processes, the penny dropped with Mum, who replied to her son: 'I think you might mean PROTESTANT!'

On leadership

"We should be calling for leadership that will challenge us to face problems for which there are no simple, painless solutions."

Ron Heifetz - Leadership without easy answers

This sentiment has been on my mind lately - as I've been in conflict with colleagues, about facing up to the realities of our situation rather than basking on past glories and carrying on with management techniques that aren't able to meet current challenges.

I know that change is difficult, but we have collectively accepted that we need to change, we've committed to it publicly with our staff groups - now we need to move from rhetoric to reality.

And what about me?  Well, I need to change too, and it begins with conscious acts of letting go.  Letting go of some specific (comfort zone) tasks; letting go of control; letting go of old certainties; letting go of simplistic, unsustainable solutions to problems; letting go of moaning about the inability of my colleagues to move forward...

Instead I need to model the behaviour that we have said we will adopt - scary and exhilirating.  I need to offer moral support to those managers who are keen to see the changes happening; to offer practical advice and guidance to those who don't 'get it' yet.  In short, I need to champion the changes that we need to make, to be willing to explore the uncertainty; to re-trace my steps when we take the wrong direction; to listen to feedback - even when I don't agree with it; and to assess where we are honestly and frequently.

On leadership

"We should be calling for leadership that will challenge us to face problems for which there are no simple, painless solutions."

Ron Heifetz - Leadership without easy answers

This sentiment has been on my mind lately - as I've been in conflict with colleagues, about facing up to the realities of our situation rather than basking on past glories and carrying on with management techniques that aren't able to meet current challenges.

I know that change is difficult, but we have collectively accepted that we need to change, we've committed to it publicly with our staff groups - now we need to move from rhetoric to reality.

And what about me?  Well, I need to change too, and it begins with conscious acts of letting go.  Letting go of some specific (comfort zone) tasks; letting go of control; letting go of old certainties; letting go of simplistic, unsustainable solutions to problems; letting go of moaning about the inability of my colleagues to move forward...

Instead I need to model the behaviour that we have said we will adopt - scary and exhilirating.  I need to offer moral support to those managers who are keen to see the changes happening; to offer practical advice and guidance to those who don't 'get it' yet.  In short, I need to champion the changes that we need to make, to be willing to explore the uncertainty; to re-trace my steps when we take the wrong direction; to listen to feedback - even when I don't agree with it; and to assess where we are honestly and frequently.

The meaning of words and phrases - "playing Devil's advocate"

It strikes me that we frequently use words out of tired old habits, without thinking - or meaning- what we say.  I thought it might be fun to occasionally pick a phrase and see if we can explore what's really being said.

So let's start with... "playing Devil's advocate".  Two alternative meanings spring to mind:

"I disagree with you, but I lack the courage or integrity to say so."

OR

"I'm much smarter than you, but so that you don't feel totally dumb, I'll use this phrase to soften the blow."

Any other ideas about the real meaning behind this phrase?

The meaning of words and phrases - "playing Devil's advocate"

It strikes me that we frequently use words out of tired old habits, without thinking - or meaning- what we say.  I thought it might be fun to occasionally pick a phrase and see if we can explore what's really being said.

So let's start with... "playing Devil's advocate".  Two alternative meanings spring to mind:

"I disagree with you, but I lack the courage or integrity to say so."

OR

"I'm much smarter than you, but so that you don't feel totally dumb, I'll use this phrase to soften the blow."

Any other ideas about the real meaning behind this phrase?