March 17, 2015
Everyday, A Catch-22
Catch-22 was made famous in the book of the said name by Joseph Heller.
Essentially a Catch-22 is an unsolvable problem.
In the book for example, military servicemen in WWII can apply for a discharge if they are verifiably crazy, but the sheer act of applying for a discharge shows you are not crazy.
Other examples of a Catch-22 are locking your keys in the car and you can't unlock the door to get them or losing your glasses but now you can't look for them.
In life, it seems like we are constantly facing Catch-22's, however not solving them is not an option...we must come up with a workable solution.
At work and in school, we compete to get ahead, yet we must team, cooperate, and collaborate with those very same folks that we are competing with.
At home with children, we need to teach our children often difficult lessons of right and wrong, patience, discipline, and safety, even while we have overflowing feelings of love for them and just want to hug them and give in to them.
With spouses, as our love and lives build over the years, we grow together and become ever more interdependent on our partners, yet we need to maintain some healthy independence and self at the same time.
With career, are we advance ourselves so that we can provide well for our families, we must balance work-life, so that we aren't just bringing home a paycheck, but are actually emotionally there for our loved ones.
The list of life's conundrums goes on and on, but rather than throw up our hands in defeat, we have to fight on and come up with solutions that are best fit to the challenges we face...there is no discharge just because you feel crazed or need to confront something hard...you need to solve the dilema and then you can go home. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
December 15, 2014
Motivate, BAM!
It has "motivate" embossed under the lady with the sparring gloves.
They have similar hangings for swimming, weightlifting, cycling, and more around the fitness center.
I like them--they are motivational.
Would be nice if the place also had some big windows, but this ain't bad to keep it fresh.
BAM! Exercise. BAM! Stay healthy and fit. BAM! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Motivate, BAM!
December 11, 2014
Finals Week
It looks much like a noose and is lit up by the glass and modern finishes of this new building.
So a colleague says jokingly to me "Is that because of [the stress of] finals week?"
Now execution and suicide are definitely not a laughing matter...
But what a juxtaposition of this gorgeous new building going up and the old time hangman's noose (almost) hanging down. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Finals Week
October 25, 2014
What Will You Regret?
Think about it, could you imagine someone hooked up to IVs and palliative medicines saying, "Listen to me, one thing I've learned in this life is that work is it!"
Sure we should work hard and do a good job, but usually, it's the other way around, where people endlessly chase material things, wealth, power, and prestige...they work days, nights, weekends...and almost to hell with everyone and everything else.
Hey they say, with this beautiful excuse, "I've got to make a [good] living!"
So the people we love and should be caring about suffer, needlessly.
So of course, it goes without saying that we regret the mistakes we made, the opportunities to do good that we missed, and the hurt we caused others.
I have some colleagues though that I really admire...who work hard and do a damn good job--they are some of my best people, yet the funny thing is they put family first!
How can that be you say?
I don't know for sure, but perhaps because they know their real purpose in life, and live with balance (work-life, materialism-spiritualism, etc.) and true caring for others, they are able to be more sensible and balanced in getting their jobs done.
Honestly, these are the people that are able to get things done--presumably at home and with community--but I see it with my own eyes, at work.
Another thing...
My older daughter the other day sent me an article about people sick (with cancer etc.) and dying and how they look back at life and one thing they wish is that they had appreciated their bodies more.
I guess now that their bodies are sort of degrading with illness and age, they appreciate what they should've appreciated, but likely didn't before, their physical health.
Some of them said things like they wished they had exercised more, enjoyed sex more, spent time outside enjoying the beauty of the world more, and so on.
I've been thinking about this, about my body and my physical senses and what they mean to me.
What is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, the sweetest smell, the best voice or music I've ever heard, the most luscious taste, or the softest thing I've touched.
It really is amazing the senses that G-d gave us and the beauty all around us that cradles us in this world.
We need to savor the great creation that G-d has bestowed on us and take care of those we love around us.
Maybe that's why we fight for life, until we can't any longer. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
What Will You Regret?
August 21, 2014
We Need More Rabbit
The Nesquik rabbit was giving out chocolate milk bottle samples.
On a warm August day today, this was nice.
But also, it was refreshing to see a little light-heartedness downtown.
We all--adults and kids--need more of this--to enjoy life.
It was interesting how we are so going in the opposite direction these days.
Not only with all the bad news around the world...
But even with how hard we have to work just to keep up (24/7) and with a world where our kids are having to work and miss out on what is supposed to be some more or less carefree exploratory years to find themselves.
Now it's SAT prep, AP classes, internships, volunteer opportunities, and extracurricular activities--all the time.
In this regard, in the Wall Street Journal today, there was a review of a book called Excellent Sheep.
The book's author explains how "For many students, rising to the absolute top means being consumed by the system...[where they] sacrifice health, relationships, exploration, [and] activities...[those things] essential for developing souls and hearts."
The kids are often working so hard that they are anxious, depressed, and often miserable.
When getting ahead and becoming wealthy (a priority for 80%!) becomes the prime reason for our young adults' existence, maybe we have missed the boat in terms of finding true meaning and joy in life.
Hard work and striving for success is a good thing, but worshipping the proverbial "golden calf" is not productive.
Like the rabbit, I would give a thumbs up to those for whom a more well-balanced life rules the day--where success, meaning, and joy all play an important part, and we can drink some chocolate milk and not take everything so darn serious. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
We Need More Rabbit
August 10, 2014
Why Innovation Is On The Decline
Do you feel compelled to get a new smartphone, TV, or just about anything else...or do you already basically have the latest and greatest technology, even if it's a couple of years old now?
But imagine, if something great and new did come out...we'd all be dancing in the streets and eager to buy.
That's right, innovation is not what it was...according to the Wall Street Journal, there is "An Innovation Slowdown At The Tech Giants."
The question is why is this happening?
No, the tech companies are not copying Washington politics (sleepy, sleepy...)!
But instead, we may have become our own worst enemies to our ability to innovate anew.
The New York Times today explains that our minds have a toggle switch between being focused on a task and being free to let your mind wonder and innovate.
You can't do both at the same time, no you can't.
And these days, we have so flooded ourselves with information overload with everything from 24/7 work and "big data," email/texting, social media, and thousands of cable stations and billions of YouTube videos, and more that we are forever engaged in the what's now, and are not allowing ourselves to rest, recuperate, and think about the potential for what's new.
If we want more from the future (innovation, creative problem solving, and sound decision making), then we need to allow some space for our minds to restore itself.
Whether that means daily downtimes, weekly walks in the park, monthly mediations, or semiannual vacations...we need to stop the diminishing returns of constant work and information arousal, and take a little mind breather.
Instead of chugging along our insane nonstop routines of endless activities and firehose information engagement, we will do ourselves and our children and grandchildren a great service by pulling the train over for some rest and relaxation...and only then will real innovation begin again. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Why Innovation Is On The Decline
January 11, 2014
Work Life IMBALance
Yet, the financial services industry has been notorious for making people work unearthly hours, but also paying them unG-dly sums of money, especially in end-of-year bonuses.
I remember reading the other year that the average bonus at Goldman Sachs was something like $750,000!
The price people pay for this is work, work, and more work (and like in the film, Wall Street, often some very unscrupulous behavior as well).
Many people get apartments down by Wall Street, so when they stroll out of the office at 1 am (maybe that's a good night), they can get to their place and clock a few hours of sleep before it's back to the office--in record time.
Does the wealth accumulation and perhaps early retirement make it worth it--I guess to some people it does.
Today, the New York Times reported how financial firms like Bank of America (BOA) Merrill Lynch is perhaps seeing the ill effects of this misguided "human capital strategy."
Finally, they are now encouraging people to "take four days off a month" and we're taking about weekends.
That still leaves you with 6 days a week of work and typically 90 hours per week in the office!
Anyway, this is what they call being "committed to making the work experience better."
This is coming off the heels of a 21-year old intern at BOA that died last Summer in the office "after working three consecutive nights" even though they attributed the death to epilepsy.
Work is good and healthy, except when it's extreme and not. Work-a-holism is a disease and money is at the root cause.
It's great to be committed to the organization, mission, people and to doing your best, but it's another to sacrifice your soul, health, family and friends, and other interests that make you a well-rounded person.
Ambition is healthy, greed is deadly--and if you have to come up with three lemons to see that, then it may be too late. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Work Life IMBALance
September 19, 2013
Feeling Groovy
I listened to how it helps them with aches and pains as well as to just relax.
One guy mentioned that he tried a couples massage with his wife and it was really awesome as an event together.
Not that I thought in a million years that I would ever get a massage myself, but going away with my honey, this seemed like just the right thing to do.
We ended up at the spa in the Westin and had the most relaxing massage that I could ever imagine.
Some lemonade, calm music, dim lights, and a view of the ocean made it just perfect for us.
I realized where some new pain points for me were, how important a little work-life balance can be, and could only say, "What other times are you available this week?"
Uh oh, I think I'm hooked.
OMG--thank you, but maybe I should've never tried it (it's an expensive habit)! ;-)
Feeling Groovy
June 13, 2013
Total CIO Ping Pong
Excuse the quality of this video, which my wife took while challenging me to a game of ping pong.
So what's the point?
It's important to work hard, but also to enjoy life and have some good times as well.
There is a Talmudic saying that he who goes through life without enjoying the world will be held accountable by G-d.
Aside from Judaism being against strict asceticism, this saying always sort of bewildered me, like why would religion need to tell you to enjoy yourself?
I think the answer is that in our zeal to advance ourselves--whatever that means for each person (accumulating wealth, offspring, expertise, fame, wisdom, spiritual growth)--we can go overboard, become obsessive-compulsive, and forget to refresh, rejuvenate and just relax and enjoy the life too.
You don't have to deny yourself; but also, you don't have to go crazy and be a pig either--just be balanced.
Play some ping pong or whatever, let loose a little, and be yourself. :-)
Total CIO Ping Pong
June 6, 2013
Getting To Know You
It is a guy sitting in the restaurant surrounded by women.
He is eating and reading.
The book is "What Do Women Want?"
What--like most men don't have a clue how women think!
Anyway, sort of an interesting way to take a break from the workday.
Pondering the ultimate mystery men seem to want to know.
Anyway, I know what my women wants and that's for me to take out the garbage. ;-)
(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
Getting To Know You
June 5, 2013
Why Can't We All Be As Happy In Our Jobs As This?
The worst jobs matrix has four dimension based on the functions of jobs being treacherous, tedious, difficult, and disgusting.
The matrix has some doozy jobs listed, such as the food taster for the emperor (i.e. testing for poison) and the banquet attendant who cleans up guests vomit and holds the pot for partygoers to urinate in.
However, while this infographic provide some interesting job tidbits, it completely misses the point of what it really means for a job to be bad or worst.
What doesn't necessarily make a bad job?
- It is not how treacherous a job is, because treachery can be in the name of patriotism (such as someone who works in the Intelligence or National Security community and may commit treacherous deeds, but they are for a noble cause to protect our people and country).
- It is not how tedious a job is, because many jobs are tedious but they are necessary and important, such as working "on the line" in many traditional manufacturing jobs producing goods that people want and need.
- It is not how difficult a job is, because often the more difficult a job is, the more rewarding it is, such as a surgeon, scientist, social worker, teacher, and so on.
- It is not how disgusting a job is, because many jobs involve blood, guts, and gore, but are jobs that save lives such as doctors, fire and rescue personnel, and even our warfighters.
What does necessarily make a bad job?
- If you work for a cruel boss, you have a bad job. A bad boss--one that is bullying, arbitrary, unfair, egotistical, mean, and abusive--can ruin even the best of jobs. When you work for a great boss, you can learn, grow, and are well treated and for a boss like that, you will go the extra mile.
- If you perform meaningless work, you have a bad job. One of the most important factors in worker satisfaction is whether you perform purposeful and meaningful work. If you do, then you have a reason to get up in the morning, and that is a great feeling, indeed.
- If you work and are not fairly compensated, you have a bad job. Most people don't mind working hard as long as they is a fair performance management system, where they get rewarded and recognized for their contributions. However, if you aren't fairly compensated and can't make ends meet to provide for your family, you have a bad job.
- If you have a job that doesn't provide for work-life balance, you have a bad job. Generation Y really appreciates this, and they have taught us all something about the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This means working to live and not living to work. If you have a job where you miss your kids' ballgames, have no intimacy with your spouse, and don't have time and energy to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually, you have a bad job.
Many people work in jobs that are challenging--whether they are treacherous, tedious, difficult, or disgusting--but they are in good jobs. Other jobs are for cruel bosses, doing meaningless work, and are not fairly compensated and don't have work-life balance, and they are in jobs you would never want to have in a million years. In fact, food taster and banquet attendant may sound pretty darn good in comparison. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Why Can't We All Be As Happy In Our Jobs As This?
July 18, 2012
Losing their Heads
Some lady--assume she's a cosmetologist in training--working on this mannequin head on the Metro.
She's got her luggage bag spread out open on the floor of the bus, a drink bottle laying on the seat next to her, and a mannequin head between her knees.
And the lady is slowly, carefully applying eye liner as if she's sitting in some luxury day spa or something.
While I admire her work and the practice, the image was just a little surreal on the bus to work.
Letting imagination go wild...if she held up the head by the pony tail with blood and guts dripping out and brandishing a large butcher knife, then I can see this scene going to a whole new level of scary-crazy.
Uh, that's a different movie... ;-)
But that's what city life, commuting, and to a great extent work is all about--the next personality you come across and all that they are cracked up to be.
(Source Photo: Michelle Blumenthal)
Losing their Heads
April 9, 2012
Changing Regrets Into Fulfillment
The items mentioned were compiled by a palliative nurse caring for patients at end of life.
The list is a wake up call for many of us who work hard, but in the process perhaps forget the most important aspects of life are the people we love and the pursuit of opportunities to really be ourselves and achieve our purpose.
Here is the list of top 5 things you can do different in your life before it passes you by:
1. Be your true self--"I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
- Ask yourself what are your dreams and how can you make them happen!
2. Work less--"I wish I hadn't worked so hard."
- Ask yourself are you living to work or working to live?
3. Express yourself--"I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings."
- Ask yourself if you've told significant others how you really feel and genuinely worked things out with them.
4. Maintain relationships--"I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends"
- Ask yourself have you been generous with your time, emotions, and material things with family, friends, and others important to you?
5. Seek out opportunities for happiness--"I wish that I had let myself be happier."
- Ask yourself what does happiness even really mean to you and how can you find it amidst the daily grind.
Life is always too short and everyone makes mistakes and has regrets--that's part of being human, learning, and growing.
But if we can get our priorities straights and set clear goals, perhaps we can leave the world with less bitterness and more fulfillment in lives granted and well spent.
(Source Photo: here with Attribution to Raspberries1)
Changing Regrets Into Fulfillment
August 26, 2011
Get Me Some Privacy
We all need some privacy at one time or another--that's actually one reason to love blogging (ah, some peace at last!)
Get Me Some Privacy
September 7, 2010
Enterprise Architecture Panel - Snowmaggedon and the End of the (Desktop) World: The Mobile Workforce
I still remember Snowmaggedon because that was when we shoveled out the wrong car because the snow was so high we couldn't see which was ours.
More seriously though, telework benefits federal agencies in many ways:
1. Increases productivity
2. Enhances work-life balance and morale
3. Helps the environment by keeping cars off the road
4. Can save the taxpayer money by reducing the agency's footprint
Data from the Telework Research Network indicate that telework could save agencies and participants as much as $11 billion annually (on such things as real estate, electricity, absenteeism, and employee turnover) and that if eligible employees telecommuted just one day every other week, agencies would increase productivity by more than $2.3 billion per year (driven by employee wellness, quality of life, and morale).
Five years ago nobody would've thought that EA would inform the discussion on telework. EA was still primarily a compliance only mechanism and didn't have a real seat at the decision table. Now thanks to the efforts of all of you, it's strategic benefit is recognized, and EA is playing a vital role in planning and governing strategic IT decisions such as in investing and implementing telework solutions for our agencies.
Our distinguished panelists here today will discuss how EA is informing the discussion of telework from both the policy, systems, and security perspectives.
Enterprise Architecture Panel - Snowmaggedon and the End of the (Desktop) World: The Mobile Workforce
June 11, 2010
Work-Life Balance
Work-Life Balance
November 1, 2008
“Hodo-Hodo” and Enterprise Architecture
With all the business process acumen and sleek IT, we can get nothing truly accomplished without the innovation, dedication, finesse, and talent of people!
Unfortunately, people are often poorly understood and mishandled in the workplace and the results can be disastrous for our enterprises and nations.
Japan is a good example of a country where these effects are pronounced.
The Wall Street Journal, 1-2 November 2008 reports on “Slacker Nation? Young Japanese Shun Promotions.”
Generally, one would think that people want to advance themselves professionally and be productive human beings in general. This is sort of a cornerstone of capitalism.
Yet, in Japan now-a-days, “in a country once proud of its success-driven ‘salarymen,’ managers are grappling with a new phenomenon: Many young workers are shunning choice promotions—even forgoing raises—in favor of humdrum jobs with minimal responsibilities.”
Here’s an example:
“the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a destination for the city’s elite, says only 14% of eligible employees took higher level exams for management positions in 2007—down from 40% three decades ago.”
So enterprises are not understanding generation Y and what they are looking for in the workplace.
Things have gotten so bad that a labor relations lawyer advises companies not to “shock” workers with promotions, but rather to “first see if they’re ready.”
“Employment experts have begun to call these workers hodo-hodo zoku, or the ‘so-so folks.’ They say these workers, mostly in their 20s and early 30s are sapping Japan’s international competitiveness.”
One labor consultant says “They’ll ruin Japan with their lax work ethic.”
Yet although gen Yers are at the center of this trend, apparently this goes beyond being just a generational issue:
“A study this year…found just 3% of Japanese workers says they’re putting their full effort into their jobs.”
So what are organizations missing in understanding and in handling their human capital?
First, organizations need to listen to what people’s needs are and work to satisfy them.
Instead of seeking legal counsel to see “whether they can fire employees who refuse promotions,” they need to make the work and conditions of employment palatable to today’s workforce.
For example, one “24-year old agent at a staffing company recently got promoted to help manage a small group of employees. The new job means a higher salary and a better title. But he isn’t happy about it. Now he often works past 10 p.m. leaving him less time with his girlfriend.”
Aha!
People are human and need work-life balance. A 24 year old with a relationship doesn’t want to work until 10:00 every night. That’s really hard to understand isn’t it? (sarcasm here)
Here’s another reason:
Japan has suffered “economic woes during the long slump in the 1990s and early 2000s…young workers saw older generations throw themselves into their work, only to face job and pay cuts as companies restructured. Now young people are cautious about giving too much of themselves—even if it mean less money or prestige.”
A 2nd Aha—not really:
If people are not rewarded for their hard work and dedication they are not motivated to perform. Companies that used to provide lifetime employment and/or substantial salary raises for managerial positions, no longer are providing these.
To me, the big Aha’s here are not the cause-effect reactions of workers to organizations that do not reward their efforts, promote work-life balance, or demonstrate commitment to match the dedication of their people, but rather the surprise is that enterprises are continue to overlook their most valuable asset in their enterprise architecture—which is of course, their people!
Enterprise architects need to work with their Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCOs)/HR divisions to better understand and address the needs of the workforce so that the organization can recruit, hire and retain a stable and talented workforce. This will support the business now and into the future.
The enterprise architects’ unique role in this area is to
--capture information (profiles/models/inventories regarding human capital) and trends—point out gaps or other issues between current and future capabilities
--align investment decisions to business requirements—in this case, investments in human capital
If we don’t address the human capital perspective of the architecture, no business or technology plans can succeed.
“Hodo-Hodo” and Enterprise Architecture