Monday, August 27, 2018

The End of Summer 2018

Summer Fun!

Argh!  Summer is over, again!  I cannot believe that at age 55, I still determine the end of summer by the starting of school.  Keep in mind, I graduated college 33 years ago (I do not believe I just wrote that), so I should not be still telling time by “going back to school.”  However, after almost 20 years of sending our daughters off to school, summer ends when school starts.  For Bec, her final year of her formal education (and yes, she announces this regularly) begins by the time you read this.  Fortunately, this short span of time saw plenty of Zeiler activity.

For Bec, this summer was her last chance to take on an intern program, selecting one as a private assistant.  She was able to utilize her school training in planning, arranging trips, and business.  Much to her chagrin, she actually was able to even use her Accounting skills!  Some other skills she picked up dealt with security, maintenance and even some experience with farm to table (OK, very small farming area).

For Gab, this was no casual summer.  She spent the year in charge of a music program at a day camp for children and their siblings that are dealing with cancer.  While emotional at times, this was a fulfilling experience for her.  In the corners of her days, she managed to search for teaching jobs in the area and go on many interviews.  And if that was not enough, move back to NJ from Connecticut. 

As parents, Debbie and I are proud of the effort both girls put out this summer.  They are growing into young adults, planning for themselves and becoming their own individuals!

It’s funny, we watch the summer through our children.  For Debbie and myself, summer equals warmer weather and a chance to be outside more.  Our daily, recurring activities remain constant.  Yes, we take more time to spend as a family.  There were a few weekends where we did go to spend time together at my brother’s pool.  There were some dinners with cocktails (interesting when your children can have an “adult” drink).  We ended the last weekend together by going on food tour of Jackson Heights, courtesy of Kornblit Tours.  This was a historic walk with a chance to try foods from Bangladesh, India, Nepal (Yak is the specialty), Columbia and desserts from Uruguay. 

Summer may be over, but our adventures as a family will still continue.  Each new season provides newer and different opportunities and experiences.  As always, I look forward to what comes next!

Monday, August 20, 2018

He Who Controls the Agenda


Meetings, meetings, meetings!  Some days, it seems like there is an endless stream of meetings.  Meetings in the morning, meetings in the afternoon and then synagogue meetings in the evening.  (Heavy sigh) 

Yes, meetings are a great way to share ideas, communicate information, and work together for a common goal.  Meetings with a purpose are great!  Meetings that meander aimlessly over the horizon is time that one will never get back.  I have been in meetings that are run well and meetings that are less well run.  I have been in meetings where the overall atmosphere is congenial, pleasant and well participated, and I have been in meetings where rudeness, fear of opening one’s mouth and being all over the place are par for the course.  The people that seem most organized are not necessarily the one’s who run organized meetings and vice versa.

I was taught somewhere a long time ago, that meetings should have the following:

  • A purpose – which is stated at the onset so everyone in attendance knows why they are meeting
  • An agenda – which provides the topics to be discussed and the flow of the meeting
  • A timekeeper (utilized at Toastmasters) –  someone who keeps everyone on track to limit speaking time and to ensure the start and end time of the meeting
  • A scribe – someone who keeps the notes to be distributed after the meeting.  In smaller meetings, this person can be the leader of the meeting
  • A leader – someone who provides the agenda and moderates the flow of the meeting, making sure everyone stays focused on the topic (purpose) at hand.

The truth is, depending on the size and purpose of the meeting, the same points hold true, even if the meeting’s leader holds all of the roles (not as efficient in larger meetings).  Once you, as the leader, control the agenda, you can control the meeting.  Once you cede control of the agenda, you can lose control of the meeting.  Do not get me wrong, meetings are good, they are an important means of communicating information, and a valuable way to allocate time in a group setting.  Controlling the agenda assists in making sure that the topics covered are relevant, there is focus to the meeting and a means for future achievements. 

Monday, August 13, 2018

Personal Return on Investment


When presenting a potential project, in terms of budgeting, it is important to include the return on the investment (ROI).  From a simplistic point of view, that would mean showing the point in time where the cost of the new project would meet the costs by making no changes and keeping things the same.  Or, better put, the time when I would realize the breakeven point.   Afterwards, the dollar saving would be realized from that point forward.  To provide a more inclusive analysis, you would need to include the “softer” components, such as work time to complete the related tasks (time savings), the speed at which results are seen / reported on (shortening deliverable dates) and better utilization of systems (efficiencies).  This is part of the world of Project Management.  Do we ever extend that thinking to our personal lives?  Do we evaluate the investment we put into something (time, effort, sacrifices) versus the return on that investment (personal challenges, personal development, sense of accomplishment)?

I remember when we were shopping for colleges with Gab, one of the guys at one of the schools brought this subject up.  “Your son or daughter will be going to school for four years,” he started, “by the time they have completed the education and you have either spent the money or you have to pay back the large loans, is the education worth it?  If you spend $200K for school to have your child earn $30K a year, did you get the value, or did you just spend too much.”  Very good words, because at that time, we were shell shocked by the cost of education, and education is something that we value very highly.

We figure out our own personal ROI for most things, even though we do not realize it.  My golf game has MAJOR room for improvement.  Is it worth the time and money to hire a pro to take lessons?  Since I played only a handful of times last year and will be lucky to play once or twice this year – no.  Last year I picked up the banjo, should I take some lessons to improve my playing?  I am fairly good at picking up the basics of instruments and there is a lot to learn from on YouTube – no.  Attending a seminar / on-line course related to personal development or one’s career?  Sometimes, even if we are on the right path, re-enforcement is good and the opportunity to learn something useful has longer benefits – yes.

Does this mean that I have always thought in terms of this?  That would be a no.  Like anyone else, there are times where I got caught up in the moment, thought I was doing the right thing, or threw caution into the wind.  However, in each case, there was always a lesson learned.  Unfortunately, we need to stumble before we can straighten out and move forward.  Through these lessons, we learn to better evaluate what lies before us and make a better determination as to determining our personal ROI.