It Could Have Been My Congregation

It could have been my congregation, your congregation or any other place where people meet innocently and peacefully.  Unfortunately, we fall into following the age-old mentality that when things are quiet, you tend to let your guard down…

The event of last Saturday in Pittsburgh is not only a Jewish thing.   Yes, anti-Semitism has been around seemingly forever.  Our Purim story is about a man of hate, Haman.  It is unfortunate to say, but each generation has its own Haman.  Hate, however, knows no boundaries.  It is always easier to blame someone else, rather than to own up to the wrongdoing; the most extreme is to eradicate those we despise.  This time, it was innocent Jews who were murdered; Who knows where the next act of hatred will occur?

While in Dublin last week for work, I had the opportunity to take a tour in Belfast called the Black Taxi Tour, run by Taxi Trax.  The driver was someone who was impacted by the violence in Northern Ireland, which they refer to as The Troubles.  Short history - in 1922, when Ireland became an independent Republic, part of the separation deal with England was to have the northern six counties stay part of the U.K.  The Irish there, though on the body of land called Ireland, were separate and English citizens, and treated as second-class citizens, like other downtrodden people throughout time.  The one point the driver made - it was always tit-for-tat.  You kill one of ours, now one of yours dies, whereby innocent were murdered.  In that mindset of revenge, it is easy to see how killing can escalate.

I bring this up, only to point out that an eye for eye mentality does not resolve the issue.  And not to delve into political rhetoric, but people who want to harm, people who want to destroy lives, will always find a way to do so.  Education is key.  If you teach violence as a solution, violence then becomes a valid approach to getting what one thinks they want.  If you provide an indoctrination into hatred and violence as part of the Education, those once innocent minds may never learn a better way.  Teaching tolerance, appreciation for others and the rights of individuals is important, especially in a country where most of our ancestors came for those freedoms not allowed from their countries of birth.

What can we do?  We can stand together, to show that an attack on innocent people will not divide us, but unite us.  We can teach that hate is not OK.  And, we must stand ready and not let down our guard.  Our synagogue has had an armed security guard since a thwarted fire bomb attack in 2012.  Sometimes, we wonder if we still need this deterrent.  After the events on October 27th in Pittsburgh, we now wonder if our security measures are enough.  May we remember the 11 people who had their lives taken from them and the others who have lost their lives in similar fashion. 

It could have been my congregation…

We Are Going Live!

After doing project-related work for nearly 25 years, having a project “Go Live” is still a great feeling!  Yes, there are associated risks.  Yes, there are certain stresses related to change and moving outside our comfort zones.  Yes, sometimes the projects were pushed on people as opposed to being asked for.  And, yes, even if there is complaining during the project, the fears and concerns preceding the all-important “Go Live” date are forgotten as the new “thing” becomes part of the fabric of life.  In many cases, those who complained of the old way, tend to migrate the complaints over to the new way.

When I started working at the company I am currently at, it was to implement a global ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) so that the “world of Finance” could be on the same platform, speak the same language and have the ability to support one another no matter where they were located.  Migrating different regions, with different software, with completely different processes is never an easy task.  Projects of such a large size must be done in phases, with one overriding plan on how to proceed.  Translation: The project would be a multi-year project from beginning to end. 

Years ago, I worked for a company that was bought by Merck & Co.  Merck was an interesting place, in that, they actually had a project based organization structure.  This meant that for a large project, you were plucked from your current project and dedicated 100% to this new project, with its own project organization.  The benefit is that your focus is on the project with a team of the same goals.  This was definitely a unique learning experience. Project life afterwards meant that daily activities sometimes had the priority, other responsibilities come your way and other projects with a higher priority push off current projects.

Managing projects of this nature requires patience.  In a go-go society, instant gratification and quick turn arounds have been an expected norm, regardless of the reality of what is before us.  It is important in managing any project that communications in regards to the timelines, the impact / changes to a project and identification of external factors that effect a project occur.  When the moment of the “Go Live” is right in front of us, it is normal to ask, “what did we miss.”  No project ends at “Go Live,” but the project continues until a short time later, miraculously, “things” return to normal, as if there was never that tense period where we push back from change.  Remember, always congratulate and thank your teams for the work they did, for it is their effort, their stress and their expectations that make or break the acceptance of the “Go Live.” 

Kindness Counts

I recently came across an article posted on Inc. Magazines website.  The title was related to one of the sign of being a leader, but also included the phrase “…but may cause a Gag Reflex for most…”  I admit, it was this part of the title that caught my attention.  I read the well thought out article, and the attribute that writer Marcel Schwantes was referring to is Kindness.  The article provides the points to support the attribute and the related benefits. 

Years ago, I was listening to a speaker at an event I was attending and the speaker started to talk about handling people that are negative or become belligerent towards you.  The approached boiled down to “kill them with kindness.”  Recently, in a Darren Hardy daily video, he spent that day’s message on the importance of kindness and how it factors in on building his own teams.  For years, my wife has been saying, “…if only we could be kind to each other…” 

Keep in mind, I am not talking about kindness where it is a weakness.  That would be a situation where in Yiddish it is referred to being a schmatta (rag), and in English where the term is calling someone a doormat.  These are people that so nice, they let other people walk all over them.  Being kind does not preclude the fact that one needs to be tough at times, or stand their ground, or prove a point.  Kindness is a trait that in conjunction with other positive traits can have a big impact, leverage the Law of Attraction and provide beneficial interactions.  Think of it this way, if you went up to a customer service counter and the curmudgeon behind the counter barked, “Whad dah yah want?” and then proceeds to make everything difficult, there is a good chance that you will no longer do business with this company due to the curt reception at the counter.  However, if when it was your turn, you stepped up to the counter and someone with a big smile greets you with, “Good afternoon, how may I be of service to you?” and then proceeds to make helping you a positive experience, their kindness would ensure you would return in the future.

We all get our feathers ruffled at times, but a measure of kindness can go a long way.  Kindness to fellow employees, kindness to volunteer workers, kindness to family, kindness to strangers.  Sometimes, that little bit of kindness has its way of making it back to you in future.

 

The article that started me thinking: https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/this-rarely-seen-leadership-practice-is-now-linked-to-happier-workplaces-motivated-employees-says-research.html

Changing Sleeping Habits

Monday, I called in sick.  This is a rarity for me.  Ends up my body said, “Wayne, you need sleep.”  You see, I have this habit of going and going, waking up early, staying up late and not taking much down time.  Every so often, my body will hit the proverbial wall and cause me to become “sick” so that I take the time to let my body catch up.  Sometimes, I can see the signs of this coming, other times, like this past week, I did not.

When I was a teen – I remember sleeping a lot.  My dad used to come into my room and wake me up saying it was 2:00 in the afternoon on the weekends and that I was wasting my day.  I had nothing happening, so I was not sure what time I was wasting.  As an adult, I was not excited to see my kids sleep that late, but understood and never woke them up, unless they actually needed to be up.  This continued through college.  And, even with the sleeping, I was a big fan of the nap.  On a hot summers day, I would curl up into a ball under the A/C wall unit in my parents dining room and sleep.  Napping was good and no one knew where I was, also good!

When I was a young adult – I started to believe that time gets wasted by sleeping too much.  I also began to realize that I really did not need 8 – 12 hours of sleep.  If done correctly, I found that 5 – 6 hours of good, high quality sleep occurred, I was all set.  However, the all-important nap was still great!  At this point in my life, nap time, when it is possible, is out in the open and with no hiding necessary.

When I am an adult – I have little time to accomplish so many things.  When we first got married, I remember us having plenty of free time.  Then the girls popped into our lives.  I worked long hours and began to travel for work.  We became involved in different activities, some for the kids, some for us.   We do have some social life.  Sleep can sometimes be less than 5 – 6 hours.  The nature of napping has completely changed.  I can sleep anywhere in any position (except standing, though I have tried).  Catching 10 minutes sitting in a chair is sometimes all I can sneak in.  A full nap that is a planned event.  For example, as I am writing this, if our afternoon outside activities get rained out, I might be able to get in a nap. 

I know, the body needs to sleep, regenerate and recover from the daily activity of life.  It has become a balancing act.  My maternal grandfather used to say 1 hour of sleep before midnight was worth 2 after.  I am not sure what that means, but have gotten to the point where getting to bed an hour before midnight is a good thing, because no matter what time I go to sleep, I know that come 5:00 (during the week), my clock radio (yes, I still have one) will be waking me up.