5 Years Working at It

On November 12, 2013, I wrote a blog regarding Words, their usage and their meaning. Little did I realize that 5 years later, 263 weekly blog posting would be made on a consistent, weekly basis.  As my 5-year anniversary quietly moves by, my “Weekly Thoughts” have given me some time to reflect.

I always wanted to “try” my hand at writing.  Yes, “try” does not imply following through, providing a goal, nor giving insight to whatever the intent might be.  To rephrase, I have always wanted to write something, be it a comic book, novel, or anything.  Prior to November 12^th, I would send a couple of inspirational sentences to a team I was working with.  The objective was to present some positive thoughts that they could use to their advantage, some small lessons to be shared, or even to realize they were not alone in their thinking and daily activities. 

Then I concluded, why share my thoughts with a small group when I could share with a larger audience.  If I wanted to help inspire others, pass on a lesson or share a positive event, I would need to reach a larger audience.  My events, my thoughts, my experiences – if presented in the correct format, might touch someone who was facing something in his/her life that a positive message might be something to help.  There are some values behind my writing – most importantly, there must be a positive message or a lesson learned.  I truly believe in the saying “every cloud has a silver lining,” so positive writing would be easy…or so I thought.

We are all in this life together.  The reality is that the rose-colored glasses can taint the way we view things.  If this was the 60’s and I said that everything was “Groovy,” you would instantly question what I was on.  All our lives have positives and negatives in them – it is how we perceive them, how we determine to react to events and how we communicate that makes our lives filled with optimism or dappled with pessimism.  Our outlooks define the outcomes we desire.  I have shared the good, the bad and the ugly, but always believe that the sun will come out tomorrow.

After 5 years of writing, I still believe in the importance of the words that we use and the good that they can represent.  Someone will be listening, and someone will take what you say to heart, whether you mean what you say or not.  Use your words wisely, and you too might have a positive impact on someone else.

Impacts in our Lives

This morning, I was shocked to see a post on Facebook about the passing of person many of us knew over the years.  I stopped and stared.  I am at a point in my life where the various parts of the life cycle are no longer a mystery and as I get older, more people are moving onto the next world.

This one struck me, as a tear rolled down my cheek.  As is with so many people on Facebook, we have been friends for years, but have not seen each other in well over 20 years.  While I have no one person who I can say that was my mentor, this was someone who did have an impact on my life.  As a college kid and a counselor at Camp Eco Lark, I was learning how to deal with my campers:  Lots of yelling, trying to get them to activities, etc.  There was a senior counselor (meaning he taught during the year), who was loud, fun and seemingly everywhere.  His philosophy was to be "big" up front, set down the rules, start off strict, then ease off. Each summer, he followed that process -  it worked and he became one of those beloved people you looked forward to seeing the following year.

He had many good ways to handle new situations, some of which I have adopted.  The advice he once gave me about working with kids, was invaluable.  At that point, I had trouble controlling (I.e., being the leader) and thought yelling and idle threats were the answer. "Once you yell," he told me, " there is nothing more you can do."  Simple advice?  Yes.  However, it caused me to change my approach, find other ways to work with campers and ultimately made me a better counselor.  Watching, learning and using his advice, paid off years later when I became a parent and had my own children.

The impact on me from that summer long ago, and the advice imparted, is something that I have and will always remember.  Paying it forward, I have said similar things to others.  If we take a moment to step back during our lives, there are always people who cross our paths with lessons to teach.  In the month where we are supposed to be grateful for what we have, I am grateful for the life lessons learned.  Remember the people in your lives who knowingly or unknowingly who have positively affected you.  Wherever you are now, Murray, I am grateful that our paths crossed.  I know that wherever the next world takes you, you are making sure that people are laughing, imparting wisdom and impacting souls. 

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.”