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Volume 5, Number 2 March 24, 2005
Publisher: GoalMinds, Inc.
E-mail: condrill@goalminds.com http://www.goalminds.com
Copyright 2005 Jo Condr All rights reserved
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"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you
become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall
at last unveil."
- John Ruskin, poet, artist, conservationist

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Increase Collaboration--Enhance Productivity
--by Edward P. Fiszer, Ed.D.
2. Turning Points --by Melvin M. Harter

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It's springtime! A fresh beginning for dormant trees, grasses, and flowers--and a great time to think of a new beginning for ourselves. Think of the possibilities--people to meet,places to go, projects to begin. To a large extent, life is what you make of it. "Take Charge of Your Life: Dare to Dream Great Dreams!"
http://www.goalminds.com/primer.html

"Men grind and grind in the mill of a truism, and nothing comes
out but what was put in. But the moment they desert the
tradition for a spontaneous thought, then poetry, wit, hope,
virtue, learning, anecdote, all flock to their aid."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson - Literary Ethics (1838)

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1. Increase Collaboration--Enhance Productivity
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Higher productivity occurs when all stakeholders are directly
involved in realizing the organization's vision. A fluid exchange
of ideas about the vision and the problems that need to be solved
in order to realize that vision is crucial. "Execution" authors
Charan and Bossidy advocate the idea of matching focused
individuals to their clear part of the big picture. As a result,
everyone is execution minded with preset targets rather than
blindly flailing at boring, unrewarding work. They need to know
what their role is within the confines of the organization's
vision.

What's the big idea?
Tom Peters' book "Re-Imagine!" Refers to "Cirque du Soleil"
experiences. Your first time with Cirque du Soleil is a watershed
experience. It goes beyond what we've come to know as a
theatrical experience. It is the combination of many talented,
focused individuals who want to create something extraordinary.
How can that be accomplished with other organizations? It starts
with the big idea. How clear is the mission of the organization
and how does everyone fit in with the execution of that wonderful
idea?

Dialogue is the key.
In my book "How Teachers Learn Best," teachers recognized the
importance of knowing the declared area of focus and regularly
collaborating on how to intensify their efforts to get students
to achieve at a higher level. In other words - collaboration,
brainstorming, and conversation.

You won't know if you don't ask.
Problem solving works the same way. The problems must matter
enough to somehow be in conversations. If the problem is
presented repeatedly and discussed until some form of a solution
is arrived upon, that problem was important and relevant. A May
3, 2004 Fortune magazine article on InnoCentive shows problem
solving/research and development on a truly grand scale.
InnoCentive is ingenious as a worldwide problem solving vehicle.
Challenging problems are offered to scientists (or unlikely
geniuses with an interest in science) across the globe from
companies who will pay for a solution. Science gurus from other
countries, regardless of their background, social status, etc...
can solve the problems and earn money - a mutually beneficial
exchange (even though the author of the solution gives up all
rights to future use of the solution since he/she is paid
outright for the service). This is a fantastic way to mine the
expertise of specialized knowledge across the world.

It makes me wonder if the expertise within our organization's
walls is mined to a similar extent. Isn't it deliciously simple?
Just ask. Authors Edvinsson and Malone in "Intellectual Capital"
describe the perceptions, relationships within an organization,
which can exponentially explode into pursuable ideas and profits,
as worth knowing because they are both hidden assets and a way
for leaders to reconnect with the people who donate their time to
the vision.

Induce conversation, don't reduce conversation
Collaboration ensues when the talents of those within are
unleashed on a worthy goal. Anything that increases communication
about what is done in an organization and how it is done is
positive. Business Week's June 28, 2004 issue described how BLOGs
(web logs where the scribe chronicles day to day events,
thoughts, opinions, etc…) are encouraged by such companies as
Microsoft and Dell. Organizations that stifle dialogue work
against the pursuit of lofty missions and visions. In short,
reduced communication equals reduced productivity.

Focus all the great, available, humble minds nearby on the common
vision and the problems that need to be solved to get there.
Without conversation, there cannot be intensive collaboration,
instead there will just be abstract, random, unfocused busy-ness.
Organizations that have a clear message about what they value
most will enhance productivity, so long as conversations follow.
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Dr. Fiszer is the author of "How Teachers Learn Best: An Ongoing
Professional Development Model," "Thoughts to Inspire: Daily
Messages for Young People," and "Daily Positives: Inspiring
Greatness in the Next Generation." Sign up for free weekly
inspirational quotes at www.fiszerconcepts.com
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"Passion is not only a feeling or individual emotion,
It is the abundant excitement of living life to its fullest."
--Sheryl Roush, author of "Perc-U-Lating Power"

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2. Turning Points --by Melvin Harter
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Life is like a serpentine mountain road: lots of curves, lots of
ups and downs. We start in the foothills. Then we encounter a
steep grade of hairpins and switchbacks that leads to a summit.
On the other side, it's a downhill ride with random potholes,
rocks and crevices followed by the abyss none of us can avoid:

For most of us, the path is predetermined, one of least
resistance chosen by: parents, peers, cultural expectations and
religious persuasions - or lack of them.

Turning points that make a difference are the forks in the road
somewhere between the foothills and the climb to the summit.
Here, we get a chance to choose a different and very personal
peak to climb. Turning into an alternative path requires resolve
and determination rooted in vision that comes from dreams, or
lack of them. The new road is usually steeper, more contorted and
booby trapped. It leads to mountain peaks closer to God, I think.

I remember my visions and the choices they led to as I neared my
final ascent. A college graduate, I was prepared for nothing. I
couldn't gain admission to any US Medical School to fulfill my
father's dream for me. The war had just ended. Most professional
schools had lower admission standards for war veterans - I was
just too young - and there were ethnic and religious quotas so
fashionable at the time. The outlook for me seemed doubtful.

Then I learned the medical schools of Western Europe, many
prestigious and some recognized by our governing boards at home,
were accepting young foreigners like me. In contradistinction to
American schools where acceptance all but guaranteed success, the
Europeans put us on trial every year. We had to pass their
examinations to proceed, and if we failed too many times, the
music stopped with no chair to sit in.

The entry into that particular hairpin turn was easy. Buy a
ticket and travel to Europe. It was the exit that hurt. I had to
learn a new language, different attitudes, strange expectations,
botched up geography, etc.

I cried a lot. I questioned my judgment in pursuing this path. I
wasn't making progress - for months. Then I realized that my
grandparents were immigrants who had adjusted. If they did, why
couldn't I?

I bid Sayonara to the entire English speaking American community
- and it was substantial, and I dove in, mouth wide open and
panting furiously. I felt I was drowning. But many local people
who until now had ignored, even scorned me, now rescued me,
nurtured me and accepted me. Some even loved me. With that
support, I hopped obstacles and climbed to my very own summit.

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Melvin M. Harter is a retired medical doctor who writes a monthly
column, "The Way I See It,' in Today's Senior Magazine and
Casino-Bingo & Entertainment Info
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"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will
assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the
play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of
the ordinary."
--Sir Cecil Beaton, Academy Award-winning costume and set designer and photographer of the famous

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