yin and yang.

i like working with other people, on a team. i like seeing what each individual brings to the team and how the team needs each person’s assets. it takes different personalities, different talents, different gifts, different perspectives, different styles of management, and different ways of handling situations.
and it takes the difference.

i often describe someone with whom i have worked as walt disney…which seems to fit since he is such a disney fanatic. standing in the center, waving his wand directing the scene as it unfolds. walt as he dreams, as he schemes, as he innovates, as he brings it to life. and then there’s me…

the one behind-the-scenes.
the one holding things together (just call me duct tape or WD40…wouldn’t be the first time).
the one guided by realism…often called the dream killer.
the one trying to make it happen…alongside others.

it takes both…
both the dreamer and the dream killer.
both the director and the one behind-the-scenes.
both walt and his brother, roy
and as said in this article, a yin for one’s yang.

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learning.

Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.
~Winston Churchill, former British prime minister

think i would agree…especially after last week.
as i look forward to learning, i must also look forward to being taught…
both the easy and the hard lessons.
both by those i seek to learn from and those from whom i’d rather be teaching.
both willingly and even when i don’t think i need it.

the A team.

The last thing you want is for your A players — or people in key strategic positions delivering the most value — to leave because you’ve mismanaged your compensation system.
~Mark Huselid, Rutgers University HR professor, in BusinessWeek

i know what it’s like to be on the A team…or at least to be told i’m on the A team. it was this little joke at one of my older jobs, actually. it was more like who was on the B team…and being stuck working with those on the B team.

the A team…
those who do a job well, who excel at their position, and those who have a lot of potential of growth within the company.
those that have the ability to lead the company through the current recession and into a more profitable future.
those you would hate to lose at any time, but during this economic downturn in particular.
those you should let know how valuable and how integral they are to the team.
those who should hang in there, knowing that if they are with the right company they will be taken care of in the long run…right, dad?

first time baking.

first time baking using a ladle as a mixing utensil, a crock pot insert as a mixing bowl, and disposable muffin pans equipped with their own liners…only minor set backs for baking professionals.
first time baking in a non-baking kitchen…no problem.

first time baking (this time with a spatula as a mixing utensil, actual mixing bowls, legit cake pans…only missing a mixer)…ever. baking a chocolate birthday cake (from the new cookbook i purchased for myself as a birthday gift) for a friend.
this time baking with my weak, frail, sickly sous chef (who actually took over frosting the cake).
first time baking ever…no problem.

some people.

are they illiterate, rebellious, or lemmings?

the happiest place on earth.

and you even get in free for your birthday…

shortcomings.

it seems i am well aware of my shortcomings these days…or maybe i should be more aware. just a few days ago it seems i had a problem at work. it is called being a jerk. i am not sure why but i just was. for two days straight, i became frustrated at everything, really. and one person i work with just couldn’t win for losing. call it my nemesis, call it i have issues, call it i need to get a grip on myself. so i spent one whole night crying. crying because of my attitude, my words, my actions, and my jerkiness. and the ironic thing is i realized it that morning and subsequently wrote a blog about seeing what other’s bring to the table…somehow i just couldn’t get over myself and my issues and see it. i cried that morning, seeing my own self as i truly am…and i cried that night for the same reason. for the reason that i still couldn’t get over myself, that i still couldn’t act like a human being, that i still couldn’t put others above myself, that i still couldn’t learn humbly,
that i still could act like such a jerk…

When you own up to your own shortcomings, the fear of whatever you are guarding is released. Apology frees you from the burden of whatever you have in your past.
~David Edmonson, former CEO of RadioShack, in Chief Executive

so maybe i should admit my shortcomings.
maybe i should think about what it is i am hiding, or what fear it is i am masking.
maybe i should let the skeletons out of my closet and get rid of the past…past fears, past experiences, past failures, past dreams, and past hauntings…
and live with my own shortcomings.