Tales from the Train - Quiet Cacophany

Yes, the worst sin of the blog world is to have the site go quiet for more than a week. To my readers, I apologize. The past two weeks have been hell. I thought of writing something simple but just was not able to make the time.

I need to write down my thoughts for articles during the more sane moments so I have things lined up when the fury hits. Seeing as how part of the style of this blog is spontaneous I hadn't prepared a list of things that interest me to write about.

If anything I wanted to write about spring fever which I have been suffering from particularly during the recent ice and snow storm in March. Being from the south, to me March means spring. I have suffered for six weeks every year for the past 14 years. Spring here is beautiful when it finally arrives.

I have an idea, guest bloggers. I have been wanting to hear others voices through my homefield advantage and I extend the offer to become a guest or co-blogger on this site. I try to focus it on things of interest to my professional peer group but that a lot of territory.

If you have ideas within the scheme of topics including Clarity of Purpose, Tales from the Train (or subway, or car, or other commute method), Illuminatus, Prosperitas, Images of Life, or new topics, bring them on. I value your voice, your thoughts, or your experience. Help make MyHomeFieldAdvantage become more.

Until then, I'll be creating new articles very soon. Enjoy the sunshine. David

Commuting Part 2 - The Subway

Part 2 of this series on commuting is about being a 'Strap Hangar' as they call it. Riding what used to be called the Electric Sewer back in years before Sheriff Rudy cleaned up the town. It is interesting to see that he is likely to be a candidate for President. The 2008 presidential race may be the most interesting in my lifetime.

For those who are interested in how that subway and NYC turn-around happened there are good write-ups in the social engineering book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and in the business strategy book Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant. Each provides a different angle on the turn-around that make for good life lessons. The books are 'must reads' for relevant information and ideas.

On with the tale of my subway commute. I take the 1-train from 34th Street at Penn Station to 116th and Broadway where I am greeted with the tile mosaic shown in the photo. That is my to work route. Coming home I take the 1 to 96th Street and switch to the 2- or 3- express to 34th Street/Penn Station, I found that was on average the quickest way coming and going.

I sit at the front of the NJ Transit train as that positions me closest to the subway platform to get there quickest without running the maze of people in the central corridor. I stage myself at a particular place on the platform where I know the door will open and also will let me out closest to the exit. I have the same landmarks for the ride back, again optimizing my time as much as possible. It only took a couple of weeks of crowds to learn the best approach.

While in the subway I either sit or stand but always try to be near the door for my departure, I have only had to get caught by the doors a time or two to avoid that if possible.

There are all types of people riding the subway as I hear they have about 7 million passengers per day. The ones I particularly dislike are the people who seem to be bucking for a fight, whether man, woman, black, white, young, old, or ethnicity. Seems to be just frustrated people who can't control their anger and need to lash out.

The thing that always amazes me about the subway is when young kids ride alone to school. Seeing them get on and off unescorted has me think of Danny or Steve at 7 or 8 and how they may have reacted to that. And then there was the time I saw a young boy of 8 or 10 reading 'Silence of the Lambs' on the subway with eyes wide as saucers. Poor kid! There is much humanity to observe on the New York City subway. That is not even nighttimes, which I have yet to experience. Enjoy strap-hangers everywhere!

By the way, there are no straps to hang from for the subways I ride, however there are poles to hold onto. Maybe somewhere there are still straps so the name is not lost to obscurity.

Do You Do What You Do Best Everyday?

More accurately put, the core question to moving from an 'improve your weaknesses, balance yourself' mentality to a strengths-based philosophy is "Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?" Whether your employer supports it, you demand it, or possibly the fates have smiled upon you, are you working where your strengths can be used every day?

That is a very unusual and fundamental question. If yes, you must be happy, successful, productive, healthy, and an inspiration to others. Research indicates that less than 20% of people can answer that question with "yes."

A case in point is my own recent career path. Struggling and miserable at my previous job, flourishing and excited about my current job. What is the core difference? The answer came to me as one of those "ah-hah" moments.

I was looking at my Strengthsfinder results written on the white-board in my conference room along with the dominant strengths from another person. I was trying ot explain the concept to my work team to get them excited about participating in this movement.

I suddenly realized why there was a seeming night-and-day difference from previous place to new. My old position did not support a single strength in a consistent way. No matter how I tried to contribute within my strengths, I was beaten back in the areas specific to my core being, namely strategic, futuristic, ideation, maximizer, achiever (and adding input and adaptability with the retake).

My new place allows me the opportunity to do what I do best every day along every line of strength. Can it be that simple?

Another test -- a colleague that indicated as a match with me with Strategic and Maximizer, but added the people-relating strengths including Relator, Individualization, and Woo. It is not a surprise to me that while she was effective in her previous assignment, she is also flourishing with the re-structuring I put in place. Her strengths in the 'people' aspects are a clear advantage and while she does much more than previously, she does it with energy and seems thrilled.

Also in Marcus Buckingham's terminology for the difference between great managing and great leading she exhibits strengths in managing, namely being able to get the most out of each individual related to the needs of the organization. I am more fascile with leadership -- seeing the desired future state and creating the plan and approach to move the team or organization toward that vision.

This is profound stuff but is simply a starting point. I will be moving forward to supercharge this. The future I want to create requires that increase in horsepower and effectiveness. That is the key to the success that I want to create.

I encourage you each to pursue this as well. Take the Strengthsfinders 2.0 survey, become familiar with Marcus Buckingham work through 'The One Thing...' If this resonates with you as clearly as it does with me, join the movement. A note to cynics, keep plodding along questioning everything. There are uses for your strengths as well. I will may want to hire you as my lawyer when my company goes public. Cheers, all!

StrengthsFinder 2.0 New Results

I recently purchased the book StrengthsFinder 2.0, which is an update to Now, Discover Your Strengths. There are a number of new features and the book provides a gateway into a new tool set for determining major personality themes and providing a guide and action plan for moving forward to developing strengths along the lines of these dominate talent areas.

In the first survey through Now, Discover Your Strengths, my results were:

• Ideation
• Strategic
• Futuristic
• Achiever
• Maximizer

This time, for the updated StrengthsFinder 2.0 the results were:

• Ideation
• Strategic
• Futuristic
• Input
• Adaptability

The book explains that there will often be a shift in the top five even though personality themes do not change that much over one's life. The answer for the shift is that it probably gives more insight into the top ten dominate themes as numbers 6 and 7 from the previous survey could have been the ones now moving up with the others moving slightly downward.

The survey does not provide a rank ordering of the themes from one to thirty-four and some people have lamented about that. People who are good with statistical analysis know that low correlating results that cluster around the lower end don't mean all that much as far as rank ordering. Those can typically be disregarded as not meaningful.

The focus should not be on what strengths are not exhibited. The whole point is to identify the major contributors to who I am and work to develop those talents into strengths, i.e. the behaviors that can lead to "the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance."

So what do I do now that I know and have verified that I walk through life with my head in the clouds and peering over the horizon? Well, one thing I do is be on on the lookout for minefields and to watch where I step. I have yet to digest the action plan and other useful tools that come with the book. I like very much that the results are tailored specifically to my talent or strength themes through the huge amount of data that is the basis for the strengths research.

In my opinion, you can only do so much with the knowledge of your Myers-Briggs scores and the results of the DiSC survey. Knowing how your brain is wired regarding the 34 themes to me seems to provide information I can use.

And yes, I do recognize myself in the descriptions of the seven strengths themes that resulted from my two surveys. More importantly, as I read through the remaining traits for the themes that did not show up in my survey, I see why those did not show up. I am Maximus! I am Captain Future. I am the Puppet-Master (Strategery). Light-bulbs do go off over my head (Ideation). I seek Input. I strive to Achieve. And being a good Darwinian I adapt (Adapt, Evolve, or Perish).

I will write more about this as I review the Discovery Guide and Action Plan provided from my survey. This fits together with the Strengths Movement, even though there has been a split when Marcus Buckingham left Gallup and formed his own company. As he indicates in his book, the personality themes provide a method for discovering and labeling what I am about, how I put it to work as a dominate force in my life is where the rubber meets the road.

All for now. I am off to become more of who I already am.

The Where Not to Go for Coffee Shoppe

This photo represents the leading entry in the "where not to go for coffee" category. Without giving too much away let's call it Philo's Coffee Shoppe. You can see that it serves one style of coffee -- awful -- and it is completely self-service. There is a tip jar that is replenished daily so that people may remove money when forced to endure the bad coffee that is provided.

I truly don't know how bottled water combined with fresh ground coffee in a clean pot can result in such a horrible brew. The excuse that it is free is a really sad reason to even go near this. My recommendation is to go just about anywhere other than to resort to this stuff. Hey, mister, back away from the coffee pot and you won't get hurt!

The Strengths Starting Point - My Beginning SET

The dial to the left is my starting point Strengths Engagement Track (SET). Not too bad although I believe both the present and the future levels are a little high since I knew some of the answers. The challenge for me will be to learn the lessons as if I had not been privy to where this is heading. I did have a little difficulty selecting between once-a-week and once-a-day for when I experience strengths-induced euphoria. A choice of several times a week would have been closer to what I experience.

It's not that I skewed the numbers, as I have been a strengths-advocate since being introduced to the book, Now, Discover Your Strengths. Like many who have been moved by that book, it made things more clear why I am incredibly good at some things but atrocious at others. It resonates with my personal experience and with my journey for growth.

All I have to do is to allow myself to achieve greatest growth in the areas that are my strengths. Sure, that sounds counter-intuitive. It does break the myth. Is it true? Is it right? We shall see.

It certainly puts the reigns in my own hands and makes no one responsible for my success or failure other than myself. Darn, that is too awesome a responsibility and maybe too great a challenge.

I have begun the strengths movement for myself. Step One of the book awaits. I am ready to bust some myths. The one things about the approach is that I will have to do one step per week to get the full value. I will try to make this blog and this series of articles interesting even at the incredibly slow speed of one step per week. Marcus, I trust you, others, please be patient or better yet, become involved yourself. I will get very tired of reading or hearing my own thoughts (as will you all). Onward with the journey.

Starting my own Strengths Movement -- The Beginning

If you follow this blog you have probably read the two previous articles about Marcus Buckingham and know the value I place in his views on management, leadership, and personal success. Now is the time to put this into action. To go beyond the book theory.

The book, "Go, Put Your Strengths To Work," describes a 6 week program to put my strengths to work. This series of blog postings will chronicle my experience in doing precisely that. Marcus had a great line about putting on your own oxygen mask first. While I could bring this directly to my work team I will follow that suggestion and get the oxygen flowing in my life, and then share with others.

The optimist in me wants this to be something that changes my life in what I can accomplish and the value I can bring. The skeptic worries about it being another program. I have certainly encountered many in my year of train reading. Another quote from Marcus, "programs start large and finish small, movements start small and finish large." Here's to finishing large.

The first action is the take the Strengths Engagement Track (SET) survey to establish my starting point. I will sign on to the SimplyStrengths website tomorrow and take that and will post the results.

This will mark the beginning of my journey to using my strengths. As is common at the beginning of any journey, I experience conflicting emotions, anticipation and anxiety, wonder and realization.

Feel free to take this journey as well. Others' voices are equally important as my own. Come aboard. Comment, Interact, Participate!

More Coffee Shoppes -- Hamilton Deli

This is the Hamilton Deli near the corner of Amsterdam and 116th in New York City. It is a little beyond the normal distance one might venture for coffee if you are based out of Princeton, NJ, but I frequent this place as they have the best cup of $1.25 coffee I know. They don't sport a tip jar, either, so no supplemental fee.

They also make a mean fish sandwich called, 'Jaws' and have the best $10 salad you can get anywhere. I don't know how the price goes up so high from the base $2.50 lettuce price, maybe it's all the items I add that drive the price. We don't even want to psychoanalyze me through my salad fixings. I can tell you it changes dramatically from one salad to the next.

This may not qualify as a true coffee shoppe as there is no inside seating. It is basically a get-and-go place, but as you can see from the green awning, they offer free delivery. I will let the judges determine if this qualifies for the coffee survey. The exterior photo is of poor quality as it was about 0 degrees F this morning but this stalwart journalist had to get the story. The photo to the right is a sample of the dirty blond color I consider perfect. Of course an insulated mug is a necessity and this one is a favorite. Enjoy!

Marcus Buckingham starts a nation-wide strengths revolution in NYC

In my opinion, if you don't go to one of the events on Marcus Buckingham's strengths tour, you should be excommunicated from the HomeFieldAdvantage blog. Where is that excommunication button in Blogger?

You may never see a more inspirational and motivational speaker, especially for the $40 entry fee which included his latest book, Go Put Your Strengths To Work! His oratory style is amazing and the ease at which he goes from creating a vivid image to sharing detailed data and study results is impressive. Any professional can learn much from his style.

The lead-in to the "Trombone Player Wanted" video by Jennifer Fox of the Purnell School was so inspirational and the video itself was incredible. I am certainly going to purchase it for my work team and will be determining how to start a strengths revolution with my team, in my department, and within my workplace.
Things finally come together for how a single person can make a difference and achieve success. MB's body of work include 'First, Break all the Rules,' dispelling common myths of how to create success. Next comes Now, 'Discover Your Strengths,' providing the theory of 34 personality themes and a tool for determining your top five. Following that was 'the One Thing You Need to Know' for great managing, great leading, and sustained personal success (still love the boldness and clarity in that title). And this book 'Go, Put Your Strengths to Work,' as the practical guide for moving into a strengths-based approach.

Marcus' work is bold and important work. If he markets himself, which he clearly does, he does that for the passion of his calling. He truly is on a mission and I believe that he lives and breaths this philosophy and the passion to bring it into society.

Go take a look yourself. Go see him speak and then read his books, I believe you will be changed. Be sure and come back to HFA and tell us about your experience and thoughts.

Coffee Shoppes in Princeton -- Small World Coffee

I was asked recently about my preference of coffee shoppes in Princeton with the choices being Bucks County, Starbucks, and the local entry, Small World Coffee. I thought this a great opportunity to exercise a little investigative journalism relating to something that is very important to fuel the modern manager/leader -- coffee.

Saturday morning I had occasion to reacquaint with Small World Coffee after a long time away. I used to come here frequently when I worked in Princeton as it seemed to have the most character of the local choices. It was much as I remember especially for a typical weekend morning in the village of Princeton. Noisy, bustling, an eclectic crowd from the schizophrenic populous, but also very good cafe latte and the type of dynamic atmosphere that caffeine inducement craves.

Now if you are hoping for a more serene coffee shoppe experience I would steer clear of Small World. I do remember a previous colleague who used to spend hours in the place while he was writing applications for business school. Hunter Middleton need not have worried about getting into the best business school as he was a double major as an undergraduate, with degrees in Math and Physics, and then got his Doctorate in Physics from Princeton. Not only that, he walked into the GMAT's and almost aced the damned thing. Good old Hunter...

OK, there are other memories from Small World, but that is enough of a trip down that lane for this exercise. I have always liked the Small World paraphernalia including the mugs and t-shirts. The motto, "Sleep is for the Weak," particularly resonates with me. Also the one Small World, Big Coffee, it says it all...

The Guru is coming to New York

News alert, news alert -- Marcus Buckingham (photo left, yeah, don't I wish it were me?) the guru of great managing, great leading, and sustained individual success is coming to New York on Monday, March 5, kicking off a nationwide tour associated with the release of his new book.

If you are interested, and in my opinion you should be if you are striving for success in the three areas indicated above, check out the tour schedule and advertisement at http://www.buckinghamlive.com/.

I'll be at the New York City debut on Monday. If you wonder why you should be there, ask the question via comment or email me directly. I've already bought my copy of his new book through my Amazon link on the blog-site. You can acquire it anyway you want, but if you use this link I get a meager cut. Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com need not make all the money, right?

In a similar vein, take a look at the evolution of MB's work with Donald Clifton reprised by the Gallup organization and Tom Rath at the Strengths 2.0 website. My personality strengths for the first survey were Ideation, Strategic, Futuristic, Achiever, and Maximizer (I am Maximus!) I would be interested to hear about others.

I believe MB will be a rock-star in the future for helping people to be great (i.e. successful, happy, make a difference). If you can't see him in person, purchase the audio-book of 'The One Thing You Need to Know.' It may be the one thing to change your life. Either that or you can aspire to be the "man or woman of the match." The answer to that is contained within.

Survey #1 - My favorite business software

MindManager by Mindjet. Even though I have been using it for only a short time, it continues to rock my professional world and boosts my thoughtful productivity. Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Visio, Word and Project are all valuable tools in my professional's tool belt. MindManager is changing how I think including how I think over time.

I will give honorable mention to BaseCamp as one of the cooler systems for managing collaborative project work. I use it for software product development but having been a project manager most of my professional life, it could serve across many industries.

OK, I am now ready for Survey #2. Name your most favorite quality of life enhancing software or system. I will wait a few days to officially open that one for responses.

Columbia in Afternoon Sunlight

Low Library on the north end of the Columbia University plaza. This is a fairly light population for a sunny day but seeing how it is March 2nd after the soaking rain that went through hours before it is not a bad turn-out.

Is spring almost here? Tell me it is, even if you have to lie to me. Being a long time Texan, I get a bad case of spring-fever in March. I always have to deal with arrival of spring in April.

Hope remains.

Survey #1 - What is your favorite business software?

Please post a comment about your favorite software package or system that you use in your work. Try to be specific and give reasons. Rather than saying "email" describe which email system you like and why.

Also I would like a single entry per person rather than multiples. Think hard about your favorite and share with us only one.

I remember asking this of my work team not long after I arrived in my present job. For myself it would have been Google searching. I have to quiet my mind and see if that answer still holds.

I am off now to give my own current answer some thought.

Manager Lesson of the Week

I should have listened more closely to not only the content of the manager-tools podcast about Peers in Conflict and the impact on Direct Reports (Part 1 and Part 2). I often rely on the mystical way I select books to read that provide a timely lesson. Why should I assume that podcasts wouldn't also be presented when I most need it?

As you can imagine I encountered the very situation this week that was the subject of the podcast. What were the main lessons of the podcast? The way to do it? The main suggestions are to 1) shut up about peer conflict, 2) filter out emotions, 3) focus on the work, 4) turn the other cheek, 5) instruct them to ask again, 6) help Directs with communication, 7) keep you tightly posted, 8) if cycle repeats then call, and 9) keep a record.

One of the funniest parts of the podcast was about a subordinate who wrote to the speaker's peer, "If you were an effective manager..." The Dilbertian response would likely be, "If you still worked here..." They also presented a great contrast of communication between High D and High S and vice versa, which is a good lead into the DISC assessment area (to be discussed in a future post).

The site www.manager-tools.com has a wealth of good and useful podcasts within the vein of manager and leader development. Each podcast is 10 to 20 minutes addressing specific topics. The podcasters Mark and Mike are also quite entertaining and engaging as well as have great suggestions and ideas.

To sum up my lesson of the week, here is a quote from the 'cast, "You don't want your boss involved in a conflict between you and your peer." Solid advice. Learn it, live it.