Message of the Day - Keeping Ideas from Dying Alone and in the Dark Recesses of our Minds

Good Morning,

 

Last night I attended a meeting put on by Louisville Digital Association (LDA) where the talk was about venture capital and technical start ups and how Louisville can become a more active and successful city for these up and coming companies.

 

One of the ideas that was tossed out resonated with me. The question asked was how protective of ideas should someone be to keep it from being stolen, while sharing it with others to help flesh it out. The answer was to share the idea with everyone within the community, so that as many people can hone it and sharpen it and bang out its bumps and weak points.

 

And that made me think.

 

I do well thinking through concepts and ideas, but I do better when I get to talk through my thoughts, even if the other party is just standing there looking at me (which as recently posted, happens relatively frequently).

 

Ideas that are kept within us are often lost.

 

Ideas that are not shared with others are often unrefined.

 

Ideas that are protected from being hammered and molded are often weak.

 

Ideas that shared, beaten, molded and allowed to bounced around, if they survive, are often strong, refined and kept in front of many people.

 

If you have an idea that you wish to do something with, it makes sense to find a group of people you trust, who have something to offer, and let those ideas flow.

 

See where they go and don’t be defensive if they are changed and bent into a different animal over time.

 

Think about it. This is what think-tanks do. They take ideas and beat them up, test them, tear at them, undermine them, and do whatever they can to both make them the best they can be, and remove any failings from them through testing and beating, etc.

 

So, to save our ideas from a quick, silent and dark death in the isolated realm of our over-stimulated minds, it makes sense to share them, send them out and see what they become when they come back. Then do it again, and again, and watch as the idea grows and refines and takes on a life of its own.

 

So get out there and share!

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

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Message of the Day: Do You Believe what you Believe?

Good Morning,

 

I took a break from reading 'A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I seemed to shy away from the 500 plus page books, so I takes breaks by reading shorter ones. I had received a book from one of the ministries I support and was about to read it when I noticed in the forward that it would be helpful to read the author's first book. So I ordered it and went at it. When 'another book arrived at the house,  Karen asked me why I got 'another book. I explained my reasoning and got the 'your being OCD again' look. I have so many books ahead of me to read that it sometimes looks more like an obsession than a learning investment.

 

Anyway, the book is "My God is True: Lessons Learned Along Cancer's Dark Road" by Paul D. Wolfe. It helped me see the Lord's providence in trying times such as in dealing with cancer. Having lost my grandfather who I was named for, and my step-mother to cancer, it was something that intrigued me.

 

In the final sections of the book is a few pages on belief. I am not talking about what beliefs we have, rather a deeper question. Do we truly believe what we say we believe.

 

We want to walk our talk, that is follow through with what we say we believe, but even if we do, are we certain that we truly believe what we say we believe. Or are we just going through the motions?

 

That is a deep question to ask ourselves. Following up on "Lead...for God's Sake" where we look at why we do what we do. This book challenges us to look ourselves in the mirror and ask if what we say are our door beliefs are, in fact, are our core beliefs, do we really believe them. Or are they just hollow words which we just follow because we have been doing so for time immemorial or because that is what we were told to think, or it's just the flavor of the day.

 

This goes straight to the core of our beliefs in leadership, management, relationships, all the way to our values and ultimately to what makes us tick as people (not the nervous ticks we have as people).

 

But looking into ourselves, deep into ourselves I not always a joy ride. It can be a downright frightening thing. What if we find out that we really don't believe what we say we believe. What if we fail in the face of our convictions?

 

Then we can reassess and start again. It's ok, because we do it throughout our lives as we learn new things, gain new values and leave others behind.

 

So, lets stop and do the scary thing. Lets look at one of our core beliefs, say one of our values.

 

For me, I am going to look at my belief that we should invest time and energy into ourselves to learn and grow daily. Do I actually believe this. I talk it, and I share it with others, but is it something that I truly believe in? Or is it something I just spout and try to do because, well, I have been doing it for over five years now.

 

I know that I like to read a lot. And I like to learn new things. I prefer learning channels on TV over anything else, and get antsy if I don't get to my daily Bible reading and study. Also, I get irritable if I don't get a chance to read 'something on a daily basis.

 

I love sharing what I have learned. I often talk about what I have read (I know this bothers many, you keep telling me, suddenly get busy, or just turn and run). The way I process information is often by talking through an issue, allowing ideas to form in my mind as the words come out of my mouth. Sometimes what I am saying and what I am thinking are different, but do often merge to cohesive thoughts. I loved the look on the Home Depot clerk who watched me logic my way through my sump pump dilemma. After a minute of talking out and figuring out what I needed I thanked him. He smiled and said he did nothing. Not true, he allowed me to work through my thoughts out loud.

 

Another aspect of my love for learning is helping others to learn something new also. Sharing information is a pill for me. It invigorates me.  Times, when I have not gauge my audience correctly, the sharing of knowledge is lost, and I get derailed and feel foolish. Times when what I share has a profound impact on someone, helping them better face a tough time in their lives or make a difficult decision carry me for weeks if not longer.

 

After looking into this, I feel that I do believe that learning is important to us on a daily basis.

 

Maybe, if you are feeling up to it, can can try this exercise and see if what you say is a belief of yours truly is.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

 

 

 

 

 

Message of the Day - The Skill of Interruptability?

Good Evening,

 

Last night I had the pleasure of dinner with the organizers of the InContact Roadshow happening today in Louisville. InContact is the world’s leading Cloud Based customer contact software company. And many of you know I work in the Call Center / Help Desk industry. I will be speaking at the Roadshow today.

 

Anyway, during our dinner conversation, the topic of embracing the Millennial Generation came up and a new term entered my lexicon…interruptability.

 

After hearing the word, within its context, it made perfect sense.

 

The way our youth can do many things at once, while seemingly keeping attention on all is becoming a marketable skill. You know how the young today can text, talk, and do other things and when you stop them to get their attention, we often, frustratingly, find out that they have heard every word we were saying while texting and doing something else, like watching a video.

 

The ability to be interrupted repeatedly and not lose focus on what they are working on is something that is entering the workforce, or if I were to research it further, would suspect it has been here for some time and growing in trend.

 

While when I get interrupted and pulled from tasks and have to refocus, time is lost as my mind tries to regain focus and back to where I was before. Over time this causes me to grab the bottle of advil.

 

Those with the skill of interruptability can refocus within seconds or less, if they ever even lost focus.

 

I guess this is just society moving forward. Like when we were young and did things that upset our parents, these same things became our norm. Today, with the millennial, the new norm of always connected, never without silence, and ability to focus on multiple activities simultaneously is a growing and marketable trend.

 

Makes me look at this new generation with a new found respect. I guess we will have to wait for the training books on how to build our interruptability skill t come out. Either that, or adapt at work today when we get interrupted repeatedly and work on getting back to our task faster and faster without any errors.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

 

 

 

Message of the Day - The why in what we do

Good Morning,

 

I have read many leadership books, leadership biographies, and how-to manuals. After a while, you see the same themes and reoccurrences from book to book. This has me backing off from traditional leadership books. In reading 'Lead...For God's Sake' (http://leadforgodsake.com/) by Todd Gongwer. I found a book that goes deeper into the core of leadership. This book takes us into the 'why' we do what we do.

 

There is so much focus on what we are to do as leaders that we often get caught up in the mechanics of what and how. We then stay focused on the outcome, often missing the larger point in our daily exercises. When we do reflect on our work, it is usually the how we did. Sort of a dissection of efforts of sorts. This can provide valuable information, but it is far from the core point.

 

That point is the underlying reasons of why we do what we do.

 

If you were asked why you do what you do, could you give a clear answer without sounding glib?

 

Why do you lead that class?

Why do you manage that team?

Why do you write those blogs?

Why do you volunteer with that group?

 

Do you have a clear and engaging why? An answer that excites you and gives you goosebumps?

 

Or does your answer sound more like a simple because: 'Because that's what I have always done'.

 

Knowing our why helps us unleash the passion we have for our work. It helps us get a clearer understanding of the purpose of what we do. It gives it added meaning. It can help us do what we do better and with more enjoyment. And when we do that, we unleash an energy and drive which helps fuel our work and effort. We work harder, we do better, and we want to do more.

 

Lead...for God's sake is a parable that helps us find the why of what we do. It helps us look at ourselves in a way that can clarify our purpose here on Earth.

 

This was an intense read that I just did want to put down until I finished it.  Now that I have finished, I am also looking into myself to help me clarify my why.

 

I love helping others, but there is a clearer why for me waiting to be found. I hope you read this book and take a closer look at your why to help you further unleash your passion in everyday life.

 

So, in this case read it for your sake.

 

Enjoy

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

 

 

 

Message of the Day - Thank You Facebook & YouTube!

Good Morning,

 

As many of you know, last Friday, we had some major storms come through our area with several towns sustaining very heavy damage and a loss of life nearing 40 people between Kentucky and Indiana.

 

For those of us who were spared the carnage, were forced to watch in horror. When we do, we often look for ways to help. A lot of frustration comes from either not being able to help or not knowing how.

 

It was Friday night when I got a call from a coworker looking on where to donate. I went to the web and searched a few sites and then went to Southeast Christian, who already had the link up to collect donations and provide them to the Red Cross.

 

I found some other sites and was prepared to make a donation when on Saturday morning one of my friends on Facebook shared a video from a DJ whose company works near one of the towns hardest hit, whose kids go to a school in that town that was destroyed.

 

He gave a clear message of what was needed and what he and his company was going to do about it. That he and his two company trailers would be at a local middle school to accept donations of water, food, clothes, etc. to bring up to the people in need. I shared this video with others, including my Bible Study class. And on Sunday morning, leaving my class, I had over $200 to get supplies and drop them off by this DJ and his company.  I filled my rear seat and trunk with water, food, clothes, etc. My daughter Samantha and I delivered the supplies. It was amazing.

 

 

This man hoped to fill two 10 foot trailers (or so they looked).

 

By the power of Facebook and the use of YouTube, this one video went viral in the local area.

 

What happened reached the news, and was beyond all expectations:

 

He reported “In the end, and I am sure we lost track we filled BOTH DJ Trailers, 2 Silver Creek Band trailers, Mike from Rent A Tent 14' trailer, A Horse trailer, flatbed trailers I don't remember how many, 4 - 53' ...Semi Trailers, 6 School buses, and Truck beds, with Clothes, Water, food, canned food, blankets, baby supplies, toys, etc, etc, etc.”

 

It was the power of Social Media flexing its muscles. And today it was used for the forces of good!

 

Thank you all who helped make this happen, and thank you Facebook and YouTube for allowing this to happen.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336