I discovered this brilliant poster at the Northampton Survival Center this evening and it could not have been more timely given the continued need for Hurricane Sandy relief along with the many pleas for support that accompany the holiday season. If you are worried about your donations being used appropriately, you may shy away from giving money. If you want to be as helpful as possible, you might rally your friends and collect a heap of canned goods and blankets. Or maybe you just feel better, more connected, and more invested when you turn over a big load of stuff. Writing a check seems so distant and impersonal. Whatever your reason, a little more information could change your mind and this photo conveys that little bit of extra information brilliantly! Eye opening, isn’t it? Has it ever occurred to you that a non-profit can do more with your money than you can?
NJ Governor Chris Christie, who ordered the evacuation of Atlantic City, and Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford, who reportedly encouraged people to seek shelter locally, are now duking it out in the press with blame, insults, and accusations of playing politics. Whatever you call it, it is inappropriate and irresponsible behavior on both sides. I can not think of an occasion where pointing fingers and hurling insults has been effective. Can you? Unfortunately, this behavior is not uncommon and may be occurring in your organization as you read this.
At a client’s staff meeting last week, we had an interesting discussion about accountability. When someone stated that accountability and adherence to policy and rules were critical, the result was a combination of vehement agreement and visible discomfort, often on the same face. Why? Because this single sentence muddled an important distinction: accountability and compliance.
Easthampton, Massachusetts – Ann Latham, founder of Uncommon Clarity, was selected from over 5,000 to be featured in The 2013 Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar. The calendar provides advice for women business owners from influential women leaders across the US and around the world.
Suzanne Bates of Bates Communications attended a presentation I gave in Boston last month. Her summary is excellent: It’s Your Time: Executive Time Management
I love technology, except when I hate it. Today is a good day, however. I’m in love once again! Not since my first iPhone have I been this excited about a new gadget. This time it is my new MiFi Jetpack. It’s about three quarters the size of an iPhone and weighs only a few ounces. And, ironically, it makes that much loved gadget, the iPhone, less necessary! The MiFi provides a wireless Internet signal for my very small MacBook Air almost anywhere. It also provides a signal for additional devices, including my iPhone should AT&T disappear. But right now I am thrilling to the signal it delivers to my MacBook Air. Whenever I travel, whether far afield or to a client no more than an hour away, I’ve been forced to answer emails by typing with my thumbs, postpone tasks that can’t be completed without going online, take risks with public WiFI, and sort out the connectivity hoops found at hotels, airports, and cities. On top of that, there are the disappointment of failed technology. I took the bus to New York City recently, instead of driving, specifically so I could get some work done, but the WiFi wasn’t working. I’ve wandered down too many hotel hallways and taken too many trips to the lobby trying to pick up a strong enough signal to send an important response to a client. No longer! Now I can work efficiently, reliably, and without building my plans around Internet availability. Right now, I am blogging from the New York Thruway, someplace east of Buffalo. Loving it. Smiling. Almost giddy with this new ability to do things when I have the time or when I’m inspired, not when technology makes it possible!
Lovely decor, prime table, and friendly greetings as we entered. So far so good. The food was terrific and also scored top marks. The service, however, left a sour taste that I won’t forget anytime soon. What is sad is that these guys probably made a conscious decision to provide the absolute best service to go with their great food and beautiful restaurant. And the hovering eagle-eyed maitre d’ undoubtedly believed he was doing exactly that. Nonetheless, I couldn’t have been more annoyed. Why? Because their notion of perfect was totally misaligned with what most diners would call perfect. These guys were totally wrapped up in themselves at the expense of our experience. For example:
When people confuse apples with oranges, fling wildly disparate invectives at a single argument, and conflate facts, my foghorn goes into overdrive. Our political system seems intent on eliminating both clarity and facts. Consider the following “facts” that you may have heard in the past week and the incredible coincidence that almost all seem to involve 47% of the people! 47% of Americans are moochers 47% pay no taxes 47% are victims who will never be convinced to take personal responsibility 47% support Obama 47% are lost to Romney 47% are dependent on government Which is it? Where is the clarity? Are seniors on social security and medicare, to which they’ve contributed their entire working lives, moochers? Are sales tax, gasoline tax, state tax, excise tax, and real estate taxes not taxes? If you make too little money to pay income taxes are you a moocher, a victim, and dependent on government? If you are rich but have found enough loop holes to pay no taxes are you a moocher, a victim, and dependent on government? If you pay no taxes, are you guaranteed to support Obama and be lost to Romney? Let me add a few more claims while we are abusing the number 47: 47% love apples 47% love oranges and 100% can’t tell the difference between apples and oranges! When clarity is so clearly missing, I wish the politicians, media, and people in general would quit talking! Better to ask clarifying questions than to repeat inflammatory and misleading claims. Stand up for clarity! At least 47% of the time!