structures instead of processes

"Better structures lead to better work. People who care can magnify their impact by building structures that bring in more people who care."

- from Seth Godin's blog

I'm all about better work, but I tend to think of better work as a result of better processes. I've been a huge fan of identifying processes that lead to greater efficiency, but I'm definitely at fault for not bringing in more people who care. I'm guilty of thinking of myself or my team only, of not branching out or bringing in. When I think of processes, instead of structures, I think of reproducibility or replaceability (if either of those are words). I think of replacing one individual with another, applying the processes to the same situation. But as I listened to Seth Godin's book, Linchpin, I developed a deep philosophical problem with processes that allow for people to be viewed as cogs, easily replaceable with another cog following the same processes. For efficiency sake, maybe it's okay to assess some situations within the realm of processes, considering the best practices to become most efficient. At some point in that spectrum though, there must be a tipping point at which people are no longer the replaceable entity, and the move is made to robots, allowing for the ultimate replacement of the individual. That's a different discussion though, I think.  

So, back to structures instead of processes. It's good to be challenged in my thinking. Scaling up might not be Seth Godin's go-to topic, but it is something that he has written about. Anyway, the second sentence in the top quote, the part about bringing in more people, makes me think of scaling up within a structure. If I can identify a better structure, rather than a process, and bring in people to fill out that structure, allowing for growth, then the impact can be magnified. This is a different way of thinking for me. 

No more thoughts about simple processes that allow for people to be easily replaced. I want to work for better structures that can bring in more people to magnify impact. That's a much more inclusive principal, rather than exclusive. I like that a whole lot better. 

it's subversive to be joyous in public

In listening to KSMU on the way home from exercising on Saturday morning, I heard a quick story about Yiddish music. There were a few interesting bits, but most of all a statement from an accordion player at the center of a documentary and tribute album. Read (or listen to) the article if you’re interested.

Here’s the bit that interested me: “it’s subversive to be joyous in public.” I’m pulling this straight out of context, and simply considering the statement in isolation.

Is this true? Where is it true? When is it true? Why could it be true?

Is it false? Where is it false? When is it false? Why could it be false?

I’m not sure what “joyous” or “public” means in this situation. Is this just the foolish words of an accordion player, deeply troubled by the lack of Yiddish music on hit radio. Does he need a “more accordion” skit from Saturday Night Live? Are the average workplaces of everyday Americans not overwhelmingly joyful enough for this guy? I don’t get it.

I guess I’m stuck asking too many questions about this statement, trying to get to authorial intent, to get anywhere. All I can do is think about my little sphere of existence. And I admit that it’s pretty little and quite insulated. Most days I spend most of my time in a high school. There’s a good bit of public joy taking place there. The next place I spend the most time, other than home, would be church. That place is full of joy. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the joy there, and wonder if it is manufactured or authentic. We aren’t nightlife or party people, so I can’t speak to that--I did say my sphere is small. We go to the grocery. We go to Barnes and Noble. I don’t see joyful people as subversive; I see that as wonderful.

Here’s where I can imagine the statement, “it’s subversive to be joyous in public,” rings true. Any time I watch local nightly news or national 24 hours stations, I am met full in the face with anger, disappointment, failure, disgust. Rarely does it seem that the public face presented, locally or nationally, is one of joy. So that I get. And that aligns with the statement. Life is hard, and we often don’t get what we want. Forces, sometimes in the form of people, conspire against us. We lose. All of this means we often lack joy. As I said, I get that.

So here’s my deal, and this is where I wear blinders. I rarely watch any news. I listen to a lot of KSMU and I read a lot of NPR and ESPN and my feedly feed is filled with what I would actually call news. But I avoid all that negative stuff. I change the station, or ignore the story after reading the headline, or don’t follow the link. And in that ignorance, what I see is the joyful, or the interesting, or the instructive.

Maybe I'm wrong on both accounts: when the statement could be true, and how I handle life. Maybe I over-insulate myself. Maybe I'm a naive fool. I guess if I'm a joyful one, I'm okay with that.

another year, another try

So, it's 2016. I'm going to give this another go. I'll start by sharing my goals for the year.

1. Learn sign language with Kristin.
I want to do this, because I love hanging out with Kristin, and I love learning, and I see it as an opportunity to connect with more people. Communication is important, and learning to sign will help me grow my opportunities for communication. We're going to use apps on our phones, and hopefully take some classes at OTC.

2. Read 25 books. Posts and reviews to follow here and on Goodreads. 
There's a nice blog I like to read, Farnam Street, and it's got a pretty good piece titled "Just Twenty-Five Pages a Day." The headline may seem more hardline than the theme, and that's why I encourage you to read the article. The theme is really good.

3. Write every week. Publish here at least twice a month.
I want to reflect after a week at work. I want to write of my thoughts based on what I'm seeing and experiencing at work. I want to get down my own ideas after all the reading that I'm doing. I want to form some of my own thoughts in longer form. Sometimes I'll be tentative to publish, so sometimes what I'll put up will be crap. Other times, after more mulling things over, hopefully what I write will be better.

4. Exercise three times a week. 
I've got a membership to Planet Fitness. It's cheap, and it's good for me. I like going there and listening to the Bible or podcasts, especially Serial. If I can kill two birds with one stone, then I can listen to three podcasts and exercise three times a week. Wednesday and Thursday are off, and I usually hate doing that stuff on Sundays. So I've got Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Let's hope I can do it.

5. Eat well.
Vegetables with every meal: three or four cups a day. Two to three cups of fruit a day. Moderate meat protein. Minimum sugar. Little to no wheat, whey, and/or gluten. It helps me feel better, lighter, healthier.

Let's see what the year brings!