Hope - Day 31

Monday 31st December - New Year's Eve

31 is the most common number of days in the Western Calendar's months. The rhyme that many
people use as a reminder ("Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November; All the rest
have thirty-one, Excepting February alone, And that has twenty-eight days clear; And twenty-nine
in each leap year.") was first published in 1555, when it was copied into a manuscript. It is probably
the only 16th century poem that many ordinary people know by heart.
I hope the months ahead are happy and healthy ones for you and yours.

The end is nigh, in more ways than one. Today is the last day of 2018 and it is also the final guest post that I will curate and host as part of the Advent Blog series, well at least for the foreseeable future. There have been some brilliant pieces this year - huge thanks to all the contributors. It is New Year's Eve and for the first time for ages we are not going to a party, instead we are cooking a family meal at home. I am looking forward to spending some time with my sons. We have a big party on Saturday to celebrate Hamish's 21st. He has asked me to say a few words, so I need to give that some thought. It is a funny feeling seeing your children become adults. I'm sure I should feel older than I do.

The final guest post in this year's Advent Blog series is by start-up and individual and organisational growth specialist Christine Locher. With an academic grounding in Communication, Psychology and Intercultural studies in her native Germany (during which time she also worked as a journalist), Christine is a high achiever. Post university she commenced her career in consulting, working first for McKinsey and then Boston Consulting Group, undertaking a variety of client and internal development roles before focussing on the growth of consultants at all levels. She ran global leadership and learning for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu before a brief stint at Oliver Wyman and BTS. Christine has a passion for seeing others thrive and grow. In 2017 she decided to branch out on her own, founding her own leadership development business. She is an excellent coach (ICF standard with high level academic qualifications in thinking and change as well as communication and psychology) and tends to work with entrepreneurs and growing businesses, especially within the tech space. Although a global nomad, Christine is currently based in London, where she takes advantage of the breadth of experiences that the City offers. She is a voracious reader with an almost insatiable curiosity - quite capable of ensuring that the details are not missed when effecting the big picture plan. Christine is a keen and natural networker - I recommend your connecting with her on Twitter, her handle is @ChristineLocher. I like her post as it is full of hope and we all need a but of that.

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“Help me, Obiwan Kenobi, you are my only hope.” (Princess Leia, Star Wars. Sending this into a galactic void, hoping to get heard. She did, eventually.)

Hope is one of our most beautiful qualities as humans. No matter how deep the colossal mess is that we might find ourselves in, we manage to, at least in a good moment, lift our eyes off the chin-deep muck we are in and towards the horizon. We imagine a future that is better. Hope is what keeps a sacred space for that imagination, not as an escapist delusion, but as a vision that just hasn’t been implemented yet. Hope gives us energy when the struggle has taken it all. Hope is what keeps us alive. This time. Next time. All the time.

Hope doesn’t need to wear rainbow unicorns or come with an ethereal violin soundtrack to work. Hope can be an empty parking lot at 3am shouting obscenities at the big man in the sky in existential disagreement to then sleep off the hangover, make your first cup of coffee, take a good hard look at your life, to keep going for another day, this time better. It doesn’t need to be pretty. It doesn’t need to be instagrammed. It just needs to be there, however it looks and feels at the moment. Hope, at all times, is as real as you allow it to be. I’ll just say that again. Hope is as real as you allow it to be. 

We have of course no proof or confirmation any of our hopes will ever come true. But hope doesn’t need that (and neither do you, you hope-endowed human, and deep-down you know it). Hope knows that tomorrow is another day, that one decision or one conversation or one encounter can reset the path to a better future that you can’t even imagine yet. And that you just don’t know beforehand which one it is going to be this time. So you keep going.

You might have a vision, or you might have had one but lost touch with it, as your daily mess is too far away right now so you have a hard time seeing how you get from over here to over there. Hope hears you. Hope reminds you that you don’t need to see the whole path to be able to take a step. And then another one. Hope focuses you on the things that work, so you can start doing more of them. Making small changes, which then add up to the big change. It’s how most big changes or successes work anyway, despite what it looks like on social media. And hope knew that all along. You might be deep down the problem hole right now, but there is no point in wasting more of the energy you don’t have focusing on how deep and messy it is. 

Focus on how you get out. Hope here serves as the magical, ever-elusive “air hook”. You can tie a rope to it and start pulling, and, with hope, it actually works.

Hope also lets you build trust. Take that first step first, without having to wait for the other one to begin. Raise that topic. Have that conversation. Mention the thing you are afraid to mention. Take small risks, be mostly rewarded, and start being less alone in this. It is easier to be hopeful when you have a tribe of supporters. Hope invites participation and support from other humans (and some friendly ‘droids…). Hope is stronger when shared. This, in turn, paves the way for others so they can dare to keep going as well. Hope lifts everyone.

You'll Never Walk Alone

Gerry and the Pacemakers

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll…

It Only Takes a Spark - Day 41

Day 41 (Wednesday 10th January 2018)

41 miles - the length of the Metropolitan Line on London's Underground railway
- the system's 11 lines total 250 miles in length, which makes it the longest metro system
in the world. It commenced on 10th January 1863 when the Metropolitan Railway opened
a line between Paddington (then called Bishop's Road) and Farringdon Street. It is the
oldest and first underground railway for general public use in the world.

Today I am catching up on some of what we have achieved with money clawed back from the UK Apprenticeship Levy and cementing plans for the year to come. So far we have individuals undertaking MBAs, others benefitting from management training and a group who are joining us as conventional apprentices, commencing their careers. It is always good to know that you are helping people to develop and grow for both their advantage and for the business. 

Today's post is by a chap who is superb at encouraging others - Steve Browne, an internationally known and highly respected HR star. In addition, Steve acts as a unique unifying gel for many of us in the global HR community, cheerfully making contact and encouraging others to do so.  For the past 11 years Steve has worked for LaRosa's Inc - Ohio's leading pizzeria business and a regional restaurant chain that has grown significantly over the past 60 years. Steve is the Executive Director of HR. He has worked as an HR professional for over 25 years and has gained experience in Professional Services, Manufacturing and Consumer Products in addition to Hospitality and Leisure.

Steve possesses amazing levels of energy and passion for people and all that he does. He is married to Debbie and they have two grown-up children (of whom they both are justifiably proud). Steve is an active leader in the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) in the USA - and was elected to serve as a Director on the Board just over two years ago. He blogs both for the Society (SHRM Blog) and also on his own site Everyday People, as well as tirelessly communicating with HR professionals and interested parties around the world. His enthusiasm is infectious. I strongly recommend that you follow him on Twitter (his handle is @SBrowneHR) if you have not already done so.

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I am a hopelessly optimistic human !! It’s odd to see how others respond to my personality, demeanor and approach. It’s amazing how much skepticism and doubt I encounter because we think that if people are positive it’s either some act or a sham. People automatically think that if you’re positive, then you must want something from them. There has to be some hidden agenda because NO ONE is truly optimistic these days.

Sorry to disappoint.

I’m astonished to see how jaded and hardened people have become about all facets of life. It makes me ache. Literally. I am not so naïve as to not see the incredible challenges and dysfunction that exists all around the globe. I also know that this same level of instability exists in my family, friends and co-workers. I choose, however, not to succumb to the darkness.

I empathize with others who are facing challenges without judgement. Something may seem an easy fix for some and be a mountain for others. We need to remember that people don’t want to be “fixed” – they want to be seen and acknowledged. There is an easy way to do this. You need to be the spark that rekindles the life and passion that exists in every human being !!

In my recent past, I was the Scoutmaster of Troop 941. I spent twelve years in Scouting with my amazing son along with many fantastic young men.

They came from all types of family situations ranging from affluent to poverty. Homes that were healthy and others that were not. Positive relationships with parents and siblings as well as those who couldn’t be in the same room as other family members. I never stepped in to try and “fix” any of their conditions. I had no right to do so, and that wasn’t my role.

I was there to be a spark in their lives. I’d be so geeked to see them attend a Troop meeting !! I’d see how they were doing as humans and check on how they were doing in school and at home. I’d listen to every single story and make sure to give them my full attention. When we went on campouts, I’d stay up to play card games with them and make sure they had everything they needed to learn, lead and succeed.

One of the first skills that a scout learns is how to make a fire. Now Boy Scouts is led by the young men in the Troop and not adults. They learn from each other as peers. So, the older scouts teach the new scouts. When it comes to fire building, the older scouts let the new ones try to “figure it out” first with little direction. Inevitably, the boys pile enough wood to start a bonfire, and it fails. After several fruitless attempts, the older scout steps in and shows them that you only need a very small amount of kindling and – a spark.

Once the new scouts see how little material is needed to start a campfire, they get it. A spark is all that is needed !!

This same approach is what happens to us as adults. Instead of stripping back the trappings of life, we pile on more and more until we’re almost immobile. We want to move ahead, but we can’t. We’re stuck in our circumstances and it seems hopeless. It isn’t. We have the chance to strip back all of the excess junk and get down to the basics. Then add our spark.

This coming year look out amongst your friends and see how you can help them unburden themselves by being the light that gives them confidence and courage. Be intentional and be the spark that brings them back into life that has joy and purpose !!

Better things to come

Day 11 (Sunday 11th December 2016)

11 - the total number of medals won by Cuba in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

My advice would be not to pick a fight with a Cuban; almost all

the medals were for some form of combat sport - 5 Golds (3 for Boxing,

2 for Wrestling), 2 silver (one for Judo, one for Wrestling) and 4 Bronze

(3 for Boxing and the last for Athletics - the Women's Discus Throw)
Cuba had a big year in 2016 including USA lifting sanctions and 
the death of Fidel Castro.

Alex Moyle is the writer of our Sunday read.  He feels as though 2016 has been a year of hollows, however he is determined not to let things get the better of him. Alex founded his own businesses in 2014 and 2015 - one is a specialist consultancy, Selzig, which helps organisations enhance sales performance; and the other, Elevated Recruiting, takes Alex back into his arena of corporate expertise in which he worked prior to going independent, namely providing learning and development to recruitment firms, helping consultants enhance their skills. For over 17 years Alex worked for the globally renown recruitment firm Robert Half. After proving himself as a consultant he progressed to being the UK Staff Development Manager.

Alex lives near Bristol with his wife and family. He is an engaging speaker.  H is also an active voice on social media - a prolific blogger and a regular contributor to debate on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can follow Alex on Twitter (if you don't do so already), his handle is @Alex_Moyle.

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Better things to come

I can take or leave most of the things associated with Christmas.  But I do love  the way the Christmas period encourages everyone to let go of the past and hope for a better year to come.

From a personal perspective I am glad to wave goodbye to this year.

My old manager used to say "Alex, when you succeed you get paid in cash, when you fail you get paid in experience".  

Well if this is true 2016 has made me a millionaire!

2016 has challenged my purpose,  my confidence as a father, husband and a human being.    Despite all my aspirations and passion, most of the year has felt like I was fighting a losing battle against the cosmos.

I would love to be able to write this and tell you how every day I still leapt out of bed with 100% passion to defeat the foes. 

The reality is, that on a lot of days, I have struggled with direction, passion and desire to fix the problems fate has put in my way.

Paul McGee in his book "Sumo" talks about people succumbing to a victim mentality and how this is, in part, caused by a person playing the wrong records (thoughts) in their head on loop.

I have definitely had times where I would be a case study for Paul's views.   The weird thing being that whilst you play those negative records in your head there is another voice that's locked in prison cell in in your head shouting "stop playing those records", "Stop being a victim". 

For a moment it seemed like I might need to buy a Harley Davidson to cap things off!

It is fortunate that the other little voice  did not taken long to break out of his cell and put the "victim voice" in his place.

Whilst I would like to say that his escape was all my own work. The reality is that family, friends and random acts of kindness helped the good voice to rise to the fore once again.

But enough of the confessional, what am I going to do to stop it happening next year....

For 2017 my aim is to:

- Focus on doing less things, but executing each one better.

- Work harder to recognise the little victories that are often ignored

- Adapt my expectations in line with the circumstances that present themselves

So that is my confessional, what about you the reader?

I have no doubt that most people will have had their own challenges this year.

Art Deco Bronze "Sisyphus" by Ganu Gancheff

All I ask is that you think about how you can leave the bad things behind in 2016 and look forward to better things next year.

After all most of us will be feeling better about 2016 than David Cameron and Hillary Clinton……….

Who would have thought it….!

Eat, drink and enjoy being with your friends and family in the coming weeks.

A Christmas Dole by Joseph Clark, (1834 – 1926)

The Paths and Perceptions have Shifted

Day 35 (Monday 4th January 2016)

35 U.S.Dollars - the amount Phil Knight paid Caroline Davidson in 1971 for creating the
Nike swoosh logo. In 1983, circa 3 years after the company went public, he invited her to lunch
and gave her a diamond ring engraved with the swoosh
and an envelope filled with an undisclosed amount of Nike stock.

It gives me great pleasure to reintroduce Susannah Wheeler, a photographer and promotions editor. Last year's post was her first ever blog and explained what a tough path she had needed to tread to reach to where she was, you can read it here. What a difference a year makes... I am so pleased to see how things have changed. You can follow Susannah on Twitter (her handle is @EnglishFreckle); she often posts beautiful photographs.

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"Comet Tails and Coal Dust" - the title left me wondering where to start – I wanted to contribute after last year’s experience – and then a message with the ‘sailing high’ threw a whole new perspective on the title.  

This time last year I was reflecting on an amazing year, but also reflecting on a number of things where life hadn’t gone the way I’d planned.  This year the comet tails are whizzing and I’m moving at a better, more comfortable pace. There are more of my words in print, and I’m taking more photos than ever before.  The coal dust and darkness is still there sometimes, but it’s there as a reminder of where I’ve come from; to allow me to smile and breathe. Everything doesn’t have to be done today, there’s still time as far as I know, to plan, look forward to and enjoy the anticipation of the next bit.

My little comets are 16 and nearly 13 now, bright shining things who are blazing their own trails – my part of nurturing them is changing.  It’s time for me to take a step back as they move more independently and find their own ways.

Blaze a trail, do your own thing, life’s too short – just a few of the regular things I say to them both.  So much of growing up seems to be learning to conform, fit in, be accepted and be the same as everyone else otherwise they’re considered “weird”.  Fighting and defending your right to be different as a teenager is challenging.  But the 16 year old in particular does it, and I’m really proud of her.  She wants to act, to be on stage and she’s dedicated and focused.  The signs of the feisty two year old are back and it’s an interesting time.

Sometimes it’s tough as a parent, good cop/bad cop, providing a balanced argument, putting suggestions on the table where I can, alternatives where I need to and trying not to say a straight ‘no’ unless I really think I should: and I had to be both,  

until recently and a new addition to our lives means there’s a new dynamic coming into play.

Mutual friends, some decent timing and a bit of luck have put a new comet in my hands – our trail will light up a whole new path together.

Someone else to play the good cop role; someone to challenge why things are like they are.  Challenge with support – that’s a new experience for me and it’s enlightening.

15th century painting of Halley's Comet

The paths and perceptions of last year have shifted again.

This comet is burning bright and this time it’s love.  The dust and darkness is far behind.  What lies ahead is a bright and shiny future.  One that is full of hope and happiness.

Beth Krommes wood engraving Comet over New Hampshire, 1986

Reach for a New Day - Day 42

Day 42 (11th January 2015)

42 per cent of London's Underground is actually underground.
The above map was created by James Wannerton - he has the neurological condition Synaesthesia, which
means that he tastes words when he reads or hears them. Aged 4 he noticed that tube stations had specific tastes
whilst travelled to school with his mother. He now lives in Blackpool,
so it  took him 49 years to create this map, by visiting each station.
To see a larger version click here

For many years the author of today's post was only known by his nom de plume - Flip Chart Rick. He was one of the earliest bloggers, starting in 2007, and at that stage a degree of anonymity was desirable - he writes excellent, informative posts, full of data and facts and, despite his references to "business bullshit" and "corporate crap" he is respected by people within and outside the establishment. His name is Steve Toft. His roots lie in HR, culminating in becoming a respected Senior Manager at PwC, before setting up his own consultancy. Steve is the co-founder of Crucible Consulting, which specialises in aligning performance management processes, structures and systems to enable businesses and the people within them succeed. He is a driving force within the CIPD West London community. Steve is also an expert on real ales and craft beers - and is a great fellow to spend an evening with.

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Advent is the midnight of the year. It's a time when the sun sets at its earliest. I am fortunate to live in a house that faces west and overlooks a park, so I can watch the sun move through the seasons. I know that when it sets behind the row of poplars it has reached its nadir. It then starts to move back towards the copse behind the pub until, after about the end of April, the sunset is too far round for me to see from our window.

Avenue of Poplars at Sunset, 1884
Vincent van Gogh, Rijksmuseum

This year, the earliest sunsets in London are between the 10th and 15th of December and the shortest day is on the 21st. After that, the sun will start to move back the other way, towards the north and to a new spring. The days will lengthen, slowly at first, then eventually the warmth will return.

Winter Solstice - gouache painting by Wendy Wilkerson

Advent, then, is a time of darkness but also of hope. Long before Christianity, our ancestors celebrated at this time of year. Sometime in the 4th century, the church appropriated the existing festivals for a celebration of the birth of Jesus. What better time to mark the coming of a man who would symbolise the death of the old and the hope of the new.

Celtic Horned God of virility and renewal
is born at the Winter Solstice

I'm sure many of the people who read my blog think of me as a brooding pessimist. At a conference I spoke at recently, my presentation was rated as the most depressing session of the day. It's true that a lot of the things I write about are enough to make you want to run for cover. But I have long thought of myself as a short-term pessimist and a long-term optimist. Much of the work I have done over the years has required me to be both. When you are managing big change programmes you need to anticipate pitfalls and help people to understand them. Yet, at the same time, you need to have faith in your colleagues' ability to find ways of dealing with them, even if you are not yet sure what some of the solutions might look like.

It's the same with the things I discuss on my blog. Those of us in the developed economies have lived through a lucky half-century. The 60 years between the end of the Second World War and the start of the Great Recession saw our economies grow at an unprecedented rate. Big governments, big corporations and big trade unions, all deeply unfashionable these days, presided over an increase in living standards bigger and faster than anything seen before. Those of us born into this are among the most fortunate human beings ever to walk the planet. But we began to assume that our world was normal and would be the model for the future. We thought that economies would always grow, that children would be better off than their parents and that the proceeds of growth would, over time, be more evenly distributed. 

The signs are that this bonanza is over. The world's population is ageing at a fascinating rate.

Just as they industrialised at breakneck speed, the emerging economies will age at breakneck speed too. By the middle of this century, most countries outside India and sub-Saharan Africa will have a greater proportion of their population over 60 than Britain has now. Some countries, like Vietnam and Iran, will overtake us and have older populations by 2050.

We seem to be moving into a period of much slower economic growth than we have been used to. This is affecting the whole world but especially the developed economies. Not everyone is convinced that new leaps in technology can do much to mitigate this. Tomas Piketty believes that, left unchecked, the forces unleashed by these changes will lead to ever greater inequality and the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.

I think he may well be right.

Whatever else happens, those of us who grew up in the post-war world will find the certainties of our youth disappearing with alarming speed.

Yet I remain a short-term pessimist and a long-term optimist. We are going through an upheaval and a period of change the like of which we have never seen before but I am convinced that the human race will find ways of dealing with it. It may not surprise you that I'm a fan of dystopian fiction but, while such stories are fun in a horror film sort of way, I don't believe the future of the world will be that bad. Technology may eventually take many of our jobs but it will also help us do new things. It may finally free us from drudgery to create all sorts of new and wonderful possibilities. The trick will be to make sure technology's benefits are well distributed and that it is used to free people, not to oppress and control them.

One day a paraplegic may be able to operate an exoskeleton
with his or her own mind. Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock

Another reason why I am hopeful is because I don't think people will stand for a dystopian future.

Just as, in the last century, the West's workers decided they wouldn't put up with exploitation and servitude, the poor in Asia, Africa and Latin America are kicking back against arbitrary autocracy, corruption and starvation wages too. In places that were once thought of as inevitably destitute and dictatorial, people are starting to protest. The human race won't tolerate a future in which the few trample all over everyone else.

Peaceful protests by thousands in Hong Kong, 2014

That might have been the pattern for much of our history but people have had enough of it now. The more people kick up about it, the more hopeful I am for the future.

So why do I write all that depressing stuff on my blog? Because I believe we need to understand the immense challenges to come. Without acknowledging these difficulties, optimism just becomes panglossian idiocy. To have real hope for the future, we have to face problems, not ignore them. That way we will, I'm sure, find ways of dealing with them. As ever, my pessimism about the short-term is balanced by optimism about the longer term.

There is light ahead

There's a 1970s song written by John David for his group Airwaves. My wife likes to play it at this time of year. For her, it represents the spirit of Advent. John David wrote it after a major blow in his personal life. The feeling of being in dark days but reaching for the light runs through the song. It's called New Day and it contains the following lines:

Thoughts that we as humans small

Could slow worlds and end it all

Lie around me where they fall

Before the new day

One more day when time is running out

for everyone

Like a breath I knew would come I reach for

the new day

Hope is my philosophy

Just needs days in which to be

Love of life means hope for me

Born on a new day

"You are the New Day" by Airwaves, 1977

I don't believe time will run out. We can choose our path and, perhaps after going down a few blind alleys, we and the generations to come will find one that makes a better world. We will stretch out our arms and, through the murky darkness, reach for a new day.

"Feelin' Good" by Nina Simone, 1965