Enjoying Side Missions and the Unexpected Things in Life (10-12-22)

Last week was about framing an adventure and preparing for dragons. This week is about taking time to enjoy side missions and the unexpected things in life.

When we talked to the kids about going on an adventure, we told them there would be main goals and side missions. We never knew what those side missions would be, but we would need to keep our eyes open for them. Our favorite side mission occurred when we were in Edinburgh Scotland. We were there to check out the city and the castle. Both of those were gorgeous. We had just finished our castle tour, and we were starting to walk back to the meeting point. The crowd was all walking one way, when we noticed something out of the corner of our eye. Out of nowhere there was a company on the street with owls giving individuals a chance to hold them. My kids LOVE birds. They were enamored, watching these people hold owls. Of course, we asked if the kids could hold one. They were a bit nervous at first, but each of the kids got to hold a baby owl on their arms for a few minutes. It was the highlight of the trip for them, and the best side mission ever!

What does this have to do with anything? There were a lot of other people on the street that day that never noticed what was going on around them. Maybe, it’s because they had their head down as they shuffled along the street. Maybe, it’s because they were so focused on walking to their next destination that they weren’t open to seeing anything else. Similarly, in work and life sometimes we can get so focused on the final goal or the next milestone that we miss the interesting side paths that open to us. We miss experiences that could bring us growth and joy. Does this ever happen to you? I know it happens to me.

The challenge: Are you keeping your eyes open for side missions?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Vacation and Preparing for Dragons (10-5-22)

Pretty sure this is the embodiment of going through busy airports

See the source image Happy Wednesday,

This week we will kick off a series based on reflections I had during my most recent vacation. My family went on a cruise that visited Belgium, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England. This week is about vacations and preparing for dragons.

Before we went on vacation, my wife and I sat down with the kids. My wife explained, “This is not a vacation. This is going to be an adventure. We will have main goals, side missions, and treasure! AND there will be dragons that we will need to slay or avoid. Luckily, I know we are tough enough to defeat those beasts.” The kids chuckled at the time, but there could not have been a more fitting description. While we had an amazing time, we also ran into quite a few dragons like navigating new and anxiety inducing environments, tight layovers and needing to sprint through airports, lost luggage, our itinerary being completely changed due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth (no joke), navigating the streets and tubes of London with suitcases, and more. Whenever one of these challenges would arise, we would all say, “This is just another dragon to slay,” and after we got through it, we would celebrate surviving the beast. As silly as it may sound, the simple fact that we went into vacation knowing there would be dragons gave us the strength and confidence to better deal with them.

What does this have to do with anything? At work, how often do we start a workstream by acknowledging that we EXPECT to fight dragons? I’d argue, not often enough. Usually, we plan and assume that everything will go according to plan. We build timelines with minimal buffer as if there will be no bumps. Now this might sound good in theory, but then once we run into a dragon, we aren’t ready mentally do deal with it. Does this sound familiar? I know this happens to me all the time. Think of how different it would be if we started projects by talking about potential dragons we expect to encounter and mentally preparing for unexpected dragons. How would that change our preparation? How would that change our ability to mentally pivot to deal with the dragons?

The challenge: How can we do a better job of preparing for the dragons we will inevitably face?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Unplugged and being Present on Vacation (6-3-15)

If you remember, last week I was on vacation with my family and in-laws. It was a total of 10 of us all together, and we had a blast. This week’s blog is about one of my favorite things about vacation. The picture on the right is the view from our cabin in the mountains of Gatlinburg, TN. It’s awesome, but not my favorite thing.

My favorite thing about vacation was actually two things that we didn’t have: cell phone reception and internet. It was nice to be able to unplug. Two things that should have been annoying were actually two of my favorite things about the entire trip, because this made everyone be present with each other. Last year, we all went on vacation to Florida and at night everyone would be on their phones or iPads absorbed in their own little world. This year we couldn’t do those things, so instead we talked and more importantly we bonded. During vacation we saw some beautiful scenery, came within a few feet of a small bear, and did all kinds of other fun things, but what will stick with me is how we bonded when we were all together in that cabin.

Being present in a connected world is not easy. Whether you are a manager riding in a car or a person at HQ having 1 on 1 meetings, are you present or are you distracted somewhere in cyberspace? Being present is one of the most powerful ways to show that you care for someone. When I am present I am giving you two of my most valuable resources, my time and my attention. When I think of my favorite people to speak with, all of them are fully present when they are with me. That time and attention makes me feel valuable, and that does wonders for me throughout the rest of my day.

My challenge for all of us is, “Are you present when you are with people or are you trapped in distracting digital webs?”

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry