No, not the din of the cheers of Green Bay Packer fans (and for the record, I didn't really care who won, just wanted to see a really good game -- which happened), but the noise that keeps us from doing our best. At the end of 2010, I seemed to be drowning in noise from all kinds of places and did not believe I was doing my best. I could tell because my patience (which I am not long on to begin with) had gotten very short, it took me a lot of drafts to get things just right and my interpersonal skills in most settings where I found myself were not at the place where I wanted them to be. Over the holidays, I made a commitment to try to rise above the noise. And, I am happy to report that for almost two whole months I have done much better than I did at the end of 2010.
I admit that it is work to rise above the noise. It is amazing how easy it is to just drift back into the old habits of seeing the glass as half empty. Everything from work budget issues to the toppling of governments can have us very dejected about the state of affairs. But, in these times I have found it best to focus on the things that are within my control. It doesn't mean that I bury my head in the sand (can you say CNN addicted?), but it does mean that I take in the 'news' (whether from around the world or down the hall), determine if I can have an impact, and respond accordingly.
I feel very fortunate to work for an organization that is focused on stability, that knows what it wants to be when it grows up and that tries to encourage the best work from all of us. Sometimes it is hard to remember that because of all the noise. But, it is what drew me to BJC over 7 years ago and what keeps me here. My hope is that when the noise of work gets too loud that we go back to the joy we felt when we received the call that said, "You got the job!"
Back to the din of cheers from the Super Bowl. While I loved the game, I admit I am also hooked on the commercials. My faves this year were two of the Bridgestone Tire ones -- the guy who mistakenly hit Reply to All and then drove like Mario Andretti (am I dating myself) to confiscate computers that received the message and the absolutely wonderful one with the beaver who remembered the driver who saved his life and returned the favor six months later. The little beaver claws doing a heart pound cracked me up. Did anyone have different favorites?
7 comments:
I'm not an avid Superbowl watcher (I was shredding documents for a good part of the time and couldn't hear) but one I liked was a Dorito's commercial where the guy was asking his coworker for some Doritos, but the coworker had finished the bag. The guy then sucked the orange goo off of the coworker's finger. It was a memorable and sort of gross ad, but what I liked most about it was that it was produced for $80 as part of a contest set up by Doritos for people to do their own commercials. More information on it is at http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/ There's a lot of creativity out there.
I also liked the Beaver commercial. My favorite, however, was the VW ad featuring little Darth Vader.
I really enjoyed Snoop's Pepsi Max commercial, mostly because of the attitude of the Pepsi & Coke delivery guys. (Trivia: The Diet Pepsi guy is played by Richard Speight, whose credits include Supernatural, Jericho and Band of Brothers.
I thought the Doritos ad was disgustingly gross, the result of an idea that was never fully formed by a properly-trained creative team.
I didn't really pay attention to the Superbowl commercials, but I love the new Sprint commercial. The mother texts her husband while both are at the supper table that her parents (also at the table) are moving in and then emails the daughter (also at the table) that they will move into her room! And, the mom is so excited about the fact that she has unlimited texting and emailing minutes. LOL. It's the epitome of our world today. Sorta sad, but also a new source of fun for sure.
Variety is the spice of life.
You helped spark a question for me. How should we employees relate the two things you mentioned: "focus on the things that are within my control" and "organization that is focused on stability"? It seems to me that an organization focused on stability is going to work hard at limiting what control employees do have over specific areas or initiatives. Whereas an organization focused on growth will encourage employees grabbing for control of various elements.
This is one thing I haven't quite come to understand about our place...is it more important for us eliminate risk, or forge for somewhat chaotic growth? I tend to think, in general, we focus energy on eliminating risk.
Thanks as this topic helped me to clarify nuance I haven't delved into previously.
Thanks!
Interesting mix of fave commercials and interesting take on "stability." I actually don't find a focus on stability as a death knell for growth. In fact, I think that without stability it is difficult to have growth as you will always be playing catch up. One of the things I love about this space is the ability to learn from each other. Today I have again learned and been reminded on the importance of words. Thanks.
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