Ever since I read the book Good to Great this quote by former Pitney Bowes Executive Fred Purdue has resonated with me…
“My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things, even if what you see can scare the h_ll out of you.”
My definition of a squiggly thing is this: Anything that is breaking down people, relationships, organizations, processes, systems and/or results.
[Tweet ” Have you ever tried to ignore, hide from, or argue with a squiggly thing?”]
I spend several hours each week helping my young neighbors improve their English. Last week one of the girls brought a library book that she had chosen for a book report.
She chose the book because it was short – not because of the content. It was a book about an all black baseball team in the 1940’s in America. (A land and a time she can’t relate to.) …So as she read the book I had a lot of explaining to do.
And that opened the door to talk about how racism and perceptions impact individuals and our world.
My husband and I just returned from his biggest bucket list vacation, EGYPT! ..And the last remaining wonder of the ancient world!
In spite of wonders like the Pyramids, the Temples, and the Nile ~ Egypt has experienced significant declines in tourism because of the continued reports about the conflicts in their country…
Although we experienced no threats, it was hard to miss that safety was not something to take for granted!
Later that day we began to see things from another perspective…
This week has been filled with the wrapping up of several projects, the planning of future projects, and the packing of suitcases for a much-needed break.
And in that space, I’ve been pondering the past few months.
This fall was a season of EXTREME TESTING. (Only the teacher forgot to warn me that the tests were coming so I didn’t get to study. And truthfully, I didn’t realize how much testing was occuring – until things slowed down and I paused to reflect.)
It’s worth noting that although the tests were different, one theme was repeated over and over again: When I’m under-fire ~Do I really practice what I say I believe in and write about? (A sampling of some of the tests are listed below on the left, previous articles are on the right.)
One of my expat friends recently moved back to the U.S. to an area she has never lived in before.
When we spoke recently she shared how hard it is to develop friendships with people in the area.
When she is out walking and greets her neighbors, they look at her like she is from another planet.
When she meets people at her children’s schools and they learn that she was recently living overseas the conversation ends quickly.
