Down 3 Pounds After 2 Weeks: Ahead of Pace, But Disappointing Nonetheless

August 16, 2010 Leave a comment

The scale this morning read 194.4, which is three pounds less than I weighed two weeks ago.  Given my target pace of 1 pound per week, I’m actually ahead.  However, I’m not satisfied with my performance and need to do better.

I Should Have Eaten This - the KFC Grilled Chicken

I’ll chalk up last week as another ramp-up week.  I think I’ve got the exercise where it should be.  I exercised six out of seven days, including an extra long run yesterday afternoon.  Traditionally, when training for a marathon, you have one “long run” a week.  I want to try to keep this up for Sundays going forward.  With my weigh-in on Monday mornings, it will make a big difference.

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have made my weigh-in on Monday mornings.  It’s tough to be good over the weekend.  When I lost 20 pounds at the beginning of 2009, my weigh-in day was Thursdays.  Since it’s easier to diet at work, Thursday weigh-ins were an advantage.  However, I’m not going to switch. I’ll take on the challenge.

The week was disappointing, because I made a few poor choices that could have pushed the weight loss lower:

  • I had a taco salad for lunch on Friday, because the salad bar at our company’s cafeteria didn’t look good.  Instead of the taco salad, I could have gotten a chicken breast from the grill or a turkey sandwich without cheese.  I also might have jumped in the car and drove 1 mile to the McDonald’s to get a salad.
  • I had a cheeseburger and nacho cheese Doritos for lunch at home Saturday afternoon.  Obviously, I might have avoided the cheese and the Doritos entirely.  However, up to that point in the day, I had eaten only a bowl of cereal.  I could afford the calories.  In retrospect, I should have poured some Doritos into a bowl and limited myself to that.  Instead, I ate right out of the bag.

    and Not This - KFC Original Recipe Chicken

  • Out for dinner on Saturday night with Mrs. Spidey, I ordered poorly.  I ordered a salad with a lot of cheese and some cheese tortellini.  I certainly could have ordered a salad with no cheese and dressing on the side and a healthier dish such as salmon.
  • At my in-laws Sunday afternoon to celebrate my father-in-laws birthday, I could have eaten grilled chicken instead of fried and should have begged off the cake.

The chicken decision on Sunday was particularly poor.  According to KFC’s own  nutritional information, A KFC original recipe chicken breast has 320 calories and 15 grams of fat.  A KFC grilled chicken breast has 210 calories and 8 grams of fat.  I am much happier eating fried chicken, but I could have made it through grilled chicken and filled up.  That’s just a no-brainer. I knew it, and I still made the wrong decision.

This week is a great example of how individual decisions can go a long way towards diet success.  I wrote about this earlier.

Onward and upward to week three.  Fingers crossed for good decisions.

Filed under Health, Diet and Exercise Tagged with ,

$h*! The PGA Says

August 15, 2010 1 Comment

The disqualification of Dustin Johnson in the 2010 PGA Championship this evening is just ridiculous.  Just absurd and a darn shame.

I am sometimes golfer, and I understand the rules.  I understand how the rules were applied in this instance.  A player cannot (allow the club to touch the) ground in a sand trap.  If the player touches his club to the ground in a sand trap in any context, it is a two-shot penalty.

Does This Look Like a Sand Trap?

Spectators Standing Around the "Sand Trap"

Hmm. Aren't Bunkers Usually Raked?

My problem is the way this rule was applied this afternoon.  It was applied as black-and-white, with zero interpretation.  Mark Wilson, the gentleman from the PGA whom Peter Kostis of CBS interviewed, said, and I paraphrase, “We told all the players that there were a lot of bunkers out there that would be trampled and probably wouldn’t look like bunkers, but they are bunkers.  Dustin read the rules, and he should have known.”

Dustin Johnson really had no choice but to comply with the rules.  He said in an interview with David Feherty that he never once thought it was a bunker (and Feherty agreed).  And I don’t believe anyone watching did either.

There was no flexibility and no consideration of the reality of the situation.  That’s where I think the PGA is full of you-know-what.

Giving Johnson the two-shot penalty is similar to:

  • Giving someone a parking ticket when the “No Parking” sign is missing from the spot they parked.
  • Failing a student on a test for using a pen instead of a pencil, or vice versa, when it’s not a scantron, and the answers were legible.
  • Not allowing a high school player to play in a Friday night game when they did not meet the Friday school attendance requirement due to a family emergency.
  • Not giving someone a reduced sales price because they arrive an hour after the sale ended due to obvious weather conditions that limited driving.
  • Punishing a 14-year-old for driving, when it was the only option to get an injured person to the hospital.

The PGA should be embarrassed for its lack of flexibility.  “We warned you” is their answer.  I guess the county has warned me to watched out for No Parking zones, but it’s fair of me to expect those zones to be well marked.

Congrats to Martin Kaymer for his victory.  In the end, however, this tournament will be known for Johnson’s penalty and, I hope,  for a liberalization and newly applied flexibility of golf’s rules to square them up with reality.

Filed under The Sporting World Tagged with , ,

Things About Work I Wish I Knew Earlier – Recap of Parts 1-6

August 13, 2010 1 Comment

I began this series of posts six Fridays ago, and each post that I have written has been part of a common theme:  Don’t put yourself on the radar at work.  Let others put you on the radar.

The essence of this idea is that your focus at work should be to get noticed for reasons that pertain to your career, not for any other reasons.  It is better to create no impression than to create a negative one.  This means that some things we have been taught to do or some behaviors that we may have picked up should be eliminated or never started.  I will have a few more thoughts along these lines later in the series, but this seems like a good place to pause.  To recap, parts #1 through #6 are:

#1 Don’t Complain or Make Waves
No doubt at your company or firm, it is common practice to complain about things that could be improved.  From my experience, that is relatively normal.  However, I wish I knew earlier to stay out of these conversations entirely.  You don’t want to be known as a complainer. Swallow your thoughts.  Tell your significant others or friends.  Just don’t talk about it in the office.  I’m not suggesting you be Pollyanna and talk about how wonderful things are.   I’m recommending that you keep all complaints to yourself.

#2 Don’t Talk Negatively About Anyone Behind Their Back
This is also extremely common.  Everyone talks about everyone else.  I recommend you avoid these conversations.  Don’t get sucked in to a session bashing your boss or anyone else.  You do not want to be known as someone who always talks about others when they aren’t around.  In fact, studies show that when you criticize someone, the quality about which you are being critical is reflected back on you.  If you say someone is a jerk, others think you are a jerk.  If you stay out of these conversations, this can’t happen.

#3 Don’t Ask Questions in Large Meetings
I think this piece of advice is easy to follow.  As I wrote in the post, the risks of asking questions far outweigh the benefits.  Let others take those risks.  Keep your arms folded at your seat.

#4 Don’t Offer Suggestions Unless You Are Asked
If you look at offering your help or suggestions proactively, there are only two reasons why:  the other person is doing something wrong or isn’t doing something all.  When you offer help or ideas, you are criticizing what they are doing, by definition.   People don’t like that.  I suggest you stay away and only help if asked.

#5 Volunteer, But Choose Wisely
Most volunteer opportunities are worthless and should be avoided.  When the boss asks for volunteers, it’s because she doesn’t care who does the specific activity.  Thus, the benefit of doing it is limited or zero.  In fact, there are risks if you do “it” wrong.

#6 Keep Your Mind on Your Own Job and Only Your Own Job
When you concern yourself with functions or actions outside your direct job and ask questions, you will be viewed suspiciously and considered to be butting in where you don’t belong.  It doesn’t matter what others are working on.  It only matters what you are working on.

In each of these six items, I’m recommending that you don’t do things to call attention to yourself, for I believe the risks outweigh the rewards.  It is better to have someone else call attention to you than to call attention to yourself.   It is much better when someone else puts you on the company radar than to put yourself on the company radar.

A few readers have understood my points but commented, “If I don’t put myself on the company radar, I won’t get on the company radar.”  What I think most of them are really saying is “If I don’t put myself on the company radar, I won’t get on the company radar as fast I want to be.”

We justify violating the above six recommendations because we add a time factor to the risk-reward equation.  For example, our thoughts might go something like this regarding point #3 above:

  1. I understand the risk of asking this question.
  2. However, no one knows me enough to even see what the quality of my work.
  3. While I know I’ll get on the radar eventually, if I ask a question, people will know who I am now.
  4. Because they know who I am, they’ll notice the quality of my work and other positive attributes.
  5. I’ll then move up faster.

As a result, the risk-reward equation flips.  Where as before, the risks today > rewards tomorrow, now the rewards today > risks today.  And, we stand up to ask a question and make, what I believe is a big career mistake.

In the next several posts, I’ll build on this and explain what I wish I knew earlier about the time frame for advancement and/or expansion of responsibilities.  Understanding this make it easier to follow parts #1 through #6.

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In Praise of Seat Guru

August 12, 2010 Leave a comment

Seat Guru is one of the most indispensable travel sites that I have seen, yet the premise is so simple.

Seat Guru has information about the seat configuration of all the planes for most airlines.  Whenever I make a travel reservation and am ready to get my seat assignment, I have Seat Guru open to the plane that I’m taking and look for the seats I want.

Seat Guru is owned by Trip Advisor, a site which certainly will get its own Thursday post at some point in the future.

You may think you don’t need Seat Guru because an aisle is an aisle, and a window is a window.  You may think you don’t need Seat Guru because the web site of your travel agency or airline already has a seat map.  You may think you don’t need Seat Guru because you are flying Southwest and can’t reserve a seat.

Seat Guru's Seat Map for the American Airlines 777

Wrong on all counts.  Seat Guru gives you information that really helps you make an informed seat decision, even if you are flying Southwest or any other airline that doesn’t provide pre-assigned seats.

The seats are colored yellow or red if there are potential problems from limited recline, to limited space under the seat, to a misaligned window and noise from the bathroom.  They are colored green if they are particularly nice for privacy or view or extra leg room.  Just by holding your mouse of the seat, you can learn what the plus or the minus is.

The seat maps also show where the galleys, bathrooms, and emergency exits are and where each cabin begins and ends.

The seat maps show the row number and letter number of each seat.  Airplanes routinely skip row numbers and skip letters in the seats from left to right.  I pulled up the seat map for an American Airlines 777 and added it to this post as a great example.  You will see that first class is rows 1-4, business class is rows 8-13, and coach is rows 20-44.  First class seats from left to right are A, D, G, J, and business class seats across are A, B, D, E, G, H, J.  You need the maps to know that in coach the aisles are C, D, G, and H, and to avoid E at all cost, as it is the middle of 5 seats.  You also need the maps to know that row 43 is the last row, has limited leg room and should be avoided.

Seat Guru also provides you other information about every airplane. Does it have a video or audio system?  Does it have electrical outlets at each seat, and do you need adapters to use the power?  How much does each seat recline?  How wide is each seat and what is the distance between rows (“the pitch”)?  If you are choosing between airlines and are looking for comfort, Seat Guru has a comparison table for each class of service, so you can see which seats are best.

As you peruse Seat Guru, you will learn that an aisle is definitely not an aisle.  Some aisles, such as the coach aisles on the American 777, have one person that would have to climb over you to get out.  Others on other planes have two.  When I’ve flown business class to Asia on a Continental 777, I make sure I get an aisle in the center of the plane, so no one has to climb over me when I’m sleeping.

You will learn that a window is not a window.  Some windows, in fact, have no window and are colored red on Seat Guru’s seat maps.

You will see that the seat maps on airline or travel agency web sites are not nearly as helpful, for they provide no extra commentary about the seats.

And, even you are flying Southwest, I recommend looking at the seat maps to know which seats are best and possibly make plans to go after specific rows.  For example, the maps show that seats in rows 1-3 are thinner have have less storage.  Row 10 doesn’t recline.  Seats 11D and 11E also don’t recline, but are two seats together in a row, and may seem nicer.    The exit row with extra space is row 11, but only on the right hand side as you walk back.  This is all information good to know before you board.

Bottom line is that this a great site.  Next time you travel, go to Seat Guru, enter your airline and flight number and make a good seat decision.

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Hey! Steven Slater! Your 15 Minutes Are Up. Go Away!

August 11, 2010 Leave a comment

By now most of you probably have read about Steven Slater, the Jet Blue flight attendant who this past Monday, upon deciding he was fed up with his job, opened the door to the airplane he was on, pulled the emergency chute, slid down and drove away.  Oh – and he was arrested hours later at his home.  Oh – and he stopped on his way out of the plane to grab a beer.

Now, two days later, if you Google “Steven Slater,” you find an article on People.com and on TMZ.com.  The article at People.com is “in his own words” and says Slater has developed a “cult following.”  I guess this guy has made the big time, because TMZ has multiple articles and has a “separated at birth” comparison to the actor who played Gunther on Friends.  There is even a “Ballad of Steven Slater.” In one Twitter post I saw “Steven Slater” used as a verb, as in “I have to go all Steven Slater now.”  You’ve made it when your name becomes a verb, haven’t you?

Go Away! Please, Just Go Away!

Bobby – love the podcast since the very first one, love the blog, big supporter of flight attendants, but this post is just wrong.  Mr. Slater is really your hero?  We need to talk, and this is not a short conversation.

I have not celebrated this guy at all, and I wish he would just go away.  Each time I hear his name, a small amount of vomit appears in my mouth.

Here’s the thing.  Steven Slater is getting publicity for quitting his job, leaving his colleagues to pick up the pieces and, oh, – BREAKING THE LAW.  He is charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing.  And we are praising this guy and looking up to this guy?

There are probably very few people on the planet that can claim they’ve like their job every single day and have never considered just quitting on the spot and telling their boss off.  My guess is that many people do follow through, and many people did on Monday, just like Slater.  But, most people don’t, and most people that do don’t BREAK THE LAW, leave people stranded, and gleefully flee the scene.  As I see it, there’s no difference between this and a police officer or fireman or member of the military deserting their posts.  Would we celebrate any of them?  I think not.

I will offer a little sympathy to Slater, for I travel a lot and have seen absurdly rude passengers.  But, I’m not about to excuse him for what he did.  He chose his job.  He could have quit at any time and not endangered passengers and not BROKEN THE LAW.

So – now is the time for Steven Slater to slink back into his New Jersey home and just go away.  I don’t care, and I hope the American public quickly realizes that they shouldn’t care either.  (A New York Daily News poll suggests they recognize him for what he is.)

If Steven Slater is lucky, really lucky, he may become the answer to a trivia question some day.  In my eyes, that may be all he’s worth.

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Welcome Home, Kids. See You Later.

August 10, 2010 Leave a comment

Last Friday, my two kids came back from four weeks at sleep-away camp.  We picked them up around lunch time, went out for a quick bite at Moe’s, and then headed home.  It was probably around 2:00pm when we got back to the house.

By 2:30pm, the house was back to its pre-camp rhythms.  Both kids were on Facebook.  My son was simultaneously configuring iTunes to sync up his iPhone for the first time in a month.  Text messages were flying back and forth between them and their friends, and plans were being made for that evening.  Indeed, despite just a few hours sleep the night before, my son went out with his friends to see The Other Guys that night.

In reality, as other parents know, the Facebook and the texting started long before they got home.  My son received his iPhone back as the bus left camp to return to St. Louis and had been on Facebook ever since.  My daughter got her phone back at the bus, courtesy of my wife.  There had been little conversation with the kids during the ride from Moe’s to home, as their heads were buried in their phones.

Common Scene at Our House. But That's O.K.

(The only thing that seemed odd to me is that they were texting and communicating on Facebook with the very kids they were with the previous four weeks.  There are some things I won’t understand as a parent.)

Our family had quickly settled right back to where we were on July 11, the night before the kids left for camp.  It’s as if all was right back in place.  That meant that we had to say goodbye to our kids once again.

We say goodbye as they go off with their friends.  We say goodbye as their friends come over to our house, and they huddle in the basement playing video games (boys) or in the bathroom trying out make-up (girls).  We say goodbye as they head off to marching band practice, to ice hockey practice and to cheerleading practice, all of which have started before classes.  Next week, we will say goodbye as they head to school, and we head to work.

As parents, we want to say goodbye.  We know that being online, participating in activities and socializing are what being 12 and being 15 is about.  We know that family activities will happen more rarely as time goes on.  We know we need to plan those activities and family dinners well in advance.

So, as we move towards the start of another school year our kids are back, and they are gone.  Life is as it should be.

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Observations After Losing 2.6 Pounds in Week One

August 9, 2010 2 Comments

I stuck to my guns this week and came through at 194.8 pounds this morning, down 2.6 pounds from a week ago.  Say what you want about losing water weight or about men losing weight faster than women.  I’ll take the loss.

I definitely viewed this week as a ramp up to future weeks.  As I got going on a diet that could last five months, I was reminded of a few things.

Logging what you eat does make a difference. I logged my food in Lose It only four days, choosing to skip the weekend and a vacation day.  I need to improve that.  I need to make the effort. When I did log, I was able to add a snack or two at the end of the day, knowing I had calories to spare.  Remember, Lose It calculates how much you need to lose based on your weight and weight loss goals.  In general, I leave about 50% of my calories for the evening.  Nutritionists will likely have a problem with that, but it works for me.

Repetition is important. Variety isn’t important to me.  Calories are.  As a result, I tend to eat the same things repeatedly from breakfast through lunch and an afternoon snack.  I’ve already calculated the calories in Lose It, which makes tracking easier.  I also really don’t mind eating the same thing, when I know calories are under control.

Taking exercise slow helps to create the habit. In my past, I have run four marathons, and a bunch of 1/2 marathons, 10K’s and 5K’s.  I know how to run.  As I start the diet, however, I want to make the exercise enjoyable.  Therefore, I’ve taken a step back, decreased speeds on the treadmill, and created a plan to increase speed over the course of the diet.  This has worked for me in the past.  This week, I exercised five of seven days, which isn’t terrible.  I want to get on a roll, where it’s seven of seven.  To do that, I’ll need to focus a bit more on Saturday and Sunday.  In reality, I’m more likely to get to six out of seven, giving myself one day off as a reward.

Losing one pound week is the only way to go. I generally made good decisions this week, but not always.  I have the luxury, if you will, of planning to lose only one pound a week.  That’s not that much, and it provides and opportunity for what some might call cheating.  Despite my knowledge of its unhealthy make-up, I ate popcorn at the movies.  I also had some Chinese food right after the popcorn.  The net for the week was good, but it could have been better.  I’m just not into so much self-denial.  One pound a week is plenty.

My theory of the diet hinging on a few decisions a day is correct. On a few occasions I made good choices that filled me up.  Today, in particular, I avoided the Caesar salad at lunch for a more healthy salad with oil & vinegar.  For dinner, despite being very hungry post-workout, I stuck to a six-inch sub at Subway, although I did treat myself to cheese with my turkey. Last night, I was able not to grab some Cool Ranch Doritos that were sitting on our kitchen counter, and I headed up to bed.  However, when Mrs. Spidey called me back to tell me something, I couldn’t resist.  Shame on me.

Your Choice: Eat This or Eat 11 Slices of Bacon - Same Fat Content.

One other thing I’ll mention.  On Saturday, I purchased one of those “Eat This, Not That” books.  I bought the Supermarket Survival Guide.  If you know how to read nutritional labels, you probably aren’t making some of the mistakes that the authors of the book point out.  The comparisons they make, however, show that many times there are better options.  In addition, when the compare foods that seem healthy to foods that you know aren’t, they really drive the point home.

I have eaten cereal 9 out of every 10 mornings since I was about 4.  Fortunately, I found that my cereal eating is generally good.  Honey Nut Cheerios is on the “Eat This” side.  On the “Not This” list are Life and Raisin Bran and, somewhat surprisingly, Multi-Bran Chex, which has as much sugar as a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  For that matter, a serving of Quaker Low Fat Granola with Raisins has more sugar than a pack of peanut M&M’s.  If you need sugar, eat Froot Loops or Apple Jacks before Cap’n Crunch or Lucky Charms.

I was also disappointed to learn that staples in our house like Reduced Fat Wheat Thins, Grey Poupon, David’s Sunflower Seeds, and Special K bars on the “Not This” side in their few groups.

I’ll leave you this week with some quick highlight comparisons from the book that will make you think twice:

  • 1 package of Twix has as much saturated fat as 11 strips of bacon!
  • 1/2 cups of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice cream has as much fat as a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger!
  • 1 cup of Quaker Natural Granola, Oats, Honey & Raisins has the calorie equivalent of 8 chicken wings!

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Rooting for Athletes With Off-the-Field Problems Without Being Hypocritical

August 8, 2010 Leave a comment

This weekend, we went to see The Other Guys, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.  I’m not spoiling anything to tell you that in the movie a policeman shoots Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter after mistaking Jeter for a hooligan.  In one scene, someone yells at the policeman, “You should’ve shot A-Rod.”  That line got a laugh.

I definitely laughed, but I also found myself feeling a bit sorry for Alex Rodriguez.  Here is a guy who just became the 7th person of over 16,000 major league baseball players to hit 600 career home runs.  However, he was reminded the next day that he was a fraud and a cheater, because he used illegal steroids from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Texas Rangers.  A-Rod admitted the steroid use in February 2009, but that was after he denied using to Katie Couric on 60 Minutes in December 2007.

The Local Reaction to A-Rod's 600th HR

I know the person in the film who yelled that is fictional.  I know it was intended to be a joke and was coincidentally shown the week A-Rod hit #600.  But I also wondered what that fictional person would have said last fall, when Rodriguez hit .356 in the post-season with 6 home runs and 18 RBI to help the Yankees with the World Series.  No doubt Yankee fans who despise Rodriguez’s drug use were excited by his October play, because their beloved Yankees won.

Rodriguez is not the only athlete with an imperfect past.  Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Michael Vick rejoined the league in 2009 after serving jail time for running a dog fighting ring.  Gilbert Arenas of the NBA’s Washington Wizards is about to return to the team after being suspended for most of last season due to a gun-pointing incident in the Wizards’ locker room.  Marion Jones is attempting a comeback in basketball with the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock after serving jail time for lying to investigators and having her track & field medals revoked at the 2000 Sydney Olympics revoked.

If you want to dislike or boo any of these players that’s your right.  I respect that. But I think there are some simple guidelines you need to follow to be fair to them.

I believe a fan is allowed to separate on-the-field activities from off-the-field activities.  You can dislike someone as a person, but cheer for them as an athlete.  You can say with a straight face that the punishment given to Arenas was too light and then cheer when he hits a winning three-pointer for the Wizards.  But, in my opinion, you can’t boo Arenas on the court because of his suspension and then cheer when he hits the winning three pointer.  You can boo a poor play or decision, but you can’t boo him for off-the-court issues and then cheer for his play.  Doesn’t work for me.  It’s hypocritical.

There are parallels here with a corporate work environment.  Imagine if you have an opportunity to hire a talented finance executive, but you learn in the interview process that he served time for auto theft.  If you decide not to hire him because of that, that is your right.  However, once you decide to hire him, his past is irrelevant to his current performance.  It’s over.  Seems fair, right?  You are making a decision to hire him for his finance skills and not for his past.

It’s also hypocritical to say a player should be banned or kicked out of the league and then cheer when they move to your team.  Why do you think no owners are speaking out about the meaning of A-Rod’s 600th home run, when writers and sportscasters are saying it doesn’t count?  Because they know that, if they say anything negative about A-Rod, that he’ll never play for them, and these owners would take A-Rod on their team in a heartbeat.

We should not accept the hypocrisy of fans who vilify a player and boo him on the field for his troubles and then suddenly cheer when that player benefits the team.  Follow the guidelines and be fair.  You can’t have it both ways.

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Things About Work I Wish I Knew Earlier – Part 6

August 6, 2010 1 Comment

In the last two parts, I wrote about not offering suggestions unless you are asked (#4) and about volunteering very sparingly (#5).  In both instances, I wrote that the risk of doing so outweighs the potential reward.  This week, I want to talk about a mindset that is important in reducing the likelihood that you take these risks.

#6 Keep your mind on your own job and only on your own job

I submit to you that high achievers want to be involved in as many things as possible.  They want to learn things, experience things, be asked for their input, be seen as a leader, etc.  There is nothing at all wrong with this.  The more you are with the same company, the more a breadth of functional experience and a breadth of company knowledge can help your career.

When a  high achiever is not involved in or responsible for something, he or she does a lot of watching and a lot of thinking about everything around them.  This is not something that can be turned off.  The thinking is usually starts with what you, the high achiever, would do differently to improve things.  Then, it’s followed quickly by questions or concerns when people aren’t doing what you would have done.  This leads finally to distrust, frustration, and, perhaps any of the actions that put you on the “company radar” for the wrong reasons.

What I didn’t learn early enough is that intellectually controlling the urge to act doesn’t eliminate the preoccupation and the concern and the distraction.  Take heed earlier than I did and stay focused only on your job.  Let’s things go by you without a worry.

It is important at an early stage in your career to realize that many, many things will occur at your company outside your immediate responsibility that seem wrong .  These might include times when:

  • Employees under perform, but keep their jobs
  • Mediocre employees get promoted
  • Special assignments are given to people less qualified than others
  • Decisions aren’t made as quickly as they could be, even when they seem obvious
  • Decisions that seem obvious are decided differently
  • Processes or procedures are used that are less efficient than they should be

The words I’ve chosen in this list imply that you know better and would have done something differently.  If you’ve read parts #1 through #5, you know not to stick your nose in anything outside your area.

The critical next step is to mentally ignore these things.  This post is written very carefully – “Keep your mind on your own job and only on your own job.”  You need to stay focused on your job to do the best you can possibly do.  Giving mind share to these other items can lead to severe distraction and distress and will, inevitably, lead to the action you need to avoid.  Eventually, I believe, if your mind focuses too long on these items, your mouth will open.

When I first realized not dwelling on these types of things is important, I tricked myself to get comfortable by saying two things to myself:  “I don’t care” and “I trust they must know what they are doing.”  When I started doing this, it was as if a big rock had been lifted from my shoulders.  It was wonderful.

(Of course, I care.  And, no, I don’t always trust people.  But I have to act like I don’t care and I do trust.  That’s what works for me.)

If you think about it, most things that occur around you aren’t that important and don’t impact you.  Most things in the above list have happened around you in the past and, despite them, the company hasn’t gone under.  They just don’t matter that much in the long term.  They are frustrating and aggravating, but they haven’t had an impact.  The impact, perhaps, is more on you with your increased blood pressure, distraction and aggravation.

This distraction is not helpful to your career.  It’s not worth it.  It makes no sense.  Keep your mind where it belongs – on your own job.

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Previous parts:

#1 Don’t Complain or Make Waves
#2 Don’t Talk Negatively About Anyone Behind Their Back
#3 Don’t Ask Questions in Large Meetings
#4 Don’t Offer Suggestions Unless You Are Asked
#5 Volunteer, But Choose Wisely

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In Praise of [name your sport]-Reference.com

August 5, 2010 Leave a comment

In the movie City Slickers, there is an early scene where one of the wives says, “I’ve been to games, but I don’t memorize who played third base for Pittsburgh in 1960 .”  At that point, the characters played by Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby answer in unison, “Don Hoak.”

This has always stuck with me as the epitome of us guys (and some girls) who can’t remember the date we proposed to our spouses, but can remember absurd sports facts.

Don Hoak - Who Knew?

I didn’t know who played third base for Pittsburgh in 1960.  That’s a bit before my time.  However, I do enjoy perusing a lot of meaningless sports statistics and information.  I’m intrigued by what teams players played for, when they were traded and for whom, what numbers they might have worn and other data.  Before all this stuff was on the Internet, Mrs. Spidey bought me a 10-pound book called “The Official Encylopedia of the National Hockey League,” which listed statistics of every player who ever donned an NHL uniform, including their stats in minor leagues and other countries before and after they played in the NHL.  It was fascinating.

Now you can get all this meaningless, yet fascinating drivel on-line, not just for the NHL, but for major league baseball, the NFL and the NBA.  What do I consider “meaningless, yet fascinating drivel?”  Data varies by league, but here are examples:

  • Uniform numbers worn by every player for every team on which they’ve played. Don Hoak wore #43 for the Brooklyn Dodgers when he first came up, but later wore #7 with the Cubs and then #12 for the Reds, Pirates and Phillies.
  • All signings and trades involving each player, including for whom they were traded and who was chosen by future draft picks.  Don Hoak was traded to the Pirates by the Reds in the same deal with Harvey Haddix, who is known for pitching 12 innings of perfect baseball in 1959 and then losing the game in the 13th inning.
  • Whether each player was an all-star, won an MVP or other award, or ranked in annual statistics. Thanks to Baseball-Reference.com, I now know that Don Hoak was 2nd in the MVP voting in 1960, behind teammate Dick Groat, but ahead of more famous players such as Willie Mays (#3), Ernie Banks (#4) and Roberto Clemente (#8).  In that same year, Hoak was 6th in the league in walks, 9th in on-base percentage, 7th in runs scored,  and 10th in RBI.

Enough about Don Hoak – I think you get the point.

With all the links back and forth, I could live on these sites for a long time.  These are among the few sites for which I might actually carry a laptop into the bathroom to substitute for a book or newspaper.

Here are a few other stupid jersey #  facts to whet your appetite for more:

  • Phil Esposito, who wore #7 for the Blackhawks and Bruins and, later #77 for the Rangers, briefly wore #12 for the Rangers for 76 games in 1976 after being traded. #7 was worn and later retired for Rod Gilbert.
  • Hank Aaron’s first jersey # for the Milwaukee Braves in 1954 was #5, before he switched to #44 for the rest of his career in 1955.  No one on the Braves wore #44 in 1954, and no one other than Aaron would after 1955.
  • Mickey Mantle first wore #6 for the Yankees, before switching to #7 midway through the 1951 season.
  • Michael Jordan wore #45 for the Bulls, upon his return from a year of minor-league baseball.  Bizarrely, he couldn’t wear #23, because it had been retired – for him!
  • Franco Harris, the Hall-of-Fame running back for the Steelers in the 1970’s and 1980’s, finished up with the Seahawks in 1984 where he wore #34, not his traditional #32.  #32 was worn that year by Cullen Bryant.  Go figure.

So – before you click on the links below, please tell your spouse or roommate that you’ll be out-of-touch for a while learning about Reggie Jackson’s time with the Orioles in 1976 and Frank Robinson’s short stint with the Dodgers in 1972, learning which World Hockey Association team Wayne Gretzky played for before Edmonton, and finding out that Bill Russell was actually drafted by the St. Louis Hawks and traded on draft day to the Celtics for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley.

Enjoy.  Here are the sites:

Hockey-Reference.com

Baseball-Reference.com

Basketball-Reference.com

Pro-Football-Reference.com

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