December 2018 | SageTalk

Play To Learn

Who has played sports in school; or encouraged our children to play; or can identify with a hero who plays a sport? That’s what I thought: Everyone.

Now, the more important question: Why are people and resources allocated to teach individuals to Play — and not the same effort devoted to teaching us how to be successful at Work?

The average term of engagement for a sports crusade is, generally, a few years through high school and, maybe, college. The rush of adrenaline and associated glory fades into memory. Then, what?

Our country has a drug (illegal and prescription) and alcohol problem. Is there a connection between the cause (learning to play) and the effect (disenfranchised at work)? Let’s think it through.

Full Measure

I’m amused when I hear the expression “Gift Exchange.” Similar to hearing jumbo-shrimp, open-secret, or sweet-sorrow, the phrase is an oxymoron.

The word oxymoron is itself an oxymoron; in Greek, oxy- means “sharp” or “wise,” while moros means “foolish.”

The only true gift is one offered without an expectation of anything in return — not even a “Thank You.”

In our western culture, today, that’s a novelty.

Reverse ABC’s

Whatever the mind can Conceive and Believe, it can Achieve.

Most of us are familiar with one of the great speeches of all time, “I have a dream…” by Martin Luther King. As I listened to the speech, I was reminded of another period of time in our great country, the United States of America.

For eight years, January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017, we listened to the oratory of another fellow promise great things. Heck, he even had the masses mesmerized by his magnificent dreams.

Chutes and Ladders

Once upon a time, the game was Chutes and Ladders. Now, as older kids, we cope with Funnels and Pipelines. When we were children, the original game was fun. The twisted version not so much.

In today’s marketplace, we are often the unwitting object of Sales Funnels and Leads Pipelines. To many companies, we’re nothing more than a target to tip into the Sales Funnel, to move through their Lead Pipeline, and to have our hard-earned money siphoned into coffers of the unscrupulous.

I speak passionately about the topic, because yes, I, too, have been tricked when I clicked — on the enticements lurking within the hucksters Landing Pages. So, what’s the answer to these modern-day snake-oil salesmen?

Benevolent Leader

In serving the public for 35+ years as a CPA, I’ve worked with many leaders. Some were wanna-bees; some were dictators; some were regular bosses; very few were benevolent.

The launch of WordPress 5.0 has opened my eyes to understand more about Matt Mullenweg — creator of WordPress and founder of Automattic.

WordPress, “We don’t make software for free, we make it for freedom.”

Automattic, “We are passionate about making the web a better place.”

Pure Genius

The definition of genius by Albert Einstein is more apt today than then.

Genius is making complex ideas simple.

Technology is adding complexity to our existence exponentially at warp speed. However, recent encounters with the architects of some of that brilliance have reminded me of another Einstein gem.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

And, that my friends, brings us to the opportunity du jour. When technicians want to hide behind their dysfunctional “code” and make excuses, the time has come to examine that stinkin’ thinkin’.