The Incredible Lightness of the Hammer

"Garage" Remodel Reminds Me of the Mind's Heaviness

About four weeks ago, we moved -- from in-town -- to a house in the country, the hills.  With views of vineyards and orchards and the Myacama mountains in the distance, it's a splendid retreat, of sorts.  Not enough bedrooms, though, when our friends from Illinois come to live with us in August. 

The lime-colored garage three hundred feet down the driveway provides a place for two of the teenagers to reside...if we can extricate all of the termites and replace the damaged -- holy, disintegrating --  with solid material.  With four hundred square feet, that should be enough for two of the animals, ahem, young men in our family. 

The first major remodel I've had in over a year, this project reinforces my desire to have some physical work, to accompany the brain work, in my life.  Yes, there is the planning and budgeting process, but there's nothing like taking a Sawsall (reciprocating saw) to a 2x4 and making it free of encumbering, rusty nails.  Sawdust flying, sparks illuminating, I get the feeling of real power.  Best of all, I don't have to talk or come up with anything pithy or important. 

This last idea is the crux of this post: how light it is to work without having to talk.  Just to be concerned with my safety and not doing damage to the structure: this kind of activity provides a place of healing.

In my work with groups, I usually try to provide something physical for them to do...besides the thought work: go find the cedar on the property and come back and tell us where it is; in hotels, I ask them to watch the kitchen staff do their thing (fascinating), or; find the person in the group whose shoes are the closest match to yours (for dyad exercises). 

I'm convinced that in order to do the "head" work, we must find "hand" work, to acccompany that.  In the early 90's -- last millenium, you know -- my studies of effective leadership led me to an insight about "renewal" activities: they usually involved working with the hands and did not require talking (sorry, golf doesn't fit the bill).  Gardening, walking, swimming, demolition even. 

Compared to all the thinking I have to do as part of my "main" job, I find a hammer -- or even a sledge hammer -- light by comparison. This idea, says my friend David, is profound.  Go hammer something, he advises.

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The Furlough Conversation: You Can't Do Worse

Doesn't Take a Psychoanalyst to Figure This One Out

A client of mine, at one of the Cal State Universities, recently received notice of being furloughed (one day every other week; 10% salary reduction).  Her response, besides dread, involved deeply layered feelings of being unimportant: there was no empathy in the message, no humanity. 

She was already financially stretched and this challenge presented one more opportunity for her to figure out how to cut her own living costs -- which haven't gone down in California -- or increase personal revenue.  This was not a scene from the 1958 Blake Edwards comedy pairing Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in a comedy. 

This part-time layoff situation is part of the "economic crisis" that has shaped California life and politics over the last two years.  (I'm guessing, if we look beyond the numbers, we'll see that about one in five workers is unemployed, underemployed or has just given up.)  The reality is unmistakable but the methods are anything but refined.

For any of you who might have to be in this situation where such a communication might be required, let me offer some tips on language that just might be more empathic:

• I'm sorry we have to do this, but...we don't really have any other options left...
  
• I know this may place undue hardship on you, your loved ones and families; we're all in this together...
• We will get through this...
• I can't promise what will happen...
• I want to encourage all of us to support one another, not only financially but emotionally, during these highly turbulent times...
• I respect and appreciate the contributions and sacrifices that all of you have made and hope we can count on your continued support....

Just some ideas.  You could do better; you could do worse.

A Leader Among Finches

Human Behavior Is Part of Nature, Too

We've recently moved two miles west -- from an in-town setting to a wilder, out-in-the-country geodesic dome with acreage, views, fragrances of drying grasses heated by the northern California summer sun. 

Being quite attached to birdwatching, I'm having to cultivate an avian following at the new place; none of these wild birds, I think, has ever been fed.  Unlike a Lawrence of Arabia, I don't have to ride up on a horse: I plant 3/4" galvanized pipe in the ground with arms to hold suet, wild bird seed in a tube feeder and a platform feeder.  Close to where most of the birds perch on a, seemingly, wild fruit tree.  (Dead limbs serve as a leafless perch from which we can all view each other.)

Among the species who are visiting includes house and purple finches (purple in the right photo).  These species are, from my experience, one of the few social feeders among the passerines (perching birds which makes up about one half of all bird species).  They will feed on a sock of thistle (aka nyjer) seed as many as ten at a time.  Chickadees, tufted titmouses are solitary feeders and, respectfully, wait for a relative to finish before swooping in to the feed.

What does purple finch behavior have to do with management science?  Yes, I'm getting to that: Finches, I believe, have leaders, a member among the group whose job, I surmise, is to take risks, try new things. Assume responsibility for the greater good of the group.  This is, of course, anthropomorphic of me but...that's what we humans do: draw and project conclusions from observing animal behavior. 

I recently watched one of these frontrunners, from the safety of my new home, examine a new feeder I had just installed; all of the others were waiting --  supporting perhaps? -- in the dead branches of the cherry plum tree.  This adventurer, who could have been killed, checked out the new food source.  I'm assuming she reported back; yes, it was a female. 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in a Study led by Dana M. Hawley, now at Viriginia Tech, took a close look at house finches and their social behavior; often, they find, the members with the higher social status have a greater degree of immunocompetence.  (See Article on Finches)  These "leaders," as I'm calling them, are not elected, don't have golden parachutes or severance packages but they might just be healthier than their brethren.

This explorer, I believe, was not an unusual member of these circles: I think she had the implicit support of her fellow group members in her "outreach" efforts.  So, that leaves me wondering: What would organizations look like if leaders were charged with taking risks and looking out for the best interests of the group, knowing, all the while, that they were supported by their constituents?  No, they wouldn't necessarily look like finches; it was a rhetorical question.  You silly humans!