Cedrus altlantica Glauca - The Importance of Thinking Laterally

Some of you may remember I am re-modelling my garden. I use the "I" in the sense of my wife doing the real design but I have become involved at some strategic moments. Part of the work has meant we have had to remove a number of old and diseased trees. We were keen to replace them and have recently planted 6 new trees. We have tried to find mature specimens, balancing size with cost and practicality. The average small tree weighs more than 5 tonnes so getting them in the ground was something to see!

My pride and joy is the cedar below.

Under Belgian planning regulations, we are not allowed to plant trees closer than 2 metres to a boundary, so siting this beauty was a challenge. Half a day of work and there it was - in the wrong place! We had planned to be able to see it from our veranda. Sadly when my wife sat down to enjoy the view, she couldn't see the tree. It was obscured by the wall of the house. Tearful times!

We considered moving it sideways but that proved to be impractical, given it was secured above and below ground. We even thought of planting a new tree in a place nearer the house - also not realistic. That's where the lateral thinking came to the rescue. My wife came up with the idea of moving around the sofas and coffee table in the veranda in a novel way to allow her to sit and to admire the view through the window, without having to move the tree. Happy Times!

This disaster, cleverly averted, reminds me of times when the right answer is not always the obvious answer. Times when you need to take a look at an issue from a different perspective and open yourself to different interpretations and solutions.

Human beings are creatures of habit and associations. Companies are organisms of learned cultures and short-cuts. I suppose it has to be like that to manage everyday personal and business life. No time to waste on the things that are usually the same.

But breakthroughs and innovations so often come from seeing what could be rather than what is.

Edward de Bono is of course most associated with lateral thinking and a reputable industry has grown up around its application. How many of us have had the benefit of wearing those Six Thinking Hats? And how many of us have found them a bad fit? Why is thinking so hard? De Bono and others place great emphasis on how important it is to practice thinking. It's a skill like any other. Practice improves performance.

I have been using a web resource recently that has helped me to stay on my mental game and learn a little in the bargain. The site is called Mind Tools . You might care to take a look. For the record I have no financial interest in this business. All muscles need exercise and some of us do not consider Sudoko to be an end in itself!

Gordon Bennett - RIP - The Joy of Language

After all those computer issues, I have finally been able to move into my bijou Paris pad! It all sounds rather sexy but at 20 square metres, it was never going to take too long to host a guided tour. I had a friend and his partner visit last weekend for a welcoming glass and we had to turn sideways to pass in the entrance hall.

I had become so bored with hotel nights and long journey days that I had taken the studio without seeing it. Property disappears so fast here. Caveat Emptor - emphasised by the lease that was rather clear about "what you see - or don't see - is what you get" and "don't come running to us, if you have regrets". For the moment, je ne regrette rien and with a British stiff lip, I will smile and carry on whatever.

Then of course , there's the "we have a partner who can help" with your insurance and the "caution" account, where the bank charges you a set-up fee then interest for blocking your own money, presumably because they cannot use it anymore to speculate on the currency markets! Sacres Francais was perhaps right after all.

The studio does enjoy a fantastic view - perhaps not to everyone's taste - over the cemetery at Passy. Directly over the cemetery, with all the mausoleums being just outside my window. I am clearly living in a very quiet (as the grave) part of the city; something my Paris friends would die for, if it wasn't for all that coughin' (coffin).

The owner of the studio took great pleasure in explaining who was resting where and, as she left, gave me a  Monuments de Paris booklet and, with a smile, a grave map. What a house warming gift!

Well it seems that, among many French Celebres and the odd American (the tragic Pearl White of the Perils of Pauline), Mr Gordon Bennett (1841-1918) has found his final resting place at Passy. No-one is sure if he is in fact the Gordon Bennett whose name is often used as an English expression of surprise in place of a 4-letter expletive. I would like to hope so.

So it would seem to be the case that his epitaph is an epithet expressed as an eponym for a synonym and used as a euphemism! What a linguistic legacy.

It's a slow day today so just off to find where they scattered Flaming Nora's ashes. Seems even Google has a problem searching them out.

Happy Valentine - Competent and Conscious

Today is one of those days when the gift industry does well and florists do even better. Yes it's Valentines. It seems this traditional day for lovers goes back rather a long way, beginning as a widespread celebration as long ago as the Middle Ages with even Chaucer helping to popularise the feast.

I am not in great shape today - something bad, eaten last evening, has laid me a little low. This blog is replacing medication and maintaining my consciousness.

A couple of days ago I had a discussion with my Chief Cabinet Maker or Head Carpenter (HC) in Paris. We were talking about MBTI - indeed my MBTI. There are those who enthusiastically support Myers&Briggs and the statistics (at least the numbers) are pretty impressive with many millions of evaluations having been undertaken since it was first published in the early 1960's.

It is a very long time since I did an MBTI - remembered my original letters OK but had long since forgotten the nuances. They all came back. And with the distance of years, those letters have indeed proven to be pretty accurate! This should in fact be the case as most fundamental traits and notions of self are seemingly developed relatively early in life (chapeau to Carl Jung's work).

The test is all about types and about likely preferences. Mine are quite pronounced and the objective of my discussion with HC was to see how these preferences would likely impact me and those around me. But it was importantly also about developing appropriate mitigation/learning strategies.

In doing this, I was reintroduced to The Conscious Competence Matrix , although most often drawn as a ladder. I do prefer the matrix representation, as it does allow a better discussion about moving around the matrix and not getting trapped with the notion of it all learning being about a straight-up climb. We have all fallen off quite a few ladders, learning new skills. My second small recommendation is to take a look at this technique and to see if it can be of use for you. It has helped me already.

My son is on the verge of (fingers crossed) his first post-college career opportunity. He likes life-algorithms a lot. We did quite a lot of practice before his interviews, working on likely questions but also on likely interviewer reactions.

To be able to explain the universe, and the people in it, in just 4 letters would be great.

Forget identity cards. Make everyone carry their Myers/Briggs with them. Not ideal perhaps, but it might just stop a war someday. Or very importantly, get you that perfect Valentine's date!

If during your transitions or next-step career planning you get the chance to have a coached MBTI, grab the opportunity. Even seek one out.

Staying with abbreviations: Describe a hungry horse in 4 letters - MTGG. Do you have a funnier one? Does it work in French or other languages?

Silence is Golden - Isn't it?

Had a fun day out yesterday with the wardrobe mistresses in Paris, beginning the first leg of my formal "re-adjustment training". Lots more to come in the weeks ahead but I did want to share a few thoughts.

I once worked with a great colleague who had been given a poster by this wife. It was seemingly all about self perception versus how others might perhaps perceive you. I have managed to find that poster and reproduce it below to introduce this post. I guess you can already get the message?

There is not a great point in going through the (rather funny) details from yesterday but basically, you are required to sit silently in front of a small group of people you have never met for several minutes and the group is asked individually to create a word picture of you - age, training, industry, role, personal qualities and even hobbies. To cap it all, you are even challenged to assign to everyone a plant and a vegetable. For the record, I was an oak and a rabbit!  Results are tabulated and then you get to respond.

The idea builds on non-verbal messages and communication. I did a short blog about that some weeks ago, around picking up the signs in your audience - although from the other side of the coin.

There is real learning here. It's about avoiding getting trapped in one's body and making sure that stereotypes are dispelled early. If I aspire to be a male model, then I suppose I need to look like one. But if I aspire to be a tax inspector, then what do I need to look like? Ditto any other role.

Can we lose an opportunity because we don't realise that our audience has a pre-conceived view of what "good for them" looks like? On reflection, I think this is a real danger.

So what do you do about it? I got to thinking - and have brainstormed my own short list of "interview perception" Do's and Don'ts. They are not all too serious but some might prove useful. I have not specified which are good and bad ideas. After all, self-determination for all was a hard-won right and any one of them might work for you!

1. Send someone else in your place - there is a great scene in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon sends a friend to a job interview in his place. Sadly, I think it is unlikely to work in real life, but you never know...
2. Wear clothes that are sympathetic with the role you want - there is a raft of literature on what not to wear and what you should wear. I did the research. "Red for Sales and Blue for Trust" about sums up all you need to know. Oh and seemingly red ties for men will draw the eye and make the interviewer look up to your lips and so listen more closely to what you are saying. 
3. Just get the answer from Forbes - I am finding a lot of useful stuff here. It's not necessarily always deeply insightful, but as an aide-memoire, it is very good. Reinforcement is always needed. Thank you Agnes for your "folded arms breeds hostility" insight yesterday. Forbes agrees!
4. Get the introduction right - mise-en-scene - you might not look like that male model "all over" but you just might have been blessed with the best-looking "left hand third finger" nature ever created. And you would be just perfect for that diamond ring campaign. Not immediately evident but your job is to get that finger out as soon as you can! The same applies to getting folks into your story and value quickly. Getting them beyond the immediately physical and sharing your vision. No secret weapon - practice that intro and make it sing.
5. The art of camouflage and misdirection is always worth a try. It's not just good to hide battleships or to give the impression that you have a bigger army than your enemy thinks. If you do have a disconcertingly pointy head, try wearing a Harry Potter wizard's hat!

Just as a very last point, the real caption that goes with the kitten/lion graphic is that the most important thing of all is how you see yourself and not how others see you. Just depends on how you perceive things I suppose.

My Back Itches. Does Yours?

If you decide to blog, there are loads of do's and don'ts. So many people have an opinion as to how to create an interesting, informative or even (from time to time) educational blog.

I am posting this link to a random adviser (DISCLAIMER) and just look how (s)he ignores one of their primary rules of successful blogging (for the record, it's the one about in-your-face advertising)! Lesson seems to be; a few golden rules but that gold is pretty tarnished. If there is one thing that does shine through: be true and tell it as you see it. No place for that pipotron.

I had the chance this week to spend some time with a Grade-A headhunter. No need for names or location but I thought it might be useful to share a few pointers and aides-memoire for future encounters. I mean primarily my own future encounters but I trust some others may find it useful too.

1. Moving from the buy-side to the sell-side is not a natural transition. Many of my previous encounters with HH have been for one of 2 reasons - mostly when I was considering hiring them for a particular search and sometimes when I was approached about a search they were conducting. In all those encounters, I set the agenda and largely set the pace. These were my meetings and on my terms. Now I have to change that role. I am the one asking. The change is subtle but I now see it is important. One still needs to be confident, appropriately assertive - all that stuff. But one also needs to recognise the change of role and work on it, whilst still selling your value.
2. Be aware - they are probably selling too - for all they know, your transition will be to even bigger and better things and that means you are potentially part of their future food chain. What does that mean? It means be sensitive. Leave room for that selling to emerge and, when it does, be interested and leave all future doors open. In simple terms, don't hog the session. Leave a space for your HH to perform too.
3. Don't expect too much from these first sessions. You are not their only potential client. Hard to believe but you may not even be their best or even the only one with "those unique characteristics and experiences". The world is a big place but your alter-ego (as experienced brother or sister) is now perhaps closer than you think. And keep in mind too that most HH work to specific assignments. They are not likely to be your spontaneously enthusiastic advocate. They are more likely to be giving you the once-over with a position in mind. It's never this simple, of course, but HH are in the main stimulus driven. Be their stimulus.
4. It's tough out there so it won't be easy. You should probably know the state of your candidate companies / geography / industry / profession / demographic as well as the HH you are meeting. This means you need to be realistic about the specific insight you can expect. You may be lucky. But most times you will not be. Add to that the fact that Europe is still mostly in crisis and you have a prescription for a big spoon of realism. Just hope you aren't in the UK financial services sector!
5. Bring some original thinking to the session. And if I do have one piece of advice worth considering then this is probably it. Most HH will be looking to explore new ideas to create a new line of business. New domains (very tough) or more likely new clients/companies. So why not use them as your door opener into companies with whom they do not (yet) have a relationship but with whom you can convince them they could and that you are the key to the door? It will take time and effort but it is a cool move. We all win. 

We both have a back itch and now perhaps the means to get that itch scratched.