Work(s) in Progress

Be Extraordinary

I love my job. Tomorrow I get to meet Gregg Vanourek, one of the authors of Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives. I'm hoping that Gregg will be able to inspire our students in the Fall. What is Life Entrepreneurship? It is creating a life of significance through opportunity recognition, innovation and action. Leading an entrepreneurial life can change your experience from ordinary to extraordinary.

In this same theme, there is Chris Guillebeau's blog on the Art of Non-Conformity. I recently stumbled across his manifesto, A Brief Guide to World Domination - How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World (pdf). This brief (29 page) article starts with the premise that "You don't have to live your life the way other people expect you to." That's the core. If you don't have time for the full 29 pages, you can start with his post on The Decision to be Remarkable.

That's it really. Want to change the world? Just decide, then act. Everything else follows.

S&M in the office

One of my favorite things about Amazon is that books are recommended based on your browsing history or prior purchases. I read a lot of business books - generally themed toward entrepreneurship & innovation or management. Recently I've been reading more books targeted to women in management positions in male dominated organizations. And speaking of books, I really want a Kindle.

The two I've read most recently The Corporate Dominatrix: Six Roles to Play to Get your Way at Work and Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactices from a Woman at the Top have both had an S & M Theme.

Now granted, in Seducing the Boys Club, the S & M is defined as "Seduce and Manipulate" and is an autobiographical history of one woman's rise to the top of her company. This book is entertaining and filled with advice and suggestions. Some of it the advice is so over the top I found myself laughing, often. Here's an example:

"One of the great tools, or weapons, we have as women is flirting, and men always respond well to positive attention. If you know you are going to a contentious meeting with a man, you can defuse his anger before he even opens his mouth. Unless he is morbidly obese, there is no man on earth who won't puff up at this sentence:

"Wow, you look great. Been working out?"

Or if you "accidentally" touch a man's arm while you are talking about something serious, you can interrupt yourself with a quick show of admiration:

"Wow, your arm is like steel. Been working out?"

I know, I know, it's obvious and underhanded, but is always works."

Um, you've got to be kidding me.

My favorite parts of this book are where the author shares her missteps - what the situation was and how she handled it badly. Almost always, she will share how she turned it around - a process that might have taken weeks, months or years. These are truly illuminating case studies, almost all written in the humorous tone above.

The corporate dominatrix is written in a more traditional way, and is built around the more common definition of S & M. The goal is to not become either sadistic or masochistic but to use the lessons of S&M to become an effective corporate dominatrix.

What are the characteristics of a Corporate Dominatrix you might ask?

• Has clear boundaries; does not allow others to restrict or violate boundaries
• Conveys thoughts and opinions directly & clearly
• Expresses gratitude and appreciation graciously
• Uses direct eye contact, sturdy posture, assured gestures.

Who doesn't want to be her!

The author defines six common fantasy archetypes to discuss when each management style (and what type of power to use) would be most appropriate so that one can become a "Corporate Dominatrix".

These are:

• The Goddess - personal power
• The Queen - positional power
• The Governess - expert power
• The Amazon - coercive power
• The Nurse - healing power
• The Schoolgirl - borrowed power (referent power)

This framework is interesting and useful. Most of us have a preferred archetype or three with which we are most comfortable with the others underdeveloped. I definitely have a few I need to work on. I called a mentor a few weeks ago for advice. I was getting ready for a meeting and knew my inner Amazon was ready to do battle but I also knew she was absolutely NOT the archetype who was needed for the meeting. I had not yet read this book, but I can now see that my mentor was trying to persuade my inner Amazon to become a Queen for the meeting. Interesting.

A Girl Day

I cannot remember the last day I have taken completely off. I worked through December 31 at my old job before starting the dream job on January 1. I still spend my weekends (at least one day per week) being a scientist closing out and transferring my research project to my new co-investigator. This generally leaves one weekend day for errands and anything not work related (grocery, laundry, sleep, dinner with my husband - yes I know it's sad to see him in the errand column).

Today was mine.

I started my day at the Body & Sole Day Spa. It does not look like much from the outside in its suburban strip mall location but it's terrific inside. A bit of muzak & water sounds with soothing scents of the products they use. I went in to get my face microdermed. This may sound odd but it's kind of like grinding and vacuuming your skin at the same time. I like it but your mileage my vary. It makes my skin feel really soft so I do it every few months. They always try to sell you a facial to add onto it but there is actually one built into the procedure. Today my aesthetician was Elizabeth. She was great - really warm hands, not a chatterer, very good facial massage.

I came home and did a Turbulence Training workout - Intermediate A if you are interested. I've been following the program sporadically for the last few weeks - I'm down about 5 pounds (with about 10 to go) and will do a formal fitness update soon. I need to get ready for the Pink DumbBells Cruise in August.

I fit in some grocery shopping and laundry today so did not take the day completely off, but I did go buy some pretty unmentionables and also got a pedicure. There is a place near my house staffed by 15 - 20 mostly Vietnamese immigrants. They have rows upon rows of vibrating chairs in front of whirlpool foot baths. Their sanitation procedures comfort me. It's not the respite of the Body & Sole Day Spa but for $20 it's a great way to keep my feet pretty on a regular basis.

It was beautiful here today - breezy with cloudless blue skies. I spent the rest of the afternoon with a glass of wine outside laughing through Lean Mean Thirteen. I grew up in New Jersey so find these books especially humourous.

 

Do It Tomorrow

I should confess. I am pressure prompted. Give me a tight deadline I'm your gal. Otherwise, I am prone to procrastination. Somewhere in the many blogs I read I came across Do it Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management and thought this is the book for me (note for quick delivery in the USA order it from one of the discount sellers).

Alas, this is not a book for procrastinators. Instead, this book is all about prioritization. How do you decide what to do today and what can safely be postponed until tomorrow? How can you optimize your time to do it all? How are you wasting time so that not everything gets finished each day?

Almost all of the secrets in this book are summarized on page 0, before the book even starts. But, for me there are several gems. Let's talk about lists. I love to-do lists. I live for crossing items off my list. Did you know that "closed" lists are about a gazillion times more effective than "open" lists? I've always kept open lists. I add items constantly to the things I need to get done but the list grows and grows. A closed list is finite. The only thing it can do is get shorter and ultimately completed. How novel, how inspiring, a list that gets finished. The author strongly supports multiple closed lists.

The premise of this book is almost ridiculous and yet it interests me. Toss all of the undone items into yesterday's closed list. Do all of the current items from today & peck away at yesterday. In theory, with good time management, you do indeed have enough time and then some to get through your daily tasks leaving time to peck away at the old stuff. It is essential to finish your lists each day. At some point, all of the old is gone, you are current on the new and life is grand. In my current reality, some of the day to day stuff has slipped past due so that I can focus on future oriented tasks and initiatives. I've been haphazardly pecking away at the old by cataloging everything in Google Notebook as time allows. But I don't have anything as organized as the proposed system.

There is also some fascinating stuff on goal setting in this book. It's all targeted at daily success and contradicts much of what I've read and done previously. The author recommends not setting big audacious goals. Instead set goals where you are sure to succeed every day. Do not plan to run 3 miles each morning. Instead plan to go outside each morning with your running clothes on. It is much more likely that the later goal will achieve success and motivate you to actually go out and run- even if not 3 miles. And truly any miles are better than zero miles. The way this is organized is all linked the reptilian vs. rational brain. I'm not sure that I agree fully with this theory but did see a lot of myself and my procrastination in his examples.

Interesting Book Offer

I saw this over on Ben's Blog. Ben's friend Peter Economy is taking proposals for (non-fiction) books between now and December 31. He is going to pick 1 book per year to help a new author write his/her dream book. You can find complete information here. Peter will be donating his proceeds from the book to a charity of the author's choice.

In his own words:

But, late one night I was wondering: What could I do that would really make a difference -- more than just writing a check, or contributing an hour or two here or there? The idea came to me in a flash: I could write a book for someone who had a great idea, but who was outside of the publishing industry and needed some help getting their foot in the door.

Now, as a professional writer, the usual pitch would be this: Send me your book ideas, and I'll cherry pick the ones I like, help you write a book, and take a nice share of the profits.

But this is not the usual pitch. The more I thought about it, I realized that there was an even better idea -- an idea that would allow me to give back in a way that best taps my creativity and passion for writing: I want to help make the world a better place by writing one book a year -- for free -- with ALL the profits going to a nonprofit organization. An organization of YOUR choice. To accomplish this goal, however, I need YOU.

<snip>

I need you to put your thinking caps on -- the idea is to come up with a book that will have either (a) a BIG financial impact on the nonprofit that you decide to support with the advance and royalties from the book, or (b) a BIG impact on the world in general through the power of its ideas, or (c) both.

As with anything in life, there are a few constraints: (1) The book needs to be nonfiction. I have tried my hand at fiction, and frankly I stink at it. (2) I'm thinking the finished book will be 175 - 200 pages or so -- we're not writing War and Peace. (3) Please keep your submissions down to no more than 300 words, and send them to me via email at: bizzwriter@gmail.com. If you've got more than one idea, then please send them separately. (4) We'll be co-authors of the book and both our names will be on the cover but, since the idea is yours, your name will go first. And, (5) because the whole point of this is to give back, to be considered for my yearly free book, you will need to agree -- as I will -- that every single dollar generated from the sales of the book will go to a bona fide 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of your choice.

I love this in so many different ways. New authors get an opportunity for quality mentorship and a real chance at getting their books not only completed but published. Some non-profit venture has the opportunity to benefit tremendously. It's a wonderfully innovative way to give back, to make a difference. I simply love it.

Pondering Memory

I sometimes feel like Judith in Clive Barker's Imajica. If you have not read this stunning masterpiece, this reference will be meaningless to you. Judith, at least the first Judith you meet, is a replica, her memories of things beyond about 5 years past are simply missing. For so many things, this is true for me. I simply do not hold on to most memories the way others appear to. If I were a computer, I'd say the memories were compressed and archived somewhere or perhaps the cache was simply cleared. On the upside, my fine brain has great processing speed, uncluttered by older unused memories.

Some learning theorists suggest that there is an advantage to suppressing old material to learn new. Obviously there are advantages to recovering the old information eventually, but sometimes you really do need to forget what you "know" to learn something new.

I'd say it was aging in my case but I've been like this for as long as I can remember. And granted, 5 years is an over-statement, but only barely. I was sitting watching the season 1 episodes of the X-Files today. Skinner made his first appearance. I know he is important. I felt an immediate joy at seeing him. I have/had a huge crush on Skinner but I have no idea why. Yeah, just call me Judith.

Secret Santa

Laurell K. Hamilton is having a secret Santa contest. You need only to sign up. If you enjoy her books, like I do, this is a great opportunity. From her website:

The winners will receive two signed LKH books. Don't know which two I will send you, just that it will be two. Your assignment as a Secret Santa is to give one away to someone. Preferably someone who is not yet a fan. Okay, I told you what to do with one, but what about the second? That one is a gift for you, the Santa. Hey even Santa gets goodies!

I really love her Anita Blake books but have had reservations about her Merry Gentry series. However, her most recent addition, A Lick of Frost, was excellent. Note, even when I say I have had reservations I still go track down the hard cover on the day of release. Once I get sucked into a series that's it for me. I watch on Amazon for when the book will be released and head to my local store on release day. Only occasionally can I convince myself that saving the 2 or 3 dollars by ordering from Amazon is worth the wait. Yes I realize this is ridiculous.

A recent trend for many writers is to connect with their readers via blogs or forums. Luckily Laurell blogs. She writes just about daily. It's a wonderful glimpse into her writing process.

Standing in the Shadow

The HERS Denver Institute has just one more weekend session before we complete the program. This coming weekend, we will focus on charting our futures and mapping our careers. As part of this, we are doing some exercises from the book Career Aspirations & Expeditions: Advancing your Career in Higher Education Administration. A coauthor of the book, Nancy Archer Martin, will be teaching our sessions. In large part the book is very similar to What Color is Your Parachute? with an extreme focus on Higher Education and the path to becoming perhaps a University President or Chancellor. There is an extensive section on negotiating the position and being sure to include such critical items as a spousal stipend. A 1998 survey found that 21% of institutions gave some form of assistance to a president's spouse, including a car allowance, support staff, or salaries. I suspect this percentage has only increased.

With this on my mind, I recently ran into an acquaintance whose spouse has always been a step or three ahead on the Higher Ed career trajectory than she was. He is at the pinnacle of his career and she seemingly has been forced into that role of "wife" and "supporter." Since I spend so much time on my own personal and professional development, I try to imagine how she does not chafe at these roles. How does she do this? Her time is no longer her own. Most days and evenings are filled with "must attend" events. She's made the difficult decision to make her own career path subordinate to her husband's, although she remains successful and productive in her own right. Perhaps she is content to always stand a bit in the shadow. I just don't know. I think all of us have a bit of Hillary Clinton in us wondering when it's going to be our turn to shine. When does she get her turn? Perhaps more importantly, who can she talk to? If her husband talks with her for advice, she now has information that cannot be shared with her peers. How does she handle this? How lonely this must be. Is there anyone in whom she can confide? How does she do this year after year? Perhaps for her, this is all easy and these things never cross her mind. I don't know. I only know how I would feel in her position. Whenever I see her, I always find myself wondering whether there is any way I can make her life easier. Any suggestions?

Pondering Watson

James Watson, the Nobel Laureate, recently made headlines for his controversial remarks on race. While he is known in the scientific community for his generally controversial and inflammatory nature, he may be remembered for these words and not for his role in the discovery of the structure of DNA: 

A profile quoted him as saying that he's "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really." He said that while he hopes everyone is equal, "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true."

After apologizing, he did try to clarify his words:

"We do not yet adequately understand the way in which the different environments in the world have selected over time the genes which determine our capacity to do different things," he is quoted as saying. "The overwhelming desire of society today is to assume that equal powers of reason are a universal heritage of humanity."

"It may well be. But simply wanting this to be the case is not enough. This is not science. To question this is not to give in to racism. This is not a discussion about superiority or inferiority, it is about seeking to understand differences, about why some of us are great musicians and others great engineers."

Many scientists and groups hastily distanced themselves from Watson, who has now retired from his position as the Chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory after nearly 40 years of service to the organization.

Similarly, the American Society for Human Genetics, of which I am a member, is preparing a rebuttal of Watson's controversial claims. Their statement, still in draft form, reads,

"The American Society of Human Genetics is committed to scientific integrity, and values the contributions of researchers and clinicians to the advancement of human genetics.

We consider the recent statements attributed to James Watson in the London times to be tragically misguided because there is no scientific evidence for differences in intellectual ability among racial groups.

Our organization promotes accurate reporting and rigorous interpretation of all scientific data to insure benefit to all people."

I started reading Guns, Germs, and Steel: The fates of human societies by Jared Diamond today. So far, it is fascinating reading, a brief history of the world from about 13,000 BC to present. Why did human populations around the globe develop and utilize technologies at different rates? The goal of this work, and I do not yet know the answer, is why some societies became "civilized" while others did not. With Watson's bias on my mind, these two paragraphs of Diamond's really stood out in stark contrast. How differently these two scientists approach the same question, the same set of "facts."

It seems logical to suppose that history's pattern reflects innate differences among people themselves. Of course, we're taught that it's not polite to say so in public. We read of technical studies claiming to demonstrate inborn differences, and we also read rebuttals claiming that those studies suffer from technical flaws. We see in our daily lives that some of the conquered peoples continue to form an underclass, centuries after the conquests or slave imports took place. We're told that this too is to be attributed not to any biological shortcomings but to social disadvantages and limited opportunities.

Nevertheless, we have to wonder. We keep seeing all those glaring, persistent differences in people's status. We're assured that the seemingly transparent biological explanation for the world's inequalities as of AD 1500 is wrong, but we're not told what the correct explanation is. Until we have some convincing, detailed, agreed-upon explanation for the broad pattern of history, most people will continue to suspect that the racist biological explanation is correct after all. That seems to me the strongest argument for writing this book.

I have another 400 pages to go, but I suspect it will be fascinating reading. If nothing else, it will serve as a reminder that perhaps the most important quality a scientist can have is an open mind. 

Half Marathon Plan Weeks 6 & 7 of 17

On the plus side these last two weeks, I have gotten the runs in. One or two mid-week runs of 3.5 to 4.5 miles with hills or sprint intervals. Sunday  long runs of 7.5 and 8.0 miles. The other workouts were largely undone.

Scale weight holding steady which was not the plan but better than gaining. Too many dinners out now that my hubby is working again. We've been enjoying letting other people prepare our food.

Yesterday I completely slacked off and read the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I will say that I enjoyed book 7 far more than book 6. I really struggled through books 5 and 6 where Harry fought his teenage angst as much as he fought he who should not be named. Finally in book 7 Harry accepts his destiny, his responsibility. There is no one else and he must bear the burden of the tasks set before him. I read many on-line spoilers before acquiring the book and was relieved to find many of them simply wrong. Some of the reviews complain about flaws in plot continuity. These are noticeable and yet, I found myself taking breaks from this book, walking around my house, so as not to finish too quickly. This is the last in the series. There will be no more. I never do this with books. Normally I suck them down as fast as I can then start over to read them slowly, for enjoyment, to re-read the best scenes. This final Harry Potter, I savored. There were dull moments, as scenes were set up. But there were some wonderful surprises such as Snape's memories in the pensive. While many argue that the series is not that great and does not deserve the acclaim and popularity it has, there are characters like Snape who are so flawed and yet so incredibly interesting that one must simply read through to the end.

Back to fitness, this coming week: 3 cross train, 2 short runs, 1 long run, and perhaps some Bikram again.