So, What's Your Problem?

Locale over Leaks

On a recent trip to Mexico, my wife and I were informed by the proprietor of the bed & breakfast we had chosen to stay at that "the plumbing isn't so good here," but we should be satisfied by the overarching reason most people leave happy - "the location is great." At the end of the visit, we were in fact happy . . . so, I guess she was right.

"Plumbing isn't so good" didn't refer to the selection of faucets or the toilet style, she was talking about the flow of water - both supply (in this case, hot water) and capacity of the drains. Bad plumbing tends to be about improper movement of water: too slow to drain, or come out of the tap-- Or, in the case of a leak-- coming out where its not supposed to--

One Step Beyond

Most building problems involve too much or too little flow (water, heat or electricity) - How's that for a bold generalization?

Think about the last time you had a serviceman to your home-- I bet it was for a stopped-up pipe, air conditioning that wasn't blowing cold air, or an electrical device that wasn't operating properly (not getting 'juice') --- Am I right? And I haven't even been to your house--

Consider these examples of common household repair problems:

1. Roof Leaks
2. Flashing or Caulking Leaks
3. Slow Draining of Shower or Toilet
4. Supply or Drain Line Leaks
5. Stopped Up Sewer Drain
6. Ponding on Flat Roofs or Parking Lots
7. Erosion (due to excessive flow or channel failure)
8. Insulation Leaks
9. Electric Short Circuits
10. (Insert your own household problem here)

These all have in common some type of unwanted flow issue--

















OK Popeye, What's the Fix?

Here are some thoughts to help avoid many of these problems:

1. Water Flows Downhill - Ample slope is needed (top to bottom) and opening sized to allow proper speed of discharge.
2. Water Pressure Can Be a Powerful Force - More water volume and restricted flow each can create increased pressure. Think about "pinch points" (desired and undesired), and problems can be avoided.
3. Water Seeks It Own Level - Think about where the water "wants to go" (during rain, when the tap is on, when the drain is open, etc), and help it get there.
4. Energy Transfer Needs a Conductor - For Heat, sealed air is the best insulator (conversely, open air is the cause of most heat/cooling transfer problems). For Electricity, overcurrent insulators are sized based on the amount of amperage in the conductor, to avoid danger in handling or routing the lines (short circuiting occurs when electricity "jumps" the insulator).

Generally, consider the source and natural tendency of the water, heat or electricity, and you will be well into solving, or better yet - avoiding common household problems.

So I'm Told--

This is not to say, I have solved all my household problems or even that I can solve them all myself - More often than not, these days I hire a professional. But I am at least more able to identify the problem, and help the pro get right to the fix.

Pros to Contact:

Here are some helpful Professionals I have worked with in the past on the Commercial Construction side:

PSG Consultants (no website) - Phone: (763) 755-4777
George D. Alan
ReevCon
New Millennium Engineers


Links to two Popeye cartoons (neither one results in a "fixed" problem at the end):

The Plumber Is A "Pipe"

House Builder-Upper

2010 Blog Topic Index

Trivia Loosely Related to this photo--

Danny Bonaduce lived up the street from us when we lived in Woodland Hills, CA in the 1960's and early 1970's - Danny and I built a fort together in a tree on Mulholland Drive across from San Feliciano Blvd. You could probably say I was the contractor (I found the wood and did most of the work)-- Danny was more the developer (he convinced me we wouldn't get in trouble building the fort in a tree that was on someone else's property).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And A Partridge In A Pear Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the spirit of the season, here are the topics and associated lists (that may or may not be accompanied by music) from my blogs this year-- I hope this is useful--

April

• Project Success (7 Project Tips)


• Join-To (4 Details that Determine Quality)

May

• As-Planned vs. Luck (5 Parts of a Plan)


• Done? (Smoldering vs Dead Out)


• Clean Up (Part of the Process)

June

• Scope, Then Price (5 Scope Clarifiers)


• Right Tool for the Job (Rube Goldberg)

July

• Hit It On The Head (Focus and 5 Process Improvement Ideas)

August

• Put Your Energy To Use (Natural Tendency)

September

• Customers Count (3 Steps to Amazon Order Management & 5 Ways to Improve Commitments)

October

• Pre-Building (5 Lessons from Revolution-Era Pre-Fab & 6 Pre-Build Considerations)

November

• Say What? (5 "Hearing" Tips, 5 More "Get-it?" To-Do's and 3 Levels of "Knowing")

Wow, time flies when you're pontificating about stuff most people may know, but forget----

I look forward to more in 2011--

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Say What? - Part 1

Did You Get It?

When something is really important, when you absolutely have to be sure - like confirming the time a crucial product will be delivered to your project - what do you do? Think about it . . . What are you willing to risk if you miss the deadline?

We tend to treat communication about things that are really critical differently than just casual conversation. Where we get into trouble is when one of the parties communicating doesn't THINK it is important at the time (or if they are intentionally trying to be vague).

One of my favorite examples of someone forcing clarity in an important conversation is in the movie "The Specialist" where the mafia boss - Joe Leon, played by Rod Steiger, tells his son - Thomas Leon, played by Eric Roberts-- to agree to stay out of a business matter:

"I no hear you say OK - OK?"


After trying to avoid the question, Thomas finally responds:


"OK"---

Not quite the same ring as the Godfather's "Make him an offer he can't refuse", but the same intended severity. Mafia movies tend to show very serious repercussions for not following the directives of the "Boss" - ultimate accountability.

------In real life, we have to find other ways to get buy-in and hold people accountable.

Listen Carefully

If you have ever played the campfire game (or for my daughter, after-dinner-table game) "Telephone", where one person whispers a phrase into the ear of another and they pass it to the next, etc, --you know that the message gets pretty garbled by the time it gets to the end - to humorous effect. Unless you're trying to keep yourselves entertained, mixed-up messages aren't very useful.

An often-underappreciated part of effective communication, is to make sure you are hearing what is being communicated to you:

1. What was the intent of the message?
2. What words did they use?
3. What were the critical details?
4. Was anything repeated or emphasized?
5. Was there any particular emotion or sense of urgency?

I have found it's a good idea to repeat-back what you thought you heard - give the other person a chance to clarify or correct their message.

Many times delivery or tone is crucial to how you respond-- Quiet, low tone, casual and loosely chosen words, make it harder to read urgency and importance (if that is the underlying intent).

We all respond to orders barked at us, regardless of whether they are well-thought-out, or if there is any real urgency behind them. Unfortunately, it's up to you - if you are trying to writhe a directive out of a poorly delivered message.

Come On, Really?

I hate to bring it up, but sometimes people say things because they expect that is what you want to hear from them, or they feel like something has to be said and no one can check at the time whether the statement is reasonable or not - hence the throw-away "Two weeks" promises from The Money-Pit contractor.

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Here is a list of things you can do to help make sure you get the message (no particular order):
  
• Watch Body Language - Check out the Fox TV show "Lie To Me"
• Confirm the Message - Does the message make sense with what you know, or can you compare it to what you know? - Reasonableness check
• Summarize the Basics - What are the 3 to 5 most important points the person is trying to get across to you?
• Memorize the Message - If you had to repeat the message back or tell someone else the message you recieved, could you do it?
• The Whole Thing - Got it? - Got it!

I believe there are 3 general levels of "knowing" or understanding a message:

1. Recognition - You know it when you see it.
2. Regurgitation - You can repeat it back as it was told or taught.
3. Reapplication - You can use it or teach it in a different form than you recieved it.

Following on this, the best communication occurs when the deepest level of understanding is achieved. Finding a way to make the message you heard your own, is the first step-----

The other end of the effective-communication process is what YOUR message is (and WHY they should follow or buy-in) - but that is a topic for another blog.


Related Sources
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro and Marvin Karlins

Unrelated Trivia
United States President S. Grover Cleveland (22 & 24) won the popular vote in 3 separate presidential elections, however, he lost the electorial vote to the 23rd US President, Benjamin Harrison. Benjamin's grandfather, William Henry Harrison (9th US President), had the dubious distinction of holding office for the shortest period of any US President in history (30 days), since he died due to contracting pneumonia from giving the longest presidential inauguration speech in history, in the rain.

Like Benjamin's grandfather, it also rained on his inauguration day, but #23 was no fool, he made sure his speech was short, and he got S. Grover Cleveland to hold his umbrella (the big guy left of center holding a top hat is 22/24). Inauguration photo.

The "S." stands for Stephen ---there's the real trivia for you - a US President whose first name is Steve :) --

Pre-Building The Job

Bodacious Plan

On the evening of March 5th, 1776, General George Washington and his rag-tag army of 2,000 volunteers completed staging what would turn out to be one of the most important early victories of the American Revolution-- Colonel Henry Knox had successfully transported 59 canon and ordnance 300 miles from the vacant Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, and the rebels prepared the first large-scale prefabrication in US history. That evening they moved the canon, barrels filled with sand and stone (to be used as breastworks, or to be rolled down the hill on charging Red-Coats, if it came to that . . . ), and facines (bundles of branches or logs) - creating the effect of a fortified wall atop the ridge of Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston and the British ships in Boston harbor.

General William Howe - commander of the British forces occupying Boston at the time, is reported to have remarked when he saw the fortifications the next morning-- "The Rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in a month" -- The result of this effort was that the 11,000 occupying troops and 1,000 loyalists fled Boston to Nova Scotia - without a shot being fired--

Isn't It Great When A Plan Comes Together?

A lot of coincidences contributed to the success of the efforts of Washington, Knox and the Rebels-- In the end, it helped convince the British that the Americans were serious about Independence (It took another 5 years to actually achieve that goal . . . ). The fact that they had a vision, a plan and buy-in by all the participants set up the whole effort at Dorchester Heights to even have a chance to succeed.

5 Lessons from the Fortification of Dorchester Heights:

1. First Get All the Materials - Without the canon, gunpowder, ordnance, barrels/birch trees, the Rebels couldn't have even started work on the fortifications.
2. Stage Assemblies (then transport into position) - They couldn't have built the fortifications in place without risking attack. Building the facines and gabions down the hill (out of sight) and moving them into place at night was the only chance they had.
3. Plan Logistics (address site considerations) - The Rebels used straw to deaden the sound of the wagon wheels transporting the pre-fabricated fortifications and canon, to avoid calling attention to the movements.
4. Use Weather to Best Advantage (often a judgement call) - General Howe had considered retaliating, but a snowstorm dampened his confidence, and the decision was made to completely evacuate, including all ships from the Boston harbor.
5. Be Ready With Contingency Plans - Washington expected retaliation, and had planned escape routes that would have been difficult for the British to follow. The fortifications were designed as both blockades, and if worse came to worse, they could be used as weapons.

How 'bout Them Forefathers?

Thinking through how you plan to build something is as critical as the construction effort itself. The goals for any construction project should include minimizing time and resources, without anyone getting hurt--

Here is a list of 6 "Pre- Build" Considerations:

1. How Can the Project Be Accomplished Safely? - Everyone Goes Home Unhurt
2. What is the Optimal Sequence of Activities? - Critical Path
3. What Materials or Processes are Similar? - Economies of Stacking, etc.
4. Which Parts are Standard? - Can More Parts Be Standardized?
5. What Adjacencies Need to Be Considered? - Restrictions, Services, Exit Plan
6. Does Any Aspect of the project lend itself to Pre-Fabrication & Transport to Site?

Prefabrication or Modularized Assembly may not be an option for all situations, but considering aspects or portions of the project for Pre-Fab may drive better work/assembly patterns and solutions.

Related Trivia:

George Washington went on to win the revolutionary war, defeating the strongest, best-equipped, best-trained military machine in the world at the time, through leading ordinary men to extraordinary accomplishments - by sheer perseverance and belief in the goal of independence.

More information on George Washington:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

Henry Knox went on to be Washington's first Secretary of War, found the Society of the Cincinnati (an organization of American Military officers), and Fort Knox and Knoxville, Tennessee were named in his honor.

More information on Henry Knox:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Knox

Recommended Books:

"1776" by David McCullough

http://www.amazon.com/1776-Illustrated-David-McCullough/dp/1416542108/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286766801&sr=1-2

Customers Count - And You Should Too

Do It Now

Ever go to a restaurant that has great food, but the waitperson seems to be always working on another table, or focused on something besides serving you? And other times you may have been to a restaurant where the food is just OK, but the service is so good that it makes up for it-- Have you had those experiences? And which waiter got the bigger tip?

Customer Service is often a function of the level of attention and energy that is paid to the customer--

How many times, when someone asks us for something, do we add the item to the list of things we are currently working on, while the person asking expected action immediately? My wife will tell you it happens with us all the time. It isn't that we aren't working hard, we just aren't being responsive in the eyes of the asking party.

Can we agree that your "customer" is anyone who asks for something you provide, whether there is direct compensation, or simply a promise?


No objection? Then we'll continue . . . .

The details, from the point of the agreement on, are a matter of prior negotiation-- There is an expectation that the customer will rely on. The trick is to clarify the expectation such that the promise is reasonably achievable in the time frame, for the consideration (money, respect, appreciation, etc.). If there is no agreement, then there is no sale - implied or otherwise.

If Not Now, When?

Time management gurus will argue that it isn't reasonable to stop what you are doing to respond to every request - and most times, they would be right. Just not in the eyes of the customer---Customer requests don't need to be rational-- especially if the customer thinks they paid for, or otherwise deserve the prompt response. The best response would be to proactively manage the customer request - here are a few suggestions:

1. Define the Objective - Use a "go-by" or common standard that works for you ("is something like X okay?")
2. Agree on a Time frame - Make sure it is achievable (or better yet, beatable)
3. Confirm & Follow Up - Do it like Amazon.com does and you will be a hero

Sales trainer Jeffery Gitomer (If you aren't familiar with him, click on this immediately http://www.gitomer.com/ and get caught up - haven't you heard? EVERYBODY SELLS--- if you don't believe it, your competition does and is doing it---) will tell you that simply satisfied customers aren't what you really want - they can be raided by your competition using any number of incidental ploys - you want RAVING FANS.

OK, so how do I get one?

Through Trust

Trust is earned over time, by consistently delivering on promises, and it is earned most successfully by doing something so spectacular that the customer will "never forget" you, and what you did for them. Examples include saving their job, helping them win a client (or almost better, saving them from losing a client), achieving goals they didn't expect, and the list goes on . . . . they could count on you - without specifically telling you what to do. This requires a higher level of thought and effort than just being responsive. It involves thinking ahead as to what the customer needs in the future will be, and delivering on a higher level than the expectation.

Promises, Promises

With projects-- especially large projects-- the commitment that establishes the expectation of a successful outcome is made up of multiple promises, made to many people, every day, for the life of the project. Commitments you make to your customers depend on promises made to you. A babysitter who fails in her promise to be on time, makes you late, which can ruin a whole evening of promises made to friends, etc. I know a superintendent who just won't let an unreasonable commitment stand -- "Tell me exactly how you are going to finish when you say" and "What time can I count on you Friday morning? I will call you ahead of time to make sure, and I will meet you", etc.---Some people are better at making good on their pledges than others -- just as some are more willing to accept "loose promises" from friends or coworkers than others. Why is that?

What Counts?

Accountability is taking responsibility for actions - some recourse for failed actions can be severe. Short of punishment, simply keeping track of how the people you are working with meet their commitments will show how accountable they are. For example, a person makes 5 commitments -- from when they will be at a meeting, to how many people they will bring, to when they will start work, how long they will work and when they will finish that day-- at the end of the day, you will have a good initial sampling of how accountable they are. If they did everything as they said they would, they would have a score of 5/5 - not yet complete trust, but a good start showing a routine of successful commitment. A lesser score would need attention and a score less than say 2/5 might be a sign that you can't count on this team member at all, without significant attitude adjustment and focus on meeting & beating commitments (every one of them - no matter how small).


















As TV's Dr. House would say: "People lie." - Try not to let people lie to you, especially when they don't mean to. A loose commitment to you, passed along to someone else by you - when unmet, becomes a reflection on you (almost like it became "your lie").

5 Ways to Improve Achieving Commitments:

1. Measure Accountability - Regularly share them with the team (friendly competition will force improvement).
2. Make Sure Promises are Reasonable - How Many/How Much/When (how do they compare to historical quantitative information).
3. Examine Risky Commitments - Why is the case special, what extra efforts will be taken to ensure success?
4. Communicate Sensitive Variables - What is outside of control? What would cause the commitments to be missed? What measures are being taken to try to manage the unknowns?
5. Work as Team - Everyone works together to make sure all commitments are met.

Working to gain trust and confidence of customers to choose us to be partners on their project teams is what many of us do every day - responding to customers internally and externally.

Same-Day-Service has been a beacon of aggressive advance promise for years in many industries. For some tasks it is too long, for many in the Design and Construction industry it is too short. But, for most everyday tasks, it seems to be a balance between the customers' need for immediate response and the need to be efficient with your time.

Maybe try responding to customers with "Same-Day-Service" for a few weeks and see what kind of response you get in return. You may find new unexpected rewards in the form of added trust and confidence building among your team--

Trivia:





Salmon P. Chase - US Treasury Secretary under President Lincoln, used "faith and promise" of the US Government to raise money, starting the first US paper currency, to finance and win the Civil War. He also was instrumental in adding "In God We Trust" to US currency. His successes earned him a spot on the $10,000 bill (no longer in circulation). He was one of only three statesmen featured on US paper currency who did not serve as US Presidents - the others being Alexander Hamilton ($10) and Benjamin Franklin ($100). The middle initial stands for Portland-- More info on S. P. Chase: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmon_P._Chase

Put Your Energy to its Best Use

The Tree Is Gonna Fall

This summer in Maine a 60-foot-tall pine tree whose base had rotted, partially fell perilously close to the cabin my wife and I were staying in - it didn't fall all the way down (which was good). It got hung up in the upper limbs of two adjacent trees at an angle between 60 and 70 degrees to the ground (if 12 o'clock is 90 degrees straight up - about 1:00). The tree branches holding it up were cracking about every 30 minutes or so - without intervention, the tree's natural path was going to be to fall on the roof and cause lots of damage (Google "cutting down a tree the wrong way" and you will find many humorous videos of what might have happened . . ).

Just So You Know - We Survived . . .

Well, we tried to shove it over, push it over with a ladder, climb on the roof - tie a rope as high up as we could and pull it over --- No good. So, a wise friend who came over to help stepped in and said quietly, "You're trying too hard." He went to his truck, got out a pulley, a yellow nylon strap and a rope with a hook on one end. In about 20 minutes, we strapped the pulley to a tree about 25ft back, tied the base of the tree with the hook to the rope, and looped the other end through the pulley and back to one of the hooks on the front of his truck. Again he said quietly, "You're gonna want to step back." He backed up and the base was pulled back from the front of the cabin, the top fell away and the tree fell down with a boom - safely away from the cabin (and any people) ---

Timmmmberrrrrr!!!!!

Two things: 1. When you know what you're doing, the flow of work goes easier and faster (including set-up and clean-up) - sometimes it pays to have someone around who knows where the stones are in the stream. And 2. Mechanical advantage is a beautiful thing to watch in action. If you want to make things easier for yourself in the woods, on a lake, at home or on a project - consider using pulleys. Each pulley, properly sequenced, significantly reduces the amount of effort needed to pull or lift a load.

Natural Tendency is a very important aspect to consider in solving a problem, or pursuing any goal or endeavor - Which way is the river running? Which way is the traffic flowing? What force is pulling?-- and, in what direction?

I believe that thinking through what is driving an issue, a problem, a point of view or a process (natural or man-made) - will lead most often to the solution or resolution. A person's incentives and strengths will usually determine their most likely actions. If you have a list of activities to do and you're going to get rewarded for one of them, you tend to do that first. Similarly, if you are good at some activity, the natural tendency is to do that first and leave the stuff you don't like to do until later - it's human nature. Keeping this in mind can prove very useful in project assignments with a team, relationship building and in negotiations.

Stomach Grumbling or Losing Track of Time?

There is a lot written about the concept of behavioral tendencies, with one area being Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (diagram below) - where the bottom of the triangle is self-preservation, leading to the top which is self-actualization.

According to Maslow, the level at which a person stands on this diagram will determine to large degree how they will behave. The specific levels are not as widely accepted as the concept of behavior being directed by what's on a person's subconscious mind--

So You Know the Motivation - Then What?

Jujutsu or Jiu-Jitsu is a Japanese martial art style based on the the principle of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it. In translation, Jujutsu means "way of yielding". Jujutsu techniques redirect physical motion to gain advantage. Stopping motion takes a lot more energy than redirecting it. Finding ways to use the other person's passion and energy as part of the solution leads to win-win successes. Identifying incentives and strengths (or pulling and pushing forces), defining wants/needs and expectations, will set you up for what is coming at you - Then, adeptness at using virtual leverage, mechanical advantage, or Jujutsu in issue resolution will determine how you handle it--

Next time you find yourself stuck in a seemingly insurmountable problem - step back and consider the Natural Tendency - maybe you are trying too hard.

Related Information on the Web:

Rescuing a Canoe Caught In Rapids:

http://www.brrr.ws/docs/Boat_Rescue_Haul_Systems.htm

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs further discussed:

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html

Jiu-Jitsu Demonstration In Los Angeles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHINjQh8e-U&feature=related

Recommended Books:

Flow - Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csikszentmihalyi/dp/0060920432

Now, Discover Your Strengths - by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton

http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-Strengths-Marcus-Buckingham/dp/0743201140

And, a Comic:

Hit It On The Head

Take A Shot

When I was a freshman at Michigan, I lived across the hall in the dorm from Mike McGee, who was at the time one of the most promising high school basketball recruits in the country - even more so than Earvin "Magic" Johnson who was a freshman at Michigan State. I remember watching Mike on TV in a game at halftime, when a reporter asked him what he was going to do in the second half to secure the win, Mike said: "I'm gonna work a little on the 'O' and a little on the 'D' . . . " -- thanks for that insight Mike, back to you in the booth . . .

OK, Pick One

I read recently that research proved that people can't truly focus on two things at the same time --Multi-tasking is really working on several things in a routine that allows progress to occur simultaneously. The act of juggling actually proves this point - an accomplished juggler is only able to keep multiple objects in the air through a patten of rehearsed movements. The focus is not on the individual objects or separate movements, but on the routine. If the juggler were to focus on the shape, color or even number of objects, rather than the rhythm or 'feel' of the pattern, everything would fall to the ground.

Ouch!

Ever hit your finger trying to pound

in a nail? I can tell you, for me, it happened when it was getting dark (or the light was poor), when I should have been wearing glasses, or when I was tired.

Boo Hoo - Focus Better

Hitting a nail squarely on the head, and the rhythm of sending a 16-penny nail home in 2 swings, with a 22oz framing hammer is one of the more satisfying feelings of focus for me (and one that probably contributed to my passion for playing drums). You can force a bent nail in by adjusting the angle and speed of the hammer - which sometimes feels like bending the nail straight by pure willpower.

OK Now I Use A Nailgun

Most construction tools and equipment use ancient "Egyptian" levers, pulleys, hydraulics, etc to focus increased power or pressure on a particular task - to help make the task easier, or simpler. I am sure new tools are developed as a result of someone examining a difficult or repetitive task (routine) and asking if it could be done a different way, with a bigger lever or pulley, or with help of water, wind, etc. -- Too often, I notice that routines may start out working well, but when they lose the original focus (the "why"), they become mundane or perfunctory. This results in wasted or superfluous effort, which is the exact opposite of what the original routine was designed to do.

Continuous Improvement guru's tell us that we should constantly be looking at 4 things:

1. Purpose of the Activity

2. Available Resources (Tools, Equipment & Manpower)

3. History, Competitors and New Developments

4. Leaner Processes

And I would add:

5. Rhythm of the Activity

Basketball Again?

The first drum lesson I ever took, the teacher got me to think of hitting the drum like dribbling a basketball - striking the drumhead is important, but to get an even pattern, you need to work on the feeling of strike and bounce-back. I believe that true focus is a rhythm: Push, then pull back. Work hard on a puzzle or problem, then do something else for a few minutes and the solution comes easier. There are numerous examples of this concept - "work hard, play hard", "flex-release", "heave (then) ho", etc . . .

After all, you can't push a nail into the wood, you have to pull back and swing in a controlled motion - golf is another example (and I certainly need a lot more work on that), and there are hundreds of swing coaches who help get your game together, as long as you can keep your focus and routine simple - Pull back, swing . . . pull back, swing. Focus on the target and the rhythm of the motion.

Take A Break & Come Back 110%

It can be the same with any endeavor - if you keep it simple, with the proper routine of focus, your work will be much more satisfying, and successful.

Related Trivia:

Mike McGee and Magic Johnson both went on to play for the LA Lakers. Magic Johnson was one of the most successful, smooth-passers ever to play the game, and he was a great example of a rhythm-focused player. Mike McGee (whose notoriety will surely return after this blog) was perhaps every bit as gifted a shooter as Magic, but he did not achieve anywhere near the same level of success, perhaps because he did not have the focus he had in high school, in the pros.

Recommended Rhythm-Focus Links:

1. Steve Gadd (one of the greatest drummers of all time) demonstrating the Mozambique at a clinic - notice his focus, and ability to quickly adjust to a fast tempo with the same complicated beat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCdeKmHwK30

2. Chris Bliss performing an amazing juggling routine: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4776181634656145640#

3. Michael Moschen (the father of Contact Juggling) puts on a quietly mesmerizing show of juggling in a TED presentation: http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_moschen_juggles_rhythm_and_motion.html

How to Juggle poster:

http://www.curtiszimmerman.com/en/docs/CZG%20Website%20-%20Juggling%20Instructions.jpg