Winnie And The QR Code Paradox

September 1, 2011 by Leda Karabela - Leave your comment

Hah? What on earth is a QR code?…(read on and thou shall be rewarded). But first things first: You must remember Winnie The Pooh. Which Character Are You in this video?
 
“When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very “Thingish” inside you, is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it. — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book.
 

Having already gone fishing – like most lucky few do in the summer – and I now catch myself in this funny mood. Questioning, wondering, thinking, worrying about the new season, the fall, the economy, the politics, the hurricanes, the euro, the unemployment, the future…

It’s the first day of fall (what an ugly word for autumn really) and I feel I have to be ready for the sprint, the signaling shot to leap forward.  Habit dances with the peculiar waves of a rhythm left over from our childhood and the melancholy of care-free summer days that always came to an end when the school doors opened.

And we linger… while we are not yet ready to sprint again and fall back into our “normalcy” – what is YOUR normal, really?

Yet inevitably – you’ll go there – like you always do after each summer – and eventually you’ll get right back into character, the role you choose to bring out most of the times. But, while you do what you do best, don’t forget that kids do it better: Playing, laughing, loving, throwing temper tantrums, learning and occasionally being strong enough to cry (even if it doesn’t show).

So, I am getting ready for the new season.

And while I was reminded the other night of all the things I need to get ready by Peter Economides, one of my dearest friends, characters and role playing came to mind. We were discussing marketing, branding, politics, objectives, business plans and QR codes – (for those who are not into geeky stuff just click the link:-) And to the crux of the matter: should I replace my traditional business cards with my QR code risking seeming too much of an alpha geek, incomprehensible, even threatening to some? He claims – and with good reason – that I should not.

Yet part of who I am is this child inside of me who gets excited with learning and trying out new things. And, that’s a big part of me – and I won’t let go of my playfulness and the urge to find out more and more. And this is the part that helps the most when I work – as part of my job is to poke, dig explore – and challenge before I can move into supporting. And yes, I can risk posting about Winnie The Pooh while I can also be serious enough and fluent in the executive and business language (no, letting your inner child out will not harm you).

… Can you? Will you?…

No, Madam, It Took Me My Whole Life

August 7, 2011 by Leda Karabela - Leave your comment

You have probably heard the story.

Picasso is sketching at a park. A woman walks by, recognizes him, and begs for her portrait. Somehow, he agrees. A few minutes later, he hands her the sketch. She is elated, excited about how wonderfully it captures the very essence of her character, what beautiful work it is, and asks how much she owes him. “5000 francs, madam,” says Picasso. The woman is incredulous, outraged, and asks how that’s even possible given it only took him 5 minutes. Picasso looks up and, without missing a beat, says: “No, madam, it took me my whole life.”

This is the nature of mastery. “Mastery is an asymptote. You can approach it. You can home in on it. You can get really, really close to it,”  explains Dan Pink in his book Drive. “The mastery asymptote is a source of frustration. Why reach for something you can never fully attain? But it’s also a source of allure. Why not reach for it? The joy is in the pursuit more than the realization. In the end, mastery attracts precisely because mastery eludes…”

Could Picasso be as good if he did not paint and paint some more and experiment and then try even more? Talent alone is never enough. And mastery is not doing 1000 things at once but one thing 1000 times so you get better at it. Repetition is the mother of skill.  Lance Armstrong’s fierce resolve (in spite of the steroids accusation) has shone light to this sort of perseverance and determination.  “I knew I could be the best in the world if I got one second better every day,” he has said about his daily goals.

One tiny frigging second – that’s all it takes for the gold – even if  it takes your whole life. Isn’t it worth the try?

PS: Thanks to Maria Popova’s elegant Brain Pickings blog, a discovery engine for “interestingness” for the inspiration and reminder that in life “you don’t necessarily know you are interested in some things you didn’t know you were interested in, until you are.”

 

Jumpology And Inner Children

August 3, 2011 by Leda Karabela - Leave your comment

Jumpology? (No, it is not an apology given while jumping!)

Philippe Halsman, one of the most innovative photographers of the 20th century, having shot Albert Einstein’s portrait on the cover of TIME came up with the concept. “When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears.”

Having observed many famous comedians and artists during photo shoots, he knew that capturing someone’s spirit goes beyond posing for the camera. The actual idea came to him when Ford Motor Company commissioned him to make an official family portrait, where against all conventionality, he asked the family matriarch, Edsel Ford, to take a photo of her jumping in high heels.  The “jump” pictures had surprising charm, and over the next several years, Halsman asked many clients to jump for him, (including Marilyn Monroe and a remarkably likable Richard Nixon, who jumped for Halsman in the White House.)

Each one of us will read different things in this story: Do all people wear masks and need to jump so that their “true” self can show up? What about those who refuse to jump? What about those who are so different when they jump, we hardly recognize them? And what about all these inner corners and nooks that even we don’t know exist, when we jump like children on the playground?

Inner kids – we all have them alive and kicking inside of us – and one way or another – occasionally playing, singing in the rain or the shower, arguing on facebook or being intelligently and sympathetically naughty and (naturally) jumping up and down is a great thing.

Clever Halsman found a great way to turn mainstream portrait photography into “smart” art, giving it a twist and an angle. Innovation, creativity and genius are often recognized as such in serendipity – so jump – you never know what will come out of it.

Misfits Shall Inherit The World

July 27, 2011 by Leda Karabela - Leave your comment

“Too often, people talk of what is unachievable. We need to be reminded about what is achievable, too.  —Shirin Ebadi, Nobel prize-winning Iranian activist and lawyer

Misfits, rebels, agent provocateurs, thinkers, innovators, people who dare try changing the world… This was the topic of a discussion I had the other night with a small group of friends who – for me – are all beautiful, daring, dauntless “misfits.” The classic Apple commercial was the focal point that teased us all. Back to the future of today, who would you cast now to play the deviant heretic who would have the power to move us all and change the world?

It was a rather activist sort of a discussion about Greeks and their current and future set of challenges. Tangible and intangible terms like trust, responsibility, leadership, heroism, proof, credibility, passion, faith and determination clouded our forum.

“Zorba? Let’s park him for now. Let’s imagine the future,” Peter’s thesis on contemporary Greece got us all thinking.

So, you are in crisis. What if you know you can do something about it? What if you simply think you should do something about it? And what if you think you are powerless and there is nothing you can do? The only difference between each circumstance is the thinking – but who would admit it’s all in our head?

And the conundrum goes beyond politics, economics, crisis, defaults, strikes and euro bailouts. The heart of the matter is people – it’s always the people who matter and who can or cannot do something about anything. So, playing the numbers game, some will be the chickens and some will play the rogue elephant games. However, some will rise up and simply act – and do what they do best, inspiring, challenging, teaching, showing, motivating or simply just taking the responsibility and doing the right thing – whatever the right thing may be.

While revolutions catch fire through the dare-devilish acts of the heroic, powerful “ones” – habits, behaviors and customs along with collective memories change much slower. Sometimes, we need to bring the models and the masters closer to home and find the stories of those people next door that really matter.

“If she can do it, so can I” is the comment I want to hear when the story is told. Heroes who are not out of reach, out of context, out of the ordinary, and so far away from the Joneses and the Greek Papadopoulos of our daily lives.

We need to find those star players that will win us the game and help inspire the turn-around.  Some are shining brilliant scholars in academic ivory towers, others are masters of their business domains in global conglomerates; some are the unsung volunteers feeding refugees and the homeless in iffy and relative unsafe neighborhoods; some are the young developers cracking code in their grandfather’s family home. Stories…so many untold stories of people who are Zorba’s great grand children. The contemporary Greeks, Americans, Africans, Arabs, Norwegians and all those who can – world’s children of a lesser god – can they take over from Zorba and leave their own mark on the world?

In the end, random acts of thoughtfulness matter so much more than promises and Marshall plans…

For some interesting stories of inspiring magic moments of mischief that can transform our lives— Small Acts of Resistance: How Courage, Tenacity, and Ingenuity Can Change the World.

Guru Double Irony

July 14, 2011 by Leda Karabela - Leave your comment

Too many pundits, too little time…

And the management best seller list seems to be slow this time of year. Summer’s dull-witted pace or a general moody malaise? Economy, state and country bankruptcies, euro/government bonds and spreads, phone hacking scandals, Republicans and debt ceiling, clouds and dust from uncertainty. Yet, the photo made me smile – irony and sarcasm always a great front to inner turmoil and the quest for solutions whatever these may be.

Yet Marshall Goldsmith’s words seemed wiser in spite of his own guru status:

“…Ask, listen, and learn from everyone around you. You can learn more about what you most need to know from your key stakeholders than you can from consultants. Also, ask the people whom you love how you can be a better partner, friend, or parent. Listen to their ideas. Don’t get so busy with work that you ignore the most important people in your life. To improve your relationships, you need to ask for people’s opinions and then follow up and do something about what you learn….”

Paraphrasing George Orwell, “all gurus are equal but some are more equal than others.”

Happy Bastille Day, folks!

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