Preneur – Knowledge ATMs

May 9, 2023

S3 E50 — Swinging with Systematic-Professionals, Sorta

Sig went missing. As did Mary. The rumor that floated in gossip streams at the state hospital was he suffered a heart attack and Mary caught a flight back to upstate New York.

“5” Steve Aoki, 41: “You’ll reach a turning point in your work. Pause here a while to really consider the options. Once you pick a direction, its reversal, though not impossible, will be awkward and time-consuming.” Sagittarius

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 50 in Season 3 of “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 22nd day of May in the spring of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Table of Contents

Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E49 — Stealing Your Sign Without Doing the Time; S3 E48 — Is That an Ace Up Your Sleeve or Are You Just Glad to See Me?; S3 E47 — Why’s and How’s of the Genius Art of Procrastination

Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year

S2 E50 — 5 Fundamental Uncertainties; S2 E49 — Navigating Waves of Disruption When You’ve Lost Your Bearings; S2 E48 — Tracking Millennials from One Resort to Another; S2 E47 — 27 Adventure Regions for Your Remote-Working Bucket List

Related from Season One, The Normal Year

S1 E50 – The Bias Brothers or Just Plain Losers?; S1 E49 — Magnetize the Version You Imagine; S1 E48 — Holiday TauBit Trumps Funk; S1 E47 — Day 47 of My 1-Year Experiment

I initially introduced this story as:

17. Graduate Assistant Internship —

Working for the State of California half time and professional services startup in the afternoons, as my first job in the field of psychology, and first mentioned in the beginning of “Volume Two Manuscript — WorkFit,” a work-in-progress.

Sig went missing. As did Mary. The rumor that floated in gossip streams at the state hospital was he suffered a heart attack and Mary caught a flight back to upstate New York.

I wasn’t buying it.

My sweet deal blew up.

I’d been living the dream nestled in a small bungalow on Fernleaf in Corona del Mar on the western side of Pacific Coast Highway. I hiked on a walkway over Bayside Drive, what for what may be 3 or 4 blocks to the bluffs overlooking the mouth to Newport Harbor and the small beach at Pirates Cove.

If I walked the same distance, but east of my rental, I spooked ground squirrels and those owls who burrow in the ground through and open field to the office in Newport Center.

Two things saved me.

- I could still hang on to my internship at the state hospital at the beginning of my psychology career and I met the love of my life, Emma the Baroness. At the hospital he supervised be in one program full of developmentally delayed clients and Les in another.
- As a business model was a doctor-knows-all in a pecking order of nurses and administrative staff. I was shocked with his out of the blue comment and his prescience when he told me I wouldn’t stay married long. I chalked up to his wisdom as a clinician, until looking back I wondered if he had recruited me for something else entirely.

In their private life, Sig and Mary swung if that is how you say swingers in the past tense.

That fact only slowly emerged as celebrity-like friends of theirs visited our Institute office near the athletic club and the shopping destination overlooking Corona del Mar hidden in swaying palm trees and Balboa Island and Peninsula off in the distance, but still at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Sig needed money to keep the Institute’s doors open.

He put the touch on several of their swinging friends from Beverly Hills and others who streamed through our suite of offices to sample our bio-feedback services.

The background story I eventually heard was Sig fled New York, left his wife, son and a psychology practice with Mary, his girlfriend, and settled a mile or two just outside the border of Huntington Beach.

Sig envisioned a business model similar to a franchise of bio-feedback centers in Southern California.

We couldn’t find clients, let alone celebrity investors or potential franchisers. But, the challenge opened my eyes to corporate medical and wellness centers in large organizations and eventually to several career changes.

So what happened to Sig?

Did he fake his death to throw off his creditors? I never found out and it wasn’t until later that I understood organizations and organization types that I see we were Systematic-Professionals.

We Systematic-Professionals come in four flavors — talent brands of experts who love their profession and their local location. In general we are known for methods and metrics.

- We prefer to distance themselves to remain objective and follow a well-articulated and tested methodology.
- We find occupational homes in university research centers, professional practices, academic institutions and in standards-setting associations.
- Our identity is tied to their profession.

Systematic-Professionals by the very nature of their work make the best candidates for developing a Mobile KnowCo that allows them to live and work anywhere in the world.

Which made it easy for Sig to leave his practice in New York, affiliate with a state hospital in Orange County, and launch BMI.

But, many stay in one place –- in or around university towns or urban and suburban centers where they find clients for their services.

Which led to “Knowledge Banking” many years later, when I looked around and asked, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Ha! Too bad this wasn’t Sig’s birthday, right. Maybe we could travel back in time and find his investors to fund BMI. And, this ain’t my birthday, but the lessons I learned and took note of paid dividends for me over my career trajectories.

Today’s Holiday Birthday:

A rebellious spirit pervades. The rules you break will liberate you. You’ll attract investors. The money helps you get a project off the ground, but there’s even more value in the time and lessons you gain. To repeat this success will bring you exponentially more, so take careful notes, pay attention and be methodical.

“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Success in one area of life won’t automatically bring success in other areas, but certain basic principles will apply universally. The work is best chunked down into small steps and mastered in order.” Aries

Yup, Steve chunking is good. I used to call it knowledge chunking, breaking down lessons learned into knowledge nuggets so you could apply them in a variety of settings.

“4” Steve Smith, 30, Stevie Nicks, 72: “There’s a time to keep score, and a time to indulge and share without worrying the least bit about who gave what. Scorekeeping turns giving and receiving into a job or a game instead of a spiritual act or a pure pleasure.” Gemini

Thanks Smithy and Stevie. This reminds me of research I stumbled upon in my behavior modification days. If you rewarded kids who truly enjoyed math with stars and tokens they grew to hate math. I’m not sure about the spiritual corollary, but I’ll take it.

Wow, Steve. Not only did my physical therapist know who you were and shared your sign, but your Holiday Tau proves meaningful to me today. I’m writing up my report about Phase 1, including the expansion of the 1-year natural experimental format into our pandemic year somewhat reluctantly, while I figure out Phase 2 in which I solicit TauBits from real Steves. I’m thinking through my strategy attempting to gauge how much time and effort it will require, versus my return-on-investment.

“4” Steve Harvey, 62: “While you’d rather go into a game with a strategy, those require time you won’t have today. So, the best strategy will be to stay on high alert for clues and trust your instincts.” Capricorn

Since when Steve are you in collusion with Aoki? Here’s my takeaway when I combine both of your Holiday Taus — keep an evolving scenario in the background, but start with small steps so I can iterate without reinventing the wheel and essentially starting over.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines jumps from 8203 to 8218 organically grown followers.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

- “Why?: What Makes Us Curious,” by Mario Livio. “… socially shared myths, rituals, and symbolism were most likely the first sophisticated responses to nagging why and how questions and were therefore the fruits of curiosity. The chain reaction that resulted from the positive feedback between curiosity and language turned Homo sapiens into a powerful intellect, with self-awareness and an inner life.”

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

March 21, 2023

S2 E99 — Why Pay Over $100,000 When You Don’t Have To?

It was planned as a magnet for attracting the talent base to support growing financial, real estate and technology companies setting up shop on the former Irvine Ranch envisioned in the Irvine Company’s master plan.

“5” Steve Howey, 42: “You thought a thing ran its course. You thought you were done and wouldn’t return to it, but this business is, apparently, unfinished. Otherwise, it wouldn’t keep calling you back.” Cancer

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 99 in Season 2 of “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 20th day of August in the summer of 2020.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E98 — Why Your Company Simply Won’t Make It Out of Puberty; S2 E97 — Frame Blindness and Decision Traps; S2 E96 — Two Kindred Spirits Drawn to Mature Complications

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E99 — What’s in a Name? Baby Boy Names?; S1 E98 — Why Can’t I Leave 26 Orphans for a Well Deserved Vacation? ; S1 E97 — My Top 19 Reasons for Failing; S1 E96 — Old Rabbits Die Hard

Context

This is a continuation of “Volume Two Manuscript — WorkFit” a work-in-progress.

In previous episodes we described Start Up, Emerging Growth, Rapid Growth, Sustained Growth and Maturity stages. But, each with the emphasis on how a specific stage provides another better fit opportunity for one or more of 16 Talent Profiles.

We described two mini case studies of what it was like working behind the scenes at a mature companies in a financial and in a consumer industries.

33. Advisor — Executive and Healthcare MBA Program

Part One.

The University of California opened its doors in 1869 with just 10 faculty members and 40 students. Today, the UC system has more than 280,000 students and 227,000 faculty and staff, with 2.0 million alumni living and working around the world.

One of 10 campuses in the UC System

UC’s academic health centers provide broad access to top-ranked specialized care, support clinical teaching programs and develop new therapies. For news about UC breakthroughs and health initiatives.

Nine years before I moved to Orange County, UCI became the youngest campus in the system. It was planned as a magnet for attracting the talent base to support growing financial, real estate and technology companies setting up shop on the former Irvine Ranch envisioned in the Irvine Company’s master plan..

When I worked at Fairview State Hospital, one of the psychologists, a 115 Professional Practitioner, hailed from the School of Social Ecology. Co-workers felt he had been skating from his responsibilities at the hospital while he built up his private practice and taught at the university.

No-one I knew understood what Social Ecology meant. In a way, as a half-time intern working in the morning in the residence hall and then in the afternoon at the Behavior Modification Institute in Newport Center, I might have been half-skating.

Later I befriended the University’s Veterans Advisor seeking his assistance as I transitioned from one career into another. I ended up helping him as he came to the end of his employment while a student in the School of Social Ecology.

Four Talent Profiles Attracted to Systematic-Professional Organizations

The campus and its library and its influence economically as Orange County’s second-largest employer (contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide) made it a hub for researching potential careers and jobs.

In fact, I interviewed professors, 114 Brand-as-Experts and 116 Institutional Traditionalists, who’s research matched my interests. It what became the business school years later, I interviewed the dean who specialized in Organizational and Management Development to assess my chances at transitioning into that career.

The more important side benefit came in the form of a list of business graduates identified by their Orange Count employers to conduct further interviews.

One in particular led to an offer a few months later to join an internal consulting, management development and training team in a mature, large engineering and construction company located in a cluster of mirror-glass buildings and a corporate tower.

Two Systematic-Professionals Attracted to Maturity Growth Stage

Too academic, we echoed the conclusion of the client from the century-old consumer goods who hired my former boss and me. But we leveled it at an interdisciplinary team of professors we engaged to survey the implication of brand new technology at the engineering and construction company.

S3 E43 — Add a Little Foresight to My Misdemeanor Tab

Each of us is born from a mother whose being remains etched on our very essence. For those who have a special language with their mother, that identifying banter will be in full force, as will shared aesthetics, recipes and other matters of style and much more.

“5” Steve Zahn, 51: “While some cannot seem to recognize the magnificence of a thing until it’s gone, you add foresight to the matter, imagining the thing gone in order to better appreciate the impact of its presence while you have it.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Sunday’s Episode 43 in Season 3 of “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 9th day of May in the spring of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Table of Contents

Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E42 — Greta, Juliette and the Partridge Family at Trestles; S3 E41 — What’s Up with Telluride or Humboldt County or Bodega Bay?; S3 E40 — How Stealing Your Sign Led Me to a Nobel Prize

Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year

S2 E43 — See What You’ve Been Missing …; S2 E42 — It Was Short and Sweet, but Heart-Felt; S2 E41 — A Pandemic End to Real Estate and Consulting?; S2 E40 — The Profound Impact of the Pandemic on Nouns

Related from Season One, The Normal Year

S1 E43 — Desperation on Such a Summer’s Day; S1 E42 — Love on the Run; S1 E41 — The Dream Was Over, Long Live the Dream; S1 E40 — Nothing to See Here, Keep Moving On

Context

Today’s intro and forecast for next week by Holiday Mathis will probably be seen as a copyright violation and lead to the denial of my parole because my petty larceny history of stealing your horoscopes.

I’m not proud of it, but I’m guessing after three years of this crime spree, they’ll just add on more time to my tab. Thank you again Holiday:

Each of us is born from a mother whose being remains etched on our very essence. For those who have a special language with their mother, that identifying banter will be in full force, as will shared aesthetics, recipes and other matters of style and much more.

Holiday Forecast for the Week Ahead:

Some years, the mighty oak drops 10,000 acorns — a feast for the animals, the animals that eat the animals and all down the line.

Of these thousands of seeds, only one needs to remain to further the oak family… urges you to align with the oak’s style on themes of contribution and abundance.

Keep giving without stressing as to where the returns will come from — such things are as difficult to predict as which of the 10,000 acorns will bear a new tree. Just trust that returns will come from somewhere. … is an excellent time to start a business, make a deal, invest, begin a job and the like … put a perspective shift in motion.

A theme here is how things aren’t the same out of context. A sentence means something different when you yank it from the paragraph.

Outside of the factory, the uniform makes no sense, the tools even less so. And the people you know in one place seem strange to you in the light of a different setting.

Contextually confusing scenarios can actually be so startling they cause us to see our relationships, environments and roles afresh. Once seen, there is no unseeing; once progressed, there’s no going back.

Evidence

Well, your Holiday Tau hits home for those of us who no longer have mothers to share this day. Treasure them while you can whether with foresight or imagination or by staying in the moment in their presence.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Just put these three on my misdemeanor tab, will y’a?

Haha, Howey your Holiday Tau explains the core value pitch knowledge workers advance for getting paid for their smarts not just for the hours the log.

“4” Steve Howey, 42: “So much that the world asks you to do will be neither productive nor necessary. What if you just did the bare minimum? There’s nothing to gain from filling all of your time.” Cancer

Wow, Steve your TauBit of Wisdom explains feelings and grief I want to remember for another day.

“3” Steve Kerr, 54: “Feelings, like weather, move over the scene, some lasting longer than others. Though eventually, everything passes through, over, on… This is bittersweet in the case of passionate intensity but a deep relief in the case of grief.” Libra

Your Holiday Tau reminds me of advice I took to heart over the years to find the sweet spot between analysis paralysis and buyers remorse. Kinda like no tears or regrets.

“5” Steve Aoki, 41: “It took awhile for you to make a decision, and now that you’ve made it, you have no intention of changing your mind. Your commitment is admirable. Note that it is possible to stay at once committed and open.” Sagittarius

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines jumps from 8138 to 8193 organically grown followers

Foresight

- Want to Keep Growing Your Business? Radical Innovation is the Safest Way to Go
- Nikola May Snag Order For 100 Battery, Hydrogen Big Rigs From Los Angeles Ports Trucker

Quality-of-Life

- Six Weeks After ‘the Worst Day of My Life,’ Maggie Montoya Returns to the Starting Line
- Dumpsites off the California Coast Are Worse Than Originally Thought – Sunset

Long-Form

- “Future Shock” by Alvin Toffler, a classic I feel which still holds up. As the pace of change quickens we experience self-doubt, anxiety and fear. We become tense and tire easily, until we are overwhelmed, face-to-face with a crisis situation. Without a clear grasp of relevant reality or beginning with clearly defined values and priorities, we feel a deepening sense of confusion and uncertainty. Our intellectual bewilderment leads to disorientation at the level of personal values. Decision stress results from acceleration, novelty and diversity conflicts. Acceleration pressures us to make quick decisions. Novelty increases the difficulty and length of time while diversity intensifies the anxiety with an increase in the number of options and the amount of information needed to process. The result is a slower reaction time.
- Daniel Kahneman’s, “Thinking Fast and Slow”describes two different ways the brain forms thoughts: “System 1” which is meant as a fictional shorthand — not as a brain system or structure: Fast, automatic, frequent, emotional, stereotypic, unconscious. “System 2”: Slow, effortful, infrequent, logical, calculating, conscious. I’m learning a lot about my energy levels first described from within an introversion frame now, from within differences between System 1 and the harder working, energy depletion System 2. Self-control, for instance is hard and takes a lot of energy to accomplish. When I write the concentration requires effort until I can find the “flow.” Implications for True Belief — it’s easy to stay in System 1 vs. critical thinking — System 2. Set some marketing and working on the business goals — System 2 and then ignore them by following the lateral thinking and associative thinking which Leo da V invites me to do — System 1.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

November 30, 2022

S2 E73 — WorkFit: Chopping Off 12 Losers at the Intersection of Speed and Independence

So, what does mean when only one out of the list of 13 original worse fit organizations remained on the list of when independent identity intersected with a rapid pace as a dozen vanished?

“5” Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “The day is marked by a resilient spirit of independence that has you preferring your own company, keeping your own council, deciding for yourself without worry or need of any outside reassurance.” Pisces

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 73 in Season 2 of “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 2nd day of July in the summer of 2020.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E72 — 20 Niche-Specific Opportunities Found After Making Soul Crushing Mistakes; S2 E71 — My Top 13 Worst Jobs of All Time; S2 E70 — Persistent Failure

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E73 — Do You Need a Little Leo da V Time Too?; S1 E72 — It’s Taken so Long, I Could be Wrong; S1 E71 — Isn’t There a Placebo for This?; S1 E70 — Lingering Fear My Cover Was Blown

Context

This is a continuation of “Volume Two Manuscript — WorkFit” a work-in-progress.

It all began with the future of talent development. I facilitated a human resources task force that listed 19 trends out of 100 that they felt would impact the composition of employees in companies of the future.

They evaluated generation X, Y, and Z demographics together with baby boomer statistics.

They considered the increase in free agent preferences and globalization with new technologies including alternative energy.

They sorted each of the 19 written on post-its into four clusters on the conference room wall and then free associated about the unique story each cluster told.

Finally, they drew a box for each scenario so they could better see boundaries differentiating one from another.

And it became easier to flesh out a vertical line in the middle and a horizontal line.

Those lines intersected in the middle like a “+” where the internal smaller boxes touched each other.

Pretty soon the team saw the two outer vertical borders of the four boxes representing higher degrees of one dimension and the same for outer horizontal borders.

So stories emerged along the vertical axis “+” which corresponded to an identity ranging from independent on the top and affiliated at the bottom.

And, along the horizontal “-“ axis the pace or speed on the left hand-side and time-for-mastery on the right hand-side.

Are you thinking what I was thinking?

Now back to me. What if we combine the two sets together and sort the 20 better and 13 worse positions I already identified to figure out why?

So we’d have a High Degree of Independence at the top and a Higher Degree of Affiliation at the bottom.

And a Higher Degree of Speed at the left margin and a Higher Degree of Mastery at the right hand margin.

Here’s the display of my 25 of my 33 positions resorted first by the combination of three dimensions: high degrees of independence, speed and mastery.

I keep the original number for each opportunity and identify whether they came from the original worse or better fit lists.

First I consider 7 of 25 combining high independence and speed.

High Independence & Speed	High Independence & Mastery
6. Vocational Rehabilitation Services: Worse Fit
23. Organization Development — Technology: Better Fit
24. Startup — Quantum Learning Systems: Better Fit
25. Director Continuous Improvement: Better Fit
26. Organization Development — Tech Company: Better Fit
30. Venture Guidance: Better Fit
32. Consultant — Product Development Merger: Better Fit

To refresh your memory from the previous episodes, I include snapshots of situations I encountered for each.

High Independence and Speed

Better or Worse Fit?

6. Vocational Rehabilitation Services— Three private companies offering B2B services for insurance companies. Didn’t like opposing sides. Close micro-management. Clients had back injuries and required work modifications or a transition into a different job classification — Worse Fit

23. Organizational Development – Technology — Climate for Innovation, (A fast-paced, innovative culture that attracted the best of the best. Our motto was simply, “It’s better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.”) World Class Manufacturing, Skunk Works, Trends and What ifs to find value during high change, Mergers and Acquisitions — Complex, Disruptive, Accelerated Changes, Just-In-Time, Safari. two different immune systems develop equal and opposite anti-bodies over five years, but especially in the first 18 months of selling something that even we didn’t understand — Better Fit

24. Startup — Quantum Learning Systems — Safari, Organizational Learning to accommodate speed of disruptive innovation, anticipating new opportunities and rapid learning as a basic skill set for reinvention — Better Fit

25. Director Continuous Improvement — Spearheading the introduction of continuous improvement and needed a director to manage facilitators from all functions. Its corporate immune system and talent culture reflected their preferred seat of the pants high pace flavor of time-to-market product introduction. Product managers wanted to know with was more important, driving revenue or scheduling yet another series of non-productive meetings — Better Fit

26. Emerging Desktop Projector Company— 200 employees generating revenues of roughly 200 million dollars required a full-time director of organizational development and training. It provided the challenge of high degrees of disruptive innovation, independence and speed. Introduced me to tools for capturing new knowledge creation for product development teams short staffed with critical talent — Better Fit

30. Venture Guidance —Prepped potential startup entrepreneurs to seek investments from a a group of entrepreneurs and former executives who agree to pledge $50,000 each as seed or A-series funding. In a deck of 10 slides after being coached by us individually, they’d have to stand and deliver to a group of us roll playing the sharks and throwing them curve balls and challenging their assumptions — Better Fit

32. Consultant — Product Development Merger — Advised two former competitors to define gated product development process with input from all stakeholders from innovative idea to manufacturing — Better Fit

Next time we’ll focus on my worse or better experiences in organizations whee I operated with higher degrees of independence and mastery.

Summary for High Independence and Speed

So, what does mean when only one out of the list of 13 original worse fit organizations remained on the list of when independent identity intersected with a rapid pace as a dozen vanished?

I rated Vocational Rehabilitation Services as a worse fit, because I had transitioned from more traditional professional psychology positions into a newly privatized services offering, largely spun out of insurance companies that had written workers compensation policies for employers in the State of California.

My professional training downplayed the business development and sales emphasis that new companies require quickly to grow.

It just wasn’t for me.

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“5” Steve Howey, 42: “With your attention pulled by recent developments, it may be hard for you to concentrate on work. Devote yourself to the repetitive, tedious and necessary parts. You’ll be most productive while mentally processing life.” Cancer

Boy, that’s true for me. How about you? But, we introverts don’t mind the isolation so much as do the extroverts who tend to socialize for their energy replacement. Just give me some time to concentrate on this manuscript and I’ll be happy.

“4” Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “Don’t worry about starting things off on the right foot. Just lean forward and see which foot sticks out to prevent your fall. That’s what progress is — a precarious tilt; catch yourself; right yourself; repeat.” Virgo

Given that I’ve become more vertically challenged until I can get this damned left-knee replaced, I’m not too thrilled with this TauBit of Wisdom. It hits too close to home.

“4” Steve Kerr, 54: “Why do you like the hard challenges? They practically demand you grow stronger. You want to be a force of nature, not a victim, acted upon by other forces of nature.” Libra

Really? I do? The challenge needs to capture and sustain my attention or else I lose interest rapidly. I do look for patterns so I can anticipate the direction of forces important to decisions in my life. It’s just my nature.

“4” Steve Aoki, 41: “You have your choice of routes today. As a rule, the bendy roads are more exciting and more dangerous. It’s all about sightlines. None can see around the curve. How comfortable are you with uncertainty?” Sagittarius

This reminds me of a story Joel Barker told illustrating anticipation with open filtering. Maybe on the bendy road snaking outside of Jerome, Arizona on the route to Sedona, a convertible screams around the curve obviously enjoying the freedom of the road. Driving a bit more cautiously, but heading in the opposite direction a local with his elbow hanging out the drivers window sees them approach. As they barely squeeze past the convertible driver yells “Pig!”. To which the local yells back, “Go to Hell!” and watches the convertible in his rear view mirror, muttering to himself. And just then he crashes into the pig crossing the road.

“5” Steve Nash, 45: “There’s someone who gives you undivided attention and places the focus exactly where it matters most to you. A solid case could be made for the premise that this is the very definition of love.”Aquarius

How should I rate this TauBit of Wisdom? Let’s see, how about a “5”? She’s looking over my shoulder isn’t she? Doesn’t matter, Emma the Baroness is the very definition of love. Right dear?

So, which day isn’t marked by this kind of spirit?

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 4073 to 4231.

Foresight

- More about cookies – Lonely Planet

Quality-of-Life

- Despite jobs rebound, Fed officials see long road to recovery from pandemic recession – Los Angeles Times

Long-Form

- Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

November 9, 2022

S2 E65 — Pandemic Uncovered 11 Life-Changing Secrets You Shouldn’t Ignore

Or, you would work for someone else in a specific location — at a headquarters, in a division, a region, an office … but the key was at their place of work. Then came the pandemic just as the driving beat of AI platforms and tools swept through. Employers and executives tasted for themselves the flavor of working remotely.

“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Be on the lookout for ways to repurpose the past. Discarded scraps from one project/relationship/era can be reworked and turned into something new.” Aries

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 65 in Season 2 of “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 18th day of June in the summer of 2020.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E64 — Let the Beers and Weekend Partying Begin; S2 E63 — Easier Than Finding His MacBook Air Password?; S2 E62 — “Shh. Did You Hear That?”

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E65 — Focus Your Mental Energy; S1 E64 — Father and Son Rituals out of Storage; S1 E63 — Day 63 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E62 – Next Reality?

Context

So if I’m honest I’m drawing from last week’s focus on my legacy and my search for wisdom (Volume Three Manuscript) to fill in with some reworked experiences that better fit this passion project in progress, “Volume Two Manuscript”.

This is the second volume of books. The first volume described how to discover where to live. And a path to follow, the knowledge path. I originally distinguished what you would learn by choosing either to work for yourself independently which could free yourself up to live anywhere your heart desired, instead of where the jobs were and the employers were located.

Its theme was how to live, love, work, play, invest and leave a legacy.

Or, you would work for someone else in a specific location — at a headquarters, in a division, a region, an office … but the key was at their place of work.

Then came the pandemic just as the driving beat of AI platforms and tools swept through. Employers and executives tasted for themselves the flavor of working remotely.

Superior advantages of mastering knowledge work

Whoa, they discovered this way of working, well worked for them — making them more productive and efficient.

The implications for all of us — the intended consequences and unintended consequences — as individuals it is better to have been mastering knowledge work rather than service work or manual work.

Why? For two reasons. You have options that others don’t have.

You can remain employed during disruptions like a pandemic which forces physical distancing at your home in your neighborhood with or without partners, spouses and children who require daily bandwidth and homework assistance.

The newer normal translate into inconveniences, frustrations and the time to reflect and enjoy deeper bonding.

So, that’s one.

Free to move about the country

The second is, if you can work remotely aren’t you also untethered from having to live where you do right now? Aren’t you free to move about the country and still remain employed?

While the second book in the first volume examined all the ways you can become a ‘Preneur they all rely on variable income.

You needed to master a sales process which translates well to media channels and subscription business models.

Not all of us are cut out to succeed. I know this much about me, I’m not.

But if you are already employed, already have the tools necessary to provide value to your employer while working remotely like all the other knowledge workers delivering distributed work, then head out on the highway and follow 11 steps to the quality-of-life you want and deserve.

My distinguished career began with jobs I hated, but I didn’t know why. It ended with me advising executives and executive MBA students not to make the same mistakes I had made over the years when I knew why.

But, that’s not entirely true.

What I discovered wasn’t they should avoid the jobs and organizations and stages of growth that I did.

Or even find the positions in specific types of talent cultures that brought out the very best in me, because they were the best fit.

That’s what I did.

But, to understand the “why” that made them tick and pursue their own best fits working with sixteen different talent tribes at the intersection of seven dimensions.

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

How can you separate your work life from you life life? Your work life consumes at least eight hours out of every day Mondays through Fridays if you let it. Your life life provides the context. Who was it? Maybe John Lennon who sang something to the effect that life happens when you’re busy making plans. So if I’m honest I’m drawing from last week’s focus on my legacy and my search for wisdom (Volume Three Manuscript) to fill in with some reworked experiences that better fit this passion project in progress, “Volume Two Manuscript”.

“5” Steve Smith, 30: “Study and cultural exploration will bring you good fortune. You will feel determined to do your unbiased research, and you will refrain from forming an opinion until you have all of the facts.” Gemini

In this case the cultural exploration focuses on talent cultures you find within certain types of work and client organizations and which may be about to move through a new growth stage which requires a transformation from the past. All covered in my “Volume Two Manuscript” in progress.

“4” Steve Carrell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “You’ll have ideas, and you need the right people to bounce them off of. People who absorb your energy and agree with you are not good bouncing prospects. Look for the hard and deflective types.” Leo

In the beginning, I collaborated with a small team as an offshoot from the Orange County Development Roundtable (OCDRT) who met weekly. We bounced ideas off of each other to sharpen elements and discard others that just didn’t make sense. From those humble beginnings a framework emerged and a theory I further developed and tested over a decade with hundreds of Executive MBA Students who had been in the workforce for at least seven or eight years.

“4” Steve Harvey, 62: “The research suggests that improving your weaknesses, while noble in intent, is far less effective than leveraging your strengths.” Capricorn

We can thank Peter Drucker for this truism. But he went further and advised managers, leaders and executives to find talented people who excelled at what you didn’t and delegate assignments to them as a way of further developing their strengths through experience.

“3” Steve Nash, 45: “Because of the complexity within the crevices of the human heart, people fit together unexpectedly and in ways so particular that they would be impossible to duplicate.” Aquarius

Unexpectedly, maybe. But in my work experience fitting together people from a diverse set of talent profiles leads to better team results after forming, storming, norming and performing processes.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 3808 to 3911.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

- Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

August 16, 2022

S2 E39 — The Best Tau for the Pandemic Year, Don’t You Agree?

So, my survival guide for remote workers had already been written, which had been targeted to the knowledge working community (consultants, freelancers and entrepreneurs) who could sell their services to clients which didn’t require their presence 24/7. Given they were more mobile and could live anywhere, then where do they want to put down roots?

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The future that has seemed so hazy now comes into sharp focus. You’ll be approaching work in new ways. While some deals are stalled, other arrangements can be solidified as you wait.” Aries

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 39 in Season 2 of “My Pandemic Year Experiment” on this 2nd day of May in the spring of 2020.

Season 1 and 2 are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E38 — What Should You Do If You Stumble Across Loaded Information?; S2 E37 — How Deep is the Chasm? What Do We Do?; S2 E36 — Turning Lemons into Margaritas

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E39 — What’s Up with Facebook?; S1 E38 — Day 38 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E37 — Day 37 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E36 — Day 36 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

Working on the Business — I’d gotten into a publishing groove on Patreon with:

Today I published a summary of the week just ending on Patreon and shared the piece on LinkedIn:

Surviving Day-to-Day or Thriving with Big-Picture Insights?

“The future that has seemed so hazy now comes into sharp focus. You’ll be approaching work in new ways. While some deals are stalled, other arrangements can be solidified as you wait.”

Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.

Michael S. Malone, Scientific American, Image: Getty Images.

The Tau: Week Ending 5/2/20

Discover what you’ve been missing.

Here are some of this week’s headlines pulled from our daily “Top 30 Digest” curated for you, “Fresh from the Labs. Literally bottled and set adrift from KnowWhere Atoll.”

Helping you face what’s going on and create some of your own if/then strategies.

What if … ?

Trends

COVID-19 Phase Two

- - - - ”The coronavirus pandemic is getting the ‘total attention’ of the Gates Foundation”
        
        “Google and the Cost of ‘Data Voids’ During a Pandemic”
        
        ”Google and Apple Reveal How Covid-19 Alert Apps Might Look”
        
        ”How COVID-19 Could Change AR/VR’s Future”

Artificial Intelligence

- - - - ”Google medical researchers humbled when AI screening tool falls short in real-life testing”
        
        ”Don’t Regulate Artificial Intelligence: Starve It”
        
        Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Human Resources (HR) Industry
        
        ”US patent office rules that artificial intelligence cannot be a legal inventor”

Deeper Future Horizons

- - - - ”Hydrogen Industry: The Dawning Of The Hydrogen Economy”
        
        “A new machine learning method streamlines particle accelerator operations”
        
        ”Who needs a jet? 620 mph Hyperloop train will zoom passengers from Paris to Amsterdam in just 90 minutes”

The Final Frontier

- - - - ”Space travel breakthrough: Solar sail offers route to stars at one fifth of light speed”
        
        ”The Universe Is Expanding Faster Than It Should. Why?”
        
        ”Space Photos of the Week: Polychromatic Views of the Earth”

A special welcome and thanks to 160 new followers in just the past 3 days. Like, share and join our growing community of 2,170 followers to see what you missed.

The Tau 12 Months Ago

“You’re starting to think of things in their broader context. New insights come from big-picture thinking.”

Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.

Tags : Apple, Artificial Intelligence, Bill Gates, COVID-19, Earth, Foundations, Google, Hydrogen Economy, Hyperloop, Machine Learning, Medical Research, Pandemic, Patents, Physics, Science, Space

Evidence

Random ones that make me want to change my sign.

And so McQueen’s Holiday Tau was just what I needed for this week’s Patreon publication. How to take advantage of the COVID-19 Pandemic caught the technology community’s disruptive venturing spirit.

“3” Steve Smith, 30: “Though there’s plenty you can learn about yourself outside the context of a relationship, there are many things you figure out quickly by working and playing with others, like you will today.” Gemini

Getting used to “lock down” as a pandemic prevention, surely tests the boundaries of relationships within your own pod, right Emma the Baroness?

“4” Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “With all you’ve experienced, you could write a survival guide. You’ll be compelled to help, but you don’t really have to give any advice or instruction to do so. Your example is enough.” Leo

So, my survival guide for remote workers had already been written, which had been targeted to the knowledge working community who I identified as consultants, freelancers and entrepreneurs who could sell their services to clients which didn’t require their presence 24/7. Given they were more mobile and could live anywhere, then where do they want to put down roots?

“4” Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “Sometimes the bumpy roads lead to the most beautiful places. Other times it’s just more rock and dirt and jostling. Take an enjoyable path and the destination will just be a bonus.” Virgo

As in epic awesome road trips in the West, say to some of my favorite towns on this itinerary?

“3” Steve Kerr, 54: “There is no one better than another, and yet many make easier fits. Of course, fit isn’t everything. Sometimes what you have to grow into or figure out keeps you more interested.” Libra

Just not on the right day. As it applies to the “Work” — in Live, Love, Work, Play, Invest, and Leave a Legacy subtitle to “The Knowledge Path” series — the best fit means matching the right type of organizational talent culture for you. And, if you can’t you may determine which stage of growth fits you better. I’m working on it.

“5” Steve Aoki, 41: “Your story isn’t one narrative. It’s an ever-evolving work of art that you might tell a totally different way one day to the next. This is one way you’ll exercise creative power over your destiny.” Sagittarius

I can’t tell you how often during normal times I’d have to prepare just what my story was and why I was meeting with someone for the first time. Was I a career advisor? Or the chief knowledge officer? Or the organization development consultant? Or the memoirist? Or the blogger?

“4” Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “Life is not about stuff, and yet a few choice items can make your world a bit more fun, safe or smooth today. Figure out what you need. You might be able to trade someone for it.” Pisces

Need? Not much more. Emma the Baroness and I have surprisingly built a comfortable nest egg. More travel, maybe but those trips will have to be postponed, right?

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines grew from 1760 to 2,170.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

- Just picked up “Bob Dylan In America” by Sean Wilentz. Maybe because of the subliminal messaging like the times are a changing and the answer is blowing in the wind, but I kinda like Sean’s fanboy becomes music critic becomes historian surrounding Dylan’s life and times.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

July 18, 2022

S1 E175 — Where’s the Finish Line? Is This Ever Going to End?

Today’s one of those low ebb kind of days after trading in my friend of 20 years for a new model. Except the sexy new thing didn’t perform as expected.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “Before you sign up for a class or throw money at a situation, maybe what’s needed is another way of thinking about what’s goin on here.” Virgo

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 175 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 22nd day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

I couldn’t get CarPlay functioning. Nobody at the dealership could either after troubleshooting my iPhone 8 power cord with their power cords and newer model iPhone.

Look it said so in the features on this vehicle when I conducted my comparison searches. I asked Siri for a solution. She was no help. I typed in the problem statement a variety of ways into the Google browser.

Lot’s of similar problems, but not with an iPhone 8.

Story of my life.

I returned to making sense out of publishing articles to Patreon, desperately trying to reference posts like about Dave McCoy, the entrepreneur who build Mammoth Mountain. Well, the mountain was already there, but you get the picture.

Didn’t complete any goals for the week, except for meeting with Steve B, but I didn’t follow up with him. I gave up and returned to the LA Times.

So I turned to Michael Hiltzik who wrote about a 1979 demonstration for Steve Jobs at PARC by Larry Tesler, who died at age 74,

“But his most important contribution to computing history may have been his role in giving Jobs a front-row view into PARC’s technology. I told the story in my 1999 book about PARC, “Dealers of Lightning,” “

Evidence

Yesterday turned out to shine as far as our legitimate Holiday Tau — Steve Zahn, Henry Winkler, Emma the Baroness and me. How about today? I wonder why I’m so reluctant to follow today’s TauBit?

“5” Steve Zahn, 51: “Every stage and room of life is different. What plays well on one doesn’t look so great on another. Get help setting things up. Another eye on things won’t be a bad idea.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Most of this is true for me except for the last sentence, but the least amount of truthiness is this is my birthday. You already know it’s not.

Today’s Holiday Birthday:

“You’ll discover secrets inside yourself and others. Knowing how things work makes you more powerful in the world. You’ll love what it feels like to go where you only dreamed of going before. A relationship grows more dear to you. And this team will create interesting things together.”

Rooms, what’s with rooms today? A cage? Sorry Jobs, I don’t get it. But, you certainly did at Xerox Parc (Palo Alto Research Center) when Larry Tesler hosted their GUI interface.

“4” Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “As beautiful or gilded as a room may be, if you can’t get out when you want to, it’s still a cage. It’s a day to test and protect your freedom.” Pisces

Don’t I wish your Holiday Tau rang true during this low ebb day.

“2” Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “To know you’re getting something good even when the indicators are mixed — this is the art and talent you’ll have today.” Taurus

Okay, my mother behaved in a way consistent she said with our heritage — neither one of us wants to throw money at something if we can get it cheaper or figure out a better way. Thanks for your TauBit of Wisdom guys.

Making room, a room can be a cage, every room and stage of life is different. Is that the theme for today’s Holiday Tau?

“3” Steve Aoki, 41: “There are things you have but no longer need, things you need but don’t have. Get rid of the excess to make room for the new.” Sagittarius

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends —

Short-Form — Headlines and Highlights from Fresh from the Labs

Long-Form —

- My notes from the introduction in “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” by Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens, surveyed the human past, examining how an insignificant ape became the ruler of planet Earth. Homo Deus, my second book, explored the long-term future of life, contemplating how humans might eventually become gods, and what might be the ultimate destiny of intelligence and consciousness. What is happening right now? What are today’s greatest challenges and choices? What should we pay attention to? What should we teach our kids? Thinking about the big picture is a relatively rare luxury. A single mother struggling to raise two children …
- Michael Hiltzik wrote about 1979 demonstration for Steve Jobs at PARC by Larry Tesler, who died at age 74,

- “Is ‘The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For,’ with its scenes of youthful triumph and predictions of a savvier political class, too optimistic? I’d say not, because the coming tribe really does bring hope of breaking the gerontocracy — time is on their side, of course. Is it a book only for young people, as opposed to “oldsters” (to quote Alter)? I would say the book needed to be written by someone her age, but it holds lessons for everyone. Along with the compelling personal narratives, there is historical context and acknowledgment — much of it from the subjects themselves — that every innovator stands on the shoulders of those who came before.

Progress and Procrastination —

- Procrastinate — I should have been crafting a Special Offer campaign as a way to move $1 Tier (Balboa Island) to $3 Tier (Cambria), but I didn’t get to it yet.
- Progress — Published how go sign up instructions for receiving your $1 Balboa Island benefits, “Trouble Claiming Your Digest? Take These Steps.”
- Progress — Published “Ask Me Anything” for new followers that included, What does being an introvert have to do with anything? We come in six temperament flavors. We’re easy with solitude. In fact, many of us prefer mountain cabins, if given the choice, which inspired me to write about quality-of-life communities in the Sierra and Rocky Mountain Ranges. I happen to be one that I call SPIP short for Systematic-Professional, Idea Packager.
- Progress — Interviewed a Friend of Steve and gathered his feedback on my passion projects, especially The Tau of Steves.
- Procrastination — Lost a full day replacing my 2000 Toyota 4-Runner with a leased Honda CR-V

Speaking Volumes —

- On hold until Patreon’s up and running. My interviewed Friend of Steve offered more feedback at the right time for both volumes, Two and Three manuscripts.

Banking and ATMs —

- Figuring out a campaign for moving $1 Tier Balboa Island supporters to $3 Tier Cambria patrons sets the stage from a specific start date to a deadline in spring.
- Friend of Steves interview checked off a task for the week and provided a partial proof of concept.
- Today 1,277 Flipboard users follow one or more of my 35 digital magazines.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

June 15, 2022

S1 E166 — Falling Down the Time Sucking Rabbit Hole

I continued with my website makeovers after hunkering down while 40 to 50 mph Santa Ana winds wrecked havoc. Oh, and after I assessed damage, then swept up leaves, twigs and branches.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve Zahn, 51: “Time won’t be a significant contributing factor to the quality of the day’s products, so you may as well go fast.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Friday’s Episode 166 in the first season of “My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 6th day of February in winter of 2020.

Context

It dawned on me I should figure out which published “Best of Essays” are for attracting potentials to Patreon and which are for the tier-paying Patrons behind the gate — like specific checklists and steps?

Looked at each website’s blog archive for one or the other audience.

1. 1. The Knowledge Path: Live. Love. Work. Play. Invest. Leave a Legacy.
  2. Western Skies and Island Currents: From the Desert to the Mountains to the Sea and all the Pristine Rivers, Lakes and Islands in Between.
  3. Best West Road Trips: Natural Beauty. Awesome Adventures.
  4. Knowledge ATMs: A peak behind the scenes of self-publishing, crowdfunding, and working for yourself
  5. Knowledge Banking: Wealthy Choices. Healthy Lives.
  6. Know Laboratories: Thriving in an Age of Accelerating Uncertainty

Taking a deeper dive into Knowledge Banking I focused of 4 components of a system to guide future posts.

1. To 4 ways of repurposing Knowledge Product offerings, illustrated by @knowlabs: Fresh from the Labs. Literally bottled and set adrift from KnowWhere Atoll.

- - Guided — This or That?
  - Experimental Trial & Error —Sort Through, Search Again
  - Repackaged Segment — Subscribe to Your Niche
  - Personalized — Tagged to Membership Profile

1. One post should transition from your bucket list of best places to “With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

- - Age,
  - Stage,
  - Status and Affluence, and
  - Population Density“

3. To Volume Two (Work) “With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variation in your new employer by:

- - MBTI Equivalent — Outer or Inner Directed
  - Talent Profile — Degrees of: Disruptive Innovation, Independence, New Knowledge, Affiliation, Speed, Imbedded Knowledge, Improvement, Mastery
  - Best Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis
  - Worst Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis

4. To value creation stages

- - Commodities or Noise
  - Goods or Data
  - Services or Information
  - Experiences or Knowledge
  - Transformations or Wisdom

You know I concerned myself about falling down the rabbit hole into major time sucking morass before I limited my comparison process.

Evidence

“5” Steve Zahn, 51: “Time won’t be a significant contributing factor to the quality of the day’s products, so you may as well go fast.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

I get what wavelength your Holiday Tau resonates with, but for my tasks at hand, I’m not choosing yours for the Tau of the Day.

“3” Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “The right tune will enhance what you’ve got going on today, though the wrong one will help you appreciate the value of silence.” Virgo

Hey Coach Kerr, how competitive do you feel your Holiday Tau is today? Guess what? You bricked it like a Shaquille O’Neil free throw.

“2” Steve Kerr, 54: “If a compliment is like honey, criticism is like vinegar. Taken the right way, both enhance what’s healthy.” Libra

End of the Week “Knews” for FOSs

Trends —

- MIT Published a List of the 9 Megatrends That Will Shape the World in 2030. Here’s What They All Have in Common
- America Needs a Ministry of (Actual) Truth | WIRED

Short-Form —

- I had tons of fun riding an e-bike in a national park. I also broke the law. Oops
- San Francisco Chronicle: Why would anyone bring a baby into the world that is SF?

Long-Form —

- Michael Connelly has become one of my favorites for his style of writing found in his Bosch series, including “Lost Light” for his turn of a phrase like, “At night when I try to sleep but can’t … It is when all the pathways seem to connect and I see the people I have loved.” Or, like, “Like trying to figure out Vietnam in 1967 by watching Walter Cronkite at night.” I view his writing as essential for my efforts at writing my Volume Three series about legacy.

Progress and Procrastination —

- Procrastinate while feeling empty after trying to figure out what this nation has become by watching the Senate acquit Trump without calling any witnesses. What’s up with that?

Speaking Volumes —

- Treating “11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve” as a missing chapter from Volume One, the first 5-book series and a bonus offer, for example.
- Volume Two (Work) — beginning to wrangle key concepts: MBTI Equivalent — Outer or Inner Directed; Talent Profile — Degrees of: Disruptive Innovation, Independence, New Knowledge, Affiliation, Speed, Imbedded Knowledge, Improvement, Mastery; Best Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis; Worst Fit — Organization Type, Stage of Growth and Crisis

Banking and ATMs —

- So it helps if you are a founder or a comedian? How does that work on a crowdfunding platform like Patreon?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

May 30, 2022

S2 E25 — Are You an Innie or Outie Thinker?

The dawn greets me with a surprise, I receive an email from one of the mentors I recruited and managed for guiding Executive MBA students in the program for our University’s School of Business.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve Harvey, 62 :“It’s not like your intuition comes and goes. It’s part of you that is always there. The volume sometimes ducks under louder sounds in your brain caused by more intense thoughts and emotions.” Capricorn

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 25 of the Second Season’s My Pandemic Year’s Natural Experiment, on April 9th in the spring of 2020 here in California.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E24 — Working Remote from KnowWhere Atoll; S2 E23 — Gaping Loss No Amount of Mourning Will Heal; S2 E22 — Paranoid Rose Review and Traffic-Copped Check Out Lines

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E25 — Day 25 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E24 — Day 24 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E23 — Day 23 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E22 — Day 22 of My 1-Year Experiment;

Context

By the last week in March I fought through the technical iCloud restraints. I sent group emails to 370 former proteges and mentors and began hearing back one by one.

I’m responding a little late here but good to hear from you. Hope all is well for you and your family in this current crazy environment. So much uncertainty in the short term, long term we should be OK.

I have been with Endress+Hauser in Anaheim for almost 3 years now, a producer of liquid analytical instruments. We remain open today as an essential supplier to many critical industries. Trying to safely stay open and hoping our luck lasts…

My e-mail has not changed and you can find me on Linked in anytime.

His uncertainty ran through many of my “back and forths”. A little luck wished for. I kept a running summary of how each experienced the unknown for my next update.

By coincidence, one of my Proteges finally took the bait:

I’ve fortunately been steadily busy. There’s a series on Netflix that I was Archival Producer on and I received 2 Emmy Nominations. I also received an international nomination for the HBO documentary “The Defiant Ones.” I recently did a CNN series on Late Night Television that’s going to be airing soon. I also worked on the interstitial documentaries Behind the History running with the new Amazon series “Hunters” and I’m currently doing a Discovery documentary.

Since I have to do budget cost reports and projections, I’m constantly using many of the things I learned in the program. I’m also still in touch with many of my fellow classmates.

Finally, in my non-assertive way my initial email prompted her to ask!

What are you up to these days?

Which, in a “Work-on-the-Business”, means the time has come to jump start weekly email newsletter updates, while balancing time for research into “Chasing the Dime,” “The 5th Risk” and “The Introvert Advantage” with writing my manuscript.

Over the past ten years I’ve field-tested the content I’m writing about in my “Volume Two — Work” manuscript in advisory sessions, seminars, workshops, panel discussions and in mentor meetings.

Staring at a blank screen is not one of my favorite past times. I have to make some basic choices. Write about what you know, right? Should I start with chapters about the “Inner Directed”? A university is filled with them. And, so is the federal government and large, mature organizations of all types — Systematic-Professionals.

“The Fifth Risk” describes how the thinkers — scientists and researchers — in federal departments were targeted by Trump’s administration, while “Chasing the Dime” describes the inner workings of a (fictional) commercial research laboratory which fits the Paradoxy-Moron organization type.

I’m flip-flopping a little when I realize “thinkers” represent my common audience — but, they “come in” both extrovert and introvert temperaments listed below.

8 Myers–Briggs Thinking Types associated with my research (Talent Profile Code)

4 Inner-Directed

ISTP (103 PMCI),

INTJ (104 PMRDE),

ISTJ (110 SAAS),

INTP (113 SPIP)

4 Outer-Directed

ESTP (105 EEMA) ,

ENTJ (106 EEOA),

ESTJ (116 SPIT),

ENTP (101 PMBI).

I’ve got a lot on my plate and not enough concentrated time to flesh out stories and case studies my students, proteges and mentors shared with me for the first draft of my “Volume Two — Work” manuscript.

Evidence

Is there any Holiday Tau I can turn to today? Zahnny, your TauBit of Wisdom seems to be the undercurrent theme I’m receiving in my emails. And, it’s meant for me, even better.

“5” Steve Zahn, 51: “Waste no time fretting about what could happen, especially if it’s negative. Lots of things can and will happen. Good lives are lived in the margins of hope and possibility.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Thank goodness Zahn, the Fonze, Emma the Baroness and I didn’t have to swipe yours, even though you are our Patron Saint. Sorry, Steve I’m passing on this one. Strike that your honor. Forced to work from home turns out to be the major adjustment we face with personal space!

“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The day’s conflict has to do with two people trying to occupy the same space. Neither one is more correct. When ego and pride are put aside, there is a way to take turns.” Aries

Smithy, we’ve shared very valuable Tau before, but this just isn’t relevant for me today. I’m such a buffoon, Steve your Holiday Tau clarifies how to take advantage of our Patron Saint’s.

“5” Steve Smith, 30: “There’s a way to make peace with every moment. Finding it requires you to drop knee-jerk reactions and decide to think something different. You’re willing because you love peace more than you love arguing.” Gemini

Howey, somehow we just aren’t connecting today with any of the Holiday Taus for Steves, except the only one I can legitimately claim all for myself. Sorry, I’m sticking with my first impression.

“3” Steve Howey, 42: “Loved ones have their own lives and adventures and when those journeys take them in different directions, you stay the course of your own knowing that the road of love always circles back.” Cancer

Yeah, I’m feeling your TauBit of Wisdom today G&G, but it just doesn’t win the day for me, you know. You almost got me with the “inner life” tied to the 4 inner-directed thinkers, but not quite.

“4” Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “Hard work is fine with you today. Boring work is fine, too. Whatever the work, it is your attitude about it and the inner life you bring to it that makes it worthwhile.” Virgo

Hey Harv, how’s it going? Now, your Holiday Tau feels right up there with Zahnny’s. Yours starts with “intuition” and then it includes both “thoughts” and emotions, so yeah I’m all in.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @knowlabs followers or one or more of my 35 digital magazines jumped from 1532 to 1581.

Foresight

- Column: Trump’s coronavirus failures may stem from this source – Los Angeles Times

Quality-of-Life

- ABC7 Bay Area: Coyotes caught on camera fighting at the Presidio now facing crowds during COVID-19 shelter-in-place

Long-Form

- “Rhythms of Vision: The Changing Patterns of Belief” published in 1975 by Lawrence Blair, Ph.D. “Whereas our outer, rational memories show us only brief span on the surface of history behind us, our inner memories — through myth and symbol — detect currents of meaning beneath the future as well.”“The outer chaos and confusion of our time is but the disturbance which characterizes the metamorphosis of all great rhythms, or aeon’s, into a new one; but inwardly, the iron-filings of a special kind of related knowledge are already polarizing themselves around a new pattern of Meaning, revealing that a deeper knowledge of universal laws in contingent on a deeper knowledge of the self, and the schism between the two wolds of science and religion is beginning to heal and to merge into a single majestic river of vision.”
- “The Fifth Risk,” by Michael Lewis describes how the thinkers in federal departments were targeted by Trump’s administration, especially the scientists and researchers. “‘I was fucking nervous as shit, Bannon later told friends. I go, Holy fuck, this guy [Trump] doesn’t know anything. And he doesn’t give a shit.’ Even in normal times the people who take over the United States government can be surprisingly ignorant… The United States government might be the most complicated organization on the face of the earth. Its two million federal employees take orders from four thousand political appointees. How to stop a virus, how to take a census, how to determine if some foreign country is seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon or if North Korean missiles can reach Kansas City: these are enduring technical problems.”
- “Chasing the Dime,” by Michael Connelly describes the inner workings of a (fictional) commercial research laboratory which fits the Paradoxy-Moron organization type. “(In the lab) is where you find time for more AE work. Analyze and evaluate. When the unknown or unexpected came up in the lab you stopped and went into AE mode. What do you see? What do you know? What does it mean? In the lab everything was clear … simple. Quantifiable. Scientific theory was tested and either proved or disproved. No gray areas. No shadows.”

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

April 12, 2022April 12, 2022

S2 E21 — Cycles of History Rhyming with Endlessly Disruptive Rhythms?

How do we miss the writing on the wall that leads to shock, bargaining, denial, anger, depression, and finally acceptance? It won’t be the last time, because it happens more frequently.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5” Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “When you seek achievement and goals, there’s a definite end in mind. But this thing you’re after now will be an endless cycle of exploring and reinvention.” Pisces

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 21 of the Second Season’s My Pandemic Year’s Natural Experiment, on April 2nd in the spring of 2020 here in California.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E20 — Panic, Fertilizer and Least Expected Meaningful Moments; S2 E19 — What’s Percolating in Our Collective Unconscious?; S2 E18 — What is the Truth and How Can You Tell?

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E21 — Day 21 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E20 — Day 20 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E19 — Day 19 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E18 — Day 18 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

Overtaken by events once more, I’m urgently summarizing the last four critical chapters from my second book in The Knowledge Path series, “Authentic Lifestyle Businesses: Plug Your Passions in and Play Anywhere”.

Is it time for elevating these lessons to a higher priority for publishing on Patreon?

Disruption (Surviving)

“Those of us who have been in transition (between jobs) can tell you that when you are blind-sided it’s not fun.”

How do we miss the writing on the wall that leads to shock, bargaining, denial, anger, depression, and finally acceptance.

Steps (6) Anticipate changing circumstances and economic cycles.

Anticipation (Thriving, Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF))

“Give yourself and your loved ones more choices and options.”

Why anticipation acts like an advanced warning device: gain more control and thrive.

Step (19) Anticipate the growing shifts in life and business. Nobody wants to swim upstream if the current is moving everything in the opposite direction. Clue your fans in.

Translation (Fans)

“What isn’t smart is to build the core of your business around something that can change in a heartbeat.”

How to take complex change and translate it into concrete action that lets other people survive the tsunami, you become one of the most valuable people society has to offer.

Step (18) If your lesser fans have lost their way and you can offer solutions to thrive in bad and good times, then you have a solid opportunity to convert them into true fans for life.

Resilience (Time Frames: 2003 to 2008; 2009 to 2014; 2015 to 2020)

“You see your peers not able to adapt, not able to grasp reality, and it’s really the death of a thousand cuts.”

What happens when you exceed your “absorption threshold” especially for longer periods of time – dysfunction, fatigue, emotional burnout, inefficiency, even sickness or drug abuse.

Step (17) Sketch out your trajectory in 5-year time frames. Will we fall into another recession? Absolutely. Will you be ready this time with future-proofed strategies?

Step (7) Persist and pivot to navigate external threats and opportunities.

Does history repeat itself?

Was it really Mark Twain who said something along the lines that if it doesn’t it rhymes.

The lessons from thriving during the Great Recession may require tweaking, but the rhythm and chorus feels about right.

Evidence

Let’s check in with our Holiday for today, shall we?

Unless or until this period in our lives becomes more dire, I’d say our legitimate TauBit of Wisdom rings true, just not that high on my list.

“3” Steve Zahn, 51: “The best reason to improve? For you, it’s to fulfill an idea you have about who you might be.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

I realize this is only the second Holiday Tau for 9 sets of Steves, but without considering the rest your’s hits home. My research into Inner-Directed MBTI temperaments as a way of identifying their best fits in organization type and growth stage must be what you’re talking about. I have to weigh this set of COVID-19 concerns to determine if the potential pandemic threat is a distraction or a new focus.

“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “You can’t afford to be pulled out of the flow of what you’re doing. Sure, you can jump back in, but every distraction cost you something.” Aries

So W&W I hear the tune you’re playing, but today’s not the day for me to sing along.

“3” Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69: “There have been plenty of days when you didn’t want to do something, and you did it anyway because you’re a person who honors your commitments. Today, you’ll be rewarded.” Taurus

Okay. Are you saying feelings of panic or the denial of procrastination or just plain distraction can work for me? I’m not quite there yet, Smithy but if it comes to that, I’ll remember your Holiday Tau.

“3” Steve Smith, 30: “Stay fixed on your aim, and let whatever feelings show up organize themselves to help you.” Gemini

Howey, is your Holiday Tau about writer’s block? Or, is this a complementary TauBit of Wisdom to share with Smithy? Either way, I’m not feeling the need.

“3” Steve Howey, 42: “There are plenty of reasons why you can’t do the thing, and writing them down is the first step in your plan.” Cancer

Here’s how I’m interpreting your Holiday Tau guys, tell me if I’m wrong. This loops back all the way to McQueen’s TauBit of Wisdom, right? So, I need to reach out to my network of mentors, proteges and longtime associates and friends to check in on how they are coping?

“5” Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Your reputation is excellent, and you’ll like the feedback you get when you test that.” Leo

Firm believer here, Coach Kerr. Your Holiday Tau might as well be preaching to the choir. Especially we introverts love to reflect and meditate, and if this COVID phenomenon is just a scare, I’ll be able to return to offering options when changing careers.

“5” Steve Kerr, 54: “Can anyone tell you what to do with your life? Sure, and lots of people will be happy too. But moments of reflection and meditation will give you better intel.” Libra

Sometimes I mix you and Kerr up although you played a different style of basketball in the NBA. You should become a coach. Anyway, spaces. Almost like that famous Wayne Gretzky quote about shooting the puck to where the scorer will be, not where he is now. Your soccer probably contributed to how great you were at reading spaces and passing lanes in motion. Am I right?

“4” Steve Nash, 45: “The space between things will convey more meaning than things themselves. You’ll get good at reading spaces.” Aquarius

OMG. Your Holiday Tau completely took a sharp turn from where I felt your were going. I love where you left it — an endless cycle of exploring and reinvention — so you!

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

- @knowlabs followers or one or more of my 35 digital magazines jumped from 1,481 to 1525.

Foresight

- Remote jobs to keep you working during the coronavirus era – Los Angeles Times

Quality-of-Life

- 5280 Magazine: You’re Working From Home. Now What? – 5280

Long-Form

- “The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World” by Marti Olsen Laney
- An Introvert’s Guide to Finding Success in Web Design

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION