A New Year

A New Year is upon us and it is a time for reflection and a time for setting goals. I just finished a book titled "Tribes" that is a bit about goals but more about the changes in leadership and the opportunities for everyone to lead. With blogs, websites, internet, facebook etc. etc. there is an opportunity to create Tribes and lead the Tribes. Godin refers to the elements of leadership and indicates that leaders challenge the status quo and create cultures. They communicate their vision to attract and motivate followers for their tribe. They commit to a vision and base their decisions on that commitment. Finally he talks about how leaders connect followers to one another. It is not about power, but rather about building and motivating a tribe. To quote his feeling on Belief "People don't believe what you tell them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves. What leaders do: they give people stories they can tell themselves. Stories about the future and about change." What stories have your leaders given you to tell and are you committed to any Tribes?

What makes organizations great? Their willingness to be wrong, realization that wrong isn't fatal, and a willingness to not be not great along the way but great in the future bigger goal at the end of the process. There isn't an easy way to reach the goal and there may be failures along the way but the secret is a simple one according to Godin "Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow".

Hidden Mickey's

Next time you visit Disneyland or Disney World look for the hidden characters. This all started with hidden Mickey's but has expanded some to other characters as well. What you see on this postcard is a few examples of the Hidden Mickey's at Disney World in Orlando. I just attended Mousefest (an event for died in the wool Disney fans) and went on a tour with Steve Barrett who wrote the book on hidden Mickey's and is the unofficial keeper of the list. If you plan to go to one of the parks, be sure to buy the book as it will help you find Characters you would never see otherwise. It is a fun activity to make the park experience a challenge.

Make a Smilebox postcard

Grant a Wish

What a great opportunity to "Grant a Wish". This is a contest by Sears to win a $100.00 gift card. http://therealtimjones.com/2008/12/16/grant-a-wish-with-a-100-sears-gift-card/ Head for this site and participate in the contest. I entered by ordering four snow shovels for the folks up north. Sorry South Dakota guys I'll be sending them to Minnesota and North Dakota if I win. After all that is the real North!!
Hope you are having a great season up north. We had snow last week and it almost brought New Orleans to a standstill.



The New Orleans team continues to work hard on the UPK and works hard to stay focused on the UPK. Food can also become a focus and guess whose plate this is? If you guess right, you will get the opportunity to go with the team to the local truck stop for lunch if and when you get to New Orleans.

Christmas Around the Corner

Christmas is just around the corner and New Orleans has dressed in it's finest decorations for the event. The Cajana Team thought it would be an opportunity to show our Christmas spirit with a tree. Now we all know that Cajana is new so the agreement was we would be frugal, but we do believe Bob took it a bit too far when he found us our tree.



Sharon wanted something a bit larger and more flambuoyant, but considering our frugal approach decided we could all just walk by the large tree at the Renaissance. I was looking for the Christmas goodies but found none under either tree. I guess this will be another year of coal and an onion for me.



So, what was the airplane book this week? Shack. I am still pondering the book and it gives you pause. Very different from what I expected at the beginning of the book. Is it worth the read? I would have to say yes.

Back in the Big Easy

We are back in the Big Easy and it is cold. We were discussing Christmas presents today and Bob said he was going to buy Kathy a snuggie...but she decided it might be too warm for Georgia. We did decide however, that it would be great for the South Dakota Crew.
So if you want to keep your wife, or significant other in cozy comfort, take a look at the Snuggie on this site. You'll find lots of other TV offers here as well. Click on the TV Offers link and take a look at Bob's suggestion.

If you want something really special go to
the LUSH link on the blog. Sharon, Kathy and I have tested many of these products and can vouch for the bubble bars, bath bombs and stocking stuffers. So get busy and buy those extra special presents now without fighting the crowds.

Happy Thanksgiving

Make a Smilebox greeting

Technical Artist

We often hear of technical experts who are totally focused on numbers, formulas or code who aren't very creative. That is not the case with Mike Johnson our technology officer at Cajana. He is a premier sculptor as this picture demonstrates. He carved this pumpkin for Halloween and he told us "While I may not have dressed up like a pirate or a giant chicken… I did manage to carve a pretty mean pumpkin this year".

He also mentioned that nearly every trick-or-treater in their neighborhood really enjoyed the pumpkin and got a real kick out of it.

Mike said one little guy (maybe 2 or 3) couldn’t stop giggling at the pumpkin, and when we asked “what do you think happened?” he responded back with “he burped!” It had to have been one of the cutest Halloween moments ever. You have to agree, this is a pretty cool pumpkin and if you ask nicely, maybe Mike will carve one for you next year.

Halloween has Come and Gone

But the pictures will live on forever. The Cajana Team in South Dakota went all out for Halloween. Great costumes and it looks like Colin has found a pretty cool Pirate to hang out with.

Other activities include Sharon and Bob winning prizes for guessing the right answers to the blog contests. So how were those gators?

The NFC project is moving along and the team is waiting for the training database to continue working on the UPK products. With technical support from Mike and Colin in South Dakota, the team was able to edit the transition UPK and get it back up on the NFC website.

The team in New Orleans wandered through the quarter for dinner at the Embers. Bob is busy pondering the menu, or trying to read the fine print. Once again Sharon is a bit blurry and looking for guidance from above. Not sure we'll find that on Bourbon Street.

IMG_0066

IMG_0066,
originally uploaded by barbara_sanborn.

This is Sharon after the meeting with NFC.

IMG_0065

IMG_0065,
originally uploaded by barbara_sanborn.

Bob at Brennan's on Canal

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

What a Drive?

Driving from Jacksonville Beach to New Orleans isn't too bad but driving back in pouring rain and two accidents outside of Mobile...TOO MUCH. It was great to get home after a week of work and meeting chaos. The project direction is EmpowHR9.0 and Sharon and I finished a large number of the Payroll Documents. Colin worked hard to bring in the Navigation Module and with some review it is complete.
So let's keep our project headed in the right direction....

A Job? You likely don’t have the luxury of just one, simple job. In fact, you probably have about 20 jobs. You must analyze the problem, understand the needs of the customer, define the requirements, control the changes, and more. And while juggling these varied responsibilities, you also make it all come together so you can deliver the right solution to your customers on time and within budget.

So what will the road to success look like at the NFC. It isn’t always clearly marked. What tools will we need to map the path to success? We will need to be able to work together although not always geographically co-located. A few things that will help our project include:

* A centralized place for project information – contracts, specs, workflows, collateral which is provided through the use of Sharepoint. Sharepoint can provide an excellent repository if we all use it.
* It can also provide for collaboration, document management, accounting, and other key areas.
It’s never been easier to reach higher levels of success with multi-dimensional projects so let's work hard to keep our customers well informed and our team successful.

The activities included a dinner at one of the Brennan restaurants right on Canal Street. If Bob and Sharon appear a little blurry..it is the result of a meeting with the client this week which left them a bit on the discombobulated side!!

What's for Breakfast in New Orleans?

When we aren't working in New Orleans, the focus usually goes to food. This week Bob was excited about pancakes and bacon for breakfast at the hotel. We did find that he likes to be served however so we were very accomodating.

Sharon was more into elegance and Italian Food so we found a wonderful little restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. No, we didn't walk and Barbara was not allowed to drive. It was a very interesting dinner though as someone mentioned they wanted to take off their clothes during dinner, which had an immediate effect on those of us who were dining. That is the contest this week. If you can identify who that person is, you will win a bath bomb from LUSH.
Work was accomplished for the NFC. All of the overviews for the Payroll module were developed and added to the EmpowHR 9.0 Training UPK. The new EmpowHR Transition document is up on the NFC website and looks good.
Sharon won the prize last week by identifying Bob as the Secret person behind the menu.
So what was the airplane book of the week? Well, Sharon read Shack but we are waiting for her review. So the recommended book this week is "The No Asshole Rule" by Robert I. Sutton, PhD. Excerpt a quote from Roderick C. Hare, CEO of Mission Ridge Capital: "For most of my professional career, I have been telling anyone who would listen that I can work with just about every type of person, with one glaring exception--assholes. In fact, I have always used that very word. As much as I believe in tolerance and fairness, I have never lost a wink of sleep about being unapologetically intolerant of anyone who refuses to show respect for those around them." That is only one of many profound quotes in the book. The book provides a checklist to determine if you are an asshole and strategies for change. It also provides guidelines for developing "No Asshole" policies. He points out some of the assholes who have won like Steve Jobs, Michael Eisner and Larry Ellison. It is really worth a couple of flights and one that should be read by those who want to lead and succeed and anyone who has had contact with assholes in the workplace..and who hasn't..raise your hand.

New Orleans

It was a productive week in New Orleans. The Transition Document was reviewed with changes to several tables. The team spent one evening at Landry's out by Lake Ponchartrain. Things haven't changed much since the SPAWAR project, even though Katrina hit the area. The large homes along the lake are still magnificent architectural visions. The fountains along the lake are not working but I am sure are on the repair list for the Big Easy.
Colin and Sharon enjoyed their dinner at Landry's while looking out over the water at all the sail boats and ships that are docked in the harbor. Colin enjoyed the New Orleans fare.




The team also went downtown and enjoyed a walk around Jackson Square, up across Royale and a couple more blocks to Bourbon Street. Things looked as exciting as ever on Bourbon, although there weren't as many street musicians, there were a few that added to the ambiance of the city.We found a great little restaurant downtown where Colin enjoyed Jambalaya and Sharon was entertained by the waiter.

Some of us dressed in our finest for the occasion with a great mask...but no beads. There was also a stranger with us at the table who refused to be seen. Guess who it is and win a prize from New Orleans....maybe a mask or some beads...or even a special treat from Pat O'Briens.

So what is the recommendation for this week? A laminated stret map for New Orleans so the Team will know which way to turn!!

Crazy Johnnies

The team looked pretty happy and we did manage to capture Bob's best side!! We didn't leave him behind as you might have thought from the photo.
It was a busy week in the Big Easy. Lots of work was completed on the UPK training documents and modules. The iterations will continue as changes are made prior to "GO Live". The team managed a dinner at "Crazy Johnnies"...back in my old neighborhood. Pretty much the same except for a large new parking lot next to the shopping center. The evening was spent discussing NFC requirements and documents. Did have a bit of time to discuss the meal which consisted of good meals for most all concerned. The sirloin was tuff but the mushrooms and chowder made up for the shortcoming.

The airplane book of the week had nothing to do with team building, motivation, or management. It was strictly an escape novel with a Florida setting. It was written by Tim Dorsey who has a rather unusual sense of humor which makes for a good read on the plane. No concentration, just light reading.

Take 15 Minutes Each Day for Yourself

The Big Easy

The Cajana Team was in two places this week. Three of us were in New Orleans and our developer was in Sioux Falls, SD. It is a challenge to work from two places but the week went well and we accomplished some work on the transition document. The team is still working to get clarity on the requirements of NFC and their agencies as we move forward into EmpowHR 9.0. We work at the NASA facility in New Orleans which is in the picture. It looks a long way off as we are not allowed to have cameras on site.


The facility is a long drive in the morning from Metairie past where the old Six Flags Amusement Park is located. The rollercoasters are still standing but the park is no longer open so they look like large giant caterpillars standing in the distance or magnificent sculptures.

New Orleans looks very different from my last term of duty here on the SPAWAR project. Damaged homes that have not been torn down or renovated and many areas in significant disrepair. We see so many broken windows and buildings with parts missing as we drive to work each morning.

We did manage a dinner out this week but for the most part went back to the hotel at the end of the day. Even though you only see a part of Bob's plate, believe me it was empty at the end of dinner. The entertainment at dinner was also quite engaging.

The airplane book this week was "Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life" by Larry Winget. Larry is a popular speaker and has some great advice in the book. The title sounds a bit harsh but has good information on listening and who to listen to, and how to live by design, not default. It is a down to earth approach to work, relationships, business, money and even religion. Larry is known as the Pitbull of Personal Development. The book may make you better or it may tick you off but it is worth the read.

Dallas andTheSlide

When the team had to spend a week in Dallas because of the hurricane threat in New Orleans, we found a fun slide. Sharon took us to a local establishment for dinner and we all got our exercise sliding down the slide.

Going to Kansas City

The team made it to Kansas City. Bob, Sharon, Colin and I arrived safe and sound. Well almost...Bob was stopped by the airport police for parking outside the airport while I ran in to pick up a bag that was not on my flight. Colin came in late which allowed us to go pick up the rental car, drive back to the airport and pick up Colin and make the final stop for my bag. We were navigationally challenged on the way to the hotel (Even with Neverlost) but somehow we made it.

Sharon didn't get to participate in the adventure to the hotel as she came in on an earlier flight from Dallas.

Training went great and it was a good week for the team. The evening events included good food, good conversation, and relaxation. You can see by the photo who relaxed the most as they were seated in the Fish Chair outside of Red Lobster on Metcalf.

I am sure you recognize Bob Patti and the newest member of the team, Colin Lambert. He is our developer.

I am recommending a book for our team. The title of the book is 212 and there may be some of you who remember Bob with the nickname 212. This book is very small but filled with great information. It provides insight into making small differences that provide great results. An easy read that you can complete on one flight. If you don't have it...click the link below and buy it today. What is your 1 degree of difference?