No Safe Space

No longer popular, if I ever was. I write words that require you to think about other people and their lives. Justice requires us to think and use judgment.

Do not fall into the narrowly defined political parties. Frankly both parties have been coopted by extreme liberal or conservative views, who think of each other as evil. Most people I have met throughout the world are good and human. Give people the benefit of the doubt.

Do not subscribe to identity politics. American son of enough cultures to start WW1 by myself. My wife is from Asia and brings her viewpoints to the USA has a citizen. Have yet to meet a country that was right all the time. All started wars at some time.

Not locked into my religious identity. Spent a lot of time in other churches, synagogues and temples. God says love everyone, not just those like us. I try.

History has not made today any different than our past. People have always disagreed by demonizing their opponents. Look up ‘Yellow Journalism’ and political campaigning stories around the founding of the United States. Nasty descriptions of the other side.

FB has identified our political leanings and isolates us from different of offensive views. We tend to friend those who agree with us. Have friends with different views.

Free speech is not I get to tell you my opinions and you shut up. It is listening to each other, respectfully. It is hearing opinions or “hate speech” without being easily offended. And being kind to the people who said them.

Especially be kind. Required for free people everywhere.

Living with Uncertainty

My co-workers and I have been living with uncertainty. The project ~45 of us have been working on ends October 20^th. Fortunately last month was told no one else gets laid off.  We just do not know if we will be working 787 or the other programs.  Next week may find out.

~20 of my co-workers will be working in Renton, about 26 miles from the Everett Plant. May be one of them, at least have a job. Several other co-worker have been laid off or taken voluntary layoff. We have been working most of the year with this hanging over our heads.

Surprisingly productivity has still been good. My co-workers and I kept up with our workload. Research was done on openings and what happens if we got layoff notices. Discussions happened around the water cooler. But until people had to prepare for changes, work got completed on time.

Humor has been a coping mechanism. Co-worker said this week, “They told me they were arguing who I would work for. But they didn’t tell me if they were arguing to get me or who got stuck with me.” Most people now know where they are going. So been telling people, “feel like the little kid picked last for teams” :) for the last couple weeks.

Always been more comfortable with uncertainty than most engineers. Every project has required a redesign or changes from customer feedback. No one knows how well new products will sell. We start projects based on best guess. Economies change, competitors offer new products, and life happens.  Results do not turn out as expected. Best sellers are often version of the original. WD-40 is the 40^th version of the lubricant.

To deal with uncertainty with resilience, focus on what you are doing now. You can’t control the situation. Helps to plan if the worst happens what you will do. Apply for jobs in advance, update your resume in case, and cut optional spending. You only need one job. Another opportunity will show up. The worst usually does not happen.

Sometimes it helps to image talking to an older you several years after this was resolved. What did you learn from the change? Should I have worried so much? (Usually no.) Every job change has expanded my knowledge and added new skills that helped my career. Did not feel good at the time, but worked out for my benefit.

My faith is another reason am not worried. God has a plan for us, and since I gave these challenges to God, my life is so much better than I would have expected. Working in 7 states (so far) was not my plan, but met great people because I moved. Hard to give up friends and co-workers to move, but thankful for all my opportunities.

Summarizing - You can’t control what happens to you. You can only control how you react and think about it. Resilience happens when you try to Find the Good, the Humor and Have Faith It Will Work Out. If nothing else you have another story to tell your children and friends.

Why Should I Hire You?

The Secret to Finding a Job Faster is to know what you are good at, and Success Stories to demonstrate that ability. The more you can Identify Your Specific Gifts, and express them clearly, the faster you get work.

Every employer wants someone who can work dependably, with little supervision needed, and take care of their tasks in a timely manner. Helps if you fit their culture and are pleasant to work with. Remember, you are Dealing with People.

The current resume screening system is broken. We pour resumes into a black hole and never hear feedback (so they don’t get sued). Everyone sits at their computers frustrated, and not improving.

Find work faster by taking different approaches on different days. Go meet people in person, call friends, update your LinkedIn profile, go to job fairs, find companies you are interested in working for, send out pain letters, talk with recruiters, and Tell People the Type of Work you are Specifically Looking for.  Don’t make them guess.

Yes keep applying for jobs online, but Don’t Apply for Everything. Pick the 1-4 jobs today that use your skills, and focus on quality responses. Then do one of the choices above. Everyday do something different.

Getting hired is a numbers game. There are plenty of employers looking for good people who do not have time to find them. Approximately 75-80% of all Openings are Not Advertised. Personally have been hired through recruiters, applying online, and friends asking me to work with them. There is No Wrong Way to find a job.

Confused, Frustrated and Angry

Someone at work asked how I was doing? “Confused, Frustrated and Angry. You know, normal.” Situation Normal or SNAFU are military expression of the same feeling.

Work is often stressful, deadlines are tight, management is under pressure to cut workers and costs, and customers are demanding and shopping for value. In times of layoffs, hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, war or other emergencies, stress is going to cloud our thinking.

The Secret To Never Being Frustrated Again
You cannot control everything. Some days feel like you control nothing. Heck can’t even make a green light, today they are almost all red. Giving up control frees you to live in the moment.

It is all feedback. If you try new things, it shows what you enjoy and can live without. Businesses develop new products by building prototypes and testing. They ask customers for feedback. Then they introduce it to the market, and learn from customers to improve.

Sculptures and large art works start by artist drawing sketches of what they want to make. Iterations are needed to prepare for success in art and life.

What you want to do will change. What I want to do at 60 is not the same I wanted to do at 20. Afraid of public speaking at 20, at 50 enjoyed the experience. All you can do is try something today and learn from it.

More learning comes from failure than success. Compassion for other people comes from failure. Your failures are how you help others.

It is okay to fail. Guarantee you will fail. Not every time, but often enough. Life moves as it will, and is controlled by God. 

“If you never venture beyond what you know... You’ve spawned your own limitations.” - Sumner Redstone

Primer for Working with People

This is in honor of Labor Day and workers everywhere. Been fortunate to work with many great people.

For an introvert like me, learning to work with people was challenging. Was shy and meeting all new people. Not knowing their job titles nor responsibilities. Not sure what my responsibilities. Not knowing how the systems worked. Very stressful. This is when mentors and leads are so valuable.

Developed principles and practices that help me from boardrooms to the shop floor. You could do worse that starting work with these.

Assume People are Competent. Solve problems by getting good information from the operators, mechanics and customers. Managers often blame the operator. Find it more productive to ask what are they seeing? Is this new or an old issue? People are your eyes and ears. If they have made a mistake, it is usually because of their training, not deliberate. If it was deliberate it will come out. Start positive.

Talk about Intent. Department of Motor Vehicles is a great example. Got confused one time and said “You do this every day. What am trying to do is register my car and get a license. What do I have to do?” After all they are the experts. When they realize am cooperating instead of arguing, get great service.

Ask Questions. How else will you learn? Second people have less resistance to changing if it is they contribute concerns and ideas to a solution.

Listen and Repeat Key Points They Said. If people know you listen and care, barriers come down. Progress gets made.

“You’re Right”. The problem with politics is competition to be right. Neither side has all the right ideas. Good ideas come from everyone. Try to find the whys behind their ideas. They are often right. Cooperate, not competition solves problems.

“Yes, and …”. This is an improve idea that works well daily. The best solution is often a combination of ideas from different people. Help build solutions.  

People Want What They Want. No matter your job title, you are in Customer Service to customers and co-workers. Help people get what they need.

None of these ideas are original. Learned them from past and current co-worker sharing their knowledge. Have you got any to add?