Unmasking Good Humor

A masked dog snout in the garden

Unmasking Good Humor

I have two daughters, Jessi and Annie, living in New York City.  So, as I walked up my street in the crisp clear morning air, I felt grateful to be able to enjoy the early light and the exercise. Because I was thinking of those daughters and how they’ve been locked away, in their small apartments, now for a quarter of a year.  And, even though the day was just beginning, after reading the news as I always do early in the morning, I had begun to be persuaded that perhaps the world was ending. This, of course, was because virtually all the stories I saw were seemingly filled with interminable, worrisome headlines and information.  You know what I mean; disease, earthquakes, floods, wind, fires, electrical outages, violence!

“Fresh air, exercise and a change of view is exactly what I needed!”  I thought as I walked.

And, I was soon to see that I needed a little bit more than just fresh air and exercise because of my neighbors and friends Holly and Gary Christley.

The Christley’s own the land right across the street from me.  I enjoy the open and green view that they generously provide as they grow alfalfa mostly, and sometimes a rotational crop.  On this morning, toward the middle of May, the alfalfa was beginning to grow tall.  I could almost hear it grow, reaching for the sun.  But, perhaps I confused the comforting sound of the sprinkler heads, throwing and disbursing water from the lengthy irrigation wheel lines with its associative life force recharging the ground.

I was being recharged myself during the four minutes, or so, it took me to walk up to the driveway announcing the Christley home.  I found comfort and joy in the familiar, peaceful surroundings.  Right up to the moment I saw the unfamiliar, settled in the lush greenery, welcoming visitors to Gary and Holly’s house.

The cute, ceramic dog sitting in the foliage, near the junction of our street, was in its usual spot.  But, the dog’s variable brown was punctuated with blue! It was now sporting a medical cover; a masked dog snout in the garden.  It brought a smile to my face.  It lightened my steps.  My chuckle joined in with the symphony of irrigation music.

So, as I walked up my street in the crisp clear morning air, I felt grateful to be able to enjoy the early light, the exercise and the change of view offered by the Christley’s restorative sense of humor! Perhaps, you and I have begun to be persuaded that, imaginably, the world is ending, because we’ve become filled with seemingly interminable, worrisome headlines and information.  You know what I mean; disease, earthquakes, floods, wind, fires, electrical outages, violence!

“Fresh air, exercise and a change of view?  Yes!  And a little humor along the way is exactly what we need!”  I thought, as I continued walking through life, made brighter and lighter by the Christley’s good sense of fun.

The Blind Leading the Blind

“Do you want to see something?” – Steven Maranville

The Blind Leading the Blind

Steve and I had just finished enjoying our almost regular lunch.  You might say our mid-day meals together have become customary, though not a formally recurring event, ever since we began collaborating, volunteering some of our time and expertise to help prepare local technology, start-up companies raise investment capital through VentureCapital.org.  And, as is usual, I was driving. That’s by mutual consent; because Steve is blind.

“Do you want to see something?”  Steve said to me as we got in the car and started driving toward his house.

“Sure.” I responded, wondering how in the world he was going to show me anything as we drove!

While his question was a little curious, I wasn’t completely surprised, because I’ve heard him ask two questions, with regularity, to company founders each time we begin our coaching sessions with them.  His first question is, “How’s your vision acuity?”  His second is, “Are you ready to venture with vision?”  Then, I can practically see a sparkle in his eyes, right through his almost-always-worn sun glasses, when he follows-up with, “Yes, I’m totally blind.  And while lacking eyesight, I abound with entrepreneurial insight!”

Steven Maranville speaks with confidence, because he is a world renown professor of entrepreneurship, specializing in strategic adaption and organizational transformation, advising potential "Unicorn" entrepreneurs toward, how to gain and sustain competitive advantage by scaling a venture that learns.

And, I was sure I was about to learn something important, with my hands gripping the steering wheel as we began to leave downtown.  Because I looked to my right, ever so slightly, so I wouldn't take my eyes off the road in front of us.

"Is that a smirk on his face?" I asked myself as we began the climb up Capitol Hill on Salt Lake City's Main Street.

As we turned right, at the top of Main Street to make pour way onto East Capital Blvd., I heard Steve's voice say, through those smirking lips, "Ventures must adapt within an ofter-hostile competitive environment.  But, to adapt, a venture must be able to lean.  Those ventures that learn the fastest and the most are those that gain and sustain competitive advantage."

"The lesson is coming soon!"  I thought, as we continued up the road.  And it was!

"Take the next left!" Steve said, so casually, that his subtlety punctuated the teaching moment.

“What!  How in the world did you do that?”  I laughed.

“There’s a curve in the road!  Most people miss it.”  He retorted gleefully as we glided into his driveway.

I got out, opened his door and allowed him to grasp my arm, so we could walk to the entrance of his lair together.  We embraced at his home’s front door, as we said our farewell.

Steve and I had just finished enjoying our almost regular lunch.  You might say our mid-day meals together have become customary, though not a formally recurring event, ever since we began collaborating.  As you can see, it’s also customary for Steve to teach me a thing or two while on our excursions.  And, as is usual, Steve was my teacher. That’s by mutual consent; because I’m often blind to indicators of importance.

“It’s the Blind leading the Blind!”  I whispered to myself, with a smile, feeling gratitude for an extraordinary friend who’s always showing me how to overcome my own blindness by paying attention to indicators often unobserved.

Coding a Dream

What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything? – Vincent Van Gogh

Coding a Dream

“The great thing is that you’ll never have to make a presentation like that ever again!” Sam Bernards said, as he opened the feedback process during our Cooperative Venturing meeting with Ben Garrett.

Such a comment may lead others to shrink.  Give up.  Yet, that’s not what happened.  It wasn’t what Ben chose to do, because he has courage to dream!

“I started Polity because I had a dream about it one night.”  Ben confided during one of our team meetings.  “It was so vivid!  I could see all of the features.  I knew exactly what the software needed to do and why it needed to do it.  Most importantly, I knew that our society needed it.”

With that explanation, one would assume that Ben already knew how to code, that he would have gotten up the next day to start creating the software that would bring his dream into reality.  And, he did, sort of!  However, Ben didn’t know how to code.  He didn’t even really have any such experience.  Did that stop him?  Did he give up?

Ben didn’t give up his dream because he didn’t know how to code.  He learned to code instead, consulting with a friend to fill in the knowledge gaps he discovered as he was learning the art and science of coding.

“Coding is the easy part!” Ben later explained, as we were grappling with the challenges of crafting a business model that would allow him to raise investment capital in order to create a rapid-growth-business. So, now Ben is immersing himself in the art and science of new venture creation and he messaged me a few hours ago.

“I just finished ‘The Innovation Stack’ yesterday!  Great book!  Really glad you suggested it. It's given me a different perspective.”

His message is a clear indication that Ben’s dream is expanding, as his insight into his unknown, unknowns is growing.

Fear of the unknown can be paralyzing to one without an engrained dream to lead them into the future.  And, Ben has now learned his way around such debilitating fear by implementing and continually following his growing software, business development, and life skills coding design pattern.

It is a pattern that teaches all of us that one doesn’t need to have all of life’s answers to be able to dream.  Coding a dream takes time, in combination with effort and the patience to acquire new skills.  All traits Ben has displayed and presented.

“The great thing is that you’ll never have to make a presentation like that ever again!” Sam Bernards said, as he opened the feedback process during our Cooperative Venturing meeting with Ben Garrett.

Sam was right!  Because Ben has learned how to code a dream!

What it Takes

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes!” – Jon Du Pre

What it Takes

The conversation felt as if Jon was wearing a reversible coat!  There were two sides to him.  One, I knew.  The other side, well, it was something new to me.  You know what such outerwear is like.  Perhaps one side of a coat is a smooth, slick, possibly waterproof material and the other might be something more colorful or could have a great deal more texture.  Something like a corduroy.

Corduroy is a textile with a distinct pattern.  Something with ridges, as if small cords of string have been glued to one side of a fabric.  It looks as if it is made from multiple cords laid parallel to each other and then stitched together.  Yes!  That’s what I perceived to be happening here.  And, there was another reversal happening at the same time.

Jon Du Pre is a skilled investigative reporter.  I’ve seen his skill on display as a television anchor, reporter and best-selling author.  So, as we conversed through telephone, I envisioned his professional method in great detail, trying to simulate his expertise as we talked.  I wanted to learn as much from him as possible. 

I’ve learned a lot from Jon as we’ve worked together, consulting for early-stage businesses.  Yet, I had never seen his other, corduroy-like side before.  And now, he was allowing me to see his colorful, richer personal texture.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes!”  He said.  “I’ll drive a forklift at night if I have to!” He declared, talking about his plan to resume his writing career. 

His first book, “The Prodigal Father,” was a New York Times Best Seller.  “It took on a life of its own!” Jon said, as he told me about the book’s creation, promotion and success.  It’s the story of how bright expectations were turned into crushing disappointment.  More importantly, it’s a story of the human spirit’s ultimate victory.

The same story, anew, was unfolding during our conversation.  If Jon and I were talking through a video call, he would have seen my not-so-good, plagiarized, investigative-reporter-like, serious, brow-creased, full attention face as he described going up and down each cord-like personal event in his life’s tale.  Luckily, we were communicating through a voice call, so it allowed us to communicate at a raw, personal, spiritual level.

Because I’m human, as is he, I identified with the complexity of his illustrative personal, familial and professional life.  And, while Jon is a gifted writer, his greatest attributes are his authenticity, resilience and unquenchable desire; traits his voice seemed to tattoo directly onto my soul.

The conversation I was having with Jon felt as if he was revealing his life as if a reversible coat.  There were two sides.  One, I knew.  The other side, well, it was something new to me.  You know what such personal revelation is like.  Perhaps one side of a person is smooth, slick, and seemingly waterproof, while the other side may be more colorful or have a great deal more texture.  Something like a corduroy-fabric-life.

Yet, such a two-dimensional introduction is a significantly lackluster description of Jon’s true-to-life example!  Jon’s depth of character is artful and emulation-worthy.  His corduroy-like-life encourages all of us to live authentic, resilient and aspiration filled lives.

Whatever it takes!