03-05-10
Today’s show is all about taking chances and is a sequel to our last episode on “change”. Risk is there but not always bad, in fact there is no bad just degrees of positive!
Talking Points
Video Replay
Links from the Chat
02-26-10
Today’s show is all about change and the things happening around us, dealing with, accepting and realizing that no change is bad but some change is better than others.
Talking Points
Video Replay
Chat History
3:26 pixelbase: hey Craig
13:48 ccmehil: So about 30 mins to go topic today is “change”
14:03 ccmehil: another 15 mins or so
14:12 profi: hi
14:12 ccmehil: another 8 minutes until we go live
14:13 profi: my first time
14:14 ccmehil: Welcome to the show then
14:14 profi: tnx
14:15 profi: I am an ex coleeague of ttrapp and thorstenster
14:15 ccmehil: Where you from?
14:15 profi: western part of germany
14:16 ccmehil: Got it – broadcasting from near Walldorf
14:17 ccmehil: 3 mins to live – topic is “change” so if you are in the middle of it speak up
14:22 pixelbase: those long winter evenings must fly by… 
14:23 profi: hmmm
14:25 jspath55: G’day. Change? Never stops.
14:28 profi: argh, umts connection sucks cu next week
14:28 oliver: Hey Craig, back on your Mac?
14:28 jspath55: Last year’s original goal was $500, iirc
14:29 skeohan: Hello all
14:29 pixelbase: what about a challenge, Craig. You keep on going until we’re at $10K 
14:30 pixelbase: to WDF?
14:31 skeohan: Change: Swapped to Comcast voice two days ago, and it was an unqualified disaster
14:31 jspath55: @sue LOL
14:31 abesh: Wassup ???
14:31 skeohan: Oh, YOU can LOL. We had no internet for 2 days and the kids were all in my face (no xbox, no facebook, no itunes)
14:33 jspath55: @sue I wasn’t laughing at you, I was laughing with you…
14:33 skeohan: Sure Jim. Except I wasn’t laughing.
14:33 skeohan: @ccmehil away from family during the week? No change for my husband, he’s been away for 12 years now. it’s a change when he is home during the week!
14:34 jspath55: @Sue – check your twitter DM.
14:34 abesh: @sue @Jim LOL 
14:34 pixelbase: important thing is that you embrace and face change, but you also have to ackowledge when things are not working out.
14:34 skeohan: @jspath55, ug.
14:35 abesh: I have a lot of change in my wallet 
14:35 skeohan: It’s been hardest on my older son – who remembers when Dad was home during the week.
14:35 skeohan: @pixelbase you are right, of course, but ‘Change is Hard’
14:36 abesh: For me the *weirdest* part has been working from home….
14:36 se38_uwe: Book also avaikable in German: “Die Mäuse Strategie”. Have read it 2 yrs. ago. Great
14:36 abesh: It is not that prevalent here… and I’ve been working from home since I joined….
14:36 pixelbase: @skeohan absolutely. I meant that it’s not doing it for change’s sake.
14:37 abesh: also the transition from being a techie to consultant and architect was difficult for me personally….
14:37 pixelbase: I’m leanring iPhone Dev at the moment. A big change for me.
14:37 abesh: From coding to talking via excel sheet and powerpoints….
14:37 skeohan: I am afraid to try a Kindle or Nook because of change.
14:37 RichHeilman: going from working at office to working at home was an awesome change for me.
14:38 jspath55: We’re merging.
14:38 abesh: Aaah I see @ccmehil wearing the Rackspace T-Shirt… Same pinch
14:38 oliver: Looking forward to a real home office workplace I’M going to have in a couple of month.
14:39 skeohan: @ccmehil – ever done the trick, with participants, where you ask them to cross their arms. Then change to have opposite arm on top. People struggle.
14:39 pixelbase: Change is a lot about control, too. The changes that are out of your control are the scary ones.
14:39 abesh: absolutely.. I WANT A NEXUS ONE
14:39 skeohan: N
14:39 skeohan: NOT Me!
14:40 oliver: Going to change to a new iPhone when it comes out. Hopefully a huge change and in lots of aspects no change at all.
14:41 skeohan: you folks are all trying to cross your arms aren’t you
14:41 oliver: Totally unoffical: going to move with the familiy to Berlin. Leaving all friends here in NRW. Big change for me.
14:42 ChrisW: I’ve worked at home for 5 years now, and it was great at first. But no I feel somewhat isolated and going back to the WDF office last week was SO GOOD! Contact with humans!
14:42 skeohan: @ccmehil I can tell you more in mail, it is a good group activity to demonstrate change
14:42 abesh: @oliver awesome
14:42 pixelbase: @oliver so we can all kip at your place for TechEd Berlin then
14:43 pixelbase: I’m going to try 2 kinds of potatoes in my veg gardenthis year. That’s a change, too
14:44 abesh: let me guess, this time it’s microsoft sponsoring hacker night ?
14:44 skeohan: Sapphire and Techeds are changing too, timing, etc
14:45 skeohan: Meditation? Valium? Alcohol?
14:45 ChrisW: Jaegermeister sponsors Hacker Night!! I still have the photos!
14:46 skeohan: @ChrisW +1
14:46 se38_uwe: the biggest change is becoming a dad
14:46 oliver: We’ll see Change always means unceitainty but that’s live.
14:47 skeohan: I like Craig’s approach – evaluate…
14:47 skeohan: @se38 – try the first 9 months for change! JK
14:47 oliver: @se38_uwe second that!
14:48 pixelbase: thanks, have a good weekend.
14:48 jspath55: You too, Craig, et al!
14:48 oliver: Bye Craig, all. Have a good one!
14:48 abesh: et tu Craig
14:51 ccmehil: Thanks Everyone!
02-22-10
Written by Dr. Spencer Johnson who also authored the book The One Minute Manager.
Homepage - Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
Years ago I was given this book my dear friends who wanted to remind me that I had friends who supported me and would be there for me as time moved on. At first I thought the book was a joke, a book about cheese little did I know that I would be reading a guide to the soul and to dealing with change and your fears in the face of change…
Perhaps a little about myself first, I’m no stranger to change I have dealt with change all my life having parents from two different cultures and countries, a father in the military and moving around the world quite often left me with no choice but to accept change head on. Over the years though one gets comfortable with what they have and they like being where they are, yet change comes whether you want it to or not and you have choices to make.
I’ve made many changes in my life, big decisions and little decisions. I choice to move North away from home and take a new job which led me further North and eventually overseas to Germany. More choices were made and I left one company for another, I married, I had children, I changed jobs and moved again and now here I am amidst multiple changes occuring all around me and I wonder am I “Hem”, “Haw”, “Sniff” or “Scurry” at the moment as these things take place around me? Am I aware of these changes and how they might impact me or am I hunkerd down in my section enjoying what I think I still have?
This book and it’s cute story are all about facing those fears, understanding them and opening your mind to change and the future. Right now I’m surrounded by changes, changes are taking place around us in rapid succession and we need to open our eyes and be aware of what we see, hear and also and most critically we need to be able to separate the pieces and understand the true impacts and not get caught up in the hustle and bustle. This is certainly no time to close our eyes and think “this has nothing to do with me”.
This book, again a very cute story, is all about that and how one might be thinking or acting right now. Taking a look a basic look at 4 types of personality the book pokes fun and helps one to understand which personality they might be representing right now and of course how they might better approach the situation and alter their thoughts to maximize the benefits of the changes taking place.
Some lessons I learned from the book,
Most importantly though change is a cycle and it will come again and again and the best thing you can do is keep doing what you are good at. I’ve lived by one main rule since I started working “everyone is replaceable and if you want to ensure your job then continue to show that you can adapt, learn and innovate and you do and are always willing to give more than 100%”
Craig Cmehil is in Bangalore, India and has planned trips to:
Lippstadt, Germany