Just do it, differently.

Things don't have to be done the way they have always been done.

Status quo can sometimes be your worst enemy.

"The way we used to do it . . ." can impede innovation.

Little goals produce little results.

If it is not uncomfortable then real change may not occur.

Risk is not a four-letter word to be avoided.

"Yes, if . . ." is better than "No, because . . ." when it comes to innovation.

Don't be the change you wish to see in the world, be the difference maker.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Duke wins - did controversial call at the end of the game help?

At the end of the NCAA Championship game last night Duke was up by five when underneath the Wisconsin basket there was a loose ball that went out of bounds. The officials first called it Duke's ball but went to the reply to confirm.

CBS showed multiple angles of it and, according to the announcers, it clearly showed that the ball actually went off of a Duke player (unless you live in Durham probably) -- I saw it the same way. So it came as quite a shock when the officials refused to overturn the call even though they saw the same replay angles.

And their explanation is what most intrigues me. Whether or not it played a hand in Duke's victory is not a concern to me though Duke did go down and hit a 3-pt shot to extend the lead on the next play. 

Anyway, evidently the referees told CBS that it was not reversed because "they just couldn't see anything."

That amazes me. What exactly could they not see? It was so obvious from several angles that it went off of the Duke player and should have been Wisconsin's ball. How could they not see it? It was so clear, so easy to see.

As I pondered it this morning and how it relates to this blog I write, it caused me to wonder how much I miss, or we miss, that is right in front of us, and so easy to see? When we are presented with the data, or the facts, are there areas where we fail to reverse course because "we just couldn't see anything?" -- where we avoid the obvious because it means we have to admit we are wrong?

houston@figment-consulting.com

The organic chaos of life

Are you doing today what you dreamed of doing when you were a child?

Do you find yourself where you believed you would be at this point in your life?

Has your life moved in linearity from one point to another as you had planned?

The answer to each question, for most of us, is no.

Life is much more organic than it is planned. Unexpected doors open up for us and we pursue them. Opportunities present themselves and we follow them as they lead us down paths unknown. Events occur that cause us to reconsider and move in another direction. Emerging technology alters the very course of our lives by creating new while making the old obsolete, and we must adapt.

Life is more of an organic chaos than it is neat and tidy. The struggle for most of us comes when we try to take life and make it linear or structured instead of embracing the chaos.

Perhaps life is not meant to be controlled or managed. Perhaps it is simply meant to be lived.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Are you afraid?

For most of us our perceptions frame our reality. We then seek out those who agree with our reality so we can reassure ourselves.

Too few of us take the time to consider opposing views. Adopt some of them -- hardly. We find that problematic, even dangerous. Wait though, before we travel that road laced with fear, what if we simply read some views that were contrary to our own? Consider simply means to think carefully about. What if we gave careful thought to an opposing view?

Could a workweek be condensed to 4 hours? Could marketing be based on permission instead of interruptions? Could we be measuring creativity and intelligence the wrong way?

The challenge is to find a book or video that provides a viewpoint opposite to our own and then read or watch it without condemning it. Simply consider it.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The customer is always right.

Unless they are wrong.

Then, the real question becomes, "How do you handle the fact that they are wrong, yet believe they are right?"

The answer to that question depends upon the horizon you have with your customers. Do you look at profitability as a requirement for each and every sale? Or, do you look at the long-term value of the customer spread out over months or years (multiple sales) as opposed to each transaction individually?

The answer also depends upon your customer-service mission. Are you customer-obsessed like Amazon, or are you more like Comcast where customers (even long-term good customers) tend to get in the way of efficiency and more profitability?

Take time to determine your customer horizon and your customer-service mission. Doing so will help you align your efforts with your message and be more authentic to those you wish to serve.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Doubt

Doubt.

Don't ignore it.

Don't fear it.

Let it serve its purpose.

Then, move forward.

Don't let it stop you.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Cyber Schools Are Failing, So Why Are They Expanding? I have an answer.

neaToday published an article, Cyber Schools Are Failing, So Why Are They Expanding?, that discusses recent findings from a study conducted by the National Education Policy Center.

The study laments the ongoing performance of cyber, or virtual, schools across the country, and singles out K12, Inc. and Connections Academy. The graph shown in the article though demonstrates the rapid growth in enrollment at these virtual schools (now over 250,000) since their inception in spite of all of this evidence.

This takes us back to the title of the article: Cyber Schools Are Failing, So Why Are They Expanding?

The answer: Parents are unhappy, and the last time I checked happiness was not an empirical concept but an emotional one.

Perhaps we should spend as much time in the educational experience of students/families as we do in the empirical evidence world.

houston@figment-consulting.com