by Shawn | May 5, 2021 | Podcast
I love taking trips with my daughter to our local playground. It’s grown over the years and is a fun place for kids to have fun, explore, build friendships and try new things.
Often, as I sit and watch her and other kids play I see more than just what’s in front of me. I like to think of the playground as a great big collection of life lessons that kids get to work on… all in one special place.
The other night I was thinking about the connection between the playground and one of my favorite work activities – problem solving.
There are almost unlimited opportunities to problem solve at the playground. Sometimes kids will be playing tag and they will scamper up to the top a structure and scatter. And I’ll watch the tagger evaluate all of the different options at their disposal for getting down.
Of course, there is a mix of slow ways, fast ways, safe ways, dangerous ways. They don’t want to think too long because their targets are quickly moving away, but eventually they’ll pick an option that is as close to the safe and fast part of the matrix as possible.
Other times, it might be a toddler staring up at some ominous looking steps that lie between them and the activity and excitement they see at the top. They may start to take on the first step, then maybe one more, but then quickly begin to evaluate where they are and if they’re willing to risk going farther.
Our playground also has a big rope net pyramid where kids can pick a multitude of ways to climb around and up to the peak. My daughter loves to get to the top and slide right down the pole in the middle while others might take a different approach.
And then there is the problem of parents telling kids that it’s time to go. This might be when I see kids get the most creative in their problem solving skills.
When it comes to work, encouraging and growing problem solving skills in your team members is one of the most critical tasks you can undertake. It is those skills that help them make the right decisions when the process breaks down or they have to navigate a customer conversation or trouble shoot a machine or other failure in your system.
And like on the playground, the more opportunities you give your people to think on their own, the more they can take calculated risks and think for themselves. Each opportunity does a little bit more to strengthen those muscles.
Are you giving your people enough chances to think on their own or are they just given a specific path with no room for questions or thinking?
I think you find that the more they’re able to be in those positions and empowered to problem solve, the better your company will be in the long run… as well as your people.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. I’d love hear from you about today’s topic or just in general. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com or head to shawnwashburn.com/contact and you’ll find links to connect with me on social media as well.
by Shawn | May 3, 2021 | Podcast
Today, some real talk about what you do when you’re struggling. I share some behind-the-scenes about the podcast as well as some honest thoughts about some struggles.
When you’re struggling, what helps you get unstuck or get through rough patches?
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. I’d love hear from you about today’s topic or just in general. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com or head to shawnwashburn.com/contact and you’ll find links to connect with me on social media as well.
by Shawn | Apr 30, 2021 | Podcast
Last weekend my daughter asked if I wanted to do a puzzle together.
I love puzzles so logically I said yes.
She went to her room and came back with a little green purse. From inside it she proceeded to pull out a ziploc bag full of puzzle pieces.
We pulled them all out, one by one, flipped them over and began to separate out the edge and corner pieces from the rest.
After a few minutes we had them all separated and were ready for the next logical step… looking at the picture to see where they all when.
I began to look around for a picture of the puzzle and we soon realized that… we didn’t have it.
OK.
So… this was about to be a lot more difficult than we first imagined. Not impossible, but without a picture to reference, if we were able to complete the puzzle at all it was going to take us 10 times longer.
Well, we were determined to do it so we began to try to group like pieces and colors and parts of the picture together and it started to come into focus. A giraffe. The jungle. The sky. The birds.
Finally, we got it all together (except for that last piece, of course that is living somewhere alone and afraid in our house).
But it made me think about how a poor vision in an organization can lead to frustration, lack of direction and often an end result that isn’t anything like the leader imagined.
Maybe you’ve been in that spot. You’ve assigned a project or task with what you thought was enough information.
But what your team members received was a box full of puzzle pieces that were missing the box cover. They might have done their best to complete the project the way you intended, but the end result and what you had envisioned might have been quite a bit different.
Next time you assign that task or project, or send that email, make sure that you’re providing a clear enough box cover for them, a vision of what you’re after, a clear directive to follow. And then make it easy on both of you by just asking them “is there anything that you don’t understand or questions I can answer?”
You might be surprised to find that often there are questions but they would have just tried to fill in the gaps on their own because maybe they felt like they were expected to just know something that wasn’t communicated.
So, give that a shot next time and see if you get a better result with less frustration.
And… if you happen to find a puzzle piece that looks like a giraffe’s knee, could you send it my way? Thanks.
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Thanks for listening to today’s episode. It would help a ton if you’d be willing to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts
I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Apr 28, 2021 | Podcast
If life is like a box of chocolates, then my head is often like a lottery ball hopper. You know that hopper with all the 42 balls or whatever and they’re all bouncing around in there. And then, suddenly, one of them finds its way to the magical exit tube and floats up and then out the chute.
That’s kind of like ideas for me.
I never know when an idea is going to float up out of the tube and into my brain.
And if I don’t have a good way to grab a hold of it then it might just drop back down into the hopper.
If you’re like me at all, sometimes one of the biggest challenges is not necessarily coming up with an idea, but capturing ideas and being able to actually do something with them.
So I thought I’d at least share some of the ways I’ve done that… and it is always evolving, but I thought maybe some of these might be helpful. And I’d love to hear what you do as well. I know a lot of you have some great thoughts on this.
Here goes. And a quick note. This system goes for new ideas that pop up as well as reminders and notes I need to remember through the day.
So, I kind of look at my idea retention system like some kind of fleet where there is a mother ship and then reconnaissance ships.
My mother ship is my laptop or desktop. That is where I both process information from the reconnaissance ships as well as enter some information straight up as well.
My reconnaissance ships on the other hand take many forms.
– My phone
– A notepad
– A sticky note (I love these — check out episode 11 to find out why).
– Even writing on my hand in a pinch.
The purpose of the reconnaissance ships is to gather the information, capture the ideas and thoughts and bring them back to the mother ship to be processed.
Let’s talk about each of these.
My phone, as you’d imagine is used in a few different ways.
The nature of my job in manufacturing is that I’m often on our plant floor looking at a machine or troubleshooting and investigating a quality concern.
More often than not, I’ll take a picture to capture some of these things since… you know… a picture is worth… I think it used to be a thousand words but I’m not sure how inflation has affected that over the years. Just to say, a picture fills in a lot of gaps that words can leave behind.
I love that I can grab whatever detail I want with my phone’s camera, including slow motion video or whatever will help capture that thought or idea. When I get back to my desk, I’ll connect up my phone to my computer to put those pictures in a folder or at least log the notes or ideas in my log. I’ve also sometimes just synced my photos over as well.
I also use my phone to capture ideas via Evernote or Trello. Check out episodes 23 and 33 for more on those. Trello is probably my go-to here for quick ideas where Evernote I might use to dictate a longer note.
I also carry a notepad around. I may use it for notes but sometimes more to sketch out ideas on paper that would be harder for me to verbalize.
Same thing. When I get back to my desk I’ll transfer those into action in some way.
Sticky notes are similar. If someone stops by or I get a phone call I may just use the sticky note as an intermediate way to grab that idea or note and then
And then if I have to I’ve even written notes on my hand.
Then, when it comes to an organization system for processing the ideas and notes, I have a master Excel file with both a log tab and an interactive To Do tab. I use the log tab to enter notes, decisions, and general things I might want to search for later.
The To Do tab is my place for putting specific items that I want to knock out or address later. It has a lot of functionality that you’d find on some apps (due dates, assigning hours, etc), but I like it because I have total control over how it functions and can adapt it as my needs change.
For some things, I’ll also keep a Trello board going as well. I have one for general household things I know need to get done or remembered as well as a few other simple ones with ideas for podcast episode topics or resources.
So, there you have it. Like I said, though it’s always evolving the one main thing is that I’m one way or another able to capture that idea or thought that pops up before it vanishes forever into the depths of my brain.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com.
I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Apr 27, 2021 | Podcast
Today is a special day. It’s my birthday. I guess it fits since life is a process and full of relationships with people.
Either way, I wanted to take a few minutes to just share some thoughts on this day. 48 thoughts to be exact. One for every year of life. Enjoy.
48 Thoughts About Life From 48 Years of Living
1 Don’t be afraid to change. You never know what can happen on the other side of fear.
2 Don’t waste your life trying to like kale chips. Spoiler alert: you never will.
3 Enjoy beating your boys in basketball when they’re little. Once they’re bigger than you, it won’t happen very often… but it will still happen
4 Take time to do the things you enjoy. It will energize you in ways you didn’t anticipate and fill your tank.
5 Friends are a gift. Find ones that value you and build into those relationships.
6 Listening is a skill. It’s not about just hearing words, it’s about caring about the one who is sharing them.
7 Eating green beans as a kid won’t keep you from going bald. And sometimes bald grandpas lie to their grandsons. Just saying. #baldisbeautiful
8 Rainbows are like a glimpse into an alternate universe.
9 I’ll always be amazed by how a newborn comes out and can put a death grip on your finger without even trying.
10 Laughter truly is the best medicine. Next time you’re down, watch a movie or youtube clip that will make you laugh until you cry.
11 No matter how you’ve screwed up today, tomorrow is always a new day with new opportunities to make things right.
12 Question the status quo. Be willing to step on toes when they need it. This is where breakthroughs happen.
13 Learn about the Five Love Languages and how you’re wired. It will help you understand so much of life and relationships.
14 Don’t let the fact that “someone is already doing it” keep you from trying something new. If ten different pizza places can coexist in a small city, then there’s room for your take on your idea.
15 Being a dad can be hard and you may not know if you’re doing it right. Just pray, love well, be there, encourage and know that those seeds will grow.
16 Always believe that there are things you can learn. From any situation. From anyone. At any time.
17 You were created for a reason. You were God’s idea and your value comes from Him. No one can take that from you.
18 When you feel like giving up, don’t… yet. Pray first. Seek wise counsel. Sometimes we need to end things. Other times we need to push through.
19 I believe in Heaven, all food will be fried but will also be good for you. It just makes sense.
20 I think parts of Heaven will look familiar. I believe that the best things about Earth will be in Heaven. Just without all the junk.
21 When this world fails to satisfy us, disappoints us, lets us down… as C.S. Lewis puts it, “the most probably explanation is that we were made for another world.
22 Always be curious. Never stop asking why. Turn over the rocks in life and see what is underneath them. Find out what makes the world tick.
23 Encouragement is one of the greatest forces we possess. You never know the power of your words to change the course of someone’s day… or even their life.
24 Be a reader. Learn from your peers, from those who have gone before, from those who think differently than you. Be willing to be challenged.
25 If you’re feeling stuck, try a new perspective. Go take a hike, go for a drive, take a walk. Spend some time away. Then approach with new eyes.
26 Marriage is a blessing. And marriage can be tough. Give the benefit of the doubt. Love well. Always put your spouse first. Don’t hold grudges.
27 None of those things are easy. But worth it. Even if you feel like the only one fighting for your marriage, don’t give up. Keep loving and trusting.
28 Make plans. But make them subject to change. Don’t miss the journey on the way to your original destination.
29 Sometimes this world won’t make sense. Remember that it is a broken world and not how it was designed to be.
30 Bacon is amazing. That’s it.
31 I’m a few years past 45, but Five for Fighting was right that I often feel like I’m “chasing the years of my life” (from their song 100 Years)
32 When I feel lost in life, God always brings me back to the Bible. Everything I need to hear is there if I’ll listen.
33 Music has a way to move us that few other things can. Let it move you.
34 We were made to create by a Creator. It’s in our DNA. Whatever that is for you, get busy and do your thing. Share your gift with the world.
35 Forty eight thoughts is a lot. I thought I’d be done by now, but I’ve still got thirteen more. So here goes…
36 If you love someone, don’t waste an opportunity to let them know. You don’t know which time might be your last.
37 Never forget your firsts. They hold a special place in your life. First car. First job. First love. First time eating bacon (which might have been your first love).
38 Don’t be selfish with what you’ve learned. Find people coming behind you to build into. Teach, encourage and inspire.
39 Look for opportunities to serve. And then do so without expecting anything in return.
40 Take risks. Try something new. Push your boundaries. Mental and physical.
41 Take time to rest. Take a nap. Sleep longer. Don’t over commit. Unwind.
42 No one will understand you like Jesus. No one will give as much for you as He already has. No decision will be as important as following Him.
43 Begin each day by surrendering your plans and asking God what’s next. You never know how He’ll impact your life or others in the hours that follow.
44 Treasure your kids. Find out what makes them unique. Love them where they are, unconditionally. Be there for them. Have fun with them. Listen to them. Laugh with them. Trust them. Lead them.
45 Life is happening all around us. Slow down or you’ll miss it.
46 Make a difference in life. Leave a lasting imprint in the lives you encounter.
47 Trust God
48 Also, trust yourself. More often than not, your gut feeling is the right one. Go with it.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com.
I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
