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Posts tagged ‘Quivera National Wildlife Refuge’

Nov 4

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Perfection paralysis

During our last two adventures to Quivera National Wildlife Refuge, I’ve taken many photographs of reeds and marginal plants. My goal is to seek the best representation of the plant and wait for the best light to highlight the subject.

It’s easy to do the same thing in organizations: to seek the best opportunity and the best time to act. Paralysis can set in while endless analysis and evaluation are done. Meetings without outcomes support the paralysis. Inertia takes over. It becomes simplest to do nothing.

Some might like to put the focus on “leadership”, expecting them to create movement. Yet each person in the system has a responsibility to act and contribute. Nor am I suggesting that we settle for marginal, neither the best or the worst.

But perfection paralysis leads directly to average and the “do nothing” doldrums. Today, choose to act and make decisions, to finalize processes or project steps – even when somewhat less than perfect. Encounter the freedom of good enough, the joy of letting go, and the power of moving forward.

Oct 17

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Getting unstuck

In the last week I’ve talked with two organizations that are stuck inside of processes that were designed to be a way to move forward. I’ve met with people who are tired, tired from working too many hours, even though they love their work. And for the most part, my blog has gone silent as I’ve been stuck in the round of daily work and family responsibilities. With technology creating the tyranny of the immediate, I find it easy to work 8 to 10 hours in my home office without noticing much of the world around me.

And so – I’m being intentional about getting my self unstuck first. My rule is that one can’t assist others in getting unstuck if you are already immobilized. Here is where I started:

I got out of my office chair and walked out the front door. I experimented with the macro setting on my camera.

Daylily 10.15.2010

I read articles in magazines and books; yes, the paper kind that you hold in your hands. I not only read through organization development (OD) material, I read material wildly outside of the OD discipline: architecture design, theology, photography, and writing. And I temporarily relocated my office to the back porch.

Back Porch Office

I went on an adventure with my husband to Quivera National Wildlife Refuge.

Quivera NWR Sunset 10.16.2010

I talked with an old friend and made plans for an in-person visit. …I’m moving toward “unstuck”.

In her post titled, A Perfect September Day, Shirley Showalter challenged her readers, “What does your perfect day look like? If you haven’t had one lately, describe it here; then go make it happen.” What do you do to get unstuck, discover life outside the office and away from technology, renew your spirit, and re-discover the quest for possibilities? I’ll repeat Shirley’s admonition, “describe it; then go make it happen.”