Tag Archives: goals

Goals 2011 — Leadership

The PolyBlog
March 3 2011

The last category of goals — leadership! I intended this one to combine some areas of red leadership where I was going to shine, expand my horizons both in terms of my personal “role” and in terms of travelling. But, now that I’ve got the other 7 categories done, there isn’t much left in this one except travel.

My big “long-term” headings here were considering a teaching type role, either through mentoring or formally teaching a course in public administration or introduction to development, for example. I enjoy the process of sharing knowledge, and a number of people have suggested it to me as I apparently “explain things really well” (unless of course you’re my wife, in which case we often need a defibrillator to bring her back when I’m done explaining something).

I’m also interested in municipal government issues. In fact, when I first started on a career in government, I assumed I would do mostly municipal — I had no interest in federal, too far removed from the people. Plus I had had a bit of involvement in Peterborough with the planning department, and liked it a lot. One MPA co-op later with DFAIT, and I got hooked on international; 18 years later, and I’m still in Ottawa doing federal stuff. I gently scratched the itch this past fall by supporting a friend who was elected to city council, and I’m happy to let more passionate people blaze the trail.

I’ve also thought about linking this area to my creative side, and doing some behind-the-scenes work with local theatre, but haven’t done so yet.

Eventually, I’ll find a windmill to tilt at, but in the meantime, I’ll settle for some more travel. I have a HUGE travel list, pretty much anywhere I haven’t been yet!

Hawaii was near the top of that list, and our honeymoon took care of that (although we’d love to go back and see the other islands, as we only saw two). Separate from just the “travel” tickbox, I also completed some other items from the bucket list while we were there — a helicopter ride, seeing a volcano, riding in a submarine, eating fresh fruit under a tree, swimming under a waterfall, and seeing free dolphins.

But since our budget won’t allow us to travel EVERYWHERE, here is my top 10 (okay 11 if you want to get picky!) list of places I want to go:

  • The three Territories in Canada — never been, really want to see our North, particularly if I get to see the Northern Lights;
  • Grand Canyon — we planned a trip a few years ago, but life intervened and we did other things (like getting married)…we have seen the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” in Hawaii, but I still want to do the Arizona/Nevada version;
  • Galapagos — not only the birthplace of Darwin’s Origin of Species, but one of the few remaining places on earth that still looks like man has never visited;
  • Ortona — the Italian campaign of WWII was one of the bloodiest theatres of war for Canada and, within Italy, Ortona was the most brutal…Christmas 1943, more than 1300 Canadians lost their lives fighting door-to-door, house-to-house in Ortona against one of the toughest German divisions ever assembled to take the town, and the deep-water port to shorten supply lines. While some people are moved by D-Day, reading Farley Mowat’s account of Ortona in The Regiment (and the highlights of the Hasty-Pees i.e. Hastings-Prince Edward County Regiment) is particularly telling for me…maybe because I lost an uncle there, or maybe because “there, but for the grace of time, go I”, as it was a lot of Peterborough men who were fighting and dying…2018 is the 75th anniversary, and I intend to be there to pay my respects to their sacrifice;
  • Iceland — just cuz it’s cool-looking(!);
  • Scotland — the highlands somehow call to me, and I am not even Scottish;
  • Australia and New Zealand — I’m very jealous of everyone who goes, and I have no idea how I’d fit everything into anything less than a three- or four-week trip, plus I need to include the GREAT BARRIER REEF in there????;
  • Fiji — there’s something about the area that appeals to me in ways that Hawaii and the Caribbean don’t, sort of a cross between the beauty of Hawaii with the unspoiled nature of the Galapagos, but without the Komodo dragons!;
  • Egypt — pyramids…need I say more?; and,
  • Antarctica — did I mention the sheer cool factor?

So that’s my great long priority shopping list of travel destinations. Am I doing any of them soon? No, probably not. England is next on our list, I think, either this year or next. The rest will wait a bit. Except Ortona in 2018…I think that one is set! 🙂 Maybe I can offset the depressing nature of Ortona with a trip to Rome and Venice while we’re at it.

Goals 2011 — Career

The PolyBlog
March 2 2011

This category is perhaps the easiest of all, as my short-term goals in this area are relatively simple — I want to have a reasonably good job, without complicating my life.

Back in 2005, my goal was to regularize my level — I was regularly acting in higher positions, but was still “languishing” in a lower position. So I passed a couple of competitions, and became a manager, one level below executive. And I thought, at the time, that I would spend a few years consolidating my skill set, trying out some different challenges and opportunities, and then moving up. A couple of those challenges weren’t a lot of fun, and I bounced around twice before ending up in my current job. The previous jobs weren’t horrible, they were actually both quite good for awhile. But situations change, and I moved on. Now, with the arrival of my son and having gotten married, my priorities have shifted, as have my willingness to put in extra hours. In short, I’m not willing anymore, and I don’t want the extra responsibility right now of the executive level. So I’m parking myself for now, and I’ll focus on other issues to bolster my resume so that a few years from now I’ll be well-positioned to start moving up again. I wouldn’t say no to a in-category bump to a EC-08 position, but I’m fine where I am for now.

But I’m still doing certain things that are part of my larger career plan. For example, I still do mentoring and coaching for individuals on HR competitions. I’ll finish my guide this spring, and I’ll be able to hand it out to people to help them. It will also let me be more focused in my mentoring — I won’t have to give extra context, I’ll be able to go straight to the parts I want to focus on.

The past two years gave me an opportunity to work on the Economic Action Plan roll-out, as well as the branch process for Strategic Review, and I learned a lot from both exercises. Now, as both start to wind down, I’m looking forward to focusing on my “day job”. However, I need to kickstart my french again, and will likely look at some online options in the short-term.

And that’s it. Nothing too fancy. My bucket list for career only has one item on it (Make a presentation to more than a 1000 people), and I doubt I’ll be doing that this year, but it’s nice to know it’s there. Maybe I’ll settle for a 1000 downloads of my HR guide, once it’s finished! 🙂

Goals 2011 — Creativity

The PolyBlog
March 2 2011

Ah, the sweet smell of creativity. Personal expression … the interpretative dance of the soul! How do I express myself, the real me, the inner child bursting with yellow energy to get out of the blue shackles of an analytical mind? With words and food, of course! 🙂

Last weekend, Andrea and I went to a play by one of our favorite contemporary playwrights, Norm Foster. He usually focuses on the comedic interactions between men and women in their late 30s and early 40s as they deal with life, romance, and their changing expectations of the universe. However, the fun part is he often includes someone who is a writer, or an aspiring writer, or someone who aspires to being an aspiring writer. Like Foster’s characters, I don’t know what to call myself. Sure, I’ve written short-stories, op eds, even a play. But does that make me a writer? I’m not a published one, at least not yet. I will soon finish my HR guide for government competitions, but that is more like my day job than achieving my interest in writing entertaining fiction (ignoring the regular joke by writers in the NCR that they used to work for the government, so they have a lot of experience with fiction!).

The best and shortest definition I have seen of a writer is someone who writes. Pure and simple. Not someone who talks about writing, goes to conferences, reads novels about writing, etc. They write. Usually because they are compelled to do so, and it will gnaw at their soul if they don’t. But if it means a butt in a seat, slaving away, my writing of the last two years is sadly lacking in performance. I’ve done some work on the HR guide, and a few other things here and there (book or movie reviews, for example), but dang little time spent on fiction writing. I have done some work on outlines for some of my fiction ideas, but not much else. It was just too time-intensive. But, now that work is returning to some degree of normalcy for workload, I want to set myself a routine of writing at lunch for an hour or so, at least three times a week. In previous years, I’ve written more, taken online critiquing classes, subscribed to writing magazines to help improve my craft. I’m even a member of Capital Crime Writers. But I need to attend CCW meetings more, and I need to get my butt in a seat writing. Writers write, so I need to write. My goal is to have my HR guide for employees done by April 15th, my HR guide for managers done by June 30th, and a full annotated outline for my first novel by November 30th.

The non-cerebral side of things is all about food. One of my long-term goals is to have a cookbook of favorite recipes that I could share with family or friends, if they were interested. And, my goal is for them to be achievable recipes, not some Cordon Bleu recipe that starts with 3 hours shopping trips to find the perfect ingredient at a store in NYC. Practical recipes that once or twice a month helps us get out of the doldrums of regular meal preparations, and gives us a little extra oomph. Andrea and I took a couple of Asian cooking courses, and we love some of the recipes we got out of it. We also have a couple of others we’ve pulled here and there from friends, or just found in cookbooks (note to self, need to WEED the cookbooks down to a manageable number too, they’re out of control!). My goal for this year is to ensure that we continue to do special recipe nights, at least once or twice a month. It’s harder with us both working, and having to pick up Jacob from daycare, etc. But it’s worth it. And, to be honest, we tend to eat healthier when we choose these recipes as they tend to use fresher ingredients than our day-to-day cooking. A win-win solution, albeit with extra work and planning required. Three areas that interest me the most at present are BBQ recipes (need better marinades than I have currently), perfecting a friend’s ground-nut stew recipe so we can make it in smaller quantities, and making ice cream (we got an ice cream maker a couple of years ago, and haven’t used it yet!).

With these goals, I doubt I’ll be able to move on my other bucket goals much this year (novel, screenplay, novella and cookbook). But at least we’ll eat better! 🙂

Goals 2011 — Social

The PolyBlog
March 2 2011

I’m over the difficult “hump” of goal-setting, as the last four categories are much easier to plan than the first four. This one is a fun category in many ways — “expressing myself” through socializing with friends, cultural outings, and enjoying music, books and movies. Of course, I’ll find ways to make some of it look like “work”, partly cuz I’m inherently a blue, but even bluish yellow activities are fun for me!

As with previous categories, there is some momentum here. I’ve had past success with organizing my music (I’m interested in the Billboard lists dating back to 1945), movies (Oscar winners and box office favorites), outings for movies with friends (including the Mid-Month Movie Madness for Men), finding time to go for evening coffees with my friend Amanda, various party events although they tend to be more kid-friendly these days, catching up with Seb at lunch or Mike at a hockey game, going to the theatre with Andrea, or organizing birthday parties or a bachelor party. All of which is surprising given that I’m primarily a “blue” — which means yellow energy neither comes easy to me nor is it normally a spontaneous choice for me. Usually, group activities are my last choice, just ahead of root canal surgery with a rusty spoon. But, like any good blue, I’ve managed to figure out the roles/activities that work for me, usually with somewhat controlled environments or specific roles (host, formal guest, etc.). The lack of structure in social activities is usually what turns me off, not the opportunity to socialize with friends. And small predictable groups are usually preferable to large chaotic ones.

For the immediate future, though, my social time with friends is frequently limited by McGurgle — not all the activities are kid-friendly, and of those that are, we still have to schedule / adjust to fit. Sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn’t. We can’t do everything, and as a blue, I don’t want to do everything either — it isn’t “re-energizing” for a blue, it is usually draining. It doesn’t mean you don’t EVER do it, it just means you recognize it and match your attempted output to your energy levels (i.e. don’t go to a large chaotic party if you’re already feeling drained).

I want to continue the MMMMM outings for movies, although I’m not really interested in 3D movies, and far too many of the ones I’d choose of late have been 3D. Maybe the balance will shift again. In terms of formal socializing, we used to host Remembrance Day parties, and I’d like to do one again this year, although I don’t know of what size yet. Or maybe a corn roast earlier in the year. For informal socializing, I’m hoping to be able to still go for coffee outings with Amanda, brunches occasionally, and a hockey game with Seb and Mike. Plus regular outings with other friends, format to be determined! (Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but sometimes a “blue” can manage to be spontaneous!).

For books and movies, I’m using the website to post my movie and book reviews, and I’d like 50 of each up by the end of the year. More importantly, I need to get a better handle on my ebook collection, and start pruning my paper books. I’m also determined to finish organizing at least 20 years worth of pop billboard music by the end of the year.

I also have a pretty decent set of items for the Bucket List for this category — 18 items — although some of them could have gone under the learning category. And, because I need the extra “yellow” to balance out the other colours, I’m thinking I’ll keep four of them on my goal list for this year:

  • Learn to knit;
  • Play Pai Gow poker in a casino;
  • Have a movie extravaganza weekend (i.e. a whole weekend of watching movies!); and,
  • Develop a list of top books (draft # = 600) to read.

The last one is partially done, I just need to get organized on it to finalize and link to my Kindle reading! On with the social category!

Goals 2011 — Body and Soul

The PolyBlog
March 1 2011

This category is mainly about me connecting with myself, my inner and outer self…it combines old categories of body and soul, spiritualism, personal ethics, service to community, health, and (gasp!) fitness. Man, this category sucks. 🙂

In the past, it has mainly been about avoiding catastrophes physically. I go for regular massages, usually when my shoulders or IT bands are screaming at me; I try to take my Prevacid every day to control stomach issues, although a new type of yogourt was keeping me near regular levels even without the Prevacid; I update my eyeglasses, go to the dentist, etc. On the exercise front, though, I’m basically a couch potato these days when I’m not playing with Jacob. My golfing has taken a backseat to just about everything else, and while Andrea and I manage a few active outings here and there, it isn’t consistent. I did manage a slightly more active trip to Hawaii, with kayaking, hiking, swimming, more hiking, etc. On the service side, I have been more focused on the indirect side of things — less about me being active, more about me continuing my charitable giving. I’ve helped with United Way campaigns, etc., but not to a “leadership” level.

On the ethics front, I created my “personal rules” list, but I’m not sure I’m really living them or embodying them. On the spiritual front, there hasn’t been much in my life of late. Leading up to the wedding in 2008, I was a bit nervous about my spiritual beliefs. Having seen or heard of disasters for people with other church services, I felt like a bit of a hypocrite considering a formal “religious” wedding in a church. In fact, I was fully intending to grill any potential minister like a fish to make sure I agreed with their philosophy of faith. Yet, when I met Andrea’s former Minister, Wib, my concerns fell away. I didn’t feel the need to grill him, it was enough that I got to know him as a person and that Andrea knew and trusted him, and liked him. I trust her judgement, I didn’t need to “verify” our choice.

For the coming year, I have a couple of personal ethics goals, small issues that I want to work on…essentially, making more of an effort in a couple of areas of my life where I tend to be harsh. On the health front, I need a new doctor, new dentist, and orthotics. For fitness, I need to start back into some of the martial arts routines and riding the exercise bike. I really want to get us organized this summer for going for bicycle rides around our house too. And I’m determined to go golfing at least three times this year.

On a community front, I don’t feel like I have much free time to get very involved in much this year. I’m involved in a few online communities, mainly as I can timeshift my participation. But I’m intrigued by a proposal that my friend Stephan has developed regarding astronomy! Hope to be able to share more on that in the future…

I do have to come to a decision about my method of charitable giving. I tend to do most of it by giving through the United Way campaign at work, but I’m increasingly disturbed by the administration costs that the local U/W is charging. Since most of my giving is earmarked, rather than a simple contribution to U/W itself, I’m not sure it’s worthwhile to continue to contribute through this means. For example, I could give $$ directly to CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario) as a lump sum rather than as part of biweekly paycheque contributions to the U/W. There are pluses and minuses to both approaches, but I need to figure it out rather than continuing to just drift along. This has been on my list for sometime, and I intend to decide by September’s launch of the new campaign at work.

As I noted above, I haven’t been very active on the spiritual front. Andrea and I have been to church a few times but I feel disconnected, an observer rather than a participant. It seems odd to me that, separate from the wedding, I was most affected spiritually by two books. The first is Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup. It wasn’t that the writing was amazing, or even that the structure was emotionally moving. Instead, it was more that the issues being dealt with were compelling, and honestly / openly portrayed. Equally, I really liked The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. The book is, umm, odd. Some parts of it are really confusing. And everyone who reads it comes away with a slightly different impression of what was happening. For me, I read it on my honeymoon, and there is a strong sense in the story of things coming together when you are perfectly still — as you achieve total stillness, oneness with your self, the universe begins to open up to you. The book isn’t directly metaphysical, and the main plot makes for a strange story, but that was my main reaction to the story — the challenge of becoming perfectly still, letting the world slip away. So, while I try to figure out my own spiritualism, I think I’m going to reclaim my interest in meditation this year and try to read some interesting tomes rather than following forms of more organized religion.

My bucket list for this category is, oddly enough, huge — I have 38 items on my bucket list that I’m listing under this heading! In there, I have a mix of fitness items, spiritual work, other items that aren’t quite fitness but are generally more “active” in nature, etc. From the long list, I think the ones that I’m likely to work on this year are related to my weight; meditation; martial arts; and giving blood.