Musings on a Monday Morning from Mike Mullin…

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August 5, 2019 – Sunrise

Good morning; it hit ninety degrees again yesterday.
Alert! There might be a big morning storm headed this way in a coupe of hours; radar is showing it strengthening at about Alexandria and headed Southeast.
We drove down famed Road #23 to Sioux Falls, SD and back over the weekend. The corn looks pretty good.

• Good news for men: Regular visits to your local spa for a pedicure are now de regueur
• • And, if you’re a man and feeling stressed, others will likely perceive you as angry — sorry. (WSJ)
• A presumably deranged and decrepit wet kitchen garbage terrorist has for several years been weekly depositing smack dab in the middle of a street — presumably in the dead of night — a disgusting bag of food waste, striking most recently a few days ago.
• • Here at Without a Vision we can’t think of a single reason to purposely foul-up the neighborhood — or any neighborhood.
  • • According to purported scientific research do you know the #1 source of litter (quantity, not necessarily weight or volume) in the world?
    • • Cigarette butts… can you imagine?! Cigarettes!
• The perfect mid-morning schnack = Cheetos, a cigarette, and Mountain Dew.
• The town of Warroad, MN — home to hockey and Marvin Windows — lost its local daily newspaper of 121 years.
• • Who’s next? More than 2,100 dailies have gone the way of the buggy whip.
  • • Question is, are we better informed today — and better off — than ever, or not so much?
• Hikes often take me by or through the local Stearns County Courthouse campus.
• • The other day three smartly-dressed young women were talking excitedly as they quickly exited one of the buildings, presumably taking a quick break during a trial recess.
  • • One exclaimed to the other two, “I don’t know what her problem is, everyone goes to jail at least once or twice in their life; gawd, get over it!”
    • • True story. Imagine having that perspective or that perception — or that reality — at a young age.
• Effective leaders have always had a strong grip on emotional intelligence, though by a different name and more intuitive.
• • Now we learn more about this essential component of leadership from Harvard Business Review (Goleman, Boyatzis; More than Sound LLC 2017)
  • • Their theory is it’s broken-down into twelve different skill sets, or separate areas of competency.
    • • In other words, it’s no longer sufficient to suggest someone IS or ISN’T emotionally intelligent; it’s much more complex and to some degree CAN be learned.
      • Plus, you might have varying degrees of strength or weaknesses across the competencies.
      • • These are the twelve areas they suggest:
        • 1. Emotional self-awareness
          2. Self-control
          3. Adaptability
          4. Achievement (success)-oriented
          5. Positive outlook
          6. Empathy
          7. Organizational awareness
          8. Influence
          9. Coach and mentor
          10. Conflict Management
          11. Teamwork
          12. Inspirational leadership
• Will the U.S. be more like Texas or more like California by 2050?
• • Fascinating. The Economist compares/ contrasts the two largest states in a dozen or more different macro categories.
  • • Its conclusion? California’s environmental focus and Texas’ economic philosophy would benefit everyone — and the country — the most.
    • • No one has it ALL right.
• “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” (1789 Innovations AG)
• • Didn’t they used to say, “Build a better mousetrap and everyone will beat a path to your door?”

It’s not the mountain ahead that wears you down, but the grain of sand in your shoe. (Unknown)

Sunrise!

By Michael A. Mullin

I watched an old woman window washer

work wonders with six large panes of glass

using skills of a surgeon.

I watched while sipping a cup of hot black coffee.

Simple tools: A bucket of soapy water, a long pole,

a sponge, an old rag, a rubber squeegee.

No wasted movements.

The bright morning sun revealed not a single streak or speck.

What do we pay this woman?

©2017 Michael A. Mullin

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