The Seed Sower Coach

Learning New Tricks

“We’re doing twice the work we used to do and getting paid the same.”

“This new machine’s not as good as what we had before.”

Are these common refrains from your work environment? Although we’re all no doubt busy, I tend to find that the underlying issues have more to do with technological frustration and change more than most other factors.

Consider the first statement, which essentially addresses the “do more with less” argument. It is entirely true that nearly all of us are and are required to be more productive than we were 20 or even 10 years ago. Yet, look at the tools that are now at our disposal. Computer speeds are faster than ever. A single cell phone has more capability than the early computers that helped us land on the moon. Groceries and other goods are delivered to our doorsteps often within a day or even hours of ordering. Scientists developed an immunization for a threatening and sometimes deadly virus in less than a year, far exceeding our expected standards.

So yes, most of us are doing more than we used to do, yet with the aid of technology. If we are still where we were in 2001, we have simply not kept up.

Still, learning how to Zoom, text, or even email can be uncomfortable propositions for many. The reward for first tackling the challenge and then succeeding at it can be immensely rewarding.

In my work in college football, basketball, baseball, and softball for ESPN I provide statistical data and observations to the “on air” broadcasters during the course of a telecast. Basically the job description summary is to share information during an event that will enrich the production and allow the announcers to come across as even more informed and up to date than they already are.

Although sports has slowly made a return during Covid, the broadcasts are different. For one, there may or may not be fans in attendance. Further, the on air talent may not even be present, announcing from a room or basement in their home or some other venue. The same goes for me: out of the events I have been assigned and worked thus far in 2021 all have been from my home office in Florida.

I recall my very first remote production a few months back. Admittedly not as technically proficient as I would like to be, I was overwhelmed at how I was going to adapt, produce quality information, and communicate it effectively. From that experience, I developed a step-by-step formula that not only worked for me, but that I believe can apply to many of the challenges any of us face to make them seem not so intimidating. If I may share:

1. First of all be grateful that the powers that be have demonstrated the confidence in your abilities to entrust you with the responsibility. They may very well see or know some things that are not so readily apparent to you.

2. The long-time question and adage of “how do you eat an elephant?, “one bite at a time,” is very helpful. Break the project down into smaller increments.

3. Seek advice next from those who may have some experience with the same or a similar challenge.

4. Begin tackling the undertaking from the perspective of what you do know. For me that translates to studying game notes and statistics from a variety of websites and transferring that information into the format and tools with which I have most familiarity.

5. Next, tackle the technology options that are most comfortable. For me that is Zoom. In my instance it also meant acquiring two laptops to begin with—one for the live game broadcast and another in which to communicate notes specifically to on air talent.

6. A third laptop was then to be added to the equation in order to receive “live” or current statistical information.

7. Assure that internet connectivity is strong and that there is reliable back up, such as a cell phone “hot spot” in order to remedy a communications void.

8. Speaking of the cell phone, it plays a role in continuing to serve as a communication device, however, through an app that allows the ability to talk to the announcers and production truck, much like a headset at an on site event.

9. Finally take a deep breath, say a prayer, have a good show, and feel gratified that you did it.

Resourcefulness feels good. These sophisticated times of ours also provide a reminder that none of us are ever too old to learn new things. It is good for me to get a taste of obstacles similar to those I task to my coaching clients.

What is the new challenge that you’re going to take on?

The Seed Sower

A Creative Renaissance?

May 18, 2020

The Dark or Middle Ages refer to a post-Roman time in European history marked by feudalism, wars, squalor, and miserable living conditions. Though historians disagree as to the exact timeline of this period, most conclude that it lasted several hundred years, with some stretching the parameters out to as long as the ten centuries between 500 and 1500 AD. Even the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel that brought down the curtain on this era wasn’t exactly celebratory. The disastrous mortal disease known as the Black Death spread across Europe between 1346 and 1353. It is estimated that as many as 50 million people succumbed to the malady: 60% of the European population!

Tragic and miserable though this time may have been, beneath the surface, a penchant for discovery and curiosity quietly began to marinate. Astronomers began to devise equipment to better gaze at the heavens. Explorers contemplated the idea of foreign lands existing beyond the edge of a flat earth. Writers and philosophers contemplated new ideas and thoughts. Revolutionary thinkers challenged commonly held beliefs based on gains in knowledge and science. By the beginning of the 15th century, a new time of Renaissance launched.

Like the Middle Ages, but more recently, was The Great Depression of less than 90 years ago. The US stock market lost more than 90% of its value over a four year period. By 1933 one out of every four Americans were out of work. Average family income dropped 40%. Around 11,000 banks failed and 300,000 companies went out of business.

Then, right on the heels of and compounding the suffering of the Depression comes further strife and uncertainty: A World War. By its end in 1945, an estimated 70-85 million people will have died; three percent of the world’s population.

In many ways, not too unlike the Renaissance, the time following depression and war marked the onset of what may have been the most creative years of the 20th century, again especially in the US. More people than ever traversed an increasingly sophisticated highway system in smart, aerodynamically efficient modes of transportation. Television overtook radio as a communication medium. Out of the inspiration of Gospel, Jazz, and Rhythm and Blues a new sound of Rock ‘n Roll was heard by teens on radios and jukeboxes across the country. Wartime code breakers, such as Alan Turing, came up with frameworks for that would eventually become the computers we rely on today.

My friends, we have existed in a Covid period now for two or three months. Our comings and goings have been restricted. Before venturing out we consider first necessity and then the possibility of exposure and the need for personal protection. All of us are inconvenienced, some of us are angry, others may be fearful or overwhelmed. Businesses are shuttered, a few of them forever, perhaps. Kids are home from school. Some of our population has been lost to the virus.

Despite aggravations and struggles, what is the chance that we could right now be on the precipice of an enlightened creativity? As a Coach, when working with a client who is considering a career shift, it is a common exercise to ponder the types of activities that person enjoyed as a child. Not so much the usual pursuits such as sports or music lessons, but more what we resourcefully did after lamenting to mom “I’m bored!”

Like the artisans and inventors of bygone eras the most original ideas of our imagination likely often occurred at that intersection. From those days of innocence can often come a new spark that has current application in our days of quarantine and confinement. How about the now homebound sales agent who in their younger days would pick up a guitar and strum a few notes? How might they apply rhythm, harmony, and tempo to the way they conduct sales calls on Zoom? For the elementary age educator who enjoyed collecting marbles. What on line lessons can be created in the areas of math or consumerism illustratively using the rounded orbs? There might be a nurse who as a youngster spent afternoons on end constructing puppets from old socks. How might that bring light to a patient? Who could cast a frown at something so joyful, yet simple?

Apparently my pre-school days were occupied by construction with blocks and a bit of music appreciation. Though I pursued neither architecture nor sound engineering as a profession, maybe the same parallel applies now into helping clients build upon their own creative ideas toward a more positive, self-confident, and harmonious tomorrow.

The Seed Sower

Rest, Recover, Reinvirgorate

Kirk McCarley, The Seed Sower Coach

Planting seeds of confidence . . .

A Creative Renaissance?

READ MORE

Rest, Recover, Reinvirgorate

Kirk McCarley, The Seed Sower Coach

314-677-8779