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Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day (sound of agonized screaming from all those guys out there who, er, forgot), I thought a little story might help get you in the mood.

During the first year of our marriage, Mrs. MZM and I attended a Newlyweds class during the Sunday morning Bible study hour at our church. In keeping with tradition, when Valentine’s Day rolled around, they organized a banquet for our rather large group (it was a very large church).

This particular year it promised to be quite a shindig. We had a great meal lined up, live entertainment, and beautiful decorations, including about a million red, pink and white balloons (and I should know; I helped inflate them!)

As preparation for the banquet, though, everybody was asked to submit an illustration of the “most romantic thing” our mates did for us while on our honeymoons. The idea was to read the entries at our banquet and then vote on the best one. The winner would be rewarded with a romantic weekend getaway at a local posh hotel.

Well, the banquet was a smashing success. The food was wonderful, the desserts suitably decadent. The fabulous decorations (Mrs. MZM helped with that) and lively entertainment really made the evening a fun time for all.

But finally it was time to hear what shining examples of romanticism our class members had contributed. (To be honest, I was really looking forward to picking up a few tips – something that might be useful in future years.)

Oh, there were all the usual things – flowers, carriage rides through the park, romantic dinners, moonlight walks on the beach, etc. But there was one that really stood out; a contribution from one of the wives. I’m tellin’ ya; it was a real doozy – and unanimously chosen as the winner.

Want to know what she considered to be the most romantic thing her husband did during their honeymoon?

When she had to “go”, he sat on the toilet seat and warmed it up for her!

Well, when that one was read, there were a few seconds of absolute dead silence (during which time you could have heard an ant walking). Then every jaw in the place dropped straight to the floor (I wouldn’t have been surprised if we had registered a 5.5 on the Richter scale!) We got to our feet en masse and began to applaud the somewhat embarrassed hero of the day. Talk about a show-stopper!

Well, after 25 years of marriage to the most Wonderful Woman in the World, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. And yes, I’ve been asked a time or two for relationship advice; something I’m more than happy to share. (Admittedly, I’m nowhere near perfect *sigh*. To quote one fellow: Lemme tell you everything I know about women: Nothin’!)

But somewhere along the way I almost always relate this story because I’ve never heard a better example of out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to romance. After all these years, I’ve never heard of anything that can top it.

About the only thing I can add is: Gentlemen, go thou and do likewise.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Doggone! Aarrgh! Spit! P’tooi! (And what the heck: let’s throw in a Rats! while we’re at it.)

(Insert deep breath here.) OK, I’m better now. Have you ever had one of those days?

I’m an engineering project manager by trade (he said), so managing the zillions of details typically required during the design and construction of a project is pretty much par for the course. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but there are times when, no matter what, things just seem to go wrong.

Let’s just take ONE example.

On this particular project, one of the tasks is to add a fairly large platform to the top of a pair of existing side-by-side horizontal tanks. Now, our normal procedure would be to find drawings of existing equipment so we know what we’re dealing with, particularly with regards to dimensions, materials of construction, etc.

Naturally, there were no such drawings available for these two tanks. So we did the next best thing – gather information directly from the field. Translation: a field hand goes out and measures the things with a tape (it’s not the most accurate technique – have you ever tried to measure something HUGE with a small ruler? Take it from me, it ain’t easy!)

Luckily, all equipment is required to have a name plate with critical information on it like pressure, temperature, wall thickness, etc. Of course in this case (and you knew this was coming, right?) there was nothing about the material of construction used. So we did the next best thing (actually, by now we’re doing the next, next best thing).

Well, sometimes, ya just gotta guess, you know? In engineering parlance, we did a S.W.A.G., which means scientific wild guess (I’m deliberately leaving out the A-word because this is a G-Rated blog).

Alas, and darn. We guessed wrong. Ah, well…

So what do you do when things just flat go wrong? Are you prone to follow the sage advice commonly known as (although I have no idea why) the Mongolian General Prudential Rule: “When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout”?

Um… perhaps there’s another way to cope.

So, if you find yourself in a pickle because too many things are going wrong and you’re having trouble getting a handle on things, well, here’s a few basic tips to get you started toward a solution. I call it the 7-Up Solution. (Note: feel free to add more of your own tips in the comments.)

1. Own up – First of all, when you’re dealing with clients who are paying you, like, real money, the first thing you absolutely must do is admit there’s a problem! (Sounds like the first step to an AAA meeting, doesn’t it?) Everybody faces challenges every day – some are self-inflicted, but some aren’t, but you gotta get that sucker into the open before any solution can even begin!
2. Open up – (It’s something like “don’t try this alone” .) Break out of the “I’ve got to solve this myself” mindset. The truth is, when a big challenge lands with a thud on your doorstep (sound of resounding thud), the more brains focused on the problem the better. (You might want to read yesterday’s post for a few quick thoughts on synergy and how different viewpoints can help.)
3. Look up – Now, it’s true that as a Christian, I can always ask God for help when things get overwhelming. But what I mean here is that chances are, if you have a boss, mentor, or some such higher-up, they may have possibly been in this exact situation before. It sounds simple, I know, but in the midst of the storm, we sometimes forget to ask them!
4. Tally up – See what resources you have available to solve the problem. By resources, I mean people, but there are also other information sources to tap as well, such as previous projects with similar situations.
5. Divvy up – This works great when you have a team working with you: divide the challenge into sections that can be conquered separately. The “divide and conquer” method works well when there are several pieces to the problem.
6. Giddyap – (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one. Hey, I am a Texan from Texas.) Once you’ve uncovered a few solutions, pick the best and move on! Don’t waste a lot of time feeling sorry for yourself, or looking for someone to blame. Save that for the “lessons learned” session. Time’s a wastin’ friends – get on with it!
7. 7-up – Now that you’ve figured out what to do, and you’re workin’ the solution – give yourself a break, have a seat, and take a load off; heck, fire up the computer and read Middle Zone Musings! Reward yourself with something quick (I personally like diet 7-Up; hence the name of this step). ‘Way to go, pardner, you done good!

There you have it, folks, the 7-Up Solution to problem-solving! Now it’s time for steps 7b-d: Feet up, pull hat over face, and commence the snores!

Cheers!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Last weekend I had breakfast with a couple of good friends of mine.  (Note: this is NOT a photo of us. But if it were, I’d be the tall one on the left.)

I love it when the three of us get together because you just never know exactly where the conversation will end up. What’s entertaining about these get-togethers is that while we all come from different backgrounds (engineering, marketing & graphic design), we have a way of visualizing things that each of us alone just can’t seem to match. It’s a lot of fun, and a great example of synergy, lemme tell ya!

Anyway, one friend related his recent trip across the pond to merry old England, where he had a somewhat, er, convoluted driving experience. You know what I mean, don’t you? There’s a particular spot you want to get to, but the directions are of necessity lengthy and complex. (Come to think of it, it’s very much like the experience you have when you’re in a hospital visiting a patient – or heaven forbid, you are one. Now stay with me on this one; there’s a reason why I used this example.)

For instance, in my friend’s case the hotel concierge was able to provide a very nice set of detailed driving directions. All very clear and easy to follow, no doubt; probably something along the lines of, “Take the A-40 to the Thames River East exit (I’m making this up – I have no idea what the actual directions would be) and turn left; follow this road to… yada, yada, yada.”

However, those of you in the audience who’ve “been there” (no, not England, silly – I mean you’ve been faced with similar, um, driving challenges) will not be surprised to find that this little excursion didn’t go quite as planned. (Although there were circumstances beyond his control involved.)

The distance wasn’t that far – only about 16 miles or so – and would have taken only a few minutes (except during rush hour, of course!) on most highways here in the States. I say “would have” because in actuality the trip (including various wrong turns, backtracks, a car breakdown and the subsequent repair time) took over 4-1/2 hours!

He summarized the experience quite nicely when he said, “In my entire life I’ve never been more lost!” (The story has a happy ending however; it turned out the wrecker driver grew up not three kilometers from the very spot he was looking for and led him right to it.)

It was ironic, then (which, as you know, means made entirely made of iron), that our other friend sitting at the table happens to work in the field of “wayfinding” – something I would loosely define as the means of discovering how to get from point A to point B, and covers informational, directional and other types of facility signage. (For instance, when a person goes to a hospital and has to visit a specific location within the – usually very large and confusing – complex, how do they find their way around? That’s the kind of customer challenge wayfinding can help solve.)

I found it quite ironic (see above) that the challenge my friend had in England was very similar to the challenges my other friend helps solve every day. And there they were, sitting at the same table!

It’s a great example of how different viewpoints, when applied to a challenge, can sometimes provide solutions that no one viewpoint would have discovered on its own. Not that we came up with a solution, mind you – but we could. (Sponsors, anyone?)

Now, admittedly when the three of us get together, we partake in more than our share of silliness. But the amazing thing is, by the time we leave, usually each of us has gained some new insight into a challenge we face in our own worlds. It never fails.

So (and you knew this was coming, right?) my advice to you is this: find a way to introduce new and different viewpoints into your life. For example, in your feed reader, make sure there are feeds from people who are completely different from you. And make an acquaintance (no, make several acquaintances) with someone outside your line of work – heck, outside your world!

You’ll be amazed at how powerful - and full of value - that simple practice can be!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Note: After spending three days of (ahem, have to use my deep ‘announcer voice’ here) Deep Thoughts (see yesterday’s post), I thought it might be fun to lighten up a bit today with something completely different…

Well, it ain’t your Grandpa’s pine box!

This month the coveted OOB* Award goes to British coffin-makers Vic Fearn & Company Limited (click on “crazy coffins”). Although they started out manufacturing the usual, er, stuff, it seems that after being asked to make a few “special” caskets (the first one was a scale model of a jet fighter, followed by his & hers scaled-down canal boats), there turned out to be a booming business in unusual sarcophaguses sarcophagum sarcophagi coffins.

In fact, they’re so amazing, they even send them on an art tour. Besides the Egg shown here, among the strange and unusual sartorial sachets produced so far are:

• Electric guitar
• Sports bag
• The Bride of Dracula
• Ski sledge
• Bell-shaped
• Skateboard
• Box kite

Well, with that kind of inspiration, let’s unleash the creative beast that lies within and have some fun, shall we?

Question of the day: If you could be put COMPLETELY in charge of picking the casket for someone, who would it be, and what would it look like? (Hmm… for the sake of propriety, we’d better use Liz’s rule here: be nice.)

Bonus Question: What would you choose for yourself? (As for me, I’d like something in blue - and definitely shark-shaped. And don’t forget the shades.)

* OOB stands for “Out Of the Box”

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Today’s Endless Innovation points to Fortune Magazine’s series of Q and A’s from readers to various “cool thinkers”. The current Q and A article is with management guru Jim Collins, but the next one will be with Donald Trump. If you have any questions you’ve been dying to ask The Don (and we’re NOT talking “briefs or boxers” here, friends – but if that’s your burning question, then you’re stranger than I am - and may Heaven help you!), then now’s your chance!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

Did you know Liz Strauss at Successful Blog hosts “open mic” night every Tuesday night? It’s a lot like a giant get together over coffee (or whatever else you might happen to have on hand) where everyone gets together and chats about whatever subject Liz initially selects (it was winter vacation spots this time). It’s pretty freewheeling, and lots of fun; it’s a chat without the chat room.

I know that sounds weird, but you should try it sometime. The advantage over chatrooms is you can keep track of every conversation and even participate easily, via comments. Every Tuesday night, 7 pm CST (-6 GMT).

The reason I brought it up is because of belly button lint. Yep, you heard me - belly button lint.

You see, it’s like this…

Monique Attinger challenged us last Tuesday to give her various topics, and she would then write a post on her insurance blog about how that topic is related to insurance. (Monique sells… well, you know.) Barely had I managed to think up a few but doggone if Liz didn’t beat me to it by suggesting “Euclidian Geometry and insurance”, “sequins and insurance”, and “thixotropic and insurance”. Pretty quick on the keys there, Liz!

Anyway, I suggested “lawn darts and insurance”, “the Roaming Gnome and insurance”, “sushi and insurance”… and “belly button lint and insurance”.

Well, a tip of the hat and an OOB (Out Of the Box) Award goes to Monique, because sure enough, she actually wrote a post titled “Belly button lint and insurance“. I gotta tell ya, Monique: Great Job!!

If you’re sitting there thinking to yourself, there’s no way belly button lint can have anything with insurance, then think again! Do yourself a favor and read it for yourself.

Excellent thinking outside the box, Monique!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!

In case you missed my post a few days ago (and shame on you if you did!), go back and check out Clive Johnson’s story in Fast Company featuring Gordon Bell, the Microsoft scientist who, among other things, is recording every moment of his life. Yes, every moment. Aside from the weirdness of the idea, there’s some pretty darned interesting implications, if you ask me.

However, in a follow-up post, Clive asks, “What would it be like to review your entire life in three minutes?” If I were you, I’d take a moment to think about the implications of this one, too. Especially since you’ll probably be doing it in the very near future.

If you didn’t read the comments, go back - you missed the best part. Especially the ones who say they might start doing this with their toddlers. Imagine presenting your daughter or son such an archive on their wedding day!

Makes me wish I had a time machine, to go back and capture those photos I no longer have, or missed. Now I have to rely on just plain ol’ carbon-based neurons; alas, they’re going fast.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!