Doing it better

During the recent Apple training I attended, Rebecca Stockley facilitated several of the meetings. She is an improvisation specialist and helped facilitate the meeting times, encouraging the flow and collaboration. She has worked extensively with Pixar. When asked about her experience at Pixar, she said a key to their success is the philosophy...

If it worked the first time, don't do it again. Do it better.

It is integrated in their organizational culture. If they don't push the envelope to get better, they will not stay on top. It sounds very similar to Thomas Friedman (note this is a loose paraphrase by memory) when he says the question is not whether or not your product will become obsolete. Everything becomes obsolete. At this point, it is more a question of whether you will make it obsolete or someone else will.

So there is something to be said for going beyond the status quo. What is the motivation and what does success look like? I think the "why" is a critical component. Why do you seek to be better? Why do you seek to be the best? As we invest in our organizations and set priorities, the why is a pivotal key to defining success. We need to stay focused on pursuing goals for the right reasons or it is easy to get sidetracked and "busy" without substance to our work.

Inspiration from Joseph Linaschke

As we journey through life, we come in contact with phenomenal people from time to time. From my experience during the Apple Asia Distingushed Educator (ADE) training (#ade2010), I found Joseph Linaschke (@travel_junkie) to be one of those people. He is super-talented in a highly competitive and high skill field. During his time at Apple, he worked extensively with the development of Aperture, the professional grade of iPhoto, among his other projects. He currently runs Apertureexpert.com and appears regularly on the This Week in Photography (TWiP) podcast.

He spent several days with our group, giving us photography tips, Aperture tips, and just generally spoke about many of his experiences. He has had a camera on his shoulder as long as he could remember and his experience and expertise shows. As I watched him interact with members of our group, he was unassuming and easily engaged in conversation. He engaged in the experience with us and helped us meet some of our project goals during the week. Some people that are at the top of their field come off as in a way that makes their work seem untouchable--never attainable. Joseph made it reachable for us...he encouraged us to give it a shot. I love photography and it is a growing interest. My level is low and interacting with someone at this high level could have easily discouraged me. My experience this past week inspired my creativity and motivated me to remove any limits I may have placed on myself.

As educators and leaders, we want to do this daily. Whether it is our students or colleagues, it is not about us. We want to inspire others to dream bigger and be better as a result of their interaction with us. I would venture to say that many ADEs will take away thoughts and tips that Joseph never intended to impart to us. That is part of phenomenal people--one walks away from the interaction getting much more than intended and the impact of the interaction lasts much longer than the time frame in which it actually occurred. For me, the 5 days will continue to extend by my reflection on how my interactions will impact others on a daily basis and how I can inspire the creativity I desire in others. And the beauty of a 2.0 world means that this may be done in person or in tools such as this blog. How about you? Do you inspire those around you to greater things?

Joseph took some of us on an optional photowalk around our hotel near the Singapore Merlion. Although I didn't have my Nikon SLR with me, I did take these with my older Sony H2. Thanks, Joseph, for the tips and inspiration!