Food For Thought

Winter will soon be here and just thinking about it gives me the chills; it’s depressing.  I’ve never been a fan of winter; it’s dull, gray, cold, the days short, the roads messy and often, there is snow to deal with. What is there to like??! 

I recently learned that winning a bronze medal in the Olympics is better than winning a silver medal. I’m competitive; this makes no sense to me. How is placing 3rd in a competition better than placing 2nd?  These are elite athletes that are top in their sport; why wouldn’t they want the center stand on the podium after all the sacrifices made to compete? The answer is in a 1995 study completed by psychologists Victoria Medvec, S.F. Madey, and Thomas Gilovich. The study explores “counterfactual” thinking or alternative outcomes and explains this phenomenon.  And when you hear why, it makes sense.

We are in the technology staffing business, which also means that we are in business of building relationships.  And, whether we realize it or not, all relationships start with dating.  On the surface, that may not make sense since the definition of dating is to “go out with someone with whom you have a romantic interest”. Although the interests and reasons for building relationships in the business world are different from those we build in our personal lives, the concept and how we approach meeting new people is the same!

There is a new movie about to be released, and the storyline has caught my imagination.  It sounded like a dumb story at first, but then I learned it’s a true story.  Now, just because its true doesn’t mean it can’t also be a terrible plot line for a movie.  This one is about John “Chickie” Donohue and his beer run.  See what I mean?!  But, when you get into the story, it’s good.  “Chickie” is a Marine veteran working as a merchant seaman in 1967 during the Vietnam war.  During a conversation with friends at a bar (always leads to trouble!), they talk about going to Vietnam and delivering a case of beer to their buddies fighting the war as a show of support.  Terrible idea.  Imagine traveling from the United States to Vietnam to deliver beer in the middle of a war to six friends in active duty, and you don’t even know where they are….Impossible!!!

Instead of judging others by actions, try flipping the script and assuming the other person has good intentions.  You don’t need to know what those intentions are, just put yourself in their shoes.  I’ve tried, and when I do, I’ve noticed I’m better for it.

“If it looks like duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck”. How many times have you heard that saying? And have you ever really watched a duck? Outwardly, they appear calm, collected and generally unflappable. They even don’t mind spending time with their heads and upper body under water, tail in air searching for snacks. What you don’t see though, is the feverish pace their feet move to keep going. Ducks are weird!