andrewnicol.net - blog

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one...

... this one is particularly good. From the Herald yesterday

Battered pilot Bob Robertson waits in shock for rescuers to cut him free from his plane after it disintegrated around him.

The 34-year-old had a miraculous escape after his 1960s light plane lost power and crashed on to a motorway.

Firefighters had to cut Bob free from the wreckage of the aircraft after it clipped a building and crashed on to the busy road in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He suffered head, arm and leg injuries and was airlifted to hospital.

How does your cockpit completely rip off, and you end up sitting up waiting for help. WOW!!

Too Much time thinking...

What is my Holy Discontent? What is it that I am placed on this planet to achieve? Not why do I exist; I know that, rather what I’m going to be known for.

I found myself asking questions like the ones above a couple of times in the last week. The first was at a funeral I attended last week. They lady who had died was a lovely lady and raised two great sons on her own after her husband died. They said she was caring and loving and kind and generous.

As I considered these things I was reminded again that they are attributes I really want to have. But, for me personally, they are not enough. I really want to make an impact on this world or more specifically this region. OK well maybe a significant dent.

The second time was on the flight to Melbourne. I listened to an audio book of Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels. In the book he asks what is it you bugs you the most? What really annoys you? What lights a fire in your belly that you can’t ignore? As I consider these things there are a few things I know a few things for sure.

I know it includes agoge, but that agoge is a means not an end.

I know that it is not about me.

I know that it is about people reaching their full potential, leadership I guess.

I know that my heart aches for justice and mercy and those in poverty.

I know even now my hard work is preparation for the cause.

I know I will give my time and money and energy.

I don’t know yet exactly how it all comes together, but I am also confident that it is a work in progress and in time it will be revealed. I think it has to do with showing, enabling and equipping people to make a difference without giving up their day jobs, but by doing more than just sending a cheque.

Excess baggage here I come - Melbourne Day 2

Went exploring this fine city, caught a wrong train, missed a bus and walked for about an hour. Oh well. The buses trains and trams are an amazing network. I suspect if you know where you are going rather than just following your nose they would work a heap better as well.

Late yesterday afternoon I went to the Melbourne Observation Deck (tallest building in Australia). Stunning views and a beautiful day. And I finally worked out which way North is so I will do heaps better today.

Oh and I brought some books. 22 of them in fact (15 for me). I was worried at one point that they might have to physically remove me at closing time.

I know 15 books sounds excessive, but they are books you simply don’t find in NZ and I am not here often.

Today I have a rental car and am going to the freight expo. I ran out of time to get to an automated sorting depot yesterday.

Melbourne Day 1

Got into Melbourne around 6pm on Sunday night. Immediately I noticed the infrastructure. They actually have a motorway that goes from the airport to the city without have to drive through the suburbs, unlike Auckland!

Secondly I noticed the architecture, both old and modern. It is astounding and visually cool.

Yesterday I caught the train to Caulfield and spent the whole day at the careers day at Freight week so haven’t really explored yet.   

Then last night went and found some dinner and a Music shop that was open late. I couldn’t help myself I brought some old music that I have been missing for years I am a CD and MP3 boy now and have no mechanism for playing tapes and dear I say it records that I own. Dire Straights (I think I originally brought this album in the form of a record), Howard Jones, Crowded House and Lighthouse family.

I listen to Dire Straights as I type. It’s been a while.

Today is a day off so I am off to explore this fine city in day light. I am hopefully going to con my way into a transport business with automated sorting (geeky logistics thing). I will I am sure buy some books and drink much coffee.

Major Air Traffic Problem...

Not sure what airport this is but the Air NZ ATR at a foreign airport doesn't mean it is real.

Hattip: umami

Artist is: Homato

Book Review: The Dip by Seth Godin

This book is simply a timely reminder about the importance of sticking through something to become the best in the world, or about quitting. Here is a great excerpt:

Hannah Smith is a very lucky woman. She's a law clerk at the Supreme Court. She's the best in the world.

Last year, more than forty-two thousand people graduated from law school in the United States. And thirty-seven of them were awarded Supreme Court clerkships.

Those thirty-seven people are essentially guaranteed a job for life after they finish their year with the Court. Top law firms routinely pay a signing bonus of $200,000 or more to any clerk they are able to hire. Clerks go on to become partners, judges, and senators.

There are two things worth noting here. The first is that Hannah Smith isn't lucky at all. She's smart and focused and incredibly hardworking.

And the second thing? That any one of the forty-two thousand people who graduated from law school last year could have had Hannah's job. Except they didn't. Not because they weren't smart enough or because they came from the wrong family. No, the reason that most of them didn't have a chance is that somewhere along the way they quit. They didn't quit high school or college or law school. Instead, they quit in their quest to be the best in the world because the cost just seemed too high.

This is a very short book about a very important topic: quitting. Believe it or not, quitting is often a great strategy, a smart way to manage your life and your career. Sometimes, though, quitting is exactly the wrong thing to do. It turns out that there's a pretty simple way to tell the difference.

In addition to being smart and focused and incredibly hardworking, Hannah Smith is also a quitter. In order to get as far as she's gotten, she's quit countless other pursuits. You really can't try to do everything, especially if you intend to be the best in the world.

Before we start on the quitting, though, you probably need to be sold on why being the best in the world matters so much.

Lesson: If I want to be the best in the world it means quitting a heap of things that wont get us there and working really hard on the things that will.

The Dip
Seth Godin
Genres	Marketing, Success, Business
Pages	80	easy read
Readability	1	(1 = Easy, 5 = Hard)
Enjoyment	4	(1 = Never Read, 5 = Remarkable)

Book Review: Freakonomics (Levitt & Dubner)

Imagine for a minute a parent buys a new car seat. They opt for the most expense one with a 6 point safety harness almost roll cage type characteristics. The head off and have it installed by an expert. "Theirs is a gesture of love, surely, but also a gesture of what might be called obsessive parenting. (Obsessive parents know who they are and are generally proud of the fact; non-obsessive parents also know who the obsessive parents are and tend to snicker at them)"

And with that quote I introduce the book Freakonomics. It is a book that looks at how we act verses the data. A child is more likely to die in you neighbours pool than if you purchase a cheaper car seat. It explores the myth of how much money drug dealers make, attributes a drop in crime with the legislation of abortion in the US, and investigates how teachers cheat to improve the schools performance.

It also looks at what makes a perfect parent (from a statistical viewpoint), and highlights some things statistically that matter and don't matter as far as your child getting ahead.

4 things that matter:

• The child's parents are highly educated.
• The child's mother was 30 or older at the time of the first child's birth.
• The child's parents are involved in the PTA.
• The child has many books in her home.

4 things that don't matter:

• The child's parents moved into a better neighbourhood.
• The child frequently watches TV.
• The child's mother didn't work between birth and kindergarten.
• The child's parents read to her nearly every day.

I'll leave it to you to read and consider these things for yourself.

My key lesson: Correct analysis of numbers and data can turn up a heap of facts that I have never before considered. 

Freakonomics
Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
Genres	Society, Provocative thought.
Pages	306	one relaxing weekend
Readability	3	(1 = Easy, 5 = Hard)
Enjoyment	4	(1 = Never Read, 5 = Remarkable)

Are you in the top 10% of performers?

Michael Port wrote this recently.

Business Week polled 2,000 executives and middle managers with the intent of getting a picture of the future state of work. Overall the results were pretty positive. Although one result was shocking, sad, and funny all at the same time.  It turns out... "Over 90% of respondents believe they're in the top 10% of performers." Huh? Houston we have a problem. Apparently, 80% of these folks are kidding themselves.

It made me think about 2 things:

1. How many of my team think they are in the top 10% of performers? I think it would be significantly more than 10%. They may be in the top 10% of the jobs they do, but not in the top 10% of the company.
2. It also made me think of the "differentiation" process that Jack Welch used at GE. Reward the top 20% stunningly, look after and develop the middle 70% and remove the bottom 10%.

Food for thought and discussion I think.