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Folsom Prison Blues

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Johnny Cash 2209720084

Johnny Cash 2209720084 (Photo credit: Heinrich Klaffs)

Johnny Cash died nearly ten years ago (the exact anniversary is September 12).  I knew a little about his music – for instance his reinterpretation on Trent Reznor’s song ‘Hurt’ is achingly intense http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Despite my interest in the criminal justice system I did not know about the role Johnny Cash took in US prison reform.  The BBC has filled in the blanks, in recent coverage of his activism from the 1950s onwards.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21084323

Apparently he used his growing profile as a musician from the late 1950s to draw attention to the unnecessary harshness of the penal system.  His faith-based view was that prisoners could be redeemed.  Speaking about Johnny’s prison work his brother Tommy says:

“He identified with the prisoners because many of them had served their sentences and had been rehabilitated in some cases, but were still kept there the rest of their lives. He felt a great empathy with those people”.

Seemingly the US recidivism rate means more than four out of ten offenders return to prison within four years.  As I posted on 24 November last year (see Inside Out) in the UK six out of ten offenders return to crime within nine years.

There was an interesting radio documentary recently about faith-based interventions to help disaffected youth, and people on the margins of society, linked to David Wilkerson’s work as a street pastor.  The book ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’ says more about how that got started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cross_and_the_Switchblade

In the final analysis, maybe the UK needs more community outreach towards people on the margins.  Perhaps it also needs an advocate with the persistence and credibility of Johnny Cash to start the conversation about the potential for the criminal justice system to change peoples’ lives?

Everyday Values

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Barclays

Barclays (Photo credit: bbodien)

The world of work seems to be changing rapidly and in unpredictable ways.  Well established names such as Comet, HMV and Jessops can go into administration because they cannot keep pace with market changes.

Perhaps then these days, more than ever, it is important for individuals and organisations to know how to adapt to changing conditions.

Holding on to a set of core values and beliefs may help.  As long as it is clear what their core values are everything should be okay.  Shouldn’t it?

The new mood at Barclays, ushered in by their new chief executive, Antony Jenkins, made me wonder about this.  According to BBC News coverage Mr Jenkins has been very upfront about the Bank’s purpose values under his leadership.  He has said these are:

–       Respect

–       Integrity

–       Service

–       Excellence

–       Stewardship

Not a revolutionary set of messages to live by, but arguably different to the old regime where, apparently pockets of bad practice – like Libor manipulation – could fester without those in the know sending up distress flares to senior colleagues.

Equally there were question marks about the extent of the problem in the sector and senior managers weren’t too curious to find out if the Bank was the exception to the rule.

There’s more.  Unlike his predecessor, Bob Diamond, is actively concerned that the Bank’s staff adopt the corporate values as their own.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21064590

Mr Jenkins has also said:

‘There might be some of you who don’t feel they can fully buy in to an approach which so squarely links performance to the upholding of our values…My message to those people is simple: Barclays is not the place for you. The rules have changed. You won’t feel comfortable at Barclays and, to be frank, we won’t feel comfortable with you as colleagues’.

Ouch.  That is a pretty hard message about the values that will now prevail.  I wonder how many ‘Sorry you are leaving’ cards will be doing the rounds this year?  There might be a few I think, as people realise their values and the new corporate values of their employer, are out of step.

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At Your (Civil) Service

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English: Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary ...

English: Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

UK public servants come in for some real stick.  Unfairly in my view.

Pay freezes, head count reduction and the relentless pressure of producing more results with less resources take their toll.  At least one civil service representative body, the Public and Commercial Services union – www.pcs.org.uk – seems set to ballot for strike action.

At least one central government permanent secretary (chief executive equivalent) has a job plan which includes doing something about that.

 

Martin Donnelly at the department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a job objective which includes improving outcomes amongst his middle managers and generally rewarding good performance in the organisation.

It must also be good for morale therefore to learn that David Cameron enjoys good relations with civil servants  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21009377 .

Armed with that reassurance it should be possible for organisational leaders to work with staff to identify some goals, including:

– their main goal for 2013 and how it benefits them individually + their stakeholders (including senior colleagues and, crucially, the politicians they answer to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21040142

– how to positively motivate stakeholders to pursue those gaols (Cabinet Office has some ideas though  http://blogs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/behavioural-insights-team/2013/01/07/sticking-to-our-new-years-resolutions/

– gainging clarity on what ‘success’ looks like, will acquiring skills such as project planning and contract management be important across government, as the Public Accounts Committee chair, Margaret Hodge, suggested in December 2012? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20604173

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Where Are We Now?

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English: Duncan Jones with his father David Bo...

English: Duncan Jones with his father David Bowie at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival for the exhibition of Jones’s film Moon. Photographer’s blog post about this event. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have always admired artists.  To my mind there is something liberating about starting with a blank piece of paper, or canvas, or roll of film and then making a unique impression on it

 

If you can be that creative, to your own and perhaps others’ satisfaction, then you can probably do anything you set your mind to.  Who knows, you might even inspire your off-spring to do something equally artistic too.

 

David Bowie has always seemed to understand that proposition.  His music, his art and the way he presents himself have all carried the signature of someone who is open to the idea of experimentation and inspiration.

 

I like the fact that the video for his latest single, directed by Tony Oursler, is set in an artist’s studio and captures an atmosphere full of possibilities.

 

http://www.davidbowie.com/the-next-day

 

I also like the canniness of Bowie quietly announcing his return to creativity on his 66th birthday and letting the media build the momentum for his upcoming album and retrospective exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, both of which arrive in late March.

 

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/david-bowie-is/

 

All this happening at a quiet time of the year, is icing on the cake.  A way of capitalising on a point in the calendar when many people are already in reflective mode, creating To Do lists for themselves.

 

Significantly many people are contemplating major change now,  I’m sure I read over the festive season that December can be a pressure cooker for many people, holed up for an extended period with friends or family and their own thoughts.  Unsurprising that January is a peak period for trial separations, and divorce petitions, as well as diets.

So, if people are already in the frame of mind to be asking questions, like:

–       When will I start living the life I should be living?

–       How do I change my occupation in favour of something fulfilling?

–       What can I do to create more happiness in my life?

 

Hopefully they will have support at hand to start working on the answers.  I expect supportive family, friends, faith groups and coaches will be in demand over the coming weeks.

This Year I Am Going To…

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motivation

motivation (Photo credit: I am marlon)

I suspect any day is as good as another to change one’s life.  The start of January is popular since the year ahead is a clean slate.  Change seems more possible with 12 months to play with.

 

I wonder how many people pledging to make a change in their lives in 2013 know exactly what they are going to achieve by taking action ?

 

It seems to me there are complex psychological processes at work behind the scenes as change is mulled over.  It doesn’t matter whether that change entails learning a foreign language; eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day; or doing something about the extra weight gained before Christmas, by the time this year’s summer holiday begins.

 

Thankfully someone has already done the thinking about the motivation for change in one area, health, which may have a wider application.

 

Dr Tony Westbury, a sports psychologist from Edinburgh Napier University, and ultra-distance runner Dr Andrew Murray are advocates for an active lifestyle.  They make the case for abandoning a life spent chiefly sitting down, in favour of one involving regular exercise.  They told BBC Scotland that:

 

‘The most important aspect of this [shift to an active life] is your motivation for changing. Psychologists refer to motivation as the ‘why’ of behaviour – why we do what we do… motivationally the person who changes their behaviour out of sense of guilt or duty is different to the person who changes their behaviour because they love the activity’.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20811369

 

If it is possible to generalise about change from that specific example, success in a new goal is more likely to come from a positive desire to benefit from a situation, rather than a negative wish to get away from something else.

 

So that focus on motivation could turn the initial example I mentioned that ‘I don’t like the extra weight I am carrying and I should do something about it’ into a more positive, commitment to ‘feel good about being a proportionate weight for my height and age by time the family goes on holiday in August’.

 

A clear motivating force provides one strong element which improves the likelihood of success.  The next steps in the example probably involve a calendar, some new trainers and – let’s be honest – a fair bit of will power.

 

At least with a positive end point in mind the journey from here to there is a bit more manageable.

 

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Here Is An Inspiring Way To Spend 7 Minutes in 2013

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English: New Orleans, LA., 11/16/2005 -- FEMA ...

English: New Orleans, LA., 11/16/2005 — FEMA Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer, Ted Monette talks to an Upper 9th Ward resident that has returned to his home to clean up following Hurricane Katrina. Andrea Booher/FEMA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve been neglectful and failed to visit the TED Talks website for a while.  My mistake.  There are always little gems to be found there which intrigue, inspire or uplift.

 

Here is a case in point.

 

Candy Chang, an advocate for reclaiming public spaces and an artist, asked a simple question of the people of New Orleans: what do you want before you die?

 

She got a whole bunch of thought provoking answers.

 

She also started people much further afield thinking about the main thing that they actually wanted.

 

If you have a few minutes you might want to look at the talk, answer the question and then figure out what is the first step you are going to take to attain what you want.

 

http://www.ted.com/talks/candy_chang_before_i_die_i_want_to.html

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Don’t Call It A Comeback

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Sugar Ray Leonard

Sugar Ray Leonard (Photo credit: MarkGregory007)

Some sports stars earn a place on the winners’ podium.  A handful make a fortune from commercial endorsements.  A few transition into politics, or the media, after hanging up their boots.

What happens to the others when the achievements, adulation, and kudos, disappear?

Unsurprisingly, according to a recent BBC article, sports professionals without a post-retirement plan can come to grief.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/20646102

 

The article focuses on boxers, but other stars like football players George Best and Paul Gascoigne have had a tough time of it too.

 

Reading the article I am struck by the physical dependency on success Sugar Ray Leonard describes.  He says:

 

“There is nothing in life that can compare to becoming a world champion, having your hand raised in that moment of glory, with thousands, millions of people cheering you on”

 

It must have felt like a yawning chasm had opened up after he left the ring ‘for good’, as he imagined.  No wonder he needed to stage a comeback.

 

Like Ricky Hatton it might not have been about completing some unfinished business in the ring, more an absence of a concrete idea of what else to do outside of it.

 

The absence in the sports professionals’ plan A of a plan B strategy must make them extra vulnerable to post career blues.

 

I wonder how many of them know what benefit they get from their sporting performance (beyond the obvious)?  If they had an answer to that question they might be better able to find a new all-consuming career to follow.

 

Perhaps the classic coaching question should be part of their future planning approach: you know what you want from your current career, well one day that career will end.  You know how you benefit currently, so ask yourself the hardest thing of all – what else do you want to do with your life?

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Not Everyone’s Cup Of Tea

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As this is the season of gifts and thoughtful reflection I wondered what is the ideal gift you would give yourself in 12 months’ time?

Coaching present
Could your gift to yourself involve switching jobs?

Perhaps you were thinking of finding an occupation which reflects your values & beliefs more closely?

Maybe it relates to having a satisfying balance between time spent with supportive colleagues, trading in ethical products and enjoying a good quality of life?

Does achieving a fraction of that change sound like hard work?

Well, apparently a step or two along the road toward those outcomes is possible.  BBC Business coverage of Henrietta Lovell’s Rare Tea Company records such a journey.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20761886

Henrietta realised that there was scope to meet the needs of rare tea enthusiasts and became a kind trader into the bargain.

I love the positive energy she brings to the enterprise she founded.  Instead of constantly eyeing the bottom-line, in a competitive scramble, she asked:

“Why can’t businesses be run with a generosity of spirit and a lot of goodwill”?

http://www.rareteacompany.com/

She is making generosity and goodwill part of her business offer.  She is also making the business work.

According to the article, that is an approach which other, less nichey traders are adopting too.  The article is well worth a few minutes of your time.

I wonder how many business leaders are inclined to think about working with a coach to improve their performance outcomes in terms of their ethical reputation, or social impact?

Perhaps that was part of Google’s initial philosophy when their informal motto was ‘don’t be evil’.

Either way it would be incredibly positive to coach organisations who were professional about the goods / services they provided but also mindful of their stake in society.

As far as I can see those organisations, their staff, customers and stakeholders would all benefit from sharing an ethically- based value system.

That thinking has to be good for business.  Even though, obviously, it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

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It Is Good To Meet You, Mr President

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Luckily the Mayans were wrong.  Or maybe our interpretation of their calendar was wrong.  Either way the world didn’t end today.  This is a good thing, as I have plans for Christmas.

#christmas

#christmas (Photo credit: Isselmuden)

 

Fortunately this year there isn’t a nerve wracking social event to get past before Christmas arrives.  You perhaps know the sort of situation, social drinks with the head of department / director / chief executive.

 

Yes, socialising might just be a relaxed time-out from work.  Maybe though the senior colleague’s company makes you sweaty palmed.  If so, what can you do about it?

 

There’s an interesting parallel discussed on the BBC’s website today.  What do you say at a social gathering with the chief executive when he is also the commander-in-chief, Barack Obama?

 

I suppose it depends on a number of factors:

–       how much preparation do you want to put in, beforehand?

–       How do you want to benefit from the situation?

–       Will you remember the thing you want to say when the moment of truth arrives?

 

The article is an interesting read, so I have attached it below.  Perhaps it is a useful think- piece for anyone trying to make the most of a major opportunity to make a good, first, impression – or to win friends and influence people.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20686066