December 2009.
I had been contacted by a writer to answer some questions for a profile on a blog/website.
I hadn’t reread this until last week when circumstances caused me to find it in my sent file.
This was only 3 months before we lost Chris.
Obviously there is some irony in the answers…looking forward to the future, kids in college etc.
However…and it’s a BIG HOWEVER, the core of these answers remains as true today as the 2009 December evening on which they were written
The questions are not mine. The answers are…and I stand by each one even today as we journey forward.
We don’t know our exact futures, but I do believe we can know why we do what we do.
We can know what’s important to us.
Here’s an exact word for word excerpt with professional/education/work related questions and answers removed for the sake of brevity.
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What is your proudest accomplishment?
My family. Through the ups and downs of babies, young kids and now young men (18 and 16), my wife and I are seeing our boys begin their adult journeys that we believe will help change the world positively through their actions and relationships. My family is truly my greatest accomplishment and everything else to me is icing on the cake!
What is your foremost passion?
Creating art with music, watercolour and people. I used to think my passions and hobbies were very diverse and perhaps they are, but the core is very similar. I find myself again and again playing the role of a conductor, arranger, or producer. With music and art, I mix music tracks or colours…each on their own telling only part of the story, but absolutely integral to the story. The same is true for my management style, I believe. Each person and relationship is integral to the overall success of the department, division or organization. When you have the different components working together, that is when you have achieved a song, painting or highly functional working environment.
What are three random things no one knows about you?
That I have a music album on jamendo.com
I used to clean carpets for a living
I will squash you at ping pong
What do you want people to know about you that they don’t already?
My masters thesis centered on the topic of the interplay between change management and knowledge management. What? Yah, I didn’t understand it much either. I’ve worked a lot in the area of change in my career. I’ve found that we (managers, business owners) often underestimate the human element and the human power when change is present. Relationships are the key to everything. You can systemize, model, and even lead, but ultimately if the people are not ready and willing to come with you, change will be short lived or non-existent. I believe we all have a HUGE impact on people’s lives. Simple words and actions followed with consistent behaviour over time are the real ingredients to successful change.
Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years?
5 years – BCIT classrooms overflowing with students, my clients prospering, my kids solidly in college.
10 years – Readying for early ‘retirement’ from day job to concentrate on writing, teaching, speaking and the arts….oh and wife says we have to go to Europe for 6 months
20 years – 4 months in Hawaii, 8 months in Canada – changing the world, one relationship at a time.
Be The Best. 