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I find the thoughts and insights of this weeks video to be thought provoking and at the same time, intriguing. I would suggest a happier medium for viewing the presentation though, the constant graphics were diminishing to my thought process.

Why do you think the talk is titled "21st Century Enlightenment"?

I personally feel as though it is titled "21st Century Enlightenment" because he is trying to present an idea base to us that fits his interpretation of where we should be in this ever changing time we are in. The ideas he presented were more modernized then past thinking and he offered some insights into how we can be more productive as a society moving forward.  

What does Matthew Taylor mean when he says "to live differently, you have to think differently"?

I interpret this to mean that we as a society are and have been living our lives based on ideas and fundamentals that were set long ago. I think he wants us to try and understand that is we want to live a different life, we need to think about how we go about that life in a different way. We need to approach our needs and wants in a different light and we need to go about obtaining happiness in a new way.

At one point in the video, Taylor argues that we need "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange". What is he talking about?

I think he means that we need to learn to resist things that are not true to us, that we were taught to know, and look at things in a new light. It sounds like he wants us to be able to gain a new perspective on old ideas or past experiences. How can we change if we cannot challenge what we already know to be true? I think we need to think outside the box as it pertains to things we already know. I think we tend to make things we accept (because we were forced to by society) acceptable to us no matter what. It is like a national pressure to make sure that we follow inline. I think that statement challenges that concept.

Can you think of an example within your company or your life that supports this point?

The first thing that came to mind for me, is the label that air traffic controllers get for being stressed or now "tired'. In the recent past, there has been examples of a few controllers being asleep at work and or exhausted. Nationally, we are known for being in a career field that is "stressful". The issue I have of that is the perception that we are not afforded enough time off for sleep or the assumption that we cannot handle our jobs and thus the "high suicide rate". The media and or public has blown (in my opinion) this data out of proportion. Secondly, there are ways to fix these issues (if we have any) if they needed to be. If people has a better understanding of the work day, pay, and hours, they could better understand our career.

Taylor argues that society should eschew elements of pop culture that degrade people and we should spend more time looking into what develops empathetic citizens. Would this be possible?

 To answer that bluntly, no. If you look at the value today's society has put on the degradation of people, you couldn't argue otherwise. I think of all of the athletes globally that we pay millions and millions and dollars to have on "our" team and then look how we are bias in prosecuting any of them for their wrong doings. I see all of the attention teens who are pregnant at a young age are on tv and how young, wild adults are put on tv every chance they get. I see now, how all of this has got us to where we are today. The public doesn't seem to mind that swearing and using the Lord's name in vein is now allowed on tv or how we have unlimited access to pornographic material online. So is it possible? Nope. I imagine us as a roller coaster. We happen to be on the part where we are gaining the most speed (on the downhill) toward utter destructiveness. 

At the end of the video, Taylor talks about atomizing people from collaborative environments and the destructive effect of their growth. What is the implication of these comments for organizational change efforts?

  

Well I think he means that people, when put into organizational groups, tend to find a common ground for the good of the group. The larger the group gets, the less likely it becomes to meet their needs anymore. I don't feel as though all groups are bad however. I feel as though there are ways in which the purpose and drive of the group will change thus changing their overall mission and potential to solve issues. I personally feel as though it means that an organization needs to monitor the health of any group they form. I look at modern day unions (some not all). I feel as though they were created for the purpose of serving the workers needs. Somehow, that group has moved to more unhealthy needs and demands. That's not always the case but if left un-monitored, who is to say a group can't gain traction and strength?

What can I take away from this exercise and immediately in my career?

I think this video has given me the opportunity to put my thoughts and aspirations under the microscope. Maybe what is driving me to succeed are expectations and wants of others and not my own. i want to be able to think for myself at a management level while trying to keep the organizations needs understood. I want to be able to understand the ethical and moral objectives of the company I work for and make sure that my thoughts and actions go hand in hand with theirs.

Reference

Taylor, M. (2010, August 19). RSA Animate - 21st Century Enlightenment. Retrieved January 23, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo&feature=youtu.be

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The thing that most companies will face in their growth is people that are not willing to put in the effort, time, or energy to see the company succeed. It often times will take the people with a vision and power to motivate those non-believers into getting on board with the future aspirations of that organization. 

My example revolves around my current career field, at a past facility. At some point throughout my first year there, my manager made it clear that our company was changing some of it's policies and that the facility management had the right to initiate those procedures to the best of their abilities and for what they thought would best serve their needs. Basically, they wanted to implement new procedures and see how it worked and they gave our manager some leniency to make it work. This particular implementation was focused around our schedule. The manager there worked 9-5, Monday through Friday while all of the controllers worked a rotating schedule with days off changing and time at work constantly flexing. The manager told us that he didn't see any reason to change anything at our facility, "we were all happy". His perception of the situation was incorrect. To be honest, we hated our schedule and disliked how the manager didn't assist us with our rotation burden. He had no sympathy for us, mostly due to him not ever being in our position.

He gave us the option to find a new schedule that the company would agree to (they initiated this change) and that the manager would agree to. As a group, we actually presented three different, in depth changes that her would be a part of and that we would love to work. Each time we presented them to him, he shot them down and said he didn't want to work them. Instead of working with the team, he worked against us. Not long after, I transferred to the facility I am at now. The remaining (and new) controller actually unionized and fought to have one of those schedules passed. It wasn't until after that happened and the company getting involved, did he actually get on board with the change. To this day (or so I've heard), he still resents everyone there and he is not an easy person to work for or with. It is much like the video we watched this week. Sometimes it takes power and vision to get things done. How can you make that known to people who are not interested in helping the organizations cause?

On a side note, dictionary.com defines pragmatism as a "philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical 

consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value" (dictionary, 2015). I find that that manger focused and stressed to much about the practical consequences of the situation. He could have been more open to the idea initially and not drug out the entire situation for his personal gain. After all of that, he still ended up conceding to the new procedures. Was all of that worth it?

Dictionary.com(2015, January 1). Retrieved January 17, 2015, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pragmatism?s=t

Kohn, S. (2007, November 7). A Tale of Power & Vision. Retrieved January 17, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVIWZGheXY

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In this video, Prof. Baba Shiv of Stanford University talks about the importance of emotion in decision making. After watching this video, reflect on two situations; one, in which you were extremely confident of the outcome and what your attitude was towards the subject; and second, a situation in which you would less confident or not so confident and how you felt about the situation. Based on this module's readings and this video write a reflection blog detailing the situations above and describing the role emotion plays in decision making.  Identify three emotional reactions for each scenario. 

I find myself to be a very emotional decision maker, In some cases, it is the downside of my leadership skills and on the upside, the reason why I think I'm a good leader. The video discussed the confidence that people should show when they're making a decision. According to Prof. Shiv, you want to be confident for your followers, that way there is an instilled sense of follower-ship and direction. People who tend to give direction without confidence are less able to get people to believe in their success.

For my first example, I wanted to share a time when I was successful because of my confidence. When I was in boot camp, there was an opportunity for a select group of individuals to go before a performance board to show why we thought we were the best sailors in our graduating class. We were selected prior to the board by our division leaders as outstanding candidates. When I got to the board, most of the other candidates seemed to be very worried about the procedure and intimidated of the people on the selection board. They had talked themselves out of being successful before they even got the chance to prove themselves. When I went for review, I was extremely confident and happy to have the opportunity. Although I made an error, I apologized and carried on as if it were no issue. Much to my happiness, I was selected for the second highest award at boot camp. The others that had no confidence, left the board one at a time, the same way they came in, unsure about themselves.

The second situation was when I was less confident and I wasn't as successful. During my training as an air traffic controller, there comes a time when you are given the chance to become a supervisor. These chances come after your trainers feel as though you showcase enough control and leadership to handle a facility all on your own. When given the chance, you are sat down in a room with your superiors and they ask you a ton of procedural questions to see how you'd respond. When I was given my first chance, there happen to be double the amount of people in the meeting do to the turnover of personnel. There were people observing the meeting so they could learn how to be on the board. When the meeting began, i was told that everyone in the room would be now participating and asking more detailed questions. For some reason, that threw me for a loop and I immediately got very un-confident and shaky. As soon as the first question was asked, I was shuddering and I couldn't recall any of the information I had studied.  I must have looked foolish but I didn't show any confidence and I didn't trust myself. I felt at that time, like I had given up. I failed that board and went back and studied for a week more. I then passed because I knew what to expect and I then knew what was required of me. 

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The Cynefin framework this week really helped me see the way in which I've made decision in the past and it has helped me see how I can make more informed decisions moving forward. In the outline we were introduced to four different ways that a manger/leader can handle different situations; chaotic, simple, complex, and complicated. Each on of those situations calls for a unique interpretation and input from the leader. For this assignment, I am going to give two examples of my experience and how this framework helped me, or hurt me along the way.

First, the simple framework is revolved around "known-knows". This means that there are clear patterns and outlines that people follow and adhere to. In the simple platform, people tend to give direction and then follow it. There isn't a whole lot of variation involved. For my first example, I wanted to focus on my younger years in the Navy. When you're new to any job, in my case the Navy, there isn't a lot of wiggle room on the things you are privy to. When I first entered the Navy, there was a very simple leadership line formed. We knew exactly where we were suppose to be and we knew what was expected of us. There wasn't to much opinion based thinking or leadership for that matter. We were there to get a job done and get it done one way.

Secondly, I wanted to focus on a situation where I was exposed to a complex situation. While I was working air traffic over seas, we were given direction and outlines for what was expected of us, but we were not aware that there was room for adjustment on our part. As time passed, we found that sometimes we have to adjust and focus our attention on thinking outside the box in dealing with unique situations. In a complex situation, there are higher levels of interaction and communication and in my case, in order to be successful, we had to utilize those tools everyday. Last, there is a time for reflection and correction in a complex situation. In the case of fast paced air traffic control, we would always think about the ways things could have been improved or bettered.

The thing I took away from this week is that we are always going to need to know how to deal with situations and apply our leadership knowledge effectively. I now know that we make decision based on unknown situations and past experiences and assumptions. It will be interesting moving forward to determine how each situation applies to the Cynefin framework and apply my gained knowledge in the matter.

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For this week, I want to share the situation that lead to a decision making process. As my time in the Navy was nearing an end (4 1/2 years in), I began to contemplate what my options moving forward would be. Would I elect to stay in or would I move on and seek employment as a civilian? As I thought about this more and more, I thought it would be good to seek outside input (stakeholders). I thought that by bringing these other people and their opinions on board, I would feel more comfortable with the end result. If everyone was in agreement, how could anyone one party be upset if things were done how we had discussed. It came down to my family and the girl I was dating at the time's input but ultimately the decision was mine to make. The secondary influences was the command I was at in the Navy and the people there and how they thought about me. I only say that because had the people there tried a little harder, it wouldn't have made my choice to get out so easy. It was as if I didn't matter that much to the Navy (which is true, its very large and keep going without you). So when all was said and done, I separated and moved on into the civilian side of things.

Now if the people involved would have shared different opinions or observations with me, I would have not been so quick to make my decision. I actually made my decision a year in advance, that way I knew exactly what I was going to do and it ensured that I had enough time to get ready for the transition. The people involved, that helped me, were important people to me at that time, but they obviously have their own lives to think about and what I did with mine was for me to decide, not them. I question sometimes what would have happened the other way around.

Looking back at it now, I could have looked at a few things in a different light. I could have weighed the option of early retirement a little sooner and I could have looked at the free education I would continue to get and how that could have shaped by choices. I don't spend any time looking back and telling myself I made an error, because all of the choices I've made up until now have shaped who I am and what kind of a leader I am. I don't personally think there is anyone else who could have said anything to change the overall outcome. I made the choice and I moved in that direction full steam. Everything worked out for the best and I have the amazing life I have now. In the end, that decision making process showed me that I need to weigh the pros and cons in every situation before making a long term decision, that I need to trust the people around me, but ultimately that I need to trust my faith and my discretion above anything else. After all, it isn't up to anyone else to decide for you!

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Reflect on a personal or business situation in which the cost of conflict was significantly greater than you would've preferred. Analyze the situation in relation to Stewart Levine's 10 principles of new thinking (p. 46). How would this have changed the situation? Could it have reduced the cost of conflict? What lessons did you learn from this exercise?

The cost of a conflict is something that people have to understand and prepare for. Every time a conflict arises, I feel like there is either something to be gained, or something to be lost. this could include emotional losses, financial losses, or losses in time and effort. In order for a resolution to be found, all of the parties involved have to keep an open mind and want for everyone to succeed without any damages occurring. This week I'm going to share with you a personal story about a conflict i encountered and how me and my family avoided high "costs" in this matter and how it worked out for the best.

Earlier this year, I was presented the opportunity to take a job working for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was a federal job with a pay increase and retirement options. I had actually been in their hiring program for around a year, do to the government shut downs and delays, I was on hold getting hired. Because of that delay, my wife and I started trying to have a baby. After a little trying, we were successful and because we wanted our children to grow up in an actual home, we bought a house. Not long after both of those situations happened, of course the FAA asked me to leave for schooling three months after our son was born. To me, this was not an option and my wife and I exhausted every option to try to make the new job offer work with our new circumstances. Unfortunately for the FAA, I turned down their offer and we decided to stay in Wisconsin and raise our family here. What we faced was a huge emotional cost. The reason I say that is because we both have family in this area and we knew no one in Michigan. It would have taken a huge toll on us, moving to a new state and not knowing anyone and having the new baby. Secondly, we would have faced huge direct costs. Since we had just bought a home and had the baby (big expenses), we would have had to pay to move, pay to sell our home and paid to buy a new home and everything in between all of those. To us, that was not an option and now that I think about it, it still isn't an option. We are glad we made that choice and everything is working out great.

I personally learned this week that there is a cost associated with everything we do and every situation has it's own circumstances and costs. It became clear to me that sometimes we don't take these costs into consideration and people could be hurt or offended by our efforts. As a leader this was important for me to better understand. I truly gained some perspective in this matter this week and I'm sure it'll help me in the long run.

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This week was interesting to me. I never actually sat down and thought about what my protected values actually are. When I made that outline, I thought of things that applied to my life now, they would have been different a few years ago. I wanted to first address the idea of modernization and the rapid expansion of property in my area. I find this to be worrisome but not the highest on my list of protected values. It is important to me because a lot of our history and heritage is being demolished to bring in more and more cheaper based housing. I'm not sure that it is the best idea and I'm not sure how I would actually go to stop or protect that value,

Secondly, I mentioned that gun rights are important to me. The reason is, this is the right that allows us to protect all the other rights. People have to be able to protect themselves, their family and the other interests in their life. We cannot rely on other people to save us in dire situations and we cannot hand over our guns because we use them recreationally. This is actually something that is quite important to me and I would be willing to go to pretty assertive extremes to make sure that we can always have access to guns.

Last, I mentioned taxes. Who likes paying taxes anymore, or ever? I find that with the way our government is moving, our money is being wasted and used for things that the public doesn't have control over anymore. I want to see drastic change where we can all afford to pay taxes and not afford to live after paying  taxes. The thing here is, we need to have some checks and balances on all the wasteful spending. That hasn't been done in a long long time. As far as I would go, I'm not sure. I know that there needs to be a change, but how to we accomplish that where people will listen and not get violent?

My values actually help shape who I am and I tend to make decisions based on them. If they were not important values, why would we not protect them and make decisions by them? What I find interesting in today's workplace, people compromise to much over simple things like money and influence. I would like to think that I am able to stick to my morals and values and make the best decisions based on my values. If we compromise them, what are we actually accomplishing and what do we stand for?