Friday, February 27, 2009

Things We Didn't Know

Things I wish I had known about Pentti:
-he HATES vegetables, to the point of being unreasonable (refusing, for example, to even TOUCH celery)
-his need for a better, faster computer is unending
-he thinks that laundry magically travels from the floor to the laundry basket
-he is color blind, but doesn’t know and/or admit it (there is no other explanation)
-he sticks to diets with annoying tenacity
-he hates washing cars
-he thinks cleaning of any kind is unnecessary and therefore a waste of time
-he is allergic to the sound of the vacuum (using one himself would probably cause convulsions)
-he drives the speed limit (who does that????)
-he “saves” clothes for wearing the next day (therefore not putting them away), but then takes fresh ones in the morning anyway
-he has trouble locating his keys, shoes, socks, pants, cell phone, key card and whatever else he needs when leaving for work in the morning
-he likes to wear fleece pants; ALL the time
-he likes Mr. Bean
-he hates classical music and jazz
-he doesn’t like the taste of coffee
-he thinks corn is only suitable for pigs
-he likes to watch Poker (probably likes watching paint dry too-I haven’t asked)
-he leaves a trail of loose change (falling out of his pockets) wherever he goes
-he thinks greeting cards are stupid
-he likes small towns
-when he says he’ll do it soon, he will forget before “soon” comes

Things Pentti probably wishes he had known about me:
-everything needs to match; ie no soap dispenser at all in the bathroom is better than one that doesn’t match
-what I eat at any particular meal depends on what I FEEL like eating. Sometimes this leads to lots of driving around trying to find something that I am in the mood to eat
-I love veggies and salads and prefer them over meat
-I am not low maintenance; I would rather be late than not shower
-you can never have too many pairs of shoes
-I can tune out the entire world when I am reading
-I squeeze the toothpaste and all other tubes from the middle
-I follow traffic laws very selectively
-I treat all Hallmark created holidays as near-religious occasions
-when I ask for his opinion, I usually have an idea of what I would like that opinion to be
-I don’t have a sense of humour (for his jokes specifically)
-I’ll be ready soon, means at least 8 minutes
-I require indoor plumbing at all times

Monday, February 16, 2009

Leadership

I have been thinking a lot about leadership lately. I guess with a new president in the States, leadership is sort of a hot topic right now. I have also been evaluating some of the leaders that have been in my life, whether at school or at church or in the workplace. Granted I am a fairly critical person, but there sure is a lot of bad leadership out there!! So, I have compiled a list of the qualities that I think make for a good leader.
APPROACHABLE: This is huge. If a leader is not approachable I consider the “game” lost from the word go.
HUMBLE: I don’t mean meek, or subservient, but I definitely DO mean, NOT arrogant. A lot of people seem to be leaders, not in order to lead, but so that they can have power. Power-hungry people are never humble and rarely accommodate anyone else in their singular quest to run everything and be everything.
WISE: And I don’t mean all-knowing. Wisdom sometimes means admitting you don’t know something or letting someone else handle something.
DELEGATORS: Knowing the right people to ask, and being the kind of leader who inspires others to do their part. Doing everything yourself is stupid. Enough said.
FIRM: Spineless noodles need not apply.
FLEXIBLE: Life happens.
COMPASSIONATE: If you don’t care about me, I don’t care about your ideas.
INSPIRATIONAL: Leaders inspire change. They make people want to become better versions of themselves.
Notice that missing from my list are knowledge, degrees, awards and the like. Although they are great, they are not necessary.
When I think back over all the leaders that I have known, only two fit this criteria. They are VM and MV. If you know me at all, you can figure out at least one, if not both of them. If you don’t know me, it’s not important who they are. Just know that good leaders do indeed exist.