Phil ...

Today I said goodbye to Phil. He’s in a palliative care unit at a local hospital not far from where he spent a good part of his adult life. Where he raised his family, contributed to his community and faith and lived his life quietly and without assumption. As I write this, Phil lies in his last bed with his pillow from home, waiting for his good life to run its course. He’s surrounded by his world; a devoted wife and loving children. Phil is dying very much like he lived, quietly, privately and with great dignity. You see Phil, like the vast majority of us on this planet, isn’t extraordinary in populist terms, he isn’t going to be remembered in history books, and nobody’s going to hoist a statue of Phil in some park or name a school after him. Phil is just a regular guy. A decent human being who lived his life in a way that suggested he believed that love was a lifelong commitment, that family came first and work was something you did well but not at the expense of others. It seemed as well, by the life he lived, that he believed that contentment and steadfastness was more important and meaningful than excitement, and that the true measure and worth of a person was in what they did and not what they said. Phil treated everyone with respect and he sought to walk softly among us.


Plain and simple, without reservation or caveat, Phil was a good guy … a real good guy.

I'm taking a course ...

So I'm taking a course at a university that would not have given me the time of day thirty years ago but which apparently is more than willing to take my money now ... well actually my company’s money. Ya company! I'm taking a course in "innovation management" ... god you've got to love business fads. Now mind you I actually do think this rediscovery of innovation by business is a good thing, it certainly beats the crap out of the quality quest … yawn. But that’s really another discussion. What I'm on about now is opportunity. Not the formal learning opportunity piece, although that is certainly up there and has the additional benefit of keeping my brain from atrophying. But it’s not the content here that is the great experience, it’s the exposure to new people and their experiences that is the real bang for the buck.


While we all may readily claim to enjoy the experience of meeting new folks, the truth for many of us is that we rarely go beyond whom we already know and with whom we are already comfortable. And while our work environment can often provide opportunities to meet new people, the context of the exchange is often dominated by the safety of well known and understood subjects, so it's not really uncharted waters. The beauty of meeting new people in a learning environment is that it really is an experience that is somewhere between structured work and a rave. Of course you can turn it into an extension of work, hide behind social convention and learned behaviour, but you can also really get out there and take some chances. In fact I think that’s what I really loved about university 30 years ago … it was such a break from the tyranny of expectation. Hmmm interesting ... there might be a parallel there between High School and the corporate world. It seems to me that both are intentionally designed to suck the individuality out of you and have you conform. Yes sir behave appropriately, think appropriately …. and for god sakes dress appropriately (what’s up with that anyway .... some WWII hang over). University on the other hand (not college by the way ...that's a way too practical) is a little more wide open, unless of course you opted for the something really dumb like an MBA … not much time for self discovery when you’re busting a nut to take over the world.

I think the great thing about the petri dish of university is that it really offers you an unparallel opportunity to hear and see diversity at work … there are few other environments where you can drop the defences, embrace your own ignorance and have access to wonderful minds and experiences. Of course I’m not talking about your average undergraduate or graduate student … many of those are still grappling with acne and fitting in … I’m talking about people who have come back to school … both young and old who have experienced some life, some joy, some defeat but who remain curious and energized by possibility ... these folks and the experience of meeting and working with them is ubber-cool  ...

Take a chance ... take a course .... meet some random people