Carl Setzer

For most of my adult life, I've felt pulled to choose a specialty. And I've tried, dozens, maybe hundreds of times. As each time has resulted in failure, I realized, some time ago, that my varied and rich perspective is a valuable thing. Oddly, I never really considered my multi-faceted focus to be a good thing, just that good things had come from this. I admired the great work done by the specialists and really only saw myself supporting that work. Not that I had a creative and powerful perspective to add. However, after this TEDTalk, I see otherwise. Ms. Warnick talks of multipotentialites, people with a variety of interests and passions. These people work those into skills. Something richer than simply generalists supporting the more valuable specialists. People whose brains work like mine. And, most importantly (to me at least) that this is good. That we have a great deal to offer the world. Considering the multi-faceted issues that our world faces, we have a particularly...

As a parent, I've witnessed many moments of adoration by other parents. Last night, at my dojang's blackbelt awards ceremony (my wife and son both received their belts) I was struck again by parental devotion. Watching my fellow parents, with grandparents, beam with pride at their child's accomplishment was both delightful, and a little sad. Decades ago now, I got to do some projects that helped street involved youth. In that process, I heard stories, terrible stories of (dare I say) evil parents. One of my friends from those days, an Episcopal deacon, shared with me once the power of this juxtaposition. We were sitting next to each other at our church's children's pageant. She pointed out to me the parental adoration. And her deep experience with it's opposite. This, as you would expect, colored her view of such events. I have puzzled about this, too, ever since. How does a human get to be so monstrous? Vicious sociological cycles? Some sort of deficiency wi...

A friend of mine pointed me to this article recently, which is found powerful as an explanation of living with chronic conditions: The Spoon Theory . It's a great allegory for the life-management that those living with chronic conditions (lupus, chronic fatigue, etc) constantly deal with. Each of life's decisions represent a significant opportunity cost. This article comes from But You Don't Look Sick , a website dedicated to those with hidden disease. Our culture stigmatizes those who don't meet our expectations for being "ill". My theory: it's tied to a disdain for folks "trying to get something for nothing", and our lingering distrust of others. It's easy to believe that they're "making it up", whether they "thrive on drama" or are "playing for sympathy", or whatever other pejorative label we rattle off. It's an easy, and painful reaction. One that needs consideration and control. Personally, I...

I just received an recruiting email, where the writer found me via my long neglected Indeed.com resume. It got me thinking about all the sites I've used over the years, that I've eventually abandoned, or at least dropped into neglect. Profiles on Monster, Indeed, NWJobs, MySpace...what do these say about me? To the recruiter emailing me about positions at Microsoft, what is there expectation of who I am, and would any elements of my current reality match? On a somewhat related note, Om Malik recently posted You've Go (No) Mail . He talks about the sense of loss accompanying the ending of his Gigaom email. I've felt these twinges in the past, with the suspending of my Starbucks and Microsoft emails. But those were different at an elemental level. Regardless of my emotional connections to those institutions, I didn't found them. They didn't hold my name, they never represented me at the same level. The closest I could imagine is with this site, and the email ass...

Real estate agents sometimes struggle with an over-inflated sense of self. More often, however, it's the opposite, that they don't see their own value-add. Well, outside of a real estate transaction. Perhaps that's why so many people lose contact with their agents, even though they're happy with the service. Realize there's plenty to add to those you love, to the community around you. It's hard to think of reasons to connect if you only think your value is the single transaction. Calling and talking are a chore, you're worried about bugging people. Deeply understanding your value-add really is critical.

Well, zombies have pushed themselves solidly into pop culture. Their heyday was really a year or two back, but they're still significant.Why? What is attractive about this mythological archetype?  I wonder about such things. They have immorality and near invincibility. Zombies are relentless and immune from most injury. In one way, they are perpetual motion machines. They don't need fuel to continue effort. The consuming drive is about converting all, not about gaining energy. Perhaps we feel something of kinship. The mindless exertion, so akin to much of our lives. Mundane, rote effort with its dehumanizing outcome; we're much like zombies. Free from thought, they simply react. They are free of pain. Yet, the most powerful element: they've escaped death. In one way, they've conquered our greatest fear. That, I believe, encompasses their attraction. And why, I expect, they'll be with us for some time to come.

The notion of transparency really fascinates me. First, how fluid the definition is. What does it mean to be "transparent"? One way to look at it is the opposite of secret. A commitment to transparency does not ensure there will not be any secrets. Many would say that there is need for secrecy, at least in certain areas. Defining those areas is, not too surprising, is also changeable. Everyone seems to have differing opinions. Certainly part of that stems from who benefits/who is harmed. For me, and this thread (at least), I clearly identify two macro-areas: security (keeping someone/people/things safe) and inhibiting distraction. The later is less about "secrecy" (and it's assorted baggage) and rather, more gently, "limited transparency". As a leader, having your team fully "in the know" about greater strategy, issues, etc, would first and foremost keep people from getting their "work" done. Or, closely related, is avoiding "b...