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October 25, 2005
Denver, Phoenix, Ojai, Atlanta, DC...
On a roll with travel and delivery, non-stop for quite a few days here.
Last week did two gigs in Denver. A half-day workshop for the Executive Forum, one of those locally-driven organization-membership enterprises that brings business talent to town with a venue for companies and government orgs to utilize for management development. Folks from the Dept. of Interior, Ball Aerospace (already a client of ours), etc. Then I did a talk and book-signing at the Tattered Cover, one of the country's most respected independent bookstores that regularly brings authors to town. It was arranged by the Dept. of the Interior from Washington, which started a program of these kinds of events for government employees and has expanded to their western region because they're so successful for them.
Then on to Phoenix, where I did a keynote presentation for 500+ small entrepreneurs in a niche industry, courtesy of my friend Joe Polish of Piranha Marketing.
Back home for 24 hours to check on my bonsai, my dog and three cats, and my MiniCooper (Kathryn managed to get my front two runflat tires replaced, which I had driven to bald in only 11,000 miles!) And a catch-up project meeting with our team building our Connect club, readying for a launch in the next few months.
Then back to the east coast - Atlanta - for an all-day IMS session yesterday, with folks from Coca Cola, SmithKline, Merck, Georgia Power, etc. Running to the airport last night to catch a plane and beat the hurricane up to DC, where I met up with Kathryn. This morning did a 1.5-hour broadcast from WETA (PBS) studio in Arlington for Linkage, Inc., as part of their Excellence in Leadership program. My topic was "The Keys of Execution - Successful Strategies Leaders Use to Get Things Done." We entertained a half hour of call-in Q&A, and I was struck (again) by, no matter how lofty the stated topic, how mundane and personal the interest actually is: "How do I deal with people I'm waiting on things from?"..."How long will it take me to integrate these personal best practices?"... etc. Have to hand it to Linkage, probably the premier forum for leadership and org development...they've been the first of their ilk I think to recognize the strategic focus and leadership qualities supported by GTD.
Then I met Kathryn and we went for a long walk in the damp chilly afternoon to see the DC icons she hadn't seen since she was ten - Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson Memorials. Plus the WW II, Vietnam, Korean War Memorials in between. Interesting to notice how the hallmarks that have been memorialized for our country were all around serious conflict. It makes sense. When you are in a situation where your values require you to take human life, it can certainly be a defining moment about what those values really are. It a rather dramatic version of what I often say: you only know what your values really are when someone steps on them. Just, wouldn't it be awesome if we created memorials from equally dramatic validations about our magnificence, without the catalyst of human suffering?
Looking forward to 200+ people in the DC RoadMap Wednesday. Checking the roster - we'll have key people from the FCC, Coast Guard, Red Cross, AARP, Federal Reserve, EPA, National Institutes of Health, FAA, etc. I've always loved the energy in our capitol - though Washington is not necessarily the hotbed of entrepreneurism, it certainly is the power nest of the gatekeepers, and (though it often seems to the contrary) a lot of smart people. It reminds me of the energy of a university town, on steroids.
Kathryn just told me that George Bush is having lunch next to our seminar room Wednesday in the hotel. This should be fun. "Hi George - what's the next action?"
Fall color on a chilly DC afternoon...
Posted by David at October 25, 2005 05:08 PM
Comments
Hi there -- alum of yours from General Mills, now a apostle of GTD at another company. Please, oh please please please, ask George "what's the next action?" -- Thanks...
Posted by: Chris Casebolt at October 25, 2005 06:29 PM
I'd be very curious to see George's "Someday/Maybe" list...
Posted by: Craig at October 26, 2005 04:20 AM
David, I wish I knw you were going to be at the Tattered Cover last week, I would have driven the couple of hours it would have taken to get there. You need to let us know about these things in time so we can attend, Please!
Thanks. Hope you enjoyed Colorado and wishing you would do your seminar here soon.
Jared Finkenbinder
GTD white-belt
Posted by: Jared at October 26, 2005 11:48 AM
W's Action lists:.............
Projects: Get freedom-on-the-march in Iran..........
W/F: Rest of world to see things my way re: Freedom-on the march in Iran............
Sorry I'm a Canuck that couldn't resist.
Posted by: Jeff at October 26, 2005 12:40 PM
Oh, yes! The Tattered Cover rocks!! I spent a week in Denver in 1997 and lived in that store. (not literally, I stayed with Grandma.) Were you in the Cherry Creek store or the one down in LODO? They have a drink called a Cambric, in which Earl Grey tea is steeped in steamed milk instead of water. Add a little honey and...mmmmmmm. It's not enought to convert me to Teaboy, but it's a good change of pace. Next time in Denver, there used to be great hole-in-the-wall used book store called Ichabod's with an old-school espresso machine it it. Left happy, broke, and with a heavy bag. nuf said. God Bless GTD!!
Posted by: coffeeboy at October 26, 2005 02:04 PM
Attended your DC area seminar last year and continue to reap benefits. Suggest two of my favorites for your next visit to Washington: across the street from the Vietnam Memorial is an incredible statue of Albert Einstein with a star map of the universe spread on the ground in front of him. You can climb into his lap and contemplate great things or maybe just that the next action is to enjoy the tranquil setting right in the middle of the bustling city. The second site is a tribute to a giant of a different sort. There is a sculpture called the Awakening at the tip of Hains Point in East Potomac Park that is a giant man emerging from the ground, also larger than life and sometimes crawled upon. I really love art embedded within cities and available to all for free.
Posted by: Sue at October 27, 2005 12:03 PM
Loved that tattered cover bookstore. Stayed in the Oxford Hotel in LODO for a few nights this summer on a family vacation.
Posted by: pete at November 2, 2005 02:32 PM
