4 Ways to respond to the "D" Style

Here are four simple ways to respond when working with a "D" style individual..
1. Use a firm and direct tone
2. Focus on action and goals
3. Ask: What type of questions
4. Expect a challenge from this style, it shows interest on their part!

Progress at what price?

Recently I was visiting at the Peterborough Hospital.

I used to know the old building pretty well, as two of our three kids were born there.

A few years ago they tore down the old buildings to build a beautiful and very modern Regional Health Centre. It is state of the art and will serve our community well for many years. The modern technology and design all add to a facility that is designed to take the community well into the future with the best of patient care.

As I was walking, I noticed this stained glass window in a wood framed case.It has a special place here but you have to wonder about the significance the world puts on the Good Samaritan today. Whatever your personal beliefs are, this was the sentiment of the day when the original Peterborough Civic Hospital was built.

Kudos to the hospital board for keeping the image and displaying it still. Undoubtedly, it would have politically easier to store it in a warehouse in the minds of many.

In the end I believe hospitals and health care centres are still about mercy and caring and coming to the aid of those less fortunate.

If we leave this behind, what price do we pay for progress?

Whats on the other side?

As many of you know Barb and I also own a performing arts school called stagecoach schools.
The year-end show is coming up and we are working on the sets for the stage as you can see in this picture.
The picture shows the infrastructure of the set, the important part is on the other side where all the painting happens.
Its a little bit like our personalities, what we show the world isn't always what's on the inside.
Maybe that is where the phrase putting your best face forward came from?

Resilience

Well, I suppose for some summer has arrived. Hey, its the May two four weekend right? Let me tell you, that is not all that has arrived.

We have a very healthy crop of dandelions this year as well.

Hardy little things aren't they? I have pulled, yanked, sprayed (with soap and stuff) and still they are basking in the sun.

Do you have days when you feel like a dandelion? No matter what is thrown at you, you just keeping clinging to the earth?

Resilience, a good quality in humans, not so much for dandelions...

Dive Dive Dive

One of my boyhood dreams was to be a submariner.

If the Canadian Navy had actually had a fleet of operating boats, perhaps life would have been very different.

The Canadian fleet of the early 60’s consisted of 4 four old Oberon class diesel submarines. These operated on a marginal basis at best. We did not have the fancy fleet like the Americans.

I would read in National Geographic of their great Navy fleets and this new submarine that was atomic powered, the Nautilus. This was the future. Imagine a boat that could cruise under the polar cap and around the world with no need for refuelling! This was the stuff of fiction, not reality in Canada.

What was this compulsion towards submarines? I have asked myself that many times. Self diagnosing all my strange psychosis trying to figure out if I had some hidden meaning in wanting to be in a boat (they are called boats not ships) that was built for stealth and secrecy and black ops. Being a high “C” style that fit my personality style, after all, we “C”s like our privacy and our secrets. 

Nope, I just thought it would be a neat career.

A few years ago we were speaking in New York and driving back we tripped across the US submarine service museum at Groton Conn. Imagine the thrill when we found the Nautilus sitting there at permanent dock with FREE tours!

 I was like that kid of 10 complete with goose bumps itching to get on board and discover her secrets. It was fabulous. I had waited over 40 years to realize that dream.

However I had still not actually dived in a sub. Then we came to Aruba... This year I had the opportunity to board a tourist submarine and dive to 130 feet! Wow, what a thrill! Imagine getting off a cruise ship to get on a boat that is designed to sink! 

Barb did not come...

              

           

So what is the message of all this?

Delayed gratification is a term we don’t hear very often in today’s world. Everyone wants everything now. There is no waiting in this instant society. Instant breakfast, instant on for my iPad, instant coffee, everything is no more waiting.

If we think back to previous generations they were used to this idea of delayed gratification. There’s was a world of economic uncertainty and no credit. They had to wait for the toys and better things in life. When was the last time you heard of someone sleeping on the idea of a purchase before saying yes?

Perhaps this is the time to re-instate that theory. Imagine how different the world may be. No more impulse shopping. No more closets full of wasted clothes. No more beta machines because they were out first. 

Come on, I know I was not the only one who fell for that!

The old saying “good things come to those who wait” might still have life in it... 

The Cocooning Theory

As you know we travel a fair bit and I have noticed a peculiar habit in human behaviour.

Have you ever been on a tour bus and watched people fill the seats? Invariably they start at the front and fill in every seat toward the back of the bus.

Rarely do you see them skip a row, as if they have to keep in perfect order.

Strange thing is, we have seen this happen over and over again and yet the back of the bus is empty!

The first 20 seats fill with everyone crammed into a tiny little space with bags on their laps and practically sitting on top of each other. By the way it works on boats too!

Why does this happen?

Well, I have a theory and I call it The Cocooning Theory. I believe humans have a basic need to belong with the pack. Perhaps it is a sheep mentality of just following blindly what the person in front does but I believe it goes deeper. Humans I believe need to belong and satisfy a need for security with the old adage of there is strength in numbers.

Not us, we head right to the back of the bus and grab a double seat each. Ahhh space!

Be a rebel grab a seat at the back!

Hummingbirds - So tiny, so big!

HUMMINGBIRDS - IMPORTANT?

We met this little fellow when we stopped at a roadside cafe in Costa Rica this winter. In fact there were dozens of these tiny mini jets zooming around our heads as we looked at the flower gardens.

I never knew they could make such a racket. These birds are very territorial and when some other bird gets near their spot they let them know it! For such a small creature they can make a lot of noise! Does that sound like anyone you know?

What can we learn from such a small non aggressive little bird? Perhaps sometimes it’s the little guy you have to watch out for that is making all the noise...

Or, how about this, you don’t have to be a big dog to get the attention of others?

The list could go on forever when it comes to the hummingbird.

These little powerhouses beat their wings anywhere from 12-80 times per second! And you thought your heart rate gets going when you go jogging...

Size, does it matter? Well frankly, yes, to a hummingbird. They have to land on the most precarious perches. If they were a “normal” sized bird they would break the flower. I think hummingbirds are nature’s idea of a bee on steroids!

Colourful and fun to watch they can brighten your day just by buzzing by. You know people in your life like that don’t you? 

Tell them they brighten your day, it will probably brighten theirs!