Jay Johnson's Blog

Why I'm RoguePolymath (Part 2 of 2)

If you're new here you're probably wondering why my blog is named 'RoguePolymath.' Hopefully, I can help clear that up.

Part II - Polymath

Polymath comes from the Greek meaning literally "having learned much."
Some use this as simply a very smart person. Most often it refers to
someone whose interests or expertise span multiple fields of study.
Other terms to describe this character trait include 'renaissance man'
or 'scanner.' Some one the best known Polymaths are Leonardo Da Vinci,
Michelangelo, and Benjamin Franklin.

In today's world of specialization, being a polymath goes against the
grain. Refusing to settle into your own little niche flies in the face
of conventional wisdom. Others will shake their heads. "If only you
would pick one subject, you'd make much better progress." "You're
wasting your energy by not focusing your efforts." "Just grow up and
make a decision already."

But life is too short to specialize. To the rogue polymath, going along
with the normal course of a compartmentalized life is not an option.
The fields of learning are too many and too fertile to resist. Settling
for a single area of work is selling yourself short.

It's not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. There is a fine line
between overwhelming distraction and self-realization. It's much easier
to have a single path mapped ahead. But a polymath lives this way
because deep down, he knows there it's the only way for him.

It's easy to feel like you're alone in a specialized world. But there
are others out there. I'm here to document how I handle my polymath
behaviors. I'll talk about it's weaknesses and strengths. I'll find
other polymaths and share their knowledge here. Join me on my journey.
Lifetime learning awaits.

Why I'm RoguePolymath (Part 1 of 2)

If you're new here you're probably wondering why my blog is named
'RoguePolymath.' Hopefully, I can help clear that up.

Part I - "Rogue"

Rogue is an interesting word with varied annotations and connotations.
Here are some of the of it's purposed definitions: vagabond, isolated,
uncontrollable, corrupt, dishonest, defying laws or norms. As best I
can summarize it, it starts from Old English late Medieval times (and
probably French before that) for a wandering vagrant. In those times,
it seems outsiders were viewed with suspicion and assumed worthless (if
they weren't - then why did they leave home?). Over time the
interpreted meaning of the word changed to more of a romanticized outlaw
or renegade.

Here, I use it to mean: unconventional, contradicting mainstream viewpoints,
staying true to yourself in the face of the majority opposition. What
exactly am I going "rogue" against. You'll find out in Part II.

The Branding Genius of Lady Gaga

Following my post on the business lessons from the Grateful Dead, here's
a post on how Lady Gaga puts the focus on her fans. This has grown an
incredibly devote and loyal following of "little monsters."

Bonus: Yes, she allows her fans to take pictures and video of her at
shows!

h/t holy kaw

Continuous Improvement Expo

Click here to download:

ContImproveExpoFlyer.pdf (2.98 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

ContImproveExpoFlyer.pdf (2.98 MB)

This Wendsday, we had a Continuous Improvement Expo at work.  It featured the innovations of coworkers and other NAVSEA players to showcase the progress that is possible when employees take initiative to solve problems.  The one thing more impressive than improvements themselves was the individuals that presents them.  They spoke with passion for their work and displayed confidence in the ability of continuous improvement to drive change in the workplace.  Great job to all who participated!

Goals 2010 - Playing To My Strengths

This goal category is based on the idea that developing areas of
strength in your life is way more productive than trying to mend your
areas of weakness. It comes from the Strengths Finder 2.0 (from
Gallup). My fives areas of strength are: Input, Learning, Intellection,
Context, and Connectiveness. I'll detail more about these strengths in
future posts. For now, I'm using the suggested Ideas for Action that
resulted from my Strengths Finder 2.0 questionnaire. It lists ten
possible action items for developing each of my strengths. I've picked
a few to set as goals for 2010.

"Devise a system to store and easily locate information": I will try out
at least three different systems for gathering, organizing, and
distributing information by Jan 31, 2011.

"Deliberately increase your vocabulary": I will find at least one
quality 'word a day' service by April 1, 2010 and add it to my RSS feed.
Thereafter, I will share a new word on my blog at least once a month.

"List your ideas in a log or diary": I have a book for that purpose on
my desk at work but have not been good at keeping it up. I will make at
least one entry into this log each week and share one on my blog every
month.

"Within your organization, help your colleagues understand how their
efforts fit in the larger picture": I will develop a useful graphical
representation of the 'big picture' of where I work and identify the
part my work Branch plays in overall business of our organization. I
will complete this by Jan 31, 2011 and share it with my coworkers.

There you have it. My goals for 2010. What do you think? Too
cautious? Too ambitious? Did I follow my own SMART advice or did I
miss something? Please let me know what you think and stay tuned for
updates.

Goals 2010 - Health

You only have one body, so you better take care of it. You got that
right.

In recent years, I feel I have neglected my health in the din of life's
many demands. I realize this can't go on much longer without growing
negative consequences. So why not start now!

Diet: Start tracking what I eat - goal is to entry my food intake into
MyPyramidTracker.gov 75% of the time, beginning March 1, 2010.

Exercising: Start 100pushups and 200situps programs - goal is to start
programs March 1, 2010 and complete them by Jan 31, 2011.

Doctor: Complete physical exam with all lab work before Jan 31, 2010.

Dentist: Complete exam and cleaning before Jan 31, 2010.

These are small, manageable changes that can establish a baseline
against further improvement efforts (i.e. - weight loss, physical
activity).

Next: Goals 2010 - Working To My Strengths

Bring Out Your Dead! The Strategic Generosity Of The Grateful Dead

Allowing customers to "steal" your product? Preposterous! No
successful business operation would operate like this. Or would they?
Ever heard of The Grateful Dead?

"The Dead were masters of creating and delivering superior customer
value," Barry Barnes, a business professor at the H. Wayne Huizenga
School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University,
in Florida, told me. Treating customers well may sound like common
sense. But it represented a break from the top-down ethos of many
organizations in the 1960s and '70s. Only in the 1980s, faced with
competition from Japan, did American CEOs and management theorists
widely adopt a customer-first orientation.

The decision [to let fans tape shows] was not entirely selfless: it
reflected a shrewd assessment that tape sharing would widen their
audience, a ban would be unenforceable, and anyone inclined to tape a
show would probably spend money elsewhere, such as on merchandise or
tickets. The Dead became one of the most profitable bands of all time.

All in all, the Grateful Dead was as much a business as it was a band.
The takeaway message is that it's possible to develop a viable business
strategy while staying true to your roots and mission. The Dead found
ways to keep customers happy using methods that seemed unorthodox at the
time, but were still very effective. Don't be afraid to try new things
like social networking or new advertising methods to keep your clients
and customers happy, too.

Far out man.

Could something like that work for you? It did for Radiohead & Monty
Python. Seth Godin and Rajesh Setty both lay out the case for gift
giving as a successful strategy for sharing your ideas and influence.

Note to the stingy, you might be stunting your growth by alienating the
people that are most important to your success.

My 2010 Goals - Letting My Voice Be Heard

Just in time for Chinese New Year (go Tiger!), here is the first post
laying out my goals for this year.

Letting My Voice Be Heard

I'm not looking for the spotlight or to feed my own ego. It's simply
time to stop letting my ideas and knowledge lay dormant. I have a
voracious appetite for information and it's time to share my findings
with the world. I think some people would find it helpful, useful, or
just entertaining. And if not then at least everyone will have the
chance to learn who I am and what I'm passionate about.

The bulk of these goals are social media related, but I'll be doing
offline work as well. The online stuff will be easier to track and, I
think, a good indicator of overall progress on this larger goal.

The RoguePolymath Blog: increase content frequency - goal of 15
posts/month through Jan 31, 2011; RSS feed subscribers - goal of 100 by
Jan 31, 2011.

@roguepolymath twitter feed: increase tweets - goal of 10 tweets/week;
twitter followers - goal of 100 by Jan 31, 2011.

Facebook: establish RoguePolymath fan page on Facebook by April 1, 2010;
goal of 100 friends on fan page by Jan 31, 2011.

Connecting With Others: Comments on other people's blogs - goal of 10
comments/month through Jan 31, 2011; Retweets/reply - goal of one
retweet/reply on twitter each day through Jan 31, 2011.

Talking With the Boss: Talk with my boss (supervisor) every month about career development, process improvement, or to pitch some ideas to him.

Next: Goals for 2010 - Health.

Making Goals Time-Bound

This post is part of a series that details how to make goals that are
Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Time is of the essence. Time's ticking. You snooze you lose. Time is
our most precious resource. It's also a vital part of goal-setting.

We need to draw a line in the draw which obligates us to accomplish our
goal by a certain deadline, or fail. This scares us. We would much
rather leave it open ended, but that help us accomplish much of
anything. Instead, procrastination takes over, and won't let go.

But without a completion by date, all our goals are merely good
intentions. And we all know what they are used to pave.

This completes my series on goal setting. Thanks for reading. Did you
find this series helpful? Any feedback you'd like to share?

Stay tuned, I'll finally be sharing my 2010 goals with you soon (no more
procrastinating).

Making Goals Relevant

This post is part of a series that details how to make goals that are
Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

If you are going to devote so much time and effort working towards your
goals, shouldn't they mean something to you? Again, it may seems very
apparent, but sometimes in our quest for self-improvement we succumb to
the latest hype or fad instead of remembering what's truly important to
us.

If you have a lot of ideas for personal goals, you can use relevance to
help rank them. Then you can use this to focus on only the most
relevant to you. Remember, relevance changes with time and with your
life changes. What may have been relevant year might not be in this
current one.

I laid out much of the case for relevance of my goals in the
introduction to this series. Here's a brief summary:

Let My Voice Be Heard - Spending too much time in the shadows, need to
speak up and be heard

Health - Getting older, need to keep body in decent (and hopefully
better) shape

Strengths - Life's too short for focusing on your weaknesses, time to
let my strengths shine

The next part of this series will detail how to make goals Time-Bound.