All in Aspirations

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 62

This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.

Today's episode ask the inevitable question of what we can compare this situation to. Of course, there's no easy answer, so I suggest the one thing we can do to maintain some sense of control: act.

Hinkaku

To become a Yokozuna (or Grand Champion) in Sumo Wrestling, there are, broadly, two sets of criteria that have to be met.

The first relates - as we might expect - to power and and skill, specifically performance in recent tournaments with a standard of two consecutive championships as an Ozeki (or an equivalent performance). This is reasonably objective, quantifiable criteria, one that is reasonably objectively measurable.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 61

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

Today's episode closes the month on a philosophical note - the idea that happiness is like Inbox Zero - it is elusive, we will never permanently achieve it, but we shouldn't stop striving for it.

"We Get To Carry Each Other"

I was doing an Interval workout on the treadmill recently, following along with an online trainer (i.e. where you alternate bursts of high intensity effort with periods of lower effort).

At one point, having just completed a particularly intense interval, the trainer announced, “Well, that was a tough one. And we get to do that two more times!”

It was a curious choice of words. We get to do that two more times. Not we have to, or we need to. We get to.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 60

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

In today's episode, I share two thoughts on happiness. The first is about the path to happiness and that it starts with kindness - to ourselves. The second is what happy people are actually like i.e. they aren't assholes.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 59

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

Today's episode is from something I wrote about back in 2018, when Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain - two people who had it all - took their own lives. I discuss how happiness is never what it appears to be and that we don't know the roof is leaking until we're on the inside.

Intuition And Our Biggest Decisions

I like to think I’m a pretty rational guy. That I consider the pros and cons when making decisions. It’s been drilled into me - through college, business school and then consulting - specifically, the need to be balanced, thoughtful and to consider all aspects before deciding on a path. Nothing controversial or unique about that. I’m sure we all think and behave the same way.

But that rationality belies a reality of making decisions that all of us also grapple with: the role of intuition.

We're Less Alone Than We Think

I think it’s ingrained in us, this desire to get things done by ourselves. In many ways, it’s a compulsion, and the bigger, more complex the issue, the stronger the desire to go it alone.

It might be an issue of strategy or one of people; a difficult relationship or a complex initiative. When we’re in its ‘throes’, we absorb ourselves in, well, ourselves.

Putting Small In Perspective

There’s a mythology that's built up around the idea of growth that’s only accelerated in this age of on-demand news and ubiquitous social media.

We’re so enamored by the pursuit of growth (and scaling and valuations) that we discount those who aren’t interested in that ethos. That the idea of lifestyle businesses and staying “small” is a “settling” of sorts. That not growing is a failure of some sort - of the idea, the offering and the entrepreneur.

The Key To Solving Big Problems

I moderated a panel discussion this week about the topic of Sustainability, particularly as it relates to the Procurement function within organizations. It’s a big, meaty topic, one that has been getting plenty of airtime over the last decade and much more so in recent years.

And precisely because the subject is so big and meaty, there are many angles to it, many aspects to rethink, many stakeholders to get aligned. And, as a result, there are many actions that can be taken to effect change on this front.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 56

This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.

Today's episode discusses that the worst thing that can happen to an organization is for its most passionate people to go quiet. The truth is that we need their passion and despite how difficult they might seem to be, we need to nurture them, not turn them off.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 55

This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.

In today's episode, I discuss the importance of surrounding yourself with people who believe in you. As much as you need to believe in yourself, it's as important to have an open, welcoming, encouraging environment for us to flourish.

Eddie Van Halen: In Memoriam

I know when most people think of Van Halen, they think of the song Jump, which was their biggest hit. And when it comes to guitar players, they automatically go to “Eruption” off the first Van Halen album. Those are the seminal pieces in Van Halen lore.

For me, though, while I love both of those tracks, the song that defines Van Halen - the one that got me into the band and, in fact, made me start playing the guitar, were the ‘joint’ songs Intruder/Pretty Woman.

Thinking About The Competition

A couple of weeks ago, ahead of the Chelsea-Liverpool game in the English Premier League, a reporter asked the Chelsea Manager, Frank Lampard, how he felt about facing Liverpool considering where each team finished at the end of the prior season. (For those who don’t know, Liverpool won the league with 99 points, and Chelsea finished in fourth place, a whopping 33 points behind.)