Tú tienes cáncer y yo no

Cada vez que te encuentres pensando o diciéndole a alguien "qué putada" o "qué mala suerte", acuérdate de los mineros de Chile. Supongo que los habrá que estarán diciendose "qué mala suerte haber tenido que pasar un montón de tiempo enterrado sin saber si me iba a salvar". Pero también los habrá que pensarán que han tenido una suerte enorme de ser rescatados y estar fuera. Está claro cuál de los dos grupos siente mayor bienestar, ¿no?

Indudablemente, te vendrá mil veces a la cabeza el "qué putada". ¡Claro, es que es una putada! ¡Tú tienes cáncer y yo no! Ni tampoco aquel, ni aquel otro, ni el de más allá... Pero cada vez que te recrees en un "qué putada", estarás generando un determinado tipo de adrenalina que hará que todavía te sientas más ansiedad y con más ganas de recrearte en el "qué putada".

Por eso, cada vez que te venga a la cabeza un "qué putada", has de construirte un discurso como el de los mineros contentos. ¿Qué mala suerte: tengo cáncer? ¡Qué suerte! ¡Me lo han detectado a tiempo y voy a salir de esta! ¿Qué mala suerte: me han encontrado otro bulto? ¡Qué suerte! ¡Ha estado a punto de pasarles por alto y luego habría sido todo más complicado! En muchísimos casos, hacer una lectura en clave de buena suerte es razonable.

Y eso no es engañarse. ¿Tú crees que alguien pensaría de un minero de Chile que se sienta afortunado que se está engañando? ¡Que no me vengan con tonterías de que un pesimista es un optimista bien informado! ¡Un minero de Chile que tenga un discurso de "qué mala suerte" es simplemente un amargado, no alguien que no se engaña a si mismo!

Si sabes hacerlo, si sabes acordarte de los mineros cada vez que estés con lo de "qué putada", si sabes construir un discurso de sentirte afortunada, te sentirás mejor, te curarás antes y recibirás de la gente miradas de admiración (¡qué entereza tiene esta chica!), bastante más gratificantes que las miradas de compasión. Si te dejas llevar por el camino del "qué putada", cada paso de tratamiento será una nueva putada; objetivamente, seguro de que no habrá ni uno que sea un plato de buen gusto. Pero si sabes construir un discurso de "qué suerte", cada paso será un avance en estar curada, un nuevo motivo para sentirse afortunada a pesar del engorro.

O sea que, por fin, después de tantos años, no me vengas más con qué-putadas, qué-mala-suertes y qué-temporaditas. A partir de ahora solo quiero buenas noticias.

Un abrazo.
-Xavier

Changes

Changes, changes, changes... Please, do not tell my mum about them, because she would be very upset with me!

Last July I took a two years leave from IBM. In a very smart move (in my opinion), IBM is paying me a third of my salary during a period that is forecasted to be of low business. I am allowed to work (and I need to!), but, obviously, I cannot work for IBM's competitors. They are investing this money to get a re-energized employee or, if the employee doesn't go back, to have him leave without having to lay him off, saving quite a bit of money.

I plan to take advantage of this by doing lots of learning and following some long time interests that I was performing on top of my formal role of at IBM: dealing/trying to make sense of organizations and teaching.

So what have I being doing during this months? Besides lots of reading and learning, Ganyet, Banzy and I toyed with the idea of working together in super-secret super-cool project, but, after a few weeks, I did not find a way to fit my skills into their needs; it is a pity, because world domination is in their road map.

When I left university, I should have made a project to become officially an engineer. I then joined IBM, and I was not disciplined enough to spend my free time finishing the project that I just started before joining. Almost 20 years later, I'm fixing that. And I'm very excited about it, because my project is about the software that should help to build a community around 1x1microcredit.org, a peer-to-peer micro-lending website that will offers people the possibility to lend money at low interest rates to poor people so that they can escape poverty, just like kiva.org. PHP aside, I feel very lucky for being able to work in a project that is technically cool and has an even cooler goal.

Run!

cc'ing the world about something that a dear friend of mine should consider. From the New York Times: Exercise Found Effective Against Depression

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center tested exercise against the drug Zoloft and found the ability of either -- or a combination of the two -- to reduce or eliminate symptoms were about the same. But they found exercise seemed to do a better job of keeping symptoms from coming back after the depression lifted.

(...) 8 percent of exercisers saw symptoms come back, compared with 38 percent of those taking drugs and 31 percent getting both.

The studies do not prove exercise relieves depression, in part because the exercisers worked out in a group, so group dynamics may have played a role

Energy

One can view the constant interaction with people in terms of energy.

• How do you tend to feel after dealing with a given person? More energized? Drained?
  
• How do you think other people feel after interacting with you?

This idea can go far beyond fluffy self-helpy introspection. By asking this sort of questions in an organization, one can map enthusiasm and get a good indication of where energy is high, and creativity and innovation likely to occur.

Driving Results Through Social Networks: How Top Organizations Leverage Networks for Performance and Growth talks about enthusiasm networks.

Nothing gets done here without someone somewhere getting enthused about an idea and then enthusing others.

And, without stopping talking about business, we can get back into self-helpy stuff... The book identifies some behaviours that are perceived as generating positive energy:

1. Do you do what you say are going to do and address tough issues with integrity?
2. Do you see realistic possibilities in conversations and avoid focusing too early or heavily on potential obstacles?
3. Are you mentally and physically engaged in meetings and conversations?
4. Are you flexible in your thinking and do you use your expertise appropriately?
5. When you disagree, do you focus on the issue at hand rather than on the individual?
   

Sellos

En Correos puedes convertir tus imagenes



en sellos



Cada sello, equivalente a los que valen treintaypoco y sirven para cartas nacionales, sale por un euro. ¡Pero hace una ilusión!

En tusello.es

Change we must

Professionally, I'm always advocating for change and innovation.
Politically, I never vote for the party that is ruling in a given administration.

Then, why oh why do I get so annoyed when I'm unable to shop the exact same model of running shorts that I bough five years ago? Or was it ten years ago?

Update:
Luis, in a comment to my original post, tries to make me feel better and invites me to put the blame on the usual suspects: politicians, executives and managers.

I started to feel better until, what started as a joke became an interesting lesson for myself: am I not showing the exact same attitude that I often and loudly complain about? The we-have-always-done-things-like-this-here automatic response? The who-cares-if-the-alternative is-better mindset? Check Ferran Rodena's Eliminating Waste: Lessons From The Trenches for an example of this attitude from a group that does not belong to the usual suspects

I was offered some more technologically advanced shorts and I did not even consider its possible advantages! I must remember this the next time that I want to push some change!

2009 User's guide. First draft

2009 User's guide. First draft, originally uploaded by -Xv.

A first draft of my 2009 resolutions/guidelines. Inspired by Sacha Chua.

make eyes shine, awe, patience, focus, simplify
start early, meditation, run, food, quit
play, listen, notes, realistic drawing, hack

Patience

Memo to self:

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

Lao-Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

Nope. The mud has not settled. Have to wait.

Hipòtesi confirmada

M'he passat anys convençut de que hi uns pocs bons amics de fa mil anys, amb els que hi ha poquíssim contacte, als que podria recórrer en qualsevol moment. I sentir-me còmode explicant coses que no explicaria gairebé a ningú. I sentir-me alleujat en explicar-ho.

Avui he tingut moltes ganes de confirmar aquesta hipòtesi amb una d'aquestes perles que vaig conèixer fa més de vint-i-cinc anys. I m'he sentit còmode i alleujat. Estic content.

Present and in awe

From Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird (p100):

Try walking around with a child who's going, "Wow, wow! Look at that dirty dog! Look at that burned-down house! Look at that red sky!" And the child points and you look, and see, and start going "Wow! Look at huge crazy hedge! Look at that teeny little baby! Look at that scary dark cloud!" I think this is how we are supposed to be in the world - present an in awe.

Some times, like when my kids were very young, or when I'm experiencing some special scenery, this view of the world comes naturally. Others, I'm smart enough to remember to put the inner child in control.


I've spent the last few weeks walking in the street as if I were the Little Red Riding Hood on synthetic recreational drugs (smile boing-boing-boing smile), and I realized that it had lots to do with the inner child getting in control without asking for permission. This reminded me about Lamott's quote, and, in turn, to remind myself to keep letting the inner child handle the driving wheel.

Resum executiu

Extractes d'un intercanvi de notes sms-iques entre la meva bona amiga O. i jo, durant i després d'un tercer grau:

Xavier:

M., del 71 (...) Amb un punt de chiflada que em mola molt. Seguiremos informando.

Xavier:

>Seguiremos informando.
M'ha plantat.
Dos mesos molt divers. Una pena. Joder, que en sou de complicades!

O.:

La generació dels 70 va abusar massa de les drogues i han quedat tots molt perjudicats.
Carpe diem.

:-)

La petita lluita entre lamentar-me pel cucurutxo que no m'he cruspit i sentir-me afortunat d'haver-ne fet un tastet l'està guanyant l'opció intel·ligent.

Exhibición impúdica

Esta semana me han dado varias pastillas de Egolín en forma de cosas agradables sobre mi que alguien le ha dicho a otra persona. Y, con toda la inmodestia, las transcribo

• Tu padre mola. Se lo ha dicho a G. un compañero de cole, supongo que sorprendido de que un adulto recuerde que tiene piernas y las use para hacer carreras por el parque.
  
• Xavier's assistance on this issue was most appreciated, en relación a una actuación de bombero en un cliente.
• Xavier a fait un excellent travail en décrivant les étapes du project (...) Xavier est un excellent professionnel.

Y como, a pesar de un buen principio, no ha sido una semana brillante en todos los frentes, ¡no me ha ido mal enterarme!

Actualización: aunque esta me la han dicho directamente, también ha sido una deliciosa pastilla de Egolín: Una de las primeras personas a las que acudo cuando tengo problemas de código y me quedo bloqueado. Y una de las más desinteresadas y resolutivas. Gracias.

PAPItastimumoadeuunpato

La C. ha fet el millor ús del Dymo que s'ha fet mai!

Kyrgyzstan existe

Intercambio de mails con un amigo al que he visto sólo una noche en los últimos 15 años. Está en viaje de negocios:

Pue si hijo si, no hay nada mas triste que en Kyrgyzstan y con jet lag...

Kyrgyzstan??!! Kirguistán, Kirguizistán o República Kirguisa??!! De la wikipedia, algunos datos no especialmente relevantes:

• 5 millones de habitantes
• la "Suiza de Asia central", no por el chocolate, los bancos o los relojes, sino por no tener mar y porque un 80% de su territorio es montañoso
• aunque ilegal, aun se practica el rapto de novias. En un principio, en un país donde eran habituales los matrimonios pactados, el novio procedía a un rapto consesuado con la novia con la que quería casarse si no podía pagar el precio del mismo o la familia de ella se oponía a la boda. Por otra parte, algunos de estos raptos ya no son consensuados, sino que se tratan de raptos reales.
  
• un amor de clima: el lago Issyk-Kul (el segundo lago de montaña más grande del mundo, tras el Titicaca) tiene gran amplitud térmica, con un mes frío, enero, con medias inferiores a -25ºC, y un mes cálido, julio, con medias superiores a los 45ºC.

Si su bandera no es la más chula del mundo, seguro que está en la final. Los cuarenta rayos de sol representan las cuarenta tribus que se unieron para luchar contra Genghis Khan. La parte central es lo que se ve dentro de una yurta cuando sale el sol.
Y, diga lo que diga el pobre Jose, en flickr he visto cosas que me hacen tenerle envidia.

Jurta - Kyrgyzstan, originally uploaded by zsoolt.

Som àngels!

Visca el majara que ha enganxat unes ales de cartulina a la parada d'autobús i ens ha fet riure abans d'anar a l'escola!

Aprendre

Aquest matí he plorat de content i li he enviat això al meu fill

Estimat G,

avui he trobat una cosa que vaig escriure fa uns anys, després de llegir una carta teva al Papà Noel. Potser tu ho recordes, però jo no ho recordava, i m'ha encantat trobar-ho. Explica-li a la mamà que segur que també li agradarà.

Després de la teva llista de joguines deies una cosa semblant a,

però el millor regal seria que em contestesis a aquestes preguntes

• Tens ajudants? [s][n]
• Quants? [_][_][_][_][_]
• Dones els regals als nens d'aqui i els d'Australia al mateix temps?
  

Voler aprendre és el que ens fa llestos. Que mai et marxin aquestes ganes de saber més!

Got no desk :-(

Got no desk :-(, originally uploaded by -Xv.

My very own ibm desk is gone... No place to hang C's drawings, to keep my pencils (I really just care about the one that was a present from C.), the books I'm reading... I'll also miss sitting by my former team mates after so many years...

But I really cannot complain: I'm working very often from home now, so it makes little business sense to have a dedicated empty desk at the office.

Passion for the craft

Denilson Nastacio's unsolicited advice to executive teams:

promote a passion for the craft rather than demanding a passion for the business. That is empowerment over chastisement. People who understand their craft are more likely to be enthusiastic about it, when people discover they can learn something new and become good at it, they are inspired; with any luck, even passionate.

When people are enthusiastic about what they do, and that boundless enthusiasm is backed by technique rather than unchecked madness, customers tend to love it too. And when that feeling of elation comes out of succeeding at a task or beating a competitor, chalk one up to a job well planed and well done, not for passion for the business.

Graphic from Creating Passionate Users

My own unsolicited advice? Read Denilson's full post, keep in mind his story about that goalkeeper's career, and enjoy being passionate (about something you can understand and can take away with you wherever you go).

Mmmm, I'm now scheduling a meeting with myself to review my latest career decisions. (Hi, M-the-sweet-hurricane! My being green with envy about your passion and focus on working on a radical career change also have lots to do with this meeting :-)

Links are cool. Links are bad.

Some days I spend way too much time in my computer...







Drawn with Animatee in my lovely Nintendo DS.

Another reason to want a DS...

...and another reason why Sacha Chua rocks: How to sketch with the Nintendo DS

| View | Upload your own

And while you are at slideshare, check Sacha's Web2.0@work: In Pursuit Of Passion:

| View | Upload your own

I liked the "Cynicism (...) directly affects the bottom line" quote from Dov Seidman's How. And, for that matter, falling into cynicism also makes work suck.