The Three Feeders: One Size Does Not Fit All

The Story

"who's who" of the bird community

My personal workspace faces the front of our home, overlooking the driveway and the woods beyond.  This morning I spent some time observing birds coming and going from the various bird feeders we have installed below.  The scene was "convention like" - a veritable "who's who" of the bird community in attendance.

At the long and narrow nyjer seed feeder we had visitors such as the house finch, gold finches, and a bold chickadee who was unafraid to hang upside down by his feet to feast on the tiny seeds.  The larger mixed-seed feeder hosted a tufted titmouse, some nuthatches, and a cardinal or two.  Finally, the suet cake boasted the arrival of two distinct species of woodpecker - the red-headed and hairy varieties.

Even the ground was a gathering spot for consuming scattered seeds.  Many of the aerial visitors, while waiting their turn at the feeders, dropped down below to forage for dropped morsels.  A few even dropped down to crack open the seeds they had collected above.  A chipmunk and a mourning dove, too large to sit on the perches of any of the feeders, took advantage of the busy activity above as well, munching on the leftovers.

The Technology

A common question appears to be coming up in my consulting work lately.  Many clients ask me to advise them about the potential benefits and drawbacks of purchasing and utlizing smartphones, tablets, and laptops.  It seems that many already possess these three categories of technology, without a grounded sense of when they are best utilized - for what purposes.

Dell's interactive infographic

One way I begin to advise clients is by describing the features or liabilities of the particular technology  that can facilitate thinking, allowing them to begin to recognize potential of teach tool. With clients, I also stress the importance of knowing your purpose in any particular endeavor.  That is, what do you hope to accomplish while using a device? By identifying goals, then reviewing each device's potential uses and recognizing its' limitations, you too can begin to identify for yourself the best tool for each situation. Dell has created an interesting interactive info-graphic which may help understanding of the potential of each device.

In general, I believe that relative size does have a lot to do with the tool's capacity and use.  For instance I have found that:

Laptops are: the most full featured, the most powerful, while also being the heaviest of our portable tools.
Tablets are: not as full featured as a laptop, slightly less powerful, while being better when it comes to speed of use, weight, and portablility.
Smartphones are: a bit less robust than the tablet, substantially less powerful the others, but much smaller and the most portable of all devices.

Connections

Just as various birds prefer different kinds of seeds, and the feeders that distribute the seeds come in sizes appropriate to the particular bird's size and habits of feeding - our technologies have parallel sizes and benefits.  Knowing which kind of "bird" you are and which "bird feeder" your situation dictates, will help you to select the appropriate tool to meet your goals.

Big Birds = Suet Feeder = Use a Laptop: 
"Big Bird" uses are the times when you need to create content.  Be it drafting a document, editing a webpage, or responding to a lengthy email, your laptop is the suet feeder in your tool set.  Like suet, it will provide you with a wide range of "mixed seeds" and "fat" to bind your work together.  It will offer you the fullest range of features to support your needs.  The "Big Bird" option will let you do just about everything all of the other tools will - with the exception of making a traditional phone call.

Medium Birds = Medium Feeder = Use a Tablet:  
"Medium Bird" uses are the times when you need speed, lightness, and touchscreen ability.  Like the medium bird feeder, it provides many of the same options that your laptop will, however its not quite as useful in creating content.  Your tablet won't have traditional "Office" tools for creating documents, spreadsheets, or PowerPointss - but it can allow you to create those items up in the cloud.  Your "Medium Feature" option will allow you to quickly display web-based content with others, play games, and access email and calendars in a nearly immediate and portable manner.

Small Birds = Small Feeder = Use a Smartphone: 
"Small Bird" uses are the times when you need to locate quick answers and make responses in an immediate, mobile manner.  Like the small feeder, your Smartphone is very specific in its tasks - and it does tend to attract a particular kind of "bird." Its small screen size requires excellent vision (or the patience to pinch the screen to enlarge text).  Your "Small Bird" option is truly best for those tasks which are brief, on the fly, and don't require in-depth review or response of text based materials.

my laptop, tablet, and smartphone in action

Ground Scavengers = All Feeders May be Needed = Bring All Your Tools:  
There are some days when you just won't know which technology is best.  On those days, you may want to behave like the larger ground-scavenging creatures, bringing along all of your devices.  In these cases, much like the ground scavengers, you'll have the ability to meet any situation with the appropriate response and support.  Your "All Feeders" option will work best when you don't mind carrying all of your tools in order to be able to choose from your arsenal.  "All Feeders" options also allow you to use multiple tools in interesting, overlapping ways - or to share a device with someone who hasn't brought one along.

As you continue to explore the potential and use of your particular devices, I recommend you ask yourself some of the following questions:

• What do I hope to achieve today with my work?
• What types of access to the internet, documents, or programs am I likely to have or need?
• What tool feels like the best solution for my perceived needs?
• Will I be most successful as a "Big Bird," "Medium Bird," "Small Bird," or "Ground Scavenger"?

I'd love to hear about your experiences with these bird metaphors.  I'd also love hear your thoughts about which tools you prefer to take with you in your particular situations.  Please share your ideas and questions in the comments section below.

Thanks to Sean Seningen of 6 Hours Inc. for the photo of my 3 devices!

Spider & Yellow Jacket: Sharing Creativity vs. Spreading Pain

The Story

As I have started framing the shape of my new business venture, Mindful Technology Consultants, I have enjoyed talking with those I meet along the way. A few weeks ago I had coffee with a business coach I'd met at a regional networking lunch. Just setting out on her own journey, we shared the joys and challenges in getting clear about our individual paths. We also talked about our personal vision, mission, and the potentials for earning a living doing what calls our hearts.

We also shared bits of individual lives, our past experiences, and the challenges which had propelled us both into finding a new way of working. I shared a bit about my technology use and explorations with devices, utilizing my iPhone to capture her business card and my iPad to take notes about our chat. Our conversation, while touching on difficult lessons learned, remained very positive - aiming at a sharing of our solutions rather than descending into a complaint-and-blame-fest.

As we sat outdoors enjoying our drinks in the late autumn sunshine (we both noted the rare gift), we were visited by two insects. A yellow jacket appeared and buzzed back and forth between us, eventually leaving us alone, flying away as we did nothing to aggravate it. At one point my companion also noticed a small spider crawling up the lapel of my jacket. I gently lifted the spider down to the ground, releasing it to go about its business of adventure - perhaps to the task of creating a new web.

The Technology 

I've been thinking a lot about the way we use technology to communicate in written form. In particular, I've looked at the way in which the immediacy of technological tools makes it so easy to send off messages and responses without fully thinking through the situation or about an appropriate response.  The advent of email, texting, Facebook and Twitter have offered us the two-edged-sword-opportunity to communicate in written form in both positive and negative ways.

I'm sure we've all had the experience of receiving an email written in all capital letters, which according to "nettiquite" guides is considered to be yelling.  Whether intentional or accidental, these communications do have the tendency to to put us on the defensive - to prompt hasty and sometimes negative responses in return.  Perhaps you've also had the experience of reading a Tweet or Facebook post where someone shares a brief snippet about a global violation of civil liberties, the impact of a natural disaster, or a story of personal tragedy.  Are you aware of the ways that those communications made you feel?  What was your response?

In exploring technology with teachers for the past ten years, I have sometimes charged full steam ahead with my recommendations on tools and methods.  In the past few years, however, I've found myself slowing down.  As I've come to recognize the potential of technology to help or harm, I've become more cautious about how I use technology, looking at my purpose and motivation.  As often as I can, I now seek to use technology as a means to create possibility, to share potential, to increase positive outcomes in the world.

Connections

Seeing the yellow jacket and the spider helped me to remember the two sides of the technology coin.  In many mindfulness circles, awareness of breath is used to help quiet the mind.  Slowing down, quieting the inner dialogue, and breathing have helped me to become more aware of what I am doing and saying with technology - creating more positive webs of influence.  Breathing has also allowed me to become more reflective - to notice when I've stung someone, spreading anger or pain, allowing me to take responsibility for my actions.

I learned this awareness practice most profoundly from observing the lived embodiment of the principles in an accomplished mentor.  She had the unique ability to share her wisdom and learning about difficult situations in ways that offered only the nugget of the story, minus the pain and drama of her past lived situations.  She was so effective at sharing only her positive learning outcomes, that for a time I mistakenly thought she actually never had any pain, challenge, or difficulty come into her life!  I can still recall her method of picking out the high points and positives from my long complaining emails  - urging me to focus on what was good, what I could accomplish, and where I was growing.

My mentor's simple modeling of what Buddhists call "right speech" and "right action" have had a tremendous impact on me, my learning, and the path of work I aim to follow.  In showing me how to share my stories in positive ways through her right use of email, she has inspired me to do the same with all my uses of technology.  Engaging the metaphor of yellow-jacket and spider is a potent reminder for me - a call to creating possibility (as in the spider who weaves its web) as opposed to spreading pain (as in the yellow-jacket stinks those who irritate it).

Who has shown you the best ways to utilize your technologies to create possibility?  What lessons have you learned that we all could benefit from hearing?  Can you share the nugget of your story minus the pain?  We all look forward to your responses, your wisdom, and the ensuing discussion!

Images courtesy of Pixabay: http://pixabay.com

Story of the Worms: Questioning Our Motivations

The Story

After a long period of rain in my area, I noticed that many worms had found their way into the road.  This isn't a particularly unusual phenomena, as worms often vacate their holes when they become flooded with water.  The rain has the effect of push worms to move beyond their comfort zone into new territory.

I've noticed that several things happened to the worms who left the safety of their holes. Some were picked off right away by the early birds while others headed out across sidewalks and roads, searching for higher and drier ground. In both cases, the worms moved beyond their burrows into unknown territory.

Of those who ventured forth, some ultimately made it safely to a new destination - others were not so fortunate. Some got stranded in the road or walkways and were crushed by cars or human feet. While a few got stuck where they were, drying out when the sun came out, eliminating the moisture they needed to move forward.

The Technology

I stopped at a local restaurant the other evening to have some dinner. As I waited for my meal to arrive I noticed two gentlemen sitting together at the bar talking technology over a beer. The younger man was emphatically describing to the older  man why he needed to open a Twitter account. The bartender also jumped into the conversation, sharing his understanding of the tool and how it could help the older man to be on top all sorts of details before they even made it into the news headlines. A couple of times the older gentleman looked in my general direction. His eyes seemed to be pleading for someone to rescue him from what appeared to be an uncomfortable situation.

I don't know what ended up happening to the older man - whether he went home and created a Twitter account for himself or not.  However, I have spent some time thinking about the various potential directions he could have taken.  I imagine he may end up like any one of the worms I've seen in the road lately, as a direct result of the younger men pushing him so strenuously to move beyond his comfort zone.

If the older gentleman just goes ahead and sets up an account because the younger men said he needed to, he may end up getting picked off, stranded, run over, or even dried out.  Those technological outcomes may come as a result of setting up an account and doing nothing with it, using it to share random facts that merely consume time and energy, using it in ways that diminish his ability to think for himself, or even encouraging the narrowing of his current belief systems.

Connections

Seeing the worms in their various stages and then the older gentleman being pressured to use a popular technology have gotten me thinking about mindful influence when it comes to technology. In our own excitement about a new tool or technology I believe we may share in ways that make others feel as though they should want to use the technologies too. I believe it is important to question our motivations as well.

The young men, in their exuberance about Twitter and its ability to provide instantaneous connection appeared to need validation of their own skill while missing the needs of older man unaware of his discomfort. Certainly the older man was also part of the equation.  He is just as responsible for stating clearly what he cares about, what he's interested in, and what he will and will not do. I suggest, however, that in our sharing technology we act more mindfully, asking questions of ourselves and those we seek to support.

Perhaps we might begin by asking:

• Why am I offering this particular tool?
• What are its strengths and weaknesses?
• Have I asked questions of the person I am helping?
• What does the person I am helping want or need? 
• Do they actually want my help?
• What is my personal motivation?
• What responsibility do I have beyond sharing the tool?

Can you think of any other questions we might ask to help us keep from stranding those we seek to support - like the worms on a rainy day?  How else might you determine how best to help, and then continue to support those whom you feel called to lead?  

Question mark image courtesy of Pixabay: http://pixabay.com