Welcome to The Portfolio!
A philosophical feature on projects, perseverance and people.
In recent years I have discovered the power of positive dialogue is infinitely inspiring. Engaging with people should be an enjoyable experience, sometimes exhilarating and hopefully educational.
Projects. With more than twenty years in this arena, I am still fascinated by how the roller-coaster of project management can generate the greatest sense of achievement juxtaposed with the deepest sense of despair. Projects are the very articulation of human endeavor, and human frailty in the face of desired opportunities; a medium for innovation, and a conduit for discovery within our services, products and teams; and yet, complex and "counter-reductive" projects regularly find themselves on a collision course with standard operating environments.
Professionally, I always wanted to be an athlete; mesmerized by the human condition, competing against significant odds or achieving in spite of oneself; athletes are modern (anti)heroes. The world of project management provides an extension to that environment and working with DOL Coach and the Institute of Project Management, organizations that respect experience as well as academics, you soon discover "projects are everywhere." (Scott Kinder, CPD)
Perseverance. This covers a broad array of subjects including fortitude, grit, and resilience Years ago I developed the "life athlete" program with origins in performance. This evolved quickly, with a broader focus on "balanced endurance;" performance as a word and a concept can generate pejorative emotions. In reality, we go from "gold to old" really quickly; performance is temporary yet perseverance is perpetual. Whilst we enjoy the frisson created by a virtuoso performer, in many environments we confuse performances with achievements which can take time to manifest themselves.
Philosophically, can perseverance and performance co-exist independently of each other?
"SISU" is beyond perseverance. A national characteristic of Finns, (and a gift from my Finnish ancestors), SISU is a form of mental toughness, considered to have no equivalent in English, that starts where grit ends. In a recent "SISU moment" I swam across the bay at La Jolla Cove near San Diego. More on that later.
People. Society is the creator of its own dichotomy and people are the gift that keeps on giving. In a polarizing world I have learned to build better relationships with objective optimists. Generally a humble breed, this type of person can be found in the most diverse of environments. An "owlery" of objective optimists is a value addition to any network. I encourage you to build your own.
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