Hello folks - I hope you had a wonderful summer? 

Over the past few weeks I've been living and working in Illinois, France, London, New York, and most recently, Ohio. Lots of unfamiliar territory, lots of exploring, lots of lovely people, lots of getting lost.

As I write to you, I'm also busy pulling together my notes, art, slides and reading/research list from my recent sessions on the Art of Leadership and Collaboration from Ohio. They will be ready in the next few days, and I will drop you a line with links to all the resources as soon as I'm done. For now though, I briefly want to get back to being lost...

I took part in my first and only timed running race last week in Ohio at the annual State HR Conference. The race started at 7am and I woke at 6am to head out on a mission to get some shorts to run in. I drove to the Sandusky Walmart and in I went. My first time in a Walmart - this place is huge! The clock is ticking - I need to find shorts and all I can see is fruit, vegetables, hair dryers and kid's toys. I'm all lost in the supermarket. Luckily - my lost look attracts a member of staff and in no time I'm shown to where the shirts are, I grab a pair, thank the man and leave. In case you are interested, I ran the race in 27 minutes, 22 seconds, and no, on this occasion I did not get lost.

In Cleveland Airport the following day I'm wandering about looking for a place to sit down and work. A policeman comes up to me, 'Excuse me sir, you look lost. Anything I can help with?' He shows me the way to a quiet place where I get some work done.

Two busy people, yet both are present in their own situations, noticing what's going on around them, and then there's me, the fortunate beneficiary. It's hard to be present. Busyness can be all encompassing, and yet I benefitted from two small interventions - two nudges that helped me get back on track. I hope you get the chance to look up from your work and offer to be of use to someone today.

I love my work and it is a privilege to be able to share aspects of it with you here. Thanks for your time and interest, see you again soon.

Cheers - Doug

What Goes Around