Human Thoughts in a Silicon Valley Life

Andrew Mason's Performance Deal: Honesty and Accountability in Leadership

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:01:00 -0500

I hate when people get fired publicly. I guess that’s why I never really went back to watch Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice”. There is something seriously wrong about getting pleasure from others’ misfortunes.

But Andrew Mason is a special case. Instead of bitter reproach and lash out, he takes the higher road and uses it as an opportunity for redemption. A chance to show leadership and accountability.

There is something refreshing about his exit. Yes, he was canned. But that does not mean he needs to pack up and leave quietly. Here are 5 lessons learned from his leaving Groupon:

1. Own up to your performance: say it like it is, showing your ability for self reflect, learn and move on.

2. Show leadership in bad times: that’s when it matters. Your ability to make quick decisions and then own up to their results is arguably the better choice than sleeping at the wheel.

3. Failure is nothing to be ashamed of: if you don’t fail, you don’t learn. Recognizing that you have failed, and that perhaps another person can better lead the organization, shows strength as a leader.

4. Use all and any opportunity to generate buzz: some of the best PR Groupon has gotten lately comes out of this situation.

5. Position others for success: when leaving, it’s not all about you. It takes a bigger man to not worry about yourself, but to put those who are left behind in the best possible situation to success without you.

What did you learn?

Here’s the full letter. Pay special attention to how he owns up to his lack of performance as the leader of the company, while encouraging all to keep at it.

(This is for Groupon employees, but I’m posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company - it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be - I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness - don’t waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew

Photo courtesy of TechCrunch on Flickr

HR Leaders: Your Biggest Talent Management Issue Today is Social Media Attrition #Infographic

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:08:00 -0500

Wait, what? What in the world is Social Media Attrition?

Let me define this for you: Social Media Attrition is the risk of losing your employees via social media marketing and professional networks.

How big is this risk? HUGE. It used to be that your risk of attrition (potential for people leaving your company) was anywhere between 5% and 25%, of which, typically, only half of that risk actualized. Nowadays? Your risk is up to 79%.

In the latest survey from Glassdoor, published in this infographic this morning, Social Media attrition risk is palpable:

79% of employees are likely to use social media to find their next job
1 in 3 employees plan for look for a new job in the next year
33% of employees leave their companies for lack of career opportunities

In a world where hyper-connectivity and social media engagement is the norm, HR leaders now have to “compete” with the rest of the world, not only to attract employees, but to keep them.

Your workforce is “vulnerable”, accessible and readily available to poachers. And it’s not only risk, it’s also the impact in engagement and productivity.

So what can you do to keep this risk in check? These 3 things:

Employer Branding: your role is not ALSO a marketing role. Not only are you in charge of attracting the best talent, you are now responsible for continuing to excite and engage your existing employees, via social media and other means.
Create an Internal Project Economy: allow employees to engage in internal projects that enable them to apply their “hidden” skills and passions, as well as learn new skills. This will also have the indirect benefit of building stronger internal ties among your employees. Think oDesk or TaskRabbit, but internal.
Hire from Within: NEVER, EVER, EVER give a job to an external candidate if you have an employee that is ready for it. Many employees leave their jobs because they feel underappreciated, and that their skills and career development needs are ignored for external candidates.

3 Unconventional Ways to Cut Through Resume Monotony, Catch the...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:37:00 -0500

Call attention to yourself in unconventional ways... the resume that looks like hundreds of others is not enough.

3 Unconventional Ways to Cut Through Resume Monotony, Catch the hiring Manager’s Attention

To what extremes would you go to get a job? Specifically, to stand out of the hundreds of resumes each posted job requisition gets?

These people have thought creatively about this question, and their creativity paid off.

The Chocolate Bar

Resume chocolate bar via imgur: http://imgur.com/vjdVFqO

Jobseeker Lesson Learned: find creative ways to show your skills in the resume itself. If you’re a visual designer, make a well designed resume, if you’re a mobile developer, why not build an app that shows your resume in a fun way?

The Billboard

Adam Pacitti went the unconventional way to get employers’ attention.

Jobseeker Lesson Learned: in desperate times, use desperate measures. Don’t be afraid to use guerrilla job seeking tactics: contact hiring managers, send paper resumes (I know, old school, but it works), or even buy yourself a billboard.

The Sandwich Board.

Jason Fruen’s sandwich board on the highway got him the calls that lead to employment.

Jobseeker Lesson Learned: make yourself visible, in the right place, and with a clear call to action.

At Work: What John Paul II and Benedict XVI Taught Us About Quitting ...or Not

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:54:00 -0500

Even if you are not catholic, or do not adhere to religious beliefs, we can all learn something about work from the last two Vatican leaders.

At work, successful employees share some common personality traits rooted in self awareness: judging when to keep at it or simply get out of the way for the greater benefit of the team.

Commitment & Perseverance

John Paul II just kept going. Even in the last stages of Alzheimer, he demonstrated a relentless desire to serve others and dedicate his last bit of energy to the mission he was hired to advance. He showed us than when you love your job, it becomes a natural extension of your life. It’s not just what you do, it’s who you are, till the very end.

Courage & Humility

Benedict XVI stepped up then stepped down. He showed leadership and commitment to team that picked him, then proceeded to give it his best. However, there comes a time when one must acknowledge his limitations. If you deemed yourself unfit to perform the job you were hired to do, would you be courageous enough to admit it and let others take the lead?

I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see these behaviors at work more often.

Talent Diversity: Beyond Race, Age, and Gender

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:46:00 -0500

This article was originally written for and posted on RiseSmart’s blog.

When the word “diversity” pops up in a conversation. What thoughts does it trigger? Typically it’s about race, gender, age, and other protected classes.

I know what you’re thinking: yet another post about how having diversity in the workplace through variety of gender, race, religion and other protected classes is not only the legal thing to do but good for your organization. Well, no; I’m no legal expert. What I do know after working with many organizations with progressive cultures is that they invest in talent diversity beyond the legal compliance requirements. Here are three ways these innovative companies use intentional diversity to create organizational strength and talent resiliency.

Set out to hire employees with diverse backgrounds

For a recent “60 Minutes” segment, Charlie Rose interviews David Kelly, founder of the Silicon Valley global design studio IDEO. Kelly attributes the success of IDEO to one simple practice: Hire smart people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Long gone are the days where Qualifications was a list on a board with boxes next to each.

For Kelly, the only way to come up with breakthrough ideas is to throw a bunch of people with different backgrounds into a room and give them enough time and the right tools to solve difficult problems. Collaboration alone is not enough, though; diversity in talent is a must. In a typical IDEO team, you may find an anthropologist, a journalist, a software engineer and an aerospace engineer in additional to the usual designers and architects. Why does it work? Diversity in talent encourages innovative solutions by allowing individuals to contribute and become experts at expanding on one another’s ideas until a solution is found.

Another company that became a poster child of a diverse and caring company culture is Zappos. Through a non-traditional interviewing process, it weeds out the cookie-cutter candidates so it can focus on potential employees who can add to its diverse culture. This company actually wants the unusual or unexpected candidate. Zappos then gives new employees a “$2,000 quitting bonus” to leave the company at the end of their onboarding week. How unusual is that? These practices have helped Zappos focus on making the work environment interesting and exciting when other call centers have become boring and undifferentiated. The result is an unprecedented focus on customer satisfaction that has led to their undeniable business success.

Enable an internal project economy

Technology and talent trends like globalization and the move to a knowledge-based economy have forced what is called a global project economy, where work is done by contractors, consultants and other associates on a part-time basis and on-demand. The surge and success of web-based solutions and communities such as oDesk, TaskRabbit and ThumbTack have made it incredibly easy to access and hire crowd-sourced labor.

But what about the talent you already have? How do you draw the best out of your existing workforce? It is no secret that happy employees are more passionate and productive. But the jury is out as to what HR can do to make people happy, and no, throwing money and perks at people is only temporary. What if we created organizational cultures in which people could volunteer to work on any project for which they have passion and skills? This is what I mean by an internal project economy.

Companies like IBM, Intuit and Google have pioneered this concept, allowing people to volunteer ideas and sign up to help out with a project without worrying about the formal reporting structure. In a typical organization, employees are segregated by division and tend to focus on tasks only within the confines of their defined expertise. In an internal project economy, employees are free to roam the organization, explore other positions temporarily and leverage their skills in different projects and teams. Diversity comes in the fluidity of team structures, adding excitement to the workday and igniting passion from existing employees who are eager to contribute to the overall success of the company.

Don’t lay off, redeploy

RiseSmart has made a name by disrupting the outplacement space and combining the latest cloud-based technology, social networking and proven methodologies to help laid-off employees to find jobs faster and get their careers back on track. The vast majority of the people we help are smart, skilled and accomplished individuals who found themselves in an unfortunate situation. Plenty of companies would be proud to have them in their employee ranks. The HR managers at their old companies likely would have preferred to keep them. HR usually works to keep talent in house. But with layoffs, talent (and organizational knowledge) go out the door.

Many organizations are realizing that employees with diverse backgrounds and experiences are more resilient because they can find other places in the organization to leverage their skills. Redeployed employees will in turn grow their diverse backgrounds, making them even more resilient and translating into talent acquisition and outplacement savings.

Want to hear more? Tune in today at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET to listen to TalentCulture’s #Tchat radio show where we’ll be covering this interesting topic in even more detail.

Christmas Day #2: Make Room for God and Those Less Fortunate

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:02:00 -0500

Our Pope is probably one of the most loved and hated public figures in the world. Loved by Christians around the globe who abide by his message of love, charity and Jesus-centered lives, while hated by those who can’t stand his perceived position of authority that reaches across nations.

But on this second day of Christmas, I want to call your attention (of both lovers and haters) to a few points he made during his Christmas Mass homily that made me stop and think, in hope that it would touch your soul as well:

1. God wants to be within and around you:

Always. This is why He came as a child: the most vulnerable and real of all possibilities. Suddenly, God is not a concept, it’s a reality at a physical level. He did this to catch your attention, because he knows it’s hard for our human minds to grasp the idea of an all powerful, infinite, eternal force made of pure love.

2. God wants you to make room for those less fortunate:

He was born in a cave, laid on a manger, next to barn animals… the least “posh” place you can think of for an omnipotent God. He did this intentionally, to show us our inability to recognized the needy, the helpless, the least among us. This is our attitude TODAY towards the homeless, refugees, the eldest, orphans, immigrants, widows, and those who are simply “different”.

3. God urges you to stop denying Him:

We often find reasons to not think about God, to not act kindly, to not love one another. Instead, let your curiosity take hold, let your wandering intellect that constantly points us to seek and find truth guide you. But we have to make time for it. We must first reduce the worries of this world, stop wanting to impose our egos on ourselves and others, but more importantly, deny our self-blinding attitude of self-centeredness.

Here is the full transcript of his speech, whether you are a believer or an atheist, I urge you to take 10 minutes to read through it.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendor of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.

I am also repeatedly struck by the Gospel writer’s almost casual remark that there was no room for them at the inn. Inevitably the question arises, what would happen if Mary and Joseph were to knock at my door. Would there be room for them? And then it occurs to us that Saint John takes up this seemingly chance comment about the lack of room at the inn, which drove the Holy Family into the stable; he explores it more deeply and arrives at the heart of the matter when he writes: “he came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1:11). The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for him. The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full. But matters go deeper still. Does God actually have a place in our thinking? Our process of thinking is structured in such a way that he simply ought not to exist. Even if he seems to knock at the door of our thinking, he has to be explained away. If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the “God hypothesis” becomes superfluous. There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so “full” of ourselves that there is no room left for God. And that means there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger. By reflecting on that one simple saying about the lack of room at the inn, we have come to see how much we need to listen to Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2). Paul speaks of renewal, the opening up of our intellect (nous), of the whole way we view the world and ourselves. The conversion that we need must truly reach into the depths of our relationship with reality. Let us ask the Lord that we may become vigilant for his presence, that we may hear how softly yet insistently he knocks at the door of our being and willing. Let us ask that we may make room for him within ourselves, that we may recognize him also in those through whom he speaks to us: children, the suffering, the abandoned, those who are excluded and the poor of this world.

There is another verse from the Christmas story on which I should like to reflect with you – the angels’ hymn of praise, which they sing out following the announcement of the new-born Savior: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” God is glorious. God is pure light, the radiance of truth and love. He is good. He is true goodness, goodness par excellence. The angels surrounding him begin by simply proclaiming the joy of seeing God’s glory. Their song radiates the joy that fills them. In their words, it is as if we were hearing the sounds of heaven. There is no question of attempting to understand the meaning of it all, but simply the overflowing happiness of seeing the pure splendor of God’s truth and love. We want to let this joy reach out and touch us: truth exists, pure goodness exists, pure light exists. God is good, and he is the supreme power above all powers. All this should simply make us joyful tonight, together with the angels and the shepherds.

Linked to God’s glory on high is peace on earth among men. Where God is not glorified, where he is forgotten or even denied, there is no peace either. Nowadays, though, widespread currents of thought assert the exact opposite: they say that religions, especially monotheism, are the cause of the violence and the wars in the world. If there is to be peace, humanity must first be liberated from them. Monotheism, belief in one God, is said to be arrogance, a cause of intolerance, because by its nature, with its claim to possess the sole truth, it seeks to impose itself on everyone. Now it is true that in the course of history, monotheism has served as a pretext for intolerance and violence. It is true that religion can become corrupted and hence opposed to its deepest essence, when people think they have to take God’s cause into their own hands, making God into their private property. We must be on the lookout for these distortions of the sacred. While there is no denying a certain misuse of religion in history, yet it is not true that denial of God would lead to peace. If God’s light is extinguished, man’s divine dignity is also extinguished. Then the human creature would cease to be God’s image, to which we must pay honor in every person, in the weak, in the stranger, in the poor. Then we would no longer all be brothers and sisters, children of the one Father, who belong to one another on account of that one Father. The kind of arrogant violence that then arises, the way man then despises and tramples upon man: we saw this in all its cruelty in the last century. Only if God’s light shines over man and within him, only if every single person is desired, known and loved by God is his dignity inviolable, however wretched his situation may be. On this Holy Night, God himself became man; as Isaiah prophesied, the child born here is “Emmanuel”, God with us (Is 7:14). And down the centuries, while there has been misuse of religion, it is also true that forces of reconciliation and goodness have constantly sprung up from faith in the God who became man. Into the darkness of sin and violence, this faith has shone a bright ray of peace and goodness, which continues to shine.

So Christ is our peace, and he proclaimed peace to those far away and to those near at hand (cf. Eph 2:14, 17). How could we now do other than pray to him: Yes, Lord, proclaim peace today to us too, whether we are far away or near at hand. Grant also to us today that swords may be turned into ploughshares (Is 2:4), that instead of weapons for warfare, practical aid may be given to the suffering. Enlighten those who think they have to practice violence in your name, so that they may see the senselessness of violence and learn to recognize your true face. Help us to become people “with whom you are pleased” – people according to your image and thus people of peace.

Once the angels departed, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened for us (cf. Lk 2:15). The shepherds went with haste to Bethlehem, the Evangelist tells us (cf. 2:16). A holy curiosity impelled them to see this child in a manger, who the angel had said was the Savior, Christ the Lord. The great joy of which the angel spoke had touched their hearts and given them wings.

Let us go over to Bethlehem, says the Church’s liturgy to us today. Trans-eamus is what the Latin Bible says: let us go “across”, daring to step beyond, to make the “transition” by which we step outside our habits of thought and habits of life, across the purely material world into the real one, across to the God who in his turn has come across to us. Let us ask the Lord to grant that we may overcome our limits, our world, to help us to encounter him, especially at the moment when he places himself into our hands and into our heart in the Holy Eucharist.

Let us go over to Bethlehem: as we say these words to one another, along with the shepherds, we should not only think of the great “crossing over” to the living God, but also of the actual town of Bethlehem and all those places where the Lord lived, ministered and suffered. Let us pray at this time for the people who live and suffer there today. Let us pray that there may be peace in that land. Let us pray that Israelis and Palestinians may be able to live their lives in the peace of the one God and in freedom. Let us also pray for the countries of the region, for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and their neighbors: that there may be peace there, that Christians in those lands where our faith was born may be able to continue living there, that Christians and Muslims may build up their countries side by side in God’s peace.

The shepherds made haste. Holy curiosity and holy joy impelled them. In our case, it is probably not very often that we make haste for the things of God. God does not feature among the things that require haste. The things of God can wait, we think and we say. And yet he is the most important thing, ultimately the one truly important thing. Why should we not also be moved by curiosity to see more closely and to know what God has said to us? At this hour, let us ask him to touch our hearts with the holy curiosity and the holy joy of the shepherds, and thus let us go over joyfully to Bethlehem, to the Lord who today once more comes to meet us. Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI on December 24, 2012. Homily during Christmas Mass.

Christmas Day #1: Unto Us A Child Is Born

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 21:17:00 -0500

No matter how many times we celebrate Christmas, the story always gets me. The whole idea of an omnipotent God entering the world He created in its most vulnerable form, a baby, is simply genius. Why? because it was not until then that men were forced to stop thinking about God as a distant, megalomaniacal, top-down, controlling, judging and punishing being, but instead a loving and lovable God, who’s willing to live, suffer, and die with/for us.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

May the love of God be reborn and grow healthy and plump in your heart. Merry Christmas to all.

The Future of HR Technology is Social, Mobile, in the Cloud, Employee-Centric, Gamified and Data Rich #HRTechConf

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:22:00 -0400

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 HR Technology Conference in Chicago, where top analysts, vendors and practitioners get together to network, explore the latest trends, and see what’s new in HR tech.

I had a great time exchanging ideas, seeing the latest versions of some cool (and some not so cool ones too) products, and hunting for disruptive, bleeding edge technologies that significantly impact the bottom line via the HR folks…. aaaand that’s where the conference felt short for me: there was not really much new stuff to sink my teeth on. Yes, I admit I already live in the mecca of innovation and disruption, and after all, many of the new interesting, disruptive HR tech players are coming out of Silicon Valley (Work.com, Workday, TalentBin, SmartRecruiters, RiseSmart), but the problem for me was finding myself having similar conversations around the same topics we discussed last year, when I wrote about six clear trends that would forever impact HR.

As my friend Matt Charney puts it: “basically, the last year in HR and recruiting has been pretty much, same stuff, different hashtag.”

At least it was obvious that those trends continue to be here, impacting the HR function; some stronger (social, cloud, mobile), some less so (gamification, global and big data). They have evolved, with some proof points and clear examples of success, where others seem to be fading away in importance.

So how have these trends evolved since last year? Inspired by the thoughts shared by Bill Kutik, John Wookey, Yvette Cameron, Marcia Conner, Lisa Rowan, Naomi Lee Bloom, Thomas Koulopoulos and many other experts during this year’s HR Technology Conference, I ventured out to answer this question in this 3-part coverage of #HRTechConf:

Let me what you think, and see you next year in Vegas.

Employee Engagement and Loyalty Start at the Top: How to Deal with Problem Bosses

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:24:00 -0400

Not everyone has a boss that embodies good management philosophies: caring for employees leads to loyalty which in turns leads to engagement which leads to happy employees which makes them work harder and more productively… phew! You got that? Bosses are the main drivers of attrition.

Bosses set the tone for the organization

Not everyone is a born manager. Most people need some training, as it happens. A lot of management is common sense. Treat people the way you’d have them treat you. Sadly, sometimes people forget all about the Golden Rule – or choose to for their own purposes. Friends and colleagues have shared stories with me over the years about their various work experiences, and one thing rings true across all of them. Leadership is a critical and all too often missing element of employee engagement and loyalty. The boss sets the tone of an organization, and it quickly becomes apparent what traits get rewarded.

Managing by fear? Don’t expect good results

In one case, a friend had a jealous boss who undermined and sabotaged her because the boss felt threatened by her “rising star” status. Having high-performing employees actually makes executives look good, and rockstar employees are good for the company. Another story involved a leader who ruled by fear. Employees literally shook with terror whenever he thundered down the hallway. The guy was really good at what he did, but he was absolutely horrible as a manager because most of his direct reports were too afraid to interact with him in a productive way. Sometimes, good people are just put into the wrong roles. The only thing worse than that is when the bad apples keep getting promoted rather than being dealt with appropriately.

What do you do if your boss is making textbook missteps, such as in the areas of employee morale and loyalty? Some executives are surrounded with yes men and don’t want to hear the truth at all costs. These people shoot the messenger and others around them learn from that and act (or don’t act) accordingly. Others are more receptive to managing up. Hopefully your boss falls into the latter category and will be willing to accept some feedback. If not, you need to take matters into your own hands. Barring that, having alliances is often the key, just like on reality TV. Get other concerned parties involved in your efforts to make changes at your company. If your boss is displeased, chances are you’ll be voted off the island, but at least you’ll know that you did everything you could.

What to do?

1. Document and report: if you feel your boss is treating you and your team unfairly, and attempts to resolve the issues have not resulted in positive change, make sure you document all actions and report them to HR.

2. Network inside your company: remember that sometimes the best opportunities come from inside your own company. Nurture a network of potential bosses you can replace yours with before you decide to simply leave your current job.

3. Align with people who value you: continue to engage with people who value you more and treat you better. Companies are living organizations and these positive relationships will define the future of your company. Besides, the best revenge is living well.

4. Keep that resume polished: if all fails, be aware that there are probably lots of better bosses out there.

Image courtesy of Leadership Buzz.

Happy Mother's Day to 7 Moms

Sun, 13 May 2012 09:57:00 -0400

A mother’s love cannot be measured, taught or demanded. It’s just there. Always there. On this day, I honored the 7 mothers that have changed my life for ever. 3 alive, 2 gone but never forgotten, and 2 I never met in person yet inspire me everyday: Abuela Luisa: you showed me determination and resourcefulness Abuela Mencha: you always extended a sweet loving hand and a happy attitude Mama Sol: you gave me protection, encouragement and independence Mama Leyda: you took me in as your own son Tatiana: you selflessly give your all for your children and husband, every day Mary, mother of Jesus: you showed us infinite love, ultimate sacrifice and the unknown moms: who honored life and chose their child(ren) over abortion. To you, and all moms out there… I love you. A day, gifts or any FB post will never be enough to pay for your dedication and love.

What Humanity Should Strive For

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:22:00 -0500

Reading about St. Ignatius of Antioch, this passage captures what humanity should strive for:

“Be meek in response to wrath; humble in opposition to boasting; to blasphemies return your prayers; in contrast to error; be stedfast in the faith; and for cruelty, manifest your gentleness.”

From the Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians.

"The only difference between saints and sinners is that every saint has a past while every sinner has..."

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:54:44 -0500

“The only difference between saints and sinners is that every saint has a past while every sinner has a future.”

- Oscar Wilde

"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:58:26 -0500

““To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.””

- Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Birthday, Son! 8 years ago exactly. I was overcome with...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:46:00 -0500

Happy Birthday, Son!

8 years ago exactly. I was overcome with fear. Our first child was dramatically and unexpectedly forced to be born ahead of time. Plans mean nothing when you’re not in control. And so it happened: he was born, my son.

Among the terrifying moments, there was an indescribable feeling of happiness, of change, of right. I was infinitely grateful to God and to my wife for enduring such a painful pregnancy.

I did not care that he had to be taken to the NICU after birth, that he was not eating, that he was barely breathing. I was inundated by the excitement and overcome with a sense of peace and love from above. And so I knew everything would be alright.

But I was the one defining what “alright” meant, as if I knew better. The following 10 days transformed my life forever. Confronted with the real possibility of losing my first son was, by far, the hardest moment of my life. And a defining moment that changed my relationship with our creator.

In a very desperate moment, I did fall on my knees and gave up. I told God I had finally got it. I was not in control, and it would be ultimately His will. I prayed as I had never prayed before. I cried until I had no more tears. I silently held my thoughts and indignation to myself to not worry my wife.

I let go. I kicked fear out. I blew up the attachments. I silenced my ego. I flew like feather in the air: erratically but without worries. Perfectly placed in time, the miracle that I did not think would happen finally came. My son started to eat and climbed back to life.

8 years later, I’m thankful to my son for he unknowingly tested my faith, and brought me back to reestablish my relationship with Him.

Happy birthday, son. I love you forever, and you will always have all of me.

I love pop songs performed creatively using an ukulele…...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:14:50 -0500

I love pop songs performed creatively using an ukulele… specially if it falls from the sky in the hands of the performer ;-)

"Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death"

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:02:02 -0500

“Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death”

- Author Unknown

"“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only..."

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:20:00 -0500

“

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

”

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why People Hate on Tim Tebow: No Faith of Their Own

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:08:00 -0500

While busy building a startup, creating another innovative product, and networking in this amazing Silicon Valley and its extended social media reach, something was brewing outside of my “normal” world: controversy around religion and sports. Big time.

I had no idea who this Tim Tebow was until last week, when at a birthday party, all us “boys” were hanging out watching the Steelers v. Broncos game, while all the ladies chatted away and the children enjoyed this rare moment of “freedom” (plus a sweet jumping house).

Now the game is tied, goes to overtime, and the “real” conversation starts… is God involved in the NFL. Then I had a sudden and healthy dose of Tebow talk from everyone around me.

Apparently his faith and overt demonstrations of his religious beliefs get people talking… a lot … aaaaand taking funny pictures of themselves Tebowing.

But as you can see in the picture above, athletes have been thanking God for their accomplishments forever, so why is Tebow now the center of all attention around this topic?

Is God Really “Playing” With Us?

Then it happened: I witnessed the “miraculous” win in overtime… 316 yards of completed passes. Coincidence? Well, it doesn’t matter, does it? Some will take it as a sign and believe in a higher power, while others will laugh it out and disregard. Faith is a personal choice and comes from our ability to decide whether you believe or not… a.k.a. “free will”.

What is impressive to me is the amount of chatter, content (both on the love and hate side), and reach, this individual has generated. One thing is certain: Tim Tebow’s public demonstrations of his believe in Jesus has reignited the conversation about God’s role in our lives.

And the big question arises: is God behind all this? Again, the answer does not matter. What matters is what this means to each one of us. This is where your personal journey is more important than what other people think (or what the media writes).

And then something really interesting happened: several people (on both sides of the argument) reached out to me afterwards to make sure I knew God had (or had not) His hands in this.

Believing Drives Action. Action Leads to Accomplishments.

Whether you believe in a higher power or not, are on the Tebow-train, or simply want nothing to do with the topic, you will probably agree with me on this: his unwavering and unequivocal believe that his accomplishments are a gift from God drives him to take action, and his actions have led him to success.

That’s why he thanks Him every time something amazing happens.

Most people are externally motivated…. they expect somebody to “show them the way”. This is how we, as a nation, elected the only candidate that had promised “HOPE” and “CHANGE”. However, the most successful people in business, sports, and life are those guided by a “higher power”, internally motivated to find their vocation, reach their goals and ultimately do good to others.

This is why people hate on Tebow: no faith or internal motivation of their own that leads them to be on the offensive of those who have it… why? because it justifies them.

So whether you think God is involved or not, who cares?!? Instead, you should be asking: What does it mean to you? and where are you finding the source of inspiration and drive, to take action, accomplish your goals, and do good.

Personally, I’m glad children and adults have a great Christian athlete to look up to, showing us how believing in God and oneself can help you move mountains.

Fun rendition of the classic epiphany song “We Three...

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:29:15 -0500

Fun rendition of the classic epiphany song “We Three Kings” by Hugh Jackman, David Hobson and Peter Cousen.

Wishing you a fantastic end to this Christmas season.

Stumbled upon this amazing quote watching a simple, human and...

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:42:19 -0500

Stumbled upon this amazing quote watching a simple, human and eye-opening documentary on food waste.