Upde Designs

I normally do not post on Saturday as my blog analytics show very few of you ever visit the blog on Saturday.   However I was in the mood to bloviate today so here it is.  I probably violated several composition rules with this image but I still like it.  I took this on Thursday morning after my abbreviated meeting.  Nice way to spend an early morning, floating down the river with a buddy, fishing.

Since I am in the people business I spend a fair amount of time listening to people’s problems, dreams, frustrations, and extrapolations.  I also read a lot of books on human nature and spend a lot of time observing human interaction and the consequences of that interaction.  I am always fascinated, often surprised, occasionally shocked, and sometimes in disbelief of what I see.  Now I do not try to set myself apart from this human interaction, quite the contrary.  Many times my weirdness is the most unpredictable of them all.

The point (if any) that I’m trying to make is that it is like sitting on the sidelines of a game of checkers or chess.  Your view is totally different from the point of view of the participants and you can see things that they cannot because they are engaged in a single primary cognitive function of planning their next move and ultimately winning the game.  A sidelines observer however can often see things and possibilities that the participants cannot.  It is called cognitive blindness.

I often write in a journal.  It used to be daily and now more sporadic as the mood strikes.  It provides a way for me  to set on the sidelines of my actions and hopefully see some things and possibilities that I normally would not be able to because I am too focused on the present.   There are times when I think this blog has taken the place of the daily journal.  Like today. 🙂

Someday perhaps, after I retire, I will write more about the experiences I have had, observing the interaction of people.  In a recent meeting for example with several people in attendance the dynamics of the participants was ever-changing and powerful.  Just focusing on the body language and tonal inflection changes of the participants I could see (from a sidelines point of view) who was comfortable and who was not so comfortable.  Who was winning and who was building up defenses.  It was fascinating!

Anyway that is one of the reasons I continue to work at this stage of my life.  That and the fact that I like to buy too many toys.  🙂

If you have made it this far, thank you for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your Saturday and be careful.