Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

Music.Is.Powerful.

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congo square stage 2014It is once again that most wonderful time of the year – Jazz Fest!!!

To celebrate and for the benefit of new subscribers and since I’m constantly adding to it, here’s a re-run of my change playlist.

Because we live in a world of constant and rapid change, chances are good you are / have been recently / or soon will be re-inventing.

You can harness the inspirational power of music to support and fuel transition. How? First, stop listening to anything that reminds you of the situation you are leaving – whatever you’re done with. Next, listen to something different. Does not have to be new music, just new to you. It is amazing how powerfully certain songs bring up memories and the associated feelings. Not listening to those particular triggers frees you up to think about your future. Create a vision for your new life and link it to some different tunes.

Below is my always growing list of songs about change. Make yourself a change playlist and then listen to it a lot.

And, don’t stop thinking about tomorrow…

  • A Change Would Do You Good – Sheryl Crow
  • Roll the Bones – RUSH
  • Don’t Stop – Fleetwood Mac (especially the version on The Dance featuring the USC marching band)
  • I Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty
  • The Power of Goodbye – Madonna
  • Owner of a Lonely Heart – Yes
  • Uprising – Muse
  • Sing the Changes – The Fireman
  • Roll with the Changes – REO Speedwagon
  • I Will Not Be Broken – Bonnie Raitt
  • Fly One Time – Ben Harper and Relentless7
  • Above the Bones – Mishka
  • Changed – Rascal Flatts
  • Brand New Day – Sting
  • Cool Change – Little River Band
  • Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) – George Harrison
  • Dog Days are Over – Florence + Machine
  • Changes – David Bowie
  • Hold On – Wilson Phillips
  • Big Girls Don’t Cry – Fergie
  • Burning Down the House – Talking Heads
  • Feeling Good – Nina Simone
  • Already Gone – Sugarland
  • You Get Knocked Down – Chumbawumba
  • Should I Stay or Should I Go? – The Clash
  • You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – Lisa Marie Presley
  • Changes IV – Cat Stevens
  • Everybody’s Changing – Keane
  • Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
  • Girl on Fire – Alicia Keys
  • Turn! Turn! Turn! – The Byrds
  • Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise – Avett Brothers
  • A Change is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
  • What Doesn’t Kill You – Kelly Clarkson
  • Not Ready to Make Nice – Dixie Chicks
  • Move From the Hood – Luther Allison
  • The Climb – Miley Cyrus
  • Fly Away – Lenny Kravitz
  • Tomorrow – from the musical “Annie”
  • We Gotta Get Out of This Place – The Animals
  • How Do You Like Me Now? – Toby Keith
  • Dream On – Trombone Shorty
  • Let It Go – Idina Menzel
  • Pink Floyd – Learning To Fly

Check out Pandora, Spotify, and Milk Music as low cost, no cost sources for new and different music.
 
NPR featured songs about change in a story awhile back. And for a wonderful, thought-provoking music-reinvention analogy, check out Christopher Bowe’s blog post for HBR.

Would love to know your favorite songs of change. Please share in the comments below.

 

Cultural Fluency #2

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file7491289340145This post is the second in my series of resources for increasing your CQ* (cultural intelligence).

The phrase – ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do” – basically means to do as those around do and is good advice to heed. The idea fits well with the platinum rule of cultural competency “do unto others as they would like to have done unto them”.

Learning the norms and customs of other cultures can be quite interesting and practicing them when you interact with people from those cultures communicates your respect. Given the immense diversity on our planet and the increasing diversity of our nation, communities, and workplaces, being a student of other cultures is yet another piece of the continuous development puzzle.

I’ve written previously about how the greeting varies from culture to culture and am sharing this video as a resource. It includes information about how to greet people around the world (actually nine countries) and is a start for learning what’s appropriate.

For many of us, drinking coffee is important and almost a daily ritual. If that is true for you, check out this infographic on ordering coffee around the world. This particular resource goes out to my favorite coffee drinking friend and avid traveler – you know who you are! 🙂

Speaking of coffee, I’ve read that in certain Eastern European cultures, formal performance discussions between a manager and employee begin following coffee and pastries.

Finally, for insight on learning more about other cultures via food, here is a post by travel blogger Andy Andersen. It is certainly a bonus if you get to experience the food in its country of origin but if not, check out ethnic restaurants in your community.

*I use cultural fluency, cultural competence, and cultural intelligence interchangeably.

Becoming Culturally Fluent

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greek food MGD©Awhile back, I wrote about the need to cultivate cultural competence in our ever more diverse world. Several people asked me for specific how-to’s so this is the first in a series sharing some resources and information for increasing CQ* (cultural intelligence).

A good first step when embarking on self-development is to see if there is a way to gauge perceptions of our current selves. For example, when doing leadership and management development, 360 degree feedback assessment is used for that purpose.

In the case of cultural competence, information on how non-Americans perceive us can be helpful in the same way and a good starting point. Once, a well-traveled New Zealander said to me he thought it strange and insincere the way Americans tell everyone they meet to ‘have a nice day’. It had never occurred to me that anyone would take offense to that statement.

I found this post, which summarizes information shared via AskReddit rather enlightening as to how we Americans are perceived. (warning: some of the language is a bit strong.) A top 10 version of this same info was going around facebook recently but now I can’t seem to find it. If you know of it, please share the link in the comments below.

Do you find any of these observations surprising?

The perceptions of non-Americans are interesting but really just the beginning. Consider the many cultures within this country, your state, your community, your workplace. How do you think you are perceived within those various contexts?

*I use cultural fluency, cultural competence, and cultural intelligence interchangeably.

 

 

Somebody Else Will

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800px-Dr._John_2

Grammy award winning blues* artist Dr. John closed his 2014 French Quarter Fest show last Friday with the hit, Such A Night.

The chorus is:

If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will
If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will
If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will

Of course, the words and that tune stayed with me for days. The song is about going for the girl, but those lyrics apply to going for any opportunity – whether it’s romance, a creative endeavor, or an entrepreneurial venture.

Got me thinking about what Baton Rouge native Dr. Paul Judge, a serial entrepreneur and creator of 30 patent and patent-pending computer security technologies, said during BREW 2013. He told the audience that he regularly gets pitched by entrepreneurs who think their idea is unique. In reality, a lot of people out there have the same or similar ideas and Judge said that what really matters is the execution.

Then, just last night, I came across this story about a pitch event where Ashton Kutcher, now a venture capitalist, basically says the same thing about ideas. He goes on to say that those who succeed have grit, a trait developed through “hardship, humiliation, and failure early on.” Grit is elsewhere described as “passion and commitment for a particular long term goal” and as being related to resilience, hardiness, and persistence.

Do you have an idea for a startup, a project, a book, a creative offering, or a new business? If you don’t do it, you know somebody else will. 

Get gritty and execute. (and for a little extra motivation, listen to Dr. John because you won’t be able to get that chorus out of your head!)

*I call him a blues artist here but his music really defies categorization.

 

Would love to hear how you’ve gone for it, executed, and kept it gritty.