a little more homework to do

hello again.
i'm back.
and, while this is all usually about the antic's of the Savvy boys, today i'm feeling a bit more reflective.


i mentioned last week that i was at a conference in Tampa, Florida.
specifically, i was at ACPA's Donna M. Bourassa Mid-Level Management Institute.
i also mentioned that it was giving me a lot to "chew on."
and, oh, did it ever.
as in, my mental jaw is tired.

as in, i really knew my brain was done when i found myself standing in the tram between terminals at the Atlanta airport, pondering the content of the airport tram announcements.
the tram voice had announced, "you are about to arrive at terminal D as in David," and i wondered if all the Davids out there found this rather annoying.
or, perhaps, validating.
as in, that name was the very essence of "D."
as we pulled up at E, the tram man announced, "you are arriving at terminal E, as in Echo."
and i wondered, why not make it more fun?
as in, "you are arriving at terminal, E as in Egads!"or, "you are arriving at terminal E, as in Eek!"
or, even, "you are arriving at terminal E, as in E-I-E-I-O."
that one would really make people pay attention.
then i wondered who got to sit around a table and make the decision about which word would be used to announce each terminal.
and who, like me, might have offered some sassy suggestions to spice things up.
and then, i realized that i had had all of these thoughts between terminals D and E, and that they really weren't very far apart.
it was clearly time to let my brain turn off for a bit.

anyway.
i had expected the institute to be full of good content on our professional work.
and it was.
but, when they opened Day One with this TED Talk by Brene Brown, i knew i was there for a bigger reason.
ever since my friend and colleague, Sus, pointed me to explore the work of Brene Brown, i have been a diligent reader of her work and blog.
but i had never seen her speak.
i encourage you to take 20 minutes to watch it. if you like it, check out her site and blog at www.ordinarycourage.com

our five days were spent doing some meaningful, challenging, and ultimately, highly rewarding work centering on connecting the heart and the mind.
yes, we covered things like strategic initiatives, politics, and power.
but, we also used up most of my reserve of cutely packaged tissues.
and we laughed even more.


we were able to have a few of our days on the USF campus, in the Marshall Center, their absolutely gorgeous student union.
if you look really hard, you can see me over there on the left.
 
we were each placed in a mentor group with one of the MMI faculty.
these lovely people made up Mentor Group 4.
they learned quite a bit about me this week and asked me some very pointed and insightful questions, all shepherded by the lovely and loving woman on the left, Patty.
so, a giant thank you to all of these beautiful people.
who remind me that we all have a little more homework to do.
(shameless plug of my eternally loved Off The Lake students. best wishes with callbacks this week!)

so, i am back in columbus. 
with a lot of new ideas and a bit more clarity. 
and an even longer reading list than usual.
speaking of homework. . .
(and because i clearly can't do a whole post without at least referencing the boys)
. . .i'll come back and tell you a story about this little gem tomorrow: