POT

Hi!

At midnight tonight, I'll become a POT (Plain Ol' Toastmaster) again having completed my term as Gila Division Governor. As I was leaving the house this past April to attend the District 3 Conference, I told Brandi that it'd be the last time I'd have to attend a Toastmasters event outside the club for at least five years. I may go to a speech contest, but I won't feel like I have to. Maybe in another five years I'll want to serve as an Area Governor again...

It was an honor to be the Gila Division Governor, but it wasn't fun. I didn't particularly enjoy it. Most District officers seem to think of service as a social activity, but I don't. I ran because I felt like it was my time. It's hard to explain. I feel a strong sense that I should give back to the organization that has helped me. However, I felt like service at the Division level was more about toeing the party line than it was about helping people. I felt like I wasn't expected to think, just do. I felt less like a leader and more like how I'd imagine a worker on an assembly line would feel. Maybe that's what some District officers want, but that isn't for me.

I appreciate the support I received from the Gila Area Governors, my home clubs, and their members. I especially appreciate the support of Brian Carson, who contributed to my campaign fund. I'm glad that Gila Division is President's Distinguished and I'm glad that I served...but I'm REALLY glad that my term is over tonight and I can go back to being a POT.

Thanks,
Matt

Tad's 40th Birthday Trip to LA

Hi!

Today is my brother's 40th birthday. Over the weekend, we, with our father, took a trip to Los Angeles. It started Friday afternoon when Dad picked me up at home at around 3:00. We went to GCU, where Tad works, to get him. He has a long commute, so this got us on the road much earlier. We drove for several hours and then had dinner at Sizzler in Blythe:



We continued west on I-10 and spent the night in Upland, CA. I got up relatively early to go for a walk, which I'm used to doing with a dog. Breakfast was at Denny's, then we hung around the hotel for a couple hours. (Being on a diet, I had only a small salad at Sizzler and coffee at Denny's.)

We visited Dad's college friend, Geoffrey Neigher, for lunch. At Geoff's house, we met his wife (Karen), his daughter (Julie), and his son-in-law (Alex). I believe I got all the names correct. It was nice. Tad, Alex, and I tried to explain social networking to the older generation, but it was difficult. The simplest explanation for the practical use of social networks for individuals (from my perspective) goes like this: If you're well-connected to people on-line then it's easier to make a deeper connection when you're face-to-face. We spent a lot of time talking about the basics (jobs, family, pets, etc.). Had they spent 30 minutes reading my blog, looking at my VisualCV, or following me on Facebook, they could have skipped all those questions and gotten to more meaningful questions... Here's a picture of the four of us:



After leaving Geoff's house, we relaxed for a bit at the hotel. Our hotel was on Sunset Blvd., just down the hill from Dodger Stadium. We walked to the stadium and I took this picture of Tad and Dad in the parking lot:



Here's some video that Tad and I shot in the ballpark, before, during, and after the game:



I bought Tad a birthday beer and it only cost me $11 and one inning. Having never bought beer at a ballpark, I spilled some on some people sitting in the row in front of us. On the way out, we had someone take our picture with the field in the background. I noticed later that we could have run onto the field between innings and might have been mistaken for ketchup, mustard, and relish...



The next morning, we had some problems with the car. The transmission temperature light was on and the only way to get it to go off was to stop the car and let it idle. We had to do this every few minutes at first. We stopped for breakfast at IHOP in Upland. (This time I got scrambled egg whites!) We figured that if we kept the tachometer at around 2000 RPM, we'd be okay. This meant driving slower, but we didn't have to stop as often. I got home at around 4pm.

It was a fun weekend! All the pictures can be found on SmugMug. I'm glad we had a chance to do this for Tad's 40th birthday and hope that we can do something similar in another 40 years!

Thanks,
Matt

Ecotourism in Costa Rica

Hi!

This is the presentation I delivered on ecotourism in Costa Rica while in Chile for my Thunderbird class. It was prepared as a group presentation, but we decided that I'd deliver the presentation, then we'd all answer questions. The recording was done by Thunderbird's Dr. Bert Valencia. I couldn't fit it all into one video, so I split it into two parts:





The team did some pre-planning, but most of the work was done on-site in Santiago. I was up VERY late the night before finishing the script and slides, but that was okay. I had the best meal of my life beforehand. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks!
Matt

The Passing of an Icon

To call Michael Jackson a "great artist" is like calling another MJ a great basketball player. Words aren't enough... Since it's going to come up anyway:

Michael Jackson never got to be a kid, so he had no frame of reference. It's easy for those of us who had relatively normal childhoods to know what is and is not "appropriate" behavior for an adult around children. For someone who had no such thing, I imagine, it's near impossible.

I'm glad he was acquitted. I won't remember him as someone accused of child molestation. I'll remember him as the singer of great songs to which I'd roller skate as a kid. Just a few months ago, I attended a birthday party at Stakeland. My only request of the DJ: Play something from "Thriller," please... It really didn't matter what song. They all brought me back...

I was going to post some videos from YouTube, but there are just too many from which to choose. I recommend everyone visit and watch something. Whether it's the video for "Thriller" that made MTV, "Man in the Mirror" from the 1988 Grammy Awards, or any of the others.

The world lost an icon, the "King of Pop," but let's not forget that three kids lost their dad, some lost their brother, others lost their uncle, and even more lost their friend. Yesterday was sad day...

Century

Hi!

Martha Elizabeth Higgenbottom, my mother's mother whom I called "Nannie" would have been 100 years old today. She passed away when I was in college, quite a few years after her husband ("Papa"), who would have been 100 last year. I have a greater appreciation for her now than I did when she was alive since she was the best-traveled person I knew. She went went all over the world! Here's a picture of her during what I assume was a trip to Egypt (notice the pyramid in the background):



She mostly traveled by herself. It was her time away from home and her husband's time to himself. She had been a school teacher for many years and took advantage of having summers off. I hope to visit many of the place she did and am still amazed to hear of some of her trips...

Thanks,
Matt

Happy Father's Day!!

Hi!

First, I'd like to wish all the fathers out there a Happy Father's Day! This is my ninth, though the first was before Joshua was born, but it never gets old.

The only difference between this and a typical Sunday is that I normally get up early and walk the dog. I didn't set the alarm and Oscar didn't get me up, so I slept until 7:30. Brandi and the kids got me a few books, a video game for our Wii, and device I can use to digitize my old VHS tapes. This should lead to some good YouTube and/or Facebook posts...when I get a chance to use it.

This morning, I went out for a bit with my brother, whose son, Alexander, is still in Romania. I talked with my dad, who is in Sedona watching the U.S. Open on television. My grandmother called from Memphis. It was nice to hear from her. This is only her second Father's Day without Granddaddy, so I'm sure it means a lot to get to talk to "her boys." This afternoon, I'm messing around with the computers and doing some cleaning...

I understand why Mother's Day is considered an opportunity for Mom to do something for herself and Father's Day is considered an opportunity for Dad to spend "quality time" with the kids. I don't think either should happen only once per year, though. The reason I think today shouldn't be anything special is because I always try to spend quality time with the kids. Like a lot of people I know, I'm very busy, but I try not to let that get in the way of what's most important.

Last night, I was trying to get some stuff done before going swimming with the kids. Jacqueline was bored and was REALLY letting us know it. We ended up getting in the pool about an hour earlier than I had planned. It was nice. We swam for ~90 minutes, then I fixed the kids something to eat. Brandi went grocery shopping by herself (which is orders of magnitude easier without the kids) and Jacqueline was already asleep by the time she got home. Joshua was asleep soon after. It worked out nicely.

Today is just another day, but I wouldn't have it any other way. That just means that I'm trying hard to be a good father every day, not just one Sunday each June...

Thanks,
Matt

June Kenpo Club Meeting

Hi!

The June meeting of the Arizona Kenpo Club was last weekend. The blog post of the highlights is here.

Thanks,
Matt

Wasting Food

Hi!

I used to believe that the opposite of wasting food was eating food. I no longer believe that. Ever since I started getting serious about getting in shape, I've had to reconsider many of my long-held beliefs. This is one. I was often told that everything had to be eaten so that it didn't "go to waste." Of course, when it was, then it actually "went to waist," my waist that is... Honestly, what's more wasteful? Throwing food out or eating it when you're not hungry? Of course, if you choose not to eat it, you can always save it for when you are hungry. Cooking too much knowing it'll lead to leftovers is one thing; cooking too much knowing it'll lead to overeating is quite another. I challenge you, my faithful reader(s), to do only the former. That's my goal!

Thanks,
Matt

June Meeting Highlights

Hi!

We had a great meeting at S&H Family Martial Arts last weekend. Thanks again to Mike and Toni Stevens for hosting!! We had many of the usual suspects in attendance, including Robyn, Matt, Brandi, Troy, Curtis, Jay, Nick, and Shannon. We also had a few first-timers in Jeff Nelson (who brought his young daughter), Valerie Weaver, and Kathryn Hornbaker. Please forgive my omitting the honorifics, most of us don't wear belts to these...

We spent most of our time on weapons. We went through some bo and sai kata and then tried to remember a technique many of us used to be able to do instinctively: trapping the bo with a pair of sai. I never did regain the hang of it... Then we switched to sticks and Curtis suggested we trying something new. Here's the video:



Clockwise from left the four in the video are Curtis, Matt, Troy, and Jay. We all had a great time! Valerie posted some photos on Facebook, though I don't know whether they're accessible to everyone. It was nice seeing some familiar faces and some new ones. We hope to see more next month!

Thanks,
Matt

PM_CoP Presentation

Hi!

Yesterday, I presented (twice) to the Intel Project Management Community of Practice Forum. I presented twice because there is a 7am meeting and a 4pm meeting. This allows project managers all of the world to attend one or the other during regular business hours, or at least pretty close to them.

The title of my presentation was "Better Decisions, Fewer Meetings, and Less Stress." It was about improving communication. Many people think of "presentation skills" and "communication skills" as being interchangeable terms. My contention is that presentation skills is a sub-set of communication skills and that skill in the former does not imply skill in the latter.

Being a skilled communicator, which is a requirement if one wants to be a skilled project manager, is knowing when presentation skills are needed, when writing skills are needed, and when interpersonal skills are needed. Holding a meeting and calling for presenters isn't always (or even often) the best choice.

I can't post the materials because they're Intel Confidential. Suffice it to say (or write), that I have been and will be blogging about many of the ideas I presented for a while. Stay tuned...

Take care!
Matt

Breaking Boards

Hi!

I wrote a post about breaking boards on my TKD blog.

Enjoy!
Matt

Breaking Boards

Hi!

I've always enjoyed breaking boards. It's fun. As long as it's a real board (not one of those super-flimsy ones), it can also be a good challenge. In order to break, the technique has to be right. Of course, with certain techniques, if you're strong enough you can break without good technique, but I'm not that big. Also, it hurts to break with poor technique, it doesn't hurt when done properly. Here's a video I put together of several breaks I've done over the years.



I prefer to break with kicks, but I have done speed breaks with my hands. My favorite is holding a board with my left hand, and breaking it with a reverse punch as I let go. It's not hard, if done properly, and looks pretty cool. I've done some brick breaks, too, but have only done them with a palm-heel strike. I don't imagine it'd be hard for me to break with a kick (like Nick and Shannon did for their black belt test as shown here), but I've never done it.

Breaking is all about focus and precision. Power is only an issue if you're breaking several boards. Of course, it's VERY difficult to have focused power if you don't have the technique down. It's also impossible to break if the people holding for you are afraid they'll get hurt. Breaking is fun, but it's also the breaker's responsibility to ensure that the holder's don't get hurt. When I break, I take that responsibility very seriously...

Thanks,
Matt

WWJD

Hi!

I'm a liberal. To me, this means that I'd prefer the government use its resources to help people. Most of us don't have to worry about what we'll eat later or where we'll sleep tonight, or what'll happen if we get sick. That lack of worry allows us to be more productive citizens. Imagine how your productivity would drop if your primary concern every single day was how you were going to get your next meal. There are millions of people in the United States who are less productive at work (assuming they're working) and at school (assuming they're enrolled) because they have these worries. Now, imagine how much more productive our nation would be if no one had these worries.

"But that's communism!" you may shout! No, it's not. Communism is when the government controls the means of production. What I'm proposing is that the government merely ensure that basic needs are met. This is not the same as "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Super-productive people will still be better off than those who aren't. The difference is that the super-productive will have a better support system because there won't be any super-unproductive people dragging the system down.

The irony of conservatism is that many conservatives in this country are also Christians. Jesus didn't say, "screw the poor," or "every man for himself." He said,

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'

And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"

(Matthew 25.35-40 ESV)

This is what I'm proposing. Based on his actual quotes in the Bible, you'd have to conclude that Jesus was what today's GOP would call a "hippie, liberal commie." I'm not proposing this just to raise people up, though this is what Jesus would do. I honestly believe that the return on investment in helping people is positive for the country. There will always be a great divide between rich and poor, but the rich don't have to get richer at the expense of the poor getting poorer. We can all win if we only ask WWJD, and then do it.

Thanks,
Matt

Teakwondo Testing

Hi!

I posted videos of my last two TKD tests on my martial arts blog. They are here.

Thanks,
Matt

Taekwondo Testing

Hi!

I excerpted some forms from my third- and fourth-degree tests in Taekwondo and have posted them on YouTube. Both tests were in front of Grandmaster Sun Duk Choi. From my third-degree test, which was in August of 2001 in Tempe, Arizona, I have posted Ge-Baek and Choong-Jang:





From my fourth-degree test, which was in May of 2006 in Chandler, Arizona, I have posted Choi-Yong and Yoo-Sin:





I hope you enjoy them!

Thanks,
Matt

The Little Things

Hi!

While walking Oscar this morning, I saw a woman who was allowing her dog to roam free. This bugs me. Not just because there no way I could do this with my dogs, but because it's illegal and it's unhealthy. If you own a dog and you really believe that it needs to able to roam free, then go to a bark park or move to Montana. Where I walk Oscar is in the middle of our block. There is an elementary school to the southwest of Amberwood Park, shown in the map below.



This woman was doing some kind of slow lunge step across the grass while her dog roamed the park behind her. As I was passing, I said, "You need to clean up after your dog." The woman said, "She never poops" and followed me toward where she assumed her dog was. She repeated this as she walked the 100 or so yards back, then started asking me where "it" was. I told her I didn't see for sure, but it's not my responsibility to look after her dog. She gave me an attitude-filled look and walked off. Honestly, I didn't see anything, but the fact that was so quick to believe me tells me that "never" is probably more like "not always."

This is the problem. Everyone who lets their dog roam free in the park and on the school grounds is convinced that their dog isn't contributing to the multitude of piles of "it" all around. Clearly it's not just one dog, so most of these people are wrong. This is an example of a lot of little things leading to one big thing. It's also a problem in our society as well.

Too many people have the idea that what they do doesn't matter because they're only one person, but it does. When one person does something, it opens the door for others to think it's okay, too. When two do it, then more will soon follow. Soon, "everyone" is doing it so it must not be all that bad. We need more people to step up and refuse to contribute their little things to our big problems. This goes not only for small-scale problems like "it" in the park, but also big-scale problems like global warming and the global financial crisis. If everyone does their own part, then no one has to do it all.

Thanks,
Matt

Cats

Hi!

No, not the musical, the family pets that we've had longer than any of the others. I've written about the dogs, the snake, and the roaches. Our cats are Cowboy and Lucky. Before I get to them, though, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a recap of our family history with cats. I put off this post for a long as I did not because I love the cats any less, but because there's so much more to write about them...

Sheba

Sheba was first. She, a Siamese, was Brandi's cat when we met and had been Brandi's cat since the beginning of her teenage years. When Brandi left her parents' house to live with me, she brought Sheba.



Bear & Tiger

Bear, who is all brown, is Sheba's daughter and Tiger, who is grey with stripes, is Bear's son. They were also living with Brandi when she and I met, but they didn't come to live with us right away. When Brandi's parents decided to divorce, we took in Bear and Tiger. Bear had been the outdoor cat in the family and had to be declawed (front only) before she came to live with us. We didn't want her to be an outdoor cat. Tiger soon became "my cat" while Sheba was still very much "Brandi's cat." Bear was a bit of a loaner but would occasionally come to us when she wanted attention.





Dexter

Shortly after Brandi and I got married in October of 1998, there was a news story in the Phoenix area about a woman who had literally hundreds of cats in her house. (Seriously, is it ever a man who does this?) Anyway, according to the story, the shelters were about to be overrun with cats and anyone considering adopting should do so right away. Well, we had three cats and I thought it'd be fun to have a kitten, so we adopted Dexter. He was named Dexter because I was wearing Dexter shoes at the time and he started playing with the laces.



Dexter was a wonderful cat and my first real pet. All the others were *technically* someone else's. As a kid, the pets were really Mom's since she cared for them, even my hamsters were more beholden to her care than to me. The other cats were acquired via Brandi and didn't really count. Dexter was the first animal who was mine. I really felt responsible for him.



My use of the past tense should tell you something bad happened. Well, Dexter disappeared in May of 2005, around Friday the 13th. He was declawed, but still fiercely protective of our property. We figure he was probably killed in a fight or by a cat-hating neighbor, but we'll never know for sure. Jacqueline bears a scar on her left hand from a nip he gave her when she tried to "ride him like a horse" as a toddler. I think of Dex whenever I see that scar, or any other orange cat.

Cowboy & Lucky

In late June, we decided to adopt a kitten for each kid to ease the loss of Dexter. Joshua wanted a black kitten and Jacqueline just wanted a cute kitten. We went to the shelter and found a litter that had one black cat and three grayish ones. The black cat was good enough for Josh and I grabbed one of the others for Jacq.

Cowboy got his name as a result of the Woody (from "Toy Story") costume Joshua was wearing that day. (We joke that if he'd been wearing his Buzz Lightyear costume, the cat would probably be named "Spaceman.") Jacqueline agreed that her cat was "lucky" because I could have grabbed any of the three. Here are pictures of the kids with their kittens shortly after getting them home:





From 5 to 2

Within a few months of getting the dogs, Bear and Tiger disappeared. Bear was still an outdoor cat at heart and would often be gone for a day or so. When it stretched into three, we knew something was wrong. Tiger would be gone for a day or so, then back for a bit, then gone for a bit, and so forth. We tried keeping them trapped in the house, but a determined cat is going to get out if he or she really wants to. I still see cats around that remind me of Bear and Tiger, but can never get close enough to know for sure. Unlike Dexter, who we're pretty sure was killed, we like to think that Bear and Tiger just found dog-free homes and are living happily. It saddens us that they chose not to stay...since Brandi had a dog (albeit a small one), we figured they'd get used to them. Maybe if they had their front claws...we didn't have Cowboy or Lucky declawed at all.

Sheba's health had been an issue for a while. She had kidney problems that prevented her from being comfortable in a litter box. The vet told Brandi that she couldn't be cured, only made comfortable. Last December, right before Christmas, Brandi made the difficult decision to have Sheba put down. I was home with the kids and can't imagine what she went through. Sheba had been with her through junior high school, high school, college, a decade of marriage, and the birth of two children.



Here are pictures I took of Cowboy and Lucky last night:





We're now a two cat family and that's how we'll stay. I hope Joshua and Jacqueline are lucky enough to have with their cats the kind of relationship that Brandi had with Sheba...

Thanks,
Matt

VisualCV

Hi!

I just got through creating the first version of my VisualCV. It is a free on-line resume service I read about on Guy Kawasaki's blog. I still use LinkedIn, but like the additional flexibility a VisualCV provides. Please take a look and let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Matt

The Hidden Benefits of Diversity - Follow-Up

Hi!

In my previous post, I promised a follow-up and here it is! I presented yesterday and it went very well. There were a couple of mishaps, but nothing devastating. The photos are courtesy of Veronique Kuiatse. Here's a picture of the room while I was being introduced:


This is where the first mishap took place. The Toastmaster deviated from my written introduction slightly. Here's what I wrote:

Our next speaker is Matt Jones, a manager in the Platform Components Group. In his six-plus years with Chipmasters Toastmasters club, Matt has earned the Distinguished Toastmaster award twice, served two years as a club officer, including a year as club president, and been mentor to the current and a former president. Matt has also served as our Area Governor, our District Secretary, and is currently our Division Governor. In his speech titled "The Hidden Benefits of Diversity," Matt will share the story of his evolution from a young Connecticut Yankee to a man of the world, and how communication has been the key to making it happen. Please help me welcome, Matt

She added some impromptu comments, then mistakenly referred to me as "District Governor" even though my proper title is "Division Governor." That happens all the time, actually, so it was no big deal. I was probably the only person in the audience who noticed. Here's a still as I was getting started:


This is when the second mishap took place. The person advancing the slides had my script, but didn't realize that my first slide was the title slide so she was one ahead. I caught this, but spent the rest of the presentation glancing back to make sure it didn't happen again. Here's the video:



Brian Carson, the club's President, was the videographer. Brian has his own video production company, Dream Catcher Video Productions, and is very good. Brian recorded my 30-Year Old Virgin speech in the fall of 2007. You can hear him chuckling on that video, too. Here's a still as I'm sitting down.


The first speaker at the meeting was Paula Cooney, the Director of Strategic Employee Relations, reporting to Intel's VP of Human Resources, Patty Murray. During the closing minutes of the meeting, Brian presented Paula and me with "star" trophies of thanks.


Overall, it was a great experience. I was honored to be asked to speak at the club's 20th anniversary and hope to be around to speak at the club's 40th.

Thanks,
Matt

The Hidden Benefits of Diversity

Hi!

I'll be giving a presentation at tomorrow's meeting of Chipmasters Toastmasters club. It's a special meeting for the club's 20th anniversary. Here are my slides and script:

How many of you, while you were growing up, ever thought that you were different? Maybe you didn’t fit in, maybe you felt awkward, or out of place. Anyone? Well, NOT ME!

I grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut, arguably one of the richest towns in the richest state in the richest country in the world. My father went to Yale and was an executive for a Fortune 500 company. My mother made my breakfast every morning before my older brother walked me to the bus stop.

My friends were all white and my idea of diversity was a kid with red hair. I thought I was pretty worldly because I ate chicken-fried rice and Taco Bell. To me, this was what it meant to live a diverse lifestyle. I loved diversity, I embraced diversity. In fact I took diversity to my senior prom!

In this case, “diversity” was Julie Meyer, the red-haired girl also on the previous slide. The problem wasn’t that my friends and I all looked the same. The problem was that we all thought the same. This started changing for me when I moved to Rochester, NY to attend RIT.

Some of my classmates were from “The City,” which, of course, meant New York City. To suggest that it could mean any other place was blasphemy. To me, Rochester was a pretty happen’ place, but to a real city kid it was about as exciting as watching grass grow.

My next big culture shock came when I moved to Virginia to work for the U.S. Navy as an intern. One of my roommates was a student at Virginia Tech. Chandler was VERY “country” and to him, I was the city kid. We got along fine, but we definitely had our differences.

My idea of a good time was going to the movies, maybe playing some video games at an arcade. His idea of a good time was “goin’ shootin’ with his pa.” The funny thing is that he was just as surprised that I’d never done that as I was that he does it all the time.

I completed my degree and moved to Arizona to work as a circuit design engineer. To me, the difference between the Northeast and the Southwest is like night and day, or, more literally, cold and hot. To many of my co-workers, though, it was more profound than that.

For a significant part of my early career, I was the only member of my team who had been born in the United States. This was a big change for me. In five short years, I went from being in the majority in every way to being in the minority in every way. I learned a lot, though.

From Lakshmi, I learned that being a vegetarian is as much a personal philosophy as it is a dietary restriction. To him, sacrificing a life, regardless of its form, for food is as distasteful as cannibalism is to me. From Lakshmi, I learned a whole new definition for “pro-life.”

From Neil, who is Palestinian, I learned that “terrorism” is very much a matter of perspective. Previously, it was easy for me to call what “they” do “terrorism” but what “we” do “fighting for freedom.” From Neil, I gained a whole new appreciation for semantics.

From Chengting, I learned that there is a big difference between a country’s government and its people. I observed this for myself when I visited China in 2001. From Chengting and during my visit, I experienced a whole new form capitalism.

Unfortunately, what usually passes for diversity these days is only that which can be photographed. Chandler and I looked pretty similar; Lakshmi and I look very different. The cultural difference between me and Chandler and me and Lakshmi, though, is just as profound.

True diversity, the kind that companies say they want in order to improve their ideas, is diversity of thought. Companies need people who think differently and have the ability to communicate that difference in a way that is meaningful to other people.

My focus won’t be on companies, though. I’ll leave that to HR departments, who often have to set hiring practices that are designed to right past wrongs and comply with federal guidelines. My focus is on the hidden benefits of diversity that we all too often miss.

Communication, which implies understanding, is the key. It’s not enough to surround yourself with people different from you. You must also take the time to communicate what’s different about you to others, and seek to learn what’s different about them.

In my six-plus years as a Toastmaster, I have been privileged enough to hear many Ice Breaker speeches. The Ice Breaker, for those of you who don’t know, is a Toastmaster’s first speech. A typical Ice Breaker is one in which the speakers answer the question, "What's your story?"

I’ve heard great stories of overcoming adversity, learning lessons the hard way, and the joys of being a parent. Many of the speeches made me laugh; a few made me cry. All of them, though, taught me something about someone else I may not have learned otherwise.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today. Being a part of Toastmasters has given me many such opportunities. That’s not why I continue with Toastmasters, though. I’m still a Toastmaster because of the opportunities Toastmasters gives me to hear others.

The hidden benefits of diversity are not that diversity makes our ideas better; diversity makes our lives better. It’s very simple. Living and working in a diverse environment doesn’t just make us better thinkers, it makes us better people. Thank you!

I hope to post a video of the presentation eventually.

Thanks,
Matt

Mom's 64th Birthday

Hi!

Today is my mother's 64th birthday. She and Dad, who turned 64 in January, are in Sedona. I called this morning to wish her a happy birthday. They were planning to have dinner at a neighbor's. We'll see them when they get back, though I'm not sure when that'll be. I wanted to post today and hope to post again with some pictures after we get together. In the meantime, here's a family picture from December of 1978.



Mom and Dad were 34 in this picture and I'm 36 now. It's kind of weird thinking about that. As a kid, I remember thinking that there wasn't a thing Mom and Dad couldn't do. I doubt my kids see me that way, but when they're the age I am now I hope they look back and remember thinking that they did.

Thanks,
Matt