Sometimes it is your first Rodeo

Advertising does work. After hearing and seeing Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo ads, I decided it would be a great experience for the kids as they have not been introduced to the rodeo environment. Wendy wouldn’t make the trip as she was on a girl’s trip, so this would be a solo adventure. Risky to put it mildly with Drew and trying to sit through a 2.5 hour rodeo, but I was up for it.

If I was going to do it, we were going to do it right. Boots and pearl snap shirts were required. Add a big belt buckle, boots for Drew and Claire, as well as a few bedazzled jewels for Claire’s shirt and we were all set. All that was left was mentally preparing and pulling out every trick in the book to keep him in his seat.

Immediately upon entry into the arena, Claire informed me that it stunk and that she didn’t want to go in. Being that is wasn’t my first rodeo, pun intended, I quickly responded that she would get used to the smell. She didn’t care. After we found our seats, it was sold out, we were saddled up.

Here are a few items that really impressed me about the PRCA rodeo…

Announcer
We didn’t buy a schedule or I would mention his name, but this guy was awesome. He is everything that you would look for in a rodeo announcer. Nice drawl, semi-big gut, welcoming, wasn’t scared to throw in a God shout out, entertaining – even funny at times, and more than anything he was full of Texas pride which is our next topic.

Texas Pride
I’ve traveled all over our great nation and you can’t help but have preconceived notions about certain areas. For example, what do you expect when you travel to New Orleans, Philly, LA, NY, Chicago, or Texas? Whether you like it or not, and I do, Texans are thought of as prideful, sometimes cocky, about our State. It was evident by the words they spoke, references, flags, skits, and history displayed that this was THE Rodeo you should attend. I really enjoyed that. A sense of camaraderie and self confidence lathered with pride. The kids may not have understood what it meant, but they will be immersed in our Texas culture. It’s special and should be passed on to our children.

Professional
From a Project Manager’s perspective, they did a heckuva job keeping the pace moving. This was no more evident than the fact that Drew stayed engaged the entire 2.5 hours…risk mitigated. Event to event, entertainment while they setup barrels, etc…, and technology to score riders kept everyone engaged and ready for more rodeo.

Father
From a Dad’s perspective, it was great just to spend time with the kids and introduce them to something new. I remember going to the Trader’s Village rodeo as a young boy. The Trader’s Village rodeo wasn’t quite on the same scale, but it was time spent with the family and my brothers. It was my introduction cowboys and a chance to see people compete. It was quite a different perspective as a kid, but as a father taking the kids, it was meaningful to help create new memories and introduce them to a different lifestyle or culture. I really enjoyed seeing them being excited about something they haven’t seen before. Good things…

To conclude, please go to the Rodeo. It is only in town for a couple weeks of the year, but completely worth the time and money. Rodeo tickets provide access to the nearby museums; there is a petting zoo, a full blown carnival, cow milking, and various other events to participate in and observe. Spend some time with the family and continue to pass along the Texas tradition…our family certainly will make this a yearly endeavor. Your amigo, Brian Stewart

Communication….Facebook

If you have heard it once, you have heard it many times…Communication is key.  When I first started my professional career as a young lad at Electronic Data Systems, I experienced professional team development, reviews, and many other necessities that corporate environments provide.  Reviews were requested and once compiled the managers summarized and presented to the team during a team retreat.  The number one issue from nearly every team member was communication.   The near unanimous response was more than interesting as I thought we were communicating effectively.  Heck, we had pagers and a phone line.  Email was just coming into vogue.  To put it in perspective, we did not have EDS email addresses yet, but used personal AOL email for work.

Fast forward 17 years and communication still remains the number one problem I see working with cross-functional teams both clinical and non-clinical.  Every previous position, both large and small companies, live and die by communication and the varied communication methods ingrained into the company’s culture.  As a certified PMP, PMBOK tells us that 90% of being a project manager is communication.  Nothing can kill a project or relationship like poor communication.

We were taught that verbal (written and oral) and nonverbal (body language) are the two methods of communication.  I would like to focus on the verbal -> written aspect in how we use Facebook.

Facebook and I have developed a love/hate relationship over the last couple of years.  It is a great tool for staying in touch (communicating) with old, current, and new friends, spreading emergent news, or communicating with direct groups of individuals among many other applications.  The idea of hearing news of births, success stories, business opportunities, and viewing images of our friends’ families are all appealing and worthwhile to keep Facebook as a communication tool.  Contrary to the benefits are the unnecessary commentary, needless diatribe (as some may say my “therapeutic to me” blog is), and updates on what you ate for dinner become repetitive and simply a waste of time. 

The braggadocios nature of Facebook is not appealing, nor are the time wasting applications.  My inability to separate myself from the negative aspects led me to quit using Facebook several weeks ago.  During that time, I have learned the following:

1.     People do not communicate like we have in the past.    What I mean is picking up the phone and having a conversation.  Think about it…how reliant are you on Facebook to find out what happens to your friends?

2.     Reversing the whip – do you remember a time when you received good news, maybe an award, passing a big exam, winning a championship, having a child, etc…warranted a phone call to your friends and family?  Not any more.  The mass marketing efforts of Facebook remove personalized communication from these milestone events.  Today, I would feel selfish or needy if I called a friend to ask them how something turned out when I know they undoubtedly posted on Facebook.  I could hear the conversation now, “Hey amigo.  How did X go?”  They would reply or think, “Are you not reading Facebook?  I posted all the details and pictures to boot!”

3.     In actuality I do rely on Facebook for updates.  I have been conditioned to not call friends when I would have in the past.  Text messages do help, but still have the same issues as someone repeating information already posted for Facebook friends to view.

I guess I’m old fashioned.  When in the office at work, I get up and go speak to people in their cube if possible.  I enjoy calling my friends to see how they are doing and more so to hear the verbal communication.  You can really interpret your friend’s mood and attitude by hearing their voice.  Ask your Wife and kids.  They will tell you the same thing.

In summary, I will be going back to Facebook.  There are some things too important to miss out on...births… health announcements for those who are sick…updates on out of town friends arriving in town for a short while…etc.  It’s kind of like trying to find a new church.  If you really like a traditional service, you will be in for a shock.  Most of the newer churches move to the contemporary service as a standard format, but they are few, far, and in between.  After all, us “traditionalists” continue to make adjustments to communicate effectively without wasting your time by actually having a conversation.

Now, let me go post this blog on Facebook!

Brian Stewart, PMP