Bart "J.B." Hopkins's Blog

Questions

I once worked with someone that was really great at what they do, however, a fatal flaw they had was that they always followed something up with a question. Sometimes that is good and necessary. It clarifies and specifies. But when you pose a question after everything, it begins to lose the desired effect. The questions are answered infrequently because people become numb to the follow-up questions.



Sometimes, take what your boss says, and just do it without asking questions. Grab the situation and own it. It's not that you shouldn't ask questions or raise objections, but doing so every time can distract and delay.

Hemingway

She made things easier so that there was last night and this afternoon. She is a damned sight

more civilized than you are and she knows what time is all about.



Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls, pg. 175, loc. 2833. Kindle Edition

Where's the Joy?

There are a couple of people in my circle trying to manipulate me.

And there has been a void in my life, a notable absence, of joy. The two are related.

I need to disassemble things and take a good look and see if I can correct the situation.

Meetings

In my position, meetings usually prevent me from completing work and add to my task list. For other people, it seems that the meeting is what they consider working. Tangible versus intangible. You could argue that being a leader requires more meetings - that it informs the leaders, and is an environment of idea generation. Sometimes, it prompts people to be prepared for their boss, which is a good thing. My experience is that most meetings don't need to be held, and it's unfortunate if it takes those meetings to prod some people into being productive.



And while leaders tend to have more meetings, naturally, I believe if all they are doing is having meetings, something isn't right.



But, hey, I'm no Jack Handy.

Zones

Man, time zones suck. I miss the universal nature of the 24-hour clock, be it GMT or Zulu.

Leadership 101

Classic Leadership Mistake #1

Unless you have been recruited into a failing organization with the specific purpose of changing everything … don't.

Take some time to get to know the people and processes. Change things gradually, if needed. Another classic and related leadership mistake is to announce that you won't be changing anything right away … and then you do it anyway.

Lulu's Greeting

 

Lulu would like to wish every person and doggo on the planet the very merriest holidays possible.She asked me to post this. She did. It's true.

Johnny

Johnny raced to the Christmas tree, dropped to his knees, and looked for his name on the gifts. Mom sat cloaked in shadows beyond the glow of the lights.

“Can I open one, Mom?”

 

The mantle clock ticked.

 

“Please?”

 

He gave her puppy dog eyes. 

 

“Mom?”

 

Her face dropped. Tears fell. She made the sounds of a dying animal.

 

Johnny went to her, ready to hug away the pain, but when he tried to embrace her, his hands came together, colliding clumsily, passing through his mom.

 

She stopped crying. Tilted her head to one side.

 

Johnny shimmered, smiled sadly, disappeared.

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My humble contribution to Advent Ghosts 2023, hosted by Loren Eaton on https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/

Calls vs Email

I think the decision to call versus emailing someone can be based on many things, but my personal experience leads me to believe the primary factors are 1) personality type of the person, 2) age, 3) business setting, and 4) situational based on where/when/how a person is at that given moment in time.



In a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment, I believe phone calls slow down nearly everything. A well-placed phone call can cause your entire workflow to grind to a crippling halt. Strangely enough, and I mean perfectly imperfect timing, I was interrupted just now by a stammering caller who managed to completely derail me from what I was doing, destroy my workflow, only to ask me if I had a list. One that I would have to email him. So why not email me about it? Then I can check and respond and never break stride.



There are times when personal interaction is amazing and warranted, but it isn't all the time. Just my opinion.

Musical Interests Part 2

As originally posted on February 9, 2013:

1985.

There is some noteworthy music every year, even when it isn't a great year in music.  1985 holds a strange place in my heart.  If I could sum up my 1985 musical interests in one word, it would be eclectic.

That year my musical tastes stemmed primarily from what was popular on the radio, however, I was also beginning to be influenced by what friends listened to and by what I discovered on my own.

So this list is that eclectic combination of music that dominated my 1985.  I've always enjoyed a mix of genres, which is probably evident from the list.

Here are my standout albums and songs:

Knee Deep In The Hoopla by Starship.  "Sara"...wow, what a song!  I agree, there isn't any good time for good-byes.

World Wide Live by Scorpions.  I can't stop my head from moving when "Rock You Like A Hurricane" comes on.  Those guys toured recently and I am truly sorry I made no effort to go see them, just to relive the old times.

Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears.  "Shout" and "Head Over Heels" were my go-to songs on that cassette tape.  I always enjoyed their sound.

Lovin' Every Minute of It by Loverboy.  Good album overall...even though I'm pretty sure all the dudes in the band had perms.

 

World Machine by Level 42.  Something between soft rock and pop, I really enjoyed "Something About You" back then.  I'm only human, after all.

Catching Up With Depeche Mode by Depeche Mode.  I didn't get into Depeche Mode until three or four years later, but several of my DM favorites started on this album, so it deserves a mention.

Mike and The Mechanics by Mike and The Mechanics.  I can empathize when it comes to being at a creative loss for ideas.  Is that why bands self-title their albums?  Or maybe they've just used up all their creative juices on the songs.  I don't know.  This album's best:  "All I Need Is A Miracle."

Heart by Heart.  Another self-titled release.  I remember "These Dreams" receiving a lot of airplay on MTV back then.  Nice music.  Not extraordinary, but really good.

The Breakfast Club (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).  A decent soundtrack, but let's face it...Simple Minds OWNED that album.  Big time.  "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is one of the great songs of my time and being tied into The Breakfast Club just makes it a ridiculous favorite of mine.

Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston.  Sure, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown plummeted later, and became, really, pretty trashy over the years, but at one time...Whitney had a good voice.  A great voice.  I'm not afraid to say I liked it back then. Strange factoid:  Bret Easton Ellis gives her a nod in his book, American Psycho.

UTFO by UTFO.  1985 was hot on the heels of my breakdancing days.  Yes, that's right, I used to keep a sheet of cardboard handy that I'd throw down at the drop of a dime.  I was always ready to bust out a backspin.  Remind me to write about Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo in a different post.

Radio by LL Cool J.  I've always liked LL Cool J and this was his debut album.  Too awesome.

King of Rock by Run-D.M.C.  I remember our 5th-grade-class taking a field trip to Jones Park (a few blocks from my elementary school).  Somebody brought a boombox--I brought King of Rock.

Meat is Murder by The Smiths.  A classic.  Also the first album I heard by The Smiths, one of my favorite groups through the years.

Riptide by Robert Palmer.   "Addicted to Love" is great and was my initiation to Palmer.  It was, no doubt, the most popular song from this album, though my personal favorites from Palmer are "Simply Irresistible" and his remake of "Mercy Mercy Me."

It doesn't make the list of my favorites from 1985, but I'll give Eddie Murphy some credit for being a diverse entertainer.  He had an album out that year called, How Could It Be, which had the song, "Party All The Time," that wasn't half bad.

One final nod to the music of 1985...you'll always have a place in my heart and on my iPod.