I’m a bit ambivalent about Thanksgiving along with many other holidays, such as Mother’s Day. While I understand and even agree with the idea of honoring a certain attitude, it seems hypocritical when the attitude exists only on that day.

Sadly, many of the people most vocal about a holiday are the same people whose actions during the rest of the year belie their holiday attitudes.

That said, here are my suggestions regarding Thanksgiving.

No matter how bad things are in your corner of the world give thanks that you are alive to read this. As long as you’re breathing you have a shot at changing your circumstances or improving someone else’s.

Several years ago I had a terminally ill friend. Her final Thanksgiving act was to sign papers consigning all her useable body parts to an organ donor program; she died just a few days later.

Her action infuriated her family, but she had made sure they couldn’t stop her choice. She died knowing that others would live because of that choice.

Which brings us to my second suggestion.

Remember the words of Plato, “Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle,” and follow the advice of Anne Herbert, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” every day.

Get in the habit of doing one small, unplanned thing every day—drop a quarter in an about-to-expire meter; pick up a piece of litter; help someone across the street.

Just think of the difference in our world if everyone did just one random act every day.

Image credit: Ed Yourdon on flickr

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Now click to see what to avoid tomorrow

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I do love writing rhymes for holidays and special friends. And when I read them again a year or decade later I’m always amazed that I don’t die of embarrassment.

Last Halloween I wrote A Halloween Economy at MAPping Company Success and Scary Times Require Rhymes for Leadership Turn.

So without more ado, here is your rhyming fix for this Halloween.

There was a student named Delf

who had a high opinion of self

He truly believed that with nary a sigh,

he could start a company that would fly high.

He founded it on Halloween

in stealth mode to avoid being seen—

he didn’t want the media calling or

have to deal with VCs stalling.

He started a social networking site

for all the creatures that go bump in the night,

because they had no safe place to gather

cyberspace was perfect to network and blather.

Delf launched his site in 2006

with offices next to the River Styx.

Vampires, demons, werewolves and ghosts

all flocked to the site in order to boast.

The member list grew and grew

’til even Delf didn’t have a clue,

but he was smart and used his noodle

to arrange for the site to be acquired by Ghoulgle!

Image credit: Seamus Murray on flickr

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No links today, folks, I’m taking the day off and I hope you do, too!

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See all mY generation posts here.

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Sometimes when things get tough it helps to have something right in front of you to grab hold of; not so much to keep going, but to help you change course.

Changing course is often the best way to get past a problem; it’s no that you ignore it, rather you approach it from another direction—or find that it’s not necessary and just let it go and move on.

Ten years ago my niece sent me a card that I framed. It’s hung on the wall by my desk at three different locations and it still works.

It’s from a hand made card by Mary Anne Radmacher.

Live Loudly

Peer over the edge of your possibility.

If you’re looking for a very special message, for you or someone else, check out her website or look for them in a good card shop.

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Do you have a nickname? I’ll bet you also have a nicktitle—do you know it?

There’s an unwritten equation that who you are (your MAP) = what you do = what you’re called.

When you’re at the top of a company you’re called ‘CEO’.

But what’s the nicktitle? What does CEO mean these days?

When it comes to business titles people are creative and the variations are numerous and telling.

Here’s a tiny sample of what I’ve heard from people when asked to define ‘CEO’ based on what they read and their own experience.

On one hand you have

• Conceited Egomaniacal Overlord;
• Caddish Elitist Obstructionist;
• Controlling Embarrassing Obsessor;

and on the other you have

• Concerned Energetic Overachiever
• Caring Enabling Oddity
• Charismatic Enterprising Optimizer

and in-between you have thousands of variations.

What’s nicktitle?

If you don’t like your own it then it’s time to change your actions, which means changing your MAP.

And whether you consider that good or bad news, the main point never changes—it’s your choice.

For the sake of your staff, family, friends and other stakeholders I hope you choose wisely and well!

Image credit: Marco Bellucci on flickr

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I’ve always said that no one ever really thinks outside their box, they just keep enlarging it. Rather than reprinting these posts, please read three of them here.

And here’s a riddle for a bit of box stretching and Friday fun.

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter.

Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven.

3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Logically, there are three choices,

• The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
• The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
• The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

But is there a fourth and better way out of the dilemma?

Take a moment to share your idea in comments and if you’re correct I’ll send you a management book (chosen based on your interests). If more than one of you gets it right the winner will be chosen using random.org.

I’ll post the answer next Friday, be sure to come back and see if your mind achieved what the girl’s did.

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I’m fortunate to be a member ExpertCEO, an online community of CEOs of startups and fast growing companies that offers peer support and advice.

A couple of weeks ago a member invited everybody to post “things you’d never hear a VC say.”

They were pretty hilarious, with some of the best responses coming from VCs themselves.

Apparently I’m not the only one who felt that they’re too good not to share and today we were presented with a great compilation of the 12 best entries.

Anyone who has worked in a startup or spent time around VCs will appreciate the following; anyone contemplating doing so should appreciate the insights.

Image credit: vcobserver.

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Everybody has a different approach to the current economic upheaval depending on their MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™).

Some see calamity where others see opportunity. There’s a lot of confusion and still a number of fiddlers who continue as if nothing is wrong or different. Let’s take a look at some examples.

We’ve been reading for more than 50 years about one type of survivalist—from those who built nuclear shelters to those who fled to the wilderness loaded with various weapons. Now comes a suburban version fueled by the economic meltdown.

While others see this as a time to push innovation to the extreme; witness the air-powered car—works for me!

Pity some of the affluent kids who are finding spending four or five thousand dollars (or more) on summer volunteer efforts overseas, but instead are having to work at more mundane jobs.

Honors have taken a big hit. All those glitterati studded fund raisers that honored this person or that are hurting, since far fewer are willing to pay for the honor. (What? You thought they were free?)

Apparently the fashion world doesn’t believe all the talk of the new frugality, since Tom Ford’s shorts cost $650 and Armani’s are $775. Prada’s are a steal at $465 or you can splurge on Thom Browne’s $1,495 seersucker man-skort.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

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