Think about Tomorrow, Holding on to Today

I pulled into the cemetery off of Half Moon Bay, just 20 miles outside of San Francisco. As I watched the construction loader back up away from the site, chills ran down my back. I was reminded of the day (almost 20 years ago) when we buried my father. 

I made my way slowly into the reception hall and recalled a scene from "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Covey begins the chapter asking you to imagine walking through a funeral home, just like this one. He describes all of the familiar faces you pass by as you make your way to the front. 

Here I was walking into the room to see my aunt crying softly knowing she'll never seen her son again. 

What if it were me? What would I be remembered for? 

What if it were my mother or brother? What would be the last thing I say to them? 

Covey's chapter continues to ask these same questions with the focus on keeping 'the end in mind'. 

My key message has been said before but it never hurts to press repeat: life is too short not to be conscious of how we live it.

"Don't let anyone define your dreams." 

Sometimes it's hard not to live other people's lives; well at least for me. Being an Arab American, I'm quite torn between what I want and what my mother thinks I want. When it comes to my dreams, I've been set on who I want to be when I grow up. I map my decisions to my values so I can live with no regrets. 

It's not always easy. But when I heard the quote above last week from Mara Aspinall, CEO of Health Catalysts, it resonated with me. My dreams are my own and at the end I'll be the one looking back and analyzing how it played out.

"Take risks young." 

Aspinall continued to talk about her career journey and how she wouldn't be where she is today without having taken a risk or two. Yes they were calculated but in your younger years, you're able to take on more and they become legends or lessons.  

My dominant personality has a tendency to get me in trouble more often than not. In meetings, I speak up against senior managers, if what he or she is saying doesn't match our mission statement. Out with friends, I lose sight of humility and say things that unintentionally hurt my loved ones. Or on a drive into work, I push an idea so hard that it pushes my closest friend away. 

From the Human Element

We can argue whether or not this is right but you only get a few free passes in life before you have to pay up. My greatest gift is being able to reflect regularly on interactions and trying to prevent negative scenarios from re-occurring. But it's a painful thought that I'm only human and can trip again. 

Returning home from San Francisco was harder than I anticipated. I've lost close family members since I was eight years old yet each time it only gets harder. I assumed I could jump back into work projects but found myself tearing up when someone would ask where I was earlier in the week. 

This post may have been one of my more bleak ones but it is a reminder to be grateful of who we have in our circle and what we have at our expense. It's critical to keep an eye on what the end state should look like but you should never lose sight of today. 

To end with another quote of Ms. Aspinall "it is what you do next that counts." 

Light Up The New Year

A full moon. A new year. 

I walked outside tonight to get a breath of fresh air. About to turn on my back porch light, I noticed the sitting area already lit up from the glow of the moon. Of all the darkness around, the full moon lit up my back yard. 

Anxious to return to work, I was reminded that there's always light in my path. Our organization had a two week shutdown for the holidays. I had plans to meet up with old friends and drive the pacific coast highway with new ones. But none of that happened. Instead, my great aunt passed away and I spent about a week with family. 

Although I don't feel rested or ready to go back in themorning, I realized we need to keep going. Some people think the new year is a fresh start. Since "life is a highway" as some singers preach, the break was a pit stop and it's time to get back on and keep driving. 

The Past 

The break, especially with our recent loss, brought memories of my father, whom I lost when I was only eight. He was an Mechanical and Aerospace engineer who worked on military defense systems. I admired him greatly to go into engineering but decided the health sector was how I'd save people. 

Reflecting on 2014, I was reminded how hard work does pay off since I was recently promoted to a Senior Engineer for new product introduction. My father spent years working hard to provide for his family and I'm proud to be his daughter; trying do to the same. 

I can't say I achieved all of my goals this past year but I do know what I have accomplished will set me up for even greater successes.

The Present 

As a control freak, I wanted to do it all this break: meet up with old friends, go to California, attend Zumba dancing at least three times a week and work on some projects to get me set up for the new year. Instead, I watched movies every day and spent some time with my family. 

And believe it or not: it served me well. I learned how to stop and appreciate my surroundings. Like on Christmas, it was just my immediate family but one day I may be in a different state or country and would have to spend the day alone. I was fortunate to be awaken (before my alarm clock) by my nephew eager to open presents. As we were doing so, I was reminded of a few close friends:

A father needing to wait until the afternoon for his turn at opening presents with his children; 

A sister opting out on going home to avoid the emotional burden; 

A daughter who rushed home five days before Christmas to enjoy as many moments as possible and; 

A widow having to carry her three children alone wondering what will happen now since her husband was taken by cancer not even a week before. 

The Future 

What each of these individuals taught me is how our circumstances can change at any moment. We can still set the pace and shape of our future but need to be flexible. If a road is closed on our highway of life, we need be okay with taking detours and be resilient enough to keep moving. 

I refused to set resolutions but started making minor changes in my day to day activities. Habits are formed from repetition and minor changes get us closer to new ways of living. 

Inspired by a Christmas Carol, you may say I've been visited by three ghosts. However, it was stopping that made me alert of my surroundings in the past, future and most importantly present. 

The full moon tonight was another reminder how darkness always loses against light. With resiliency and a positive outlook, my path will always be lit up. Finishing up this post, I actually am ready for my alarm to go off in the morning. 

May your 2015 be as bright or brighter as tonight's full moon. 

View From The Top

Over the last three years, Medtronic Tempe Campus hosted a wide variety of executive leadership on a more regular cadence. Within his first 90 days, CEO Omar Ishrak visited our site being told “you have to go see what they’re doing.”

Since then, almost every month, executives from all over the world spend anywhere between 8-48 hours at our location. We were fortunate this past October to have the Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Ms. Sheri, take time out of her busy site visit, to share some of her personal advice for success. Although, there were many points she made, I’m going to summarize her advice in three segments.

Turning Strengths to Value

Ms. Sheri started by stating how she finds it odd when organization’s focus on people’s weaknesses. It’s not the weaknesses we need to make better but rather the strengths that we need to tap into.

As she was speaking, I was reminded of a quote one of my former managers had shared.

“I’ll never make a slam dunk in basketball. Being 5’5, it physically won’t happen. So I can’t keep trying to slam dunk.” And this quote helped emphasize the point that was being made.

What Ms. Sheri did say was how we need to understand and embrace our strengths. Then, take a step back to see which opportunities are there that we can take on with strengths as our ammunition. And finally, be more diligent in asking how these business opportunities can bring us value.

Mentors versus Sponsors

“Do you have a sponsor?” 

“Yes, I have my mentor.”

Common misconception is that our mentors are our sponsors. Although a sponsor could potentially be your mentor, mentors are not always your sponsors. Simply put:

“Mentors talk to you; Sponsors talk about you.”

Mentors are important for career development in the present and the future. It is someone either inside or outside your organization to serve basically as a sound board. They are one or two levels above you or was your predecessor in your current role. Although managers can provide guidance, they sometimes stress bias towards telling you advice in their best interest for their own objectives.

Sponsors however can have no direct contact with you. They could be in a senior leadership position who remembers an excellent tactical decision you made in a crisis. When a new opportunity surfaces, they stand up and state your name, being fit for the role. What they’re doing for you is advocating your talent.

Strive for Life Balance

My final note could possibly be rated as the most important. Ms. Sheri stood at the front of the room and practically laughed.

“Who are we kidding when we teach work-life balance? We pick up our kids after work, eat dinner, and then open our laptop or smart device to check up on things. We need to strive for life balance.” I love this concept most because I always stress to my friends and family how I try to be the same person at work or at home. Since I’ve worked hard over the years to understand my values, the top ones are ranked so important, it is difficult to differentiate. By demonstrating the same key characteristics wherever I am that illustrate my core values, it helps me be healthy and focused in any setting.

Ms. Sheri demonstrated her journey towards achieving life-balance during the question and answer session. When I asked her what major setbacks shaped her to become the leader she is today, her answer was in regards to a major turning point in her personal life. During her answer, she re-emphasized how we’re human and it’s not always easy to just hang our personal issues at the door when we walk into the office.

The next time you are assessing your strengths to drive business value, keep the aspects of your life balanced. What I learned from the session with the VP was that even those at the very top need to go for their daily run. 

Picture from:

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Defeating the Intimidation

Sitting at the hotel lounge last night, it wasn't a coincidence to find some ladies from the conference, enjoying dessert after a long week. We started talking about the different talks we went to. We rated which ones were most beneficial and questioned the validity of true engineering for others. 

After devouring a warm bread pudding and ice cream that the hotel restaurant offered, there was a topic that surfaced that wasn't offered as one of the sessions: why men are so intimidated by career oriented women. 

While I feel that I still don't know the answer to this, there are a few things we can do to remove the sense of intimidation. 

Value their career 

Over the last couple of years, the few guys that have presented marriage proposals, were confident enough in themselves and their accomplishments that it didn't matter what results I had on my résumé. What I found most beneficial in maintaining a relationship or friendship with a guy, was how I respected his career and what he has done thus far. 

I know I'm a stellar engineer (if I don't toot my own horn, who will?) But guys want someone who will coddle them and stroke their ego on what they do well. My advice: take the time to bring up their best days and if they're down, remind them of their best days to help them move forward. Trust me, he'll know how stellar of an engineer you are or else he wouldn't have fallen for you. 

Let them lead 

We solve problems day in and day out. We're assigned as project leaders because of our great problem solving skills and leadership. But outside the workplace, the man likes to be in charge.

We can talk about equality and about how my decisions are just as good if not better than the next guy but out of respect, it's okay to step back. For the few men I've interacted in my life, they have a sense of pride that they should set direction and protect me from anything that may hinder me reaching my destination. 

So once you leave the field, the manufacturing floor or your executive office, it's okay to set your leadership gauge on low. 

Don't try to be the engineer with him 

This greatly ties into the last section. But the key take away here is that he's not a technical problem to be taken a part and put back together. We all know that constructing systems is easier than dealing with people because the systems don't talk back. There are no emotions or feelings tied to the processes and if there's an abnormality, there are usually feedback loops to get you back to normal. 

But men and women are more complex than that. When your significant other is breaking down how horrible his day was, he doesn't want you to bust out an A3 to map out the problem definition. He wants you to listen. Surprising as it may sound, guys want to sometimes just put their head on your shoulder and vent. We don't need to solve the problems or take it from them- we just need to show compassion and respect. 

 

Like everything else I've written, this is solely my opinion from what I've experienced in the last few years. We need to continue to strive to excellence in our careers but if we are serious about being in a relationship, we need to re-visit our values to make sure there aren't clashing priorities. And while the man would probably still be intimidated at first, the few points of advice may help sustain a lasting relationship. 

Loyalty Factor

"Medtronic won't hug you back," Christina says to me one Friday night at the end of July. Discussing work life and personal life, she reminds me that we all need time for family, health and relationships. 

I had received three marriage proposals one weekend and I was complaining to her how work is easier. Given the systems in place with a combination of my assertiveness, there's normally a clear path to solving any challenge. No level of devotion to my work helped erase her comment, but I struggled to articulate my thoughts into a blog post: until today. 

Since the corporate takeovers across America during the 1980s, the term loyal became obsolete. Prior to, an individual would join a company and stay until their manager took their belongings home to their loved one following the memorial. But today, our resumes are constantly reviewed, our ears are perked upwards, and trust is minimum. 

Why can't we try and bring the loyal factor back? 

Respect Where You Are 

If you're there for the paycheck, that's fine, just don't be vocal about it. I'm not saying love every place where you work however, enjoy the moments you're there. Out of respect of your employers and co-workers be conscience of the comments you make. Things like "I'm just here as a resume builder" or "this place paid $1 more during my internship"  are not made within the four walls. For the time zero that you're with that company, be vocal about the right items. 

Work to Build and Maintain Trust 

The last generations have been harsh. The scandals in our Presidencies, the collapse of Enron, and social media turning into a multi-million dollar enterprise.  These events had a negative influence on our perception of employment in America. However, trust builds relationships and creates a quicker turnaround on results. We should be mindful on creating a trusting environment and removing the walls within our organization. 

Diligently Include Work in Your Life (but not the other way around) 

There are tools, articles and classes on a healthy work-life balance. So take advantage of them. Life outside is perishable. Map out your values and breakdown your world in the categories that matter. For me, my career is one of my top values and that's why I swipe my work badge more than my LA Fitness key tag. 

But what I realized this Labor Day morning when I woke up and checked my email, was that I'm not a work-a-holic. I'm loyal. I'm loyal to the company that is set out to improve the life of millions of patients around the world. I'm loyal to my team whom I said I'd be available as a contact point for escalation. I'm loyal to my manager who supported my development goals and set me up for success even when I failed. 

Although Medtronic may not hug me back in a literal sense, what I've learned is that loyalty has finally paid off. So work to bring loyalty back- It may just change your world view.