Functioning within normal parameters.

Sunday last, I realize that it is the last day to submit a proposal for a show at the gallery.  It is Sunday so I don’t have to do other work.  I spend the afternoon writing and putting together the required images, CV, and artist’s statement.  It is amazingly helpful to write the artist’s statement.  As I think about it now I feel a growing need to paint.  I have a sense that the doing of art in my life will help give me balance in my work life.  It’s balance that I need, even though I’m quite pleased with the way my work is going.  There’s a possibility that I could completely clear out the ‘do to tray’ by Friday.  That would certainly give me space this weekend.  No! This is not your clue to give me anything else.

Today I am up just before dawn and can hardly believe how refreshed and clear I feel.  It’s a great contrast to yesterday.  I drive to the gym in the cold and gray, the sky is the same muddy gray colour as the ground.  My work out once again goes well, and I decide to stop at the store and do some work before the staff come in.  I sit and do some analysis on the store projected revenue with all of the numbers since we started at the farmers’ market in 1996, 14 years ago.  It’s incredible to think that Sunworks is that old, or that I’m that much older.  We have steadily grown in sales and experience and are getting better at what we do.  Last year in spite of the recession 8 of the 12 months were the best we’ve ever achieved.  One was the second best.  September, October, and November were absolutely abysmal.  Overall we had our best year.  I sit there and scratch my head about why those months should be so bad compared to the rest.  I show it to Leslie M when she comes in.  Then it occurs to me that it really doesn’t matter.  The question that we need to answer is “what did we do the other 9 months, that created so much success?”  We’ll talk about it at the staff meeting tomorrow.

It takes me a couple more hours to sort out the projections for 2010 and to input them into our software.  I’m happy that my database skills are intact, and I enjoy myself very much… all except for the one moment that I thought I deleted three years history.  False alarm.  Our IT specialist, Byron with Advanced Systems, installed the software I need to do all sorts of queries on our business data, and I’m looking forward doing this analysis.  Okay, I’m a geek… you see now why I have to paint?  In between canvas I’m going to put my logical left brain to work as the king of Structured Query Language (SQL), my claimed title from college days.  I suppose this is a form of asking questions too.  Hmm, that’s interesting and just nerdy enough to thrill me deep inside.   It fits in the same category although side the fact that I have a Tricorder Application on my iPhone.

Did you know that according to research of business teams, high-functioning business teams ask 20 questions for every one statement they make.  Low functional, and I’ll add dysfunctional teams make three statements to every one question they ask.  Questions like ‘what if?’ ‘what’s next?’ are not often in their minds.  As I go to the staff meeting tomorrow I’ve got some good questions to ask.  I wonder what other good questions will appear as work together.  I wonder how the store will do this year.  I’m sure I’ll have some queries to write!  I’ll think of these as digital questions. Exciting.

It is in the asking of good positive-based questions that motivation and good ideas are found.  As I work through the analysis today, ut’s really nice to be reminded that the store is continuing to do well and to grow.  Now as we come out of the recession, will be expect that good service and doing thing right things will continue to serve us in our growth.  I have a sense they will.  Tomorrow we’ll upgrade our way of working together and create new possibilities.

That’s it. I head for home and never go back to the office.  Do I write my long over due Christmas Letter?  No.  Do I paint?  No. I work on the Swerve Living project, visit with my best friend Alan, do laundry, start scrubbing the kitchen floor.  In the late afternoon I drive to Sylvan Lake for a massage.  I notice the gray skies and think about the coming sunshine,  think about my art application, and question where life could be this time next year.   I wonder why I feel so different today than I did yesterday.  Perhaps my Borg implant isn’t functioning within normal parameters.

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