Do you know your child's strengths?

I am getting ready for my parent/student/teacher conference for my children. I love these conferences because I get the opportunity to ask others what they see in my children. I am on the search for something specific though. I am on the search for their STRENGTHS.

Did you know that the Gallup Organization did some research that revealed that parents spend most of their time focusing low grades versus high grades. This applies to 70+% of us!

I do a lot of strength based coaching at work. I was very excited to see the the Gallup Organization recently release a new book for 10-14 year olds. I purchased it. I am working through it with my daughter who is 10. It is a fantastic resource.

I plan to weave the conversation into the parent/teacher/student conference at school. I am looking to:

- Show my daughter that I am looking for her strengths in use. I want to praise her and encourage her in these areas.

- Engage her teacher in a different way. I want to inform him of her strengths so he can guide her toward projects that will "feed her fire" and allow her to be challenged and grow.

We are also using this strength information to help us choose our summer camps wisely. We can only do so much in this area so we want to make sure that we put our children in activities that work for them versus work against them.

Again, I highly recommend this book and the approach to coaching children. You won't be disappointed.

Twitter, hash tags and the two most powerful daily conversations

At the GTD summit, in addition to meeting some incredible people, I met some of the most engaged and passionate parents. Folks who are hungry to learn, to share, make a difference and leave a legacy. These are folks I am eager to learn from.

I was fortunate enough to have and interview with David Allen and write some posts about GTD and kids but this is a conversation that is much bigger than any one person.

At the GTD Summit I participated on a panel that talked about GTD from the Board Room to the Living Room. During that panel discussion I mentioned two of the most powerful moments in my day.

Powerful Zone #1: Breakfast with the Kids

This is probably the most important 15 to 30 minutes I spend in my day. During this time I spend time with the kids to imagine and discuss the outcomes for the day. I bore my kids daily by saying, "Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!" We then talk about what is coming up for the day. I also use this time to tap in to the wisdom of the ages by reading a quote, sharing stories and more. I know many of you do too! In honor of this sacred territory I defined a hash tag for Twitter #breakfastwithkids. If you are Twittering it would be great to track your conversations around the breakfast table.



Powerful Zone #2: Dinner with Kids

On the other end of the day is the power of dinner with the kids. This is the time we use to reflect on the day. How'd did the things we discussed at breakfast work out? What unexpected things came up? How'd you choose to handle it? Etc. In honor of this space I defined the hash tag for Twitter #dinnerwithkids.



Like GTD this is simply a systematic approach to visioning and reflecting with your kids or as a family.

I imagine the wisdom discussed at breakfast and dinner shared across generations of parents/guardians. This is just a pebble dropped in the pond. I would be honored and greatful if you passed this hash tag on in your Tweets and Blogs.

I am confident together we will make a difference somewhere in this world.

Wishing you the best.

Mike

(the zonebyzoneguy on Twitter)

GTD Summit - Photos

Greetings from the Sunday "coffee zone." I was doing some scanning this morning and noticed that DavidCo put up some pictures from the GTD Summit. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

I just happen to be the lead off picture (looking way too serious I must add!). In this shot I am playing the role of facilitator for the A GTD Workforce - Is there a New Industry Standard panel.



Here are a couple of other photos of the Zone By Zone guy (a.k.a. me):

Facilitating...



Chilling with GTD coaches Kelly and Robert...
(PS: Check out Kelly's blog. It is full of great GTD wisdom)

GTD Summit - another video

Hello everyone,

I am still catching up from the GTD Summit.  I have a bag full of notes and business cards that I look forward to processing and turning into projects, someday maybe and reference material.

I ran across this video from the summit from Michael Dolan's blog.  It will give you a sense of the summit and the "ties that bind" GTDers together.


GTD Summit - What were your bad habits? from David Spark on Vimeo.

GTD Summit - A cool video

David Allen showed the following video at the GTD summit.  I loved it.  You might like it too.

GTD Summit - Alt Biz Card

I love Buzz Bruggeman's business card. Buzz is the force behind Activewords. Before that he practiced law. It figures some one so smart and innovative would come up with an idea that is so practical and functional.

Ingredients:
- 3 x 5 card
- Stamp

Result:
Unique biz card at a great price!

I highly recommend Activewords. I use it at work and it saves me hundreds of key strokes per day.

Buzz I wish you the best!

GTD Summit - Mindjet

The power of social media strikes again. Mike Deutch posted an invitation for GTD/Mindmanger users to join him for lunch. An interesting group of people from various backgrounds showed up for lunch.

We had a great conversation about GTD, MindManager and Social Networking. After lunch we got a tour of the Mindjet HQ. While there we met with the head of product development and held an inpromptu product feedback session.

The picture shows a bit of collaboration space and a beautiful view of the Bay Bridge in the background.

Mike G., thanks for being a great host and tour guide.

GTD Summit - Cafe Trieste, Boardroom to Living Room

A great cup of cappucino + cool atmosphere + Italian music = Inspiration.

My 'office' for the moment.

GTD Summit - settling in tip

Good morning. I made my way from the East Bay to SF this morning via BART. It is a beautiful sunny day. I had a great stroll from the BART station to the hotel.

I am all checked in. One of the first things I do when I get to my room is designate my 'IN' zone. I do this by using a hand towel as my target. This keeps all my stuff in one spot so I do not spend extra time searching fo stuff.

It is a predictable and repeatable zone I can set up at any hotel.

I am off to North Beach with my journal to have some fine SF coffee and do some 'thought catching.'

GTD Summit - My goals

My goals for the summit are simple.  They are behavioral goals.

- Give fully

- Listen deeply

- Ask questions

Where will these take me?  I am excited to find out.

GTD Summit - Getting my mobile blogging set up

Project: Complete blogging by email set up.

Next action: run a test

GTD Summit: The airplane "zone"

I love flying.  The sense of adventure charges me up.  Airports are a gold mine of opportunities for people watching.

I love the time in the air, too.  I have great thoughts while cruising at 30,000 feet.  This trip I did a deep dive weekly review.  I feel a little pressure to hit the conference "squeeky clean" from a GTD perspective.  So my usual one hour almost-weekly review took me 3 hours this time.  I am also saving the "get creative time" for some of my favorite San Francisco coffee shops.  I plan to hit those tomorrow morning before I check into the hotel.

It feels good to be current going into the conference.

GTD Summit: Touch down in San Francisco

Hello all,

The GTD Summit is almost here.   I will blog my way through it so you can get a taste.  I am also Twittering through out the event as well.  You will find my Tweets here (http://twitter.com/zonebyzone).

I will not have access to my scanner this week so I will be blogging without doodles (unless I can figure out a work around).  None the less, I will be scratching notes and doodling away at the event so I am sure to have some post summit items to post.

Many thanks to my wife for getting up at 6 am, only 2 days removed from day light savings time, to bring me to the airport.  Now that is what I call love!

Mike