Growth mindset | Lorne Rubis

50 Years New!

Story: She started with our company in 1968 when she was 17-years-old, and will soon be celebrating a 50 year anniversary, our longest tenured employee. Her parents literally wanted her to stay on the family farm. Instead, she applied one of the most important principles that thriving people do; she respectfully chose to live the life she desired rather than what others wanted for her.

Key Point: Out of consideration for her privacy, I will not share personal details. However, I would like to outline some of her (let’s call her Gloria) lessons from a journey of 50 years:

Be totally positive, and honestly realistic. Most situations, and almost every day has a bright side if you learn to frame it that way. Who wants to work with negative, cynical people?
Embrace change and learn to love it. Actively seek it out. When you reflect on what change most often involves, it is much better than the status quo. Individuals and organizations have a responsibility to continuously move forward.
Be an intentional, constant learner, continuously adding to your expertise, social/emotional skills, and be fearless in trying new things. This is tied to No. 2 above. Do NOT be complacent and think you’ve “gone as far” as you need to. If you stop, you will be left behind.
Have fun every day. If you’re not laughing, you’re not living. Live the life you want in the present, rather than just hoping for a better state in the future.
Whatever you do, when you put others first, things usually turn out for the best. Learn to keep your ego in check.
If you’re a leader, commit to developing others first and do not make it all about yourself. Gloria’s best leaders have behaved this way.
Have enough room in your life for that “convertible hot car” or something that makes life more fun.
Be humble enough to do what needs to be done to move the organization, or the team forward. During her career Gloria has done everything from janitorial work to sophisticated financial advising. Roll up one’s sleeves and make things happen by taking on tough problems, and keeping the customer first .
Failing at something does not mean one is a failure. Moving forward includes having the courage to get things done, with the understanding that one is going to goof up along the way. Get up, jump in the convertible, and accelerate to the next destination.
When you do the above, 50 years zip by… Like 1968 was just yesterday. And more importantly, you will be driving down a highway that is always going forward. More often than not, the road is one worth taking.

Personal Leadership Moves:

It is unlikely any of our readers will spend 50 years at one company. Nevertheless, Gloria’s lessons apply to us all. They are retro and modern at the same time. You have likely heard all of Gloria’s advice before. The question to ask yourself is, do you really live/work this way?

Riding with Gloria in Personal Leadership,

– Lorne

One Millennial View: There’s a reason Millennials seek guidance and advice from people like Gloria. It’s true wisdom that can’t really be achieved from a newage textbook, podcast, or YouTube video. Thanks to her great service and willingness to share valuable insight, we’re lucky enough to get a true education 50 years in the making.

– Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Wednesday Q/A on Personal Leadership

Growth mindset Organizational leadership

To our readers,

Welcome to our latest installment of a Lorne Rubis Q/A series. We’ve accumulated some popular leadership questions, and below are Lorne’s answers to them. We plan to release these every-other Wednesday. We’d like to encourage you to participate, see below on how to contribute!

1. “Lorne, I love the insight and candor you offer in your blog. Do you have any public speaking engagements, or offer any leadership workshops outside of ATB, that people can attend and hear your messages in person?”

“Thank you. I often speak at outside engagements although most are by invitation and not open to the general public. I hope to do more public speaking in the future. The events are usually listed on my website. Our podcast is also a way to participate with us. Thanks for your interest.”

2. “Regarding the recent Getting Flatter Than Ever blog, is there a type of new leadership model that you personally prefer more than others? What if the bosses in my organization still practice vertical leadership, and are just fine with that?”

“Your bosses will eventually change because they likely will have little choice. Adaptability and speed to new technology absorption will compel them to flatten. The new, more modern leadership model expects people to be futurists, innovators, technologists and humanists while being strategic and tactical at the same time. Bottom line: Profit only thinking leaders are rapidly going the way of the Dodo bird.”

We hope you enjoyed this Q/A session. We’d like to keep these coming, so if you have any questions, please submit them to CultureCastPodcast@gmail.com, or DM us @CultureCastPod1 on Twitter. We look forward to many more, every other Wednesday.

Children of God

Accountability Community Growth mindset

Key Point: We have a long way to go before achieving ubiquitous diversity/inclusion in organizations, and our everyday experiences provides an opportunity to advance this agenda. We just need to be awake enough to understand this. Boards of Directors can lead the way! So can you and I as we go about our daily routine. We just have to want to look, really see, and constructively act.

I’m taking a course put on by the Institute of Corporate Directors through the University of Alberta and University of Toronto. It’s an awesome program, and a tremendous privilege to be a student. One of the areas of focus for board members is to help management crystallize an organization’s strategic intent. This includes a full exploration of the institution’s approach to diversity and inclusion.

As if on cue to underscore this point, I recently attended a powerful play called The Children of God, at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre. The play is a snapshot of Canada’s ugly and misguided attempt to erase the indigenous culture by sending First Nations people to Residential Schools. The impact has been one of lasting intergenerational trauma. The story on stage is very honest and difficult, and the theater has even made support counselors available for patrons. I’m still thinking about the production.

Personal Leadership Moves:

We have to open our eyes and become more aware. Preconceived notions, biases, and judgment does not advance ALL of us.
Those of us in leadership positions must provide for more insight and inspire action. In the case of indigenous communities, we need to intentionally hire and promote more of them to allow their narrative to complete a richer story for us ALL.
All Canadians (and the rest of our readers) would benefit from reading
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Findings.

Humbled in personal leadership,

Lorne

One Millennial View: I’m happy to note that I’ve always worked in organizations that hire people from all walks of life, every crayon in the box, and I’m willing to bet that many Millennials have similar experiences in their office spaces. It’s great that productions like “Children of God” exist to help raise awareness today. Little known disturbing fact: Writer of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” L. Frank Baum, was once a reporter in South Dakota and wrote an article advocating for the “Extermination of Native Americans” in the 1890s. Those days were incomprehensibly hideous in comparison to today’s, but of course, work still needs to be done. Thankfully, present day yellow brick roads tend to lead more towards inclusivity, not genocide.

– Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Mother Mary and What’s Ahead?

Accountability Growth mindset Transformation

Key Point: My mother Mary is 88 years old and has seen a lot of changes in her life. Yet, relatively speaking, her experience has been mostly linear or incremental over nine decades. The changes in front of us however, will be exponential rather than linear. So what does that mean?

My sweet mom is a hero to me. She had to leave home at the age of 14 because my grandparents could not practically support her and two other children in a one room, log cabin on a ¼ section of scrub and rocks in northern Alberta. She took a train to Camrose, Alberta (which was like going to Mars), and worked as a chambermaid at the Alice hotel. Her room in the hotel was an old closet she cleaned out so she had a place to sleep. She met and married a shy 20-year-old farm boy at 17, and had me at 20. She and Dad lived on a ¼ section and mixed farmed; no power, no running water, outdoor toilet, and no vehicle. My brother arrived three years later and to make ends meet, my dad would try to work in the oil patch in the fall/winter. This meant him being away while my mom single handedly milked eight cows, did all the chores, looked after two infants, lugged water 30 meters from the well to the clapboard house, and navigated brutal winters… All on her own. I can still remember her delight when we moved to the city in 1956, and she walked around our little rented house flicking the light switches on and off. Her story gets even better… We’ll save that for another day. Thank you, Mom!

The startling reality is that the many changes my mom experienced will feel pedestrian compared to what futurists like Peter Diamandis predict. Examine all of Peter’s forecasts by reading his complete newsletter. In the meantime, here’s a dozen that may blow your mind:

“2018:

Quantum Supremacy Achieved: The first demonstration of a quantum computation that can’t be simulated with classical supercomputers is announced.

“2020:

Flying car operations take off in a dozen cities in the world.

The 5G Network unleashes 10-100 gigabit connection speeds for mobile phones around the world.

2022:

Robots are commonplace in most middle-income homes, able to reliably read lips and recognize face, mouth and hand gestures.

All toys are ‘smart’ with built-in machine learning.

2024:

The first private human missions have launched for the surface of Mars.

The first ‘one cent per kilowatt-hour’ deals for solar and wind are signed.

2026:

Car ownership is dead and autonomous cars dominate our roadways.

100,000 people commute by VTOL each day in L.A., Tokyo, Sao Paulo and London.

2028:

Solar and wind represent nearly 100 percent of new electricity generation.

Autonomous, electric vehicles account for half of all miles driven in large city centers.

2030:

AI passes the Turing test, meaning it can match (and exceed) human intelligence in every area.

Humanity has achieved ‘Longevity Escape Velocity’ for the wealthiest.

2032:

Medical nanorobots demonstrated in humans are able to extend the immune system.

Avatar Robots become popular, allowing everyone the ability to ‘teleport’ their consciousness to remote locations all over the world.

2034:

Companies like Kernel have made significant, reliable connections between the human cortex and the Cloud.

Robots act as maids, butlers, nurses and nannies, and become full companions. They support extended elderly independence at home.

2036:

Longevity treatments are routinely available and covered by life insurance policies, extending the average human lifespan 30-40 years.

2038:

Everyday life is now unrecognizable – incredibly good and hyper VR and AI augment all parts of the world and every aspect of daily human life.”

Personal Leadership Moves:

Learn how the be adaptive in an exponential world. How might you prepare to live on a planet that in 20 years is “unrecognizable?”
Mother Mary might have lived most of her life in an incremental world. However, her resilience and adaptive DNA like that within your ancestors, belongs to all of us. We will need to source every ounce of it. Tap into it with confidence. How exciting!

Unrecognizable moves in Personal Leadership,

Lorne

One Millennial View: Some of these are crazier than others, but back when us Millennials were playing Snake II on our Nokia phones, who knew we’d one day be annoyed if we didn’t get something called “free wifi?” Robot nannies, Mars colonization, Longevity Escape Velocity, VTOL commuting and AI passing the Turing test sound pretty nuts… But, then again, I just asked Alexa what time the University of Arizona’s NCAA March Madness basketball game was on tonight.

– Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Wednesday Q/A on Personal Leadership

Growth mindset

To our readers,

1. “Hey Lorne, is it still relevant to get an MBA?”

I am starting to question the investment/return ratio on MBA’s versus participating in transformative offerings available from Singularity University and facsimiles. I think the balance still favors a top notch MBA . However, continuous post secondary learning that increases the ability to drive meaningful transformation, execution, super collaboration, adaptability, impact, inspiration, etc. may be more valuable. One way or another, everyone of us needs to become an evolving combination of futurist, technologist, innovator and humanist. Does an MBA offer all of that? If so, go for it!

Mundare, Alberta & Self-Efficacy

Accountability Contribution Growth mindset

Key Point: The story you tell yourself about you is vital. You ARE the author, and like any good tale it usually has a plot with many ups and downs. How will it end?

Mundare, Alberta, has a population of about 800 folks and is the consummate small, prairie town (and as seen above, renowned for producing celebrated Ukrainian sausage). It has also produced one of the world’s most influential psychologists, Albert Bandura. Two teachers taught Albert every course from grade one to 12. Rather than viewing this as a handicap, Albert framed it as an advantage: He reportedly said, “It enabled me to learn to take responsibility for my own educational development.” In 1977, Bandura published a paper on self-efficacy which changed the way much of the world viewed success and motivation. His work sprung the notion that people with high self-assurance approach difficult tasks as challenges, rather than threats to be avoided. If you believe with every ounce of your being, then you’ll go a long way towards achieving your personal objectives.

People with high self-efficacy are very self-accountable and take steps to make things they want to happen. They do not procrastinate. They start NOW. They raise their hands more, practice more, get it wrong, and try it again. They worry much less about who’s watching or judging. What they DO NOT do is equally important. They do not tear themselves down with self-blame, do not quickly lose confidence, and do not avoid risks. They are resilient and realize it’s never too late to start.

Personal Leadership Moves:

We are all storytellers and YOUR OWN story, the one you tell yourself, is THE most important one.
Great storytellers are made not born. Believe in YOUR story. Write it out! Put it down on paper. Think big and start small… Most importantly, start today.
Work on developing high self-efficacy by being confident and humble. Accept failure and resistance as just experiences that build more confidence, rather than self-defeat. You write a page in your story every day. What will fill yours?

Your story in personal leadership,

Lorne

One Millennial View: I’d like to think I naturally lean towards a self-efficacy lifestyle, but that part of my story would be a bit of a fib. I want to, but for me, it’s a challenge and does not come easy. I have to make an effort to concentrate on these steps. That said, I know it’s worth it. After all, it’s tough to tell your story if you try to fill your pages by tapping your pen on a piece of paper.

– Garrett