One of my three words for the year is “Stretch”. (The other two are “Less”, and “Collaborate”, but that’s a post for another time.)

Stretching is always a good thing. Animals have it right. They stretch continuously – especially when they get up from a nap, or when they are looking for affection. They stretch because it feels good.

Have you ever been sitting at your desk for a few hours, totally engrossed in what you’re doing, then suddenly you try to move? Yep – we’ve all been there. You’re stiff, sore, maybe your foot is asleep. The only solution is to streeetttccchh. Ahh, that’s better. Stretching oxygenates our bodies, releases tension, and if we do enough of it, it makes us more flexible.

I’ve made a commitment this year to stretch more – and that doesn’t mean just by doing more yoga, starting to run (which is a real stretch for me!), or getting away from my desk more often. It’s also about stretching beyond the current lines I’ve drawn around my experiences.

When was the last time you…did some type of work that you haven’t done in ages? Back in the day, I had my hands dug deeply into web site coding. In the mid-late 1990′s, when the web was just getting going, I was HTML and JavaScripting my way through Notepad and Dreamweaver, building sites by the dozen. I learned it all myself – from books and the Web and through the help and support of many brilliant teachers and mentors.

Time went on, and I moved into managing web projects, instead of coding them. I had teams of developers now, who knew far more than me about this stuff (and enjoyed it a lot more too). I focused on what I was good at – working with clients and creating content. I left the techie stuff to the techies. I was grateful that I had learned a thing or two about how web sites worked from a technical perspective – it made me much easier to work with, because I knew what was possible and had a sense of how my wild and crazy ideas could affect the scope of a development project.

As the years went by, the technologies evolved, and, because I was focused on other areas, the new technologies of the web went beyond my capabilities. I was okay with that, though, because I still understood the basics, even if I wasn’t fluent in the new languages of the Web. But, there’s always a part of me that wishes I’d kept up with it.

Skills revisited. Last night, I was working on small web site that required a bit of simple JavaScript in order to work the way I wanted. It had been YEARS since I’d done any kind of scripting like that. Of course, with my skills being so out of date, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to come up with the code I needed myself. I did what any self respecting hack would do, and went to Google to try and figure out how to do it. I was able to get about 80% of the way there, which impressed me. I did have to call in reinforcements to help me nail it down (thanks, Michele!), but once she pointed me in the right direction, I was off to the races.

What’s a skill that you have that you haven’t used in a long, long time? Are you a manager now? How many years has it been since you’ve been “in the trenches”? What would happen if you dove back in, even just for a while?

Once we get into the position where we are managing others, it’s easy to forget what it was like to be doing their job. I work with web designers, developers, videographers and video editors all the time. I manage the teams, guide them, give direction. I feel as if I do it fairly well – at least that’s what I hear from my teams. I think part of my secret, is that I still make a point to play around with simple code, pick up a camera, and edit projects once in a while.

I don’t think I’d be as good a manager as I am if I didn’t exercise my old skills once in a while. Now, our web developers and designers are far more skilled at what they do than I am. I’m a pretty good editor, a pretty good videographer – but I put ultimate trust in my guys, who do it day in and day out. They are better at it than I am – that’s why I pay them.

But if I don’t sit in the trenches once in a while and crack open Final Cut or Photoshop, then I’m doing myself and them a disservice. Putting together that small, simple piece of functionality in that web site last night reminded me of a few things. First, it takes time to make sure it’s right – time that I’m sometimes guilty of not allowing my developers. Second, it’s okay to ask others for help when you need it – one’s pride often gets in the way of getting the job done. Third, coding takes infinite amounts of patience (patience that I don’t have).

Stretch beyond your walls. Stretching is about going beyond those habits we get into. It’s about reaching outside your comfort zone once in a while. It’s about revisiting some old skills, so you can not only appreciate where you’ve come from but so you can appreciate the people who continue to do those things day in and day out. Take some time to get in the trenches, so you can truly understand what your team is dealing with – what are their challenges? How are you making their challenges more difficult? How can you make it easier for them to do their jobs? It will make you a better boss, I guarantee.

How are you going to stretch yourself today?

[photo credit: leshoward on Flickr]

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I’ve recently decided to get really serious about learning to play the guitar better. I have all these friends who are so super talented at it…every time I hear and watch them play I think, “I want to try to do this too.” I may never be as good as this guy, but I am determined to work hard at it.

And as a result, my left hand is killing me.

I’ve never really had much of a relationship with my left hand. I’m very right handed. But now, I have to stretch my left hand beyond the 10 or so chords I’ve known since the 6th grade. I’m learning finger picking, scales, riffs, and all sorts of nifty tricks.

I’m realizing very quickly that in order to have the agility to do these things well, my left hand, which typically doesn’t really listen so well, has to be forced into submission. I have to make it do things that it doesn’t want to do. And I have to make it do them over and over and over again until it starts to behave. I had no idea how many muscles there are in one’s hand. There are muscles in there I didn’t even know I had. I can feel every single one.

And because I can really feel my left hand learning and stretching and growing into its new role, I am now more aware of it than ever. I’m stretching it beyond what I thought it was capable of. And I’m celebrating small successes (3 minor pentatonic scales in a row without a string buzz or screw up!)

I’m also realizing the relationship between my left and right hands now. It’s not just about getting my left pinky to stretch across the frets and land in the right spot. It’s about doing that while my right hand is plucking the correct string. If my hands aren’t willing to collaborate, the whole thing’s a bust.

Finally, I’m also very aware of my time limit with practicing. I did 2 hours the other day without a break. At the end of it, my hands were numb, and my brain wasn’t processing the new things so well. I knew that I’d overdone it. I don’t yet have the stamina built up to play at length, and I need to accept that until my strength is built up, I will have to get by on less.

So there you have it – my 3 guiding words for 2010. Stretch. Collaborate. Less. These three realizations might just be my secret to finally being a better guitar player, but they are in fact, much more.

Stretch. My left hand hurts because I am stretching it beyond what it’s been used to. Stretching means changing the shape and size of what I’m doing so I can do new things. It’s going to be uncomfortable. But it’s also going to get way easier the more I do it. The pain will subside, and then after a while, I’ll be able to see that my hard work has paid off.

Collaborate. The only way to make beautiful music is to get both hands working together. Otherwise, it’s pretty boring. The same can be said for people. Sure, there are a lot of things I want to and can do on my own. Writing this blog, for instance. It’s all mine. But as I review the many goals I’ve set for myself this year, I see that there isn’t much I’m going to want to do without other people in the mix. True collaboration is about bringing smart brains together, and creating things that are remarkable. Whether it’s music, video projects, or other creative endeavours, I have no intention of flying solo this year. It’s going to be all about creating amazing things with other people.

Less. I’ve set an ambitious goal as I fly firmly into my fortieth year. I’m going to work on less, in many aspects of my life. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up all my worldly possessions or anything…but I am going to think about how I can streamline what I do have and simplify things. I’m going to worry less. I’m going to spend less time focused on what has been or what’s coming and focus on now. I’m going to weigh less by eating less and doing more physical activity. I’m going to pay less attention to the negative people and situations that come into my life and more attention to the people and things that are important. I’m going to work with less, so I can have more. Make sense?

Three words. I’ve got them written on my board, just like last year (Connect. Difference. Positive). I’m ready to take on 2010 boldly and without looking back.

How about you?

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