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Author: J Cleveland Payne
Fear Of Mission Creep
When I was getting my start as an Air Force Acquisitions Officer, mission creep was a concept heavily drilled in training sessions. The dictionary definition of mission creep is, “a gradual shift in objectives during the course of a military campaign, often resulting in an unplanned long-term commitment.” As I was dealing with products and their life cycle, my job was to ensure that the products as presented from the finalized prototype did not become and over-budgeted, out of hand, final product.
How hard is it to keep a simple product from becoming a complicated mess? When I was the manager of a software platform, I sat in negotiations between the government engineer that had to sign off on the finished product and the contracted company that would do the work. A typical software release had 35-50 points to negotiate separately, and only on rare occasions, could both sides quickly agree with the workload necessary and skip to a new point. Many points took hours to negotiate.
Why? The government, trying to be a good steward of your money, doesn’t want to waste resources (at least since the late 80’s, and that was still debatable when it comes to large, flashy weapons systems). The contractor wants to get paid and is trying to put as much work for their people as possible without putting themselves on the line to many freebies.
Mission creep, just like all the good military terms and metaphors, has found its way into business speak as well. And it’s the same problem that befuddles many in the tech industry, especially for those building and maintaining apps. Look to Evernote as a prime example. Evernote is an app I love, but the builders and maintainers lost sight of what its core users loved, and began to focus on add-ons and related products that sort-of fit into the mission, and turned a simple application into a complicated mess. Once Evernote started shedding some of the dead weight and not-so-stellar other products, the company saw an instant upswing in use and popularity.
Don’t let mission creep become a problem that slows down your life. It is just as easy for that simple party you begin to plan to become an event worthy of a fairy-tale princess, with a budget that could bankrupt a minor fairy-tale kingdom. Your life is complicated enough without letting too many ‘good sounding ideas’ get in the mix and turn into nightmares.
For Review: Rule #2: Don’t Be A ______ (insert personal expletive of choice)
So for over a decade I have been working on a book that was a collection of tips on how to live your life right. It’s had different titles and different numbers of rules. I’m in the process of getting out of the ‘working on’ and getting into the ‘publishing’ of this book. I am periodically dropping chapters on Medium for review. So…feel free to review.
Rule #2: Don’t Be A ______ (insert personal expletive of choice)
These rules themselves are not meant to weigh so that any one is more important that another. Each rule is written to live on its own. However, I did purposely choose this rule, ‘Don’t be a _____,’ as the lead rule on the list for many reasons. It was difficult to supplant Rule #1 with ‘Don’t Die,’ but that was necessary. ‘Don’t be a _____,’ taking a new reign in the number two spot is also necessary.
The main reason this rule has always held such high regard for me is that the rule itself sounds so much like basic common sense, even if the general populace cannot seem to make the connection.
I wrote this rule (and by wrote I mean I put it in this form) to sound simple. Then again, I suspect you do not remember half of the Speed Limit signs you pass on the way to work.
That is why I am so in love with this rule for those who quickly get it, but it is not flawless. The major problem with putting out a rule like ‘Don’t be a ______’ comes from your particular position in life. To be totally and brutally honest, there are many times in life well it just might pay major dividends to be a _______. I worked through plenty of days personally where from my view at the time, it seemed a whole lot easier just to be a _______ and then move along with life.
Yes, being a _____ is an effective, even if not socially acceptable, production tool. It can actually help you to get more things done, help you keep people moving and focused, and is most effective when used to help keep people away whose full intentions are to keep you from getting things done (because they get something out of being a ______).
Effective, but often not right. At the end of the day, what do you really accomplish by being a _____? How many friends can you really keep if you go around constantly being a _____? How many can you expect to put up with your foolishness if they can’t figure out when you’re going to be a _____ and when you’re not going to be a _____?
The definition of a ____ will vary from person to person. The point will always remain the same. You will definitely know one when you see one, and there presence is rarely a pleasant experience.
The rude abruptness of being a _____ can be an effective, albeit abrasive, motivator. It also has about as much subtlety as using a cattle prod to keep a toddler from wetting the bed. Being a _____ is definitely a quick way to stop the momentum of a group that has found its cohesion. It’s also a quick way to turn someone against you, and generally a quick way to alienate yourself from the rest of humanity.
The quickest way to ensure you will gain a reputation as torturous and will lead a generally unsuccessful life is to spend your life being a ____ and making the lives of all of those around you a living hell. The only thing worse would be to be a ____, and not even realize it. You could actually see yourself as being the opposite, progressing ahead with behavior that is really a complete turn off, while envisioning yourself in a hero-style journey.
You do not have a right to impose your _____-iness on others. Your ugly behavior is a reflection of you and the world you choose to live in.
Despite any positive that could be pulled from being a _____, don’t. Just don’t.
But feel free to substitute _____ with whatever expletive that suits you.
More On Rule #1: Don’t Die
At the original time of this being posted, mortality is weighing heavily on my mind. About a week ago, Lyndae, a former co-worker, and all around bad-ass woman passed away after a short bout with cancer. The bout was short because there wasn’t much of a bout. She was a free spirit and set the terms for everything she did, so she just wanted to have a little more fun before her time was official done. Her wake-of-sorts was last night, with lively music and dancing and mandatory shots of tequila. Yes, mandatory.
Today, the world woke up the news of the death of Scott Weiland, the former lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver. He was 48, and he fell asleep on the tour bus after a gig in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his current band The Wildabouts, and didn’t wake up. That’s all we the public know.
So let’s go back about five weeks. I have been bummed about not releasing a book this year after releasing three last year. Even though most of my books (and the work I post on blogs and Medium) are basically retreated older material, I didn’t have the capacity due to life-circumstance-beyond-my-control to get any work out. And I was extremely bummed about still not having a book to showcase my ‘Rules of Life,’ which at this point is a 13-year-old project in the making.
My Rules of Life is currently a list of 12 life tips that I’ve been trying to puff up into a book-length something. The rules have changed over the years, with the main constant being the original rule, and standing Rule #1 was, “Don’t Be A ______,” with the blank being replaced by your personal expletive of choice. After a two-week health scare, I looked at my barely year-old daughter fumbling around my hospital room, and shifted “Don’t Be A ______” to a permanent Rule #2, and replaced it in the top spot with “Don’t Die.”
I wish I could say I have worked seriously at the process of not dying in the 2+ years since it became my supposed main rule of life. I would like to say it is not my fault, and ‘life’ has done a hell of a job trying to ensure my demise, but I know I can’t honestly blame my lack of focus and discipline on a bad cosmic poker hand. It’s been a rough few years, but I am still in the game, and playing the game is about playing the cards you are death to the best of your ability, not just folding while the pot is low and hoping for a hot hand to show up eventually.
Another current event that has me questioning my usefulness as I am feeling the effects of aging is the treatment of NFL quarterback Payton Manning. Manning owns many league individual records, but only one Super Bowl Championship title. His generational rival Tom Brady has won four with the New England Patriots, and his younger brother has won two with the New York Giants (both against Tom Brady’s Patriots).
What that has to do about not dying? Lyndae’s death gives a view of choosing your terms in your contract with Death, and Weiland is proof that when your time comes, Death is going to collect, Manning shows what most of us truly fear. Lyndae lived a long and adventurous life and didn’t want to soil the memories of last ditch efforts to extend life only to live a newly limited one. The story given on Weiland is that he passed away peacefully in his sleep. Manning is being publicly ridiculed as a 39-year-old man who is ‘too old’ to function at a job where he spent years setting the standard.
The sports cliché of ‘Father Time is undefeated,’ has been said about Peyton Manning a lot this season. And he is proving the cliché to be true. In the end, we all lose our mojo. We all slowdown, and we all will die of something.
There is something to be said of doing more good things and less bad things to enjoy a healthy and hopefully long life. It is foolish to think that even with all that effort, you’ve got all the time in the world. You don’t. No one does.
I just turned 41. I’ve been dealing with not dealing with serious medical issues for years. I’ve got a 20-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter that would like to have a father to be annoyed by/annoy for more time to come. I have a wife who is insisting that we ‘grow old together,’ whatever that mean. And I’ve got an ego to feed, that isn’t ready to let go of a dream, despite that dream being one of the co-conspirators trying to kill me.
My name is John Cleveland Payne. J Cleveland Payne is a horrible pen name, and Jay Cleveland is an even worse radio alter ego. I have been trying to be a successful writer for over 20 years and trying to make a successful effort with a list of ‘Rules of Life’ for about 13. A few years ago, after almost dying, I decided to make a concerted effort not to die. Or more specifically, not be the direct cause of my death.
That’s why rule number 1 is don’t die. Like all my rules, I can’t say I have mastered any, but they seem like good guidelines to ensure a pretty good life.
But I’m really glad to have Miss Lyndae as an example of just how to live. And that when the end is approaching, I too can negotiate exactly how I want my send off to be.
Even more to come on Rule #1, and all twelve current Rules.
Three Types Of People You Should Think Of Giving More To
One of the various famous quotables attributed to Zig Ziglar is, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” This is a statement that has launched many an entrepreneurial journey into a dragon’s lair with no hope of survival.
A good entrepreneur should offer goods or services that fulfill a need. A great entrepreneur is looking to solve a specific problem. All entrepreneurs are looking to help other people in hopes of those people helping out the entrepreneur by handing over their money, but how does this really work?
And who does an entrepreneur needs to help?
Begin With Having The Ability (And Resources) To Help
Another famous quotable repeated universally by airline pilots and flight attendances across the world is, “In the event of an emergency, please put on your oxygen mask before assisting others.” This quickly reminds anyone who might attempt cabin decompression heroics that these isn’t much you can do for anyone but be a burden if you pass out. The same reasoning applies when you decide to hang your shingle across a shop door downtown without the means to produce the goods or services you think could help the masses, and earn you a living. Your product and service, as stated above should at least fulfill a basic need and should aim to solve a real problem of a real customer.
Karma Is About Caring
For a moment, we need to back away from the sales aspect you offer a potential customer and just focus on the value of helping. You always need to help those who can’t help you. Even if you don’t believe in concepts of karma or ‘higher powers’ keeping tabs on us puny humans, there is a power that comes from sending out good energy. You don’t have to give indiscriminately, but you do need to give to people with little to give back to you that you believe are worthy–and can capitalize on–whatever help you can possibly provide. If this sounds a lot like charity, that’s because it basically is. You know how much publicity a good show of charity can generate?
Reciprocity Is The Word
Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with helping a person that can open doors and grant you access special access. Having the ‘universe’ eventually pay you back for your efforts is great. Even better is having a real person for can offer real useful stuff due the ‘Law of Reciprocity,’ which kind of states a mutual exchange of privileges where a person who receives is compelled (by the universe, need to keep their ledger clean, guilt, whatever) to return the favor eventually. Reciprocity does not demand new retail value, but something that inherently useful. Assuming you have offered up something inherently useful to begin with. Just make sure to pay your park back when the Law of Reciprocity is played on you.
Provide Unseen Help For The Unseen And Needy
Offering up help to those unseen is not the hardest to do, but it is very difficult to score for both business and personal concerns. Think of a ‘Pay-It-Forward’ line at a Starbuck’s drive-thru or feeding parking meters in front of City Hall (which is actually illegal, and will cause more trouble than it is probably worth if you get caught). Why would you offer up hard earn stuff to the ether to not even know if it gets used possibly? Mostly, just because. Because you can, because it feels good, because the opportunity just arose at the right time. Because you got stuck doing it and didn’t want to look like a jerk, which is what you look like if you break a ‘Pay-It-Forward’ chain. You have every right not to give to the questionable those, but be prepared for a short bout of public shaming.
How Much Help Are You Offering To The World?
Think about the butterfly effect, the thought that a butterfly flapping its wings in Detroit can eventually become a dust storm in Phoenix (a haboob!) The thought about free and cheerful giving by one single person snowballing into world peace is a pipe dream for sure, but having the ability and willingness to give a little back in gratitude for all that you have been given not only makes sense for you as a person. It can add up to real, tangible dollars as a business owner when word of your generosity spreads between grateful and impressed customers.