Tag Archive for 'planning'

Carla’s Journal (7/26/10) – “Plan Be”

carla published on July 26, 2010 in superforest journal and zeitgeist. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

SuperForest,

Ah, It feels so great to be writing again. As you’ve probably noticed, the past few weeks have been spent updating the site and tending to some of the behind-the-scenes details that needed attention. Surprisingly enough (or maybe not), it was during this time of inaction from the blog that I learned a valuable lesson on how I should be treating the way SuperForest, as a whole, is run. You see for me, when I think about ways to improve SuperForest, my mind, by default, goes towards brainstorming, organizing, and planning (just take a look at my polaroid on the sidebar, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise). It’s a personal characteristic (and sometimes flaw) of mine that I’ve shared before. Now, I’ve never considered myself to be very controlling of others, but I do tend to get a little nervous when I feel I don’t have control over my own life and uncertainty, for me, tends to be a bit of a scary thing.

So there I was, concentrating my efforts on things like “efficiency” and “progress” when all of a sudden, I came across an interesting article titled “Anarchy as Management Style“. My curiosity was sparked. Business managers would probably know a thing or two about efficiency and progress, but how could something like “anarchy” be of any value in that field?

I read on…

Smart leaders gather great people and simply let them do. No bulky chains of command. Few rules and lots of play. Failure encouraged. Persuasion valued over coercion…Biological evolution, after all, has produced millions of successful species through random tries, countless failures and fast adaptation. It’s unpredictable, messy and prolific. Not a bad business model all in all.

And then I laughed.

Perhaps the reason why I’ve constantly felt at a loss when it comes to how to organize something like SuperForest and make it more functional is because I’m not supposed to. And applied to a greater scale, perhaps a theory such as this could make things like “uncertainty” seem a lot less menacing if I replace them with words like “trust”.

I call this new method of handling things, “Plan Be”.

And while I still appreciate and can never fully let go of my organized ways of handling things, I’m pretty sure it is possible to find some sort of balance. it definitely seems like it’s worth a shot. I mean, who am I to question millions of years of biological evolution, right?

You can find the full text of the “Anarchy as Management Style” article, here!

Your fellow be-ing,
Carla

Carla’s Journal (4/13/10): “Thank You, Vivos!”

carla published on April 13, 2010 in superforest journal and zeitgeist. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , .

“You and your loved ones are invited to survive the next earth devastating catastrophe, terrorist or nuclear attack. Vivos is the life assurance solution for your family, to survive for up to one year in an autonomous, hardened and nuclear blast proof, underground shelter. We invite you to join us and a community of 200 people, as a co-owner of the Vivos survival shelter complex closest to your home area from our planned network of 20 shelters. Where else would you go with just a few days’ notice?

You cannot predict, but you can prepare for the immediate future and beyond.”

SuperForest,

The quote above is taken from the words written on the home page of the “Nationwide Underground Shelter Network for Survival of Future Catastrophes” that is Vivos. As I was navigating the site, I stared at the screen in disbelief. Never before had I seen such explicit fear tactics be used as a way to get consumers to purchase a product or a service. Essentially, Vivos is a company that is offering “deluxe” bunkers (concrete cells) for anyone willing to pay for safety come the event of the end of the world or any major world catastrophe.

Check it out:

Wow, those 3 minutes felt like hours. Crazy intense, no? The website takes it even further with a countdown clock and death icons floating about on the bottom of the page. When I regained my senses after my initial “Vivos” shock, I soon came to realize that this company represents a major (major) exagerration of one of my own personal flaws.

By nature, I am a planner. And though there is nothing wrong with this, a big problem of mine is that I tend to get caught up in worrying about the future. Most of the time, I don’t really let it get to me but many times, I’ve found my lack of presence to be the cause of a lot of uneccesary tension in my life. I’m fully aware that this is wrong, and I’m working to improve this habit, but years of conditioning have turned it into a bit of a nasty habit.

The Vivos company is a planner, too. And in their case, they are planning for future scenarios so obscure, and so out there, that it seems almost comedic. I thought to myself, “Preparing for ambiguious future catastrophic events? But that’s crazy!” I mean, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to…

finish
this
sentence.

Phew! I made it! And that’s the biggest gift a funky company like Vivos can give us. We all know our time on this planet is limited. And I know I definitely don’t want to spend that time freaking out about future scenarios that might not ever happen.

So I took the liberty of recreating their tagline:

“You cannot predict, but you can choose to enjoy the immediate future and beyond”

Much love to all,

Carla

(via the gem that is Yewknee)

A Positive Thought…

carla published on October 10, 2008 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

It’s amazing how you find words of wisdom when you need them the most. What’s even more amazing is how words of wisdom sometimes have the ability to find you. A few days ago, I was feeling overwhelmed with all of the stuff I had to do that day (A feeling I’m sure all of you have experienced at least once). Amidst my personal panic my sister came across a piece of paper deep within the dark confines of a forgotten purse. “Here, this is for you” she said and handed me the folded message.

This is what it read…

Planning brings your future into the present.

“It isn’t enough just to want something. You’ve got to ask yourself, “What am I going to do to get the things I want?”

You’re going to need a plan.
Your problem is to bridge the gap that exists between where you are now and the goals that you need to reach.
With a definite step by step plan, you cannot fail because each step will carry you closer to your next step, like a track.
All you need is the plan, the road map and the courage to press on to your destination.
Knowing where you’re going is all you need to get there.
You can’t get lost on a straight road.”
-Author Unknown

Putting aside the initial “creepiness” factor of the whole story, it was a pretty neat thing to read. So maybe this too will find you in a time of need.

Have a great weekend!
Namaste.