My Life - Jay Heuer

Switching Blogs

2005-11-02T01:02:00.001-05:00

Right, I am moving this blog (I just don't post a lot here) to my own web site, where I can do a few things more: http://www.juergenheuer.com/. You should be able to continue subscribing to it. :-)

Our new Apartment

2005-09-27T13:34:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is, after almost 10 weeks of finishing touches (we got DOORS! last week), it is almost done. Balcony is still missing, and the handles on the doors are temporary, but we are in!

Bedroom

Kitchen

Living

Bath

What can I say? Autostitch is awesome... simply shoot around from the same location (only turning the camera) and it will determine a composite panoramic picture... WOA

A New Beginning

2005-09-15T01:49:00.000-04:00

How strange this is. My wife Sara and I moved to Germany 2 months ago, but only today do I feel like I truely moved in: we got Broadband. What a feeling to be able to listen and talk again to the world.

DSL, 6MB/s (high end for German circumstances), and a .g++ network to enjoy that speed.

Anyway, we are off to Scottland today, to Edinburgh, to meet my brother-in-law Martin, who lives there with his life partner Hillary. Great times about, will be back in a few days. I promise pictures for those that have not been there...

Article: Leadership is Everyone?s Business: Good Managers can Become Great Leaders

2004-12-08T17:01:00.000-05:00

Article: Leadership is Everyone?s Business: Good Managers can Become Great Leaders: "A leader is best
When people barely know that he exists
Not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
Worst of all when they despise him.
'Fail to honor people,
They fail to honor you;'
But of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will all say, 'We did this ourselves.'"

What is leadership

2004-12-08T16:56:00.000-05:00

Managers administer; leaders innovate.

Managers maintain; leaders develop.

Managers control; leaders inspire.

Managers focus on the short-term; leaders always keep the long-term in mind.

Managers ask how and when; leaders ask what and why.

Managers accept the status quo; leaders challenge it.

(Leadership, Hughes, Ginnett, Curphy, 2000).

The Role of a Leader

2004-11-30T14:14:00.000-05:00

A leader is not the person standing in front of the audience.
A leader is the person opening the door to a new room.

Instinct, Insight, or Intuition?

2004-11-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

What is the critical through component of Leadership?

Before, I have talked about the role I see ''Instinct plays''. I have been thinking about this question, and I am beginning to see alternatives.
Is it Instinct, Insight, or Intuition?

Instinct is a more basic, almost animal-like guide. It is born out of the subconcious, not actively under the control of the awaken mind. That makes it very interesting to me (Inspiration and Integrity are very much the same way), but somehow Instinct does not feel right.

So how about ''Insight''? Is that the right element? Insight is the clarity required to make decisions (a crucial alignment with the objectives for Instinct). It is a gentler, more elucidated understanding of the road ahead.

And how about ''Intuition''? Like Instinct, it talks about making decisions without the awakend mind being the driver. Intuition is an advanced concept, the sensing of undercurrents and connections not visible to the nakes eye.

I believe that Intuition is the right word, rather than Instinct (too much of the brute) and Insight (too much of a analytical view).

The Cold Within

2004-11-09T11:39:00.000-05:00

Six humans trapped by happenstance, in bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a sick of wood, or so the story told.

Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back,
For of the faces around the fire, he noticed one was Black.

The next man looking cross the way, saw one not of his church,
And couldn't bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes, he gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.

The Black man's face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the white.

The last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.

Their logs held tight in death's still hand was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without-
They died from the cold within

James Patrick Kenny

The Three I's of Leadership

2004-11-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

Leadership is an emerging concept. It actually consists of three fundamental ingredients.

Integrity
First and foremost a leader has to have integrity. If you cannot trust the person leading you, you will not follow. Leaders rely on the bedrock of trust to drive their agenda. This bedrock is made up of integrity. Knowing what you will do in a new situation by relying on the past is creating a notion of predictablity. Knowing that you can rely on the person to make a judgement that resonates with your own value is important. Knowing that the leader will not sacrifice you for personal gain is important. Integrity is the first ingredient of a leader.

Inspiration
A leader that cannot inspire will never lead his team forward. Uninspired leaders let themselves and their team members get stuck in the ordinary, the mondane, the usual. A leader needs to have the head up to the horizon, pointing our the silver lining on the clouds, the fresh wind, the glory of opportunity around us. A leader needs to make hearts soar, lighten our mood, and give us the unrelenting knowledge that we will prevail nomatter what.

Instinct
A leader needs instinct. A leader need to -know- what to do without councelling with others in every moment. A good leader cannot rely on the relentless guidance of others to leader. Such a leader leads out of the gut, the base of existence, not the brain, the artificial view we call reality. Good leaders will recognize that most important decisions are not made in the head. Planning is good for menial tasks, but tell me: when did you plan to marry your spouse? If you talk to people that have been married for a long time, they will tell you that they -knew- what the other person meant to them. Instinct is the last ingredient of a leader. Without it, a mere steward emerges.

Anyway

2004-11-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

People can be unreasonable, illogical and self centered--- but love them… Anyway
Do good for others, and your motives will be suspect --- but do good… Anyway

Small men with big ideas can be discouraged by big men with small minds --- but think big … Anyway

Give the best you have to give and people will find fault --but give your best … Anyway

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight by well-meaning, thoughtless people---but build … Anyway

If you are successful, you will wind false friends and true adversaries---but succeed… Anyway

Question authority and you will stand alone---but ask … Anyway

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow-- but do good …Anyway

Jim Vandenberg

The Universe is a Wet Noodle

2004-11-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

Try pushing it into the direction you want... it does not work. However, once you figured out that pressure into the direction you want to go is futile, you realize that there are two other ways of getting what you want.

You can try to push from the sides, like a ship sailing against the wind. Very hard to do, takes a ton of effort, and might not actually get you where you need to be.

Or, you can pull. Let the universe determine the direction in which you are supposed to move. Lean back, add energy to the motion, and do not try to steer to much.

I found the second one to be a much better way of living my life. Mind you, that does not mean that I am a lazy sod that lets things come to him. I am in touch with the Noodle, constantly trying to understand in which direction it is guiding me. It is slippery, too, I cannot grab to hard, which means I need to develop the self-respect necessary to lightly hold on to the guiding line.

The Beginning

2004-10-24T16:26:00.000-04:00

I am going to record my thoughts about my life in this blog.