Thinking Faster

What's on your office Wall? Joe

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Joe sent over a number of items that inspire and motivate him.  He says:

When I need a boost in the midst of the daily grind, I think you will appreciate the progression of my "walls" too ...

1. The picture "office wall 1 - the quagmire of my day job.jpg" is what I deal with morning, noon, and night: two computer screens, a couple of cell phones, etc, which when it starts to overwhelm me and blind me, I simply rotate my chair to the right and look up ...

2. The picture "office wall 2 - where i look to gain perspective.jpg" is where I gain perspective, freedom of thought, and clear the clutter of my mind - or think freely.  Here you see that my office overlooks Lake Michigan, a glimpse of the architectural genius of the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World, Lakefront pedestrian traffic, Lakefront vehicle traffic, ETC., and then when I am ready, I continue to rotate to the right where I have on my office wall ...

3. The picture "office wall 3 - where i look to gain an approach.jpg" which is a print out of "Things to ask in any business review", which I think I pulled from Harvard Business Online, and takes me back to "what is the end goal here", "what are we doing differently", "how is this executing on our strategy", and "what would i do with this if I were a VC"

So in conclusion:

1.  I have the perfect office wall for me to gain inspiration and perspective and I am fortunate that my office came with it: what I see outside my window, which can get even cooler (no pun intended) as depicted in my "bonus pic" to you.

2.  While it may be a little too tactical, I have three "walls" that progressively get me through my "day job"

Joe is lucky enough to have a window that looks out over Lake Michigan, so he can be forgiven for his lack of photos or cartoons.

 

And, for further inspiration, the questions to ask about your business from HBR:

What's on your office wall? Alex

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Alex sent along one quote and one picture.  His quote:

Tenacity is to success what water is to life

His picture is of a military unit.  He says:

The pictures shows a team of soldiers out on a mission which as everything else in life is a journey one must complete.

What's on your office Wall? Mark

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today's post comes from Mark, who is an administrator at a private school.  He says:

My goals for the week, month, year. So I always know what we're trying to get done!

What's on your office Wall? Eric

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today's post is from Eric, an innovation leader in a large health care firm.  Eric writes about the picture:

I saw this image as an ad in a magazine - ironically for a product I can't remember - and it just spoke to me.  It reminds me that we have to continually question our initial reactions and assumptions about what is "innovative" and make sure we understand how it truly is (or isn't).  The tag line "so what" reminds me exactly what we never want to hear when we present a new idea and motivates me to work hard to develop every concept to its fullest potential.

I'll never look at sheep the same way again.

What's on your office Wall? Seth Godin

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today's graphic comes from Seth Godin, who needs no introduction.  Seth shared the following graphic with me:

You can find this cartoon and others from the artist here.  For those of you who have read LinchPin, this choice of Seth's is a no brainer. 

What's on your office Wall? Kyle

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today's graphic comes from Kyle, a good friend and unexpected history buff.  Kyle has a letter that Abraham Lincoln wrote to General Joseph Hooker while Hooker was in charge of the Union forces during the Civil War.  Kyle writes that the letter impresses him because:

Besides just appreciating Lincoln’s clever style of simultaneously admonishing Maj Gen Hooker while setting clear expectations for his new command of the Army, this letter reminds me of the power of respect. Commanding respect only comes with giving respect. Lincoln respectfully leads Hooker to understand his role in the cause.

Lincoln contributed mightily to the success of the war.  Hooker was quickly driven from command and only lent his name to the women who followed the army.

In the letter Lincoln tells Hooker that he (Lincoln) has given command to Hooker, and yet Lincoln has several concerns.  He recognizes that Hooker is ambitious and has self-confidence.  He understands Hooker is a good soldier and does not mix politics with his profession, which had been a problem with some of the preceding generals.  However, Hooker had been spreading rumors and failing to adequately support the previous general, Burnside.  Lincoln is reminding Hooker that the army needs leadership and that the government will do everything it can to support him.

What's on your office Wall? Saul

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today's submission is from Saul, a noted innovator and conversationalist.  Here's what Saul has to say about what's on his office wall:

In my case I have a big map which is a visualization of human history over the last 5000 years.  It is there because 1) I love maps 2) it's a great discussion starter: people who see it always comment 3) It reminds me of how late the US is to the global party, putting things into perspective and 4) it is a nice mix of cartography and art.

What's on your office Wall? Jon

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today we have an image from Jon.  Jon slightly violated the theme that the pictures weren't supposed to be about kids and family.  He sent me the picture of his daughter playing soccer (below) but explained his choice this way:

I keep this photo of my daughter above my desk.  It was taken at her school’s annual soccer grudge match between the boys and girls.  The boys always dominate, with the week leading up to the contest being filled with taunts and smack talk.  The girls—although nervous and somewhat resigned—gamely apply facial war paint and take the field.  Her obvious grit in the face of overwhelming odds reminds me that, sometimes, you just need to rear back and let ‘er fly.

Looking at that face with the grimace and the war paint - I wouldn't mess with her either.

What's on your office wall? Todder

This is a continuing series of blog posts about what's on your office wall that gives you inspiration or encouragement.  The original post, where I shared my office wall, is here: original post

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today's entry is from Todder.  Todder is an idea guy and ideas leap from his office walls.  Here's what Todder has to say about what's on his wall:

I get a tremendous amount of energy from the things I put on my office walls.  Things that I like to put up are graphic in nature (picture graphic, not gross graphic), pictures, colors, funny or energizing sayings, quotations, or jokes.  I surround myself with a different world than the one I work in. It makes my beige space and the beige existence of corporate life so much more bright and creative and energetic and fun.  I literally feel like the walls and the many colors provide me energy and help me maintain a creative center. Its a little strange, given that I work for a large bank in R&D, rather than for a large agency as an Art Director.  Sometimes I get teased about it.  While I agree it can look like a 14 year old girl's room, I don't care.  Its creative and its a refuge for me.  If I had to empty out my cube and work with no pictures on the wall, I'd go crazy.

Here's a shot of the images in his workspace:

A couple of favorites:  A picture of the office of the future:

And:  why you should never put anything off.

What's on your office Wall? Monty

I'm glad to say I've already received several submissions from the readers of this blog who were interested in sharing what they have on their office wall.  Remember I'm interested in graphics or pictures or sayings that are posted on your office wall that inspire you, and the reasons why they inspire you.

Here's the original post.

And you can email me a picture of your wall with a short synopsis of what's there and why it matters to: 
whatsonyourofficewall at gmail dot com.

Today I'll offer up a photo of what's on Monty's wall.  Monty is a good friend who is interested in "in sourcing", outsourcing technical jobs but doing so in the US.  His picture is actually a newspaper clipping, showing that IBM is outsourcing jobs to workers overseas.  Monty is trying to bring those jobs back to the states.