Observant

I people watch. A very rewarding pastime. Fun, interesting, instructive.

A person enters the café, finds a seat, looks around at what?...and then sits, scans the menu and makes a selection once the waitress appears at his table. He doesn’t pull out a book, a notepad or a file to review. He just sits there waiting for his food. His gaze rises to the ceiling, then the wall next to him, over to the windows lining the storefront, and finally down at the floor. His eyes do not land on any person. He studies no one in the place. In other words he isn’t doing what I am doing, studying him intently.

I try not to be obvious but I have to observe him. He has become the star player in an imaginary play-let in my mind. I’m conjuring a plot, a story line. And I’m trying to fit him into it. But no; he does not follow any plot line that is handy. He stumps me. Interesting but a personality that I do not understand.

I live in an urban area. Chicago and its suburban surrounds. So, we have traffic and trains and accidents and construction. All of these cause delays. Not to waste time or allow my mind to settle on nothing, I have a book with me at all times. I read. If so moved I write. Wait time is productive time.

Same with my business travel. I had lots of restaurant and hotel time to fill. I often reviewed my clients notes and prepared for meetings and planning sessions. But I couldn’t do that endlessly. So I read a lot. I was thus not lonely when I traveled on business. I found a way to use the alone time productively.

At a family party with extended generations and several age groups people watching is rich. Especially the youngest ones. They mingle with each other easily and when tired move off quickly to pursue something entirely different – alone or with another kid. I don’t recall doing this as a child. I recall being shy and reserved. I followed the leader or sat impatiently until an adult nudged me off to play with the other kids.

Today’s children seem much more animated and involved than my generation was. Or was that just me? Was my shyness masking what others did? I’ll never know. Nor is it particularly important.

Oh, maybe it is. I observe my granddaughters and their interaction with others. They are amazing. They are musical, agile, easy mixers with other people (of all ages!) and have instinctive and curious minds that analyze quickly. There is ample intellect present and it is being exercised. Was I that way when I was their age? Could I even remember this accurately? I doubt it.

A group of retired people working on a project. Each has been a successful careerist in his/her day. All have minds that quickly capture details and forward themes. They buzz about tasks and options to pursue. They are amiable and animated.

But they make decisions slowly, not quite deliberatively, but haltingly and in fits and bursts. Usually some ill-temper appears as points are argued and played out. One can tell egos are involved. So too remembered authority from before retirement when an opinion carried weight and maybe a little more power. So the learning fields are rich to observe in this setting.

Organizational development is present in both volunteer and professional organizations. Also in for profit and non profit settings. OD is instructive and challenging. What makes one organization excel at processing decision making while another stumbles and trips continually? What propels one organization to invent new products, services and cultures while others remain stodgy and mired in the past? How do we reward these two different organizations?

And how do the individuals embraced in each organization fare overall? Do they live lives of expectation, reward, growth and future? Or are they dwarfed, stifled, maintained?

I’d rather live in a challenging environment that is caught up in creating something new and exciting. I wonder how observing these two different organizations would be different and instructive? Boring or interesting?

So many different kinds of people. The interactions of them are even more different. It is why we have different communication styles, different thinking modes, highly differentiated conclusions, and life styles.

No wonder a society as diverse and challenged as America accomplishes so much, and wastes even more! It is not pretty or efficient. But it does make life interesting!

October 19, 2015