Understanding Good Works

Wisdom is the principal thing…

and with all thy getting,

get understanding.

(Proverbs 4:7)

I have had the pleasure of taking a plethora of personality tests. The premise was that people who did not know me would have me answer a battery of questions, and based on my responses, he or she could assess how I might fit and function within an organizational culture. Off the top of my head, I recall tools used like the Meyers-Briggs type indicator (where I was classified as an INTJ, which stood for introverted, intuitive, thinking, judging personality type); the DISC assessment (for which I do not remember whether I was a more dominant, influential, steady, or conscientious type); and the CORE multi-dimensional awareness profile.

For the sake of time and space, I will not debate the pros and cons of any of these assessment tools. I will, however, use CORE to provide a summary of what each personality type may indicate. For example, words used to describe:
Commanders are ambitious, focused and extremely task-driven.
Organizers tend to be linear and logical.
Relators are loyal, trustworthy and caring.
Entertainers are enthusiastic, charismatic and energetic.

To learn more, visit https://www.coremap.com/

In looking at the descriptors, it is easy to understand that no one is all of any of the above all the time. My resentment with these tools was that I never accepted an assignment to a particular box or quadrant. I adjusted my fit and performance contributions to the situation. In my current season as a business owner, I can transform into any and all of these personality types in one meeting, depending on what I am attempting to accomplish!

I used the example of personality test to illustrate what I am learning on this journey of discovering my purposed work. The tools that worked successfully before may be irrelevant in new dimensions of work. In the past, I thought people sought my help because of my technical competency in manufacturing and my work ethic as the “go-to girl” who knew all the details that no one else considered important. These days, neither of these matter as I find myself doing more creative type of works than I ever imagined. Information requires revelation, so when I prayed, I received the spiritual instruction to stop seeking the external perspective of how others saw me and expected me to work. Instead, I am discovering new skills and talents. Wisdom helps me to see new possibilities.

Carl Jung’s work is the architecture from which many of these personality tests are derived, so it is only fitting that I use one of his quotes about the importance of understanding self in discovering your good works. What’s hidden inside of you waiting to be awakened for you to live in your purposed work? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

It Really is Good Works

That’s why we can be so sure that every detail

 in our lives of love for God is worked into something good

(Romans 8:28, MSG)

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. Actually, I have a love-hate relationship with technology gadgets. Devices that were meant to make my life easier have consumed my life to a point that I am missing out on life. Take for example that my GPS has become so critical to my travel that I no longer recognize milestones and monuments along the way of getting to my destination. Or the fact that my smart phone manages everything from the time that I get up daily to what I eat and drink to reminders of who I need to call to say Happy Birthday, except, without my telephone, I can’t, because I no longer have anyone’s number committed to memory.

I have reached a point where I am ready to disconnect from gadgets and some forms of social technology. I was inspired this morning as my husband and I were getting dressed. We were having a casual conversation when he heard his blackberry buzzing in the other room. He went to get it, but stopped talking mid-sentence, to respond to an email. In what felt like forever, I had flashbacks of interrupted meals, or our non-engaged teenager, or myriads of other personal irritants caused by my family’s addiction to gadgets. Then I went out for my morning walk and I had a meltdown: I refused to hit the START button to begin tracking my steps for the day.

I have become so obsessed with reaching 10k steps per day that I no longer enjoy exercise. So this morning, I walked just to walk. I noticed how much our neighborhood had transformed since the fall and how signs of spring were evident. Without the reminder of a clock, I decided to do something different, so I grabbed my hula hoop and jump rope and spent some time in the backyard exercising the way I used to enjoy it when I was a kid. Let's Move!!! #GimmeFive! And I had time to think about why today was so special.

Technology is good and really drives productivity improvements. As busy as we are, we cannot allow gadgets to cause us to miss out on the important details in our lives, purposed works, and relationships. I took some time to disconnect from gadgets and enjoyed the goodness of childhood exercise…and remembered, without the aid of my phone that today would have been my Big Daddy’s 111^th birthday. And to honor his memory, I am treating myself to ice cream and not scanning it into my smart phone app! Yes, all things, even detaching from my dependence on technology gadgets in order to really live life, work together for good. Do you have tips to share with others for disconnecting from technology? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Women of Good Works

Where are the women on our American currency?

March is Women’s History Month. This thirty-five year old tradition began as a weeklong celebration of generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet proved invaluable to society.  Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”  To learn more about comprehensive contributions catalogued by the Library of Congress, visit: 

http://womenshistorymonth.gov

 

Social media plays a large part of creating buzz around current events. Last week, the hashtag #WomensHistoryMonth was trending on Twitter.  I clicked on several tweets and came across an interesting on-line campaign to change the face on the $20 bill from Andrew Jackson to a pioneering woman. A group, Women on 20s, has defined their mission to generate an overwhelming people's mandate for a new $20 bill, to be issued in time for the 100th anniversary in 2020 of the Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. The privilege of voting can be honored by casting a vote from a slate of 15 inspiring American women heroes, including

Francis Perkins

Sojourner Truth‎

Alice Paul

Betty Friedan

Shirley Chisholm

Rachel Carson

Barbara Jordan

Margaret Sanger

Patsy Mink

Clara Barton

Harriet Tubman

Susan B. Anthony

Eleanor Roosevelt

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Rosa Parks

In the spirit of elections, the effort includes mock images of what the highest vote-getter could look like on the $20 bill. Additionally, the Primary Round allows participants to vote for three candidates on the ballot.  The top 3 vote-getters advance to the Final Round.

Image from the “Women on 20s” Campaign

 

To learn more, or to cast your vote, go to

http://www.womenon20s.org/primaries

My research on @WomenOn20s introduced me to a new she-ro, Barbara Ortiz Howard. With the Women On 20s campaign, she aims to literally raise the profile of a woman in a male-dominated field. Barbara is taking her purposed work to new dimensions by asking: isn't it time for #genderequality on our money? Will you participate? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

 

Faith without Good Works...

…faith by itself is dead

if it doesn't cause you to do any good things

(James 2:17)

I am so glad that February is over. Within my circle of friends, it seems to be the peak to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), where otherwise high functioning, productive leaders fall into this funk about the current state of their lives. Perhaps it is the lack of sunlight or the inclement weather that zaps the energy, leaving self reflective time to feel sad. To prevent myself from having the winter blues, I purposely use the inside time to journal about where I am and what I plan to do (when the weather breaks) to reach my goals.

Every product or practice began as a thought. I remember when I started to have serious thoughts of leaving my corporate job. It was during a period of the frustration when my natural work did not feed my passion. I thought about an exercise that I learned at a leadership conference. The attendees were asked to consider the following questions:  

What drives you?

What disturbs you?

What do you disturb? 

Your passion and purposed work should reflect what triggers you to want to do good things.

Wanting to do good works is a first step that must be followed up by actions that demonstrate wanting and planning to achieve the goal. It is natural to become overwhelmed with the details of how and when, or the doubts of fear or failure. That’s why drive and passion so important in a faith journey. In the words of Margaret Shepard: sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith. Keep pushing to move forward.



Image selected from the “Because of Them, We Can” Campaign
http://www.becauseofthemwecan.com/

So it is March and I have shifted into consultant mode. When my friends call and the conversation feels depressive, I turn into a coach: What drives you? What disturbs you? What do you disturb? Stop thinking about and do something. You will never get past the sadness of not living on purpose. What are you claiming by faith and working to achieve in good deeds? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

 

 

Transformed Thoughts of Good Works

Do not conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve

what God’s will is—

His good, pleasing and perfect will.

(Romans 12:2)

Have you ever witnessed your personal flip-flop on an issue? Have you ever been for something, until you were against it? Were you divided by corporate, fiscal obligations rather than moral, community responsibilities? These are the questions fueling my struggle in having a definitive position on the Keystone Pipeline.

I first became aware of promises of oil sands, or tar sands, in 2008. I was working for a Fortune 1000 industrial manufacturing company. We had a wear resistant technology that provided productivity gains in the processing and transporting of bitumen in the mines of Alberta Canada. I worked in Strategic Marketing, as an internal consultant to business unit leaders, evaluating the potential risks and financial rewards for investing resources into this adjacent energy sector. Back then, I was a proponent of oil sands, conforming to the thoughts of energy giants like Shell and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, who were forecasting an economic boom.

Fast forward to 2011 and I was an entrepreneur opening a manufacturing consulting office in Port Arthur, TX--the terminal destination of a proposed pipeline to transport oil sands crude from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast ports and refineries. Our first ad in the local business journal ran in the same issue headlined by a story of protesters targeting the Keystone XL Pipeline.  I attended a community meeting as a member of the chamber of commerce, supporting the promise of jobs and economic stimulation expected from constructing the pipeline. What I walked away from that meeting with were alternate thoughts on the negative impacts on the community, both environmentally and economically.  This ignited my internal struggle as an industrialist vs. a concerned community citizen and the ongoing battle between my support of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.  Most importantly, I wanted to know more about the real jobs numbers, both temporary and permanent.

Collage made from September 2011 issue of the  Port Arthur  Business  Journal

To read more on the jobs debate, read the argument presented by TransCanada, the company pushing for the pipeline expansion:  

http://keystone-xl.com/its-time-for-a-better-discussion-about-jobs/

Where do I stand on support of the Keystone Pipeline today? Admittedly, my support has transformed based on having different information and personal experiences.  I have watched local citizens not get jobs in favor of work crews temporarily relocated from other parts of the country. I have witnessed the destruction left behind when a pipeline unexpectedly bursts (re Mayflower, AR in 2013). And I have become weary of the current political debate that fuels more separation rather than solutions toward a real jobs plan. My faith lets me know that regardless of who is in the White House, one day we will know His good and perfect will on this matter. What are your thoughts on the Keystone Pipeline? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

A Promise of Good Works

And this shall be a sign to you,

You shall eat this year such as grows of itself;

and the second year that which springs of the same:

and in the third year

sow you, and reap, and plant vineyards,

and eat the fruit thereof.

(Isaiah 37:30)

 I do not know what is about being in Arkansas that makes me write as if my life experiences were a metaphor for agriculture: sowing, reaping, planting, harvesting… I digress. Ever felt like you were in a wilderness, a place where nothing seems to grow? Sometimes, you simply have to weather the seasons, do the work, and continue to plant and sow until the harvest. Succeeding at anything in life, like farming, is a process that is not for the faint.  However, you keep toiling, looking for the sign of the fulfillment of the prophecy, or the promise…

Are you familiar with the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp? The camp provides 48 rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students the opportunity to enhance their proficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education while living on a college campus - all at no cost to the child or family. I became aware of this program sponsored by The Harris Foundation when we lived in Beaumont and knew some of the beneficiary attendees from the Lamar University camp. Well, the twenty sites for the 2015 camp season have been announced. I am glad to see that the University of Arkansas – Little Rock is one of the named camp locations. (NOTE:  I am still researching to see which school districts are recruiting students for the competitive 48 spots.)




Summer 2015 Summer Science Camp Sites

To be eligible to apply, students should:

• Be members of a traditionally underserved and underrepresented population;
• Be entering 6th, 7th or 8th grade in the fall of 2015;
• Have a GPA of at least “B” overall in mathematics and science;
• Score at the median to superior level on standardized mathematics and science tests;
• Write a 250-word essay describing their interest in the camp and STEM;
• Be interviewed, if deemed necessary;
• Have exhibited an interest in mathematics and science; and
• Have strong recommendations from their current mathematics and science teachers.

To learn more, visit http://theharrisfoundation.org/sitecontent/565/summer-science-camp/category/457/education.aspx

 
The science camp opportunity reminds me of my first exposure to opportunities in STEM related fields. I did not attend my first on-campus camp until the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, but I remember how the experience motivated me to toil harder. Imagine the promise that lies ahead for the students who are exposed and graced to attend these camps in the 6th, 7^th, or 8^th grades! Imagine the promise of how this type of engagement could change the trajectory of children who live in the wilderness of those underserved, underrepresented communities and populations!  If not this camp, how can we advocate to get more of our young people exposed and engaged in other STEM focused camps? What are you doing in your local community in teaching children that it is never too early to begin toiling and working toward the promise of good works? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/


Strength for Good Works

I will lift my eyes to the hills,

from which comes my help and strength…

(Psalm 121:1)

http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/. 

For all who have emailed or asked about the status of the Purposed Work blog, let me assure you: I’M BACK!!! My lived experience is that it takes a solid year to adjust to a new community. In trying to balance the requirements of being a working wife and mother, a business owner, and a blogger, something had to give. Temporarily, I made the decision to use the time committed to the maintaining a blog to making sure that the needs of my family were exceeded. All is well and I am back with a renewed commitment to using this platform to advocate for workforce readiness for careers in industrial manufacturing.

In taking care of my family, I also took a little time to focus on me. It is no coincidence that I chose today to begin blogging again. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary since my last post; while today, I pay homage to Whitney Houston, whose song became one of my anthems during the period of rediscovery:

 

I didn't know my own strength

And I crashed down and I tumbled but I did not crumble

I got through all the pain

I didn't know my own strength

Survived my darkest hour, my faith kept me alive

I picked myself back up, hold my head up high

I was not built to break

I didn't know my own strength

My strength grew from a personal experience with mercy, which I heard described as the outward ability to deal with pain. Pain comes in different forms. My pain came through trying to force a fit in a community that was not ready to embrace the type of works in which we advocate. No worries… stepping outside our comfort zone, or in this case, across a county line, we found the audience and market needed to grow where we are planted, in order to educate and prepare young people for careers in manufacturing.

For the past year, I rediscovered the source of my strength. Sometimes, temporarily stepping away from something you enjoy frees you up to rediscover what you are purposed to do. Expect to see more information shared, not simply about career options, but more specifically, who’s hiring and how to get the skills need to qualify for those jobs. Do you want to pass on information about industrial manufacturing activities in the area? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

 http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/whitneyhouston/ididntknowmyownstrength.html