January 16, 2005

Lombardi Time

I was fifteen when I began volunteering at the Durham Lakewood YMCA with the Leaders Club. To me, joining the Leaders Club was one of the most exciting things I did in my young life. Working with the Summer Day Camp as a Leader, I found myself faced with unexpected responsibilities and an unparalleled comradeship. The staff and the situations challenged us to rise above average teenager actions. We were happy to work the long hours and enjoyed the distinction between the Leaders Club teens and the other YMCA teenagers. It was as a Leader at Blue Ridge Leaders School (BRLS) when I first learned of Lombardi Time.

Each August, in return for our time and efforts, the YMCA sent every Leader who met certain qualifications to BRLS. The mission of BRLS is to develop teaching and performance skills, build self-esteem, and leadership qualities; enhance leadership training; and strengthen values that foster the essential unity of sprit, mind and body for all. It was at Leaders School where characteristics like respect, honor, and leadership were developed and encouraged by a group of individuals who believed in what they taught and that by holding us to a higher standard we would rise to meet it. Our instructors took Coach Vince Lombardi’s strategy and rigorously applied it to our time at BRLS.

To be on Lombardi Time, you should be 15 minuets early for everything. If you show up on time for your 8:00 o’clock meeting then, according to Lombardi Time, you are late. To be on time you should have been there at 7:45. Some might consider this extra fifteen minutes wasted. However, the idea behind Lombardi Time is to use the extra time to catch your breath and prepare for the next task. In Lombardi Time, being late is not an option. If you are late, you are disrespectful to the coach, the team, and yourself.

As participants at BRLS, some of us felt it was unfair to expect this level of performance, especially when you only have 15 minuets to get from soccer, at the bottom of the mountain, to volleyball, at the top of the mountain. However, our respect for our instructors and the satisfaction of successfully completing a challenge motivated us to walk a little faster up the mountain.

BRLS engrained Lombardi Time into my moral constitution. This is not to say that for everything I do, I am 15 minutes early. I am only human, and lateness certainly has its place among my many faults. However, you can rest assured that when I am late, there is a voice in the back of my mind reminding me of Lombardi Time and encouraging me to walk faster up the mountain.

Lombardi Time is a strategy applicable to all aspects of life and used in numerous time management courses for students and professionals. Professionally, it is essential that we not only arrive on time, but also come prepared for whatever the task might be. In our personal lives, it is also important to demonstrate our respect for our friends and family by not keeping them waiting.

Fashionably late is a version of lateness that only applies to parties where those attending are not waiting for your appearance to begin the celebrating. In our growing global environment, it is important to acknowledge that there are cultural differences regarding lateness. However, it is expected that when in a foreign country, individuals embrace the cultural distinctions and strive to live within those guidelines. For well-traveled individuals, it is completely inappropriate to uses cultural differences as a excuse for lateness. Lateness is a blatant sign of disrespect. When one person is late, everyone involved is affected.

I have recently returned from a conference where I witnessed a complete disregard for time management. It was disappointing to see so many of my peers behave is such a way that signified total disrespect for the conference speakers. First impressions are important professionally and personally. You can discover a lot about a person by watching how they arrive to a meeting. Old habits die hard and I am glad that someone took the trouble to explaining Lombardi Time to me at an early age.

Posted by arosenst at 08:52 AM | Comments (1)

Week One Exercises

Exercise 1.1
Rewrite the sentenced to say the same thing with fewer words.

1. We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.
2. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus.
3. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Exercise 1.2
Write a sentence for each of the words in the parings of words below.

1. ambiguous Due to the busy day, the secretary was ambiguous as to the time the CEO’s husband called.
2. ambivalent The CEO was ambivalent about the secretary’s ability to handle details.

1. healthy It is important to eat a healthy diet.
2. healthful Biking and skiing are healthful activities, while pie eating contest are not.

1. conscience The lawyer’s conscience prompted her to make an anonymous tip to the police.
2. conscious The lawyer was conscious that this decision jeopardized her right to practice law.

1. apprise The accused was relived when the jury apprised her of her not guilty verdict.
2. appraise Her lawyer was not worried; having appraised the evidence he was confident in a not guilty verdict.

1. disinterested She was disinterested in baseball and neutral as to the winner of the game.
2. uninterested Her friend however was totally uninterested in the game and wanted to leave.

1. affect Technology is affecting the way people communicate today.
2. effect Technology has had a positive effect on the way people communicate today.

Exercise 1.3
Re-write the following two sentences to make them active and descriptive.

1. Frustrated with the latest offer, the labor leaders began the strike.
2. She walked in the room, sat down and looked at me without saying a word.

Exercise 1.4
Think of more clichés.

1. Every cloud has a silver lining
2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
3. Live and learn
4. Live and let live
5. Easy as pie
6. Slippery little sucker
7. Favorite Cliché sites: http://www.clichesite.com/

Exercise 1.5
Describe the Internet using analogy in two different sentences, each with a different emphasis in meaning.

1. An electronic library, the Internet is reminiscent of an endless library with sites for books.
2. The Internet is like butler, trained to assist you in finding everything you might need.

Exercise 1.6
Re-write the following to make them parallel in structure.

1. US Airways promises a bounty of on-time flights, convent connections and well-balanced in-flight meals.
2. Heroes in movies are always wealthy, always get the girl, always ware high fashion and always arrive at the scene two seconds after the bad guy has left.
3. Speaking of movies, telephones in movies are always knocked over by waking characters, are answered by the third ring, and are restored by tapping on the cradle.

Posted by arosenst at 08:49 AM | Comments (5)