My hero fell, but he taught me to soar.

Text from mom at 8:36 AM on 4.30.13

Ur gpa is n ICU @ Madera hospital. He is giving up. N a lot of pain + just wants to die. He talked to the nurse about suicide. He just wants to go.

My grandpa was about 40 years old when I was born. Pretty young to be a grandpa. I was the first grandkid and admittedly the best. I was spoiled and loved. I grew up seeking safety and my grandparents provided that. My grandpa didn’t really know much about emotions, but his knew how to love me. I changed him. Before I was born, he view towards minorities was this: “I’ll work with them, but I don’t have to like them.” I don’t blame him for this mindset. I chalked it up to generational influences. But that changed when he held his half black, half white, born to a teen mom out of wedlock with a dad who was never to be seen or heard from again.

Everything I knew about a dad or father figure, I learned from his example. He carried a black lunch box with a red thermos. He always shaved at night and would run his electric razor over my face so I could shave too. I still remember how warm it felt on my skin and how warm I felt inside. Then he’d slap me in the face with a palm full of Aqua Velva and I’d smell great. He had a green recliner and each night my grandparents would pop popcorn. We’d side together and watch Little House on the Prairie or Hee Haw. On Sunday, we’d come home from church and watch football. He’d fall asleep, my grandma would turn the channel, he’d wake up and say that he was still watching the game. he liked the Braves because they were on TBS and was the most open fair-weather fan I even met. Whenever my mom had a bad relationship, grandpa opened his house. They never judged. Not openly. He put in a full career and took retirement at 55. He always worked and modeled a strong work ethic. In retirement he decided to buy a ice cream cart and peddle around the town selling ice cream to kids. He purposefully undercut the competition. He would say that it’s better to collect a lot of nickels instead of only a few dollars. By this time I was in high school and running track. I’d see him ride by on his cart and I’d ask for an ice cream. He wouldn’t give me one. I’d have to buy it. I respect that. It’s business. He gave me so much, but there were limits. He always made the broken Drumsticks available for free. Sweet.

He was proud of me. I was proud of him. Dropping out of school in the ninth grade, his reading skills were pretty poor. He still took the time to read to me. Not perfectly read, but perfectly received. I remember him traveling to my track and cross country meets, welcoming me after a race. Talking about his days as a middle school star athlete. He had me on a pedestal. I also had him on one.

My mom was married several times and had several bad relationships. I was put in situations that were dangerous and scary, but I always felt safe with my grandpa. He and my grandma had the marriage I dreamed of. They created safety, encouraged involvement, and were responsible humans. They took time to visit old friends and vacation with grandkids.

After about 56 years of marriage, it surfaced that my grandpa had been unfaithful. Not in the distant past, at the very moment of discovery. We learned that he had been unfaithful for a number of years, with a number of women, in a town of 35,000 people. And he was unapologetic. The day I found out. I was crushed. The safety I felt, the respect, the honor, was gone. In an instant, my grandpa became just like all the men my mom had known (I will not include my current step dad, Mitch. He is a great guy). Those men were also unapologetic. I knew those men. I knew what they did and why they did it. I didn’t hate my grandpa, I just no longer cared. There was anger, but I dealt with that. All that remained was sadness.

I will often say that my life lessons consisted of a series of opposites: I observe my mom doing this and it turned out bad, so I would do the opposite. I see a man treat a woman like crap, and I do the opposite. That isn’t always true and I’ve done my share of hurtful things. Trying to live by a book of opposites does not work. When my grandpa, and my hero, fell, I quickly wrote his opposite chapter. In living out the lesson, I push away from him. I assumed the opposite physical space.

The truth is, I am the person I am today, because of him. He taught me to soar. He provided an place for me to be creative, take chances, and become Travis Sheridan. I’ve worked nearly everyday of my life, because of him. I cuddle on the couch with Gina and enjoy popcorn and TV, because of him. I tell entrepreneurs to charge for good inventory, but use broken pieces as free samples, because of him. I love sports, but don’t let them define me. I read to kids, although they are not mine. I strive to create safety for my family. I do all these things because of him.

Today I called and talked to him on the phone. He sounded bad. Really bad. We haven’t talked in probably three or four years. I told him that I loved him. I thanked him for helping me grow. I forgave him. Today, I was made very aware that while heroes fall, we can’t forget how they taught us to soar.

six minutes, forty seconds

The world has been bumming me out lately. I don’t need to make a list; it’s in your twitter feed, news feed, <insert your own> feed. It was getting me down. I don’t think I am alone. 

Last night I found a remedy. I sat and took in a much better feed…it wasPecha Kucha Night St. Louis #11. With twenty slides each, eleven presenters gave nearly 300 people back-to-back-to-back moments of hope, laughter, insight, creativity, vulnerability and passion six minutes and forth seconds at a time. In September of last year, I wrote a ranty little post about a bad PK experience. It was bad…this one was not. It was amazing. 

Pecha Kucha, when done well, as it was at the Mad Art Gallery on Thursday night, does one thing: it increases the amount of overlap between the presenter’s field of experience and each audience member’s field of experience. That’s it. I really don’t think PK needs to be any deeper than that. But THAT isn’t really easy. When you have nearly 300 people listening to you for six minutes and forty seconds, it’s really easy to jump into “I want to sell you something” mode, to jump into “I want to teach you something” mode, to jump into “I want to impress you” mode. Hey, give your website a shoutout, tell us to follow you on twitter, I don’t mind that. It’s cool. 

We have been bombarded with pain and suffering, violence and stupidity, ego and agenda for so long, that it’s sometimes difficult to escape it all. Pecha Kucha Night can and did offer that escape. The room was full of smart people who didn’t pretend like shit wasn’t still happening outside. But for three hours last night, attendees were able to share experiences, overlap experiences, and push other experiences into the various feeds outside of the building. 

Leaving the event last night, much like the end of most PK Nights, there was chatter about “What I’d like to share” “I’m gonna do that next time” “You should totally do one”. There is power in increasing the overlap between fields of experience. People want more of that. People want to play an active role in making that happen. 

You want to create your own six minute and forty second respite? Take a look at some of your photos on Facebook. Pick out twenty of them. Think about the field of experience to which they apply in your life. Try to create a twenty second narrative for each. All together, this will become a six minute and forty second piece of your life. Share it with someone. Find the opportunity to increase the overlap. Let’s create a new feed.

Richard Florida is a scared punk.

You cannot "cause" revitalization. 
You can create an environment in which revitalization is the most likely outcome. 

Don't throw away the importance of the creative class just yet. 

The recent Daily Beast story about how the creative class emphasis might have been a mistake drove me to call Dr. Florida a punk. Dude shouldn't have backed down. He also should have been more realistic with expectations.

I think the problem is too much emphasis on causation and less emphasis on authenticity. Fresno tried to hire Forest City (referenced in the article) to fabricate an authentic experience. That would be appealing to the creative class. Organizations like Creative Fresno , took the roots of Richard Florida's premise and developed authentic programming, events and social-change efforts that resonated with the community (this is why CF rocks!). 

In St. Louis (also referenced in the piece), there are block-by-block hubs of revitalization that are happening based on authentic engagement. The role of the creative class, in my opinion, is to challenge the status quo. Creative professionals are hired to do this for a living, so it's only natural for them to employ this tactic when it comes to reviving neighborhoods. I read somewhere that creative professionals were less impacted by the Great Recession because they knew how to generate income from diverse sources. This is not a status quo quality. 

Sure, Richard Florida might recant because the data doesn't support a causal relationship. To me, that is not the point. I am not drawn to community with fake and fleeting vibrancy. I am draw to communities where authentic elements are put in the hands of broadminded people. 

Creative Class, unite! 

Five Functional Business Lessons from the Dysfunctional House of Cards

Admit it, you were glued to every episode. You might have equally despised and identified with the characters. It was well-written, well-acted, and well-watched. It reminded me of watching Karate Kid when I was young. I instantly wanted to rush out and try every cool move I saw in the film. Well, if you do that with House of Cards, you either have very few friends at this point or are one step closer to a plush Washington DC career. Just like Mr. Miyagi taught us, the lesson might be deeper than what is presented on the surface. I mean, there have to be some solid lessons we can glean from Francis and the gang, right?

Yes. Yes there are. 

Here are five functional business lessons the dysfunctional characters of House of Cards taught us.

DOUG STAMPER - LOOK FOR MUTUAL WINS.

Doug was always busy managing fragile relationships, running cover, and being a fixer. What is cool about Doug is that he seemed to look for ways to help the parties involved. Let’s say you are a hooker who just lost a big DC client. Oh no, you are out of work and the only place for you to get your life back on track is to stay with with a DC secretary and work at AppleBees (or the equivalent). Doug totally hooked that up (pun intended). He went the extra mile and even helped the little whore get her own place. In return, she kept her mouth shut (literally and figuratively). Everybody wins. Way to go, Doug.

JANINE SKORSKY - LEVERAGE SITUATIONS, NOT PEOPLE.

The old journalist was getting pushed out by the social media savvy spring chicken. Now, Janine didn’t go quietly. Would you if you lost your post in the White House Press Corps? Hell no! But the jaded journalist didn’t stay knocked down. She kept her eyes open and looked for an opportunity. Soon she partnered up with her nemesis and squeezed her way into the blogosphere. Janine recognized the power of embracing change. She made her move, jumped in, and broke a few big stories...140 characters at a time. 

Peter Russo - If you want to control the message, then don’t let loss of self-control become the message.

PR lesson #1: It’s not a crisis until someone uses the word “crisis.” In Peter’s case, it’s not a relapse until you do a radio interview blitzed out of your mind. Peter is a perfect example of loss of control. Screw the message. Who cares about the message. Did you see how stoned that guy was? Often there is too much emphasis on crafting the perfect message and less emphasis on who will be delivering it. Peter tried to get cleaned up. He was almost the governor of Pennsylvania. He had everyone convinced he was “the guy.” Then he lost control. Then he lost hope. Then...well, I don’t want to spoil anything. I will exercise self-control.

Zoe Barnes - Make the conditions of the relationship clear in the beginning...and revisit those conditions often.

It’s just sex. It’s just an exchange. Good old fashioned quid pro quo. What could go wrong? Everything. Hell hath no fury like a blogger scorned. So much of the drama between Francis and Zoe could have been avoided if they just stuck to the original agreement. I know, I know, it’s not realistic. But then Frankie gets butt-hurt when Zoe won’t return his texts. This is not just about their sexual relationship--which should not be part of the business lessons you take from this. This is about their working/professional relationship. She wanted access and he wanted to help shape the stories. They moved away from the original arrangement. I blame the sex. Her daddy issues and his schoolgirl fetish probably didn’t help.

Francis Underwood - Understand that action doesn’t create a new reality, impact does.

I think the simple way to watch House of Cards is to look at all the things Francis sets in motion to achieve his end goal. Everything had to move at just the right time. However, nothing ever did. Francis knew this. He didn’t watch actions. He didn’t rely on actions. He was entirely concerned with impact. When an impact occurred he assessed the new reality and moved accordingly. From impact to impact he navigated the waters. A focus on actions over impact generally leads down a narrow road. Francis showed us that there are several action one can take to create the desired impact, but you must work with the impact in mind.

So, it’s not all bad. They aren't a crew of lost souls lacking a single redeeming quality. I found them quite helpful. 

Innovation is more important that entrepreneurship

Communities want to attract, embrace, foster and promote entrepreneurship. I get that. I understand the importance. I just disagree. I’ve made my living the past several years working with entrepreneurs and I have discovered a problem – there are holes in the ecosystem that are getting ignored. Getting warm and fuzzy with entrepreneurs should be the byproduct of attracting, embracing, fostering and promoting innovation.

Think of the work marketers do to get us to the point of trial. This phase generally allows something to be put in the hands of a key demographic without the target making a substantial commitment. The old “try before you buy” tactic. It does work. Communities forget this. Money is spent to convince people to buy local, but is a system in place for people to simply try local first? Can you imagine the value of a community of early adopters? Let’s put up big signs that say, “We welcome pilot projects.”

Ecosystem

The entrepreneurial ecosystem should be replaced with a focus on the innovation ecosystem. Entrepreneurs commercialize innovations; therefore, innovation should be the driver. Additionally, innovation can be enhanced if it is purposeful. I am a proponent of modifying the current business plan competition trend to the point of an innovation competition. Industry should identify a problem that exists and put a call out to innovators to develop a solution. Now innovation is tied to a specific customer. Entrepreneurs know what to do next – commercialize and reproduce for a homogenous group.

But why the focus on innovation? Because it is a mindset issue. Innovative companies, innovative government, and innovative citizenry (lowercase “c”). What if we took regional problems and positioned them as platforms for innovation. Communities have regional problems – problems where standard solutions continue to fail to deliver new results. Here is my list of seven industries or sectors that could benefit from innovation:

1. Municipal Services
2. Manufacturing/Logistics
3. Education
4. Healthcare
5. Agriculture
6. Energy
7. Retail/Consumables

Each sector listed above also represents another key part of the ecosystem that is ignored – customers.

Customer Number One

The seven sectors not only represent opportunities for local solutions that can be exported to other communities, but they represent major buyers of stuff…all kinds of stuff. This group has significant buying power. I’d love to hear leaders in each sector approach innovation with this attitude: “We’ll try it. If it works, we’ll buy.” Ladies and gentlemen, communities need to be full of “customer number one” type businesses, agencies, and people. The customer is the proof point. Want to attract less expensive capital? Secure a customer. What to secure a customer? Solve the problems they expressly asked to have solved. Industry, start asking.

Innovative solutions for real world problems are going to be scalable businesses. They can be scaled beyond the regional or local application and scaling creates jobs. Scaling also attracts the right kind of capital. Customer number one represents a major hurdle. Customer number one helps mitigate risk. Customer number one represents revenue. If you can sell to customer number one, you’re that much closer to customer number two, and we remember learning in geometry that two points determine a line.

Priorities

Are entrepreneurs important? Yes. They are very important. But what good is it to pander to entrepreneurs if you are inviting them to join a community that does not attract, embrace, foster and promote innovation? Let’s focus on creating an innovation ecosystem. Let’s focus on repositioning existing problems as potential platforms for innovation. Let’s create a community of early adopters that are willing to try local. Let’s connect innovators to industry and generate customer number one.