Peter Beck Kim's Other Blog

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Rings One (Day 8) + light cardio + RESET + low starch/salt diet = a template for living?

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8/8/6/5/8 reps, then 3508m #rowing just under 120 bpm, back in the WaterRower saddle, again :)

Am following the Rings One protocol, a gymnastics ring-based program designed by CST folk Ryan Hurst, Jarlo Ilano, and Andy Fosset. This is the first day of Week 2, and the elbow-flexed DOMS has finally passed. Reaching the keyboard without cringing...muy nice.

There are Prasara yoga warmup and cooldown moves, which are done together as extra compensations on the off days (M/W/F on, T/R/S/Sn off). I'm continuing to run, RESET-style, on my off days, as well as do some low intensity cardio like the rowing above on the Rings days; for me, this plus a low starch, low sodium diet keeps my BP in check. Am also doing RESET vibration drills during the 60-90 second rest periods between sets, to counteract any tendency to get tight and push up the pressures. Will see what this does to the BP over the next few weeks, and add TacFit Commando back into the mix one day per week, for high intensity metcon.

I've come to the realization rather late in the game, that diversification is as important as depth.

I can think of a couple of phenomenal martial artists off the top of my my head, who were done in by health problems, arguably prematurely. Their activities and mastery thereof did not save them.

Attention to what we now know make a real difference -- diet, avoidance of certain overindulgences, sufficient rest and recovery, and, yes, medical treatment if all else fails -- might well have.

Mere mortals have enough to contend with, just showing up on a regular basis: the "depth" allusion above. Consistency with whatever your workout regimen is more than half the battle: put forth your hand and Make it so, Number One.

For the Activity slice of the pie.

Just remember that Activity may not be the whole pie for you. If you have certain health goals that aren't being met by Activity alone, or the activity types you're doing, it's back to the drawing board:

  1. Look and See, without blinders. Getting to the goal? No?
  2. Adjust accordingly. Ratchet down the intensity, throw out the kettlebells, add dishonorable running, if those have worked for you and closing to the goal demands them.
  3. Repeat.

I dislike sounding like a wannabe, quoting The Little Dragon, but Bruce had it right:

Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

Creating innovation, influencing customers and organizations...suddenly everyone's talking about what really works to create lasting behavioral change: what I call Incremental Iterative Improvement. Adapt, reject, add. Look, adjust, repeat.

That's the theory, anyway.

The Seatbelt Video: Tears, Verklempt, and Influencing 101

Quite simply, this YouTube video is perfect.

As of this moment, this public service announcement has been viewed 9,610,576 times. And as a model for influencing behavior, it hits all the right buttons:

  1. It's a video, so extremely easy to consume and spread to others.
  2. It tells a story, and bypasses many of the usual filters that oppose dry facts ("Car crashes without seatbelts take lives").
  3. It tells its story wordlessly, so further bypasses the remaining left brain defensive linemen.
  4. Anyone can place themselves in the storyline, so everyone boards the story train.
  5. The storyline hits with a potent, emotional punch -- more credible, memorable, and understandable than verbal arguments.
  6. It closes with a call to action to channel that empathic, emotional response.

Influencer: The Power To Change Anything by Petterson, Grenny, et al, points out that the best influencing experience is walking someone through the story in person. Clarence, from It's A Wonderful Life, had nearly everything right, though he left out the key call to action.

Luckily, George was smart enough to take the right steps, but that's not always the case. And you probably don't have the resources his guardian angel did. Storytelling done well hits the sweet spot between a high quality output and a low cost input.

Filed under  //   It's A Wonderful Life   Seatbelt Video   influencing  
Posted July 4, 2010

Saw this video in our medical leadership group, came home to my wife watching it on YouTube.


Not only is Daniel Pink the man, whomever did the marker drawing is pretty frakkin' amazing, too.

Doctors: motivated by money? Change their behavior by carrots and sticks, alone? Not nearly so much as you'd think -- witness the still low rates of adopting electronic medical records, despite major subsidies and financial incentives.

But publish their achievement scores over time where they and their colleagues can see them? How good they've been at improving, and how they compare to their office mates? Watch the curves bend!

Most physicians are intrinsically motivated by an internal standard of merit, with scorecards built into their DNA. Who survives 4 years of grueling pre-med undergrad work, 4 more years debt-building med school, and 3-9 more years of residency training at ridiculously low wages? Not folks motivated by money -- you've got to be able to survive and thrive on how you score and perform.

We've all pursued things that made no sense from the standpoint of basic loss and gain. This video -- a 10 minute snippet summary of Pink's book, Drive -- explains why.

Filed under  //   Daniel Pink   Drive   YouTube   influencing  
Posted July 1, 2010

A Good Source Of Protein for lunch, Eclipse, and Influence

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Instead of dropping 2 lbs. this past week, I gained a pound -- not surprising, after being bitten by the dreaded Starch Monster. Dastardly fiend, his werewolf countenance and six pack abs have left me yearning for all manner of white fluffy carbs.

So it's back to the protein plates and chamomile tea from Starbucks.

Speaking of beasts, have no expectations about the third Twilight film, Eclipse, which the family and I will be seeing shortly. Am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. The 1st movie was phenomenal, even with its lower production values, the 2nd less so -- an example of how storytelling trumps...pretty much everything else.

That's an awfully powerful lesson for anyone interested in innovation and spreading that innovation around. Storytelling is practically hardwired into us; as social creatures, we have no defenses against engaging tales.

Tell a good enough story, and you can get people to stop abusing their wives, lose weight and quit smoking, cut HIV transmission by 25%, and part with $2000 for an online business course. You can convince them that change is possible, worthwhile, and desirable RIGHT NOW.

Or that you can lose 19 lbs. in 3 weeks and drop your BP 30 points :)

Anyhoo. Tea and work beckon.

Filed under  //   Eclipse   Starbucks   Twilight   influencing   innovation   storytelling  
Posted June 30, 2010