Marlow's Musings 12/1/24
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
It seemed like a trick question.
I was working for GE Medical (now Healthcare) in Texas and had traveled to Wisconsin for an interview about a promotion to a senior engineering position at the headquarters office.
One of the questions the interview team asked me was whether I liked to hunt or not.
I thought long and hard about the answer, wondering what they were looking for by asking the question.
"I don't, but I'm fine with hunting,” was my answer.
"Good," they said in unison, "We need someone to work during deer season when everyone else is on vacation."
Thanksgiving is gun deer season in the Great Dairy State. This was my first introduction to the culture of what became my new home.
The marvelous cartoon artwork by Daniel Seex is a fun play on deer stands or ‘blinds,’ where hunters hang out waiting for deer.
For many families, deer season is a generations-old family tradition; for others, it provides a significant part of what they eat over the winter.
Embedded in the question was the reality that I was the first person headquarters had hired who wasn't from Wisconsin.
While they appreciated me as someone who could cover hunting season, that was the beginning and the end of my welcome.
Unlike my years in the military, there was no onboarding or supporting infrastructure of people to help me acclimate to the new area. We had no idea where anything was, how to get a Wisconsin driver's license...nothing.
At about that time, the company wanted to create a Global Support Center, and I took the lead in creating a hiring and onboarding program with mentors and sponsors modeled on my military experince. We started hiring new people from all over the world, not just all over the country.
Here was another instance where seemingly different worlds—military structure and corporate culture—came together to create something neither could have achieved alone.
The success of that leadership effort launched my career in a new direction. I moved into management roles and, ultimately, executive leadership.
All because I didn't know where to shop in Wisconsin.
Sometimes the most transformative innovations come from combining seemingly unrelated elements—like bringing a Texas transplant's fresh perspective to a division of the company that had never before looked beyond Wisconsin's borders for talent.
More than three decades have passed since that fateful decision to become Cheeseheads—for the uninitiated, that is a nickname for people from Wisconsin.
We've added a daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and four grandchildren, all born in Wisconsin.
While never becoming a hunter, I've grown to love other cultural icons like frozen custard, butter burgers, summer music festivals, good beer, and even the local football team. I'd say it all worked out.
Word of the Week
Compossibility (n.)
/kəmˌpäsəˈbilədē/
1: The logical ability of different things, states, or possibilities to coexist without contradiction; the quality of being mutually possible together.
17th-century German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz created the term by combining the Latin prefix "com-" (meaning "with" or "together") with "possibility," creating a concept that goes beyond mere possibility to examine what can exist in harmony.
Think of your life as a complex system where different aspects (purpose and essence) must act in harmony to live our Ikigai. Compossibility helps us understand which elements of our lives can truly exist together in a way that supports, rather than diminishes, our Ikigai. It's not just about what's possible in isolation, but what's possible together.
I’m highly creative and I value structure and process. Those seem in conflict. Through the lens of compossibility, they each strengthen the other. My creativity keeps me from being too rigid and the structure and process side keeps me focused and producing my writing.
In case you missed it…
Last week’s Musing was a Language of Purpose article and so I’m sharing two weeks worth of Ikigai Thoughts for Today.
The first…Possibility and Paradox
As Voltaire, who was known to drink 100 cups of coffee a day, wisely noted, "Doubt is uncomfortable, certainty is ridiculous." I explore embracing uncertainly and paradox as a means to uncover our Ikigai.
Next…Trials, Tribulation and Self-checkout
A whole world of positive possibilities emerges when we withhold judgment on ourselves or others.
Finally…Vital Things
There are few things of value; since few things matter, focusing on everything wastes our limited time. Instead, focus on those things that catch your heart. I explore how in this article.
Ikiquest+
There were two Coffee Contemplations, the first…Learn, Unlearn, Relearn
I go deep with another real-time reflection on the importance of unlearning what we think we know.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to it in audio narration or read the transcription.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, give it a try for free by clicking the box here.
I also shared a bonus Coffee Contemplation with everyone…Recipes and Ideas
It is a Thanksgiving/Year End reflection that I hope spreads some gratitude and optimism for the coming days.
Interesting Thing
Volvo has released a remarkable three-minute commercial that masterfully weaves together seemingly contradictory elements - hope and fear, technology and emotion, protection and vulnerability.
More a mini-movie than an advertisement, it's a story about paths unexpectedly taken and the profound ways different possibilities can coexist. Watch for the subtle ways this narrative connects with our exploration of harmonious contradictions.
Notice how it stands in stark contrast to another luxury brand's recent marketing by bringing us into the story and humanity of the people involved.
Comment of the Week:
This week’s comment comes from Michael K. on the Language of Purpose exploration of Sonder. Specifically, the idea everyone is interesting if we take the time to get to know them.
It's remarkable how acknowledging the complexity of each person's life can profoundly shift our perspective. We're special to us but we're not [treated] that special in the world of many.
We are common in our humanity, yet uncommon in our unique expression of being human.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from author Guy Gavriel Kay1…
“There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk.”
Final Thoughts
At Thanksgiving dinner, our adult kids were teasing my wife for the many accents she’s developed living all over the country. For example, when she is adamant about something she drifts into a strong Southern accent with lots of y’alls. It prompted me to pause and marvel at the journey we’ve been on.
Moving from coast to coast, working across continents, and learning how different people and cultures see the world—has given me this wonderful ability to spot connections others might miss. Like discovering how a simple question about deer hunting would reveal an opportunity to transform how an entire division thought about hiring and developing talent.
I've been blessed with this gift of making complex ideas simple and sharing them in stories like we're just chatting over coffee.
It was certainly front of mind when writing my book The Ikigai Way. Making something as profound as our calling understandable and approachable so that everyone can live out their purpose.
Life has a funny way of preparing us for things we never knew were coming. And sometimes the best paths are the ones we never expected to walk.
Quest Well.
Guy Gavriel Kay, Tigana (New York: Penguin ROC, 1990)
Great post, David! Thank you for the insights and the time that you spent sharing your wisdom and experience.
If only every car would have automatic emergency braking… years ago, our Cadillac STS was equipped with AEB and it literally was a life saver. Now new cars have it.