Exiting exits
Exit signs – are they on the way out?  That was in a Two Ronnie’s skit.  I would have heard it 50 years ago.  I have never forgotten it.
And for the life of me I cannot remember why I said I wanted to continue the post about exit interviews.  I re-read what I had written in the hope something would jog my memory but it did not.
It did get me thinking though of the number of things I have heard over the years that have impacted me and stayed with me.  Sometimes it is like a throw away line said by someone.  There was no thought that it was said in a manner to be impactful. That is - not said like a guru saying things others wait for and oh and arr about.
I remember a lady at work and I can’t remember her name saying, “what is right for one has to be right for all.”  That was said many years ago, but I never forgot it.  It gave clarity my feeling that something that hurts, hinders or destroys un-necessary is right for no one.
In a Simon and Garfunkel song from many years ago I heard, “all lies and jest / still a man hears what he wants to hear / and disregards the rest.”  In many ways that seems to me to be truer now than it ever has been.  Yet I am also very encouraged that there are those that refuse to accept things on what is said alone and look also to what is done and (where possible) the outcome of a matter.
Another I heard in a song that impacted me big time was “every man has his belief / his own point of view / on everything from big to small. / Some of them we must defend with everything we’ve got / some of them don’t matter much at all.”  I very much hold to that and find it prevents many un-necessary disagreements.  Just because I may disagree with something said does not always mean I need to defend what I do think.
A person I know said people they knew would disagree on much.  If one said the sky was blue, the other would say it was grey.  To me, is the colour I see the sky worth a potential fall out over?  I answer no. Some things matter, many do not.
Fair dinkum I cannot remember why I wanted to write more on exit interviews. but I do like to be someone of my word.  So I started what I am writing mentioning exits and I have written about the saying “exit interviews” reminded me about.   So I think it is time to exit.

Yesterday was a different sort of day.  I spent time in the morning doing general house work.  Merril had the car serviced (it was a complimentary service that told us what we liked hearing.  “All is well with the car.”) In the evening we attended a remembrance service and did whatever needed doing to help out.
I did watch something I found incredibly interesting. It was a podcast.  It sounds “hip and happening” to be watching podcasts but it was significant to what was being discussed.
It was being said that most older people get their news from what they call “legacy media.”  That is like the ABC, the local TV channels and newspapers.  Whereas younger people tend to get ideas from a wide range of social media sources.
To highlight what was being said, an example of a popular US podcaster was given.  This podcaster regularly attract between 7-8 million viewers and downloads of the program for January alone were over 400 million.  Merril mentioned two people she knows that never watch the “legacy media” news, so she wondered where they were getting their information.
That was like inconceivable to me.  I flip between the news on tv and watch channel 7, the ABC and some Sky news.  Occasionally I will watch CNN.  I used to subscribe to Newsweek and would read it from cover to cover.
What the podcast said is very much what I feel and potentially very good news.  The legacy media tends to tell me what to think.  It is evident the world view being promoted.
The thing about social media (which is both potentially very good a very bad) is that many world views are promoted and many journalists talk about many things in an open-minded way.  There is less telling a person what to think and more giving both sides and leaving someone to make up their own mind (along with a plethora of those promoting my way or the highway – at best.
This trend to me is being reflected in the censuses.  Many are not saying they are of any particular denomination (a legacy trend) and are more likely to say they are “spiritual not religious.”
Personally I think that is good.  Confidence in “has been” media is diminishing while openness to what could be is growing.  People land on all sorts of coping structures, but we are not hearing only that one is right and must be accepted without question. Media people are asking questions, and many are going on the journey with them.
I must admit that restores my confidence, but I do think a lot needs to be redone.  Those that shout loudest represent some but not all. Unfortunately some are unwilling to abide a contrary opinion or even me making up my own mind.  But that is just one world view and I (and most) will decide things for myself.

One day down and a number to go.  So often it is just a case of doing what needs to be done.  Worrying about the future is pointless when I have done all I can to accommodate it now.  So yesterday was a good day just doing what needed to be done, and today the tasks may be different, but I can at best do what needs to be done.
I did have time yesterday to think about of all things, “exit interviews.”  For many I imagine that is not a consideration, but for everyone it is applicable.  That is based on the thought that we are all leaders.  It may be in a family situation or an organizational one.
It is something I consider really important.  I admittedly have not always done it but for many years I have wanted to do it from an organizational sense.  There is one reason for leaving that is really important to me.
Sometimes people just leave because they have moved far away.  That to me is the most reasonable and acceptable reason.  At other times people leave because they have had enough and move on.  That to me may be regrettable but understandable.
 At other times there is a personality clash, and a person just determines that staying is not worth it for them.   I have seen it where someone decides not to be a part of something because “so and so is there.”  That may not be the way I like to operate but for some it is the answer.  The reason for not attending is stronger that the desire to attend.
As far as I am concerned an exit interview determines that. 
Yet the whole time I am looking to see that the reason for leaving something was not due to a failure of me as leader or the organization - that the reason for making a bee line was not a reasonable one that I could do something about.
I will never forget a guy I somehow knew was disgruntled that I talked to in the car park.  He said he was leaving the organization that night and changed his mind because I spoke with him.  He was leaving for whatever reason but really needed someone to talk to.
The whole point for me is if I know a reason for leaving I can do something about it if I need to.
This is already over 400 words and I have more I think about in this regard so I will continue this theme another time.
I reckon listening and acting where necessary is important. Often the way a person feels is unreasonable and no action is the best action.  At other times reasons are a legitimate failure on my or the organization’s part.  As I so if I know and am inclined, I can act.