Chicago winters. Not a problem for us natives. We have cold weather gear. And then we have another set for even colder weather. We save our parking spots with folding chairs, brooms or whatever is handy.
The coldest day in Chicago history? We can handle this. We changed our air filters, set our thermostats up higher and dripped our faucets. We layered up, wore sunglasses, ski goggles and went about business. Granted most of us kept indoors! We are smart too.
We are prepared. We are resilient. We are resourceful.
Being resourceful in Chicago winters? Absolutely necessary. Can’t find your ski goggles to wear on the coldest day, grab your swim goggles instead. That picture made it to the newspaper.
I really like how Coach Wooden defined resourcefulness:
Swim goggles, that is resourcefulness right there. I’d love to see resourcefulness taught at schools, as it can be helpful at work and in life.
For me resourcefulness at work included a time where I authored a marketing department policy, process and procedures addressing compliance with federal, state and accreditor requirements. It meant creating a repository library for over 400 marketing assets occurring every eight weeks. The solution required multiple agencies, internal teams and departments, internal and external council and disparate records spanning multiple years. Plus a solution for present and future marketing materials. And it needed to be solved quickly. I’d say the effort spanned Coach’s points – and we had a little fun along the way. We named the project Justice League. You can call me Wonder Woman.
Photo by: Amy E Mikel. Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada. August 2009.
Impelman, Craig. Why Resourcefulness Is An Important Personal Trait. Success Magazine. September 13, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.thewoodeneffect.com/resourceful/
