The New Year is Not New

There is really nothing new about the new year except for the number of the year. We jump or slide or crawl or run from one day to the next and suddenly, mysteriously, miraculously, wonderfully, or hazily we find ourselves in a NEW YEAR ready to do NEW things and change dramatically. The feeling is held by many that the new year will somehow bring new directions and motivations that were held in darkness for the past 12-months.  All we need do is simply endure and patiently wait for one more day, then a light will shine brightly on an opportunity and change our way of life that moves us to accomplish goals that were heretofore not within our grasp. Nothing could be farther from the reality of getting things done or making a better life with a new focused direction.

The rise in health club memberships is highest in January and many cancel later that same year because there was really no commitment. Perhaps cigarette sales decline this time of year as well and the reasons are obvious. It is easier to make a commitment when everyone else is making a similar commitment, because it sounds good. But these types of commitments should be all about you no matter what others do or when they do it.

Many of us are fooled by the NEW YEAR illusion. The new year is just another day in our lives and nothing is magical about moving from one day to the next unless we make it so.

I love the NEW YEAR excitement but I learned that making a difference in my life can be started any day of the year and not only during January.

The choice is ours and we will either make the choice and stick to it until we reach a successful conclusion or we will not. The time of year is irrelevant, the decision to change, no matter when is made is monumental.

Happy New Year!

Learn to Read, Read to Learn

Since you are reading this, my thoughts will serve to validate the value you obviously place on your reading and your desire to learn.

Reading, it appears, to far too many of us has become passé.

Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men in America. He made his fortune in the steel business. His legacy was not only tied to great capitalistic accomplishments but, most notably, to his funding 3,000 libraries in 47 states. Andrew Carnegie believed that all one needs to gain their desired level of success in life is knowledge, aptly applied. Andrew Carnegie believed so strongly that everyone deserved access to the great writings in existence that he spent millions of his money not only building libraries but also filling them with books that would appeal to every reader's desire. 

Reading is the foundation for learning and learning is the path to a better life.

Reading regularly, from variety of sources, will serve to enhance your  understanding of current events, improve your vocabulary, teach you something new and exciting and take you to places that are imaginary and real. Read, newspapers, magazines, books and do so with a desire to learn and be entertained.

Read something every day and always keep a dictionary close by. When you come across a word you don't know the meaning of, look it up. It will serve you best if you fully understand why the writer chose to use that word at that particular time in order to further their message.

If you read, good for you. If you don't' read, you are no better off than someone who can't read. The ability to read is perhaps the greatest gift anyone receives from their education.

Learn to read and read to learn.

(Above is a picture of The Carnegie Library at Syracuse University)

Drive A Stake In The Ground

During the Land Rushes of the late 1800's, especially in places like Oklahoma, anxious settlers would line up at a specified place, at a specified time. When the signal was given ( often a cannon or rifle shot) they would rush into the unclaimed territory and stake their claim. The claims were determined by driving a stake into the ground. Many of the new land occupiers would immediately take decisive action and begin making modest improvements to the land to further establish their claim to ownership. The stakes that these settlers drove into the ground would often include their name and approximate location of the claim.

There comes a time in every analytical task that someone in charge has to say; "We are done with the exaustive analysis. The time has come for us to drive a stake into the ground and begin the work of making our plans work." Moving too fast can create issues but moving too slow can be even more destructive. "Sooners" were the settlers who would slip into the territory before the official start and stake their claim sooner, by bending the rules. The "Sooners" are still out there and if they get their idea staked sooner that you do yours, you will likely be in a reactionary posture.

The phenomon of a paralysis of analysis is as real as it gets. We can literally think a plan to death or think a plan to a status of stagnation which is really a death that has already taken place, but the realization has not yet been accepted. Thinking is good, thinking so much that you fail to take comittted action is not good. The very real possibility exist that if you wait too long, you will lose critical momentum.

You are going to feel a lot better once you make a decision after careful deliberation has taken place. Just like the people in the land rush who did not really know a great deal about the land they were claiming, they claimed it and then they made it work. Had they continued thinking and stayed at the start line when the signal was given to rush, the result would have been dramatically different.

There is safety in the multitude of counsel and therefore it is always a good idea to get the advice and opinion of others and then weigh the options. But after you have carefully considered the possibilities and then set your sight on the desired outcome, get in your horse drawn wagon and go drive a stake in the ground of the territory you have selected.  You will discover, that after the commitment is made and action is taken, you are going to find a way or make a way to get to where you want to go.

It goes: Bang, beweekered and clampestuz.

"When I am driving about 38 miles per hour, it goes: "Bang, beweekered and clampestuz."

These are examples of the ridiculous and peculiar sounds we make as we are attempting to describe to the bewildered mechanic, the sound our car is making and therefore indicating to us, that something is terribly wrong. The description rarely helps the mechanic determine the source of the strange sounds and after they have given us their assurances, we leave our beloved vehicle, wondering what is wrong and how much it is going to cost us.

Sometime later we call to check the status only to be told that the mechanic road tested our car, at 38 miles per hour, and could not hear; "Bang, beweekered and clampestuz." Therefore they could not determine what was broken and since our car was not making any strange noises, we are free to come and get our vehicle.

This is an example that probably fits most of us when dealing with problems concerning our vehicles. Most of the mechanics I have dealt with are honorable and when they can't hear the strange noise they really can't fix the problem, because they cannot identify it.

All problems, big or small make noises, even though most of these noises are silent.  A great course of action is; when you hear the strange noise that a problem is making, identify and deal with it as soon as possible. Waiting to fix something that only occasionally makes a strange and disruptive "noise" is never a productive idea. Soliciting the help of others in identifying and correcting the problem is  very productive idea. Just because the problem is not screaming for help and others may not hear the troubling noise does not suggest that the problem does not exist or is is going to fix itself. Baby alligators can't inflict much damage, but you ignore a baby alligator and before you know it you are face to face with a full grown beast of a problem, that makes a lot of noise.

Problems unsolved cost money and compromise relationships the longer you wait to correct the problem the more it is going to cost in direct and indirect costs. Problems that are identified and dealt with quickly and resolutely give clarity to all involved. Don't dither, or wither, deliver!

The Veteran I Knew Best

My Father served in World War Two. He was an Army Corporal assigned to the Coast Artillery Corps. He voluntarily enlisted May 7, 1942 and after basic training, was shipped to the Philippines. Shortly after arriving in the Philippines he was captured by the Japanese and served the remainder of the war in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. The camp he was held in was, Fukuoka called "Pines" by the prisoners because of a stand of pine trees in the camp and area.

My Father did not talk much about the time he was forced to spend in the prisoner of war camp, except to share a few rare glimpses into the daily lives of the prisoners. He talked about unbearable conditions, deplorable food supplies and the occasional eating of bugs to gain some badly needed nutrition. He did share the story about the day he arrived at camp and the day he was liberated.

ARRIVAL:
 He and other prisoners were lined up to face the commanding officer of the camp. The commanding Japanese officer held a rather large piece of bamboo in his hands. After looking each prisoner in the eyes, he then walked behind each of the prisoners and struck them, as hard as he could, in the back with the bamboo. He then walked around and again looked each of the prisoners in the eyes. Then he walked behind them and struck selected prisoners again! My Father was not struck again and he later learned that the Japanese officer struck only those prisoners the second time that had tears in their eyes.

LIBERATED:
On the day my Father and the other prisoners were liberated from Camp Fukuoka they took all of the Japanese soldiers who remained (many of the "brave Japanese" officers had already fled) and threw them in something he called "Honey-Pots." A "Honey-Pot" was a vessel that all of the prisoners human waste was deposited in. My Father laughed heartily when he shared this story.

My Father is The Veteran I Knew Best. He suffered many health problems as a result of his imprisonment but he never openly blamed the War, the Army or the Japanese. He was a proud solider and he served his country well. He volunteered to fight, to preserve freedom and The American Way and because it was; The Right Thing to do, he did it The Right Way, and when duty called he responded, Right Now. I am proud of his service to The United States of America and proud of all who serve and have served in our military to protect and preserve our freedom. My Father is The Veteran I Knew Best.

Our Veterans deserve our very best. They surely have earned our respect and our continued support.

We Should Ask

We should ask why Christopher Columbus did not feel a compulsion to stay constantly in touch with all of his friends while he undertook one of the most dangerous and important voyages in history.

We should ask why our Founding Fathers were able to write one of the most important documents of all time, even though they were not able to immediately share every development detail with everyone, simultaneously.

We should ask why Abraham Lincoln was capable of leading this country through what was arguably one of the greatest challenges ever, without a compulsion of inadvertently adding in the distraction of making sure he shared all of the insignificant details 24/7.

We should ask why Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and other great American Authors were able to create some of the finest literary works ever written without the entire world knowing what they wore while they were on vacation.

We should ask why Babe Ruth, Jessie Owens, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and hundreds of other exceptional athletes were able to accomplish incredible feats while competing with other remarkable athletes, without devoting much time at all worrying about how to post their feelings.

We should ask why Martin Luther King was able to have and share a dream, that changed the course of history even though he could not, or chose not to, wallow in details of monumental insignificance in the world around him.

We should ask why it is okay to destroy the rules of grammar and create an entirely new vocabulary that is tougher that Egyptian Hieroglyphics, but makes a lot less sense.

We should ask why so many people, of all ages, are compelled to remove the human element and replace it with a device that cannot love, feel, hurt, share or produce meaningful relationship. Why does a couple sit across from each other at a restaurant and stare at a small screen while they frantically type, oblivious to each other and the world around them.

We should ask why so many school age students can send thousands of digital messages through the course of a month yet they cannot read well enough, add well enough, explain the Constitution or the basic structure of their government well enough, identify an invertebrate from a vertebrate or conjugate a verb.

We should ask why people drive along at highway speeds and cannot leave the device dormant long enough to respond to "dings" and not risk their safety and the safety of others around them.

We should ask why we have no problem responding immediately to a "text" but are too busy to visit personally or return a phone call. We should ask why we allow this insensitive form of communication to take the place of a voice.

We should ask why and if we do, when we arrive at an answer it should include, less of the digital activities and much more of the activities that will help us to help others and ourselves.

We really should ask why.

Insight

One of my more interesting professional endeavors, that included a great many "locational benefits", was when I served as publisher of The Washington DC Business Journal. Our office was in Northern Virginia. My responsibilities took me into the District frequently and because I was in the District, I would often spend my lunchtime in The Smithsonian or at any of the fabulous monuments and historical places to visit. Since I was there, of course I had to take advantage of the opportunities. It was in DC where I met Trammel Crow.

The DC Business Journal complied a list each year of the top 100 Private Companies in the greater DC area.  This list was one of many we did but the Top 100 Private Companies list was always one of the most coveted lists of the year. Companies were clamoring to be included and those companies that were included on last year's list, wanted to move up in the rankings. We held a fabulous banquet and awards ceremony each year at one of the posh hotels in the area to honor the Top 100 Companies. The event featured a high-profile keynote speaker and always sold out!

The first year I was in DC we had Trammel Crow as our keynote. Mr. Crow was a pure entrepreneur. He was one of eight children that lived in a rented one bedroom home in East Dallas. He went on to become one of the largest real estate developers in the country. Warehouses were his specialty but he also developed high-rise office buildings and world class hotels. The Lowe's Anatole Hotel in Dallas is his development.

We brought Mr. Crow in for the banquet, put him up in a world class hotel and reserved a limousine to get him to and from the banquet. I was responsible for serving as the host representing The DC Business Journal. On the evening of the banquet I met Mr. Crow in the lobby of his hotel ready to escort him to the festivities. We walked outside to the limousine, the chauffeur opened the door and much to our surprise, Mr. Crow said;"Why don't you and I walk." We walked on the sidewalk with the limousine trailing slowly behind us. The experience was unique and unforgettable.

While walking I suddenly realized that I had Trammel Crow all to myself. We had a delightful conversation during which I asked; "What was the single thing about entrepreneurism and success that I could hang my hat on?" He did not hesitate. Even before his next step hit the ground he replied; "It is harder than I thought it was going to be and it is bigger than I ever imagined."

What a great lesson. Here was a "rags-to-BIG-riches" highly successful person giving me his secret formula for success.

It does not matter if you reach the level of success that Trammel Crow did. What matters is that you stay the course and have faith in your ideas and reach for your dreams. All things are relative and your level of success is one day going to be bigger than you imagined as long as you do the hard part and stay the course. Take a step and then take another step.

Say Again

A while ago a magazine requested their readers to send in some statements made by professional
leadership at work that they found confusing, ambiguous or downright dumb. Here are some of the selected responses;

1: As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures for the cards will be taken next Wednesday and employees should receive their security cards within two weeks.

2: What we need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter.

3: Email is not to be used to pass on information or data.

4: This project is so important that we cannot allow things that are more important to interfere with it.

5: This memo is to inform you that a memo will be issued today regarding the subject memo above.

Not only are these comments from top leadership, they are verging on the precipice of ridiculous and most of them are are from leaders in Fortune 500 companies!

Clear and continuous communications is so very important. In business the self inflicted wounds that are created are more often than not a direct result of poor or non existent clear communications. The very same disconnect occurs in personal relationships. When communication is clear and direct there is far less confusion and the anticipated outcomes are much more likely. Many times individuals are held accountable for not doing what they were not told to do and that never has and never will work. When direct results are expected, a clear understanding of who, what, how, where and when must be understood and the only means to assure this is to clearly communicate. If the "why" can also be shared it should be shared. People feel much more positive about doing something if they know why they are doing what they are expected to do. The "why" gives those involved a sense of ownership and when a position of ownership is taken,  the outcomes are almost always more desirable because there is a feeling of important involvement. Clear and continuous communications is the answer, independent of the question.

The High Road

Years ago before modern paved roads and bridges existed most roads were built at ground level. Fewer roads were built at higher levels for easily understood reasons. The high roads were harder to build. When the weather was fair, most travelers took the low roads. The paths were more direct, requiring less effort and less travel time. When the weather was not good the high road proved to be a safer route even though it was surely going to demand more time and effort. Taking the high road was always harder.

When faced with a challenging situation, where tempers and emotions may very likely lead to the altering of facts always take the high road. Irrational people make irrational statements and behave irrationally and we all reach an irrational status at sometimes in our lives. People tend to emotionally skew the reality of the controversial event to meet their objectives and support their position. When you are on the other side of this emotionally charged event, you may also have a tendency to get emotionally charged and lash out...ready-fire-aim. Experience has taught me that only firemen should fight fire with fire. When people fight fire with fire, other people generally get burned. If the flames are high enough, both parties suffer wounds. The damage can become an everlasting part of some lives and no matter what is done to correct the wrong and get behind the scars to aid in the healing, the permanent damage is done.

Taking the high road may mean you have to humble yourself, ignore the facts and look the other way, but it may also save a relationship. You can always wait to address the issue when emotions are lowered and you are both on the same road. One of the many positive benefits to taking the high road is that you will learn about yourself and that education will lead to your personal and professional growth.

The Goat in The Bathtub

Our business, not unlike others,  is built upon delivering what a client needs in a timely and professional manner. One of the very valuable services we provide while pursuing this is goal is creative design of advertising. We are fortunate to have a very capable staff that creates over one thousand ads every month for our list of clients. The needs are often fairly straight forward. Basically, the ad needs to look good, be readable, be a professional individual reflection of the business and include  graphic elements that grab attention.

Recently one of our advertising professionals sent in a request to have the creative department, put a goat in a bathtub. The client, a unique gift shop, was planning a clearance sale and some of the clearance items were products made from goat milk. Thus the goat in the bathtub, covered in soap bubbles, represented a clearance sale! Our creative department has many resources available to them that provide excellent and very professional graphic elements they can select to use in the ads they build for our customers. However, a goat in a bathtub is not on the list. Therefore this customized graphic had to be created.

When the special request was received by our graphic department to put a goat in a bathtub, the response was one of; "We can do this" rather than, as others may respond to special request; "We cannot do this", We are not allowed to do this", We have never done this" and on and on with a exhaustive list of why something special can't be done instead of why something special can and should be done.

We have all made special requests from time to time and how the person, business or organization we are making the special request of responds, speaks volumes to their commitment to high caliber customer service. The lengths they are willing to go to to meet the requests will likely determine the value that is placed on their brand. Brands that are well known for going the extra mile are typically those brands that enjoy great levels of loyalty. The fullfilling of special requests starts at the top of any organization and flows through the hearts of the folks doing the job of meeting customer needs. It is a matter of culture. Does your culture allow you to put a goat in a bathtub or not? Ours does.

Attention All Students

School is about to start, just as school starts every year. I remember the excitement of the beginning of
the school year and then the reality of what I was in for, especially since I didn't care much for school. The beginning of school meant that I could, for the next nine months,  reconnect and stay connected to my many friends and perhaps make a few new friends. School also meant that high school football was imminent and that was reason enough, in my mind, to endure the exhaustive classroom drudgery. The things I liked the best about school were important to me but not academically relevant. The newness of the school year quickly wore off and the daily academic quest became more and more of a drag on my lifestyle. Homework was always getting in the way of more important activities such as sandlot football, shooting pool or just hanging out.

Whilst I was underachieving at my schoolwork, many of my teachers saw something in me that I did not, until later in life, see in myself. My Mother saw what the teachers saw. What they saw and what they insisted upon sharing with me was that, my self impression, that I was not capable, was entirely wrong. I was consciously not measuring up to my raw potential. I wasn't lazy. I was not focused. They saw a kid with unbridled energy headed it too many directions and found it very challenging to get my attention long enough to help me focus. I was the thoroughbred horse that just wanted to run and run, never making the turn on the track, I ran straight through the white fence, off the track and into the future.

What would have been if I had paid attention and applied myself during my school years. Here after all this time I still ask that question. Of course, I cannot allow the choices I made way back then to encumber me from achieving my goals and to a large extent they have not. But what if?

Stay in school, arrive on time, meet deadlines, apply yourself, be thorough, get the help you need, behave, show respect to your teachers and they in authority. Your school years are some of the most tremendous and turbulent times of your life. They matter, you matter and your teachers matter. Act like it, because you will never regret behaving appropriately and making a great effort.

Horizontal Roots

We have a few nice size flower beds around our home. The gentleman who completely restored this 1920's home had the foresight to not only put in these nice flower beds but he also put down a weed-barrier. This black sheet of material is rolled out onto the surface and then covered with top-soil. The plants you choose to grow are planted within a circle you cut in the barrier, allowing their roots to grow deeply. However, when weeds grow, their roots are restricted from growing down by this barrier. This makes the puling of the weeds extremely easy. The weeds roots cannot "Take-Root" and no matter the number or variety of weeds, the pulling is a piece-of-cake.

Roots matter. The foundation you possess is a fine example of your roots. The root foundation is comprised of the people who influenced you, the books you have read and the things you have learned by experience. Adequate root structures require a fertile environment and that means you have to be willing to learn and grow at every opportunity, especially when you make mistakes. The taller you grow in your endeavor the deeper your roots need to grow. When the growth is too rapid and disproportionately vertically focused the roots do not have adequate time to grow deeply, the top-heavy result is unstable. You look really good growing so high so fast but when a challenge comes you do not have a sufficient root structure to be able to overcome the negative forces.

Growth is desirable but the right kind of growth at the right pace is the kind that will develop a deep root system that will sustain your personal and professional experiences for a lifetime. Grow deeply as well as tall.

Waiting On The Thunder

My hometown in southeast Texas had a number of freshwater canals and ponds. Just behind the home I grew up in is a large field that, as inquisitive and gullible youngsters we used to explore. It happens to also be the location of The Spindletop oil field, where a world-changing deposit of oil was discovered on January 10, 1901. This field had a huge fresh water canal and a massive storm sewer we affectionately named; "The Cement Ditch"in addition to several ponds of varying sizes and depths. These canals, storm sewers and ponds were excellent habitats for; Macrochelys Temminckii, more commonly referred to as; The Alligator Snapping Turtle. One of these creatures, according to The United States Geological Survey, reached an incredible 250 pounds! These are intimidating and formidable creatures who possess extremely powerful jaw strength. The local legend we lived with (because our parents said so) held that if one of these fearsome creatures were able to snap down on you, they would not let go until it thundered. We were terrified and therefore we avoided these guys at all costs, especially on cloudy days.

There are a lot of people who hold on to something, or allow something to hold on to them, far too long and as a result they are continually burdened by the additional emotional weight. Things such as: when they were treated harshly by someone close, when they were unjustly targeted at the workplace, when they were treated as an outcast, the times they were picked on by their peers, jilted and many more instances that were beyond control. Then there is the emotional baggage holding on that is entirely the result of the individual being held on to. The list may look similar to the things already mentioned. The damage is considerable independent of the initiation.

Let it go or make it let go of you. The alligator snapping turtle does not need a clap of thunder in order to let go. What the turtle needs is enough of the focused energies sufficient to inform the turtle that holding on is a really bad idea. Anyone can let go or make something let go of them by making a decision and moving on. You don't need to wait any longer.

When it is Okay to Talk About UFO's

There really is a time and place for everything. The things we talk about are important to us and ideally to those folks around us. We continually communicate verbally and in doing so we must be judicious as to the subjects we discuss and the words we use, especially in a professional setting.

There are subjects we discuss that are relevant, important and meaningful in our professional walk that enrich our experience and hopefully the experience of those we engage with. Discussions that enlighten, inform and direct. These are the good words.

Choosing wisely, what we say in any setting, figuratively speaks, to the thought we have put behind our statements. The flip-side is that some folks  engage their mouth long before they engage their intellect. When you are in a professional setting your discussions should be largely about the tasks at hand. Sharing personal experiences, events, attitudes and opinions in a professional setting is going to happen. The problem arises when that is ALL someone continually offers and therefore the perception is that this individual spends greater energies with personal things that are not helping move the collective-professional-process forward. Then, they become a distraction and may lead the entire team off a cliff. This manifestation of a distraction is one that is often challenging to overlook and will likely lead to an uncomfortable event when eventually someone gets fed-up and takes the "distraction" to task.

So, after work, when you are with people you trust feel free to share your experience with little green men from Mars. But don' t be disappointed if they look at you funny and strongly encourage you to keep the Encounter of the Third Kind to yourself.

Enough is Enough

There is a world renown restaurant that cooks some of the best barbecue in a state that is known for great barbecue. Day in and day out this eatery serves hundreds of folks. Many of these folks are from far away places. They drive many miles to enjoy the food and the ambiance.

This restaurant has a great and very successful business model for, doing enough, to serve their patrons without doing too much. You see, this restaurant cooks a limited amount of barbecue on a daily basis. They open the doors at the same time every day and close the doors whenever they run out of barbecue! Some days they run out just after lunch and some days it takes a bit longer. They always run out before dinner time, but they always sell-out! This business has a fantastic brand and they protect it by doing enough for their customers but they do not clamor to do too much. They know the amount of business they can do, at a very high quality level,  on a consistent basis, so they build and plan their work around that manageable target.

There is a famous saying; "Don't bite off more than you can chew."

This is as true in life as it is in business. Far too often people get wrapped up in getting more and more, to the point of diminishing return. Some businesses are especially good at doing bad by
over-promising and under-delivering. They are so focused and geared on growing their business they literally run past the business they currently have and the business they can manage well. Enough is never enough.

You have no business getting bigger at anything that you cannot presently do so well, that the time it takes to achieve a high-quality desired outcome, is reduced because of your increased level of proficiency. "Enough" really is a finite place to be in business and it is a good place provided that you are not getting stagnant. This restaurant doesn't serve some good barbecue some of the time, it serves great barbecue all of the time. Growth is desired as long as it is not at the expense of quality.

Throw Up

The phone conversation began innocently enough. The caller had attracted my attention, minimally enough to lead to a computer aided presentation. We scheduled the web-based meeting and the call came in and I noted that it was just a few minutes late. Without any small talk, the presenter started delivering and after approximately one hour, they asked me how I felt about their services. Literally the presenter talked (seemingly without taking a breath) for over an hour, rattling off opportunity after opportunity. They threw up and the contents of the ranting came rather forcefully out of the phone and filled my office. A few of the 100,000 points they made during the never ending presentation did peak my interest and encompass some things that may hold potential for our company. However they still do not realize that since they never ask. The conversation was not a conversation at all, it was a auctioneer-paced dump of information the presenter had already labeled as important to me, as if I was just like everyone else. Even if I am like everyone else, I don't want to be treated that way.

Conversations are meant to be two way streets. When having a conversation make sure to include the other person by asking their thoughts as the conversation progresses. When you ask a question, remain silent and give the person the opportunity to think and respond. Don't interrupt as challenging as it may be to hold your tongue. Your goal is to team up, not throw up.

Watching, Always Watching

One fine day, a while back, I picked my six year old daughter from elementary school. She had no
sooner settled down into the passenger's seat, while buckling her seat belt, she looked at me and said; "You got a new key." In fact, I did have new key, but what made her observation so profound is that it was not an especially unique key. The new key looked just like most of the other keys on my keychain, of which there were at least eight.

The impact of my daughter's observation and calling-out of a very small detail had a lasting impact upon me. She noticed the really small things suggesting that she was all over the not-so-small things that I was doing. She was watching everything I did and I don't think she was especially unique in her behavior. Based upon that one event, my logical assumption was that other people I was around were also watching-EVERYTHING.

The hustle and bustle of life or conversely the doldrums of life can cause us to be so involved or uninvolved, to the extent, that we do not notice others observing and based upon their observations making judgements about us or learning from us. If we are busy and accomplishing things with a great attitude those around us will likely learn that they too can do the same. If we are slacking in our efforts and we have a bad attitude those watching us may feel that since we are behaving badly, without consequence, they too can behave badly without consequence. The behaviors, good and bad, may not be addressed by the folks we are working with, but they will have an impact on us internally, even though the impact may not be readily apparent. When you are engaged in doing good things, and doing them very well, there is something inside you that grows. When you don't do things well, the growth stops or retracts. Someone is always watching you, even if that someone is you.

The Most Important Opportunity

An astronomical water bill took me to city hall to inquire. The charge, for two consecutive months was off the chart. There is, of course, a window between me and the city employee and apparently that gives them a license to assume that I and practically everyone else that comes to the window, is well below average intelligence. Without the window as a barrier, they might need to prove that they care and respect the customers by, let's say, acting like we actually mattered and that we just might have a brain. The discussion of the huge charge for water lead to a rather lengthy and confusing explanation of the process of charging based on averages, etc. The lasting impression is that they really don't care because they don't have to. Where else can I go to get my water? They are not held accountable for treating the window-visitors as if: They represent the Most Important Opportunity. Because of the distressing issue I was having, the city employee could have started the monotonous detailed (I have done this a thousand times) explanation with; "I am sorry you are having a problem, let me see if I can help." But Noooooooooooooo. I got the standard "throw-up" and get away from the window as quickly as you can demeanor.

Whenever you are engaging with anyone in business you are given the opportunity to treat the individual(s) as: The Most Important Opportunity. Every individual thinks that their problem or situation is much more important that almost anything you have going on and they expect you to behave accordingly. They represent a chance for you to grow by taking ownership, learning what they need and then do what you can. The Most Important Opportunity of the day is often the one standing before you at any given time.  

Buy Good Junk

Buy good junk. What a marketing message. The seller makes no pretense as to what they are offering. They simply say that the junk they are selling is better than most other junk, so since you are likely to buy junk, you should buy good junk, not bad junk.

Don't try and make your offering look and feel like something it is not. There are times when we get something because the person we got it from made it out to be something it is not. 

Our emotions got the best of us and we created our own truth out of the misrepresentations that were emotionally presented.

The product or service you represent is not as much about the features and benefits as it is about how well you know the features and benefits and how accurately and comprehensively you represent them to the prospect.

There are many times when the prospects directs the process and moves relentlessly toward a lower price. They want what you have and the price is in their opinion far too high. 

If you have survived by representing your value proposition as bad junk and not good junk the price will remain the issue. So reducing the price of your bad junk is the only option you are left with. Anyone can do that.

Turn your junk into a high value offering by fully understanding, through the prospect's view, just how beneficial your offering is. When viewed from the client's perspective, your good junk takes on a whole new relative meaning. Your good junk becomes the solution to the problem and you can feel good about helping to solve it. Don't allow clients to buy bad junk, even if it is good junk. Help them to buy solutions.

Be Very Selective What You Value

What you assign value to and how much importance you assign to the values and how you adhere to those values, will define you. Being very selective as to what you value and how much you value, your values is one of the most critical decisions you will ever make. Values mean something. The value you place on things such as relationships and what it takes to build them cannot be overstated. The value you place on trust and commitment and persistence and clarity and transparency demonstrates to others what you stand for.

If value is placed on things that are not of the highest quality, the reasons for your being is deeply compromised. Compromise itself is a type of value. When you start compromising in order to achieve a specific result you dilute the merit of your position. Achieving a balance in relationships is admirable and typically is the best path to the mutually beneficial outcome. However, compromising can lead to circumventing the values that are so very important to your future and your outlook. Don't cut corners, but it is okay to drive quickly around some of them.

What do you consider to be your greatest value or values? When asking yourself this question consider how you view the people you deal with professionally and personally. How do they treat you and do you have any idea what they consider your values to be?

Gain a better perspective on your values by taking time and deep thought to list your values in order of importance. Here is a great place to start:

1. TRUSTWORTHY
( All relationships start and stop with Trust. If you can be trusted you can build a relationship. If you cannot be trusted, it matters not) 

2. DEPENDABLE
( One of the most valuable values is dependability. Will you do what you say you are going to do, at an acceptable level of quality, within the timeframe you have committed to? People love people that they can depend on. Life is easier to plan and predict if you are dependable and that means sharing immediately, if for some reason you cannot do that which you have promised to do)


3. DO THE RIGHT THING
( Take the High-Road. You can make a name for yourself by always taking the high road. Operating from this position eliminates any concerns that you may or may not behave in a manner that is trustworthy and dependable. )

You cannot be something you are not deeply committed to. Sooner or later your true self will shine fourth and when it does, your values will either shine brightly or so dimly that it is impossible to determine your intrinsic value.

The Blip that needs "splainin"

North Korean Soldiers in "Camouflage" Huh?

Recently a major American auto manufacturer introduced, with great fanfare, a new iconic model that was intended to reestablish their brand. Their brand was started in 1917. After years of declining sales and a brand that suffered a muddled and eroding reputation the car company was ready to roll off the assembly line "The Car" that was going to change everything. Years and millions of research & and development and design dollars had been committed to this game-changer. The investment in terms of human hours and emotional commitment was enormous. The processes were in place the scheduling had been nailed down. Millions of dollars had been spent advertising the new car. Orders for the car had been placed and buyers were waiting for delivery.  Now all that the company had to do was deliver on the promises.

Unfortunately someone forgot to thoroughly check one of the most important parts of the plan.  The place where these cars were going to be assembled had, without any indication, failed to fully commit to the high quality demanded and expected and therefore did not deliver. The cars were coming off the assembly lines plagued with numerous manufacturing and assembly defects. Car after car rolled out of the plant and virtually none of them met the high standards that this luxury brand spent years building. The results were disastrous.

How many times are we faced with something really significant and throughout the process we are counting on others to come through so we assume and simply do not check on their commitment or abilities to ensure a successful outcome. Then when things start to go wrong we do not know which way to go or who we can help to change in order to turn things around. A discovery is made that since the people at fault did not take ownership and deliver, the break down in the process is revealed and it comes to light that the disaster is simply beyond belief. And more often than not, entirely preventable. Someone or a group of people were so myopic or complacent that no one saw the train or heard the warning whistle. The collision happened and people everywhere were now committing their valuable time to damage control. Looking at the end results, the mistakes were clearly evident. The question becomes: "How did so many big mistakes get by so many bright people and create an extremely costly comedy of errors." Answer the question, make the necessary changes and get on with correcting.

Maturity

Maturity is a very high price to pay for growing up.

Of course we all mature as a result of age, some more gracefully and more tactfully than others. Aging is one thing, maturing is another. That graceful aging/maturing process can be applied to our business growth. Since we are going to invest more and more time in our success, it makes sense that we would gain mature knowledge through experience, especially the best kind of experience that is gained when we fail. Becoming more tactfully mature means that when we learn, we get on with making the adjustments and don't let the temporary failure stop us. If we are not gaining invaluable experience as we "mature" we are wasting our time and the time of everyone around us. When we mature in our efforts we learn that reasoned persistence is a primary key and that temporary setbacks are just that, temporary. In this regard, the price paid for tactfully maturing is a great investment.

The price paid for maturing becomes destructively high when the maturity begins to constrict our desire to dream and think big. Less mature individuals, typically younger people often think unrealistically big and when those big unrestricted thoughts are viewed through a clouded mature-lense, they are often labeled as nonsense or a waste of time. Dreaming is not a waste of time. Thinking big is not a waste of time. Kids want to be Astronauts, Doctors, Lawyers or Indian Chiefs because the imaginary piece of paper they are writing their dreams on is blank and has no limits. Because of their lack of maturity, the sheet of imaginary paper will be filled with a very colorful future rife with grandiose lifetime achievements. These immature souls have no limits to their dreams because they are not tainted with the vicissitudes of life that the mature individual is allowing to cloud their view of endless possibilities. You are never too old to think big, think young, think grandiose possibilities, to think figuratively about becoming an Astronaut, Doctor, Lawyer or Indian Chief. Maturity to a point is beneficial, but when you mature to a place where you allow the state of mind to limit your big and creative thinking, it might be time to step back in time and dream. Dream big and don't allow maturity to get in your way.

Patience is a virtue and a problem

Patience is a virtue and it is also a problem. The ability to be patient and view occurrences through a lens that allows time for adequate development, is surely a high-value quality. Gaining a thorough and actionable perspective by moving methodically, both in your efforts and the effort of others, you are involved with, is commendable. Everyone has, at times in their lives, needed and allowed patience.

It was critically important in our developing years to have someone who would be patient as we learned to do something because we were unsuccessful, often time after time. Their patience allowed our failures to be building blocks and resulted in an acquisition of knowledge or skill we needed to be successful.  Most of us learned to ride a bicycle or learned our multiplication tables, not on the first try, but after many attempts and much patience. The patience of an interested person, made all of the difference and served as a virtuous example. They were patient and we learned.

And then there are those times when too much patience stunted the growth. Those times when our efforts were not our best and the instructor failed to tighten-the-screws and expect more from us more quickly. We were allowed to plod along when, if the expectations were set higher and the patience was less a part of the relationship, we might have learned more quickly and more deeply. Nothing is going to make you a better swimmer until you get in the pool to a place where your feet don't reach the bottom. The time for patience has passed and you had better swim or you'll sink. There is a time to cut-the-cord and take the position that too much patience is a problem.

The Problem With Pride

The problem with pride is that pride thinks it is self sufficient. Pride creates a false sense of worth. The prideful mindset loses sight of just how much other people helped contribute to their individual level of success. After reaching a desired level of status, when pride takes over, the individual begins to believe their own delusional self-talk which convinces them that they can do anything all by themselves. This false self-actulazition causes these prideful individuals to become insensitive to the value of others and they are prone to continually criticizing everything that seems to be even the least bit wrong. Their sense of judgement is clouded by their pride and the alienation of human resources becomes an acceptable behavior because they now believe they are much smarter than everyone else. Pride becomes a barrier. Pride becomes a destructive force and the prideful individual will do damage, perhaps irreparable damage, to the very things that they are seeking to improve such as relationships.

Being proud of accomplishments is fine and should be an exhilarating experience. Working toward and achieving a goal along side other like-minded people is one of the most fulfilling experiences in business and life. When we all pull in the same direction amazing things can be accomplished because we have collectively overcome the obstacles and challenges that were in the way of the desired outcome. A degree of caution needs to be a part of every victory because in the light of winning some people become so enamored with the  "limelight" that they are blinded to the other people in the room! Suddenly the only voice they hear is their own. Pride has taken over their sense of judgement and is leading them down the path of believing they are more valuable that they actually are. One of the classic mistakes any leader can make is to believe, mainly because of pride, is that they are the most important piece of the solved puzzle. Puzzles are uniquely pieced together and every piece is individually crafted to serve a vitally important function.

Take pride in your collective and individual successful accomplishments but do not allow pride to take over your judgment process. "Pride serves to serve only pride"; and that is a dangerous and destructive self-inflicted wound. Be proud, not prideful and be smart enough to learn the difference.

Watering Dead Plants

One fine sunny day while I was mowing my lawn I noticed my neighbor watering their lawn and decorative plants with their water hose. Interestingly and to my amazement they began to water, rather liberally, a plant that was dead and was going to remain dead, no matter how much water they dedicated to the dead plant. The plant was dead. Their good intentions were not going to change anything except the wasting of their time and valuable resource, such as the water. They needed to accept the fact that the plant was dead and in order to make a positive impact they needed to pull the dead plant up by the roots, add some new soil and replace it with a living plant. Then they could water and make a lasting and positive impact. 

Business and life is sometimes like my neighbor. In business and in life we can dedicate time and valuable resources to activities that are dead or dying and need to die. Instead of taking a more beneficial approach by accepting the fact that the efforts, no matter how well intentioned, are not going to make a difference. And even if they did, just how much time and effort would we need to dedicate to   see if, in the end, our energies were well allocated. There are appropriate times that we all need to walk away from something and move on. The grass is not greener on the other side, the grass is greener where the grass is growing and gets watered at levels sufficient to give the grass the best opportunity to thrive. Dedicating time, energy and resources to anything that is not going to produce a positive result is bad enough but dedicating time, energy and resources to things that are dead or need to die will bring into question the quality of your judgement. Most often we continue doing these non productive activities because we inherited them or because we always have. Stop and consider if you are too close to the situation to make a reasonable and fair evaluation and if, after doing so, you come to the factual conclusion that you need to zoom out and take a look do so. The far away look may show that the dead activity is a waste of time and resources, you were simply too close to see it. Then you can replant, replace and replenish with the opportunity to produce more positive results.

The Black Eye

One of the most important things to remember about a black eye is that at some time or another we are all going to get them and eventually the visual and/or emotional impact of a black eye is going to go away. Ideally, what ever circumstances and resulting visual or emotional impact resulting from what lead to the black eye and the associated damage, will long be remembered and have a positive impact on our lives and the direction we are headed. Black eyes are a tough way to learn lessons but they are better than not learning at all. The sudden and forceful event that resulted in a black eye is memorably shocking and that is good!

Life has a funny way of getting our attention and through some "black-eye" event remind us and teaches us what we need to learn in order to get better. The "black-eye" moments are those moments that dramatically get our attention and scream for immediate action. We must do something right now because of the damage and perhaps that is true. But what is more important is that we immediately accept that the damage done will highlight something that we should improve on. The changes necessary to prevent these "black-eye" circumstances from reoccurring can be positive steps to learning how to and how not to.

There is no victory in allowing "black-eye" events to change your goals. Move on by accepting the reality that the event did occur, there is visual or emotional damage and proceed toward a change in your life that will result in positive outcomes. The victory is found in your response and how willing you are to accept that a mistake was made, you put yourself in a challenging position and got walloped because of that decision and you are going to change so that you never allow that to happen again.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time in a racquetball court while playing doubles. 
I do not play doubles any longer. Lesson learned. 

Really?

Really? "Really", is a popular refrain these days regarding a disbelief of a statement or action or absence of action. When someone has the opportunity and the potential to accomplish something and choses not to do so because they are lazy, feel free to look them in the eye and say; "Really?"

The fundamental problem with lack of progress most often resides more in omission than commission. When you are doing something, there is a possibility that you will make mistakes. Feel free. When someone decides, consciously, to not do something, they may feel secure that they are avoiding mistakes, but they are wrong. Once you know what to do you must do it. Make mistakes, lots of them, but reduce the number of times you make the same mistake. Learn by doing.

Lazy I don't get. Taking a break, I get. Taking a day off, I get, Taking your well earned vacation, I get. But lazy I don't get and simply cannot tolerate lazy. The best course of action is to take action. People will follow you if you demonstrate confidence, even if you are headed in the wrong direction.

History is rife with stories of very talented and capable individuals who did absolutely nothing. History is also rife with less talented and less capable individuals who accomplished amazing things by taking action. They weren't lazy, they did not make excuses and they did not accept the status quo.

Fortunately for the successful people in the world, we have lazy people as examples of what not to do. Being lazy is a really bad decision but at least it is a decision. Being lazy is a good example of a bad example. So, if you are going to be a lazy person be a really good lazy person so all of the "doers" in your world can see, by your inactivity, what not to do.

For all of you people that are not lazy, always change the roll.

Back to Basics

My former boss, a newspaper sports writer in his previous life,  used to tell me all of the time: "If it ain't blockin' and tacklin', we probably don't need to spend much time on it." Football requires that teams effectively employ the basics of blocking and tackling in order to put their team in a position to win. So does business.

Often businesses and people, after they reach a certain level of success, feel a compelling need to change what they did that made them successful in the first place. They were once passionately engaged in doing the basic actions required to succeed in their chosen endeavor and somehow, not doing those things began to make sense. The change in doing the successful basic actions probably did not occur overnight. Failure nor success rarely happens quickly. Instead, the players became complacent doing the day to day actions that resulted in measurable progress and felt that they could surely make things happen more quickly if they would fundamentally change what they had been doing successfully. When this calculated change occurs and things don't work out it is typically the process that is faulted and not the people. After all, they reason that it was the same people involved now as when they were making progress. So if could not be the people, it must be the process. Disillusioned to say the least.

The things that helped to make you successful are they very same things that will ensure a greater level of success, if you get better at those things. Let your competition travel down the road of unproven processes hoping to make light-speed process. There is a reason that the basics are called basics. The basics are the fundamental building blocks to every successful foundation. When you hear companies, large and small, talk about "getting back to the basics" consider just how much they have allowed their foundation to erode  by deliberately walking away from the fundamentals of "blocking and tackling. The negative results are self inflicted wounds that are 100% preventable.

Consider those actions that are basic to the success in your professional and personal life and commit to getting better at those things. Do change, but not for the sake of change. Change by getting better at the basics, not back to basics.