On July 29, 2009, I attended my son-in-law’s graduation exercise from the Houston, Texas Police Academy. It was quite an event with lots of pomp and circumstance. Marvin graduated ranked 7th in a class that began with 70 participants, 66 graduated. I am very proud of his effort and accomplishment. The graduates came in all sizes, races, and genders. The top 3 graduates were recognized as “high achievers” and received special accommodations.
Ranking and achievement have dominated my thinking since the ceremony. Who are the achievers and why? What achievement does each of us seek…or do we seek any? Should we?
I sure wish I had all these answers. Maybe I should stop thinking so much and actually achieve something myself!
I just wonder if all the candidates at the police academy began as equals. As I said, they came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. But on day number one they were equals. At graduation, 6 months later, only 3 received accommodations. Sure each of them came to day one with all of their experiences prior to that day, but in that line, on that day, none of that mattered, they were equal….or were they?
If they were all equal, why then, did they all not receive the high achievers award on July 29? My belief as to why is this…they had equality of opportunity, not equality of skills, intellect, and drive. They absolutely were not guaranteed an equality of outcome.
I truly believe that we cannot and should not attempt to assure an equality of outcome to all persons. I am an American capitalist and I believe that God has endowed us with certain unalienable rights, among those are the rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I believe that God has also blessed each of us with certain abilities unique to each of us individually. He provides us with a certain amount of natural skill and intellect. He gives some more than others, but to each, something. My question is this: does He provide each of us with the same ability to summon drive, determination, and ambition? Is this what is meant by having free will?
No matter your education level, no matter your family background, no matter the direness of your current circumstances, opportunity awaits. If you are waiting for a guarantee of an outcome you just may be waiting forever. If you are waiting for an opportunity, open your eyes, they are all around you. Your achievement depends on you. How bad do you want it?
George Bernard Shaw put it this way:
“I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on
in this world are the people who get up and look for the
circumstances they want. And if they can’t find them,
make them.”
Hard work, determination, and ambition will not guarantee success any more than size, strength, and brainpower. But sitting around waiting on success to interrupt you is a guaranteed path to failure and ruin.
I am curious if those 3 police officer achievers simply decided they were going to be the best and attain the awards ….or if their talents were so great it just came easy for them. I choose to believe the former. They all began as equals…and these 3 made a choice that made them unequal.
I think we do an injustice today by not recognizing those who achieve. Those are the ones I want on my team, whether it is a sporting event, a business endeavor, a mentor, or a charity fundraiser. We may have all started as equals but we sure don’t end up that way.
Another quote from Thomas Jefferson sums it up:
“There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of
unequal people.”
There you have it.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Not Wrong, Just Different
Wouldn’t it be terrible if we all liked and wanted the same things? Only one color car would be needed, only one color hair! We would all rush to the beach (or the mountains) for vacation. The tourist industry in one or the other would go out of business…but that would be ok… because the shop owners didn’t want to be there anyway.
Silly, right? Then why am I guilty of thinking that everyone must like and want the same things I do? I tend to fall into this trap everyday. I have to constantly focus and re-focus in order to remind myself that others (my teammates and customers in particular) are not always in tune with my way of thinking.
It takes intentionality for me to not put all people in the same box. They must be thinking this or that because I am thinking this or that….bull! The fact is that the exact opposite may be true….they are probably thinking one way just because I am thinking the opposite!
Well… in any event, I am happy that we are all different. The simple fact that we are all unique allows me to grow and learn as I pursue answers to various questions (business and otherwise). I am amazed by how, sometimes, the persons I am acquainted with approach a situation 180 degrees different than me. Not wrong, mind you…just different. Depending on the relationship with the individual, this situation can be quite stressful or quite exhilarating.
If we are searching for the right answer…it is really cool as we can discuss, argue, and influence each other in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. If we are each searching only for our answer…then it can get ugly…real ugly.
Here’s to open minds and different ways of thinking.
Silly, right? Then why am I guilty of thinking that everyone must like and want the same things I do? I tend to fall into this trap everyday. I have to constantly focus and re-focus in order to remind myself that others (my teammates and customers in particular) are not always in tune with my way of thinking.
It takes intentionality for me to not put all people in the same box. They must be thinking this or that because I am thinking this or that….bull! The fact is that the exact opposite may be true….they are probably thinking one way just because I am thinking the opposite!
Well… in any event, I am happy that we are all different. The simple fact that we are all unique allows me to grow and learn as I pursue answers to various questions (business and otherwise). I am amazed by how, sometimes, the persons I am acquainted with approach a situation 180 degrees different than me. Not wrong, mind you…just different. Depending on the relationship with the individual, this situation can be quite stressful or quite exhilarating.
If we are searching for the right answer…it is really cool as we can discuss, argue, and influence each other in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. If we are each searching only for our answer…then it can get ugly…real ugly.
Here’s to open minds and different ways of thinking.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Short-Run Thinking
What is best for me in the next 5 minutes, the rest of the day, or the rest of the week? I admit it… I am sometimes guilty of very short-run thinking.
The counter intuitive reality is that, most of the time, what is best for me, or my customer, in the short run, is not the best thing for me or them in the long run. Interesting! I have to be very careful in this area of both my professional and personal life because short-run thinking is easy! Pursuing longer term achievements takes discipline and is hard.
I have stated before in a blog post that I like to eat…it is fun. But eating too much, too often certainly has its long term consequences. The same goes for financial health…a little purchase here or there on items that provide short term enjoyment can ultimately lead to long term despair, and at the very least, worry.
When we begin a project with a client we are often times looking for “early yardage”, something that can impress them and hook them for the long haul. This works lots of times, but we must be careful that a quick battle victory does not impede the ultimate outcome of the war. What are our real goals? Sometimes even having the conversation is difficult. Who wants to think about 5 years from now when they are hurting in the present? Like I said, long term thinking is hard.
Taking the long view, however, is generally taking on the real source of the problem as opposed to simply alleviating a symptom with a short-term salve. I don’t like pain any more than the next person, but I do understand that most things worthwhile are not attained without some type of short run sacrifice. I have known people that would rather walk with a cane than go through physical therapy. I do not want to be those people…ever!
I’m just trying to psyche myself up for some short term pain in order to achieve some long term gain…. I hope this helps you a little also.
Keep the Faith.
The counter intuitive reality is that, most of the time, what is best for me, or my customer, in the short run, is not the best thing for me or them in the long run. Interesting! I have to be very careful in this area of both my professional and personal life because short-run thinking is easy! Pursuing longer term achievements takes discipline and is hard.
I have stated before in a blog post that I like to eat…it is fun. But eating too much, too often certainly has its long term consequences. The same goes for financial health…a little purchase here or there on items that provide short term enjoyment can ultimately lead to long term despair, and at the very least, worry.
When we begin a project with a client we are often times looking for “early yardage”, something that can impress them and hook them for the long haul. This works lots of times, but we must be careful that a quick battle victory does not impede the ultimate outcome of the war. What are our real goals? Sometimes even having the conversation is difficult. Who wants to think about 5 years from now when they are hurting in the present? Like I said, long term thinking is hard.
Taking the long view, however, is generally taking on the real source of the problem as opposed to simply alleviating a symptom with a short-term salve. I don’t like pain any more than the next person, but I do understand that most things worthwhile are not attained without some type of short run sacrifice. I have known people that would rather walk with a cane than go through physical therapy. I do not want to be those people…ever!
I’m just trying to psyche myself up for some short term pain in order to achieve some long term gain…. I hope this helps you a little also.
Keep the Faith.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
49 and a Day
Yesterday morning (May 1, 2009) at 9:20 a.m. I surpassed 49 years on planet Earth. I never thought I would make it this long! I am on lagniappe time.
I remember my Dad saying that he really enjoyed getting older as the alternative was very unattractive. I think I agree.
While cutting my grass today (with my push mower… since some low life stole my rider) I thought about what I would, or should, do with my remaining time. Should I just continue to play it safe and survive or sow a few wild oats? I am not talking about wild and lascivious living, but taking a few more risks…living a little more on faith and stop being concerned as much with security. (I have been known to say that sometimes I like belts and suspenders…just in case.)
What do you think? Same boring Tim or should I sometimes drive 50 in a 45?
I will try to blog again soon (and regularly)…as I have taken a forced sabbatical for several months due to unsuccessfully trying to become more secure…
I remember my Dad saying that he really enjoyed getting older as the alternative was very unattractive. I think I agree.
While cutting my grass today (with my push mower… since some low life stole my rider) I thought about what I would, or should, do with my remaining time. Should I just continue to play it safe and survive or sow a few wild oats? I am not talking about wild and lascivious living, but taking a few more risks…living a little more on faith and stop being concerned as much with security. (I have been known to say that sometimes I like belts and suspenders…just in case.)
What do you think? Same boring Tim or should I sometimes drive 50 in a 45?
I will try to blog again soon (and regularly)…as I have taken a forced sabbatical for several months due to unsuccessfully trying to become more secure…
Sunday, January 11, 2009
What's Valuable?
Over the past week or so I have been preparing for an approximate 2 hour presentation to one of my customer’s team at their annual retreat. The topic that the customer asked that I concentrate on is “business planning”.
My mind has been whirling with different thoughts and stories that I hope will motivate the group to plan, but even further than just plan, I hope they will take action and implement their plans. Now that I have completed the preparation for the presentation I am able to step back and attempt to assess the value to be delivered by the concepts and ideas that I will be presenting. In doing this, a new thought jumped into my head…. what is truly valuable?
At first I thought of the easy things…money, a house, a car, jewelry…you know…THINGS!!! I then thought that these are, what I call, rival assets….something that, if I give/sell to you, you have and I don’t. But what if I give you a concept or idea that inspires or motivates you to action….and that action results in creation of a new process that allows you to more effectively deliver your goods or service, or motivates you to make a real commitment to more consistently do the things in your business that you KNOW creates profitable sales? Or, in a non-business environment, motivates you to live a more healthy life-style. These non-rival assets of concepts, ideas, motivation, and/or inspiration are where, I think, real value truly lies. These assets are non-rival in that I can give/sell them to you and now we both have the asset.
How cool is that?
Since I sell advice, ideas, concepts, motivation, inspiration, and a few other intangible services, the following statement is going to sound very self-serving. But here goes… I believe that the value of non-rival assets exceeds the value of rival assets by an immeasurable distance. Things are just that…things! But ideas, thoughts, determination, desire, ….these are the intangibles that lives of real worth are made.
I would love to hear your thoughts regarding the value of rival vs. non-rival assets.
My mind has been whirling with different thoughts and stories that I hope will motivate the group to plan, but even further than just plan, I hope they will take action and implement their plans. Now that I have completed the preparation for the presentation I am able to step back and attempt to assess the value to be delivered by the concepts and ideas that I will be presenting. In doing this, a new thought jumped into my head…. what is truly valuable?
At first I thought of the easy things…money, a house, a car, jewelry…you know…THINGS!!! I then thought that these are, what I call, rival assets….something that, if I give/sell to you, you have and I don’t. But what if I give you a concept or idea that inspires or motivates you to action….and that action results in creation of a new process that allows you to more effectively deliver your goods or service, or motivates you to make a real commitment to more consistently do the things in your business that you KNOW creates profitable sales? Or, in a non-business environment, motivates you to live a more healthy life-style. These non-rival assets of concepts, ideas, motivation, and/or inspiration are where, I think, real value truly lies. These assets are non-rival in that I can give/sell them to you and now we both have the asset.
How cool is that?
Since I sell advice, ideas, concepts, motivation, inspiration, and a few other intangible services, the following statement is going to sound very self-serving. But here goes… I believe that the value of non-rival assets exceeds the value of rival assets by an immeasurable distance. Things are just that…things! But ideas, thoughts, determination, desire, ….these are the intangibles that lives of real worth are made.
I would love to hear your thoughts regarding the value of rival vs. non-rival assets.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Just One of My Lists
Since I do not know exactly who reads this blog, I need to provide a little personal information before I get to the point of this post (if there really is a point).
For those who know me you probably know that my older daughter, Sarah, was married on November 22nd. (Yes, I know I am too young for such things, but it happened…I was there.) It was quite a celebration of she and her husband Marvin’s beginning of life together…and just life in general. I keep reminding myself that the expense was worth it… for lots of reasons…not the least of which is that I truly believe that this life is one of abundance and not scarcity. My God is a BIG God… and a little extravagance in celebration of just being here is warranted every now and then! (I concede that this may be rationalization… and my family tells me to quit saying I’m broke! Which, by the way, is close to the truth. OK..from now on I’m trying the positive thinking thing!)
For those who know me very well, you also know that I live my life guided by lists…to do lists for my customers, to do lists for home projects, grocery lists, books and articles to read list, places to be lists… all kinds of lists.
Since the wedding I’ve added a new list to my list of lists. (I guess I kept this list mentally before the wedding, but the pre and post wedding planning and events brought me to begin writing things down.) My new list is a list entitled:
“Things I have absolutely no control or influence upon”.
So here it goes:
The weather
The stock market
What people think
What people think about me
The mortgage bailout
The auto manufacturer bailout
The actions of our President
Who is our President (Maybe my vote did count…?)
Wedding planning
Where my daughter and son-in-law will reside
Snoring (even though I don’t believe I do…but just in case…I can’t help it)
A certain person’s reaction to snoring (you figure out who…but her name begins with J)
My choloresterol (unless you believe that baloney about eating right…I think it is heredity)
OK..too much editorial comment… but you get the picture… and the list goes on and on…
The conclusion reached by all of this time consuming list making is that the only thing I can truly control or influence is the little bit of activity that goes on between my ears. And this leads to reaction or response. (Reaction=Bad, Respond=Good…as in “I had a reaction to the medicine.” vs. “I am responding to the medicine.”)
Once again proving that life is about 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to what happens. Your actions are guided by your thoughts and beliefs…every time. What are you thinking? What do you believe?
Maybe there is a business application in there some where...I think there is.
For those who know me you probably know that my older daughter, Sarah, was married on November 22nd. (Yes, I know I am too young for such things, but it happened…I was there.) It was quite a celebration of she and her husband Marvin’s beginning of life together…and just life in general. I keep reminding myself that the expense was worth it… for lots of reasons…not the least of which is that I truly believe that this life is one of abundance and not scarcity. My God is a BIG God… and a little extravagance in celebration of just being here is warranted every now and then! (I concede that this may be rationalization… and my family tells me to quit saying I’m broke! Which, by the way, is close to the truth. OK..from now on I’m trying the positive thinking thing!)
For those who know me very well, you also know that I live my life guided by lists…to do lists for my customers, to do lists for home projects, grocery lists, books and articles to read list, places to be lists… all kinds of lists.
Since the wedding I’ve added a new list to my list of lists. (I guess I kept this list mentally before the wedding, but the pre and post wedding planning and events brought me to begin writing things down.) My new list is a list entitled:
“Things I have absolutely no control or influence upon”.
So here it goes:
The weather
The stock market
What people think
What people think about me
The mortgage bailout
The auto manufacturer bailout
The actions of our President
Who is our President (Maybe my vote did count…?)
Wedding planning
Where my daughter and son-in-law will reside
Snoring (even though I don’t believe I do…but just in case…I can’t help it)
A certain person’s reaction to snoring (you figure out who…but her name begins with J)
My choloresterol (unless you believe that baloney about eating right…I think it is heredity)
OK..too much editorial comment… but you get the picture… and the list goes on and on…
The conclusion reached by all of this time consuming list making is that the only thing I can truly control or influence is the little bit of activity that goes on between my ears. And this leads to reaction or response. (Reaction=Bad, Respond=Good…as in “I had a reaction to the medicine.” vs. “I am responding to the medicine.”)
Once again proving that life is about 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to what happens. Your actions are guided by your thoughts and beliefs…every time. What are you thinking? What do you believe?
Maybe there is a business application in there some where...I think there is.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
2 Keys
Over the past 2 days I have watched my younger daughter compete with her high school volleyball team in the State Tournament. They won convincingly in the quarter finals and lost a close match in the semis. She was not a happy camper! But she did recover quickly and is already talking about and planning for spring club volleyball and next year’s high school season. (She has 2 more years of high school ahead.)
While watching the games I begin to notice, what I think are the keys to success in the game of volleyball. You might find this surprising as I don’t even know all of the rules to the game! But that has never kept me from expressing an opinion before. So here it goes:
Key #1- Performing the routine plays consistently.
Key #2- Innovating successfully when the plays are not routine.
Duh! More easily said than done! And, as you knew I would point out, this observation dovetails very well with success in business.
I have posted in the past about fundamentals and how mastering them yields success. This is really what Key # 1 is all about. Do the basics well! And how do we do that? Plan and practice, there is no other way. Plan how you want your “play” to happen, and then practice it until it is second nature. At our office, for example, we try to anticipate our clients’ wants and needs and then plan our “plays” to meet or exceed those expectations. Not surprisingly, most clients’ wants and needs are similar…so we prepare our basic plays to get the job done exceedingly well.
But what about the plays that are not routine? The tip in volleyball that causes us to feel out of position, the block that is right back on us before we have time to react, are examples of plays in which we must innovate to succeed. We cannot get our feet under us and make a good pass, or get in position for a kill, we must respond to the situation quickly with innovative reflex. Just keep the ball alive until we can get back to the routine.
In business, the “non-routine” can happen in any number of ways. Economic downturns, a supplier mistake, an unusual need/want from a customer, are just a few examples of situations when we must respond innovatively. Just keep the ball alive until we can get back to the routine! So how should we plan for innovation? In my opinion, by practicing the fundamentals repeatedly, innovative opportunities will readily present themselves…and therefore we can “practice” innovation. This may sound like an oxymoron. How can we “practice innovation”? By putting ourselves through the routine enough times, the “non-routine” will naturally occur just due to the law of averages. Nothing happens the same way every time.
Also, by reading, studying, and researching the non-routine events we can actually gain “virtual” experience. Again, in my opinion, virtual experience is the best type of experience as it allows you to not actually experiment with “live fire” but experiment in the controlled environment of your own mind. What have others experienced in similar environments? How did they respond? What worked and what didn’t?
Key #1- Routine….planning and practice makes perfect….consistent repeatability.
Key #2- Innovation…again, routine practice and virtual experience gives you the opportunity to respond to the “non-routine” in a routinely innovative way (routinely innovative…another oxymoron…I am on a roll….).
While watching the games I begin to notice, what I think are the keys to success in the game of volleyball. You might find this surprising as I don’t even know all of the rules to the game! But that has never kept me from expressing an opinion before. So here it goes:
Key #1- Performing the routine plays consistently.
Key #2- Innovating successfully when the plays are not routine.
Duh! More easily said than done! And, as you knew I would point out, this observation dovetails very well with success in business.
I have posted in the past about fundamentals and how mastering them yields success. This is really what Key # 1 is all about. Do the basics well! And how do we do that? Plan and practice, there is no other way. Plan how you want your “play” to happen, and then practice it until it is second nature. At our office, for example, we try to anticipate our clients’ wants and needs and then plan our “plays” to meet or exceed those expectations. Not surprisingly, most clients’ wants and needs are similar…so we prepare our basic plays to get the job done exceedingly well.
But what about the plays that are not routine? The tip in volleyball that causes us to feel out of position, the block that is right back on us before we have time to react, are examples of plays in which we must innovate to succeed. We cannot get our feet under us and make a good pass, or get in position for a kill, we must respond to the situation quickly with innovative reflex. Just keep the ball alive until we can get back to the routine.
In business, the “non-routine” can happen in any number of ways. Economic downturns, a supplier mistake, an unusual need/want from a customer, are just a few examples of situations when we must respond innovatively. Just keep the ball alive until we can get back to the routine! So how should we plan for innovation? In my opinion, by practicing the fundamentals repeatedly, innovative opportunities will readily present themselves…and therefore we can “practice” innovation. This may sound like an oxymoron. How can we “practice innovation”? By putting ourselves through the routine enough times, the “non-routine” will naturally occur just due to the law of averages. Nothing happens the same way every time.
Also, by reading, studying, and researching the non-routine events we can actually gain “virtual” experience. Again, in my opinion, virtual experience is the best type of experience as it allows you to not actually experiment with “live fire” but experiment in the controlled environment of your own mind. What have others experienced in similar environments? How did they respond? What worked and what didn’t?
Key #1- Routine….planning and practice makes perfect….consistent repeatability.
Key #2- Innovation…again, routine practice and virtual experience gives you the opportunity to respond to the “non-routine” in a routinely innovative way (routinely innovative…another oxymoron…I am on a roll….).
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