The Wastebroker Blog

Business as Usual.....a Hugh McLeod Perspective

I received this in an email from Hugh McLeod, @gapingvoid, www.gapingvoidgallery.com and thought his perspective on 'Business as Usual' was worthy of sharing with you. We were recently legislated out of a significant piece of business, so this hit home - nothing is guaranteed, nothing is entitled, the future can always be better.....or worse. If you think you've got it figured out, you might not be as smart as you think you are.....and you might just be getting lazy.

"The phrase “Business as usual” is funny to me, and as you can see in today’s cartoon http://www.gapingvoidgallery.com/gallerycubegrenades-oxymoron-p-2021.html?utm_source=Gapingvoid+Daily+Cartoon&utm_campaign=b8cd9a8c34-%23446+%22Oxymoron%22+November+25%2C+2011&utm_medium=email , I think it’s overplayed. Business as usual may not be a classic oxymoron in literary terms, but the idea that business is usual in any sense is laughable.

Businesses today don’t prosper on operating “as usual”. Industries are being destroyed and rebuilt in the blink of an eye. Old, reliable income streams are being legislated out of business or have been marginalized by markets that have new access to information. There is nothing usual about business today. Today, business is about reinvention, turning heads, making waves, stirring the pot and, most importantly, CREATING. Maybe what’s more unusual, perhaps, are the people who still think in terms of “business as usual”."   

Copyright 2010 gapingvoid gallery | creative commons terms apply.

Trust - Easy to Give, Harder to Maintain

Reading from my “Great Quotes from Great Leaders” book today and had cause to pause when I read this quote attributed to Booker T. Washington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington, “Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.”  It made me think, do I always give responsibility and trust to my team?  I’d like to swear that I do, but I’m not sure I can, unfortunately. 

It’s not as though I don’t want to trust, I do, eh, trust me.  Most of the time, my trust is rewarded.  But trust hasn’t always worked out for me.  Over the years, people I’ve trusted have lied to me, stolen from me and taken advantage of my trust in various other ways.  It was never my fault…….I’m quite sure?  

When my trust is abused, I try to bounce back, reaffirm my belief that all human beings are essentially good and trustworthy, and give it another go.  Trust is necessary.  After all, the option – to trust no one - isn’t very appealing….and it makes for a long, miserable day as well.

Truth is that I love placing responsibility and trust with others, but I’m quicker to lose trust than I am take away the responsibility – which makes no sense.  I need to work on that.  I’m glad I had the chance to read Booker’s quote today.  It made me to take a close look at myself and my leadership.  I still have room to improve.  Do you?

Do You Color Inside the Lines?

In school, I was always taught to color within the lines.  Seems logical.  After all, when we color within the lines, we usually make a pretty picture. The colors may not match perfectly, but no one can say we're not neat.  And at least that's something.  As I've aged (yes, gracefully - thank you), I've begun to question the logic of coloring within the lines.  Not because I don't like pretty pictures, but because I wonder (often) whose lines I'm really coloring in and why I should be concerned with their lines.  Maybe you wonder that as well?

Would the world be a better place without lines?  OK, I'll admit, that's a silly question.  We, of course, need lines to define property boundaries, mark the right and left sides of the roadway, punish folks who violate or ignore the law (unless of course the glove doesn't fit) and assemble in an orderly fashion when WalMart is selling DVD players for $19.99 (after $5 mail- in rebate), among other things.  We need lines to get along with each other in a peaceful and productive manner, lest we invite that nasty little annoyance called anarchy.

Besides these societal-appropriate lines, however, I believe the rest are seriously overrated, especially those that limit (or hope to) your ability to let your creativity make a difference in the world.  We start coloring within the lines in kindergarten and, before we know it, we're coloring ourselves into lines until the day we die.  And why not?  In kindergarten, the teacher gives us a gold star for making a pretty picture and staying in the lines.  In high school and college, we matriculate by staying in the lines.  And, at work, we stay out of trouble by staying in the lines.  It all works kind of nicely and keeps us (or at least our parents and bosses) happy!

There's nothing wrong with choosing to live your life staying within the lines.  It's safe and, for some, the perfect solution for living a life over which you can cede control to someone else.  It's a good way to make "they, them and those" the topic of discussion (and disdain) at the dinner table or the backyard barbecue.  It's also easy and, as you know, we'll give up more than we probably should for a little dose of convenience.

But instead of staying within the lines, wouldn't it be more interesting to go outside the lines (or imagine them as being totally different)?  Isn't there a chance that you have something to offer that someone else's lines don't take into consideration?

I've decided that, for me at least, coloring outside the lines makes more sense than staying inside of them.  It gives me the permission I need to use my imagination, think things up, test theories and .... make lots of mistakes (an unfortunate but necessary consequence).  It also lets me be messy (or so some might say).  In fact, if you give me a line, I'll immediately start thinking about whether it's the real line... or just the line so far.  Not out of disrespect for your line, of course, but simply out of my own curiosity.  I may even stay in it, like the line at the DMV, because even I'm smart enough to know I can't win every battle (and I just happen to need my license renewed).

I'm not sure whether coloring outside the lines will lead me to any great, world-changing successes.  But think of it this way.  Al Gore colored in the lines his whole life.  After all, that's how his Daddy raised him.  Until November 2000 (or was it December when it was all said and done) when a hanging chad in Florida of all places prompted a sudden, if disputed, career change.  At first, Gore reacted, predictably I suppose, like someone who lived in lines he had drawn for him by someone else (but accepted nonetheless) ..... he cried and yelled about the unfairness of it all.  Until he wised up that is and figured out that he was now on the other side of the line.  Thanks largely to having his lines modified by the Florida chad, Mr. Gore is, as I write this, the proud owner of both an Academy Award and a Nobel Peace prize, an inconvenient truth though both may be.

So my advice to you is to stay within the lines if you like.  I won't tell, I promise.  But, if you you're just a little curious and you're not too scared .... don't be afraid to wonder "what's on the other side of the line?"

Why I'm Not as Smart as a Fifth Grader

It’s bad enough that I can’t answer all the questions from the TV show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader.  Even though I’ve apparently got a lot of company when it comes to my inability (most contestants and a fair majority of the viewers if I had to guess) it still grates at me.  And the fact that Jeff Foxworthy, the man who created the whole “You might be a redneck if.  .  .” movement, is the host with all the answers is, well, like a stick in the eye to boot.

And now this.  As it turns out, last June I foolishly (in retrospect) engaged my just matriculated 10-year old fifth grade daughter, Morgan, in a summer reading contest,  I did this, of course, with the highest of noble intentions wanting to stimulate her desire to read, learn and imagine her way through the summer.  I also made it interesting, offering her a $5 bounty for each book she might read in excess of my total for the summer.  She accepted, and the race was on.

At the outset, I assumed she would win because she enjoys reading and would have more time to read during the summer than I would.  I figured maybe five books more than me would be her total.  But not unlike many government projects, I soon found that my costs would exceed my budget – and, like Uncle Sam, I couldn’t tell by exactly how much.

I knew I was in trouble early when I noticed Morgan reading a book whenever I saw her.  She read in bed, on the couch, in the yard, while she ate, in the car, in a tent in the yard, in the bathroom, on a walk in the park.  You name the place, she had a book.  The books seemed attracted to her, like a magnet to a refrigerator.  Almost every other day, I’d be met with her smiling proclamation, “I finished another book,” then the jab, “How many have you finished?”

On Labor Day, we settled up.  Her total, 26 books all above our 200-page minimum and including Harry Potter at 700 pages plus.  My total: 8.  Difference: 18 books!  Cost:  $90!  She was thrilled and I .  .  . was too, despite my whooping.  We high-fived, and I congratulated her like the winner she was; “I’m not worthy,” and that was so true.

Morgan came to me a short time later with a proposition.  We’d agreed that she would collect her winnings in a Barnes & Noble gift card.  Ninety dollars, she told me, is a lot of money to spend on books at Barnes & Noble; would I consider the following attractive:

Ø      $30 Barnes & Noble gift card;

Ø      $30 cash so that she could buy something for herself and her younger sister, Rachel; and

Ø      $30 for charity.

   

Wow! I was impressed.  I’m still not sure if I’m any smarter than a fifth grader, but I do know that I can learn a lot from a fifth grader.  Congratulations, Morgan!

Big Things Start Small - Part 2

Shortly after posting my first "Big Things Start Small" article about the history and growth of three one time small and now quite large companies, Harley Davidson, Miller Brewing and Allen Bradley, I came across the announcement that yet another "man are they big but started small" company, UPS, is, this month, celebrating its 100 year anniversary.  Everyone, of course, knows who UPS is today - but what about what they were back in 1907? 

I'll admit that, although my father worked for UPS for more than 10 years, I was not familiar with the company's humble beginnings.  In a story reminiscent of today's DOT COM start ups, UPS was started by two teenagers, Claude Ryan and Jim Casey, who, financed with a $100 loan, operated out of a basement in Seattle, WA.  Originally a messenger service, the teens called their enterprise "American Messenger Service".   In 1913, the boys acquired their first motor vehicle, a Model T Ford and, to reflect their new capabilities, renamed their company "Merchants Parcel Delivery".  When the company expanded its services in 1919 outside of the Seattle area, they changed the name again, to United Parcel Service.

Today, UPS is known far and wide not just by the unique design of their one of a kind package cars (I'm told you will never see a "used" UPS package car operated by another firm - they are destroyed after use), but by their desire to become "the" global supply chain partner to companies of all shapes and sizes.  UPS' slogan, "What can brown do for you?", may just be today's "where's the beef?" in terms of consumer recognition. 

In 100 years, UPS has grown from a company of two kids to a worldwide organization with more than 400,000 employees.  The company is, like so many innovative firms, often copied by never beaten (at least for long).  It's clear that the success and longevity of UPS, not unlike Harley, Miller, Allen Bradley and many others, is due not just to their commitment to be the best, but more importantly, to their commitment to take risks, anticipate the future needs of their clients and constantly change to meet those future needs.  While the competition is always looking through their windshield at UPS, UPS is always looking at the competition through the rear view mirror.  They stay in front by continuing to move forward and create the next opportunity, long before anyone who is following knows what's even going on.

In 2107, I expect that UPS will be called something different again since, for all we know package deliveries may be a thing of the past by then.  I don't doubt that they will face many challenges and obstacles along the way, just as they've done for their first 100 years.  Like all of us, they'll likely be challenged by ideas and technologies (think overnight delivery, but bigger) that can only be imagined today.  I'm pretty sure that UPS will still be in front.  How come? Simple.  They know where they came from, they don't accept that anything is not possible, they constantly focus on what will be good for their clients (and hard for the competition to replicate), they never stand still and, finally, they're curious and they aren't afraid of what they don't know.

How about you?  What can you do for you?

My Project

When I'm Invited ..........

The Light is not Always Bright

The Noise is Not Always Quiet

The Faces are not Always Smiling

The Tempers are not Always Calm

When I Arrive ..........

The Hole is not Always Large

The Distance is not Always Close

The Gears are not Always Turning

The Heat is not Always Cool

When I Work ..........

The Hurdles are not Always Low

The Solutions are not Always Clear

The Number of Try's is not Always One

The Time is not Always True

When I'm Done ..........

The Lights Burn as Bright as a Star

The Noise is Loud Like Applause

The Faces are Warm and Friendly

The Result is One of My Best

Rejuvinating Your Mind and Your Body -- Part 2

Back on May 8th, I talked about taking my friend, Todd Barden’s advice and giving massage a try.  If you recall, Todd had schooled me on the benefits of massage for my body.  Massage releases lactic acid from your muscles, improves blood circulation and heals muscles he told me.  But most of all, he insisted, it rejuvenates your body and keeps you in top shape to play whatever game you play.

As I write today, I’ve had my second massage, both with a young woman named Kate.  I have to admit that the whole experience so far has challenged my metrosexual aversions.  You have to kind of give into that right off the bat.  But, so far, I think it’s been worth the hour or so of not being as manly as perhaps I think I should be.  They make it easy, too.  I’m given a robe and a pair of sandals, some water and the chance to relax in the sitting room.  The massage area is dark like a movie theater, piped with soothing music that makes your eyes heavy.  Here I wait until Kate comes to get me.

The massage itself is surprisingly, at least for me, rough.  Not rough in a rugby-like way, but rough like Greco roman wrestling, in a leverage-like way.  I’m surprised at how much leverage Kate can apply to certain parts.  Sometimes I kind of feel like she could snap me in half if she wanted to.  While she’s working, I find myself drifting in and out, sometimes focusing intently on what she’s doing because it either hurts or feels good, and sometimes being so relaxed, I simply doze off for a minute or two.  The hour goes fast, and I feel tired when she’s done.  It’s a welcomed tired, though, like what you feel after a good workout in the gym.

I’m still a novice at this whole body rejuvenation thing, but I’ve learned enough so far to realize a couple of key things:

1. Todd was right, to rejuvenate our minds, we must also rejuvenate our bodies.
2. My hamstrings are as “tight as guitar strings,” according to Kate, so I need to work on my stretching and flexibility.
3. I owe my wife, Jamy, an apology for what I’ve realized has been 20 years or so of woefully inadequate backrubs.

I’ve also realized one other thing.  Taking Todd’s advice challenged me to do something that, for me, was uncomfortable but necessary for me to make another important progress step in my life.  It would have been easy for me to remain in my comfort zone and dismiss his recommendation without even trying it, choosing instead to tell myself I know what it would be like.  But as we all know, comfort leads to complacency and complacency is the enemy of progress.

The Easy Way to Infuence Your Way to the Top

What's the one skill that most of us desperately need to improve?  Without a doubt it's our ability to communicate effectively.  And I'm not just talking about your ability to talk to someone else.  Talking shouldn't be confused with communicating because it's simply not the same.

Communicating effectively is really a lost art.  Or perhaps we've just never taken the time to become good at it.  Whatever the reason, it's something that is so easy to improve that it's a shame more of us don't make the effort.

If you can communicate effectively, you can influence any situation in which you find yourself.  If you don't, well.......you can't.  If you've ever sat in a meeting and been subject to a wretched presentation by a colleague, you know what I'm talking about.  People are naturally predisposed to listen and learn from the person who has the floor.  They want the presenter to do well; to make their listening time seem valuable.  The communicator has about 30 seconds to interest the listener.  If he fails, the listener gives up and the communicators ability to influence is gone or, at a minimum, severely limited.

Why do so many of us fail to communicate effectively, especially when addressing a group?  No practice.  Getting up in front of a group scares a lot of us, more than being killed according to some studies (which is silly but true).  What's the difference between talking to your best friend and a group? Nothing really; except that your friend may put up with your rambling and disjointed story while the rest of us won't. 

Sharpening your ability to communicate effectively and influence is easy; but you'll probably need some help.  And you won't likely find that help at work or in your family.  But it's out there.  In fact, it's everywhere.  You can go to an expensive speaking class.  There are plenty, like Ty Boyd's in Charlotte, NC, www.tyboyd.com, and they're great (I went, it's awesome). And then there is Toastmasters International, www.toastmasters.org., a low cost and high return speakers club.  I joined 2 years ago and wish I'd done it sooner.  Toastmasters is one of the best resources available to make you a better communicator.  You learn how to arrange your thoughts, present, influence, write and think on you feet.  There are Toastmasters meetings everywhere so finding one close to your home or office is easy.  The meetings are fun, the people in the club are supportive and, in just a year or so, you can transform yourself from the communicator you are today to the communicator you have the potential to become. 

None of us are expert communicators across the board.  We all have our comfort zones and our danger zones.  Nothing wrong with that, in fact it's natural. But we can all make progress to improve and progress is natural as well.  If you make the effort, you will make the progress.  Simple, yet powerful.   A little action goes a long way!  Enjoy!

26 Letters Can Teach Us A Lot About Our Power to Make a Big Difference

I've noticed that people tend to underestimate what they have to work with, especially when you present them with the notion that they have an opportunity to make a real difference in what they do every day.  Most people look at what they do everyday with a "same old, same old" mentality.  They mistake the comfort they feel in their everyday surroundings with confinement, as if being comfortable is akin to being limiting or defined.  It is not. 

More often than not, we tend to define our own limits, rather than they being defined for us by "them."  And that's a waste.  Just imagine what it would be like to approach every day as an opportunity to make what you do extra special; to think of that one little idea that might be the seeds for the next big industry innovation; to take special care with every person you talk to to create the impression that your care about them and that you can be counted upon to help.  That's not confinement, it's FREEDOM!

As an example, think about the English language.  It's based entirely on the use and arrangement of a mere 26 letters (plus a few punctuations).  Just 26!  How easy would it be to say that such a small number of letters is limiting and confining?  Pretty easy.  But, like with what you do, it wouldn't be true.  It doesn't take but a peek into a library, a look at the TV or an Internet search to see just how much can be created by arranging and harnessing the power of these 26 letters.  Novels, poems, movie scripts, songs......all "confined?" by a group of only 26 letters but nonetheless so powerful!

So if all this, the entire way we communicate, share ideas and express thoughts can be accomplished with only our 26 letter alphabet, imagine what you could do with all the skill and talent you have.  I imagine you could make quite a powerful impact on your job, on your company and, heck, maybe even on the world!  So......What's standing in your way?

Rejuvenating Your Mind and Your Body

I met a friend for breakfast this morning, a guy I meet once a quarter or so to talk about a common interest we have, building better lives and businesses through goal setting.  One of the things I'm learning to do more and more of is Think.  I know that sounds pretty simple.  After all the ability to think is something we're all born with and thinking should be something that comes quite naturally.  Not for me.  I don't know about you but I've actually had to re-learn how to think, how to step away from what I do every day, how to eliminate distractions and how to focus not on a task but on a ideal.  I feel good about the progress I've made learning how to simply Think.

While we're eating, Todd asks me if I've ever had a massage.  I said yes - once - and it made me very uncomfortable and I won't get into why here.  Anyway, Todd's a marathon / iron man kind of guy and I'm, well let's just say, not.  I can barely run a couple of miles and I don't care for any of it.  He goes on to tell me about the power of massage, how it releases lactic acid from your muscles, improves blood circulation, heals muscles and most of all, how it rejuvenates the body.  And as he was telling me this, it hit me.  This is just like thinking.  When you take the time to think, you release your brain's creative endorphins, you improve your ability to focus and you come up with new ideas that you probably never would have other wise.  Same, apparently, holds true for your body! 

I'm going to follow Todd's advice and start making massages part of my regular routine.  I'm hoping that I will experience the rejuvenation that he told me about but I was also thinking that the massage time might just be a great time to THINK as well!