Monthly Archives: July 2008

July 17, 2008 · 9:53 am

Changing Conditions

The Open Championship begins at Royal Birkdale today.  Whilst we call it The British Open over here, for the last almost 150 years, it has been the premiere test of golf worldwide.  Is that because of the courses, which generally have few trees and not a lot of water?  No, I don’t think so.  Really, it’s such a great test because of the ever-changing conditions.  Teeing off, it may be sunny and warm.  By the turn, it can be in the 50’s and rainy.  The wind may come up – gale force winds at that – and just as quickly go away.

This morning, the conditions there are terrible.  Rain.  Wind.  Chilly.  Two golfers – each of whom has won a major championship before – quit at the turn because their scores were so bad they couldn’t take it any more.  Now THAT’S a test!

How equipped are you and your company to deal with changing conditions?  What happens when things turn to..um…British Open weather?  I’ve found that many folks are not ready – they’ve packed for sunny and warm and have neither a plan nor the resources to deal with the change.

Thinking you can hit a 7-iron on the 165 yard hole today because you did so yesterday never works in golf.  The wind, the heat, the humidity, your mindset – all have an effect on how you hit the ball and how far it carries.  If you don’t pay attention to the changing conditions and have a plan to deal with them, you’re pretty much never going to win, no matter if it’s golf or business.

1 Comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , ,

July 16, 2008 · 7:37 am

30!

I hope you don’t mind indulging me for a minute.  Today marks the 30th anniversary of our wedding ceremony.  I’m not sure if it’s persistence or laziness (as in, too lazy to break up), but 30 years, 2 kids, a few dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, frogs, and who-knows-what-else-is-under-the-couch later, here we are.

All sorts of interesting and appropriate things happened on this date.  In 1791 – Louis XVI was suspended from office until he agreed to ratify the constitution.   I’m passionate about our leaders – business and political – not being above the rule of law (or corporate governance).  In 1951 – J.D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” was first published. It’s one of my favorite books and my eldest daughter’s as well.  1969 – Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, FL, and began the first manned mission to land on the moon.  Less than 10 years later, we undertook our impossible (seemingly) mission to become partners for life.  So far, so good!

1973 – Alexander P. Butterfield informed the Senate committee investigating the Watergate affair of the existence of recorded tapes.   What an unreal summer that was, but good, our Constitution, and a free press prevailed.  Today, it’s a good reminder to everyone that in this Internet age, we all leave tracks everywhere and those funny Facebook photos may not be what employers are wanting.

A year after our wedding, in 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq after forcing Hasan al-Bakr to resign.  Nice to know we lasted longer than he did.  Some other bad things happened on July 16- JFK Jr.’s plane went down, a bad Philippine earthquake, France rounded up a bunch of Jews for the Nazi’s, and Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed.

My favorite tidbit is that 1774 Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the treaty of Kuchuk-Kainardji, ending their six-year war.  Why is it a fave?  Because it’s about the joining of two on a day when we did the same.  Hopefully we’ll last as long as it has!

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Leave a comment

Filed under What's Going On

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 15, 2008 · 8:39 am

Dreamland

One of the things in which I fancy myself an expert of sorts is barbecue.  It’s hard to get right and very easy to get wrong.  I’ve been to a lot of the great BBQ places around the USA and one of the best is the legendary Dreamland.  “That’s nice, Keith” you say “but what the hell does that have to do with business?”  Elementary, dear Watsons.

Dreamland, until it expanded, had two outlets and one thing one the menu – ribs and white bread.  In fact, that’s still all they have on the menu at the original pit in Tuscaloosa. The business lesson is easy – do one thing very very well before you try and do others.  Big Daddy may have missed some folks who wanted pulled pork or a hot link but he based their entire business on one thing and one thing only: ribs.  And they do them phenomenally well.

Doesn’t it comfort you to know that someplace has been in business with a single product for a long time?   If you only had one product, could you stay in business?  Is there a single thing you do that’s good enough to carry the entire operation?  Too often, the “shotgun approach” of just blasting away, hoping to hit something beats out the carefully aimed rifle.  I prefer the Dreamland approach – building your reputation based on a single superior product and then adding on (as they’ve done in their other outlets).  It’s much easier to maintain organizational focus this way as well.

And now, I need a rib!

Leave a comment

Filed under food, Helpful Hints, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , ,