Monthly Archives: February 2013

February 12, 2013 · 12:11 pm

The Meaning Behind The Words

If you’ve read the screed more than once or twice you know that in a past life I was an English teacher.  I’ve always loved words and so I read this post about 11 Words That Don’t Mean What They Sound Like with great interest.  Words such as “crapulous” and “nugatory” aren’t a part of my regular vocabulary although a couple of the words on the list are.  Whether you use them or not, there is a good business point to be made by them.

Some words with hwair (Ƕ, ), from Grammar of t...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re expecting me to say “words matter,” you’re wrong.  It’s the meaning of the words that matter, which is something that the piece makes clear.  Sometimes we hear words and don’t understand what’s being said.  Oh sure, we think we do, but that’s where the issues arise.  It’s not even as simple as not understanding the definitions of the words as this article shows.  It’s getting the meaning along with the definition.

Part of that can be body language, which is why I’m a believer of in-person discussions whenever possible.  It’s easy in an age of instant communication to just send a quick email but email lacks nuance.  Part of it can be tone.  How many times has a significant other said “I’m fine” to you when their tone tells you they’re anything but fine?  That’s all part of meaning.

One thing I’ve learned from the dozens of lawyers with whom I’ve worked over the years is the need for precision in language.  Knowing the real meaning of every word can be critical to business success and can prevent misunderstandings down the road.  I’ll sometimes ask people with whom I’m discussing business issues to state them in another way.  It gets to the true meaning behind the words since words (to use one from the article) are considered fungible by many folks.  Often, they’re not.

Have you ever run into a situation where the words someone uses have meant something other than how you understood them?  Tell me.

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February 11, 2013 · 11:53 am

I Know They Suck At Business

We had a little snow here over the weekend.  You might have heard about it – all 30+ inches worth of it.  Fortunately, we hunkered down and made it through without any damage of loss of power.  By yesterday we had been plowed out and the streets were clear enough to venture out.  Besides getting some fresh air, I got a quick business lesson I’d like to share.  It’s the business equivalent of a poker “tell” – something a person does that is a dead giveaway as to how good or bad a hand they hold.  In this case it has to do with how good or bad they are at business and it’s something you can use as well.

Driving around we saw an incredible number of cars with snow on their roofs.  I’m not sure why but the majority of them seemed to be SUVs.   Oh sure, I understand that its difficult to get all the snow off of the roof when the car is six feet tall.  It takes a little extra effort and maybe a minute to find a broom.  Apparently, that was too much for the folks behind the wheels of these vehicles, none of whom looked to be older than me (so age and infirmity are no excuse).

I know they suck at business.  The snow on the roof is a dead giveaway.   Driving behind one of these idiots is dangerous – we must have seen six or seven explosions of snow and ice blow off of the roofs as we drove down the parkway.  Not that it makes a huge difference but this was not some dusting of snow that blew off – most of the cars had a least a foot of snow on them.  Fortunately, we didn’t see any accidents but we did see several cars hit their brakes or swerve.  Pretty dangerous.

I know they’re bad at business because they’re selfish and self-absorbed   They can’t possibly put the needs of customers or clients ahead of their own desires   They can’t stop thinking about themselves long enough to listen to an employees cry for help.  They can’t make products that appeal to others. They’re too “Me”-focused.  If they weren’t, they’d take the time to think about the drivers sharing the road with them.

An over-reaction on my part?  Tell me.

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February 8, 2013 · 10:28 am

Finding Nemo

Foodie Friday Fun begins with a look out the window as Winter Storm Nemo approaches. That arrival seems to have spurred a rush to the supermarket by everyone in our town, at least according to my sister who found mostly bare shelves when she went this morning. I suppose we could talk today about what one can prepare when there might not be electricity to operate an oven, microwave or many stoves. We have a gas range but without electricity there is no range hood so we have to be careful about what we make. But that’s not really the food subject today.

Finding Nemo (video game)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Making sure that there’s ample food, water, and batteries is becoming a regular event in our area as we’ve been hit by massive storms a few times over the last two years.  The accuracy with which these events have been predicted, even down to the time when the storms arrive and depart, is pretty amazing.  What the forecasters can’t predict, however, is which trees will cause a power problem or block access to roads.  Even with much better tools, there are big uncertainties that will affect our specific situation.  That’s today’s business point.

The hardest part of your job as a leader to see over the horizon.  The next hardest part is convincing others that what you’re seeing is right and to take the appropriate action based on your forecast.  How angry would you be if you bought gallons of water and lots of food only to find out that the blizzard was a couple of inches of snow?  How dangerous is it when they predict a dusting of snow and you wake up to eighteen inches of heavy, wet slush?  Being able to assemble the known information into a cogent prediction of the future is a skill that comes only with time and experience (easy to say coming from an older guy, I know).  Take our friend Nemo, here.  There are a dozen computer models that disagreed a day or two ago about the storm’s impact.  A few even do so today.  Which of the models you choose to believe can have an impact, especially if you’re the person deciding to call in plow drivers or buy salt for the roads.

I think if I could wish for one thing in business it would be tomorrow’s newspaper.  I’d then have a perfect look over the horizon, at least for a day.  For now all we can do is to try to find the Nemos that will impact our business lives that are lurking out there.  Then we need to get to the store and make sure our team is prepared to hunker down and ride it out.

Now, where did I put the spare batteries?

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