Category Archives: Helpful Hints

October 7, 2016 · 10:12 am

Dues And Don’ts

This Foodie Friday, it’s some words from Curtis Stone that are our topic today. If you’re any kind of foodie you’ve seen Curtis on any number of cooking shows. You might also think that he’s there (as are any number of people on various food shows) because he is a pretty face. Probably not, since he has serious cooking chops, having worked in some of the best kitchens around the world as well as under Chef Marco Pierre White for many years.

I was listening to an interview with him on Eater (link here) and while much of what he had to say was fascinating, one quote caught my ear and I think it’s relevant to any of us in business:

Seen with camera crew at the Indian Market, Sa...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you think about celebrity chefs, television competition shows, all this stuff that has happened — it’s shining this big light on our industry, which has made it famous somehow. And suddenly cooks are cool. And it’s amazing because it means we have people coming into our industry. But, to your point, they’re coming in for sometimes the wrong reason, and they get in there and they’re like, “Well, I don’t want to peel those bags of onions,” like I was complaining about earlier. But you don’t just get given the gift of being able to use a knife properly. You get it from practice. Kitchens are historically a really tough place to work, and you have these kids coming through that want to be the next contestant on Top Chef, but what they’ve got to realize first is that there’s all these steps to it.

In other words, there’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be the best but you must be prepared to pay your dues. Every business has a set of fundamental skills that serve as the foundation for everything else. Learning those skills isn’t optional. Ask, for example, any lawyer about law school and they’ll tell you that what they learned in law school has little to do with being a lawyer. They’ll also tell you that they’re better off for having gone to prepare for the more applicable skills they learned next. Doctors leave medical school but aren’t allowed to practice on their own. There are many skills they need to hone and to develop before they’re ready for that.

Compare that with business. I’ve had the experience of a kid with a couple of years’ experience under their belts wondering why they’re not being made vice presidents. I’ve worked with founders who are younger than my own children wondering why people might have some qualms about investing in their venture. It’s fine to aspire as long as you recognize that patience is required while you learn your craft and pay your dues. Hey – I’m 40 years into my business life and I’m still learning and honing. Care to join me?

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September 27, 2016 · 10:37 am

The “Debate”

If you have any interest in presidential politics or are the kind of person who can’t look away from a trainwreck, then you probably tuned into the shouting match between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton last evening. It was billed as a debate but as we’ll see in a second, it was anything but. It did, however, teach us something about business.

Debates between presidential candidates have been going on for centuries. You’ve heard of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. While those weren’t about a presidential election, they are fine examples of classic debating form. This is an excellent definition from the International Debate Education Association:

Debate embodies the ideals of reasoned argument, tolerance for divergent points of view and rigorous self-examination. Debate is, above all, a way for those who hold opposing views to discuss controversial issues without descending to insult, emotional appeals or personal bias. A key trademark of debate is that it rarely ends in agreement, but rather allows for a robust analysis of the question at hand.

Was that what we watched last night? I think not. But it’s something to keep in mind as you bring together people in business to debate ideas. How often are ideas discussed freely and openly in your place? When a boss is in the room, how free do the subordinates feel to oppose his or her point of view? Do facts surface that allow for the robust analysis which is the goal, or are people entrenched in the positions with closed minds?

Imagine if last night had been a moderated discussion, based in fact, of how to fix a problem our country is having. The goal isn’t to convince people to vote one way or the other but to surface the different, well-reasoned points of view about approaches to an issue and allow the voters to make their minds up on that basis. Nice dream, right?

Now think about trying to do that in a business setting. Maybe it’s the person or persons who need to make the decision that moderate. I suspect the decisions taken after such a debate will be sounder than those that follow free-form arguing, politicking the boss, or emotional exchanges. Maybe we should debate it?

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September 19, 2016 · 12:26 pm

Who Is Smarter Than You?

One thing that I’ve found over the years is that it’s impossible to stay on top of my game if I’m not continuously learning. I make a concerted effort to do so. I have an RSS reader that’s loaded up with the feeds of dozens of sites. Many are tech sites so I can stay on top of the latest technical developments for my clients. Others are media sites so I’m aware of changes in the marketing world. Still others are more personal – golf sites, food sites, sites that report on social media changes, sites about the analytics world and the sports business. The reader fills up with over a thousand new articles every day and each one is an opportunity to learn something new.

Despite that volume of information, one thing that helps me more than anything else is when I can find a person who is better informed about a topic than I am. I also seek out people whose minds I respect. Many of us don’t like it when we realize they’re not the smartest person in the room. I welcome it with open arms.

That philosophy needs to carry over to hiring. Obviously, the earlier in a candidate’s career we encounter them the less knowledge of the technical aspects of a business they’re going to have. The won’t have a ton of real world experience either. What they can show you, however, is basic intelligence and the other things that we can’t teach. They should demonstrate a capacity to synthesize information and if they’re really smart, they’ll end up making you smarter too.

So who is smarter than you? Ideally, you know many people who are, since interacting with them will make you smarter. I’m sure you’ve run into people who need to believe that they are the smartest person in the room. I certainly have, but it’s a lot more interesting when you encounter someone who clearly smarter than anyone else but never makes anyone feel that way. Better informed is a stepping stone to smarter, but well-informed with an ability to develop new ideas and express them clearly is what’s smart in my book. Yours?

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