Category Archives: Thinking Aloud

September 3, 2013 · 10:10 am

The Moment In Between

Our TunesDay thought today is courtesy of The Grateful Dead (no shock there). Before I get to it, I’m wondering if you’ve ever taken a ride on a roller coaster? If you have, there’s always the moment when the cars are done climbing and before you plunge down that first drop.  It always seems very quiet to me – a pause to collect yourself.  Those moments in between exist in music as well, and today I want to talk about one of my favorites.

English: The Kraken roller coaster ride at Sea...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sugar Magnolia was a staple of the Dead’s repertoire for nearly their entire existence.   In fact, it was played more often in concert than any other song they performed save for one.  The song had a coda called “Sunshine Daydream” that the band often used as jumping off point for a jam or for vocal histrionics.  There was always a moment in between the song itself and the coda.  While the topics of our TunesDay screens are the songs themselves, today I want to call your attention to that moment.

What was intriguing about the moment is that you never knew how long it would last.  Sometimes it was a second, sometimes it would last until the end of the next set when the band, having played a dozen other songs, would pick back up with Sunshine Daydream.  The longest it ever lasted was a week – in between two concerts held to memorialize Bill Graham.  For me it’s a time to enjoy the brief silence, to collect myself (the pause always followed a raucous jam) for what’s to come next.

I think we need more moments like that in our business lives.  We careen from one project to the next barely pausing to savor what we’ve done.  Taking a moment DURING the project – that brief pause before we hit the coda – can make a huge difference.  A breath before the daily roller coaster plunges forward, if you will.  Silence in negotiating can change a dynamic and turn a deal around.  Silence is a stillness that we all need at some point.  The silence in music allows all the other dynamics to hit the listener more forcefully.  The coda from The Dead always did the same.  Maybe that moment in between is worth a try?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Music, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , ,

August 30, 2013 · 9:04 am

Cookbooks

This Foodie Friday, let’s talk about cookbooks. I have…well, a lot. Probably 50 linear feel of cookbooks – maybe more.

cookbook shelf 1

(Photo credit: chotda)

There are hundreds and they’re separated by cuisine (if you call BBQ a cuisine) – Italian here, Cajun there, vegan, baking books – dozens of classifications. On the one hand, I’m never at a loss for inspiration when I come home with a bunch of great ingredients and no clue what I’m going to do with them. On the other hand, it’s really overwhelming.  Why make one meatball recipe when there are 45 variations at your fingertips?

The odd thing is that I don’t generally cook out of these books much any more.  Oh sure, on the rare occasions when I bake something, a good cookbook is a necessity.  After all, that kind of chemistry is not something one does off the top of one’s head.  Even so, I use them to master techniques. While it’s fun to  produce a perfect copy of something tired and true out of a favorite book,most of the time I’m  turning to a familiar volume for inspiration or reassurance.  Which is really the business point as well.

There are business cookbooks.  There are volumes that outline everything from sound fiscal policy to managing employees to developing new products and services.  In  a way, I hope that this screed serves as a daily mini-volume of inspiration.  For some things  – accounting rules, for example – it’s almost like baking.  Follow the rules or you’ll end up in trouble.  In other areas, follow the business recipe any of the great sources lay out and you’ll probably do pretty well especially if you’ve got great people and products with which to work.  Greatness, however, is something that you won’t find in a cookbook.

Many of the cookbooks on the market today are dumbed down (thanks, Food Network).  Follow the recipes they contain and you’ll present relatively good, if uninspired, food.  Using the flavor profiles as the inspiration isn’t a bad idea but just as writers use a dictionary and thesaurus, a cookbook should serve as a reference volume, not as a script.  It’s the same in business.  Books can inspire and serve as an adjunct to creative thinking based on sound fundamentals..  They’re tools, not crutches, and brilliant business pole don’t get their answers in books, because the great recipes are truly one’s own.

I can’t imagine not having not having the resources my cookbooks provide.  You should read as many business books are you have time to absorb.  Then distill them into your own recipes and make something great.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under food, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

August 29, 2013 · 10:25 am

Getting Pinned

Credit card

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A friend had her pocket picked last night. Yes, I’m being literal – they got her wallet and immediately ran to a couple of stores to buy electronics which are easily turned into cash on the street. Fortunately she noticed her wallet missing not long afterwards and so was able to block the credit cards relatively soon.  Still, thousands of dollars of goods were charged – they were few in number but big in price.

As someone who used to supervise a fairly large online sports store, I’m well aware that it’s usually the merchant who bears the brunt of these fraudulent purchases.  Most of the time, the onus is on the retail outlet to verify that the card is being used by the rightful owner or the outlet will eat the cost of the goods refunded to the consumer.  Because of that, there are a lot of electronic countermeasures taken during online checkout to be sure that the card is real by both merchants and card issuers. You may even have experienced some of them while traveling, especially if you’ve gone out of the country (banks don’t like it when the card is suddenly being used overseas!).

What strikes me as odd, however, is that it’s far easier to commit fraud in the real world than it is online.  Think about your last experience charging something with a credit card.  The cashier may not have even looked at the card to see if the sex of the user matches the name on the card.  They might not have verified the signature.  Neither of those, by the way, is much of a deterrent.  Maybe you swiped the card at a gas pump which then asked for your zip code.  As in my friend’s case, if they have the entire wallet, there is probably something in there identifying the correct zip so that doesn’t work either.

Contrast that with a bank debit card.  You must have a PIN to use the card.  Forget the pin and there is no way to get cash or make a purchase.  Does anyone think it’s odd that when the bank is on the line (as with a debit card) for the money there is a fairly secure (ok, very secure except for the idiots who write the PIN on the card) check but it’s not there when someone else is liable?

It seems like a pretty simple fix and it can save billions.  Like many things in business, you shake your head and wonder why no one is taking the time to do it.  You agree?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Huh?, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , ,