Tag Archives: business thinking

January 14, 2014 · 10:24 am

King Harvest

Bob Dylan and The Band touring in Chicago, 197...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s TunesDay and I have The Band on my mind.

I’ve been a fan since “Big Pink” came out way back in 1968. I was surprised back then to find out that this quintessentially American band was, in fact, mostly Canadian (everyone but Levon Helm). While The Band originated playing behind Ronnie Hawkins, they made their reputation playing behind Bob Dylan as his “electric” band.  The list of great music they’ve written and played is lengthy and their portraits of American life (particularly Southern life) are phenomenal.  I was going to write about “Life Is A Carnival” today (an upbeat song with which to begin the year!) but another tune seems more appropriate to a business blog.

“King Harvest” is one of The Band’s finest and most interesting songs.  The video below was filmed as they recorded the song in 1970:

There is also an outstanding version of this recorded by Bruce Hornsby I urge you to seek out.  Why have I sought out the song today?   Putting aside the amazing music which is upbeat and funky, the story is one of business failure and desperation.  The narrator is a poor sharecropper whose crops have failed, barn burned down, and horse went mad.  You think YOU’VE got issues…

The way the farmer finds hope is by signing on with a union (history says this may have been one part of the Trade Union Unity League in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s).  He buys in to the union’s message:

I can’t remember things bein’ so bad.
Then there comes a man with a paper and a pen
Tellin’ us our hard times are about to end.
And then, if they don’t give us what we like
He said, “Men, that’s when you gotta go on strike.”

Which is the business point today.  No, not that we should all go on strike (and kind of self-defeating for those of us that are self-employed…).  If you listened to the sound of this song you’d think it was an upbeat happy tune.  It’s very dark.  If you listen to the words he’s saying you might think the farmer is happy.  If you listen to his meaning, he’s apologizing for abandoning who he is for a new pair of shoes and an external boss.

When we’re dealing with customers or employees, partners or co-workers we need to listen to the words and not just the music, and then we need to pay attention carefully to the words to get to the meaning.  Make sense?

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December 31, 2013 · 2:54 pm

Most Read Posts of 2013 – TunesDay Edition

Last day of the year and it falls on a TunesDay.  I looked up the most read post with that theme and it was one from this past July when the Mrs. and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.  Not content to let that speak for itself, I turned to a rock classic to talk about relationships between our businesses and our customers.  I hope you enjoy it (again!) and please have a safe New Year’s Eve.  See you on the other side.

It’s Tunesday! Today is a special one for me since it’s the 35th anniversary of the day the Mrs. and I got married. Because of that, I wanted a song from roughly the time when we got married that’s also a love song. What popped into my head this morning is “Let’s Stay Together“, a hit for both Al Green and Tina Turner.   The two hits actually happened on either side of our wedding date and I’m very aware that a lot of folks use this as a wedding song (we didn’t – Embraceable You, as I recall…).  I’ve always thought that Al Green’s version was way too low-key for the passion of the song and the video below is a live Tina Turner version which captures the song’s essence:

So what’s this got to do with business?  Actually, quite a bit.  You see, trying to stay together is what all of us do as businesses – with our customers, our team, and our vendors:

Let’s, let’s stay together
Lovin’ you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad

The one thing that makes a relationship last is the trust that you’re standing on certain ground.  As the lyric says, you may go through bad times as well as good but never wondering about the underlying connection is crucial.  A customer with issues may not be happy but they’ll stay a customer if they trust you’re working to resolve their problem.  They want to hear “let me be the one you come running to”, not “I’m unable to help you.”

At its core, a relationship of any sort involves an investment of some sort.  While there is a lot of sanity in not throwing good money (literally and figuratively) after bad, it’s generally easier to keep a customer than to find new ones.  A commitment to trying to stay together makes that happen.  That’s how you celebrate 35 years as partners!

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December 26, 2013 · 10:17 am

Most Read Posts of 2013 – Part 1

Today we begin my annual period of sloth by looking at the most read posts of the last year.  This first one was written at the very end of 2012, after I did last year’s review, and since it was the one of the most read this year I’m starting with it again.  Originally titled “The Most Important Thing I Learned This Year“, I wrote this after some reflection following my brother’s passing late last year.  Having had an additional year’s time to reflect, I think if anything I understated things.  Please read it and give it some thought.

Sometimes things that are very personal can also be important to a much wider sphere. Today is one of those things, I hope, and it’s a good one with which to end 2012.

As my brother lay dying a month or so ago, he said something that really stuck. He had a very rare form of cancer, one which even if it had been caught very early might not have been curable. While Mike was never one for much (if any) self-pity, on this occasion he indulged himself just a bit. What he had to say was a very important thing for your business life and that’s what I’d like to share.

“Why didn’t I take a day off and go to the doctor? Why didn’t I tell a client I can’t meet? Why did I keep going to the office?”

He knew – long before it was obvious to any of the rest of us – that something was wrong yet he felt a responsibility to his job and to his clients to put them first.  Obviously, I’m a big believer in that – I write often about a customer-centric focus.  However, what I learned this year was that if you’re going to serve your clients well you also need to be in sound enough shape physically and mentally to do so.  That requires that we take some time away.  Shut down the email, turn off the cellphone.  Go play a video game or golf or cook or read a non-business book.  Treat yourself as you would a client – they deserve some focused, uninterrupted time and so do you.

As I said, even if he had gone to the doctor the outcome might have been the same.  What might not have been, however, was how he used the time he had left and how he was treated to determine that time.  Mike’s lesson wasn’t exactly something I learned for the first time this year but this time it’s stuck.  I hope he can help it stick with you as well.

Enjoy a day or two off – on to a great 2013!

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