Tag Archives: life lessons

May 9, 2013 · 10:37 am

Trusting The Translator

If you’ve ever travelled to a country where your native language is not the main language spoken, you might have had a couple of the experiences I’m about to describe.

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I used to travel internationally on business to places where English is not the first language and even though my business counterparts spoke reasonably good English I always found it helpful to have a translator available.  Of course there’s always the temptation – one to which I succumbed a couple of times – to pick up a few key phrases in the other language and assume that you can get by.  Big mistake, as are most of the digital ways one can change languages.

It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling on business or for pleasure.  Having someone around who can interpret is a big advantage.  Unless, of course, they’re not trustworthy.  It is an absolute imperative that you be able to trust that the translator is giving you an accurate interpretation   In fact, I’ve been in situations where it was assumed I didn’t speak the local language and what was being said was something that would never have been said to me in English (that only happened as a tourist, fortunately).  A translator who hides what’s being said can be a disaster.

The same can be said about the fool who learns a few phrases and has no clue about their use.  Anyone who really speaks the language will see right through that or, even worse, they’ll take advantage of the fact that you clearly don’t understand what the words mean even though you can pronounce them well.

I’ve run into both of these situations domestically as well and so have you.  You might have needed a translator to interpret technical information into English so you can make a business decision.  Maybe you’ve needed to make a choice about how to build a site or an app.  Your IT people, your designers, your coders – they all speak a language you don’t, and if they give you a bad translation, you’re doomed.  The same is true of accountants, lawyers, and others.

Then there are those people who ask questions containing some “foreign” words”   – CPM, CTR, CPC, bounces  – or other terms.  They ask questions as if they’ll understand the answer  but the very nature of their question proves they don’t have a clue about the topic.  If you answer them with more jargon – foreign words – you’re just making the misunderstanding worse.  Translating it all back into English for them – without embarrassing them of course – is the right course of action.

If you can’t trust your translator, you’re going to have a rough trip, whether it’s overseas or right here at home as your do business.  Hai capito?

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May 8, 2013 · 8:58 am

Reading Yesterday’s Papers

As I’ve mentioned before here on the screed, I’m an old-school newspaper reader. Yep – ink on my hands and everything.
From time to time, I get tied up in other activities – work, sports viewing, family activities, whatever – and I can’t get to a particular day’s papers until a day or two later.  Last week was one of those weeks and I spent last night catching up on four days’ reading. As I was doing so, I noticed something that spurred a business thought I’d like to share.

Many of the articles I read were predictive in nature.  Something had happened, the reporter gathered the facts, and based on that looked forward.  Many of the pieces contained quotes from analysts of one sort or another – professionals or just the average person talking about what was going to happen next.  What I noticed, with the benefit of hindsight, was how often they were wrong.  Generally, that wasn’t because they made incorrect assumptions but something else had happened in the interim that changed the circumstances and, therefore, the predictions or suggestions for courses of action were off target.

Given the “right now” demands of media, most which come from the immediate nature of digital reporting, I wasn’t surprised   How often recently have we seen big headlines splashed across the Web that are totally wrong an hour later?  Even the delay built into the print medium (it takes time to get that ink on paper) isn’t quite long enough to improve the analysis dramatically.  Which is the business thought.

Business has been mirroring digital.  Every enterprise seems to have a “do it fast and fix it later” mandate.  Maybe what’s needed is to wait to react to  the reporting – the data we get on a minute by minute basis – until a more clear picture emerges?   Go follow the print editions of a story across a week and see how things change (most print publications make that possible on their sites).  You’ll be surprised   Now imagine if that story was about your business.  What would change each day that would change the actions taken the day before?

I realize we don’t all have the benefit of reading yesterday’s business with that kind of hindsight.  Maybe we ought to work on a way to bring that perspective more front and center?  After all, deciding not to decide is a decision, right?  Many of the deadlines we impose are self-directed.  In my book, a little more perspective with which to frame what we know (or think we know) can’t hurt.  What do you think?

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April 9, 2013 · 9:45 am

The View From The Bench

Great game played by Michigan and Louisville last night in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  It was everything a championship game should be for the most part: great action, close scoring, and some interesting story lines.  I wish that two things had been different   the officiating had been better (both teams got screwed on a number of incorrect calls) and that the Wolverines had won.  However, besides an excellent evening’s entertainment, I got something else out of the game I’d like to share.

Stretching before the 2006 NCAA Men's Division...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Two players – Luke Hancock and Spike Albrecht – were the stories of the game in many ways.  When Michigan’s star guard got into early foul trouble, Albrecht came off the bench and scored 17 points before halftime.  For a kid who averaged under 2 points a game, that’s quite a performance.  Hancock went him one better with a performance off the bench that was so good he became the first non-starter to be named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.  Both players made an excellent business point which is today’s thought.

There are a dozen players on a basketball team and yet only five play at once.  Generally the rotation of players, barring foul trouble or injury, isn’t more than seven.  Still, every person on the bench needs to stay ready.  Every sport has a crew of backup players – those who, for one reason or another, don’t play as much on game day but are integral parts of the team.

It’s the same in business.  Every person on the team needs to understand the game plan and keep their skills sharp even if the plan isn’t for them to be the main players that day.  I wanted “bench” players on my business team who understood that their job went beyond the time when they were front and center.  When you’re out of a game for a spell, your job isn’t to rest.  You have a wider perspective – you can see the entire floor or field.  Help your team with your observations.  For business, this means, for example, reading drafts of presentations carefully and offering suggestions  not sitting around pouting because you’re not the one giving the show.  Who knows – like Albrecht and Hancock, you might get a chance when you least expect it.   Be ready – the chance may not come a second time.

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