Tag Archives: life

February 15, 2013 · 12:18 pm

The Saying Vs. Doing Conundrum

Foodie Friday! Today I want to build on something discovered by the folks at The Hartman Group.

English: A common variety of gorp (trail mix) ...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They have a site called HartmanSalt (which is not a site about ways to increase your blood pressure). They conduct regular surveys about food and food consumption.  I was checking out something on snacking which triggered a business thought.

As the results show, Americans love to snack.  We consume 2.3 snacks per day on average.  This tends to happen later in the day and generally at home.  What triggered the business thought were the next two data points.  57% of the respondents in the survey said it is important or very important  for the food and/or beverages to be healthy.  However the two most often mentioned snack foods are chips and soda. What we say doesn’t always align with what we do and that’s an important thing to remember in business.

That dichotomy is one of the things we find in focus groups – the things in which people express interest are not necessarily the things they’ll buy. Having done a few of them as a part of designing and building web sites, how users tell you they’ll use something and what they actually do as you observe them can be very different.   It’s a point we see in management all the time.  How managers say they behave and how they actually do are often out of sync.  No manager, for example, will tell you that they mistreat employees and they say that they always are there for their staffs.  Ask the folks on the other end if that’s true.

I’ve had friends who couldn’t understand why they were fat.  They said they ate carefully and watched their portions.  When they started keeping a food log (and there are some great apps for that!) they found out that what they said vs. what they did was showing up in their larger pant size.  It’s something all of us in business need to think about – are we listening to what people say or are we verifying it against what they really do?  How are we handling the conundrum the difference between the two?  That solution is often the key to success.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment

Filed under food, Reality checks

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

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.

Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment

Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks

Tagged as , , , ,

January 29, 2013 · 12:37 pm

The Art Of Weaving

As I was on the treadmill this morning I listened to a great live show from the Rolling Stones. It was recorded in October of 1994 on their Voodoo Lounge tour and it reminded me about why The Stones are one of the greatest bands ever. It also reminded me of a few business points.

A big part of the band’s signature sound is the interplay between the two main guitar players.

The Rolling Stones live at BC Place in Vancouv...

Photo: Ryan W. Woodland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most bands have one player who is designated as the rhythm guitarist; the other one plays lead.  When you listen to The Dead or other bands with multiple guitar players you can usually name the lead guitarist.  While Bob Weir played the occasional solo, it’s pretty clear that Garcia was the lead.

Think about the Stones – who is the lead?  I don’t think there is one, because of what Keith Richards called “the fine art of weaving.”  That’s what he calls the blending of the two guitar parts into a seamless sound.  It’s hard to tell which is playing the lead part and which is carrying the rhythm, and the correct answer to that will often change throughout the song.  Which of course leads to the business points.

First, anyone who has ever heard the Stones’ sound can identify it immediately.  Isn’t that sort of solid identification something all brands seek?

Second – while each of the guitar players in the band – Ron Wood and Keith Richards – can handle lead guitar well enough to front a band (which each has done – Wood with The Faces, Richards with numerous other projects), they sublimate their skill into “lesser” roles to create something bigger.  How many co-workers, peers, and managers are willing to do be that selfless when the need is here?

Finally,  they’re LIVE!  No overdubs, no pre-recorded tracks.  The band plays every note we hear and they deliver.  This was 37 shows into a tour that would go on for almost another year yet they personified the old Joe DiMaggio quote.  When asked why he played so hard, he replied: “Because there is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best.”    How many of us can say the same each day?

The fine art of weaving and the work around it is becoming more rare these days.  What are you doing to preserve it?

Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment

Filed under Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,