Tag Archives: management

September 25, 2012 · 10:38 am

I’m Sick

This may be a bit more incoherent than usual today.

Common cold

Common cold (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have a foggy brain, a stuffy nose, and body aches.  That’s right – a common cold.  Not unusual, you think, but it really is for me.  Since I stopped commuting to work and flying all over the place, I’ve been sick exactly one other time.  That’s right – one cold in five years (until now).

I’m not sure where I got it although I was in a lot more large crowds over the last week than normal.  Maybe the guy with whom I slapped palms at the Springsteen show last week had a cold.  Maybe it was someone I greeted at the wedding we attended.  Maybe it was someone I was near at the market.  Who knows?  However, it’s good business point.

You can’t (and don’t want to) avoid interacting with other people.  I’m not sure how you do business without doing so.  However, it turns out about 80% of contagious diseases are transmitted by touch.  That’s right – the best protection from the common cold and flu is frequent hand washing.

Our businesses run the risk of infection – something that disrupts their normal functioning – if we don’t take the time to make sure they’re “clean” – that we’re not off-track, that the team is all in sync, and that the contact with outsiders hasn’t done something to disrupt that.  Think of staff meetings or check-ins with your team as a good hand scrubbing.  That sort of communication can prevent a lot of  what ails many businesses.

Now I’m going back to bed.  After I wash my hands….

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September 17, 2012 · 8:27 am

Shana Tova!

A shofar made from a ram's horn is traditional...

A shofar made from a ram’s horn is traditionally blown in observance of Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish civic year. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy New Year!  I know I don’t often repeat content but as I was thinking about what to write as Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah, I went back and checked out another post I wrote on the topic.  It seems to cover it pretty well, so I’m posting it again (in case it seems at all familiar as you read!).

Last night marked the start of the Jewish New Year.  I didn’t go down to Times Square to see if they were dropping a giant knish at the stroke of sundown – probably not.  L’Shana Tova – a happy and healthy New Year to all of you.

One of the things Jews do over the next 10 days (or at least are supposed to do) is to reflect on the year gone by and think about where it took you on life’s journey.  It’s not really as much about looking back in my mind as it is about looking forward.  Oh sure, one is supposed to think about where one strayed from life’s path in terms of dealing with other humans and human codes of conduct.  We get a day of fasting next week to get that sorted out.  But it’s also a time to think about a fresh start.  Which, of course, promoted a business thought.

When do businesses stop and enter a period of reflection?  It’s obvious when they’re changing – witness Facebook last week – but I, for one, certainly wonder sometimes if those changes happen due to the momentum of previous (maybe not so good) decisions or if they’re the result of a pause, some reflection, and a willful thought by the entire organization as to the direction.  Often, I fear, it’s the former.

Jews are to use the next ten days for reflection and repentance.  I like to think of them as ten days of self-improvement.  I’d also suggest that it would do many businesses a lot of good to build the same sort of period into their corporate calendars.  Some do – they call it the budget process – but I think that’s too selective in terms of participants and goals to do much good.  Some smart CEO needs to declare it New Year’s Day for the company once a year and get everyone to do the same sort of professional reflection that many of us do on the personal side.  Identify your sins (figuratively speaking) and atone.  Faulty customer service, weak brand identity, bad employee relations, products that aren’t optimal, fostering an atmosphere of fear – these are all good places to start.

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September 11, 2012 · 10:26 am

Strategic Planning From Mike

Today we take our business cue from the noted executive Michael Gerard Tyson.

Mike Tyson at SXSW 2011

Mike Tyson at SXSW 2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You might know him as Mike or as “The Baddest Man On The Planet.”  Hopefully you were well aware of him before the “Hangover” roles (which didn’t make a lot of sense unless you were aware of him!).  One of Mike’s quotes is something every businessperson should keep in the back of their mind:

Everyone has a strategy until I punch them in the face

There are variations of that quote out there but you get the gist.  It’s about the best summary of strategic planning I know.  While long-range planning is a good idea, those plans need to be etched in sand and not in cement.  Being agile and working with the flow is critical in an environment where it seems as if most of what we thought we knew becomes untrue.  Like a boxer, a business’ ability to take the punches, move away from the trouble, protect itself and recover is the manta.  Stick and move, indeed.

There’s something to be said for perseverance.  On the other hand, when a plan of attack isn’t working and you’re catching way too many punches, one of three things is going to happen:

  1. You’re going to get knocked out
  2. Someone is going to stop the fight
  3. You’re going to change your strategy

Doing the third thing early on while maintaining the same goal (knock out the competition and win) is really the only route (see companies under buggy whips, internet 1.0, and airlines) to success.  Many of us ignore the surprising things that happen, writing them off to “lucky punches” and only focus on what we expect.  Big mistake.

Getting hit in the face can knock you out or it can wake you up.  Your choice.

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