Tag Archives: managing

March 12, 2014 · 8:49 am

The “DOH” Factor

I did something really dumb yesterday and I thought it might be instructive. After all, as I tell my clients, the reason you hire someone with as much experience as I have is because I’ve already made most of the stupid mistakes. Why not learn from my stupidity?

A friend was excited to learn that very high-speed internet was coming to her town.

Homer Simpson

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

She sent me a link to the local article about it.  I scanned the first paragraph and saw “Google Fiber” and assumed that’s what she was talking about.  I had read that Google was bringing its gigabit internet service to her town a couple of weeks ago.  Being the good-natured sort, I replied that yes, I was aware of it when it was news a couple of weeks ago.  Snark quotient off the chart, I know.  She calmly said, “No, not Google.  Read it – it’s a local company.  They’ll be here before Google.”  My apology was immediate and sincere.

We all do that, I think.  We’re so trained to multitask that our brains get good at parsing little pieces of information, evaluating them, and deciding whether and how to act upon them in an incredibly rapid fashion.  Maybe it’s become too fast.  As my faux-pas demonstrates, taking the time to get all of the available information might delay an opinion but it will probably make the quality of that opinion – and the decisions we make based upon our opinions – much higher.

Homer Simpson is one of my favorite characters but I’m not so sure he’s a great example for any of us as a businessperson.  “DOH” is a word he says on a regular basis, not that anyone would accuse him of moving in an overly rapid manner.  Taking our time – just a bit more time – to gather information more carefully and completely can help eliminate the “doh” factor.  I’m going to try to do just that – you?

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December 27, 2013 · 11:01 am

Most Read Posts Of The Year – Foodie Edition

It’s Foodie Friday and since we’re reviewing the most read posts of the year I’m combining the two.  I’m also cheating a little.  The most read food-related post this year wasn’t written for our Friday Foodie Fun.  It was the post about finding a thumb tack in clam chowder.  This post, originally titled Recipes And Business, was actually written just before the Giants played in the Super Bowl in 2012 and was, in fact, the most-read foodie post this year.  Nice to know it has legs and it did way better than the Giants this year!  Enjoy.

Many of you will be cooking something for Sunday’s big game and so this Foodie Friday we’ll think a little bit about what recipes to follow.  Actually, it’s more about how one follows any recipe, and what that has in common with business.

An example recipe, printed from the Wikibooks ...

Image via Wikipedia

As I think you might know, my feeling about cooking is that it’s more like jazz while baking is more Baroque music– far more structured and precise.  Given that, the way I see recipes might differ from how you see them and how that perspective carries into business.  Let’s see.

A recipe is a guide, not an edict.  I look at them as outlines of the dish, but it’s up to me as the cook to insert the flavors I want to present.  For example, if I’m making chili for Sunday’s game, I know that most of the folks who will be at the party enjoy fairly hot food so I might change the spice mix accordingly.  Cooking veal cutlets for 20 can be expensive but turkey cutlets in the same recipe can be just as tasty.  With a vegan and a vegetarian as members of the household here, I often modify recipes to accommodate their eating styles too.  I have a sense of the destination and the recipe is the map, but there are often many routes to get to where I’m trying to go.

Business is the same.  There are some basic road maps – take in more than you spend, treat customers and employees well – but every business is different.  Sticking to the recipe isn’t always possible, and sometimes the road we wish to take is closed, but with a good understanding of fundamental techniques and enough knowledge of the building blocks (ingredients), one can cope with changing market conditions and take advantage of opportunities (I was going to make snapper but look at the fresh grouper on sale!) that might arise.

So as you’re whipping up that pot of gumbo, maybe try thickening it with okra instead of your usual file powder.  If you’re not having much luck using SEM for online commerce, maybe social media can be more efficient.  It’s jazz – learn to improvise – oh, and Go Big Blue!

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December 11, 2013 · 11:17 am

Winter Driving Can Help Your Business

We had our first significant snowfall yesterday and it’s very cold (26 degrees as I’m writing this) here.

photo by mark(s)elliott on Flickr

It’s going to be cold and icy the next few days so it means switching into winter driving mode.  Unless you live in a place that’s warm year ’round, you should probably be aware of some winter driving tips offered by the AAA.   Of course, as I reviewed them, they seemed like pretty good business tips as well, particularly with respect to operating in adverse conditions.  Let’s see what you think.

Avoid driving while you’re fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.  How many of us come to work exhausted when we’re under the gun?  As much as we can we need to get away from work and recharge in times of crisis.  That might seem counterintuitive, but how much we don’t work in a crisis can impact how effective we are during it.

Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage. Many of us tend to shut down or closet ourselves away when stress hits.  Bad idea.  When we’re working quickly, a fresh set of eyes can help catch the errors we don’t.  Be open, seek help.

Make certain your tires are properly inflated.  How many times have you needed to get something done and a critical system such as a computer goes on the fritz?  The quiet times are when we need to make sure our support systems are working.  When was the last time you defragged that hard drive anyway?

Never mix radial tires with other tire types.  This is about team building.  Just as mismatched tires won’t function together to keep you safe, a team whose members are incompatible with one another won’t perform well under stress.

Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.  Little things like running out of printer paper can kill you.  Do the checking long before you need to print those 30 copies of the deck (unless you like a mad dash to Kinkos in the middle of the night…).

Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).  Don’t assume that you can let your team, which has always performed well, run on their own during a crisis.  Conditions have changed.  You’re the boss – drive the car!

Always look and steer where you want to go.  That sounds silly – where else would you look?  But it’s imperative that we avoid distractions and stay on task in a difficult business situation.  Think about the last time you were in one and got off-track with a silly side issue.

Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.  When conditions are becoming adverse, we need to be sure that we’ve protected ourselves before those protections are needed.  Lawyers would tell you that’s why you document everything, even with partners with whom you have great relationships.  I’d tell you that communicating with your team, making sure they’re trained, and developing accurate reporting systems are the business equivalents of seatbelts.  Use them!

What other winter driving tips can you think of that might help in a business situation?

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