"Should I stay or should I go now?"

FOXNews.com - Is the Time Right to Buy an E-Reader?

This is exactly why I am not an early adopter of an E book reader. I think these machines are really cool and I want one some day but I know the value of waiting. I like capitalism but I love competition among electronic retailers.

A Chick-fil-A Experience?

I rarely go out to eat for lunch. My wife is a great cook and I have great left-overs. I recently found myself needing a quick bite to eat for lunch. I managed to make it to Chick-fil-A. I decided to go there because I know that I can get consistently quick and good service.

I wasn't excited to find 6 or 7 cars ahead of me at the drive through. I usually go in to order if there is a line. In the car line I was greeted by a Chick-fil-A employee with a pad of paper and a head set asking if they could take my order. I asked if their system was broken. I was told no and that they are doing this to help get me on my way as quickly as they can. I said to myself, "Really? I will see about that.".

I placed my order. They gave me a small piece of paper with "chicken scratch" on it with my total price at the top. They ordered for me through the headset. I thought "cool". The line kept moving and when I reached the window I exchanged the exact amount of money written on the paper and I received a bag of food waiting for me. When I said thank you, I did not hear "no problem" (which is common and I hate), but rather "It's my pleasure. Have a great day!". How can you not have a great day with a response like that.

Chick-fil-A makes great service look easy.

Can Auto Mechanic = Great Service?

I have never liked taking my car to the mechanic. Who does? I always think I am going to get ripped off only to discover later that I didn't need what I just paid for. I must say I really like my mechanic. Why? Because I trust him.

A few years ago we moved from Ohio to Richmond, Virginia. I took my car to an auto shop across the street from where I work for the required state inspection. To make a long story short, I got a quote for $850 of work that needed to be done in order to pass inspection and was told I couldn't drive my inspection failed car or I could risk getting a sizable fine. I drove it anyway and found Richmond Imports in the same area. I told this mechanic (Marty) the long version of the story and said I just need a mechanic I can trust. He said I could trust him. After looking at my car, Marty told me some work needed to be done in order to pass but it was more like $200 to fix. He went through the list with me and I knew about everything he listed.

Eventually I started taking my car to Richmond Imports just for oil changes when a national oil change company forgot to tighten the drain plug. Oil spilled all over my garage. Richmond Imports has never failed me.

A recent great experience made me think about why I continue to take my car to Marty.

• Marty knows me by name (every time I call or walk in)
• Marty knows my cars (what was done last time and what they need)
• Richmond Imports' goals are the same as mine (keep me driving my car as long as possible)
• Marty never recommends more than I need (any recommendations for additional work is specific and clear)
• Marty provides me with options (I know how long he believes the part will last - Marty always lets me know exactly what each job will cost)
• Richmond Imports always over delivers (sets expectations but always over delivers - additional work is always less than the quote)
• Richmond Imports will do the extra work when necessary (if they find something while working on my car, Marty always calls to give me options - if the extra work is minor there is no charge)
  
• Because of all of this Marty has my trust (I believe everything he tells me because of the reputation he has built with me)

It must be fun to work at a place that is so honest and truly appreciates it's customers. Result is that I will be a life long customer. If you live in Richmond, consider this my full endorsement for Richmond Imports.

Ignore Everybody

Knocked off my 4th book this year "Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity". I am disappointed with how long it took me to read this one because it is an easy read and I enjoyed it. I will forewarn you that the author Hugh MacLeod does not filter his thoughts. His thoughts are written raw and communicate just what he intends without apology. Hugh is way above average intelligence. He is the world leader in cartoons drawn on the back of business cards.

This book is focused on keys to creativity but it is also packed full of life lessons. I agree with many of them but haven't taken time to articulate most of them. As I did last time, I will share with you some quotes from the book that connected with me in some way. I hope you enjoy and I am interested in your comments.

• "The sovereignty you have over your work will inspire far more people than the actual content ever will."
• Being good at anything is like figure-skating - the definition of being good at it is being able to make it look easy. But it never is easy. Ever."
• ". . . if and when you finally come up with the "Big Idea", . . . how do you know whether or not it is "The One"? "Answer: You don't".
• "Everyone has their own private Mount Everest." "You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don't make at least one serious attempt to get above the snowline, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness."
• ". . . when you know full well you have had the opportunity [but didn't take it] - that hurts far more than any failure."
• "Don't worry about finding inspiration." "Inspiration precedes the desire to create, not the other way around."
• "A lot of people in business say they have 20 years' experience, when in fact they really have one years' experience, repeated 20 times."
• "If you are successful, it'll never come form the direction you predicted. Same is true if you fail."

Tribe Quotes

I finished another book this weekend on my way to reading 9 books this year. The book I finished is "Tribes" by Seth Godin. This is an absolutely fabulous book for anyone trying to make their next move. It does a particularly good job dispelling the common belief that leaders are born.

A technique I have adopted from a book I read last year ("Love is the Killer App" by Tim Sanders), is cliffing which I use to share with you some of Seth's gems. I am very interested in your comments about these gems. In Tribes, Seth says;

• "Leaders have followers. Managers have employees. Managers make widgets. Leaders make change."
• "A crowd is a Tribe without a leader. A crowd is a Tribe without communication. Smart organizations assemble a tribe."
• "... by constantly touching a tribe of people with generosity and insight, she's earned the right to lead."
• "... in hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. - Dr. Lauence Peter (The Peter Principle)" "... in every organization everyone rises to the level at which they become paralyzed with fear. - Seth Godin"
• "If you work for someone...the actual cost of failure is absorbed by the organization, not by you." "What people are afraid of isn't failure, it's blame."
• "Leadership is a choice. It's a choice to not do nothing."
• "The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. The hardest think is to initiate."
• "Flynn Berry wrote that you should never use the word 'opportunity'. It is not an opportunity, it is an obligation."
• "The very nature of leadership is that you are not doing what's been done before. If you were, you'd be following, not leading."
• "Once you choose to lead, you'll be under huge pressure to reconsider your choice, to compromise, to dumb it down, or to give up... That's the world's job: to get you to be quiet and follow."

A Gallon

Earlier this week I received a surprise honor of getting a pin for giving a gallon of blood. No, I did not give a gallon in one day but I have given blood every time I have been able to since moving to Virginia almost three years ago. As a matter of fact, I have given blood ever since I was eligible after my medical issue 10 1/2 years ago (almost to the day). I realize that giving blood is not for everyone. I hate needles but for me it is another non-monetary way to give back.


With every blood donation, 3 to 4 peoples lives can be saved. I have been told that blood is only good for about 30 days, which is why you always see blood drives. If you are already a doner, I think that is great. If you are not, consider if giving blood is something you can do.

What Do I Know?

I hosted a session at work yesterday for the wellness committee that I am a member of. I was very disappointed in the trainer (brought in from outside the company) because I thought the delivery was very poor (i.e. read from the handout, monotone speech, etc.). I was surprised to see that the evaluations came back strong.

I started thinking the participants didn't know what they were talking about and I obviously did because I have a training background. Today I ran in to someone who was at the session. They and thanked me (the wellness committee) for the session because it helped them so much with recognizing the stress they have been dealing with.

Two Morals of the Story

1. I goes to show that I don't know anything. Just because I have a background in an area doesn't mean someone else can't have a contrary opinion to mine. It appears that I got caught up in a ego that I didn't think I had.
2. When it comes to receiving training, it may be more important how ready someone is to receive the training rather than how well the training is delivered

Just Do It

Immediately improve your day. Do something very small for someone else that no one else could know about. You might ask, if no one knows you did something for someone else why does it matter? It matters because you will uncontrollably feel better. Yes, uncontrollably. You have a sense of accomplishment, value, contribution automatically.

The key is doing something small. It should be small enough that it requires very little effort and very little time (less than 60 seconds). People get caught up in making a big difference in the world. While that is admirable, its the small things you should get good at first. The more small things you do ultimately you will make big differences in the world.

What are some examples of very small things you can do to help someone else? Here are some examples:

• Make a pot of coffee in the break room especially if you don't drink coffee. If you do drink coffee, make a pot of decaf or caffeinated (which ever you don't drink)
• Pick up trash in the parking lot
• Take a cart from someone as they finish loading their car at the grocery store
• Hold the door for the person behind you
• Drop an extra donation in the charity jar

Pick just one of these or come up with one of your own. Commit to looking for an opportunity every day for one week to do it. Don't tell anyone else about your goal for the week. Now ask yourself, have I improved my day today?

Comment to this Blog with your very small ideas.

Help Yourself

An amazing thing about life is that it is entirely up to you to make your life as successful or difficult as you choose. Sure there are plenty of forces that are beyond your control. You can determine what to do with what you have control of though. Abraham Lincoln once said (and this is one of my very favorite quotes) "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be". Bottom line is that your success is up to you.

You might be stuck and not know how to get past whatever is stopping you. You might be in a very difficult situation that prevents you from success. To overcome your situation, put it aside and find someone else who is in a more difficult situation than you. Then, help them overcome it.

If you need help, help someone else. Through service to others, you provide service to yourself and ultimately you can overcome what is preventing you from your success.

Always Start Simple

People avoid creating systems because systems are complex. Successful people are successful because of the combination of systems they use. When successful people describe systems they use their systems almost always seem complex. So complex, in fact, that it may be overwhelming when considering such a system for you. So rather than attempting to apply the system, you never get around to implementing.

Don't apply the systems that successful people use. Their systems are just that, theirs. Rather than apply their system, simply understand two aspects of their system. First, what is the system's purpose (what result does the system produce)? And second, generally how does it work? Then create your own very simple version of the system. Commit to making periodic improvements to your version of the system until it fully meets your needs.

An example is how to organize daily to-do lists. A very successful person may have a sophisticated prioritized list of to-do items organized by what must be done today and what they would like to accomplish if they can squeeze it in. They may even take those actions that must be done today and schedule them into time slots throughout the day. To track their success, they may record deadlines against when the actions are actually completed.

If you have never had a system like this you will likely fail if you try to duplicate this system. Instead consider simply keeping track on a notepad the actions you must do each day. In a few weeks, you may find that adding colored highlights to the most important actions increases the chances these get done before less important actions. Weeks later you may find a way to implement your system in an electronic format so that you can sort and copy/paste actions.

In a few months you will have what people who don't have a system would call a complex system. It won't be complex to you because it is your system not someone else's. I may take you weeks, months, or even years but always be looking for small ways to improve your systems.

Your Saw Will Dull

In Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" the seventh habit is Sharpen the Saw. This may be one of the most important of all the 7 habits but may be one of the most overlooked. Sure it is the last habit and you just wanted to finish the book. The other habits are so rich and grouped by Private Victories and Public Victories. The seventh habit seems to sit there by itself. Mr. Covey could have left it out but he didn’t because it is so important that it had to be included.

It is easy to go with the flow. Allow yourself to go through your day much like you did yesterday. Mr. Covey's advice is important because if you aren't learning, you aren't growing. It's easy to read a book, or listen to a podcast, or read a magazine, or attend a seminar and believe that applying what you just learned is all you have to do. The reality is if you don't keep reading books, listening to podcasts, etc. you slowly drift away from what you learned. You become less likely to apply what you learned. Your mind gets focused on something else. In order to keep growing you must keep feeding your mind. Whatever you do today, make a point to learn something new and sharpen your saw. If you don't your saw will dull.