Mistakes vs. "Mistakes"

It's all to common to hear in business these days that failure is ok, in fact, we should promote failure. If mistakes are failures than I am here to argue that there are good and bad mistakes (or mistakes vs. 'mistakes'). Bad mistakes are such things as typos, inaccurate spreadsheets, forgetting to call someone back, etc etc. Little good, lotsa bad. Good mistakes are trying out a new system that goes wrong, making a prediction on the future (assuming that you couldn't get more or better info) etc etc. These kind of mistakes often provide you with greater insight next time (a.k.a. experience).

Great Analogy

Excerpt from The Power of Full Engagement, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz:



"....Several years ago, the city of Orlando, Florida, planted a long line of trees along the highway that lead to our training center. The first time there was a storm with heavy winds, nearly every tree was blown down. The city dutifully sent workers to prop the trees back up. They secured them with baling wire and other external sources of support. It did no good. When the next storm came, the trees were blown other. A pattern that repeated itself numerous times over the next year.


It never seemed to occur to the folks in charge that if trees are to survive in a high-wind area, they must have a deeper root structure. It did occur to us that we were observing in nature a phenomenon that characterizes many of our own lives. Because we so often lack deep roots - firm beliefs and compelling values - we are easily buffeted by the prevailing winds. If we lack strong sense of purpose we cannot hold our ground when we are challenged by life's inevitable storms. Instead, we react defensively, blaming the storm or simply disengaging and ceasing to invest our energy."

Shift Happens

Cool vid courtesy of my father...

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/shifthappens

Nickel and Dimer's

I am sure I am not the only one irritated by this.

Cashier rings up $15.03. You have a $20. Cashier gives you back $4.97. Or:

• 1 toonie
  
• 2 loonies
  
• 3 quarters
  
• 2 dimes
  
• 2 pennies

Basically a pound of useless change in your pocket. Why not a $5? Have pity on us. Please. Suck up the 35 cents total that it might cost you per day and save your customers some irritation. In fact, what a better way to say "we think of your convenience'' than to do this one little favor. I don't blame the employees - well sorta - but the bosses should have the common sense to point this out to each cashier.

God is in the details

I went into a Made In Japan restuarant yesterday. Great place - calming music, the right temperature, excellent lighting and very friendly staff. However, in chatting with the manager, he pointed out that contrary to my review the place wasnt doing well. Seemed strange to me until I sat down and ate my food. I noticed two things:

1. The front door was extremely hard to open. I saw two seperate incidences where someone tried to open the door, couldn't, got embarassed and left.

2. The menu sign behind the counter was very difficult to read, big pictures but small writing. It looked as if there were these little squiggly lines between beautiful pictures. Again, two seperate incidences where someone waiting in line, couldnt see, turned and left.

Now, I was there for 20 minutes. Extrapolate those 4 lost customers and you are looking at almost 12/hour or 96 per day. Yes, it probably isnt that high, but it certainly is a significant number. Whose fault is this?

Well, I would say that its both the managers and the franchise manager. As a manager, he should spot these things quickly (its right in front of him). As a franchise manager, there should be a checklist for all the details of a business.

1. Easy for customers to get in? Check.
2. Easy for customers to order? Check.
3. Learn lessons from one store to apply to another? Check.

Lose The Diversification

In life, as opposed to the markets, diversification doesn't always mean less risk. The old saying of "don't put all your eggs in one basket", is wrong (most of the time). Think of a swimmer who rather than choosing to be solely good at sprinting, chose also to be good at synchro, long distance, butterfly and diving. Diversified yes, riskier, of course.

Focus is the opposing force to diversification. The world is competitive. Very. To remain so, you must focus on a being great at only a few things - parent, tight-rope walker, (glorified) secretary - whatever.

Choose less, but better, goals. A personal, business and health goal are usually the best three.

Focus and thrive.

Grin and Bear it

"Grin and bear it!"

That was the advice given to me today about a situation that is not entirely pleasant. Not surprisingly we sometimes find ourselves in situations that we don't like. We either leave them right away or get through it. The first one isn't always an option, in that case, grin and bear it.

Sometimes the only way out, is through.

A Subtle Distinction

Your job fulfills one of two things:

1. Building the product.
2. Building the business.

A Senior executive builds the company by hiring the right people, financing the right departments and making crucial strategic decisions. A production line worker builds the product by fulfilling her/his designated job. A good analogy I once heard was this. The person who builds the Mach 3 Razor has a different role than the person building the business that delivers the Mach 3 Razor. In some businesses the distinction is not easily recognizable, but it is crucial.

In transitioning to a different position in your company it is important to assess which of the two roles you will fulfill. Small business owners and entrepreneurs often get stuck in the trap of trying to build their product when they should be building their business.

Johnny's story

My friend Allen sent me this link, incredibly moving:

http://go.care2.com/e/R0Ym/ITNm/XfYi

Failure....

Failure has been on my mind a lot lately. The division I am with is closing down or at least stripping down to its barest bones. Its discouraging on two counts. 1) I was the one who did the due diligence when the parent company bought this division. 2) I have spent 10 months here and made, as far as I can see, no noticeable difference.

Its discouraging...or faith building...hmm..maybe both.

The due diligence I did in the beginning was rushed. It was not a full due diligence process and I certainly lacked experience. Are these excuses? or reasons? I am not sure...my reflection on this is that I will certainly be more cynical and cautious of any deals in the future, an invaluable lesson if you ask me.

The second part of this is that I have made no difference. While I have done my job for the most part, messed up a couple times, had a few small successes, nothing fundamentally changed. My reflection on this is that I wasn't pro-active enough, I didn't take enough risks. I was so scared of grabbing the controls of the plane and knocking it off course that I let the plane crash.

Experience is the best teacher for knowing what to do in what situations. Part of my post yesterday suggested seeking out new experiences. Every new experience gives you a better reference point for the next new one.

Maybe failure is bad word to use. Correlation and causation are tough things to separate, in this case, I will attribute a little to both and move on. My next role I will be successful. If I don't believe this then I certainly wont be.

Boredom and Loneliness

Reading Seth Godin's blog today he points out that everyone is lonely. I would like to add that I think everyone is kinda bored too. We lack adventure in our lives. My buddy said it best last night when he said that every week he wants to do something that scares the shit out of him. I couldn't agree more.

Do something every week that scares you...

Check out Seth Godin's blog:

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2123/19356822

Irony

Signing into my blog I noticed the Google ad beside my post (see below) advertising a Chinese Herbal medicine that will help you lose 20lbs in 3 weeks. Haha...go figure!!

Side Effects Include: Leakage!

During a discussion with a co-worker today we drifted onto the topic of diet pills. She was telling me of a radio ad flogging a bottle of fat loss pills. Beyond the likely generic tag line that they all promote 'lose weight fast and easy', the thing that stood out to her was the side effects: diarrhea, headache...and...LEAKAGE!

Sorry, did you say leakage? Yup.

It should be a rule of life better stressed before Economics 100. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Or...better read as...nothing in life is free; everything has a price. Everything does. Losing weight, building a business, spending time watching TV or even sleeping, you pay for all in one way or another. If you are starting a new habit (read: diet pills) think of the costs. Think of the radio ad...think of leakage!!!

And just for kicks, here are some other common side effects of diet pills:

- nervousness
- headaches and nausea
- diarrhea
- bulging eyes
- racing heartbeat
- elevated blood pressure
- heart failure

Opportunities = more but less obvious

Flipping through Profit Magazine's list of top 100 fastest growing companies is - to me at least - an incredible experience. To see companies that have grown between 12,000% to 33,000% in six years in absolutely incredible. This indicates a lot. It shows that there are still amazing opportunities.

Like a previous post, where I talked about how easy it is to focus on the bad in the world. Its parallel in the business world is to focus on how few opportunities there are. But as that list shows, there are HUGE opportunities. If that many companies can grow that fast, think of all the possibilities that are out there.

As the world becomes more complicated, opportunities become equally more complicated. What lies in this complication is a combination of focus - on a specific market - and searching beyond the obvious. Opportunities are less obvious than they once were, but certainly more abundant.

Beep..Beep..Beep..Argh!

Ok, maybe a minor issue. But seriously, who doesnt have call waiting! I just tried to phone a supplier to confirm an urgent issue. I need to know something within the hour. Phoned him up and all I got was a busy signal. ARGH! Now, fair enough, maybe he had two calls coming in at the same time and the busy signal is the result, but I kinda doubt it. So now, I have to remember, amongst the 4,000,000 other things that I have to do, to call this guy back. Be much better if I left a message and got a call back.

One thing they dont teach you in school is that its the small things that make your business great. Calling back when you say you will. Being there when the phone rings. Being honest with your customer even when you mess up. Making sure the toilet paper is full (cause employees get very disgruntled when its not). Its the LITTLE things!

If I become a professor or dean at a school, I am going to make a course call the "The Little Things - How to do them well".

Do you think or do you KNOW?

I was asked a question by my boss today and I was pretty sure of the answer (pretty = not completely). I hoped, as I said it, that it would be enough to be pretty sure. It wasn't, he caught me. I wasn't completely sure and he knew it. He said this:

"Do you think or do you know?"

Knowing is ALWAYS better than assuming. Also, knowing is usually just a phone call away from assuming. Make the call.

Do we take anything seriously?

As unoriginal as having an original thought in the shower is, a new idea dawned upon me. I don't take anything serious...beyond health (family, friends, myself) there is not much...

In looking at my life, I fight for no cause, I have dedicated myself to a few principles (too often not upheld) and what I lack in tradition, I make up in repetitive, yet boring, fun. It kinda worries me. Something, ANYTHING in my life should be the (main) focal point of my thoughts. Something should worry me at least a few nights a month, something should give me a reason to be angry at times but most of all something should give me cause to celebrate.

I do not believe in the idea that if you wait for things they will come to you. I will go to a cause. This cause will be in line with the truth and goodness that I base my other actions on. Some ideas that come to mind are:

1. Stop bottom trawling of the ocean (this really makes me angry!)
2. Connect mothers and grandmothers with their counterparts in Africa (they need the support!)
3. Tackle a wrong within my own community (there are MANY!)

I like the idea that if I am not willing to risk my life for something than I am truly not taking it seriously. It may be a little extreme, but the dedication of ones life to a cause does have some appeal. Makes me think of a great cello player who played before a wealthy crowd. Afterwards a lady came up to the man and said "I would give my life to play like that!" He responded, "No mam you wouldn't; I have given up my life to play like that."

What is your cause?

simple problem = less time, complex problem = more time

Today I talked with A/P department for one of our larger government customers. We had two invoices outstanding with them, both of which had a problem with their respective packing slips. In trying to solve the problem, the conversation went something like this:

Andrew: "When can we expect payment on these two invoices?"
Customer: "Their is a problem with the packing slips for both of them."
(pause)
Andrew:"What is the problem?"
Customer: "One is missing the sizes."
Andrew:"Ok, both of them or just one?"
Customer:"Just one."
(pause)
Andrew:"Ok, what is the problem with the other?"
Customer:"Its missing two sizes. I faxed you the one that was missing one size."
(pause)
Andrew:"Can you fax me the other?"
(pause...the customer sighs...)
Customer:"Yes."

While this doesn't blatantly outline a lack of problem solving ability, it was a 2 minute conversation that should have been 15 seconds. There was a clear simple solution that it seemed like the customer was trying to get around, for one reason or another. Maybe she was busy, maybe not. It was a poor reflection on her. If she made something as simple as this so complicated, what about a complicated problem? It reminds me to find the logical, simple answer as quickly as possible. When trying to find the quickest solution to a mutual (customer/supplier) problem, find the one that creates the LEAST mutually-combined inconvenience. Even better, take on the inconvenience, people will appreciate it.