In pilot we trust
If you’re a consultant, flying comes with the territory. You get to experience different cities, perhaps international cultures, and certainly a lot of waiting around. There’s a saying that if you have never missed a flight, you are spending too much time in the airport. I understand the point, and I’m good being a little early […]
You can never use too many nails
I was fortunate to participate in my first Habitat for Humanity project in our area recently. The other volunteers and I possessed a multitude of experience. If you’re like me, you can hammer a nail without risk of hitting your thumb 95 out of 100 times (those other 5 are painful). I can take apart basic plumbing and […]
The glass might as well be empty
My wife and I recently celebrated our anniversary. We bought a new couch and recliner, something we do once every 29 years. The entire user experience at the local furniture store was top-notch. We walked into one store, explained what we wanted, saw what we liked, and we bought it. After pulling ourselves out of the […]
No rain, no gain
Here in my part of Massachusetts, we are in a drought watch. It’s not like the West Coast (what is?), but it’s dry enough that it has me thinking a lot about rain and water. While starting my business, I took a part-time job at one of the big box hardware stores. My position? Watering […]
The longer you’re here, diverse it gets
It’s an old joke. Someone brings up diversity and you say “We’re very diverse. The longer you’re here, diverse it gets”. Twice this week, my mind wandered to diversity issues. I spoke with someone with whom I’ve developed a good networking relationship and he wants to introduce me to someone at a local company. I […]
You look exactly the same
I recently reconnected with a friend I had not seen in over 35 years (no, we weren’t babies). The first things out of each of our mouths were “You look exactly the same.” So I guess when I was a teenager, I had gray receding hair, crow’s feet, and a slightly bad back. We reminisced about […]
Are your lug nuts tight?
My four wheel drive car was having problems with steering at slower speeds, and occasionally felt like it was skidding through turns. I brought it into the garage (really more like magicians at Don and Wally’s), who instantly and correctly diagnosed older transfer case fluid that had lost its viscosity. The oil also needed changing […]
Zero pants and a funeral
I traveled out of state to attend the funeral of the father of my closest friend. Everyone was hanging out at the hotel the night before, reminiscing and passing around pictures and drinks. It was nice that friends and family were sharing good times before the memorial service and funeral the next day. Fast forward […]
Same song, different sound
On my way back from a networking coffee this week, “The Man Who Sold The World” by Nirvana played on the radio. Many of you may know that this is a remake of a version by the late David Bowie. With Bowie’s recent death still very fresh in our minds, my thoughts began to wander from […]
Does talking about strategy make you strategic?
I participated in a two-day team strategy meeting in California a few years ago. As an icebreaker, a consultant worked with us to determine how we approached business, strategy, and teams. It was similar to a personality test, only geared towards work. During Q&A, one of my teammates asked the consultant “how do you become strategic?”. His […]
Analyze It – What’s missing in “Measure It, Manage It”
If you’ve been involved with Corporate America long enough, you have encountered the pithy saying “You can’t manage what you can’t measure“. It should read “You can’t manage what you can’t measure and analyze”. Data is important. It helps you to quantify aspects of your business such as customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, financial results, and workforce […]
Thinking and acting upon security
Perception is everything. Your customers expect that their transactions and interactions with you will be secure. If you are hacked, especially due to lack of action, you will lose customers and trust. I recently attended the Small Business Expo in Boston. The most beneficial aspect of the conference was a 1×1 session I had with […]
