Grassroots Innovation

Why You Get Paid

2009-11-29T11:09:00.004-05:00

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt

"It's easier to edit than create" -Pete Ritt

Often you get asked to pull together something for review and you are given little instruction as to what is wanted.

This will derail some folks.

The reason that there is an extra zero in your paycheck (to the left of the decimal point) is that you are needed to serve up clarity from chaos.

Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM once said, "I wouldn’t give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity but I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity."

The folks that prevail in this exercise understand three things. First, the people asking don't exactly know what they want either so it doesn't really matter what you serve up. Do your best. Two, development is an iterative process. Having something from which to discuss makes the conversation easier and it helps get buy-in. Very rarely, if at all, does something get presented and signed off on the first time. If it does, it was not that big a deal anyway. Three, preparing the documents allows you to control the conversation. After all, who understands the topic better than you?

The 3rd Way

2009-11-21T07:04:00.004-05:00

Because we are people, pretty much every situation we encounter in life comes with a bit of drama.

Our typical reactions to such emotions are fight or flight. We either engage in a campaign to convince you how you are wrong, or we fall silent, wishing everything away.

If the topic is important enough to you than neither of these strategies will work. Odds are that if you start the fight routine you will get a fight back, then the issue becomes a battle of emotions leaving a scorched earth all around. Biting your tongue is no better as it's the equivalent of plugging the pipe. The back pressure will continue to build until you explode into a fighting stance.

That's why when you are working through a tough problem you know you haven't figured it out until you've come up with a third way.

Until you have come up with a solution that addresses your personal needs in a way that maintains respect for all involved and also gets to the difficult root of the issue you don't have the best solution.

No Way They Did This With a Straight Face

2009-11-19T19:50:00.002-05:00

According to today's USAtoday

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that pensions at the companies, United Airlines, US Airways, Polaroid and Reliance Insurance, were underfunded by more than $11 billion when the companies turned them over to a government-backed insurance fund. The report says executives at those four companies and six others that abandoned their pension plans took in a total of $350 million in pay and perks in the years leading up to the bankruptcies.1

Seriously?

The backbone of Innovation is trust. People who do this are not trustworthy. You cannot make the argument that everyone else was so why shouldn't I? Wrong is wrong.

Don't get me wrong I am a tried an true capitalist. I love competition. I love winning. But to me it doesn't count unless it's fair.

Notes:
1.http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2009-11-18-pensions_N.htm

Inspiration Saturday

2009-11-14T08:46:00.002-05:00

Whale Facts

2009-11-13T15:14:00.002-05:00

Things that quite possibly only interest me....

Yeah, But They Can Afford It
New York spends $2,283 per capita on Medicaid, far more than any other state, and twice the national average, according to statistics compiled by the state budget division. Second is Rhode Island, which spends $1,659. The state also spends $14,884 per pupil on school aid, more than any other state and well above the national average of $9,138.1

Fore
Every year over 300million golf balls are lost.2

It's Not Like We Blew Up The Global Economy Or Anything
The average pay in 2009 for a Goldman Sachs employee is expected to be $700,000.3

$5 Billion is a Lot of Quarters
About 70% of laundry owners in America are single-shop operators, and 20% operate only two, limited economies of scale having discouraged the rise of dominant national chains. The coin laundry represents a $5 billion-a-year industry of about 35,000 stores.4

Notes:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/nyregion/10paterson.html?_r=1&hp
2. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/11/04/littering.golf.balls/index.html
3. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6907681.ece
4. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125728737379626349.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_smallbusiness

Technology Makes It Hard To Cheat

2009-11-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

With the advent of video devices everywhere there's going to be a lot more documentation of bad behavior. Case in point, drafting on the bike in Ironman Florida.

To Our Veterans

2009-11-10T20:39:00.002-05:00

Thanks

Block And Tackle

2009-11-09T05:34:00.003-05:00

Strategy is important. You want to make sure you are going the right way.

Emotions are important. You need to work as a team to be successful.

Blocking and tackling are more important than strategy and emotions.

If you can't block and tackle, that is preform the most perfunctory of business applications, than you have an acute problem. Lack of strategy and lack of team unity are chronic problems. Chronic problems take a long time to develop into acute problems. Acute problems get noticed by others quickly because, well, they're acute.

You don't have the luxury in business to get all the strategy and organizational behavior issues hammered out before attacking the tactical, practical, issues related to the business. You have got to get after everything all at once.

Boom Goes The Dynamite

2009-11-02T12:50:00.003-05:00

Now that's what I'm talking about....from today's WSJ.

1. The U.S. factory sector saw its best month of expansion in October since April 2006.

2. The Institute for Supply Management reported Monday that its index of manufacturing activity jumped to 55.7 last month, after standing at 52.6 in September and 52.9 in August.

In aint a recovery until we start making stuff again.

Emotions Matter

2009-10-31T17:20:00.002-05:00

Emotions matter.

Politicians know this. The captains of the financial industry know this (I’m reading the book Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System---and Themselves. More on this later)

Business folks in general don’t get this.

Case in point, when I was laid off the guy that did the laying off asked if I wanted to know how he made his decision. At this point in time I was already out of a job so I figured what the heck, indulge me.

“Well,” he says. “The first thing that I did was to take out all the emotion.”

Great, I’ve got a family to feed, but I’m not sure how to do it right now and you, you’ve taken all the emotion out of everything. Hoo Rah.

Emotions matter…..which is why this is so great.

The Return from Iraq - Click here for more amazing videos

Wooden: A Game Plan For Life

2009-10-28T18:36:00.003-05:00

I can't remember where I read this, but the exercise is to recall the last five Superbowl winners. Now recall five of your teachers who made a positive impact on you. The point being that it's the people in your life that make the dramatic difference.

That's the premise of the legendary John Wooden's latest book A Game Plan For Life. While the book will not win any Pulitzer prizes, it is a refreshingly honest book about the people who made and impression on John and, in turn, the people that he helped.

For example, John writes of drawing strength from Mother Teresa's admission that she questioned her faith in God. To him it made his own shortcomings more tenable. More often than not business books are written from the perspective of the infallible (Giuliani, Welch) which implies imperfection on the part of the reader; these guys didn't have any self-doubt so you're not as good since you do.

Again, the books not going to change the course of human history, but for those looking for a good airplane book this one's not bad.

Slowing Down Less Than Everyone Else

2009-10-26T11:05:00.005-05:00

A lot of times I've been credited with being a fast finisher. But it's almost an optical illusion. I'm not gaining speed. I'm just slowing down less than everyone else. - Carl Lewis

Business is a marathon swim, not a sprint. Those who stay on task and don't slow down end up being the winner. (Assuming you are going the right way, but that's an argument for another time.) This is a different approach than going out and pushing yourself as fast as you can early on.

A good illustration of this is Kevin Nuemann's mile split times from the Grand Rapids Marathon

He finished in 3h 47min for an 8:40 min/mile pace, but he gave back a full 7 minutes in the last 7 miles of the race. If he had been able to hold an 8:30 pace (shown with the red line) he would have finished in 3hr and 42 min; and he would have been able to take the first 13 miles slower.

In business a lot of times someone will rile up the organization in the name of forward action, but that pace is not sustained for the long haul. (This person then goes off and riles up something else.)

The correct approach, I believe, for a business is relentless forward movement through incremental efficiecies; aka the Toyota way. You don't need to sprint, but you do need the resilence and perseverence to get better in small increments everyday.

So, when evaluating the chances of an organizations success bypass the organizations with the exciting sprint strategy, and bear hug with two hands the organizations that are relentlessly, methodically, and un-excitedly making small steps at getting better.

And There It Is

2009-10-21T18:48:00.002-05:00

According to Gary Hammel, super smart guy and Professor at the London Business School, writes:

There’s probably no organizational attribute that’s more important today than adaptability. In our topsy turvy world, every organization is teetering on the brink of irrelevance, and unless it can change as fast as change itself, it will soon tumble off the ledge.1

Yet at the same time mastery of any given topic requires tenacity, dedication, and devotion to the task at hand.

How to tell when you should adapt and when you should harden up? That my friend, it a great question

Notes:
1. http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2009/10/21/outrunning-change-the-cliffsnotes-version/

Innovative Tax Increase

2009-10-20T11:20:00.006-05:00

Nobody likes a tax increase. So, when at all possible goverments don't call it a tax increase, when in fact, they extract more money from you.

It's frustrating to no end when institutions are sneaky.

Case in point is County Executive Maggie Brooks of Monroe County, NY who announced her budget today proclaiming no increase to the propery tax rate. (Link)

Oh, but something called the "levy" went up.

What they don't share is the formula for computing how much money you have to pay.

((Property Value x Assessment Rate) - Exemptions) x Property Tax Rate = Tax Bill

The assesment rate is the levy. So while the "property tax rate" is unchanged, the total amount owed still goes up.

Yuck: The Great Contraction, Part 2

2009-10-15T04:44:00.003-05:00

Many mixed messages in the headlines about the economy. On one hand everyone's excited about the Dow getting back to 10,000.

For example today's Wall Street Journal reports that "Dow at 10,000 as Crises Ebbs". Most people take this to mean that our problems are over. In reality, after having our heart attack we've gotten out of the ICU. We still have a long way to go.

Here's one reason why as reported in the New York Times:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track pay cuts, but it suggests they are reflected in the steep decline of another statistic: total weekly pay for production workers, pilots among them, representing 80 percent of the work force. That index has fallen for nine consecutive months, an unprecedented string over the 44 years the bureau has calculated weekly pay, capturing the large number of people out of work, those working fewer hours and those whose wages have been cut. The old record was a two-month decline, during the 1981-1982 recession.1

For an economy that is 70% driven by consumer spending the fact that consumers have less to spend is a big deal.

Hope is not an innovative strategy. Everything's pulling back after puffing up to their artificially inflated levels.

Notes:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/business/economy/14income.html?_r=1&em

It Matters How You Finish

2009-10-14T20:13:00.001-05:00

Low Cost Beer Packaging

2009-10-13T04:57:00.002-05:00

The packaging on this 12 pack of Blue Light does not get any cheaper than this unless they start offering to pour it into your hands.

PayPal A New Verb

2009-10-08T18:13:00.001-05:00

First time I've seen PayPal used as a verb. Link

For the brainless among you who are doing this, my best advice is to paypal me 25 dollars and never use a computer again.

Thank You, Captain Obvious

2009-10-08T10:47:00.003-05:00

It seems that the WSJ finally gets that there is a consumer credit crunch going on (see today's article, "Drought of Credit Hampers Recover") and in a consumer driven economy that's going to hurt.

Outstanding consumer credit (credit cards, mortgages, car loans) has declined for seven straight months and has shrunk about 4.6% since July 2008.

The crunch is coming from two places. First companies are not really willing to extend credit. They have a bunch of stuff on their books that are going south (investments, real-estate, other loans) and so they only want to loan to the people that they know are going to pay them back. Since there is only a certain amount of those people in existence their total loan portfolios are decreasing.

Second, consumer credit is shrinking because people are spending less. Given the shaky job market, 401k losses, and falling home values, it doesn't feel like a safe time to take out a loan.

Since the US was able to stabilize its banking system and stave off a seizure the head lines have been filled with, "when it it (it being the economy) coming back" as if it went on holiday or something.

That's why I been harping (here, here, here, and here) that we are in a new kind of normal. We didn't skin our knee, we've had the leg amputated. Until we (the public, Congress) start having that discussion all we are doing is flailing about and calling it progress.

Oh Really? College Hunks Take My Junk?

2009-10-07T11:05:00.003-05:00

Saw a "College Hunk" truck the other day. Can't decide if this is genius or simple-minded as is often the paradox of innovation. They are obviously competing with the "Got Junk" guys, must be good money in junk.

I think I would have a problem with using the college hunks (spoiler alert: they aren't really going to be all that good looking) , but again I doubt I am the target market.

The Dalai Lama's Business Book

2009-10-03T18:09:00.004-05:00

In his book The Leader's Way, the Dalai Lama makes an extremely interesting observation about the role of business.

The role of business to make a profit makes about as much sense as to say that the role of the person is to eat or breath.

More often than not people think of the sole purpose of the business is to make money. That the business is a cold, feeling-less money making machine. Because of this they feel that they can behave as if their environment is a cold, feeling-less money making machine.

Yes profit, like breathing, is pretty darn important. But once it's achieved, then what? More money?

Business' are no more than a collection of people. People have feelings.

The path to true contribution, true creativity, it through the very people that make up the organization. By dealing with their feelings and asking them to enlist in the greater cause will yield far greater success.

Hooray for Adam's Mark

2009-09-30T19:05:00.003-05:00

Every year there is a sacred pilgrimage to Buffalo, NY to watch the Buffalo Bills and this year was no exception.

We usually stay at the Adam's Mark Hotel because it's in walking distance of the downtown attractions.

Normally the stay is non-eventful. This time, however, there was a leaky toilet in the room. Not a big enough deal to change rooms, but a big enough deal to wake me up at night. On top of that I did report the leaky toilet to the front desk, but it was never fixed.

So when I answered the e-mail survey that Adam's Mark sent out I was truthful about the toilet. Again, not a big thing. But, they asked.

To my delight I received an e-mail from the General Manager apologizing for the leaky toilet. While it would have been better to not have said leaky toilet at all, it was nice of them to take the time to write back.

In an age when you get dinged a fee to use the credit card purchase check (thanks Citi-Card) that they send you, or to cancel your car insurance (thanks Nationwide) it's refreshing that there are companies out there that are trying to win your business by giving you a positive experience.

The End of Paper

2009-09-24T19:21:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh. Now they're doing it too! They charge less if you print out your own conference materials.

This isn't really the end of paper. It's the end of paper being included.

Predictors of Excellence

2009-09-23T11:35:00.003-05:00

Joe Friel, a guru among triathlete coaches, lists the best predictors of excellence in sport. (The full article is here.)

Motivation: Do you want it?

Discipline: Will you sacrifice for it?

Confidence: Do you believe you can do it?

Focus: Can you ignore the distractions?

Patience: Are you willing to wait for results?

I think the list holds true for business as well. Notice that nothing is listed about talent.

Yesterday's Innovation: The Paper Bill

2009-09-22T18:57:00.004-05:00

T-Mobile wanted to charge their customers a $1.50 a month for the right to receive a paper bill. They seem to be wavering on implementing the current plan, but other companies such as Waster Management already ask you to pay the charge.

The trend isn't only for businesses, even the Baltimore Running Festival no longer sends out any hard copy literature. Everything is sent electronically.