Total CAR-nage

The winter driving season started off with a bang this morning as I counted 11 wrecks between my house and the office. The most impressive display was this 20+ car pileup just north of Larkspur.

 

One of The First Seth Godin Posts I Disagree With

(From Seth Godin)

"I think laziness has changed.It used to be about avoiding physical labor. The lazy person could nap or have a cup of tea while others got hot and sweaty and exhausted. Part of the reason society frowns on the lazy is that this behavior means more work for the rest of us.When it came time to carry the canoe over the portage, I was always hard to find. The effort and the pain gave me two good reasons to be lazy. But the new laziness has nothing to do with physical labor and everything to do with fear. If you're not going to make those sales calls or invent that innovation or push that insight, you're not avoiding it because you need physical rest. You're hiding out because you're afraid of expending emotional labor. This is great news, because it's much easier to become brave about extending yourself than it is to become strong enough to haul an eighty pound canoe."

NOT SO! IT IS MUCH EASIER TO ABANDON THOUGHT AND BUST ASS THAN IT IS TO OVERCOME YOUR GREATEST FEARS!!!

Personalized Licence Plates

I saw my new favorite personalized licence plate this morning in the parking structure: .



WTFWJD



   

Hilarious! Here's the real punchline: The McCain/Palin sticker directly above it on the rear window! LMAO!

First snow of fall 2010 on Pikes Peak this morning

This morning revealed the first snow of fall 2010 on Pikes Peak. Here it comes!!!

Which Side Are You On?

Here's a link to a cool graphical representation of our two major political groups.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/leftvright_US.html. Take a look to help you decide what makes sense to you on each issue... I found myself jumping back and forth depending on the issue with the majority of my preferences falling to the left (but I'm not telling which ones)! You'll have to come over and enjoy a bottle of wine to find that out.

August 10th

In order: spilled coffee on white shorts, pulled my back rowing a boat, upset stomach from ibuprofen overdose, bit my tongue while eating a sandwich, stung by a bee just below my butt, spilled wine on Craig's blanket. Ug. C'mon 11th.

Multnomah Falls

We took the boys to Multnomah Falls with all of the cousins yesterday... It's good to be back in the Northwest!!!

For my birthday, we moseyed a couple of miles down the street to Dove Valley this am to watch the Opening Day of Broncos training camp. We got to see the first glimpse of the Orton, Quinn, Tebow show. Pretty cool! My money is on Quinn, but Tim Tebow mania has swept over Denver. The fans are NUTS. The iPhone pictures are just ok, and the movie leaves quite a bit to be desired, but hey, better then nothing, I guess.

Thank you everyone for the Facebook birthday wishes - it is so very cool to get to hear from everyone from all of my different points in my history. AMAZING! You are all awesome folks and I'm stoked that you took some time out of your Sunday to say "hi" to me and wish me well. Thanks so much.

Brady Quinn Handing Off

Kyle Orton Over Center

(Not a) Good Morning!

I'm just happy I made it to work alive... after battling several man-made obstacles on the roads this am - namely some smoker-lady in a Subaru from Illinois whose mission it was to set a new record for a minimum speed on a freeway (you know who you are, lady) and a giant piece of rubber re-tread that smoker-lady swerved over and kicked up on me, a deer jumped across four lanes of northbound traffic, lept over the median and snapped off its antlers on the driver side window of the person immediately in front of me in the left lane of southbound traffic. His window shattered (I heard the glass break @ 65mph) and the deer's antlers flew into the air and landed on the road shoulder. I swerved into the center lane, while the deer jumped back to the northbound lanes. After several more near misses (now being viewed in my rear view mirror), the deer jumped back to the southbound lanes and froggered his way across all four lanes to "safety". Holy crap.

Sod Buster

My folks and I busted our asses laying sod this weekend. Truth be told, laying the sod was the easy part. All of the stuff before (dirtwork, trenching, sprinkler system, weeding, etc) really sucked. Here's a picture... It turned out really good. Now we get to plant and throw some rocks around the edges. Sounds easy, right?

Jameson Adams

So I had to put down the dog today. He started snapping at kids. Made some significant contact on a few occasions. It's going to be different around here... we've had Vizslas for over 10 years now. No more. He was a damn good dog - they all were. Goodbye, old friend.

The Next Big Idea

For those keeping track, this makes three... Have you ever been to a crowded bar, managed to find a seat, but found yourself unable to muster a waitress to bring you drinks? Frustruated, you make your way to the bar to order but find that there is no reasonable line and you have to squeeze between patrons and other thirsty would-be patrons to place your order. You wait for eye contact with the bartender, but she so busy she's simply picking the loudest "low hanging fruit" she can. Pretend you actually get to place an order. You can't possibly carry the drinks for all 5 of your friends!

Now, fast forward the future... imagine a place where when you finally find that table, you find with it a simple digital touchscreen drink menu. You sit, immediately place your order (which is sent electronically to a queue with the bartender) and wait for the waiter/waitress to bring it to you. Instead of your first contact with the wait staff being to order, your first contact could be the delivery of your drinks! No mistakes in translation - you've entered your own order. Additionally, it would cut down on lost wait staff time where they stand and tap a pencil while you decide. Genius!

Implications for food?!?

Are You Busy?

Yes? Being busy should not be a source of anger, stress, or lothe for one's work. On the contrary, being busy provides you with a measurement of exactly how necessary you are to the success of the organization. Being busy should make you feel happy and provide the invigorating eustress needed to accomplish anything!

However, if you are so busy that you are overwhelmed, perhaps all you need is some STRUCTURE ~ Reflection. Foresight. Coordination. Delegation. Time Management. Resourcefulness ~ Effective use of these tools can transform the thing that drives you to drink into a wonderful set of accomplishments that bring you satisfaction and reward.

The Brewhouse

So we "brew" coffee and we "brew" beer. Many of us love both. Some of us even like them together (think of Rogue's coffee porters or the Redhook/Starbucks espresso stout). Why not open a brewhouse that is coffee by day and beer by night? The place to go for the early risers and the place to be for the late nighters! Who's in?

The Big Idea

Hey, what's the big idea?!" Here goes... the personal computer has taken the shopping experience to a whole new level. In fact, online retailers have removed the need to leave your home and buy from the bricks and mortar store.

The Advantages:

1. No sales hassles

2. Don't have to leave the house

3. No time pressure

4. Access to research and product comparison

The Disadvantages:

1. Have to wait for product to arrive

2. No direct response to pointed questions

3. Cannot "touch" or "try on" the merchandise

4. Trust issues with online purchase / identity theft

Wouldn't the best thing be a combination of both? Why hasn't this been done? Why don't retailers have touchscreen devices located in their stores that provide customers access to information about the products availiable in the store? Retailers could provide most of the advantages of the online experience without the disadvantages of the retail experience to produce an informed sale and increase customer satisfaction.

Think about the ramifications on the wine/liquor/beer industry.

Are you being unreasonable? Congratulations.

“Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.”


- George Bernard Shaw

Overblown or Underrated

Overblown: The Champ, hugely popular, the one to beat. Think: Patriots, Yankees, Lakers, Tiger Woods.

Underrated: The Challenger, endearing, in pursuit. Think: Chargers, Cubs, Nuggets, Phil Mickelson.

How do these roles apply to you in the workplace? Do you want to be the Champ? Challenger? What happens when you are Overblown? Underrated?

Perhaps another way to look at it: Is it better to have to deliver a peak performance at all times or consistantly exceed expectations? Would your co workers admire you if you were a Champ? Or would they resent you? How about your boss?

Think about the loyalty of your fan base if you are a Champ vs. a Challenger. As a company, how do you best build loyal customers? Think about the competition. A Champ begs to be challenged. Is this good for business or not?

Each company and each person decides if they will be the Champ or the Challenger. Both have a place. The key is understanding which is your place and behave accordingly. No one likes a false Champ.

Fronts and Behinds aka Junk and Trunk

The way I see it, as is with everything, you can manage the front end and you can manage the back end. Front ends are usually more attractive then back ends - although back ends are essential and can be elegant as well...hmmmm.

...as it relates to the Project Management of money, front end management means budgeting your time and managing your team's productivity to meet or exceed those budget and schedule expectations. This translates into both profitability and predictable cash flow - the two most critical metrics of the good project management of money.

Back end management means adjusting your costs to preserve profitability and moving or delaying the application of costs to smooth out cash flow dilemmas.

Clearly, managing the front end is preferable, but there are certainly times where managing via the back end is essential to the health of the organization. After all, it takes all kinds to make the world go around.

The problem with front end management is that it requires effort to set up a system that will provide reliable and meaningful information to the team, as well as a leader who is capable of taking that information and successfully augmenting the team's future efforts.

The problem with back end management is that by definition it is after-the-fact. The costs have hit and the team is forced to react to the associated profitablity and cash flow problems.

The key is to be able to go both ways. Efforts should be focused on the front in order to produce the most positive impact, but don't neglect service to the back, or you could raise quite a stink.