It has been the oddest of winters. Imagine if you are in Venice and you woke up to this?
Europe, England snowed under and us with one of the mildest I can ever remember. We have not even skied this year, there is no point. Candidly, I am not disappointed …. It will be 13C on Wednesday.
Or as some like to call it, the tax shelter. We spent a few days there a week ago and were fortunate to have great weather and a lot of fun as a family (Although Atlantis is run down and way over priced … if it were not for the slides).
I walked to Starbucks each morning and looked at the Mary Jean II. On one occasion, the yacht next to it had slipped out to sea and I took this photo on my phone. It may not look it, but it is one BIG yacht (60m). According to the brochure they are renting her out for a pittance, $500K per week. I hope that comes with food.
I have been an absent blogger over the past month, in big part due to travel. I am at World Mobile Congress this week. It is my 6th time in Barcelona and as always, it is a very interesting show.
Three observations/experiences from yesterday:
1. It is the first time I have had to take a passport to the gym. Plus, Spaniards look at you funny if you walk the street in gym clothes in February (they don’t know I am Canadian).
2. If you are pitching a partner on your products and the merits of working together closely, the person on your team at the front of the screen should not be doing email on his laptop. We were all looking at him …..
3. Even the most mundane of Spanish buildings are prettier and have more character than 90 percent of our buildings. Just your run of the mill store fronts …..
I have never been to war but have always been fascinated by history, specifically our world’s long track record of epic conflict. While on holiday over the Christmas break I had the opportunity to read What It Is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes.
It is VERY different than anything I have ever read before with the author opening up in a way that few do, uncovering every deep and ugly thought and emotion of the impact that war had on him as a young man (specifically – Vietnam). He also make far reaching observations on the state of society that I found captivating, and disturbing. This one in particular, on evil:
Evil is very ordinary. We don’t have to look far to see its causes. It’s the little things, such as being as tired and not inspecting the mortar tripod closely enough, or not recycling the plastic or letting kids eat junk food that abuses their health because parents’ working or social life is more important that preparing a decent meal at home…. Cruelty is as mundane and common as cruelty in child rearing.
Many will find this a very uncomfortable read (I did). There is nothing glorious about war or the savagery of humanity and Marlantes does not shirk from the dark, even his own dark side. In the end, I would agree with this recommendation that all young people who sign up for a warrior’s job should read this book (or one’s like it). It makes one think broadly, well beyond the bravado and glory stories of a hill taken.
A book that makes me think, well past the day that the last page was read.
For traveling I have two camera choices – the full rig (Canon 40D with a number of lenses) and a portable. The portable (And old Canon SD1000) was carried in my laptop bag and was primarily used for underwater shots …. thanks to an amazing waterproof chassis that I grabbed after a trip to Bora Bora when a friend took this shot with the same chassis.
It has been a great product that we use all the time. Below are a few underwater photos from a trip to Mexico in August. The quality is fantastic for a 7 year old camera.
But it was time for an upgrade. For Christmas I received a Canon G12 and a WP-DC34 underwater case. I cannot wait to test out full HD video, RAW and the advances that the camera offers when we are snorkelling in Grand Cayman. Can’t wait.
When you read about hiring in companies you often hear the old adage “Hire slow, fire fast” or “A hiring mistake costs you 18 months”. What I have never heard is how detrimental a non-standard, poorly thought out hiring practice can be on morale.
Case in point: I was speaking with a colleague the other day about an interview loop that he went through and how disappointed he was. He wasn’t disappointed by the outcome (not getting the role), he was disappointed with the process; specifically the 1/2 an interview that he was granted to compete for the role. He left that short interview feeling that the company did not take his candidacy seriously. The disappointment lead to resentment and eventually, his leaving the company.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time I have heard about this happening. In fact, I have heard about it happening an alarming number of times, for a range of reasons;
In all cases, internal candidates are left wondering – why didn’t I get a shot at that job? If I am getting good reviews, why is this person better than me? And ultimately, they make it harder for the new hire as that person will face some form of resentment from the disillusioned.
Keeping this in mind, I try to adhere to this form of transparent hiring process to ensure equity and most importantly – a strong competition for the role so that the best candidate wins:
The end result should be that those who are not selected get feedback that they can action and while they will probably be disappointed at not getting the role, they cannot question the process and the fact that they had a fair shot at winning.
Morale is protected and the best candidate wins.
Not complaining (too loudly) about we Canadians getting treated as second class citizens when it comes to services (ahem, Pandora) but at least one wrong has been righted. Big user/fan of Sonos and glad to FINALLY see Sirius live and streaming. It was a Coffeehouse weekend.
I spent last week traveling (A lot of miles) and every time that we took off I had the same thoughts:
I just don’t understand why. According to this article:
Decades ago the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission determined that electronic devices could send signals that would interfere with the equipment on a plane, officials said. Therefore, all electronic games, MP3 players and laptops have to be turned off until the plane gets above 10,000 feet.
Mobile phones are not to be used for calls or Internet use on a cellular network anytime the plane is in the air, though they can be used in “plane mode” for such activities as playing games or updating one’s calendar.
Not considering an Alec Baldwin, just perplexed.
I am not sure where I read the term, but found the definition interesting:
The belief that technology makes us smarter or dumber.
I know that my children’s color laser printed, PowerPoint created school projects are about 1000% more complex and detailed at a much younger age than my Encyclopedia Britannica based, hand written projects. Technology has definitely changed that and I would wager that they know a lot more than I did at that age simply due to exposure to information.
Smarter? Dumber? Not sure that is the right element to debate. More informed, for sure.
Why I like to read all kinds of books … and why I always encourage people to read business books.
Any fool can learn from his mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.
This year the hub-bub is all about Michael Buble’s new album. Of course, it was my first choice as the once a year Christmas CD purchase and it is good. Traditional music, in his jazzy style. But it won’t make it into my all time list. Not unique enough.
A contender for one of those slots is the A Very She & Him Christmas from She & Him. Featuring the quirky actress Zooey Deschanel (Think the sitcom New Girl, and the elf in Elf). I cannot get Christmas Wish out of my head … I find myself humming it all the time. Great album (I happened upon it at Starbucks).
I will add one holiday link. If you want to send a great Santa video to a child or to a friend for a laugh, one of the best of the season can be found here.
Enjoy!
I love this time of the year. Holiday music is everywhere .. the food seems to be better. Sure, there are the year end pressures but there is also opportunity at every turn to find something fantastic. How can you not find yourself smiling?
I found myself wondering about that question at a recent lunch. I was early and observed a smiling rep and his Blackberry carrying, email sending, frowning manager. The customer arrived and the rep engaged but the manager/executive never broke the frown. Had I been his client, I would have simply expedited the lunch to get out of there. It looked painful. I felt like walking up to him and saying ‘Smile, it is the holidays and this is your customer!”
I remember when I first moved to the UK, I had someone comment that they thought it was odd that I smiled so much. We control our mental state … so why not smile? Especially at this time of year.
Smile.
Today I received an e-holiday card from an old client and colleague from Europe. On a personal note, I am not a big fan of e-cards simply because my email is cluttered enough and it lacks the personal – handwritten touch. But to each his own.
What sets this e-card apart was the sent from header in the email.
(His assistants name) on behalf of (The individual).
He didn’t even care enough to invest the time to send it out himself. I am not sure how it could be even more impersonal and in this case, I would recommend not even sending it.
The holidays should be about sincerity, a little extra effort ….
Not a tradition, but worth a post. We also booked out Stuart McLean’s Christmas show for a couple weekends from now and cannot wait. For those of you who don’t know Stuart, he is a Canadian storytelling icon. Sure, there are some who find his stories too sentimental, but in an age where the sense of community is quickly disappearing, it is a nice reprieve.
You can catch his podcasts here, or consider his Christmas CD filled with heart warming stories and humor or if you are in Canada, catch his tour … seems like he goes everywhere.
We have a few of traditions that have developed slowly over the years, the most important being that we ignore all Christmas music or references until December 1st, the day after our son’s birthday.
A few other elements which are becoming traditions:
Let the music begin .. and let the snow stay away until the 22nd (smile).
I enjoyed Cathy Davidson’s HBR podcast on the dangers of mono-tasking while driving in on Monday. During the opening, she covers tests where airline pilots running simulators in extreme conditions were so focused on the task at hand (landing the plane by paying attention to the instruments) that they ignore big items – such as putting another airliner in the runway (they often hit it), hence the point – dangers of monotasking.
At the 9 minute mark Ms. Davidson suggests that multi-tasking (or switching tasks) is critical, a point I tend to agree with. People who take a break in-between tasks will be much more productive through the day, as they alleviate boredom, change it up or as she says “Take time to give the brain a glass of water”. This switch can be accomplished by a different conversation, reading an article or by doing a different task.
The debate on multi-tasking will continue to rage, but it was a refreshingly different perspective. Also a good reminder that when deep in a task or project, taking a step back will not only refresh but allow you to acquire a bigger picture and avoid ‘that big parked plane’.
Some weekends end and you look back and say, “Wow. That was a great weekend.” This weekend was one of those.
It started with Prince at the ACC. Going to high school in the 80’s, I will admit to being a big Prince fan and the rumor is that he thinks of Toronto as a second home. Toronto Prince concerts are famous for being long because he loves the fans. Via.
“I love Toronto,” Prince said late Tuesday in an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press after a wild two-hour concert in this north Florida city. It was the 21st stop of a tour he’s loathe to call a comeback — because, he insists, he’s never truly been gone.
“It’s cosmopolitan,” he said. “There’s all sorts of different kinds of people everywhere you go in Toronto, there’s all sorts of great music, great restaurants, great night spots that don’t respond to a lot of American playlists and have playlists which I really dig. It’s a real melting pot in every sense of the word.”
He did not disappoint. In a world where so many concerts feature artists who go up, do their sets and leave (i.e. The Police cash grab world tour which was a serious disappointment), it is amazing to watch an artist who so clearly loves what he does and knows that he is there to entertain. The opening was a jazz/funk mix that warmed the crowd and set the bar, followed by set after set of amazing guitar, sax, vocal and dance performances (Prince can definitely dance).
We could not stay for all 5 encores (Yes. 5) as I was taking 5 teenage boys to Barrie Paintball the next day to celebrate a birthday (Part 2 of an amazing weekend thanks to 14 degree weather and 17 courses), but wished that we could have.
And if you ever wonder if Prince can play the guitar, just watch the below video. Truly amazing. I remain a fan and will gladly go see him again.
As anyone who has been at our house knows, I enjoy technology. The Sonos for music distribution, XBOX 360 for showing photos on the TV when people are over and now the Boxee Box for video distribution.
I had been using our XBOX for video but Media Center on the XBOX isn’t a fan of all file formats and would often lose the network connection (which was perplexing and super frustrating as it is gigabit wired Ethernet) . I tried Apple TV but was underwhelmed by the iTunes centric approach, lack of codec support and hampered by our lack of iMACs (I still bleed Windows …).
I had heard about the Boxee through Engadget but never really explored it until I had lunch with a colleague and he happened to be raving about it. Two weeks later, I give it a 9/10. It has streamed every type of media thrown at it, it recognizes and categorizes 90% of the media accurately and plays .iso files very well.
Most important? Only one minor technical issue (which was easily fixed), no network issues and it just works. I now have two ….
The HBR article Selling is Not About Relationships (title misleading) categorizes sales people into 5 buckets:
In their analysis, they state that Challengers far outperform others, with Relationship Builders coming in dead last. Not that relationships are unimportant, their point is that the type of relationship is what is important. Challengers push the relationship, to make it better while Relationship Builders focus only on reducing tension.
This made me stop and think: How does this apply to management/leadership? I have often debated the merits of sales people transitioning from sales to management – where they can leverage their relationship skills. What this made me realize is that it is is more than that, the ability to build relationships is important but success will hinge on what type of a person they are. Consider the same definitions applied to management/leadership with a few key words edited (i.e. customer changed to organization):
As with the sales profiles, I would suggest that the Challenger will outpace the others as they are willing to paint a vision of the future, push boundaries, take risks, face big issues and execute – with relationships, problem solving and hard working contributing to that success.
I love the article I Stalked Steve Jobs in Forbes, detailing how a junior CEO got time with Jobs in the 90’s … all about persistence:
I was a young CEO and I needed answers. Steve Jobs had them. There was only one thing to do.
So I sent a FedEx letter.
Then I sent another.
Then I started calling.
Then I sent another FedEx, and called some more. Finally, after 7 FedExs and 12 phone calls, Steve’s assistant said he wanted to talk with me.
He then offers tips on how to get to a VIP, although she did not include one of my old favorites – call at 7:30am before their assistant gets in. Shocking how many times that one has worked for me (As long as you try it enough times).
One last Maritime story. As we drove past the village of New Maryland (Named by a settler from Maryland) I noticed a sign declaring it the home of the last fatal duel in New Brunswick. Of course I had to open up a browser and start reading the village’s history:
The village was named by a Mr. Arnold, a settler from Maryland, USA circa 1817. The area was first called Maryland, and Maryland Hill, but as early as 1825 it began to be referred to as New Maryland.
Among the historical anecdotes relating to New Maryland’s history, one particular event stands out: New Maryland was the venue for the last fatal duel in the Province. The famous Street-Wetmore duel, in which George Ludlow Wetmore was killed, took place on the Segee farm on October 2, 1821.
Take a moment to read about the duel. It was a rather unfathomable event, especially considering that this was the frontier and the men involved were leaving behind their families to fend by themselves if killed (as one was). The duel took place under the guise of “honour”, but the reality is that this was a selfish act fuelled by ego:
As he sat before his hearth that evening, the young lawyer’s anger blazed as brightly as the fire in front of him. He was oblivious to the sounds of his wife, pregnant with her fourth child, setting the children for the night. Street’s insults and the raised hand consumed him, until his thoughts took a dangerous turn.
Ego is a dangerous thing ….
I was traveling in the Maritimes a few weeks ago and was told that the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton had a huge Salvador Dali – Santiago el Grande. We were early for our next appointment and had 30 minutes to spare so we jumped in to look around. It is spectacular, consuming the entry wall (perspective on size in the below photo), magnificent in scope and of course – rife with religious symbols and figures that makes you wonder what he was thinking …. breathtaking.
A quick tour around the museum led to a host of art treasures dating back hundreds of years and of course got me wondering as to how this all came about, which is quite a story starting with Lord Beaverbrook – Max Aitken. Small town Canadian (Maple, Ontario, Canada), who came under the mentorship of a wealthy east coast family, moving into banking, then the monopolization of cement (as per Wikipedia), then off to England where he became a member of parliament, made a fortune on Rolls Royce, built a newspaper empire, was Knighted, became a Baron, played a key roll in World War I, grew even wealthier, worked with his friend Winston Churchill during World War II:
During the Second World War, his friend Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, appointed Beaverbrook as Minister of Aircraft Production and later Minister of Supply. Under Beaverbrook, fighter and bomber production increased so much so that Churchill declared: "His personal force and genius made this Aitken’s finest hour".
After the war he went on to become a huge benefactor of New Brunswick and the UK, was loved and despised in England (“David Low quotes H.G. Wells as saying of Beaverbrook: "If ever Max ever gets to Heaven, he won’t last long. He will be chucked out for trying to pull off a merger between Heaven and Hell after having secured a controlling interest in key subsidiary companies in both places, of course”), mentioned in a song by the Kinks (The Kinks recorded "Mr. Churchill Says" for their 1969 album Arthur, which contains the lines: "Mr. Beaverbrook says: ‘We’ve gotta save our tin/And all the garden gates and empty cans are gonna make us win…’.") and of course, started this gallery.
A life well lived. The gallery also has a very interesting history on it’s own, specifically where the UK based Beaverbrook family heirs tried to take back a wide range of the art. You can read the account here and judge the motives on your own, but with 2 of the paintings being worth $25M, it makes for interesting reading,
You never know what you will happen upon when traveling if you keep your eyes open.
We had an eventful family weekend. We went to our first Toronto FC match against New York on Saturday night and it was an exciting game, although it was my second time that weekend where I did not know who to root for. I did not know Toronto’s color, until I asked the gentleman next to me (Toronto FC home colors are Red). How they play in 8 degree weather in shorts and a light shirt is beyond me, it was freezing. Even more surprising was the fact that at half time they watered the grass, making for a cold slide …. But very entertaining and in a heartbreaking last minute goal (That was just amazing to watch), New York tied it.
As I mentioned, this was my 2nd time over the weekend where I didn’t know who to cheer for. The first was on Friday night at the London musical Chess, playing in downtown Toronto. In reading about the play, I was expecting a dramatic – East versus West – cold war type scenario where the chess match symbolizes the struggle of the US versus the USSR. One could get that from this synopsis:
Two of the world’s greatest chess masters battle it out at the world chess championships but their greatest contest is for the love of one woman. Amidst political intrigue and international conspiracies, the American and the Russian fight to win the heart of Florence Vassy in a romantic triangle that mirrors the heightened passions of the Cold War all set to an explosive score by the composers of Mamma Mia and the lyricist of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.
The costumes were fantastic. The performers were very talented, as they acted the part of chess piece while often playing an instrument. The music was well executed. But as the first half ended, I was left wondering, who do I cheer for? The plot is a little more complex than what is suggested above and incredibly odd, my synopsis (spoiler alert):
Which is the point where they lose me as there is this minor element that is not really mentioned (I happened to read it in the synopsis); he defects with the girl but in doing so abandons his wife and children behind the iron curtain. While he is doing it, the focus is on their blossoming relationship and he clearly isn’t torn about abandoning his family.
Queue second act (Insert me scratching my head and wondering – so should I be rooting for the dead beat who just abandoned his family, for the woman who stole him or for the American chess player who clearly has abandonment and anger issues?):
At this point, I accidentally laughed out loud at a serious part as it was getting ridiculous and I am still left wondering, who am I supposed to be pulling for? It gets worse:
The whole thing left me perplexed. And then it dawned on me …. I realized that this has two people from ABBA involved in it and it all makes sense! Great costumes, some fun music but completely lacking in real depth. My suggestion, avoid if you can.
A colleague forwarded a press release on HP releasing their 30th Anniversary Edition HP 12C, for a mere $80-$100. You can read about it here.
Leaving HP’s current problems and troubled future outlook aside, this is quite an event. I have many fond memories of this calculator and consider it one of the tools that propelled me to sales success after university in the early 90’s.
I commented on it in this entry under ‘Reciprocity’ in April and keenly remember how this tool set me apart from other reps. My peers would go in front of the financing manager with no understanding of how the deal was structured; no knowledge of interest rates or financing charges where I went in front of them understanding rates, terms and all of the affiliated deal details so that I could negotiate both internally and externally. A clear lesson to me that I remember today – it is not good enough to be good in just one aspect of your job – you must actively ensure that you are well rounded. For example, being a sales rep who is great at relationships but not good at understanding the technical and value details of the product, negotiation, objection handling, internal resource management, team leadership, cold calling, presentation creation and delivery .. etc. …. isn’t good enough.
Success comes from understanding all of the aspects and either being good at all of them (tough) or having a plan to ensure that you can execute well on all of them with the support of others. Top performance requires a Renaissance Man/Woman approach to business.
I have a HP 12C sitting on my desk as a reminder.
I had the opportunity to golf with the President of a large sports franchise a few weeks back and found it a fascinating day asking questions about the “business of sport”. At some point, we moved around to discussing the importance of marketing and image in sports, which inevitably lead to a conversation on Tiger Woods, the documentary “The Rise and Fall of Tiger Woods” and how his image continues to struggle. In the end, we all agreed that it is because of attitude.
Consider the following case in point (made by my golfing companion): Michael Vick. Convicted of some pretty nasty crimes – a vehicle he owned was involved in marijuana distribution, failed drug tests, petty theft and the most heinous – dog fighting that included torture and execution of under performing dogs. He was convicted federally, did his time and came out with an apologetic manner and managed his image, doing charity work for the Humane Society and a number of other important public moves (A good overview here) starting in 2009.
What happens? $100M contract and not a lot of talk about his past. Even if I am sceptical as to the authenticity of his rehabilitation and authenticity, at least he is making the right steps and has been rewarded.
Another great example of that is Martha Stewart. If there was ever a case of humility, that is it – jailed as an object lesson for others while hundreds of larger white collar, inside traders run free, she managed it with dignity and came out just as strong, or perhaps even stronger. I know that I respect her.
Compare and contrast that Tiger, which is best summarized in the article ‘Still acting like the old Tiger in a new world’:
Tiger Woods stepped from behind a microphone, thankful to be done with a short interview that felt like an intrusion. He took 23 questions, most of them about his golf, a few others about his left leg, then walked off without looking at anyone.
“That’s why you guys listen,” he muttered under his breath, “and I play.”
He was as dismissive as ever, another example of how much has changed in his world, and how little he realizes it.
He has never been apologetic or humble. He still acts like he is No.1, not No. 30, which means that people are no longer tolerating his arrogance and overlooking his shortcomings due to his strong performance.
Which reinforces how important humility is at all times. Imagine how successful these people would have been through the tough times had they been humble from the start. People tolerate arrogant behaviour from the sales rep or high flying manager/leader when they are on top, but await their fall, ready to relish in their failure. However, those same people will help the successful person reach greater heights and through tough times if that person gives back, acknowledges the contributions of others, says thank-you, remains humble and supportive of others.
Unfortunately for Tiger, he was never coached to be that person when he was successful and it would appear that no one is around to point out the Michael Vick lesson to him now …..
I finally got around to reading a book that I have had on my ‘to-read’ list for quite a while, Catch 22. I particularly enjoyed this quote – the set up being that a character is trying to live the longest life possible by being bored, as boredom and painful situations make time go by slowly …..
“Well, maybe it is true,” Clevinger conceded unwillingly in a subdued tone. “Maybe a long life does have to be filled with many unpleasant conditions if it’s to seem long. But in that event, who wants one?”
What I didn’t realize was that the term “Catch 22” is actually derived from the book – something the author made up, and now a popular part of culture (and the dictionary). According to Wikipedia:
Among other things, Catch-22 is a general critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning. Resulting from its specific use in the book, the phrase “Catch-22” is common idiomatic usage meaning “a no-win situation” or “a double bind” of any type. Within the book, “Catch-22” is a military rule, the self-contradictory circular logic that, for example, prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions. In Heller’s own words:
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he were sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. (p. 46, ch. 5)
Interesting book.
I was going through some old files and came across this digital art work (titled above). A great piece of work and thought provoking. Plug yourself in ….
![Selfillumination_by_Kutsche[1]](https://michaelweening.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/selfillumination_by_kutsche1.jpg?w=642&h=455 "Selfillumination_by_Kutsche[1]")
A friend fired off a joke ‘Evolution’ email last week with all of the traditional ‘man to ape’ cartoons showing different types of evolutions. One evolution I found particularly interesting was the evolution of the Coke bottle.
As you can see the picture stopped at 1994 and didn’t jump into the other ‘soda drinking options’ that made Morgan Spurlock and Supersize Me famous. Consider these two photos. The ‘King Size’ of old at 12 oz. (which was a jump from the original 8 oz.)
And today, the 8 and 12 oz. has turned into the 32 OZ medium. Via.
That is a lot of sugar.
At an Air Canada lounge (right beside me – hard not to hear):
“So what is it going to take to help Randy find his vision? Two people, three people .. Two week, two months? What is the total opportunity here?”
A good question. What does a good vision cost?
I have always believed that one of the strengths of Apple is their ability to create a cult like loyalty among their clients. If you believe the old sales saying of “Make one person happy, they will tell 5 people. Make one person unhappy, they will tell 250 people”, then that loyalty is very valuable as they are willing to overlook issues, to the point where they openly defend these issues. I was in more than one debate on Apple versus Microsoft with Apple fans during my tenure at Microsoft.
It is an impressive measure of their brand strength, product quality and customer service (which is unbelievable).
I say all of this because my move to Apple was filled with high expectations. A transformational experience … as described by almost every Apple fanboy/girl who I spoke to. But it has not been perfect, in fact it has been filled with a number of issues and as a newcomer, with a clear bias (i.e. Working for Microsoft for almost a decade), I find it interesting.
An example:
One of the ‘must haves’ for our iMAC was the ability to use the screen as an XBOX screen so that the boys would not have to head into the basement to play. Sitting upstairs in the kitchen as a group is a family ‘must have’. I spent a ton of time researching this and thought I had it nailed with the Kanex XD. It allows you to take an HDMI feed and have it utilize target display mode on the iMac. Simply put – you can play your XBOX on the screen.
What I did not realize is that the ‘new iMac’ with the Thunderbolt upgrade does not support target display mode as identified in this KB article – Apple engineers didn’t build that capability leaving many Apple users in the cold. The greater issue is that at the time of purchase and through a ton of trouble shooting, no one understood this. Even yesterday, I tried a different product that they sell in the Apple store (Belkin AV360) and everyone in the store thought it would work. It did not.
On a general perception level, I find some of the basic functionality substandard (i.e. iPhoto is just unusable, Time Machine backing up every hour is silly, the mail experience isn’t great and I noticed a security update!), but balance that off with admiration for the industrial engineering and increasing admiration for many of the positive features of the OS (i.e. Watching my boys crank out a very cool iMovie on the first day we got the device). But it is not the perfection I was expecting.
So I conclude with two thoughts and one offer:
A few weeks ago I was walking through Costco and this is what I saw. Just so wrong …..
I have been catching up on photos from trips and thought this one was worth posting. The police car outside the station in the Turks and Caicos gives a good indication of the level of crime (low) and climate.
I just finished reading an article on micromanagement that was a true or false test. In each case you answer true or false to the questions with the results below:
I answered ‘True’ to 2, 3 and 4, the rest false. The articles interpretation of the results:
Results: Answering True to any of the above statements could indicate that you are micromanaging your staff. Don’t think that’s you? In surveys, four of five workers have said they have worked for a micromanager. To be sure that you truly aren’t guilty, take a closer look at your answers.
They then interpreted each result, an example being if you answered ‘True’ to number 8:
8. You should know more about some things than your staff, but they should be the experts in other areas. Hire people with complementary skills and your team will have much greater capability. And if you are working harder than anyone on your team, look at your to-do list and identify tasks you should be delegating.
On this question, I always remember a statement that a leader once made to me; “If you are the smartest person in the room all the time, you are in trouble. Always look to hire the smartest people you can, and never shy away from hiring those who are smarter than you”.
On the questions I answered ‘True’ to:
2. Of course you should share your expertise, but employees also need to learn for themselves. Instead of spouting advice before they ask, offer them guidance and support. (Agree – the best way to learn is by making mistakes and taking smart risks. But you also learn from managers who are willing to share their mistakes (not just their victories))
3. Nothing kills initiative on an assignment like having the boss do the work for you. Set the parameters and then listen to employees’ ideas first. Don’t offer your opinions unless they truly add substantial value to the project. (Agree – good managers are coaches)
4. Standardization is great, unless it kills initiative and innovation. Allow your staff to try new approaches. (Agree – I think of it this way. Take regional innovation (those new approaches) and apply it globally as often as possible to ensure everyone gets the benefit of the innovation)
A good test, especially for that new manager recently promoted from individual contributor.
The blog is going semi-offline for August. I may post sporadically, but will probably wait till September … enjoy a picture of the Costa Rican sunset till then (from the spring).
We took a holiday down to the Turks and Caicos in June and concluded that it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. As with all of these smaller countries, they are not without their fair share of issues. The financial collapse due to a corrupt President who thought he was a movie star, the reversal of $5M island sale to a group of developers with a few ‘consulting fees’ paid on the side (Island valued at $176M), a tourism based society that is struggling due to the slow economic recovery and Britain’s take over of the island’s government due to the corruption. In one story of excess, a fellow told me about the company who took over the building of the bankrupt Mandarin resort; they recovered enough usable wood and quality discarded building materials in the site’s dump to build a full workers camp.
I personally like the article Failure to follow the rules at the heart of TCI’s problems for so clearly stating the obvious:
The gap between the law and practice in the main pillars of government in the Turks and Caicos Islands was what facilitated the corruption, Transparency International has revealed in a new report. The global anti-corruption watchdog’s country report revealed weaknesses in the system, which are not dissimilar to some raised in the Cayman Islands by the auditor general’s office and others recently. Transparency International said important mechanisms providing transparency in governance, such as the Register of Interests’ rules were unobserved, accountability instruments like the Public Accounts Committee did not function effectively and ministerial breaches of public service regulations and encroachment on the independence of the public service were common.s
The findings of the watchdog were probably cut and pasted from their findings on Africa, the emerging soviet bloc, large chunks of Central America, South America and of course parts of Asia.
All of the above were well outlined in the Bloomberg article Caribbean Hangover which is a fascinating look into the President, the spending, the jet set lifestyle and how the subsequent real estate and economic collapse have hurt the island.
That aside, it is beautiful and we will go back. We stayed at The Veranda and had a spectacular week after a very wet and cold Canadian spring. A few photos below; The first is we snorkelled their reef, which keeps the water smooth and calm. It is spectacular. I cannot wait till we start scuba as a family.
Of course, snorkelling was so much more enjoyable thanks to the Lasik.
A few photos from Iguana island, an island reserve filled with … iguanas.
Unfortunately you cannot walk around the island as the majority of the boardwalk has been destroyed and there is no money to replace it (One less flight from the ousted President’ would have paid for it … but priorities!). It was destroyed a few years ago in a hurricane.
Iguana tracks.
This 3 foot long Iguana let me get very close.
A storm on the way.
I asked what these were. Old ropes that were used to hold large cruise ships in place. They now go to a purpose built port.
It does not get much prettier than this.
On our way back from the reef, Jo Jo the local dolphin joined us. I had never seen a dolphin so close ….
One last shot, the view from the roof top restaurant.
A beautiful island to visit. I wish that they would join Canada.
Three months have passed. Fantastic. Slowly but surely, my random flashes of ‘I should take my contacts our’ are lessening, no halo’s at night, dry eyes are not a problem and it is just so convenient. Awesome.
The other book I read on holiday was Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by the author of Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand. I cannot do the story justice, so I point to the summary:
The inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini–a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time. You’ll cheer for the man who somehow maintained his selfhood and humanity despite the monumental degradations he suffered, and you’ll want to share this book with everyone you know.
If you go to Louie Zamperini’s website you can watch the CBS video on his life – from the Nagano Olympics. We watched it as a family, it is very inspiring. Unfortunately, a lot of the book reminded me of the book Their Darkest Hour, and the stories inside the Japanese prison camps are heart breaking.
Reading this, I simply felt fortunate for the country I live in, a time of peace and for those who sacrificed so much. I also felt sad, because unfortunately theses stories of evil continue on every day in places like the Congo, so far away.
While on holiday last week I read the book Sh*t my Dad Said by Justin Halpern. As you will expect, it was filled with more than a few crude statements, but also filled with a few touching moments between father and son and a few that had me laughing so hard I was in tears. One quote stuck out from the beginning of the book:
For as long as I’ve known him, my father has been a blunt individual. When I was little, I mostly felt terrified of him, so I couldn’t appreciate that I was dealing with the least passive-aggressive human being on the planet. Now, as an adult, all day long I dealt with people—friends, coworkers, relatives—who never really said what they were thinking. The more time I spent with my dad in those first couple months back home, the more grateful I started to feel for the mixture of honesty and insanity that characterized his comments and personality.
Amen to that.
I was in a meeting a few weeks ago and we were discussing how a decision had been made. In this particular case my questioning centered on the fact that our team had not been consulted, there appeared to be no broad consensus or questioning to come to the decision. The response on how the decision was made:
“Because I have done this before. I knew what the outcome would be. So we are doing it this way”
Over the last few weeks I have reflected on just how dangerous that statement is. In the end the outcome might be the same, but with certain decisions the ‘how you decide’ is as important as ‘what you decide’.
Plus, I have found that you may have done it that way before, but it is never exactly the same … things change.
I enjoyed this quote/anecdote from Fast Company on Larry Page:
So Mayer approved an “experiment” in which for several months about one of every 10,000 search requests would return a page with more than two ads at the top. As Mayer had suspected, users seemed to shun pages plastered with five ads. But the test also proved that people would tolerate more than two ads, and Google now runs up to three ads at the top of its pages. “No idea is a bad idea until the data prove so,” Knapp says, repeating what is likely the company’s second-most-popular mantra after “Don’t be evil.”
Even Page has proved willing to reverse himself if the numbers don’t bear him out. “Larry would wander around the engineers and he would see a product being developed, and sometimes he would say, ‘Oh, I don’t like that,’ ” recalls Douglas Merrill, who served as Google’s chief information officer until 2008. “But the engineers would get some data to back up their idea, and the amazing thing was that Larry was fine to be wrong. As long as the data supported them, he was okay with it. And that was such an incredibly morale-boosting interaction for engineers.”
I know many great leaders who are ok with being proven wrong and more than a few bad ones who are not.
This weekend I took the next step in my quest to get my carry on luggage weight dropped, signing up for a digital magazine service. Seems like there are a number of ways to go after this one, buying single magazines on sites such as Amazon Kindle or iTunes (As long as you are Apple centric) or signing up for a service like Zinio.
After reading through the pro’s and con’s, I am starting on Zinio as it has a large selection of magazines, it is easy to share right from the app if I want to send someone a clip, the text only mode is a fantastic way to strip out the ads and I can subscribe once and read it on any device (PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad …..). That being said it isn’t perfect, for example, Wired, Fast Company, Strategy+Business and a number of others are no where to be found.
My first subscription? Macworld. This ex-Microsoftie is still figuring that beast out. It isn’t quite as easy as people say ….
It has been almost 2 weeks since I last posted, which can be blamed on a trip to the Turks and Caicos (more to come on that), quarter end, Grade 8 graduation (proud to say both boys made honour role), the sun finally coming out and of course, the new iMac 27”.
I have been playing with it for a couple weeks now and have watched about 40 podcasts on how MACs work. It is a unique experience as I play with a lot of technology and there are very few times that I am such a duck out of water. I found the whole transition quite perplexing as it is just so different and not without issue.
I would say the saving grace has been Parallels virtualization software. This is an amazing piece of work as it gives you a full Windows emulation as if it were a MAC, without the awkward looking window within a window. Simply click on the Windows application you want to launch from the tree and it shows up as if it were a MAC window (they call it Coherence).
Why has this been the saving grace? Because of Hotmail. It would seem that Hotmail works fantastic on an iPad and iPhone thanks to the Exchange integration (allowing for calendar, contact and full email-folder synchronization) but does not work on a MAC. Even with the new version of Office MAC and Outlook, it does not work and there is no IMAP support. So as this dawned on me I started to sweat about having to do a full family conversion to Gmail just to use the MAC. I have nothing against Gmail (I have a Gmail account that I use for personal business email), but I just do not feel like doing this right now. Maybe later when the sun isn’t shining, the pool isn’t open and the golf course is closed. But not now. Plus, the Windows Live mail client is the best in the market (Sorry Thunderbird).
Which is why I am using Parallels, the Windows Live Mail icon is docked and runs beautifully. It has also made it simpler for me to do some transitions like music and other things.
That aside, the iMac is just a beautiful machine with a few very unique offers like the magic trackpad which is amazing once you know all of the tips and tricks.
I was listening to the Stuff You Should Know podcast ‘Was Thomas Malthus right about carrying capacity?’ which I knew nothing about. The synopsis of the podcast (which I enjoyed):
Thomas Malthus concluded that humanity is bound to outgrow Earth’s carrying capacity. The prediction was based on humanity’s exponential growth and the linear growth of the food supply — but was he correct?
During the podcast one of the hosts mentioned ‘the best essay he ever read’ in University, titled The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race by Jared Diamond. Coming from a Dutch and heavily agrarian heritage, the essay was uncomfortably thought provoking as it made the case that the adoption of agriculture is the worst thing that mankind has ever done:
To science we owe dramatic changes in our smug self-image. Astronomy taught us that our earth isn’t the center of the universe but merely one of billions of heavenly bodies. From biology we learned that we weren’t specially created by God but evolved along with millions of other species. Now archaeology is demolishing another sacred belief: that human history over the past million years has been a long tale of progress. In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered. With agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism, that curse our existence.
In the end his point becomes irrelevant as the only way to avoid starvation that is driven by population growth is through agriculture or infanticide:
Farming could support many more people than hunting, albeit with a poorer quality of life. (Population densities of hunter-gatherers are rarely over on person per ten square miles, while farmers average 100 times that.) Partly, this is because a field planted entirely in edible crops lets one feed far more mouths than a forest with scattered edible plants. Partly, too, it’s because nomadic hunter-gatherers have to keep their children spaced at four-year intervals by infanticide and other means, since a mother must carry her toddler until it’s old enough to keep up with the adults. Because farm women don’t have that burden, they can and often do bear a child every two years.
And one must argue that while the old days with an average life spans of 26 years for the hunter gatherer and 19 years for the farmer did show a benefit to the hunter gather lifestyle, without agriculture we would not have been able to go through the stages of societal development (agrarian > industrial > knowledge based) or benefit from our current life span that is 4X the poor, olden day farmer.
Long live the farmer …..
I have added Chernobyl to my bucket list after reading my 3rd article on the location in Wired. There is something uniquely interesting about the wildlife and nature retaking such a vast area.
Granted, I would not stay long or eat from the local wild bird menu.
Tim Seuss has a fascinating set of photos on the area around Chernobyl. Reminds me of the movie Legend …
Definitely on the list.
It is ordered. The Microsoft household has their first Apple on the way. Granted, the Apple will be surrounded by 5 PCs and a number of XBOX360s, so we remain Microsoft centric. We will see if it passes muster.
I ordered up the iMac 27”. One thing is for sure, the iMac monitor is one of the most striking monitors on the market. There is something very impressive about Apple’s industrial design and as this will be on the kitchen desk, the ‘All in one’ feature is very appealing on the clutter and cord reduction front. Although, it may disappoint our cat (even though he is a little too big for this now).
It will be very interesting to see if that claim of ‘just so simple’ is true for someone who is totally unfamiliar with the OS .. and no fervently biased toward Apple (smile).
Is the day finally here? After all those years at Microsoft, bugging a few of my Apple fanatic friends, will it happen? Seriously contemplating it.
I was listening to the Harvard Business Ideacast Know your Power Persona on the way to the office on Monday which centers on the impact that our family life has on who we are today (good and bad). The podcast featured Maggie Craddock who wrote the book Power Genes: Understanding Your Power Persona–and How to Wield It at Work. From their website:
We’ve all joked about it: the domineering father figure as top manager, the boisterous elder brother type as heir apparent, the caring mother hen on the executive team. But that leaves the rest of us in the workplace as a gaggle of siblings battling for recognition, resources, and rewards from our "parents". Next thing you know, we’re doing exactly what we did when we were kids to get what we need at work–trying too hard to please, acting out, brownnosing. Yet these responses aren’t productive in the workplace. In "Power Genes", executive coach Maggie Craddock reveals how to kick those old habits and use your power more effectively to advance your career. Craddock identifies four "power types"–Pleaser, Charmer, Commander, Inspirer–and explains how to diagnose your type. Next she walks you through a process for avoiding your type’s signature destructive reflexes and replacing them with new behaviours. She also shows how to interact productively with other people–peers, bosses, employees–of each type. "Power Genes" helps you jettison unproductive habits and take charge of your workplace relationships.
It is a good 12 minute listen, and made me reflect on a realization that I had a few years ago – my childhood still impacts who I am in ways that I have just come to understand. I came to that understanding through the book Overcoming Your Strengths’. I referred to it here in a different context. Lois Frankel made a very interesting point on tough childhoods midway through the book (pg. 132):
Ironically, those who are unable to be humble are often raised as children in households so withholding of praise and affirmation that the child must call attention to himself or herself or otherwise fade into oblivion. The behaviours that we learned to survive difficult childhoods later become the cause of derailment.
I was pretty fortunate, I lived in a good home, was never concerned about whether or not I was loved, was imbued with a strong Dutch work ethic and ‘never give up’ attitude and surrounded by a very rigid – black and white view of the world (which I railed against). But they made me who I am – good and bad.
Once again, I was reminded just how important the parent’s role is. The impact is profound.
The summer has finally arrived in Canada and 30C weather is here this week. We are not big drinkers at home, but when the summer hits I admit that we do have a few favourites; a good German Riesling and two distinctly English favourites:
Let the summer begin.
I had my last follow-up at Lasik MD and everything is fantastic. I continue to marvel at how profound the change is. In the evening, I keep having the thought ‘Remember to take your contact lenses out’, it is such a weird (and great) feeling.
While in the Doctor’s office, they made sure the corneas are fine and did the standard eye test. Over the last month, I had moved from 20/20 to 20/15 – which is better. But I realized, I do not know why it is better? In fact, I really don’t know what this whole measurement system is all about, so I looked it up:
In the term "20/20 vision", the numerator refers to the distance in feet between the subject and the chart. The denominator indicates the size of the letters, specifically it denotes the separation at which the lines that make up those letters would be separated by a visual angle of 1 arc minute, which for the lowest line that is read by an eye with no refractive error (or the errors corrected) is usually 20 feet.
More:
If a person has a visual acuity of 20/40, he is said to see detail from 20 feet away the same as a person with normal eyesight would see it from 40 feet away. It is possible to have vision superior to 20/20: the maximum acuity of the human eye without visual aids (such as binoculars) is generally thought to be around 20/10 (6/3) however, recent test subjects have exceeded 20/8 vision.[6] Some birds of prey, such as hawks, are believed to have an acuity of around 20/2;[7] in this respect, their vision is much better than human eyesight. This helps them hunt more efficiently.
Using this logic, I probably started at 20/140. So at 20/15, I am somewhere between a normal person and a hawk. Amazing.
Via.
Last weekend we finished a round and were having dinner on the patio at King Valley. It was a beautiful evening, sun going down, no wind and a great post-round dinner with the family. On the deck above a wedding was being held and after listening to the broadcast nuptials (‘I do’ over a megaphone .. I heard it from the 18th green), the crowd dispersed while the couple took photos.
Above us a few young men were speaking and the words floated down:
“I am serious, my golf game is really coming along. I mean, my iron work is really progressing. I pick that 7 iron out of the bag and I bang it 120 yards, right down the middle every single time. Every single time, 120 yards. I am serious … 120 yards (insert emphasis)”
I leaned over and whispered … “Average male golfer hits a 7 iron 135” (smile).
Michael Weening: a few pictures 