Month: May 2014

#719 investments

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I had to have a conversation with my broker a few weeks ago as I made a contribution to my IRA before the tax deadline.  He is a nice guy, but I hate when I have to call him.  Even though I have an MBA, he speaks a foreign language.


“Do you want a traditional IRA or SEP?”  “I think we should invest in the S&P ETF — maybe a few shares in mid-cap and ishares in small cap or international.”  “We could buy DWM or DEM.”  And on it goes.

There is something to be said for the old-fashioned bank passbook savings.  You give them $1000 and the balance goes up by $1000.  The rewards certainly have less potential than by investing in the stock market, but the numbers never go in reverse and it is math that can be understood.

Be intentional about your trade-offs between reward and complexity.  Sometimes, like when investing, it may be worth it to muddle through the alphabet soup or to pay a broker to invest for you.  But QuickBooks may work just fine for your personal finances vs. hiring an accountant.  A cake mix may suffice instead of baking a masterpiece by hand.  Throwing down some grass seed might do the trick instead of researching landscapers.  Asking for a wine recommendation may be better than testing a multitude yourself.

Your time is a valuable commodity.  Be conscious of how you invest it.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#718 first pick

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Forbes recently ran an an article speculating “What if congressional elections were run like the NFL Draft?”   (http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/05/12/what-if-congressional-elections-were-run-like-the-nfl-draft)

It got me wondering about other selection processes.  Should the worst performing team be rewarded in order to level out the playing field in other arenas?  The business with the worst ROI gets first pick at the new technology superstars.  The school with the worst freshmen class can have the valedictorians or the college with the worst record can enroll the top high school player.  The city with the highest crime rate gets first dibbs on the police academy graduates or the medical center with the highest mortality rates gets first choice of doctors.  

None of those scenarios make any sense to me.

Most of us operate in a world where the best results are rewarded instead of penalized in the following year.  Good results often set the bar higher for future goals, but they don’t have a downside like getting the last pick in the draft.  

Think about it: you have all first round picks.  Use the opportunity to attract and hire all the superstars you can by making your organization and product attractive to the winners.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#717 destiny

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Think of what a thrill it must be to have your name called as one of the draft picks for the National Football League.  Only 256 men had that honor this year.  Everyone involved must be over the moon with excitement.

Being chosen as a member of the NFL is an elusive goal.  In the U.S., 3 million kids play youth football.  I am sure several of them believe they will be the next Payton Manning or Tom Brady, but in reality only about one-third (1.1 million) even make it to play high school ball.  After that, the roster truly dwindles and only about 73,000 play in college** and less than 2,000 play pro ball.  The odds are daunting that even the college player will be drafted.

The NFL Draft makes the odds and competition neatly quantifiable.  But I wonder how many kids want to be veterinarians, but never make it into vet school.  How many want to be astronauts but never fly.  Or want to be president, but never run for office.

It is probably a good thing for our dreams that we spend little time calculating how minuscule our chances are to achieve them.  You only need one spot to be drafted and you’ve got 250+ chances each year.  Act as if you are destined rather than doomed.

More on the draft tomorrow…

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Sources:  *NFL Draft Results 2014, Bleacher Report, May 12, 2014
** Football participation in the USA, USA Today Snapshots, July 17, 2012

#716 hot dog

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As a native Chicagoan, I admit to my love of hot dogs.  Just thinking about the Chicago Dog, with its Vienna Beef dog, sesame seed bun, celery salt, neon green relish, tomatoes (but no ketchup!), sport peppers and dill pickle spear — well, it makes my mouth water.  

Vienna Beef estimates that 200,000 hot dogs are sold in the Chicago area per week!* Although I love Portillos and the dogs they sell, I don’t think I would ever get a tattoo with their name inked into my skin.  Some people feel otherwise.  

A local hot dog restaurant, Hot Doug’s in Chicago, offers free hot dogs for life if a patron has a Hot Doug tattoo.  Or at least they did.  Doug’s announced that they are permanently closing on October 3 — creating a void for those who bought the 700-800 sausages they sold on a daily basis.    

Is there a business out there that you love so much you would get their tattoo?  And how would you feel if the owner retired, rendering your tattoo worthless?

Think about how you can provide something that makes your clients want to be an ambassador for you instead of being a walking billboard.  I am all for brand/business loyalty, but would recommend cultivating it in a way that does not involve body art!  

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Sources:  *Despite closures, Chicago still relishes its hot dogs by Don Babwin for the Associated Press in the Telegraph Herald, May 9, 2014

** http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140506/avondale/hot-dougs-closing-permanently-october-3-its-time-do-something-else

Thanks to Andy for the idea.

#715 solidarity

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Sounds like a perfect partnership: an organization for young women and a product targeted toward girls team up together.  In reality, these two groups are the Girl Scouts and Barbie — and not everyone thought it was a match made in heaven.

Two consumer advocacy groups are lobbying the Girl Scouts to disband the relationship because “Barbie is a flawed role model for little girls”. They have started a petition drive and criticized the organization for turning girls into “walking advertisements.” 

To their credit, the scouts have said the partnership stands.  Both sides had to have anticipated this type of feedback before signing on the dotted line.  I am glad that they are not letting the squeaky wheels dictate their actions.  

Too often, organizational leaders react to public commentary by changing their policies or practice.  Not that feedback isn’t good or welcome, but one-sided commentary does not always need to garner the dominant vote.  

The focus of the Mattel/Girl Scout activities is on career exploration to show girls, that like Barbie, they can have a wide range of careers.  Yes, Barbie does sport an “impossible body type”, but hopefully scouts teach the Brownies some critical thinking so they can distinguish between what is a toy and what is a realistic option for their future.  The girls don’t need the child advocates to do that for them.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


Source:  Girl Scouts stick with Barbie by David Crary for the Associated Press in the Telegraph Herald, March 7, 2014, p. 8A.


#714 yes

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Broadcaster Jane Pauley has just written a book* to give baby boomers motivation and encouragement for their “next chapter” in life.  I haven’t read it, but I did read an article about the story.  

The thought that stuck with me wasn’t something that Pauley said, rather a quote she attributes to actor Michael J. Fox.  “Say ‘yes’ as often as you can,”  Fox told her.  “‘No’ doesn’t move you.”

I think “saying yes” is a good mantra for supervision as well as for life.  I try to say “yes” as often as I can to my employees — to encourage their new ideas, to provide the kind of rewards that are meaningful, to agree to tackle barriers and address issues, and to allow for changes that make sense. 

Try to go through today saying “yes” to as many requests as you can.  While I can only imagine what outlandish proposals will cross my desk at work today because of that statement, we’ll all benefit from giving new things a go.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com


*Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life by Jane Pauley

#713 connections

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It is ironic that I was in Buffalo doing a leadership session at a friend’s campus on the topic of “connections”.   That theme was appropriate to characterize my trip to New York, when my flight was delayed out of Chicago due to a snowstorm in Denver.  The plane had to be de-iced there, thus was late into O’Hare, so I was late in leaving.   Snow a thousand miles away impacted my connection.

On the return trip, a faulty bathroom fan caused smoke in a building 50 miles from O’Hare, and in turn caused a thousand flights to be cancelled.  The building was the air traffic radar system for O’Hare and Midway, so both airports were closed for a few hours in the middle of the day.  While I was flying over Michigan en route to Chicago.  

My plane was diverted to Grand Rapids, where after a few hours of flying in a holding pattern, then sitting on the tarmac, we were allowed to deplane — only to be told our fight was cancelled and we were stuck there for the next 30 hours!  Instead, I made a connection with a delightful stranger and we drove four hours to Chicago, where my brother rescued me and loaned me his extra car to drive the additional three hours to Iowa.  Despite the drive, and the impending six hours to return the car next week, I was grateful to have made it home that evening.

I didn’t think that the weather in Denver would impact my flight into New York or that smoke in Elgin would derail my plans to come home, but it did.  The world is interrelated — some consequences are unintentional like airline delays, but other actions can have intentional effects that can enhance connections.  Become conscious of the web you are a part of and how it can subsequently help strengthen your organization.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#712 slowly

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“Science is about the slow accumulation of evidence and the gradual evolution of understanding…”

So writes Stacey Colino in her book Disease Proof.  I think you could take out the word “science” and substitute the words “wisdom” or “life”.  

The image of the light bulb going off over our head proliferates the media and perceptions about creativity.  In reality, that earned knowledge and new thought comes slowly, after an often tedious process of knowledge-gathering.  We take a class, read (or write!) a blog, have a conversation, learn something new — and then make the connections to other things we know.

Especially as you work with young people or new professionals in your organization, help them to internalize that the acquisition of true wisdom evolves at the speed of snail mail, not the Internet.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#711 cheers

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Blog #711 of course reminds me of the 7-11 convenience store — a place I frequented when I lived in St. Louis.  I think they were the innovators of the big cups of pop (aka Big Gulps), and I often started my morning with some cold caffeine. 


Mike was the attendant there.  I knew his name because he knew mine — and the names of everyone who had ever come in on his shift.  He would ask your name the first time and then remember it forever after that.  Unlike some places that give a hollow promise of friendliness, Mike lived it in the minute or two you were in his workplace “home”.

I contrast that to other businesses that purport to be friendly, but do not provide any personal service or distinction between one customer and other.  You can walk through the store and do your shopping without any acknowledgement or interaction except from the person who robotically takes your money.

There are advantages to being known, and sometimes perks to anonymity.  Often it is comfortable to go where “everyone knows your name”, yet it is also freeing to be totally invisible and on your own for a spell.  

People can thrive under either scenario; just don’t be disingenuous about which you provide.  If you preach “small, friendly, caring”, be prepared to hire the Mikes of the world and deliver it.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#710 savvy surveys

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Survey Monkey and other similar software programs have made it easy to develop a feedback form.  It seems like every receipt I get these days has a special code and an extra three inches of the toxic paper in order for me to “share my opinion”, “let us know”, or “help us improve”.  I wonder if the results ever lead to real changes.

Leave it to Zappos to develop a survey that is a bit more out of the ordinary than the generic “rate us” from 1-10 format.  Some of the questions their “Loyalty Team” asks:

> If you started your own service-based company, how likely would you be to hire the team member who assisted you?

> If there was an All-Star team of customer service representatives, would the team member who helped you be on it?

> Did the team member make a genuine attempt to build a connection?

> If you had to name one thing that we could improve upon, what would that be?

It ends with: “We understand that your time is precious, so we really appreciate you taking some of it to write us.”

Zappos makes me feel that by utilizing these creative ways to get a more meaningful answer, they actually care about what I have to say.  

No one says that a feedback survey has to be boring.  Help your clients know you are genuine in your desire to improve, and I’ll bet they share treasures with you on how to excel.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com