Filosophical Friday

Well, it's that Friday that comes every Spring and with it a ritual of sorts... the Friday of the Byron Nelson Golf Championship. Those of you who live here know what I'm talking about. The Pavilion, the SPF 30 5 gallon dispensers, and all the silicon you can stand.

Oh, yeah... there might be some golf you could watch, too.

So, in honor of all the fun, frivolity, and freakiness of this special Friday in Dallas, I offer a thought for the day:

"A happy life has been pursued in every culture, in every country, in every generation. But after all this time, there are still no rules for how to get it. And the more you try to pin it down, the more elusive it seems.

"By now, we surely know that money can't buy it. There are those who have very little and are very happy. And others who seem to have it all, but are not.

"Still, we all look for the next reason to be happy. What if it is not about what happens to us, what we own or where we live, but how we look at it? Maybe those rose-colored glasses aren't such a bad idea after all."
from "How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life" by Melissa Hellstern

At what cost... "brandalism?"

(BRAN.duh.liz.um) n. The defacement of public buildings and spaces by corporate ads, logos, and other forms of branding.

And, I'm not sure that defacement is too harsh a word because I'm hard pressed to find ANY object near kids these days without some type of marketing message on it. No wonder our children are becoming more and more jaded.

Now, I'm all for "business development" initiatives and "on target" branding, but a very wise man I know who works at Coca-Cola is always saying, "It's just sugar water... Let's not take ourselves too seriously."

Can I get an amen?

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

... it doesn't mean it likes the rain. Yes, it's a rainy, stormy, hail-y Tuesday in Dallas, and as usual, the whole city is in a tailspin. I don't understand why Texans can't drive in weather other than sunny. We go completely insane and our weather forecasters take over all TV and radio stations. Geesh.

Which leads me to wonder... have we become a consumer market so blase' that people have to exaggerate ad naseum to get anyone's attention? Hmmmm...

If Your Company Was For Sale, Would You Buy It?

If you were an observer standing outside of your business looking in, what would you see? Would it be exciting, compelling, and alluring? Would you want what you saw – or would you want to shop around to see if you could find something that was more appealing?

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that all we have is our companies to grow. We get to choose how we are going to do it, and we only have one shot to get it right– one time around! Our successes and failures depend largely on the choices we make in a given moment.

Yet, in light of recent tragedies, if you were to leave this world tomorrow, would you be ready to go? Would your dreams have been fulfilled? Would your business leave your legacy?

Funny Frase Friday

Yesterday, I'm having an email exchange with my attorney, Louis. (I'm finally going the distance and establishing Wendistry as an LLC.) He says that "the Texas filing fees are $300 and you'll be official in a few days. Also, if you want a minute book, the kit is about $60."

Minute book? Does he mean like "taking the minutes at meetings" book? Yes, it's a nice binder with your entity printed on the spine and in which you keep all the company organizational docs and annual minutes.

Think I can buy a binder at Office Depot for $6……. Hell, I’ve got an extra one right here on a shelf! Geesh…. The government. Always gouging for more.

So, in honor of my unofficial declaration that today is "Didn't-I-Just-Pay-You-People-Enough-Taxes-You-Don't-Get-Anymore" day, I am offering my top 5 list of USEFUL WORK PHRASES:

5. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
4. Ahhhh..... I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.....
3. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
2. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
AND
1. How about never? Is never good for you?

Leadership: Nature or Nurture?

"The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action." John Dewey

Yet, I watch my friend's twins (boy and girl who are 4 years old), and the girl has chosen to defy both her parents and social stereotypes. She is fearless in physical activities, is always the first to raise her hand and speak up in her pre-school class, and is sometimes quite bossy. I LOVE her!

Which makes me wonder..... what is that inner drive and spark that compels some of us to take control and move the world forward? Hmmmmm

Thought for the day?

BUSINESS IS A TORNADO WATCH
You can hunker down in the basement,
Or get up on the roof, let the wind give you rock star hair
And yell........
"I KNEW YOU WERE COMING.
THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T RAKE THE LEAVES!"

'nuff said.

What is credibility?

Over and over again I witness first-hand the gentle give and take between those who desire to lead and those who choose to follow. This delicate dance cannot be forced with one party more aggressive than the other. Or, I suppose it can, but then leadership become dictatorship which eventually becomes mutiny-ship... i.e. "abandon-the-ship."

In determining the believability and follower-ability of leadership, experts say that individual evaluate others on three criteria: perceived trustworthiness, expertise, and dynamism. The most credible leaders rate the highest on these dimensions. People want leaders who are credible and this characteristic is a major accelerant to your success as a leader/business owner. Above all else, we want to believe in our leaders, trusting their word, seeing a match between their words and behavior.

Which leads me to wonder.... why, in most companies, is the C-suite "broken?"

If you build it, will they come?

I had a meeting yesterday with the principals of a firm that I hadn't heard a peep from in almost 5 years. They called me last week all excited getting together and catching me up on where they are now. Guess what...... they are still where they were in 2003. Yep, you guessed it. Looking for money.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know that Rome wasn't built in a day and all that, but come on. Their particular problem is that their core business is a completely revolutionary technology. (yeah, I know everyone says that, but I know these guys. Their product will change the energy industry, the environment, the world.) They have no "widget" to point to. They're still trying to build the "widget".... hence, the need for moolah. $12.5 million moolahs to be exact.

So, my goal is to help them find some coins in the couch of the proverbial VC/Angel/Investor clan in Dallas ASAP. I'll keep you posted on the progress. However, the whole situation does lead me to wonder..... Is it a business if it isn't in business?