The first day back to work brings both hope and depression for many business owners.
Hope that somehow this year will be better. An unnecessarily limited ambition on which to base this particular new year.
And depression because if you regard January as Month 1, matching last year’s numbers - never mind beating them - looks a long way away.
A mindset which focuses too narrowly on consequences, not actions.
Businesses don’t create sales. They create customers.
And the best ones do it as part of a long-term approach that builds over time.
Which allows them to use each January as a moment to assess how far they have come.
But also ensures they never see it as Month 1.
The Gift of 2009
The Chinese have a saying. May you live in interesting times.
Actually, it’s a curse.
As we put 2009 in the rear view mirror, I for one have a greater appreciation of Chinese irony.
The dawn of 2010 comes at the end of not just one of the most disruptive years in our lifetimes. But two.
A fact that is easy to overlook. But important to remember.
It’s been a long time since we have had a sense of stability. A year-long, polarizing Presidential campaign followed by a cataclysmic failure of the economy - the full consequences of which we have yet to see - have made for adrenaline filled days and sleepless nights. And the realization that a lot more was at stake than we had intended.
Evidence that as a species we do evolution better than revolution.
A lesson we rarely heed. By ignoring the future until it's pounding at the door. At which point we're reacting to someone else's change instead of planning our own.
Change is a constant. And no matter how hard you hang on to the known, the future is coming. A fact that a new January the 1st demonstrates numerically as well as theoretically. A sharp piece of punctuation with which to begin again.
Except that we aren’t beginning again. Unless we approach things differently. Which means:
- Learn from the past.
- Challenge the status quo.
- Invent the future.
Three attributes rarely practiced by business owners through the end of the first decade of the twenty first century.
The good news is that decade ended yesterday.
I’m writing a book called Plan The Last Day First. It’s a concept that I have developed through experience. Mine and others. And one whose validity and authenticity I have challenged even as I espouse its core beliefs and develop its thesis. I believe in it more today than ever.
It’s a concept that says that any life, business or individual, comes closer to fulfilling its potential when you embrace the essence of being a human being.
To leave a legacy.
We want to have made a difference.
And the sooner we talk about how, the sooner we can take steps to make sure our life gives us a chance to do so.
It is not always about money or power or influence or material gain.
But it is always about whether, on our last day of owning a business or living a life, we can look back and say we did the best we could.
2009 was a tough year. Let us hope that it is the hardest we ever know.
But 2009 has given us a gift.
2010.
May we use it in such a way that it makes 2009 worthwhile.
Happy New Year.
A Christmas To Remember
I love Christmas. Passionately.
About the only thing I won’t do is pray for it. It’s against my religion. That is, I have none. Which makes the Christmas spirit, perversely, even more essential to me.
In every other way I am its disciple. A commitment that manifests itself practically and philosophically.
Three years ago I put together the definitive Christmas playlist. Uninterrupted, it lasts 24 hours. From Bing to Sting, from the Partridge Family to pear trees, it contains the entire spectrum of Christmas musical styles and sentiments. Plus the delicious irony that comes with including songs from the Carpenters’ Christmas collection. The power of the aspostrophe.
But Christmas is a visual luxury as well. And my Christmas tree lighting methodology is legendary in certain circles. Indeed, attempts to replicate it without sufficient guidance have resulted in disaster. The key is to start with the trunk. And never to use less than 1500 lights per tree - a recommendation your electrician may take exception to. Ours did.
1500 lights takes some time. About seven hours. Enough to watch the four movies that exemplify Christmas. Which, I suspect, explains why lighting our tree takes exactly seven hours every year. A classic example of work expanding to fit the time available. Or required.
It’s A Wonderful Life. The power of context.
Miracle on 34th Street - the Edmund Gwen version. Sentiment and business strategy in a single sitting.
White Christmas. When the day comes that I open the barn doors to find a foot of snow and a horse drawn sleigh passing by, every breath thereafter will be a bonus. First, we need a barn.
And finally, A Christmas Carol. The 1951 version with Alistair Sim.
I grew up with the story of Scrooge. A man lost. A man reclaimed. A man saved. A hope that we each carry with us. For ourselves. And for our species. In many ways it is nothing less than a biographical account of the history of mankind.
It may also be the most widely and broadly interpreted story in the history of literature. Among my favorite versions is BlackAdder's Christmas Carol in which Ebenezer BlackAdder, the kindest man in all of England, is visited by three spirits. I won’t spoil it for you. Suffice to say, this is not how Dickens saw it turning out.
Of all the film versions, Alistair Sim’s portrayal remains truest to the spirit and original words. Artful, beautiful and evocative. It offers the most sympathetic and skilled depiction of Dickens’ story.
Depiction, however, is an important word. And infers interpretation. Assistance that Dickens, of all writers, seldom requires.
Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self contained and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.
The film incorporates many of Dickens’ words. And for many years satisfied me hugely. On many levels it still does.
But in 1994, its place in my heart was taken by another.
Truthfully, I don’t know how I learned that year that Patrick Stewart was performing a one-man version of A Christmas Carol for four weeks on Broadway. Christmas 1994 were the earliest days of the internet. And at 14.4 dial-up speeds, browsing and Google did not yet exist. Google, in fact, is still only 11 years old today. Which seems like saying air and water have only been around for a decade or so.
Chris and I had been together for not quite a year when we arrived in Manhattan that Christmas Eve. We were in the initial throes of starting our new company and life was filled with extraordinary promise. And uncertainty. Not until this year have I experienced the same range of possibilities. Hope and fear. Powerful forces when applied purposefully.
Hope and fear are foundations of A Christmas Carol. Base emotions that are behind almost all achievements of significance. And if there is a medium that evokes either more powerfully than Mr Stewart alone on a stage, I have yet to experience it. He played 41 characters, each as separate as if he were joined by a full cast.
Things that become important to our lives do so at different speeds. Some introductions provide instant reward and value. Other relationships develop less obviously, surprising us with their significance later. And often only once they have disappeared. A price for not living in the present. And a higher one than we realize at the time.
The opening line of A Christmas Carol - which until that night I had never heard spoken - belongs in my life to the former, instantly taking me to a world I have no wish to leave until the story is complete.
Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
For the next two hours that night Mr Stewart took us on the ride of a lifetime. Scrooge’s lifetime. It touches every emotion. Pulls at every heart-string. Is comedic and tragic in the same breath. And by the time, in the voice of a six year old boy, he delivered Tiny Tim’s immortal last line, every one of us was standing, applauding and weeping. It was as though we had swallowed Christmas whole. And the light came pouring from us as we floated home, the soundtrack safely in our possession.
The following year, we began a tradition of driving ourselves, Harry and Maya to Christmas on the east coast.
150 miles from Washington DC we hit play on disc one and heard, as though for the first time, Mr Stewart begin again.
Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
We have done this, without exception every year since. And for two and a half hours we are anchored, connected and reminded of all that is important in our small corner of the world. Perspective is easily lost, even by those fully conscious of its value. And touchstones imbued with objectivity become increasingly important as the world becomes more strident and complex.
We have hoped since 1994 to spend another evening in Mr Stewart’s company. But except for one near miss in 2002 - the last time he performed the production - we have come to see that particular Christmas Eve as our visit to Brigadoon. A magical world, accessible only once in every lifetime through an enchanted door.
Last week, however, it is possible I found a rusty key.
In Barneys.
It’s been a busy month, and the Christmas spirit has been elusive. Goodwill is a mindset, but exhibiting it or absorbing it in anything more than passing amounts requires time. And physical presence. Social media has yet to find a substitute for either.
With a week left before Christmas I decided some of both was in order. Besides which I needed a present for Chris. A stroll down Fifth Avenue on a freezing cold day later and I arrived at Barney’s.
Wandering the departments I soon found myself on the top floor. Christmas decorations and the restaurant. As I headed for the down escalator I hesitated for a moment so that a couple leaving after lunch could step on first. The man was bald.
He turned slightly as the escalator re-built itself, leaving me one step closer to him than I intended.
It was Patrick Stewart.
The ride to the floor below lasted less than fifteen seconds. It passed in an instant and lasted an eternity.
As we stepped off, I decided.
There is great risk in meeting those we admire. In those few moments they hold sway over foundations of our lives. Kindness, and our judgement is validated. Irritation, and another piece of our innocence is fractured. Like pavement ice on a thawing morning.
I interrupted him in mid-pause, as he and his companion were considering their immediate next step. He was slightly startled by my approach, his reaction that of a man un-used to intrusion, not tired by it. He is not tall but has great presence. One that allows him to fill any space he occupies.
I spoke quickly. Nervous excitement, and anxiety to get the words A Christmas Carol across my lips. An instinct that they provided a connection.
Instincts are high risk. But they need to take flight if we are to learn about ourselves. Strategically sound judgement is crucial. In business. Or life. But magic comes from exploration. And the unknown.
“Do you think you’ll ever perform A Christmas Carol again?” I asked breathlessly. “We saw your performance on Christmas Eve 1994, here in New York. It’s become an important part of our Christmas.”
I stopped.
He smiled. Gently. Shyly.
“There’s a question.” He paused and glanced away. “It gets harder.” He said it as though to himself.
I nodded. And mumbled understanding.
Suddenly he turned back towards me, “I would like to. It’s very important to me personally.”
I looked at him with sudden confidence. “I know,” I said. “It’s what makes it great.”
The shyness had left him. He put his hand across his heart. “Thank you for stopping and saying something. It means a lot to me.”
I held out my hand and he took it firmly. “Merry Christmas.” I stopped abruptly, choking off his name, suddenly conscious that I wasn’t sure which one would emerge.
“Merry Christmas to you.” He smiled. Openly and warmly.
As he turned and walked away, I heard, I am sure, the voice of a six year old boy from somewhere close by.
Merry Christmas.
Is Your Business Injured or Ill?
We unlock the potential of businesses. To do that we have to first diagnose whether they are injured or ill. The treatments for which are entirely different.
A business that is injured is fundamentally sound but damaged in a particular area. The symptoms are repeated inability to perform specific actions despite the desire and intent to do so.
A business that is ill has systemic problems. Typically they start in the head and eventually spread to infect the circulation, the heart, the kidneys and the liver. It can take a long time for the symptoms to appear. But when they do, they manifest themselves as tiredness, weakness, lethargy, bloating, confusion and nervousness.
In the end, the illness affects every part of the organization. The longer you wait, the harsher the remedy required.
If you look around at your company today and see recurring problems, decide first if your business is ill or injured.
Either can be treated.
But only if the patient is interested in being cured.
Five Things Entrepreneurs Would Like To Change About Their Business
1. They don’t know where they are financially today. Either because their system (people and software) can’t tell them. Or because they have no one to find the story inside the numbers.
The solution: simpler systems and a short education.
2. Their partnership agreement doesn’t reflect the value each partner is providing. But to raise the issue seems like opening Pandora’s box. With a big bill to follow. Financially and emotionally.
The solution: courageous conversations, historic vs future value and fast action.
3. Their staff doesn’t do what they want, how they want. Usually because they haven’t been told. Or have been told excessively.
The solution: company purpose, personal ambition, responsibility and accountability
4. Their potential is greater than their success. Because they don’t understand their value. Or can’t articulate it.
The solution: a walk in the customer’s shoes and a single line without the use of the word ‘and’.
5. They keep having the same conversations. Proving that the first sign of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting a different outcome.
The solution: Plan The Last Day First®. A practice that focuses on where you want to end up. Analyzes where you are. And connects the two points.
Schmuck Insurance
This weekend I was introduced to the concept of Schmuck Insurance.
The teacher was a real estate developer who had learned about it the hard way at the end of last year.
The developer and his partners were finishing a new building in New York. They quickly found a prospective buyer for the first unit and negotiated the sale price.
At the last minute, sensing the unease in the financial and real estate markets, the buyer asked for Schmuck Insurance. A guarantee that if the next unit was sold at a discount that he would retroactively receive the same discount.
The developer and his partners said no. A month later they said yes. At which point the buyer walked.
He walked in part because the market had worsened in the meantime.
But mostly he walked because his concern that he might become a schmuck was replaced by his belief that he would now be a schmuck if he said yes.
During a negotiation, if I ask you to give me a piece of protection I see myself as smart and taking care of myself. An intellectual and emotional payment to my self esteem.
If you agree with my request, I see you as protecting my interests as well as my own. A partnership.
If, however, you say no at first and yes later, I believe something has changed which you’re not telling me.
Which makes you untrustworthy. And me a schmuck if I say yes.
The buyer came back recently and closed the deal for sixty percent of the original price.
In every negotiation start by first defining your own worst case scenario. What’s your walk-away threshold. The deal which you’d be a fool to accept.
This is your Schmuck Insurance.
Which makes it simple to then do two things.
One. Make a worthwhile deal the first time around.
Two. Avoid being the schmuck.
Weekend Update
The Tiger Woods story has many arms and legs. All explored thoroughly elsewhere.
There is, however, a simple but powerful business lesson in his announcement yesterday.
When people start to turn away from what you're selling, it's tempting to promote it harder.
A better solution sometimes is to create demand.
By reducing supply.
Which comes with the added benefit that everyone who depends on you to make their living suddenly becomes your unpaid sales team.
Philosphical Friday: Perspective
Sitting on board an American Airlines plane to New York, I write this courtsey of wireless internet.
Interesting that a technology which so threatened our safety two years ago that we had to "turn off portable elecronic devices" within a three mile zone of our flights, is now less of a concern when the airline can charge $12.95.
A matter of perspective, I suspect.
The Starving Artist Strategy
I attended an advertising industry event in Hollywood last night. An incongruous juxtaposition for a business a long way away from the glamorous days of Mad Men.
We frequently work with companies that sell creativity. Their success depends on balancing art and commerce. A recipe that requires sensitive scales. Too much of the first. You’re brilliant but broke. Too much of the second. You’re irrelevant. Or unsatisfied. Or both.
Creative companies that have been around for any length of time are rarely run by the artists. If they’re talented, they don’t have time. And the insecurity that often drives great creativity is a bad foundation from which to negotiate fair payment.
Insecurity makes most of us act in a way that works against our self interest. And does much to undermine the inherent value of whatever we produce. A confident salesman sells more than the nervous one. Even if the merchandise is inferior. And though great work can speak for itself, it does better in the spotlight offered by the assured than in the shadows of self doubt.
When what you sell is subjective, the value is defined not only by the market but by how well you frame the market’s perception. Exclusivity and aspiration are perceptions first and last.
I have watched, for some time, the systematic commoditization of many creative services. The failure of those industries to first value what they do, and then to present that value cogently and powerfully to their respective markets results always in the same conditions. Reduced prices. Lower margins. And the perceptions of product parity.
When individual companies then accept - or worse, establish - short-term business practices aimed only at bolstering revenue and profitability, they add their own high pressured hoses to the erosion.
Shooting themselves would be faster and less painful. But the net result is the same. And accompanied always by the complaints of company owners that the conditions in which they work are unfair.
As a business strategy, playing the victim creates neither sympathy nor success. And ignores the responsibility inherent in every industry that sells subjectivity.
The need first to take responsibility for how your customers perceive your value.
Which means establishing business practices that inherently command respect.
That requires confidence. A trait in short supply at the moment. But one that returns quickly with small victories.
The alternative is to sell cheap, pray hard and prepare for poverty.
It’s a strategy known as The Starving Artist.
Practiced by people who want everyone else to value their work more than they do.
Merger and Acquiescence
Companies of all shapes and sizes are looking for ways to save, stabilize and grow their business.
In many cases, they consider merging with competitors or related-service companies as a way of gaining market share or cutting costs.
Vertical or horizontal integration? They're not fussy. Business owners post-rationalize either as a way to convince themselves the deal is smart and will lead to a new world order.
AOl-Time Warner stands as a beacon of the humility that follows hubris when it comes to most M&A deals.
A recent analysis of the biggest deals of the last decade illustrates how often the owners get it wrong. And the cost of doing so.
Since January 1, 2000 there have been 316,657 M&A deals done around the world.
Their total value - $25.2 trillion. Put another way, that’s half what the world creates in a good year.
And the returns? On the simplest level, the bigger the company the greater the likelihood the deal will cost the shareholders money. The largest transactions destroyed more capital than they created post merger.
Intuitively it makes sense that smaller companies are more likely to do more valuable deals. It’s easier to see the pros and cons and for all the principals to be involved.
But the majority of M&A deals still fail for one simple reason.
Social issues.
These come in many forms. Culture. Beliefs. Embedded influences. Local norms.
Subtle. Nuanced. Uncomfortable to address.
Instead negotiations focus on the tangible. Ownership percentages, board membership, management control and compensation.
But if you don’t take cultural differences into account when you examine the pros and cons of a merger or acquisition you ignore the thing most likely to undermine its success.
Your staff believing that this is their company.
Energy that is always the difference between the average business and the great.
Merging two cultures into one can be done. We did it to enormous and long-lasting effect at the Whitehouse.
But you have to take the best of both to make it work.
Which takes time, focus, commitment and a long-term vision that the costs of the effort are worth it. Patience is helpful as well. And a bucket or two of being willing to see the other side. A trait which requires you have enough confidence in your own view to set it aside from time to time.
Put all that together as the foundations of a new business model and you might change the world.
Otherwise, you're just wasting time. Yours and everyone else's'.
Change - An Epilogue
We left Chicago yesterday after a four day visit. It was our first trip back since we sold our house in July.
We saw friends, went shopping and felt as comfortable and as warm as if we had returned to the womb.
In many ways we had. Chicago is where we met, fell in love, built a business, adopted five dogs, and sucked the marrow out of a temporary retirement. It has been safety and security for as long as we can remember.
It is a beautiful city. The most beautiful in the world to my eyes. And in many ways we found it better than when we left. We had dinner in the new Trump Hotel, which might be the most magical setting in Chicago. We drove the newly resurfaced Lakeshore Drive, marveled at the new wing of the Art Institute, and walked the Christmas lights of Michigan Avenue. Yesterday morning we woke to a perfect snowfall. Light enough to offer no impediment. Dense enough to paint everything perfectly, gently white.
It felt like a personal acknowledgement that we were in town.
And yet, yesterday evening as we boarded the plane to Los Angeles I was certain of two things.
Chicago is not our home. That, and our lives lie in New York. A decision that was hard to come by but which has become more obviously right as the year has gone by.
And we will be back.
We have not done everything right over the last couple of years. But we end 2009 where we should be.
And, at least for now, exactly where we want to be.
Don’t Confuse Busy for Successful
There are lots of things you could be doing rather than reading this. And lots of things I could be doing rather than writing it. We’re busy people.
Somewhere along the way we both decided this was worth our time. That it was valuable.
I’ve probably analyzed that decision more than you have. After all, I have more at stake. Time and reputation namely.
And every day is a chance for us both to re-evaluate. Which raises the bar for me and the return on investment for you. Because if I don’t keep trying to make this informative and insightful, you won’t be back.
The short term contract this blog represents is a good thing. Because it highlights the discretionary nature of most of what we do in business.
Because when we start to see everything we do as essential, we fill our days with activity and work harder at being better at doing more.
A strategy which undeniably makes us busy.
And distracts us from where we should be focused.
Just being better.
Philosophical Friday: Friends
Friends are people whose nature you understand, morals you share and dependability in times of crisis you can count on.
As a friend, you would not ask someone to do something that is in your best interests but not in theirs.
Nor, should you do so if you employ them, govern them, or cheat on your wife with them.
If you do, their reaction will usually disappoint you.
Idea Killers
I found this at Sami Viitamaki's blog. The artist is Scott Campbell.
His work speaks for itself. See you tomorrow.
Tiger, Tiger. Or 12 Ways Not To Disseminate Bad News
Tiger Woods' car crash had nothing on the PR pile-up his life has now become.
In five days he has provided us with a clinic of how not to manage bad news.
1. Stay silent for 72 hours. Let the rumors start.
2. Add fuel by letting it be known you will talk. And then at the last minute don't. Repeat 3 times.
3. Issue a written statement - don't appear in person.
4. Parse the statement so carefully that anyone in this media savvy age can drive a bus through it. As Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post called it during Watergate - "a non-denial denial."
5. Demand privacy.
6. Have lawyers speak for you.
7. Cancel previously scheduled commitments. The more critical you are to them the better.
8. Lean on the law.
9. Wait until more bad news comes out - preferably something that provides incontrovertible proof that you are involved in something you would much rather stay private.
10. Issue a limited statement saying you have committed 'transgressions.'
11. Appeal for privacy.
12. Claim you've only just recognized the power of the media - $1 billion later.
You cannot run from embarrassing news. This is true for businesses as well as for celebrities.
The better way is to follow the David Letterman model and get way out in front of it. Admit it before you have been accused. Then everything else is not a story. Which eliminates the market for gossip and innuendo entirely.
If you screw up, acknowledge it, and apologize. People are human. And as a species we are much more forgiving when honesty and transparency are involved.
We have a harder time with broken trust. Once, perhaps. Twice, no chance.
The best way is to say what you mean and mean what you say.
The holier than thou model, in my experience, is most often practiced by those that are definitively not.
Social Media Update
A couple of weeks ago I blogged that I was skeptical about the value of LinkedIn.
Having discovered that it allows you to ask your connections for recommendations, I asked my 61 if they would be willing to write one for me.
After two weeks the results are in.
22 people wrote me a recommendation. Most within 48 hours.
3 said they thought LinkedIn recommendations were inauthentic, because they were frequently 'traded' for mutual recommendations.
1 said they would but hadn't figured out what to say.
1 said they thought that this kind of test undermined the credibility of social networks and that we needed to protect the quality of information we put into services like LinkedIn and Twitter. I disagreed. I think the best test of every social medium is whether we can make it meaningless. Those that survive will be the most valuable.
And 1 said they would be happy to give me a recommendation even though they had just realized I was a different Charles Day than the one they had been looking for. There's another one?
28 responses out of 61 is 46%. A pretty remarkable redemption rate.
But the recommendations themselves were so extraordinary and heartfelt that it made me certain they were the result of the personal nature of those relationships. Not the result of LinkedIn's particular value.
I wonder in fact, how many more I might have received had I asked each of the 61 people directly for a recommendation. No fewer, I suspect.
And do they encourage anyone to pick up the phone and seek me out who might otherwise not have done so? Not so far.
Both Twitter and Facebook provide me with something I would not otherwise have without them - and the information is presented in a simple and distinctive interface. LinkedIn's is confusing and distracting. And provides little reason to sift through it.
Except for one thing. As Fred Wilson pointed out on his blog a couple of days later.
"LinkedIn is a terrific place to find talent and to find references. When I want to check someone out, I invite them to connect to me on LinkedIn, I find who we know in common, and that is my reference list. Charlie O'Donnell taught me these LinkedIn tricks about five years ago and I use them all the time".
That made me think about LinkedIn from an entirely different perspective. And has suddenly made it valuable. It's an organic address book and reference check. One that is entirely self-updating.
But Fred's advice contains more than that. In fact, it contains the key to all social media.
The word 'invite.'
If your first interest in social media is what you stand to gain, the answer will be not much more than you could get by asking the same people personally.
But if first you think about what you can give, then social media starts to work for you in an entirely different way.
The proof of which lies in the fact you are reading this.
My gift to you.
Which you just returned in kind.
Thank you.
Why We Don't Get Hired
There is one group of people that never hire us.
Those looking for the silver bullet.
I meet one or two every month. People who hear about us from clients, or come across our website. They call and ask how soon we can have a conversation. When can we meet. How does it work. When can we start.
It normally takes thirty minutes to discover that what they're looking for is an instant remedy to problems that have been built in to their business since they began. A vision that was too narrow. A perspective that was too short-term. A strategy that was too reactive. A failure to understand what they were really selling. A passion for being essential to their business.
These situations have three things in common.
- All companies face some of them. And some companies face all of them.
- There are answers to each of them. Most of which take less than a month to define.
- The solutions come through exploration and understanding. Not from the business equivalent of a pill.
Giving Happy Thanks
A young man woke up on the morning before Thanksgiving and discovered someone had left a parrot in a cage outside his front door.
He took the cage into the kitchen and placed it on the counter.
"Hey asshole," the parrot squawked. "Open the fucking cage and get me some fucking breakfast. I'm starving. And clean this shit-hole cage while you're at it. Smells like a fucking bird took a dump in here."
The young man was startled to say the least. But being a kind soul took pity on the bird who after all, he reasoned, must be traumatized by the sudden upheaval in his life. He decided to approach the problem with kindness and sympathy, as befitting the season.
Gently, he took the bird out of the cage and placed it softly on the counter. Then set about getting the bird's breakfast ready, before cleaning out his cage.
Throughout the bird maintained a running commentary. "Hey, dick-wad this stuff sucks. Haven't you got anything decent to eat in this cess-pit. Just my fucking luck to get dumped on the doorstep of some loser. Hey, hey, not like that. Don't you know anything about cleaning bird cages. Where'd you grow up under the train tracks? That where your momma dropped you. No wonder. One look at your face she probbaly died from embarassment."
Suddenly the young man grabbed the bird, opened the door of the freezer and flung the parrot inside. For a minute there was squawking and banging from within. Then suddenly, the room fell silent.
Overcome by remorse the young man opened the freezer door. To his surprise, the parrot walked out quietly and settled gently onto his outstretched arm.
Then, with bowed head, the parrot began to speak.
"I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions," the parrot said softly. "I'm filled with remorse for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior. I'm grateful to you in the extreme for your kindness and thoughtfulness, and I intend to fully repay you with lifelong devotion and admiration."
The young man was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. But before he could say anything, the parrot looked up at him. It was clear he had something else he wanted to say. The young man gave him what he hoped was an encouraging look. Whatever had caused this parrot's attitude to change so dramatically had clearly affected him deepely.
Hesitantly, the parrot cleared his throat. And then, with what was clearly a great effort, said very quietly, "may I ask what the turkey did?"
5 Benefits To Negotiating Flat Fees
The days of hourly legal fees are behind us.
This is not news to our clients. Nor to the lawyers and accountants we work with on their behalf, who have long understood our belief that flat fees create a win-win scenario.
In fact, we have been hiring lawyers and accountants on a flat fee basis for almost a decade.
Through experience we have learned there are 5 benefits to doing so:
1. Both sides have to take responsibility for defining the scope of work before the agreement is struck
2. The service provider is motivated to get the work done as efficiently as possible.
3. The service provider is motivated to do the work as well as possible so that the can get hired and recommended again
4. The buyer is motivated to support the process they agreed to so they don’t get hit with change of scope fees
5. Both parties learn from the process. About their own methods and each other. This leads either to a better process next time. Or a quick end to a the relationship.
Either side can undermine this structure.
But there is a cost to doing so in the loss of future opportunity to work together.
If that’s not a cost to you, you’re doing business with the wrong people.
Suicide is Painless
A story in the Wall St Journal this morning suggests that suicides are on the rise.
Historically, suicide rates have risen with unemployment. A 1% increase in a state’s unemployment rate causing a 1.3% increase in the number of self-inflicted deaths.
It’s estimated that this year, 630,000 Americans will kill themselves. And 1.1 million adult Americans will try.
And the historical data suggests, there is more to come. The highest rate of suicide following the Great Depression came in 1932, three years after the economic collapse.
All of us have been affected profoundly by the economic reorganization of these last two years. Living through an epoch comes with a high price. Part of which is the emotional impact of no longer feeling in control.
Despair develops over time. And usually as the result of a series of actions and events that individually seem of minimal importance. And worse, tolerable.
But once the hole has been dug, it’s difficult to escape. And for some impossible.
I have seen this in my personal life with a family member. And in my professional life, with too many businesses.
In every case, I have come to learn that the best cure is prevention. Raising our consciousness of what we can and cannot live with.
Which is easier to write than to live through.
But learning there is a choice is the first step.
'Cause suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
...and you can do the same thing if you please.
