Quotes from the Last Month

I have been to a lot of meetings, and even a conference, and I have a whole notebook full of great quotes from the last month… Here are the highlights:

• You can’t do the courageous thing, unless you truly feel fear.
• Our marriage should be defined by what we do, not what we don’t do.
• Defense destroys – Offense creates
• Nothing is insignificant
• Pull Everyone into the Story
• Ours was Mint M&Ms

Sorry that last one was a quote from a very heated game of Christmas Scategories at a Christmas Party…

Reading a lot

I have 12 books that are unopened, unread, books that I purchased or was given to read. I was trying to set a pace for myself to finish these in a reasonable amount of time when I realized that IF I read one book a week, I won’t finish until sometime in March.

I need to get busy.

You are invited…

To Blog or Not To Blog… That isn’t the question…

The real question is why do you blog. The trick is to find your people. This is something that I think I am still doing. I hope that this blog is a diary of things I learning, AND HOPEFULLY, a resource to those of you that are coming along the way with me. I would love for it to be a dialogue. (that is why i have comments open). So, push and pull. Don’t let me get away with incomplete thoughts. Tell me when I am wrong, or an idiot.

So there you go. You are invited. I don’t make money off of this. I don’t have a secret plan. I just want learn, share, and help others. Lets do it…

Rethink – Book Review

Cutting cost and boosting innovation… Sounds like an interesting title right? I thought so. I also have to admit that I am a sucker for a good book cover. I like the simplicity and thought of this one. But alas, you can’t really judge a book by its cover.

While this book was a little long, (Really this whole book could have summarized as a blog post) it was interesting and had some good insight.  I love the overall thought process, when innovating, you can’t take the WHY you do something for granted when you are redesigning the HOW. You must think about why you do things, and what you are really doing when coming up new ways to figure out how to innovate. Especially when making cost saving changes.

If major change happens everyday as much as it does in the company that I work for then go ahead and pick this one up, and make sure that you don’t get hung up on the length!

Enjoy…

Thank You

To all who check in from time to time to check out this blog, I want to say thank you. This has largely been a place for me to share what I am learning as a twenty something in the working world. I am very aware that I don’t have it all together, and can’t say thank you enough for those that take the time to read.

That is all for today. Thank You!

Managers and monkeys- Book Review

I just finished reading a book, “The One Minute Manager Meets The Monkey,” that my father gave me this past weekend. I was intrigued by this whole
monkey thing… But didn’t know what to expect beyound that.

Without ruining the whole point of the book, this book is amazing. The pemise is all around the idea of not taking on your subordinates problems (monkeys) but allowing them through leadership, delegation, and coaching to handle the problems and tasks themselves.

Everyone who works in a company with more than one level should read this. Even if you don’t manage people, you need to know how this works.

Seriously please read this. It is another great book by Ken Blanchard. It is a quick read that will change your outlook on everything you do during the day.

I leave you with this quote – “If something is not worth doing, it is not worth doing well.”

The hoe is dead – Lessons from a stolen Tahoe

So what is there to learn from having your Tahoe broken into, then repaired, then stolen, then found, and finally trashed?

Lots. Here is a list…

1. People are going to get what they want. One way or another.
2. Red tape is frustrating for your customers. Cut the tape!
3. Never underestimate the Police.
4. Don’t overestimate the communication between diff police stations.
5. Someone values what you have. You just have to find them. (granted this is a bad example, because the people that valued my car, only valued it enough to steal it.. but it sounded good!)

RIP Chevy!

Young and Restless?

I thought this blog by Brad Lomenick deserved more than a RT. (retweet)

So what do you do when you are 25 or younger and can’t wait to change the world? I love how Brad put this, because his answer isn’t just to wait until you have influence. His ideas are all things that you can and must start right away. Everyday that you don’t start becoming the person that you want to be is another day you will have to wait later in life.

He breaks it all down to creditbility (from the old folks) and this are his words on how to get it…

“To give some context, here are some thoughts to best gain credibility now:

Listen. Simple enough

Find those who are smarter than you, and latch on. Learn from them.

Become an expert before you need to be- when you are asked for your opinion or involvement, give it or do it.

Self awareness and self identity- know who you are. You are young- deal with it. Don’t think you know more than you really do.

Stay focused, but broad. Those who have the most credibility no longer are just experts in one area. You need to be a generalist.

Learn how to follow. And follow really well. It will position you for authority later.”

thanks Brad!

Quotes from last week

I learned quite a bit last week. Here are the top 10 quotes in bullet form:

1. Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. – Churchill
2. Raving Fans, not satisfied customers drive our business.
3. Detractors drive it in a different direction.
4. People derive their value from where they are in your “grapevine”. – Share info in a Up, Out, Down, Around system.
5. Your Capacity can’t be tested, only proven. – Carneal
6. That which we persist in doing gets easier, not that the task itself has changed, but our ability to perform it has improved. – Emerson
7. Everything you do tells a story, and we are all bad storytellers. – Brett Trapp
8. Be interested, not interesting. – Carneal
9. Don’t let the current circumstances of life distract you from what truly deserves your focus today. – Dad
10. Accept help graciously, you will have the opportunity to pay if forward. Just remember to do so. – Dad

Lessons learned from buying a house at the age of 22

I bought a house the week before I got married, and sold it about 3 years later. The last year, the house was on the market. It was a painful, and character building experience. Here are the quick points for you to apply to your own life. (Top 8 and Bottom Four Style.)

Top 8
1. We bought without a real estate agent
2. We sold with a great one!
3. A house built in 1965 has lots of character
4. We had lots of fun remodeling, (new kitchen, floors, etc..)
5. I can fix most parts of a house that don’t require a pro.
6. We bought in a time when lots of first time buyers were getting great loans
7. The selling side of the closing table is so much more relieving than the buying side of the table.
8. Great memories in my families first house.

Bottom Four
1. Assumptions are dangerous – especially those about things that you can’t control (housing market, economy, jobs, etc…)
2. Finished basements don’t count as livable square footage.
3. Never buy the biggest house in the neighborhood. (you won’t be able to sell it.)
4. Remodeling is a lot of work. (I can’t stress this one enough)