To Hell and Back

Our air condition picked preciously the right moment to die — during a streak of the hottest weather of the summer.  We knew the day was coming for 10 years, ever since the home inspector told us to replace the HVAC system.  We’d light a candle and say a prayer every time the service van pulled up in the driveway.  Our system was the definition of “they don’t make them like the used to” until a 90 plus degree-day, finally made it obsolete.IMG_0378

Calling the heating and air conditioning repair shop that we had developed a relationship with over the years, we dug out the five-year-old quote to finally place the order. But first, we would have to endure ten days of oppressive heat until the unit would be installed.

Fortunately, I had a favorable travel schedule that would take me out of town for five of the ten days.  So, on the day of the installation, I took the bullet, or more accurately, the heat seeking missile, and stayed at the house waiting for the service techs…which also happened to be the hottest of the 10-day stretch.

The techs arrived at 9 am, and I camped out on our deck to get some work done.  With a 20-inch oscillating fan blowing my way, the day started off well.  Walking through the house one of the techs commented that our house was the hottest house he had ever serviced…echoing the same comment the sales person made on his initial visit.

Passing the thermostat, I noticed that the house had reached 93 by 11 am.  Thanks to a new roof and windows, our house held temperature in like an oven, which it was quickly becoming.

By mid-day the house was 95 degrees and showed no sign of stopping. The service guys and I were consuming ice water like it was beer at Oktoberfest.  By this time it was too hot to be outside or inside, with both my phone and computer giving me heat warnings.

Then in a fit of true insanity, most likely heat induced, I decided to cook.  Leaving for vacation the following day, I was determined to eat the vegetables that had finally ripened in our garden. Any man in his right mind, which I obviously wasn’t, would have grilled, but we had ripe zucchini and I was hell bent (pun intended) on making one of our favorite meals.

This would involve doing the top two things you should never do in a hot kitchen — boiling water and frying oil.  At one point in the cooking process, I realized that the house could have been in flames around me and I would have had no idea.  It was the definition of a “hot mess”.

After dinner, and perhaps a result my cooking, the UEI IND151 heat sensor would register a high of 97.5 degrees in the house, shortly before the new AC would kick on.

Through this experience I learned a few things:

  • “Fire” and “heat” are perfect metaphors for Hell.
  • “Crazy from the heat” isn’t just an expression, it’s a reality…I know I lived it.
  • Johnny Cash got it right when he sang “we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout”.

But more importantly, I was reassured that people can be kind and generous.  Neighbors offered sympathy, fans, shelter and refuge.  A neighbor we had only known for a short period of time offered us their home while they were on vacation.  Others insisted that we come by and use their pools to give us, and our dog, a break from the heat.

The heating and air conditioning company we used wasn’t our first choice but turned out to be the best choice.  The first company told us it would be three weeks before they could schedule us.  My wife tried to reach them unsuccessfully for days, trying to move up the date, concerned about the health and well being our family.

Not getting a return call, she turned to a local family owned business by the name of Snell & Sons, who had sympathetic ear and a reserve of AC units for just this type of emergency.  They were able to install it sooner, for less, and were completely in tune with our situation.

Our lives are busy, often leaving little time to socialize with our neighbors or friends.  We default to email or social media because it’s quick and easy.  But this experience reminded us of how effective, and important, person-to- person communication can be, and like air condition, how often we take it for granted.

People can, and still do, look out for one another.  They can be sympathetic and generous, reminding us that we’re not alone in this world, even though it may seem that way sometimes, and that, a small business can often offer something large nationwide providers can’t, or don’t — empathy.  The best of them know that the lifeblood of their business is referrals and customer loyalty.

They don’t need to offer elaborate rewards or points to gain, or keep, a customer.  Most likely, the customer is won or lost based on how they respond to the person on the other end of the line in their time of need.  And they know, when the time comes, that experience will be shared with others.

It’s often said that we live in a “small world”, and in a situation like this, we’re reminded of why that is a good thing.

Why Do People Run?

Why do we do it?   No one is forcing us.  As Christopher McDougall points out in his brilliant book, Born to Run, we no longer need to chase down our food.  So why do we do something physically and mentally challenging, and occasionally painful, if we don’t have to. Why not just take it easy?

cherry

This was the conversation inside my head early this weekend before the Cherry Blossum 10 Mile run in the Nation’s Capital.  In fact, it’s the same conversation I have before any race.  Why would anyone in their right mind stress themselves out for a week and get out of bed at 5:30 am on a weekend to run.

I spent the first 2-3 miles of the race observing people trying to answer that question.   From what I saw, some folks run to challenge themselves, some run for others, like the a guy in a yellow kilt running for fallen combat soldiers, the woman with a picture of her deceased cat on her shirt, and of course, the group of sickos who do it because they actually enjoy it.

Me? Well, I’m another story.  It’s taken me many years, several races, and 10 miles this weekend to figure it out.   The truth is, I hate to run.  It’s a means to an end. I like to race, but I hate to run.  It’s a legacy of growing up playing sports, where running was a “have to” and not a “want to.”

Up until my 40th birthday, I had successfully avoided running, while slowly turning myself into a “fat and happy” sedimentary “couch” potato.  That was until a colleague of mine issued the challenge of doing a sprint triathlon as a way for us to celebrate our 40th birthday (thank you Patrick).

Since that time, I train regularly and do various types of endurance races.  Along the way, I dropped the 25 lb. bag of potatoes.   I’ve gotten into a routine of training, but I hadn’t totally figured out why I continue to do races until this weekend.  Alone with my thoughts for the next hour and half or so, I committed to figuring it out.

I know that I need to pick events that give purpose to my training routine.  But the epiphany came at mile 5 when I realized that I think I actually like to scare myself to remind me not to become complicit and/or too comfortable again.  My approach is to pick events I’ve never done, and to usually do them alone, because it heightens the fear factor.

The days and night before the race is spent stressing myself out about the course layout, logistics, and perhaps, most importantly, the locations of bathrooms.  But along with the fear and the stress, I know there is also the heightened sense of accomplishment.

By mile 9, I realized that this habit had spilled over to my work life.  I left a comfortable position three years ago to enter a new industry, and to start a new business with gyro.  I “had it good,” but I decided shake things up, I had become in a sense “fat and happy” in my career.

Like training, we can easily fall into the “habit” of just going to work everyday.  In fact, some probably dislike it as much as I dislike running.   And I wonder if that might be because our work life sometimes lacks that “event” to give it purpose.  It’s easy to fall into a routine and become comfortable.  Life itself can be complicated, so why make it more difficult?

Perhaps a big, fat scary goal is what is needed give greater meaning to our work, and to reenergize us.  With that fear of the unknown, and/or the unaccomplished, also comes the reminder of what it is to be alive.

Yes, it can be painful and uncomfortable, like how my lower back and calves feel as I write this, but you may also be pleasantly surprised.  A sense of accomplishment can fuel the need to set bigger, more challenging ways to push yourself, becoming a habit.  So, if you get a chance to be alone with your thoughts, ask yourself “why do you run?”

The Hell that is Business Travel

A few years ago, I suffered through four days of business travel hell.  I saved emails and documented my nightmare so that one-day I might look back on it and laugh.  This story is dedicated to anyone has had “one of those days” or in my case, four of those days.  If you don’t believe in travel karma this may change your mind…pay attention to the time/date stamps and subject headings.  As they say in Germany; “Schadenfreude.”

Day 1 – Monday June 11

Travelogue  5:45 pm – arrive in Detroit early, nice airport… can’t believe we’re early.  Call Lara (my assistant) because I can’t find Mark’s flight information on the arrival board.  Lara tells me that his plane is delay won’t arrive until 7:30 pm.  No problem I’ll grab something to eat and wait for him and Sean.

—–Original Message—–
From: Mark
Sent: Monday, June 11, 6:03 PM
To: Scott Gillum; Sean
Subject: Flight delayed- still on the ground in ATL

Scott and Sean:

I’ve been stuck on the tarmac for about 90 minutes they say due to weather up North. No sign of anything at the airport taking off to the North.

What time do you arrive? Looks like 8:00 to 8:30 if we get out in the next half hour. Otherwise I’ll probably shoot myself… And then it won’t matter.

BTW, who booked me on Northwest?? Very tight, very hot in here…

What’s your status?

Mark

—– Original Message —-

From: Scott Gillum
Sent: Monday, June 11, 6:11 PM
To: Mark; Sean
Subject: Re: Flight delayed – still on the ground in ATL

I’ve arrived and am sitting in a nice air-conditioned bar in the A terminal about to have a nice Greek dinner.

Got to go… my drink just came, call me when you get in.  Headed to the hotel for a good night of sleep after a big dinner.

Good luck and safe travels. Oh, here comes my appetizer.  Bye.

—–Original Message—–
From: Mark
Sent: Monday, June 11, 6:14 PM
To: Scott Gillum; Sean
Subject: Re: Flight delayed – still on the ground in ATL

Oooooooh.  You’re just getting me ramped up. Don’t expect any mercy from me when the moment is right

Mark

—–Original Message—–
From: Scott Gillum
Sent: Monday, June 11, 6:39 PM
To: Mark, Sean
Subject: Re: Flight delayed- still on the ground in ATL

Sorry I couldn’t respond sooner you really need your hands to eat Greek food. You realize that I probably have cursed myself on the outbound flight now.

Call me when you get in…unless it’s too late.  I really need my sleep to be on my game.

Travelogue 7:00 pm – Catch the Hilton shuttle bus to the hotel a quick 5 min ride.  Arrive at the hotel – “OMG, what a sh*t hole”.  Under-construction, the front is completely gone…contemplate getting back on the bus.   Suck it up and enter to find a lobby in the hallway.  Check-in, walk thru the Workout Area (a former hotel room) then thru the make shift restaurant which looks to be meeting room.  Diners don’t seem to notice that I’m walking thru with my bags.  Enter room and open the curtains to see what looks to be the motel from Eminem’s movie 8 Mile across the street.  Glance at the direction for the meeting tomorrow  – notice we’re a good 20 miles from the client, great…the meeting starts at 8:30 am.

Travelogue 8:10 pm – Mark and Sean land…I decide to flee and find a hotel closer to the client.  Check and make a reservation at the Weber Restaurant & Hotel.  A well-known steak house in the area that happens to have added a hotel “gets’ a lot of press for its indoor pool” according to a review on Google.

Travelogue 9:30 pm – arrive at Weber and check-in.   Clerk has a problem finding the reservation…finally finding it under “Scott Dillum”.

Day 2 – Tuesdays, June 12,  Departing on the 3:17 pm to Washington.  All of us are leaving at about the same time but to different locations.

Travelogue 1:00 pm – check voicemail and hear a message from Northwest Airlines that my flight has been canceled and I have been rebooked on the 9:00 pm flight.  Call Lara who works with the travel agency to book me on the earlier flight leaving at 5:35 pm.

Flights departs from the gate but…

—–Original Message—–
From: Scott Gillum
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 5:59 PM
To: Sean; Mark
Subject: What comes around…

Sitting on the tarmac… in the parking lot… grounded because of a weather delay…no time given yet for wheels up.

Great, they just shut the engines down…

—–Original Message—–
From: Mark
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 6:34 PM
To: Scott Gillum; Sean
Subject: Re: What comes around…

Oh man… The sweet taste. I couldn’t reply sooner because I had to finish my frosty ice cream cone I just picked up after landing.

Mark

—–Original Message—–
From: Scott Gillum
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 8:49 PM
To: Sean; Mark
Subject: RE: Perfect karma

Spending the night in Detroit…

Travelogue 9:00 pm – arrive back at the gate with tension headache and taste of bile in my mouth.   Buy underwear, shirt, socks, Tums and Tylenol.  Check into an airport hotel…not the Hilton.

—–Original Message—–
From: Sean
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 10:09 PM
To: Scott Gillum; Mark
Subject: RE: Perfect karma

Sitting in Seattle and I can’t help but think you brought this all on yourself, Scott Dillum.

Regards-

Sean

Day 3 – Wednesday, June 13.  

Travelogue 6:00 am: Departing on the 6:30 am to Washington connecting to the 8:30 am Delta Shuttle to New York. No flights available to New York direct from Detroit.  Need to be at an important client meeting in NYC at 10 am.  No chance I’ll make it, but Chris is catching a 7:30 am flight and will be there in time to cover.  

—–Original Message—–
From: Chris
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 8:05 AM
To: Lara, Scott Gillum
Subject: Also having flight issues. Will arrive at LGA at 9:30

I will have Lara contact the client.

Travelogue 8:30 am – arrive DC and make the shuttle only to find Chris sitting on the plane.  No hope of being on time for the meeting now.  Ingest 2 Tums and Tylenol.

Return Flight

Travelogue 6:00 pm – call Lara to make sure my 6:30 pm shuttle is on time and to check weather condition.   Make comment that if there looks like there are any problems I will go to the train station and take a train back to DC.  Lara confirms that the flight is on time and looks good.

Travelogue 6:15 pm – check-in…flight is on time but notice 5:30 pm has been cancelled.  Plane departs gate on time.  Pilot announces that we will be parked for at least 30 mins waiting for our flight sequence.

Travelogue 7:00 pm – Pilot announces that he has no news but will update in 15 minutes…heart burn is back, grab Tums.  30 minutes later…we’re #5 for take-off.  We’re airborne. Yes, finally making it home! 

Travelogue 8:00 pm – Pilot announces that DC has stop inbound flights because of storms in the area.   We’ll be circling Dover, Delaware for at least 30 minutes.  Search briefcase for Tums to find a banana that I thru in earlier that day completely smashed…feels like wet oatmeal.

Travelogue 8:30 pm – Pilot announces that he has no news…but will update us again in 15 minutes.  15 minutes later makes announcement that they are still not taking flights and we’ll have to re-route to another airport to re-fuel.

Travelogue 9:15 pm – we land…in Baltimore.  No gate available, which is not a issue because…no one is available to bring the plane into the gate, or work the jet way, etc.  Tums are now gone.

—–Original Message—–
From: Scott Gillum
Sent: Wed, June 13, 11:21 pm
To: Lara
Subject: Didn’t make it back again…

Landed in Baltimore tonight.  Catching a cab…if I’m lucky.  I may or may not be in tomorrow.

Travelogue 9:45 pm – catch cab, 45 minutes should be home finally.  Get on I95 to find that 2 lanes are closed…traffic slows to a crawl.  Bile returning, stomach churning, head out the window…possibility of hurling is very real.   Call home and announce to my wife that I’ve landed and I’m quitting my job.

Travelogue ? – lost all track of time but finally home then realize…my car is parked at Reagan National.

Day 4 – Thursday, June 14  – grab a taxi to take me to Reagan to pick up my car.

Travelogue 12:45 pm – finally back in my office with a spiritual healer having my aura adjusted.  Find that I now have a twitch above my left eye brought on by any mention of a storm, airport or plane.  Just submitted a PO request for a “Madden Cruiser.”

 

The Social Manifesto

Original post date December 6, 2010 
I’m on the plane returning from Munich, Germany, and I’m having a “Jerry McQuire” moment.  Today’s Financial Times has an article on Mark Zuckerberg entitled; ‘This is just the early stage.’ In the article, “Zuck,” as friends call him talks about the new technologies and enhancements Facebook will be rolling out soon.
One of which is Facebook Deals, which according to Zuck, will transform the way local businesses reach consumers as they walk down the street. I had to laugh when I read that, as I thought about my previous night’s experience at the Christmas Market in heart of old town (Altstadt) Munich.

German Christmas Market

For those of you who have never been to Germany in December, christmas markets start at the end of November and go through Christmas. The markets, that seem to occupy every square in town, are a mix of vendors selling everything from Gluhwein (a seasonal drink of warm wine) to Christmas ornaments of all types. But, what is must remarkable, is the experience that it creates.
The streets are filed with families, tourists, business people, and college students as they mix drinking, eating, socializing and shopping. I was in a packed square with fresh fallen snow, carolers atop of the Rathaus, with probably 5000 people jammed into a city block, surrounded by vendors and stores filled with shoppers. It’s as close to as you can get to seeing the North Pole and Santa’s workshop.
So, it struck me as funny that Zuck could think that he could change that experience with Facebook. Zuckerberg tells the reporter, David Gelles, that “Facebook’s unique map of human relationships will change business forever.”  To that I say, Facebook, and Zuck, you know nothing about human relationships, and, with the help of other new technologies, you are helping to destroy it.

You only need to watch a pack of teenage girls texting while at the mall, or a father on his blackberry at his child’s sporting event to see it. New technologies are enabling to us to be absent from the present…more so than ever. One thing I noticed last night was the revelers were not checking their phones or texting, they were in the moment, enjoying each other and soaking in the experience…except me.

I was busy sending texts and photos to my wife and my kids pretending that they were with me, when what I really wanted was to have them there or to hear their voices. It left me hollow, longing and lonely, the reason I’m having my Jerry McQuire moment.

 

New technologies are a double edged sword. They can enable good and bad, depending on how we used them. They promise greater “interactions” or “engagement” but that’s not to be confused with, or substituted for, relationships. They are not the same. And for business, don’t confuse your followers as loyal customers, because they are not. Most people are engaging for selfish reasons, they need or want something. What they don’t want, or need, is a relationship with a vendor who only wants to sell them something.

What it has done is enable us to be more self-centered and lazy. “But Scott,” you say, “how can that be? I’m busier than ever, new technologies are helping stay in touch.” Allow me to explain.

The phone eliminates the need to have to go see someone, email and text freed us having to place a call, and now you can simply tweet or post a comment and wait for someone to “Like” it, or leave a comment. No need to get involved, just do it and feedback will be sent to you. “Ah, 10 people like my comment…that makes me feel good.” Really?
Relationships take work and sometimes they can be painful, but they make us feel alive. They’re not easy, and you can’t automate them. Time is finite, and how we spend it, along with those experiences, helps define us. We can’t make more of it, or get it back. The more time we invest with technology means it is coming from something or someone, and it’s keeping us from something, or someone.
Perhaps what Facebook, and other technologies are doing is redefining how we think about ourselves. Technology allows us to express ourselves without having to invest a whole lot of time or emotion. We can go broad without having to go deep.
People now measure themselves by how many friends or followers they have. but what does that mean? To me it means that we are taking time away from family members or customers to interact with people who we don’t, or hardly, know. Why?  Because it’s easy, convenient, provides immediate gratification, and we can carry it around with us at all time…it’s a social security blanket.
The voice in our head saying; “just go online and see what people are posting on your wall, it’s happening now…you should check.”  It’s leading us down the wrong road. More time online means less time spent offline.  I went to Germany…and I almost missed being there.
Facebook now has over a half a billion users. It’s a runaway train.  It fills a need, but so does fast food. Plenty of people have told us that eating it is bad for us, but it’s convenient, cheap and the high salt content keeps us coming back for more. But just as fast food restaurants offer the 1000 calorie meal, they also offer healthy alternatives. It’s up to us to make the right decision.
Our Facebook pages may feed the ego and give us a sense of immediacy, but it won’t nourish the soul, or satisfy our desire for intimacy.  To borrow liberally from Jerry McQuire; ”Technology, you don’t complete me…and you never will.”

Top 10 Truisms in Business

Original post date November  15, 2006

Over the last 25 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with well over 100 companies.  Some of them recognized as “best in class” while others brought up the rear…so to speak.   What has been interesting is the consistent themes, trends, and/or characteristics that determine where they land on that list.

Below are what I’ve observed to be the “Top 10 Truisms” of business behavior.

 The TOP 10

  1. Corporate Culture – is directly related to the CEO. He or she sets the tone that everyone else emulates.
  2. Trust – is the difference between a dysfunctional and a high performance team. If you can not trust the people you work with and/or who work for you, you can not perform at the highest level.
  3. 80/20 Rule – the Pareto Principal always, ALWAYS applies, whether it is revenue, profit, sales, people, etc.
  4. No New Customers – if you are an established company that has been in business for 10 years or more, you can achieve revenue and profit objectives solely based on doing a better job of capturing the opportunity in existing accounts (see the 80/20 rule).
  5. Marketing Contribution – 10-15% of Revenues– if you are in a mature marketplace and you have to use marketing to acquire new customers, sell new products, etc., know that it will not product more than 10-15% of your total revenues. The other 85-90% will come from the sales channels.
  6. The Rule of 70% – given the speed of today’s market, competitors, and customers, getting a product and/or marketing campaign/program 70% complete and out the door is good “enough.” Let customers/prospects complete the rest of the 30% for you. Less internal debate and more customer feedback makes for successful programs and products.
  7. NEW does not mean BETTER – everyone loves something new but it is the last thing that any company should focus on. Building/ selling/thinking NEW takes too long, cost too much and will have the lowest ROI. Focus first on getting more out of existing…and then invest in new (see 80/20 rule..again).
  8. Elephant in the Room syndrome – there are big problems impacting performance in every organization that everyone knows about but no one talks about or attempts to fix. They will treat the symptoms but not the core problem…call it career preservation. High performing companies (and leaders) create a culture that is open to addressing difficult issues.
  9. Risk Tolerance – fast growing and “best in class” companies have a culture of tolerating risk and/or failure. It is a HIGHLY valuable and a very real competitive advantage.
  10. Performance Dashboards – we recently completed a research study with the CMO Council that surveyed over 400 CMO’s in companies over $500 Million in revenue. 50% of the responders said that they have a Dashboard and 38% said that they were working on one. Here’s the truth…they don’t have a dashboard; they have an excel based “Report Card” of what they did, where they spent marketing dollars and what they got in return (hopefully).  The reality is that a real Dashboard has real time information and can allow you to forecast at least 30 days forward.  Don’t show everyone in the organization your “numbers” until you know how to move them in the right direction.

Since this posting, I’ve recognized two other “Truisms.”

  1. Sales Force Behavior – is consistent regardless of what they are selling, who they are selling it to, or the industry they work in.  As a result, it’s somewhat easy to predict how they will react in certain situations and/or to certain changes or challenges.  Good insight for marketers to know.
  2. Smart companies can’t tell you what they do – professional services firms are terrible at creating the “elevator” speech.  The reason is that they view the company as a reflection of the work they do with clients.  Each client and project being different, they form different opinions as to the organization’s value.

Please add your “Truism” in the comment section below.