Jim Estill Appointed as CEO and President of Danby

The big news for me is being appointed as the CEO of Danby.  I have been on the board for a few years so have high level familiarity with the company.  Now I need to get into the low level details.

Danby is a manufacturer of microwaves, compact refrigerators, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, freezers, ranges, washers and other small appliances.

From a recent Danby job posting:

Danby is a proudly Canadian company with a rich history spanning over 65 years.  We are currently a leader in the appliance market, producing innovative, quality products at competitive pricing.  Our products are marketed under seven brand names: Danby®, Danby Designer®, Danby Diplomat®, Danby Premiere®, Simplicity®, Arcticaire®, and Silhouette®, as well as some private brands like Sunbeam for major retail stores.

Danby’s goal of being the largest compact and specialty appliance company in North America is already being realized. Our strong leadership, creativity and innovation provide us with the tools to ensure future growth for many years to come.

This is not exactly what I did while I was with SYNNEX but there are many similarities - they both sell to large retailers like Walmart, Staples, Costco etc. as well as a large number of independent retailers.

Danby head office is in Guelph and has locations in Ohio and Massachusetts in the US as well as a location in China.

Danby is small enough that I feel I can make a difference and large enough that a small difference can be meaningful.  I like businesses that sell hundreds of millions.

Will be a fun and challenging gig.

My first 90 day plan is listen and learn as well as cement customer relations.  Of course nothing is that clear cut and I am impatient so will begin "doing" some things also.

My SEO/writing business - DDE Media will continue but will now be run by Paul, Lyle and Andrew.  The team of 14 people there are highly competent and able to continue that business well.

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And unrelated, I was interested to see the benefits of weightlifting even light weights as long as you lift to failure.  Now as a time management person, not sure I think it as efficient.  But as someone who has occasionally injured myself, I see the value/safety of more reps of lighter weights.

Dare to Serve

I am loving this weather.  It is hard to restrain myself from planting a garden.  I know the hard way that that would be foolish.  May 24 is the earliest planting date for me.

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I read a great book today - Dare to Serve - How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others by Cheryl Bachelder.  Cheryl is the CEO who successfully turned around fast food company Popeyes.

I was not sure I would like it because of a predetermined biased against Popeye's.  I do not eat fast food and Popeyes does not mesh with my view of what wholesome good food is.  I daresay their chickens are not organically free range raised.    I worry about childhood obesity too.  CBC has a good article on  "the cure parents will hate".  But I digress...

So I started with a negative bias but the book is awesome and perfect for any leader.

I think that Cheryl is a good person just from reading the book.  I have never met her.  She just seems like a great person.

Cheryl talks about the power of leading through serving.  She expands on the Jim Collin's level 5 leaders.  They look out first for the good of the company.

Much of good leadership has to do with ego and humility.  The world tends to heap praise on leaders and it is easy for that to go to your head.  I often say I am very lucky.

I liked the chapter on principles.  They drive the organization.

She also wrote about purpose and the importance of having clarity of purpose.

Some other style things I liked about the book:

1 - it is short and to the point

2 - it is peppered with quotes which I love.  (one of the great ones was "So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work"  Peter Drucker)

3 - I liked the summary at the end.  You could actually just read that and get most of the gist of it.

There is very little about Popeyes in the book - it is all about leadership.

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I am not a royal watcher but it did come to my attention that Will and Kate's baby arrived.  Apparently she bears a great resemblance to my own grand daughter, Elizabeth.

Do I have to have a chat with my son in law, Mario?  Should I tell Jennifer?

 

Shadow Work

I spent much of my weekend doing Shadow Work.   Shadow Work is all the little things that need doing but you are not paid for.  For example, today I went through my mail.  Then lots of it needed recycling and sometimes separating before going in the different bins.  And I was at the grocery store where I waited in line to self checkout.  And then returned the cart.  All Shadow Work.

And I sifted through dozens of emails - many deleted.  I filed my expenses.  More Shadow Work.

None of it was strategic (yet).  I will get to strategic work tonight.

I got the name Shadow Work from a book by Craig Lambert - Shadow Work - the unpaid,  Unseen Jobs That Fill Your Day.  Lambert took the term from Ivan Illich who coined it in his 1981 book.

So I "get" that there are lots of unpaid things that need doing.  Lambert actually laments the fact that it has increased with the advent of self service in almost everything.  I am not sure I would go that far - I think full service often converts unpaid work like pumping gas into more unpaid time waiting.  This is particularly true of ATMs or online banking.  They save Shadow Work usually.  They are faster than waiting in line for a teller.  Although they tend to have less personality (hopefully).

I know travel has a huge amount of the worst kind of shadow work.  CBC did a piece on how bad air travel is.  They did not even factor in the Shadow Work of booking it in the first place.

For many people, their biggest Shadow Work is commuting.  I have a short walk to work now but even so try to add value to the time by listening to the WSJ podcast.

The main point I get from Lambert's book is to "be aware" of all the Shadow Work I do.  And then decide what to do with it.  As much as possible, eliminate it?

Lambert makes the point that we should try to streamline the Shadow Work which is exactly what I am trying to do.  How can I do more in less time so I can spend more time in strategic areas.

His final chapter has a subchapter on "The Twilight of Leisure".  I am wondering if Lambert is not happy working.  "Work" as it is so called gets a bad rap.  It can be more fun than many leisure activities.

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One of my investments - Organimi released an easy org chart product.   Check it out.

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And a great slideshare on how successful people start their day.

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Grandson Josh and I when I still had my mountain man look from a vacation in Spain.  And one of the latest grandchild - Elizabeth.

The High-Speed Company Review

I was inspired today by a book (as I often am) called The High-Speed Company: Creating Urgency and Growth in a Nanosecond Culture by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton.

I was attracted to the title.  I am a big believer in sense of urgency as one prerequisite of success.  And with my new business - DDE Media, I am thinking a lot about the culture we need.

It starts with a compelling chapter - Doing Well by Doing Good.  This has long been one of my beliefs - so good start.  A quote from the book "Give people the why - they give you the how".  

A cute story from the book:

Teacher:  "How did you do on the test"

Student: "Good"

Teacher: "No, you did well - Superman does good".

I liked that this chapter affirmed that high urgency does not mean high stress.  Actually it means the opposite.  It means focus on the right things.  Have the right systems and processes.  There is a whole chapter on "Systematize Everything".  I have long been an advocate of Michael Gerbers book E-myth.  This chapter was a mini affirmation of E-myth.

Part of being high urgency or nimble if allowing people to do their jobs.  Push decision making down.  As the book says avoid "unnecessary leadership".

The only point I have slight disagreement with is "avoid CAVE people".  No - not those on the paleo diet but Citizens Against Virtually Everything.  I have actually had good success by keeping a few people around me who challenge everything.  It helps me think more and build a better case.  If you can sell a CAVE person, it likely is a good idea.

The authors advocate being close to your customers.  There was interesting stories of P and G visiting real families in Turkey to get close.  

And of course there was a chapter on communications.  Really listening - hearing.  Not like the Bette Midler quote "enough about me - lets talk about what you think about me".

Some quotes:

"Prioritize fanatically"

"Nothing fails like success"  (Success can cause complacency)   

""Success turns risk takers into caretakers"

"Who will not follow a leader who puts their own interests above their own"

"Those who succeed go through life not thinking "its all about me", they think "its all about others."

Really Great Mentors

I would like to be a really great mentor so I was attracted to Stephen Kohn and Vincent O'Connell's book:  9 Practices of really Great Mentors - How to Inspire and Motivate Anyone.

The book  is a self-actualizing and highly motivational read that portrays the many facets that mentors hold.

Starting off with more than one definition of what a mentor is, this book is incredibly inspiring and practical making it the fitting last book of a three part series by Stephen E. Kohn and Vincent D. O'Connell.

All of the key ideas discussed are applicable in developing a person’s full potential in life to help optimize an organization’s assets and to benefit from their own day to day life.

The use of the terminology ‘stretch goals’ clearly defines the role that a mentor plays in helping the protégé identify the process in hopes to accomplish their goals given that stretch goals are not reached immediately, but framed from a longer-term perspective.

Including a chapter explaining the difference between coaching versus mentoring someone was a nice touch as often times these two terms get muddled in the mentoring role.

9 Powerful Practices of Really Great Mentors displays positive and motivational messages that encourage the growth of the relationship between mentor and protégé. The relationship that develops between two individuals is mind-enriching and possesses the responsibility that both sides have to uphold in order for the relationship can grow. 

The mention of EQ (emotional quotient) having to be either near or at the same level as IQ (intelligent quotient) in chapter 6 acknowledges that there are other ways to measure intelligence and that not just one form of intelligence can define the human mind.

What was a bit disconcerting was stating that, “certain people might be at some sort of disadvantage within the organization or professional environment,” in chapter 3 followed with the confirmation that women are seen in this regard.

With many things in life, it is best to draft out your goals and strategy before putting your plans into actions. 9 Powerful Practices of Really Great Mentors is a great resource to use as a guide and inspiration in becoming the best mentor for your next protégé.

Quotes from the book:

"...the better you are at the mentoring role, the more likely your protégé will benefit from the relationship."

The moment of self-actualization for me is when I read, "...what I am aware of empowers me, and what I am unaware of controls me..."

A mentor's mantra should be, "seek first to understand, than to be understood. It is listening that is crucial along with fully understanding what is going on with your protégé- giving sound advice with context." 

Keep your eyes on the stars, but keep your feet on the ground – Theodore Roosevelt. 

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There is an interesting article in HBR on the reasons not to send emails after work hours.  Interesting points.  It conflicts with my efficiency slightly.  I like to get things off my plate.

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And cactus from my recent trip to Palm Springs where the weather is perfect.  The citrus fruit is unbelievable.  And the people are nice (like everywhere else)

Sales See Saw

We are new (since Dec 1/2014) in our new business - DDE Media.   We have almost 10 full time writers working at our office now (plus the bookkeeper, Graphics Designer, etc).  So the office has a bit of life.

I now am suffering for a start-up syndrome I have seen play out often.  I am really the only person who sells for us right now.  But I do some of the work (especially around SEO) and much of the orchestration.  So I am the limiting factor - the funnel point that limits growth.

What happens is one month, we close sales but the next we are scrambling to deliver on that work so we sell little.  And the sales see saw kicks in - high one month, low the next.

No genius solution - just an observation.

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Speaking of sales, I read an interesting book this weekend - Selling Above and Below the Line - Convince the C Suite, Win Over Management - Close the Sale by Skip Miller.

I always love any book on sales.  I can always learn something or be inspired more.    The goal is always to sell more, bigger and faster.

The problem Selling above and Below tries to solve is many times what appeals to the managers - the features and benefits do not make the sales to the CEO.  So it talks about the dual selling strategy.  I know when I was CEO of SYNNEX, I would often get the wrong pitch.  A pitch that was not in line with the overall corporate goals but one that was more feature oriented.

I liked chapter 16 that talked about accelerating the sale.  I know this is a challenge.  I have lots of sales that are 90% likely to happen but payroll that needs making now.

I particularly like any sales book that gives me ideas on increasing sales efficiency.  This is a lot about what sales tricks are all about.

Good sales people get rejected 80 or 90% of the time.  A good inspirational sales book helps pump them up to go out and sell another day.

I notice in my own selling of SEO work that I have a very strong lead up to the sale.  Everyone wants to speak to me.  Everyone likes the reports we do.  Everyone loves the presentation.  But then, many of them stop and do not follow through with the order.  So I need to figure out what that is all about.  I am thinking my benefits sell to the CEO but the managers see that it will create work for them so they balk.

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I am still grieving the loss of my father.  Part of the cycle of life though opens up space for all the young ones coming into the world which I am grateful for.

Youngest to oldest grandkids - Elizabeth (the one who likes to sleep), Xavier (who also likes to sleep), Victoria and Josh.

And then there were 4 (Grandkids that is)

I am not really a graphics designer.  I certainly have no training in the field.  So I suspect I break most design rules.

That is why Creative Anarchy - How to Break the Rules of Creative Design for Creative Success appealed to me.

This summary is from one of my writers at DDE.

Denise Bosler’s “Creative Anarchy" is a helpful and engaging read on modern graphic design. 

The text is cleverly divided into Bosler’s two fundamental principles of the subject: learning the rules and breaking the rules. Bosler is adamant that graphic designers need to be both rigorously unique and business savvy to achieve success within the evolving industry. 

“Creative Anarchy” is wonderfully colourful and beautiful composed; any person need simply flip through the many pages of high-resolution imagery to appreciate the ever-increasing artistic value of the medium. Plenty of historically successful design projects are scattered throughout the text, with Bosler explaining the commonalities between them that up-and-coming graphic designers should find extremely helpful in furthering their own careers.

 Perhaps the only gripe that I have with the text is that it might not be very accessible to readers unfamiliar with the concept of graphic design, although the fantastic imagery throughout the book should keep them entertained regardless. 

For those interested in pursuing a career in the field, however, “Creative Anarchy” is definitely a must-read.

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There is an interesting article on companies co-founding startups.  This makes logical sense to me.  Starting a company with a company as a co-founder would bring competitive advantage.

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One of my investments - Renomi.com has a new website.  They do change order management for construction projects.  You mean people make changes after they start their projects?

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Warren Buffet claims to eat like a 6 year old after studying the mortality rates and finding theirs are low.  Lots of Coke and candy.

Wondering if he perhaps has a conflict of interest with his investment in Coke and See's Candy.


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My step daughter, Jennifer and her husband Mario had a baby girl on the weekend.

Seems babies are popping up everywhere.

Trackimo - GPS Track anything

We have been reviewing a new GPS tracker called Trackimo at DDE Media. In all honesty it’s a pretty good product. It is small (like a small post it note size).  Fits in or attaches to anything.  Then you can track it with your phone or computer.

It is used to keep things safe.  Attach it to cars, bikes, luggage, pets - even kids.  And then watch real time where they are.

It’s a little eerie as well. My assistant tested it out before we started hiring writers and the device pinpointed him exactly at our work address. It claims a 50 foot margin of error but it hit the nail right on the head. Really impressed with the accuracy.

One of my writers compared monthly service fees with other GPS trackers and found that Trackimo is actually lower in the States than AT&T. The first year is free, so $5 a month afterward is a good deal on top.  It has some cool features as well like being waterproof (haven’t tested it), and an SOS button for emergencies, but its value definitely comes from the price and basic functionality.

You can set up zones and alerts to alert you if your Trackimo goes outside an area or goes close to something.  Very cool.

It is available on Amazon.

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No post is complete without a picture of my grandson - Baby Face Xavier.  He looks like he is wanted - I think that is what people need - to be wanted.

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It was a bit of a chilly walk to work today.  Minus 23C (minus 10F).  Still gorgeous.  Speed river is completely frozen.

Winter Wonderland and Empathic Acknowledging

I read a great little book by Lawrence Bookbinder PhD (Great name for an author) called Win Friends and Customers - Relationship and Business Success from Empathic Acknowledging.

I like sales books and have read dozens of them.  Most of them have a section on listening and I know this is one of the characteristics of a great sales person.  This whole book is about empathy.

Empathy is about real listening.

The book give numerous examples of how and why to do it.  It points out the benefit of doing it well and how many people need help learning to do it better.

I liked the chapter on the difference between empathy and sympathy (they are different).

There is an appendix with 24 key points that summarizes much of the substance of the book succinctly.  Things like "it is difficult to listen with empathy if you dislike the person" and "Giving empathic acknowledging during conversation is rarely done - a tragic situation because we deprive ourselves of its life-enhancing benefits"

A part of me wonders if empathy can be learned or if it is simply a part of who we are.  I do think it can be enhanced but I think it naturally has to be there to start.

Quotes from the book:

Being heard and understood is "one of the greatest desires of the human heart"...Richard Carlson

Being listened to with empathy and acknowledgement is a vital human need... Bookbinder


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I am still suffering from waves of sadness over the loss of my father.  My brother Lyle wrote a fitting blog entry on him.  When I think I am over it, it hits me again.  People say you never get over the loss of a parent.

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I enjoyed my walk to work through about a foot of fresh snow.  I love my Baffin boots - warm, keep the snow out and mostly because they are comfortable.

Wilderness Deficit Disorder

Life is slowly returning to normal after the death of my father.

I have a blogging rule to not blog when I am not "up".  Thinking now I may be able to get back to it.  Not that I am not still sad - just that I do not feel I can do anything but let grief take its course.

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For some reason, I am thinking I need to escape to the wilderness for a few days.   Perhaps too much hectic life/travel lately.  I am setting up a new business - DDE Media Company (more on that later) and that always takes a lot of time and energy.

There has been a lot written about Nature Deficit Disorder but little written on Wilderness Deficit Disorder (although I do not think I made up the syndrome).

I suspect many people have never really experienced wilderness so there is less research.

I have done quite a bit of canoe tripping - just not enough lately.  Not sure why I would think of it in the dead of winter.

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I know it is snow season - not garden season.  I wonder if snow shoveling is the equivalent of gardening from a health view.  I have seen few articles on that but lots on the benefits of gardening.

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I find myself stressed.  As I look at it though, I figure out that all of it is stress I am causing myself.  Part of this is by "standards" I hold myself to (EG - up to date on reading, clean den, even maintaining a social media footprint etc.).

In my opinion this stress occurs when the reward to too disconnected from the activity.  Sometimes this can be a time disconnect.   Sometimes it can be because the outcome is not assured.  EG - write an article but it may not get read and even then will it result in opportunities.

I know we choose our reaction to outside happenings so no one or nothing can cause stress if we do not choose to let it.

The same needs to be true of these internal stresses.  Being stressed detracts from enjoyment and does not add to performance.  Now to be zen...

Continued Inspiration from my father - Don Estill

My father died exactly one week ago.  He was 87.

Up to then and this week have been a blur.  Although I have grieved often since his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in October 2014, I still grieve and actually look for "time" to grieve.

I knew he was dying and asked him if I could do anything for him.  His answer was "no".  And he did not have needs so I thought of only one thing I could do.  I named my new company after him - DDE Media Company.  He alway initialed things DDE and my brothers and I would call him DDE sometimes when we spoke about him.  And he always took a keen interest in business so I thought he would appreciate it.

Dad was a picture of health until his diagnosis and actually enjoyed a good life for almost a year after the diagnosis.  His wonderful health was not an accident.  He worked hard on it.  He worked out daily and tracked his progress.  I asked my brother Glen (the executor) if I could have his workout record which span decades.

He ate almost perfectly.  Everything was home made from scratch.  The bread being the most memorable for me.  When I was young I was jealous of school friends who got "white" bread.  Ours was heavy whole wheat/multigrain.  Now I hardly ever eat white bread and appreciate "healthy" bread.

One lesson I learned from Dad was self discipline (although he was way more self disciplined than I am).

He was the picture of moderation.  I tried to get him to run a 5K when he was in his early 80's but he thought it was "too extreme".  I knew from his workout routine that he could have done it easily.  He was walking 2 miles per day and going on the elliptical trainer in the common gym where he lives for 30 minutes a few times each week in addition to doing some weight training.

I am not sure I learned moderation yet.

The elliptical trainer had been a gift from my brothers and I when my parents moved into Arboretum Village.

He was a life long tee totaller and of course never smoked.

One of Dad's characteristics which I always admired was his humility.  Nothing and no body was beneath him.  He exhibited that in spades when he came to work for EMJ after he retired.  He would do anything from picking up the mail to helping build an office to doing mundane accounting (I have yet to learn his fastidious accounting record ways)

He was highly organized.  On Meyers Briggs he would be off the scale J.  He did it naturally - I do not ,which is why I think I had to write a book on Time Management.  It was my way of learning it.  He did not need to learn it.

His service was well done.  As I listened to the stories by my brother, son and niece, I thought "What will my legacy be".  Dad certainly left a huge legacy and impact on the people who knew him.

To live a life thinking of the legacy left is powerful and inspirational to me.

My son, David, spoke of the "what would Don do" question that could be used to determine action in any ethical dilemma.

My niece spoke about how each of us carry a bit of Dad in all of us.  I was later sent a video that reinforced this thought.   It is comforting.

I was moved that a young friend, Tara Jamieson, wrote a song about Dad.

It is before 7 on a Sunday as I write this so it brought another thought.  I learned getting up early.  Dad always was up early.  Even into his 80's he would never sleep in.  He valued work ethic and this was one of his ways of showing that.

Dad, we will miss you.  

Seven Disciplines of a Leader

I am once again back to posting book reviews.  The way the holidays fell, there was lots of "reading" time.

I read Seven Disciplines of a Leader - How to Help Your People, Team, and Organization Achieve Maximum Effectiveness by Jeff Wolf.

It starts with a few chapters on "What is the job of a leader" including that it is not that easy.

Then it gets into the Disciplines.  The first one is "Initiative and Influence".  The subtitle was the way I like to lead.  It said "Set an Example for Others".

Then it moves to "Vision, Strategy and Alignment" which I thought might be a bit theoretical but it jumps right into the progression from plans to accomplishments.

Throughout the book are examples to drive home the points.  The example given for this one was Mollie Katzen who was starting a new venture.  Her first critical rule was "Capitalize on your past and reputation".  It certainly resonates with what I am doing now.

Discipline 4 was Social, Emotional and Political Capital.  (yes I did skip Discipline 3 - I am not doing a book summary, I am commenting on the book).  I would add Adversity Capital.  I am a big believer in the importance of the Q's - EQ, PQ, AQ and to a lesser extent - IQ.

Discipline 6 - Love and leverage.  There is no substitute for passion about work.

After the 7 Disciplines, it had 11 Practices of Highly Effective Leaders.

Practice 5 was "master communication".  And a Jeff Wolf quote "Listen more - talk less"

Good book - I learned from it and got some ideas.

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I almost did not blog today because one of my blogging rules is to only blog when I am "up".

My father is sick and that is overriding much of my thought.

The end of life brings sadness.  The beginning brings hope.  So some grandkid pictures to brighten the day:

Moving The Needle

I like the lull of Christmas week.  Less email.  Good family time.  And time for me to start reading again.  So I am way behind in posting book reviews.  So here goes the first one:

I read Moving the Needle by Joe Sweeney.  It is a particularly appropriate book to read at this time of year because much of it is about goal setting.

Sweeney makes the point that moving the needle happens when you "get clear, get free and get going".  "When it comes to getting clear - first get quiet".  So true - perhaps that is why I like this time of year.  Less email, meetings and interruptions so it is easier to slow down a bit.

And the "get going" is also my favourite - Just do it. (Still waiting for Nike to sue me or send me a free pair of running shoes (note to Nike - that is size 9 1/2))

One of my easiest tricks to get going is to "get started".  I tend to make headway if I just start.

I always believe in being grateful.  One of the chapters is "your perspective determines your freedom".  And there he lists some world facts:

33% of the population will die from lack of food
33% of the population will die from some obesity related illness
68% of the people cannot read
30% live on less than $2.50/day
15% lack clean drinking water
We are the fortunate few!

As with all goal setting - he reminded to "start with the end in mind" and "break big goals down into smaller pieces".

I loved Chapter 10 on Habits (I have often blogged about Success Habits).   Of course the author believes that habits are hugely important to success.  One interesting angle he took was how to change bad habits into good ones.  And it is much easier to change a bad one into a good one that just break a bad habit.  Unfortunately, Sweeney does point out that good habits can be tough to form and bad ones can be easy to pick up.

Being a health guy, I liked his 7 health habits (most easy to follow - some tough)

1 - Drink lots of water
2 - get 7 hours sleep
3 - Limit alcohol
4 - no diet soda
5 - exercise or work out daily (and today of all days my beloved Fitbit decided not to work)
6 - spend time in nature
7 - Turn off the TV and pick up a good book (and I would add turn off the computer to that)

Anyways - good and inspirational book.  Especially good if you take the time to do all the exercises at the end of each chapter (which I admit, I did not do all of)

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My Texas grandson - Xavier.  About 5 weeks old:

More Xavier Austen Pictures

Xavier and I did Google hangouts yesterday.  He is a person of few words.  It means anything he does say has a lot of weight.


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I like the long time (like 20+year) bike law in Idaho that allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs.  Lets get that through in Guelph/Ontario.  Good video on it here.

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On Procrastination:

“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”  Jerome K. Jerome

Xavier Charles Estill Austen

I am once again a proud grandfather.  

Mother Laura and baby are both doing well and healthy.

Xavier Austen. 5 lbs 15 oz, 19.5 inches, born 19 November 2014 at 1:46 pm.  He arrived about a month early.  He already is trying to be punctual - a skill that will serve him well in life.

I am not sure what is with the toque - he lives in Texas and they have no snow.  Perhaps he is just trying to make a fashion statement.

Statistical Success Yes - But Long Term Measurements are Tougher

The advent of the internet and internet advertising seemed to push a move towards measuring direct results.  Spend $1000 on ads and see if it yields $1000 in results.    Statistically experiment with small tests to see if it pays more to advertise with this catch phrase or that, with green or blue, in the morning or night etc.

I am a big believer in split run testing.  Try multiple experiments to see what works best.  Test on small samples before spending money on larger ones.

Measure everything to figure out the repeatable system that yields success.

This same measurement and documentation is what Michael Gerber pushes in his classic book series E-Myth.  He proposes that all businesses should McDonaldcize themselves.  Have detailed process manuals so anyone can do the job.  And work continually on figuring out how to make the process better.  He advocates that the entrepreneur should work ON the business - not IN the business.

I have been doing some Growth Coaching with some medium sized companies.  I have been promoting that for those who are about to hire a sales force.  Figure out a model and repeat it.  Most of them already use that for their internet marketing so it is surprising that they would find it new to do this in growing a sales team.

Formulas work.

And that could be the end of the story but it is not.  The problem with many long-term challenges are the outcomes do not happen fast enough to know exactly what works and what does not.  This is where entrepreneurial intuition comes in.  We never really know what will work but we have to choose intuitively to do them.



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I read there may be a chocolate shortage.  Apparently we may be hitting peak chocolate - the point where demand outstrips supply.  For some, I am sure that crisis is more important than peak oil even.

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People have a very narrow "comfort range".  We artificially extend that with heat, air conditioners and various clothing.   We also seem to "complain" about it which solves nothing.

I actually think the current touch of snow is gorgeous.

Efficiency vs Health

I have to admit to being a bit of a Fitbit addict.  Fitbit tracks steps and it has a social media component that allows people I am "connected" to see how many steps I do and I can see what they do.  And my kids and brothers all have them.  Not that I am competitive at all but Lyle particularly pushes me a bit since I do not want him to have more steps than I do.

So how does this relate to efficiency which is really the theme of this blog?  For perfect efficiency, I should set my life up to take less steps.  I should have all my files at my desk and everything I need should be in reach.  But to get more steps, it is best to have to go to the basement to file things and get up to get things.  I find the steps I get for just doing "normal" stuff as opposed to "working out" are fairly easy.  So building a life with "fairly easy" built in seems logical.

Or a more blatant example.  I could drive my car to a meeting or walk.  Walking might take 15 minutes longer so is less efficient.  And the same is true of automation and hiring things done (EG - mowing the grass or manually emptying the dehumidifier rather than piping it direct to the drain)

So I am conflicted since I am an efficiency and a health person.  Which do I choose.

So... moving the file cabinet to the basement...furthest from my desk I can get it.

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Speaking of health, I always thought it was more fiscally prudent to own a car rather than lease it.  But recent research links car ownership with poor health.

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By the way, in case you have not seen this yet, have a look at the blog post put out by Hootsuite when they launched the controlled BETA trials.

 http://blog.hootsuite.com/new-hootsuite-feature-content-suggestion/

Content curation and moderation is one of the next waves that will automate.  It has been going on for years (we let the editors choose what they think is important).  Soon, machines will be assisting in this task.

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One of my friends owns a multihundred million dollar company that sells hardwood.  I needed some hardwood flooring so bought it from him.

He was teasing that his margins were down this month because of the order he sold to me to which I replied "if you think your margins are bad this month, next month it will be your bad debts you have to worry about."

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Spam takes time but not as much as it seems.  I can log in and see 100 emails waiting but if they are all spam, that is about a minute to deal with them.  Now if I have to act on them, it can be a couple of hours.

That said, I do think the new Canadian Spam law might help reduce the number of unwanted emails.  Of course half my business interests are in the US and it will not help those.

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And my son who works selling wind turbines at Siemens thought it was only fair if I put pictures of my other kids children on my blog I should include his.

Article Clipping at its Best

My mother is an article clipper.  When I stop by, she often has articles she clipped from a newspaper or magazine for me.  And she does this for everyone else in her life.

I realize I have become the same way.  The difference is most of what I read is online so I clip URLs and email them to people that I think might be interested in an article.  And many of the articles I email were emailed to me - so I am just passing them on.

She clipped an article/book report that combined a review on 2 books - The Organized Mind - Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel Levin and The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We've Lost in the World of Constant Connections by Michael Harris.

"In 2011, Americans (and I assume Canadians) took in 5 times as much information as they did in 1986."

As the titles suggest, information and connectivity are a problem and we need strategies to cope.  I know this first hand.  When I was in "CEO mode", I was fast and responsive.  Lately I have noticed I am less so.  Thinking I can use some of the strategies suggested in these books.  More for my reading list.

Silence can be empowering.

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Some interesting tidbits:

CEO's who run marathons are better CEO's.  This seems intuitive in the discipline needed to run a marathon.  Good CEO's are goal driven and a marathon is often a goal.  I also know it requires a high level of fitness to lead an executive life.  Where it is counter intuitive is real marathon training takes a lot of time.  It would be tough to properly train in even 6-7 hours per week.  Marathons are beyond fitness (I say this - yet I have run 6 of them).

I like the Goldman Sachs article on the internet of things.  I am taken back to my early days in business when we sold a lot of analogue to digital boards (well a lot relative to being a small company).  Those are the basis of most of the internet of things - they allow sensors to be read (temperature, pressure, etc.)

Growing Ice Cream

From an email exchange with a friend on what makes successful entrepreneurs:

listen - filter - learn - lead

Not blind obedience.

Work ethic - time management - energy - passion.

And the appropriate mix of dreams and reality, focus and trying different things.

Statistical experimentation.

Learning is the big one.

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I thought this simple article on 5 things to do before bed to jump start your day was good.

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And for those who thought they were too old to start a venture.

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And always thinking of Venture Returns.

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I was speaking with my grandson, Josh while we were eating dinner:

Josh:  Grandpa - do you like zucchini?

Me: Of course - it is great.

Josh while squeezing the zucchini from his plate in his hand: you can have mine

And later we were talking about my garden, planting seeds, harvesting etc:

Me:  I grow zucchini, lettuce, beets, beans and lots of herbs in my garden.  Are you going to have a garden when you grow up?

Josh:  Yes

Me: What are you going to grow?

Josh:  Ice Cream

No Substitute for Time in - But Perfect Time in

I love the early mornings.  So many things I love to do in these hours.  Cannot say I am a great fan of the darkness at 6 AM now though.

One of my favourite thought leaders and authors, Malcolm Gladwell,  studied what made people experts in their field.   Through his studies, he found that people who put more time in became more proficient and more expert.  His magic number was 10,000 hours makes a person expert.  Want to become a piano master?  Practice for 10,000 hours.  Want to become a great artist? Practice for 10,000 hours.

I took karate for about a decade.  My karate instructor said "perfect practice makes perfect - practice alone does not".  There is validity in that - spending the time practicing wrong just makes you perfect at doing things wrong.

I also know this from playing internet chess mindlessly.  I can put the hours in but get no better.  To improve requires focus, study and perfect practice.

I know there is no substitute for time in.  I have an organic vegetable garden.  If I spend time, it has few weeds and few pests.  Interestingly, in this case, mindless puttering gets the job done - no perfection required.

But it is not all about time - it is about energy.  I know when I am high energy (like early mornings), I have the focus to do "perfect".  When I am tired, I tend to do mindless.  So from an efficiency view - anything I can do to increase the amount of energy or high energy hours, the more effective I will be.  And if I spend my high energy hours on high perfection task, I will accomplish more.

And the puttering time can still add value to the things that can be accomplished with puttering.

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A good friend of mine's daughter did her movie debut in a Jennifer Anniston movie  - Life of Crime.  I am looking forward to watching it.

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And a quote for the day:

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

George Carlin

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I am thinking I need to do a songbook.  Just like IBM did in 1937.  Check it out.

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To provoke thought, there is a good article in the Atlantic on the new editors of the internet.

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The grandkids - Victoria and Josh.  Puttering or perfect practice?  Or perhaps just enjoying being.