Habits

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore, is not an act, but a habit."……..Aristotle

Complexity

I took most of the weekend off. Mostly with high guilt. I was in California and my brother, Mark, was also on the west coast doing a trade show so we got together. He is the glue that holds the brothers together. Constantly keeping in touch and keeping us together. Also a very fun and good person. So great weekend but feeling not totally ready for the week. Board meetings and conferences this week.

I have been thinking about complexity in business. Bob Huang commented that complexity in distribution is not linear. Larger and more initiatives makes it more complex. Double the size is four times as complex.

True genius is being able to simplify the complex.

The Power of Blogs

I am in the Air Canada lounge waiting to fly again.

A friend emailed me a story about how to get bloggers to evangelize their products.. As bloggers, we own a media. Media is power. We can influence positively or negatively. I believe increasingly that companies will pay more attention to bloggers.

Off to fly.

Free, Perfect and Now

"Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing life is made up of little things."

by Frank Clark

This quote is particularly true in the computer distribution business. Our sales volumes are high and our margins are razor thin. There is little margin for waste or error. Distribution is all about the little things. Do them fast, do them right and do them cost effectively many many times.

I spend a lot of my time working on my systems. Good systems or process makes for high efficiency. Hence the continual quest for improvement.

A good book on distribution is "Free, Perfect and Now" by my aquantance Rob Rodin who used to run an electronics distributor. He speaks of changing culture within a distribution company and the challenges of it. The title says it all. The customers want it "free, perfect and now" every time. It is our job to deliver that.

He knows it is culture that allows a distributor to thrive long term and also knows how easy it is for the culture to change in small ways over time so profitability and even survival are at stake. Good book worth reading if you are in distribution.

Now I go focus on the little things and ponder the culture we need for long term success.

Storytelling

I read a book by Mary LoVerde called, "Touching Tomorrow". It is not really as much of a book to read as a project to do. The thesis is that you should do a video or an audio (interview) with your parents or grandparents while they are still around. Get them to tell their story.

I know my sister-in-law did a very high impact version similar to this. It was not having my parents speak; rather it was having other people talk about my parents. This was given to my parents as a Christmas gift.

It sounds like a great project - I wish I had more time. Maybe I should read my eBook or listen to my CD.

It ties in nicely to a book that my mother loaned me called, "Storycatcher" by Christina Baldwin. The thesis of Storycatcher is that everyone has a story inside them and it is good to tell it.

My Mother is a storyteller and she tells stories at schools and libraries, etc. She has also been a reading inspiration for me. From the time that I was little, she would read bedtime stories and I think this is partly what inspired my current reading.

One of the quotes from the book is, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands in times of challenge and controversary" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Focus

One basis of Time Management is prioritizing and focusing on what is important. What is frustrating me now is the 4 top priorities I have on cannot be moved forward. Everything is in the other parties court.

I usually have three or four large projects on the go that are my top priorities. I review what I am doing on those projects daily and I think about them almost all of the time. This allows me to move forward quickly on them usually.

In some sense it seems strange doing this because I need ignore some of my other busy work as far as other meetings, calls, etc., and this goes against my grain because I pride myself on being very fast, responsive, and available.

I have found that this focus is the way that I can add the most value to what I do.

Guelph Lake Triathlon

I did a Sprint Triathlon today. 3/4 Kilometer swim, 19 K cycle and 5 K run.

The day was cold and rainy. Because I did not register in advance, I showed up early. Early enough to get rained on and stand in the wind for a while. I put on my wetsuit early but even so was cold.

I did the 3/4 K swim in 18:35. Not my best time but OK. Way too many people in the water. The water was fairly calm - not too choppy thankfully. The bouys had blown out of position so I suspect I actually swam quite a bit more. I was kicked several times. Thought I would have a black eye but seem Ok. It seems that half way through any of these swims I begin to think I should stop. No easy way out though. So I finished. Thanks to my 2 swimming lessons from Danielle who just competed in switzerland, I think it was easier on me.

19K cycle was interesting. The rain meant my brakes did not work. The photo (I am the front rider) is near the transition, trying to stop. I almost took my hybrid bike with larger, higher traction tires but did not. Still, respectable time at 44:55. No falls.

5 K run was fine. I like running in the rain. 23:49 which is OK for me. I passed a lot of people. Major blisters though since my shoes where wet. I chose to wear no socks to shorten the transitions and I figured in the rain, it made little difference.

My goal was to finish and I did. Total including transitions of 1:32:10. It is the sort of thing I am glad to have finished.

I use labout day weekend as a goal setting weekend. This will absorb much of the rest of my weekend.