As I continue on my quest for self knowledge, I thought I would get input. I want to see how others' see me. The value I add is what it is to others.
For example, if I think I am the best orator in the world but if the audience are bored stiff, then it is foolish for me to be an orator.
So, I really would appreciate it if you could take a moment to do the following survey about me:
Survey about Jim Estill.
I took the weekend off and was a tourist in Boston. Everything is old and they are proud of it. Every shop, pub and church said "Boston's first pub", "The oldest shop in America", "The last standing building of this architecture", "The friendliest service in Boston", etc. I am thinking of opening a business with a sign "Not real old, pretty good service, similar to many other shops here".
I read a compilation of articles made into a book "Benjamin Graham on investing". Graham is the value investing ideology the Warren Buffet follows. Buffet worked for Graham for a couple of years. "If you buy shares in a company you are an owner so only buy shares of a company you want to own".
One problem with articles is they are topical at the time but the companies referenced are no longer in business in most cases. So no hot stock tips (and of course the basis of value investing is there is no such thing as a stock tip).
What is interesting is to see the methods he uses. Most of it is common sense. But then again, common sense is not that common.
He placed a high emphasis on the balance sheet and the numbers. Although he does not ignore the fundamentals of what the business does, he does not spend as much time as I do in trying to vision the future. The other factor that seemed weak was the attention to management and entrepreneurial creativity within the companies he analysed.
It was interesting to see that Graham owned majority control of Geico at one point and now Buffet owns it.
One possibility for me now would to just become an investor. But this seem dry to me and I do not think I would make my greatest contribution by just investing.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Keys - Open the Door to True Empowerment
8 days of unemployment (plus a weekend which I think also counts). I am busier than I expected. I actually have things to do. Lots of calls and emails as expected when the news of my departure hit. Now it is mostly people trying to entice me to do something else. I am determined to take at least 90 days to figure out properly what I want to do. It is tough for me not to jump right into things.
All businesses started as ideas in someones mind. I have lots - the key is to develop the right one.
I am in a strange space personally. I resigned most of my board positions (but not RIM), and moved to a new country, leaving my friends and family. I have only been here 75 days but most of the social ties I had started to develop are cut (they were mostly employees, suppliers, customers, bankers, accountants etc at Nu Horizons). Now it seems awkward for many of them. So I am busy cultivating new circles. Interesting...
I read a great book by my friend Denise Marek and her friend Sharon Quirt called "The Keys - Open the Door to True Empowerment and Infinite Possibilities". I liked Denise's previous book - Calm so I knew I would like this one.
It starts:"We know from history that unless we're challenged, human nature has a tendency to settle for mediocrity". It then goes on to encourage that appropriate challenge.
The keys:
Awareness - I spend a lot of time soul searching. Trying to figure out where my greatest values lie. The better I know myself, the better I am able to add value.
Acceptance - I fight this one - always "working" to change anything that I think needs changing. I realize at some level this causes me angst and does not allow me to be as zen and part of me thinks I should be.
Forgiveness - This assumes that we are not taking control of our own reactions to things. No one can make us feel bad. True maturity would be not having to forgive because we take full responsibility for our reactions.
Freedom - The ultimate goal.
The keys are simple and obvious which are usually the best sort of reminders.
The book is short, easy to read and fast which I like. To get the best value though, it needs to be pondered.
And changing topics...
Business week has some short story boards. One that provokes thought was brought to my attention. 13 management mistakes. It is inspired by the book Oops - 13 Management Practises that Waste Time and Money. I am looking forward to reading the book.
I have not been waking up as early as I would like (although I was up at 4:30 today) to so I wrote an article on why and how to wake up early. Good article by Jim Citrin on the same topic here.
All businesses started as ideas in someones mind. I have lots - the key is to develop the right one.
I am in a strange space personally. I resigned most of my board positions (but not RIM), and moved to a new country, leaving my friends and family. I have only been here 75 days but most of the social ties I had started to develop are cut (they were mostly employees, suppliers, customers, bankers, accountants etc at Nu Horizons). Now it seems awkward for many of them. So I am busy cultivating new circles. Interesting...
I read a great book by my friend Denise Marek and her friend Sharon Quirt called "The Keys - Open the Door to True Empowerment and Infinite Possibilities". I liked Denise's previous book - Calm so I knew I would like this one.
It starts:"We know from history that unless we're challenged, human nature has a tendency to settle for mediocrity". It then goes on to encourage that appropriate challenge.
The keys:
Awareness - I spend a lot of time soul searching. Trying to figure out where my greatest values lie. The better I know myself, the better I am able to add value.
Acceptance - I fight this one - always "working" to change anything that I think needs changing. I realize at some level this causes me angst and does not allow me to be as zen and part of me thinks I should be.
Forgiveness - This assumes that we are not taking control of our own reactions to things. No one can make us feel bad. True maturity would be not having to forgive because we take full responsibility for our reactions.
Freedom - The ultimate goal.
The keys are simple and obvious which are usually the best sort of reminders.
The book is short, easy to read and fast which I like. To get the best value though, it needs to be pondered.
And changing topics...
Business week has some short story boards. One that provokes thought was brought to my attention. 13 management mistakes. It is inspired by the book Oops - 13 Management Practises that Waste Time and Money. I am looking forward to reading the book.
I have not been waking up as early as I would like (although I was up at 4:30 today) to so I wrote an article on why and how to wake up early. Good article by Jim Citrin on the same topic here.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Free stuff and Russian Time Routlette
Following along from my post yesterday on Free - the future of Radical Price. I have 2 free e-books you can get:
1 - In a prior post I mentioned that I was impressed by a new book entitled Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, written by Sam Carpenter It's available on Amazon and in book stores, but with my special arrangement with Sam, until August 15th, you can download the pdf version for free.
To receive the pdf, visit Sam's website workthesystem.com, find the "Special Book Promotion" window, and use the password "estill." This will not be live until tomorrow morning.
2 - And email me at jimestill at gmail dot com and I will send you a free eBook version of my Time Management Book.
And your time tip for the day came from a book by Stephanie Winston's time management classic - Getting Organized:
Russian Time Management Roulette
Write down perhaps 10 to 12 things that need to be done on different slips of paper. Fold the slips so you cannot see which is which.
Mix in some breaks and fun stuff on the task slips. I like to make each task 15-20 minutes.
Then say to yourself whichever slip you draw, you will do it. Then just mix the slips and draw to see which gets done first. This is a fun game that gets things done.
1 - In a prior post I mentioned that I was impressed by a new book entitled Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, written by Sam Carpenter It's available on Amazon and in book stores, but with my special arrangement with Sam, until August 15th, you can download the pdf version for free.
To receive the pdf, visit Sam's website workthesystem.com, find the "Special Book Promotion" window, and use the password "estill." This will not be live until tomorrow morning.
2 - And email me at jimestill at gmail dot com and I will send you a free eBook version of my Time Management Book.
And your time tip for the day came from a book by Stephanie Winston's time management classic - Getting Organized:
Russian Time Management Roulette
Write down perhaps 10 to 12 things that need to be done on different slips of paper. Fold the slips so you cannot see which is which.
Mix in some breaks and fun stuff on the task slips. I like to make each task 15-20 minutes.
Then say to yourself whichever slip you draw, you will do it. Then just mix the slips and draw to see which gets done first. This is a fun game that gets things done.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Free - The Future of Radical Price and The Experience Economy
I am just back from a day at Fire Island - a beach community that does not allow cars. Amazingly busy place for a Friday. I thought people worked on Friday. I also thought there was a tight economy but that too seems forgotten there.
I read one book and listened to one. They both play to each other so I thought I would review them together. One is Chris Anderson's "Free - The Future of Radical Price" which you can download for free. Anderson is the editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail, one of my favorite books.
Malcolm Gladwell (another of my favorite authors) did a great review of Free in New Yorker.
The thesis is Free is a business model that is here to stay - particularly in information and software. I know I use a lot of free tools is social networking like Statcounter, Blogger, Ping.fm, Hootsuite, Twitter, Linkedin and facebook. I pay nothing for them. And I also contribute a lot to free - my blog is free (although there is some small advertising revenue and I suppose it sells Time management books)
So how do companies make money when things are free?
1 - They sell advertising so the user gets it for free but the advertisers pay.
2 - They are Fremium meaning they have a premium product that people can upgrade to if they choose. it has been shown if people like something they often want a premium brand of the same thing.
He encourages people to think abundance - not scarcity. My brother, Lyle, ascribes to this theory in a big way.
He sizes the "Free" economy as about the size of a small country like Canada.
The second book is "The Experience Economy - Work Is Theatre and Every Business is a Stage" by Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore. The gist of the message - make your product an experience. Do not sell on price. There are tons of examples where identical products are sold at different prices because of the experience associated with one - EG restaurants. Escape price - sell experience.
An experience engages customers in a memorable way. And experiences need to constantly change. Once we experience delight and memorable, we expect that to be the minimum so we need to up our game.
Experience comes in 4 ways:
1 - Entertainment - amuse people - they pay for that.
2 - Education
3 - Escapism - treat the imagination.
4 - Aesthetic - for me, great wonders of nature are hard for man made monuments to top - EG - hike the Grand Canyon.
Engage all the senses.
Increasingly I see people willing to pay for experiences - often paying for things that were free. For example - paying to join a running club. And I certainly see the need to not be a commodity and see that "Experience" if well done can make the difference.
Both great books for me at this juncture in my life. I am trying to figure out the future of business as that is the way to thrive.
I read one book and listened to one. They both play to each other so I thought I would review them together. One is Chris Anderson's "Free - The Future of Radical Price" which you can download for free. Anderson is the editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail, one of my favorite books.
Malcolm Gladwell (another of my favorite authors) did a great review of Free in New Yorker.
The thesis is Free is a business model that is here to stay - particularly in information and software. I know I use a lot of free tools is social networking like Statcounter, Blogger, Ping.fm, Hootsuite, Twitter, Linkedin and facebook. I pay nothing for them. And I also contribute a lot to free - my blog is free (although there is some small advertising revenue and I suppose it sells Time management books)
So how do companies make money when things are free?
1 - They sell advertising so the user gets it for free but the advertisers pay.
2 - They are Fremium meaning they have a premium product that people can upgrade to if they choose. it has been shown if people like something they often want a premium brand of the same thing.
He encourages people to think abundance - not scarcity. My brother, Lyle, ascribes to this theory in a big way.
He sizes the "Free" economy as about the size of a small country like Canada.
The second book is "The Experience Economy - Work Is Theatre and Every Business is a Stage" by Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore. The gist of the message - make your product an experience. Do not sell on price. There are tons of examples where identical products are sold at different prices because of the experience associated with one - EG restaurants. Escape price - sell experience.
An experience engages customers in a memorable way. And experiences need to constantly change. Once we experience delight and memorable, we expect that to be the minimum so we need to up our game.
Experience comes in 4 ways:
1 - Entertainment - amuse people - they pay for that.
2 - Education
3 - Escapism - treat the imagination.
4 - Aesthetic - for me, great wonders of nature are hard for man made monuments to top - EG - hike the Grand Canyon.
Engage all the senses.
Increasingly I see people willing to pay for experiences - often paying for things that were free. For example - paying to join a running club. And I certainly see the need to not be a commodity and see that "Experience" if well done can make the difference.
Both great books for me at this juncture in my life. I am trying to figure out the future of business as that is the way to thrive.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Simple ADD Time management Tip
This is the start of day 3 as an unemployed CEO. Not sure it has sunk in yet as my volume of email and calls is still quite high. I even have one potential interim job that I will likely take. Helping a friend negotiate the sale of his company. I also have a speaking gig teaching my Time Management course to a local company. So as expected, all is good.
I am determined to take some time off to figure out what I want to do. As a person of action, I know this will be difficult for me. Intellectually, I know this is the right thing.
My time tip for the day is simple. Leave any room a bit neater than when you entered it. I do not like to spend hours cleaning or tidying a room. Doing it a bit at a time gets the job done and saves me the longer task. Sometimes the simplest habits are the best.
My car does not tend to have a lot of junk in it by using this method. I almost always remove any garbage and take any stuff into the house etc.
Thsi will be a great do. I know we choose to make our days great.
I am determined to take some time off to figure out what I want to do. As a person of action, I know this will be difficult for me. Intellectually, I know this is the right thing.
My time tip for the day is simple. Leave any room a bit neater than when you entered it. I do not like to spend hours cleaning or tidying a room. Doing it a bit at a time gets the job done and saves me the longer task. Sometimes the simplest habits are the best.
My car does not tend to have a lot of junk in it by using this method. I almost always remove any garbage and take any stuff into the house etc.
Thsi will be a great do. I know we choose to make our days great.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Always Add Value
So what does a day in the life of an out of work CEO look like? Up late but still at the gym well before 7 and ran 5 miles. Then a very full day of over 100 emails and lots of calls. Thanks to all for checking in. And one meeting to work on my plans.
I am developing what my success habits will be for this period of interspection. Some things I will do for sure is:
1 - Increase my workouts a bit. I have registered to run the New York Marathon on Nov 1 so need to be in shape for that. And I am still sore from one of my personal trainer friends who visited on the weekend (50 chinups in one day). So have to up my game a bit.
2 - evaluate my strengths, weaknesses, assets and liabilities to help figure out where my best value can be added. One thing I always look at in life is adding value. I even think about it when I post a blog entry.
3 - I am going to limit my reading to one book per day as I think I could fall into the trap of just reading all the time. I am going to limit my blogging to a few times per week. Limiting how much time is spent on something can be a success habit.
4 - get up early and "work" my usual hours.
5 - Lots of mights. I might try to pick up a new skill. I might paint the house. I might keep a journal. I might write articles or a book.
6 - Organize. My recent move left me with some disorganized files.
7 - and yes, relax a bit. And I know myself well enough to know this one will be tough. I like action.
I used my time tracking sheets today to keep on top of how I am spending my time.
Lots of press about my departure from Nu Horizons. Most of it just repeats the press release.
CNBC
Yahoo
Forbes
RTT News
and way too many more to list. It was on 94 sites last time I checked.
It shows the power of the internet and how easily and fast things propagate.
I am developing what my success habits will be for this period of interspection. Some things I will do for sure is:
1 - Increase my workouts a bit. I have registered to run the New York Marathon on Nov 1 so need to be in shape for that. And I am still sore from one of my personal trainer friends who visited on the weekend (50 chinups in one day). So have to up my game a bit.
2 - evaluate my strengths, weaknesses, assets and liabilities to help figure out where my best value can be added. One thing I always look at in life is adding value. I even think about it when I post a blog entry.
3 - I am going to limit my reading to one book per day as I think I could fall into the trap of just reading all the time. I am going to limit my blogging to a few times per week. Limiting how much time is spent on something can be a success habit.
4 - get up early and "work" my usual hours.
5 - Lots of mights. I might try to pick up a new skill. I might paint the house. I might keep a journal. I might write articles or a book.
6 - Organize. My recent move left me with some disorganized files.
7 - and yes, relax a bit. And I know myself well enough to know this one will be tough. I like action.
I used my time tracking sheets today to keep on top of how I am spending my time.
Lots of press about my departure from Nu Horizons. Most of it just repeats the press release.
CNBC
Yahoo
Forbes
RTT News
and way too many more to list. It was on 94 sites last time I checked.
It shows the power of the internet and how easily and fast things propagate.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Nu Horizons Electronics Corp. Announces Departure of President and CEO
Big personal news for me today. I am leaving Nu horizons. The press realse says it all.
Now to crafting my next 30 day plan. Onward and upward.
Will keep everyone updated.
Now to crafting my next 30 day plan. Onward and upward.
Will keep everyone updated.
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