Aargh!

Fending off a computer virus. Bear with me.

Admit It When...

• You don't know


• You're lost


• You're ill


• The new employee isn't working out


• The brilliant idea has fizzled


• Additional resources won't make a difference


• The other side is right


• You need more time


• Something doesn't feel right


• The jargon is confusing


• The numbers don't add up

Downers

Cultural Offering points to a helpful article on avoiding negativity.

It reminds me of the old Zig Ziglar line about the person who brightens a room by leaving it.

World Changer

Here are 10 ways that Steve Jobs changed the world.

Quote of the Day

Quality (meaning getting everyone to do what they have agreed to do) is the skeletal structure of the organization; finance is the nourishment; and relationships are the soul. All of this comes together in what I call Completeness. Management has learned that they cannot delegate the policies and decisions of finance, and they must learn the same about the other two. Executives spend most of their time on finance and turn the rest over to functional professionals whose main concern is to protect their own turf and pride. It is hard to find any of these who are more interested in the company as a whole than in the success of their own functions. It is as if they feel they have to get re-elected all the time. In the twenty-first century, management will not have the latitude to fail regularly and still get on somehow, as is the pattern today.

- Philip B. Crosby, Completeness, 1992

Interpretations

An audience member just frowned. That means:
1. There's disagreement with what I just said.
2. I'm going to get a challenge in the question period.
3. The chairs are uncomfortable.
4. I'm boring them.
5. Something that has nothing to do with me.

It has been nine hours and there is no response to my email. That means:
1. She hates the idea.
2. She didn't get it.
3. She's upset with me.
4. I should have called.
5. She's busy.

He listened to our proposal and said he'll have to think about it. That means:
1. Forget about it.
2. We should have listed more benefits.
3. The folder was a turn-off.
4. Carson talked too much.
5. He'll have to think about it.

[Consider how often the correct interpretation is #5.]

The Ticking Euro Bomb

Spiegel has a three part series on the Euro crisis.

Kermit Break

Back by popular demand: "The Rainbow Connection."

Odds-and-Ends Day

This is an odds-and-ends day.

There is an assortment of items to be done: a training and coaching proposal to complete for a city government, a bunch of workshops to post on Trainup.com, scads of emails to send to clients and prospects, an ill friend to call, and a flu shot to get. In-between, there are thank-you notes to write, files to shred, and one marketing book to read, not to mention placing an order for some new clothes, and dropping off dry cleaning.

The main theme of the day relates to marketing some training workshops, but the ancillary chores gobble time and some spice is added by a dental problem that periodically brings in a memorable wave of pain. I see the dentist tomorrow. That's something to look forward to.

Louie Louie

I hope you are following the Music for Roctober series at Cultural Offering. It is a public service.