The inventor of The Pet Rock died. His invention was Exhibit A in the argument that, given the right packaging and promotion, you can sell anything.
One might think this is a heartening story to those of us in business but unless you are searching for an overnight blend of scam and success, it is demoralizing. "Sell the sizzle, not the steak" is a sales mantra and it makes sense but there is another part to the message. There was in fact a steak. You weren't just selling sizzle.
But some days, it appears, you can.
I was writing a class with a particular theme. It was a beautiful theme and every time I read it I wanted to stand and salute and then sit down and reflect upon my brilliance.
And then.
Then at one point, within one paragraph, I saw a loose end and began pulling it.
Surely only one paragraph needs fixing, I told myself, but when I looked up there were many paragraphs standing in line and waving cautiously.
Not that I object. The new approach is the correct one. It is stronger and smarter but as I merged paragraphs into a rough triage, I could see that some fine writing would be on its way to the Great Beyond.
Sad, but it shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Leaders choose, create, convince, and cause.
- Philip B. Crosby
The drafts of the upcoming online classes accumulate. Energy is present but coffee is needed.
Look into the screen.
You are longing to see the trailer for the new Mad Max movie.
I think it was filmed during rush hour in Phoenix.
You've met them, those people who are certain of everything. You sit there, pondering five different explanations for some current event or story, and they confidently assert one. Only one. That's it and it can't be anything else.
Switch the topic and the act is performed again. I'm tempted to bring up the Bolivian economy or the mating habits of whales. No doubt they'd have a explanation waiting in the wings. Lord Melbourne said, "I wish I were as sure of anything as Macaulay is of everything."
I'm sure of one thing: I know what he meant.
FutureLawyer watches one game while listening to another and checking his wrist for emails.
His post may be a cry for help.
We didn't know what we were talking about until we talked about it and as ideas and opinions were batted back-and-forth we realized that the topic we wanted to discuss was not the one we expected to be discussing and we were thankful that we'd taken the time to discuss the subject which was not the real subject.
Sometimes you go north by going south.
Being an executive means having no time. It means that everybody moves in on your time. Everybody wants time from you. There is always more work to be done than [there are] hours in a day. And everything always takes so much longer than it should. And then twice as long as the boss thinks it should.
- Peter Drucker
