You may have thought that being better than your competition by default meant that you were "The Best" at what you do, at what you produce, or at how you serve your customer.
But I believe there is a key philosophical difference between being "better than" and being "the best."
Being better than the competition implies that whatever they are doing you are going to be as good as them, plus one degree. Hmmm, just one degree, that's not much, is it? When you are trying to win a race or a game you don't have to be too much better than or execute much better than your competition.
For example, in a 400 meter race you can win by hundredths or thousands of a second! A better start off the blocks, a stride that is a fraction of an inch longer, more forward lean at the finish line and you win ... by a hundredth of a second. No doubt winning is good, winning is fun, winning beats losing.
Or, look at the (American) game of football ... you can beat your opponent by one touchdown, one field goal ... or even one point. But is beating your opponent by one point enough? In a game that is timed aren't you taking a big chance if you decide to let up because you've pulled out in front by two touchdowns before the half? Do you come out in the second half and hope to just keep them from scoring more points? No. Do they concede defeat because you are two possessions ahead of them? No. Yesterday's (11/18/12) Patriots & Colts game was a prime example. Happily, I write that the Pats beat the Colts 59-24. Did the Pats let up at the half because they were up 24-17? Nope. Did the Colts quit because they were down by 7? Nope. Both teams kept giving it their all until the final seconds ran out. Do some people or teams get accused of running up the score? Yes. Do they care? Nope.
Think of Apple. They are considered the best at what they do; they have incredible customer loyalty and incredible profits. Currently they are producing the I-Phone 5; arguably their best phone so far. Do you think they will stop there or do you think the geeks at Apple are thinking that the I-Phone 6, 7 and 8 will each be their best phone ever?
Your competition will keep on trying and so should you! You shouldn't just try to beat them, you should try to play or compete to the BEST of your ability. You should always, always, always try to do your best.
There is a significant difference between "good enough" and giving it your "best" effort. As my dad always says, "If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing right." And doing it right means giving it your best effort. Challenge yourself, your team; reach farther, reach higher. That's what the best do, day in and day out!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
The problem with Robin Hood ...
Once upon a time there was a good hearted fellow named Robin Hood. No doubt you're familiar with this guy's story ... he's the one who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Sounds noble doesn't it?
There's just a few problems with the modern day version of Robin Hood (a.k.a. U.S. Federal Government).
Problem #1: Stealing is wrong! Taking from the rich, taking anything from anyone is just plain wrong. Biblical or not, most (dare I say all) persons who earn what they have do not like it when someone comes along and takes any or all of what they've earned. Young or old, people who worked hard for something feel like they deserve to keep most or all of what they earned.
Problem #2: Redistribution is wrong! Distributing money, goods or services to people who DID NOT earn it is not fully appreciated (with few exceptions). There are many people who are temporarily down on their luck and deserve a helping hand. But if someone is able to work, but not willing to work then either they are lazy or are not focused on what is important.
Problem #3: Wealth and poverty are both created. A great philosopher (whose name escapes me) once said that "if you took all the wealth in the world and distributed it evenly ... eventually it would end up back in the hands of the wealthy." I believe this to be true. Not because the wealthy will steal it back from the poor ... it's because they will put what they have to work to create more wealth. They will delay gratification today, so that tomorrow they will have greater means. This is how most of the wealthy became wealthy in the first place!
To understand why I believe the above to be fact you have to know a little bit about my upbringing:
I didn't have the toughest life growing up ... but I also didn't have the easiest life either. I came from a family of seven (Dad, Mom, four bothers and me). My father worked construction and when times were lean (the 70's) we received government aid which included food stamps and other handouts. My parents hated that we needed the handouts, they were embarrassed and they even felt disgraced. I even remember going to the food stamp office with my mom to pick them up ... I was young, but I recall being embarrassed ... and I remember not being the only ones in line. A small home, one car and hand-me down clothing were the norm for us. But believe it or not, we were considered lower middle-class! Ha!
Regardless of how the government defined us, we felt poor and we HATED IT! We did not want to live like that forever. Most of the Americans living during this time in the same circumstances felt the same way. So what did my parents do about it? Once their five kids were old enough they both worked full time! A novel concept ... work, so you don't have to receive hand-outs! Work, so that you can support your family with dignity and pride.
Once my parents both started working things did get better ... but we still weren't rich. We didn't eat steak and potatoes 7 days a week. In fact, when we did eat steak it was usually the cheapest cut possible. We still handed down clothes, we still brown-bagged school lunches, my brothers and I all had paper routes and then jobs when we were old enough. We didn't have new Nike's on our feet nor did we wear Levi's. But what we had was ours and we earned it! Not relying on the government to provide our basic needs made us feel good!
Fast forward 40 years ... and the Robin Hood philosophy has morphed into a "steal from the rich and give me what I want" philosophy! I travel all over Florida for work and I see all kinds of people in all kinds of neighborhoods. There are people collecting food stamps, welfare and an unemployment check ... yet have a satellite dish on their house and a Cadillac Escalade in their driveway.
I also watch way too much news and remember the story of a convenience store worker in New York State that lost her job early in 2012 because she refused to let a minor buy cigarettes with his food stamps (card)! She thought she was doing the right thing and she ends up out of work because of it.
Robin Hood ... your place is in the story books, not Washington D.C.!
There's just a few problems with the modern day version of Robin Hood (a.k.a. U.S. Federal Government).
Problem #1: Stealing is wrong! Taking from the rich, taking anything from anyone is just plain wrong. Biblical or not, most (dare I say all) persons who earn what they have do not like it when someone comes along and takes any or all of what they've earned. Young or old, people who worked hard for something feel like they deserve to keep most or all of what they earned.
Problem #2: Redistribution is wrong! Distributing money, goods or services to people who DID NOT earn it is not fully appreciated (with few exceptions). There are many people who are temporarily down on their luck and deserve a helping hand. But if someone is able to work, but not willing to work then either they are lazy or are not focused on what is important.
Problem #3: Wealth and poverty are both created. A great philosopher (whose name escapes me) once said that "if you took all the wealth in the world and distributed it evenly ... eventually it would end up back in the hands of the wealthy." I believe this to be true. Not because the wealthy will steal it back from the poor ... it's because they will put what they have to work to create more wealth. They will delay gratification today, so that tomorrow they will have greater means. This is how most of the wealthy became wealthy in the first place!
To understand why I believe the above to be fact you have to know a little bit about my upbringing:
I didn't have the toughest life growing up ... but I also didn't have the easiest life either. I came from a family of seven (Dad, Mom, four bothers and me). My father worked construction and when times were lean (the 70's) we received government aid which included food stamps and other handouts. My parents hated that we needed the handouts, they were embarrassed and they even felt disgraced. I even remember going to the food stamp office with my mom to pick them up ... I was young, but I recall being embarrassed ... and I remember not being the only ones in line. A small home, one car and hand-me down clothing were the norm for us. But believe it or not, we were considered lower middle-class! Ha!
Regardless of how the government defined us, we felt poor and we HATED IT! We did not want to live like that forever. Most of the Americans living during this time in the same circumstances felt the same way. So what did my parents do about it? Once their five kids were old enough they both worked full time! A novel concept ... work, so you don't have to receive hand-outs! Work, so that you can support your family with dignity and pride.
Once my parents both started working things did get better ... but we still weren't rich. We didn't eat steak and potatoes 7 days a week. In fact, when we did eat steak it was usually the cheapest cut possible. We still handed down clothes, we still brown-bagged school lunches, my brothers and I all had paper routes and then jobs when we were old enough. We didn't have new Nike's on our feet nor did we wear Levi's. But what we had was ours and we earned it! Not relying on the government to provide our basic needs made us feel good!
Fast forward 40 years ... and the Robin Hood philosophy has morphed into a "steal from the rich and give me what I want" philosophy! I travel all over Florida for work and I see all kinds of people in all kinds of neighborhoods. There are people collecting food stamps, welfare and an unemployment check ... yet have a satellite dish on their house and a Cadillac Escalade in their driveway.
I also watch way too much news and remember the story of a convenience store worker in New York State that lost her job early in 2012 because she refused to let a minor buy cigarettes with his food stamps (card)! She thought she was doing the right thing and she ends up out of work because of it.
Robin Hood ... your place is in the story books, not Washington D.C.!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Victim!
Are we victims of capitalism ... Or victims of Obama-Care?
My company's annual health care elections came and went and for the first two weeks we stewed! We were pissed-off ... mad as hell ... ready to take up arms and fight the evil Human Resources Zombies! Our share of the HMO that I have clung to for years was going up 33%. A huge increase by any measure. Do we choose health care ... or food? Health care or electricity? Health care or ... (gasp) CABLE?!
We asked, "Are those capitalist pigs just driving up costs to make more profits? Is it because they are greedy and can get away with stealing our hard earned money?
Or should our gratitude be towards the Obama/Reid/Pelosi trio ("pass it, you can read it later!"); as well as all the socialists that think they are playing Robin Hood! "Steal from the rich and give to the poor." Or in modern terms ... "steal from the hard working earners and give to the government dependents". Isn't "stealing" still wrong??
Phew ... got that off my chest ... I feel better, but I'm not done.
The wife and I sat down and reviewed our options. No matter how we looked at it our health costs were either going to go up ... or we would have to assume more risk. For a family of five (5) living on one (1) income ... we didn't really want to assume more risk. The kids are all very active in cheer, baseball and football. They risk knee, ankle, wrist injuries ... and of course, concussions on a daily basis. One emergency room visit can end up costing a month's salary.
We ended up choosing a high deductible PPO, we are putting as much money as we can afford into a health savings account, we are praying that the kids avoid injury ... and we are also at peace with our decision.
In retrospect, the HMO that we were on for years was not in our best interest. If we had switched to a PPO years ago we would be miles ahead in our health care now. We were over-spending and paying for other people's health care (actually supporting socialism!).
We were afraid of change, we were comfortable and rather than investigate our options we spent two weeks complaining to others and being pissed off. The lesson here is: don't complain, investigate and adapt ... if it doesn't mess with your morals and it won't kill you, then find a way to persevere. If it messes with your morals .. fight like hell. But at least do your research first .. then decide whether or not to be pissed-off.
My company's annual health care elections came and went and for the first two weeks we stewed! We were pissed-off ... mad as hell ... ready to take up arms and fight the evil Human Resources Zombies! Our share of the HMO that I have clung to for years was going up 33%. A huge increase by any measure. Do we choose health care ... or food? Health care or electricity? Health care or ... (gasp) CABLE?!
We asked, "Are those capitalist pigs just driving up costs to make more profits? Is it because they are greedy and can get away with stealing our hard earned money?
Or should our gratitude be towards the Obama/Reid/Pelosi trio ("pass it, you can read it later!"); as well as all the socialists that think they are playing Robin Hood! "Steal from the rich and give to the poor." Or in modern terms ... "steal from the hard working earners and give to the government dependents". Isn't "stealing" still wrong??
Phew ... got that off my chest ... I feel better, but I'm not done.
The wife and I sat down and reviewed our options. No matter how we looked at it our health costs were either going to go up ... or we would have to assume more risk. For a family of five (5) living on one (1) income ... we didn't really want to assume more risk. The kids are all very active in cheer, baseball and football. They risk knee, ankle, wrist injuries ... and of course, concussions on a daily basis. One emergency room visit can end up costing a month's salary.
We ended up choosing a high deductible PPO, we are putting as much money as we can afford into a health savings account, we are praying that the kids avoid injury ... and we are also at peace with our decision.
In retrospect, the HMO that we were on for years was not in our best interest. If we had switched to a PPO years ago we would be miles ahead in our health care now. We were over-spending and paying for other people's health care (actually supporting socialism!).
We were afraid of change, we were comfortable and rather than investigate our options we spent two weeks complaining to others and being pissed off. The lesson here is: don't complain, investigate and adapt ... if it doesn't mess with your morals and it won't kill you, then find a way to persevere. If it messes with your morals .. fight like hell. But at least do your research first .. then decide whether or not to be pissed-off.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
EMERGENCY BACKUP TOILET PAPER?
Unbelievable! I am at a business conference and staying at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Beautiful hotel, great service and great attention to detail.
My youngest daughter (Chloe who is back home with the rest of the family - this is a business trip afterall) asked me to take lots of pictures so that she could experience Las Vegas too. My second day in Las Vegas had some free time, so I walked about the strip and took lots of pictures to share with her. Since my sense of observation was at a heightened level I noticed in my hotel room something I hadn't noticed on day one. It was an "emergency backup" roll of toilet paper!
I spent the next twenty-four hours joking about it. Then I realized, this is part of their attention to detail. I still think it's funny ... but they truly want their rooms to be prepared for their clients' every need. That's great service!
My youngest daughter (Chloe who is back home with the rest of the family - this is a business trip afterall) asked me to take lots of pictures so that she could experience Las Vegas too. My second day in Las Vegas had some free time, so I walked about the strip and took lots of pictures to share with her. Since my sense of observation was at a heightened level I noticed in my hotel room something I hadn't noticed on day one. It was an "emergency backup" roll of toilet paper!
I spent the next twenty-four hours joking about it. Then I realized, this is part of their attention to detail. I still think it's funny ... but they truly want their rooms to be prepared for their clients' every need. That's great service!
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