Thank Goodness It's Monday #423

REFLECTING ON A DREAM

AND MAKING HISTORY

The view
August 28, 1963
from the Lincoln Memorial
down the Mall and Reflecting Pool
to the Washington Monument

Fifty years ago, on a hot, humid August 28, 1963 in Washington DC, some 250,000 people assembled on the grounds between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

The climax of the largest demonstration the Federal City had ever seen was an address that scholars rate as the most important political speech of the 20^th Century.

 

You know this, no doubt.

And, no doubt, you have an opinion and some memory of this moment and the related developments that have unfolded in the two score and ten years since.

 

I certainly do. 

 

But, as this anniversary and its official commemoration approaches, having been bombarded by the historical recollecting and reportorial build up in the media, I wonder –

Can we trust our memories?

This is tricky stuff. I was on the verge of adulthood in 1963. I’m convinced now that I was aware, somewhat informed and sympathetically sensitive to the struggles of the time. But …

Was I? How much of what I now think that I thought then was not even formed in my teenage boy mind?

A great deal I’m willing to concede. 

How about you? 

TGIM CHALLENGE #1: Can you objectively look back across the years -- and not just at this momentous world event but at any significant memory that involves thought and emotion and consideration and opinion -- and say with certainty what you think and feel now is what you thought and felt at the time?

Scientists say we can’t. And personal experience has me agreeing. Apparently our imprecise recollection of “stuff” that has happened is altered by the very act of remembering it; altered at a cellular level. 

And in line with that fact, every time we re-remember in a slightly altered way, it all shifts again.

So the reality of our today is not the reality of our recent past and certainly not our distant past.

 

That’s not necessarily bad. Or wrong. Or, well, not necessarily harmful.

It is, however, cautionary.

 

TGIM TAKEAWAY: What we let in -- the information we accept as truthful and accurate and that goes to reshaping our memories -- needs to be suspiciously viewed and seriously vetted before we allow it to go messing with our biology and influencing our biography.

Especially these days. The 21^st Century is awash with – 

►   suspect information

►   from non-objective sources

►   quickly and cleverly packaged

►   and delivered at nanosecond speed

►   directly to our already over stimulated senses.

And what we accept as true or truth, as well as what we elect to argue with or ignore, matters. It matters inasmuch as it shapes who we are and our understanding of the next round of information proffered for our delectation and consideration.

 

Why this bit of reflection on this day?

Because what I do remember in the days and decades following the “I Have A Dream” speech is a far cry from what I perceive others, mostly younger, have concluded. The memories I’ve built are far less benign than the behavior of many in this second decade of the new millennium appear to enjoy.

As it appears to me: The American Dream that Dr. King referenced is still a long, long way from being a reality for many. Lack of opportunity, equality, liberty, justice, freedom from so many oppressive factors still sweeps across the landscape of our lives – with and without regard for race. 

I suspect even the Founding Fathers would find cause to object. 

Yet we seem to have become complacent.

TGIM CHALLENGE #2: Please don’t let this anniversary go by without seriously considering that, although we have come far –

We still have a long way to go. What that means precisely, where and how we get there is a course of action you must choose, informed by your own process of discovery, ability to act and sense of commitment.

However, if nothing else, appreciate the genius of MLK Jr. on that day in August 50 years ago in striking a balance between comforting the assembly and challenging them. Then rise to the challenge.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Discover your own dreams. Seek to understand what’s at the core of your thinking. Find out what you believe that enables you to move forward. 

To help you do that, use this anniversary occasion as a jumping off point.

• Take the time and make the effort to consider the content and context of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (That was the proper historical name for the event. Surprised? )

 

• Listen to or read (or both) the entire “I Have A Dream” speech – not just the highlights that will loop in the media over the next news cycle or two. Seek to understand it’s historic precedents and its consequential developments – and lack of them.

Do this in the spirit of being or becoming an informed citizen of the world in the 21^st Century.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Make sure you’ve got facts (not speculation) and all the facts you need before you settle on a course of action. Check and double check. Know your sources. Search for independent resources to verify what others tell you.

Then make your own history.  

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “King called our country forward on that beautiful day in 1963, but he also called out our failings. He told us there could be no peace without justice, and no justice without struggle. We honor him best by sharing not only his hope but also his impatience and his resolve.” E. J. Dionne, American journalist and political commentator, and a long-time op-ed columnist for The Washington Post recently concluded his column with that observation.




We know, both figuratively and literally, what MLK Jr. “saw” when looked down the National Mall August 28, 1963. The "humanity" of it all is pictured at the top of today's post.
 

The US Park Service ranger assigned to guard Dr. King on the podium, Gordon Gundrum (loooking to the left above), is quoted as saying recently, “It was something I knew was going to change the world.”

My long-time local acquaintance Arnold Brown was also present (leaning forward, behind and right of the woman with the patterned hat) with his brother Jerome who recalls, “The march made me aware of non-violence – and I think it changed the way I thought about things, and approached things in my life.”

 

Thank Goodness It's Monday #422

HOW TO VANQUISH KLINGONS

AND ADVANCE THE ENTERPRISE

I’m not sure that I can distinguish Klingons from Romulans.


 

Klingon or Romulan?
Who's who?

So I was fairly surprised when, at a recent after-hours networking event, a buddy we’ll call Ensign Networker griped to me about being held captive by a Klingon.

 

While I was a Star Trek fan in the 1960s’ Shatner & Nimoy as Kirk & Spock days, I seldom express any particular ongoing enthusiasm for the continuing adventures.

But in the face of a challenge, I tried to dig deep in the Trekkie/Trekker nostalgia circuits of my head and be helpful.

 

“Shields up? Set phasers on full?” I suggested and got a WTF (“What The Fandom”) look in reply.

 

“Cling-On,” my should-have-been-wearing-a-red-jersey compatriot Ensign Networker clarified, enunciating each portion more clearly.

“You know the type. They back you into a corner. They smother you. They yakkity-yak your ears off."

 

Ah, yes. 

 

The Evil Cling-On. The arch enemy of the advancement of the networking enterprise. As if their empty chatter isn’t annoying enough, Cling-Ons prevent you from meeting anyone else.

And as Ensign Networker experienced, in trekking boldly in the universe of unknown opportunities, although you’re sending out mental mind waves for someone to come to your rescue, when you’re trapped by a Cling-On you probably face the fate of most red-shirted Ensigns on a mission:

 

You’re doomed. 

 

It’s likely the transporter beam can’t be activated to miraculously lift you out of your dire circumstances.

TGIM Captain’s Log: It doesn’t have to be this way. But before we reveal the Vulcan Mind Meld that can extricate you from Cling-On Capture or even a Romulan Runaround, let’s briefly consider a variety of networking opportunities and desired outcomes.

• If you belong to any of the strictly run, frequently meeting referral networks, Cling-Ons are barely a consideration. Protocol and rules and structure will keep you moving quickly on track. So no “Beam me up, Scottie” should be necessary.

 

• In the slightly more casual, and perhaps more loosely structured, Chamber or come-if-you-can-to-     morning-coffee meet ups or lunch-and-learn sessions, your make-new-contacts expectations should be tempered by the more social and learn-something aspects of the occasion. If you find yourself trapped and stranded, strive to make the most of the information-sharing opportunity realizing that you’re tight with most of the folks anyway and there will be future opportunities.

But in the vast and wide-open unexplored territory of afterhours networking occasions, keep foremost in mind the –

Prime Directive: Your mission is to meet more than one person. The objective is to make contact, gain some understanding and qualify other networkers. The goal is NOT to make a presentation or a sale on the spot.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: You get in. You connect and, fast and friendly, you try to get basic qualifying information. You respond according to what you hear. Maybe you swap contact info and suggest meeting in a more structured way. But you don’t even make the date now. You agree to do it on follow-up. Then you move on to the next person. 

All this takes a couple of minutes – tops – when the vibe is good.
Done in 30-seconds otherwise.

This was the gist of my on-the-spot Captainly Counsel to my befuddled buddy, the barely escaped from Cling-On capture Ensign Networker.

“But, but, but …” he prattled before he went on to reveal the thinking that was –

At the core of his problem: He didn’t want to seem rude to the person with whom he was speaking at the time.

Very nice. Also very foolish.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Honesty is the best policy in this version of networking, although it may require some tact and sensitivity. Just as you plan your making-a-connection strategy going in to such a situation, plan your Cling-On escape paths in advance.

For example:

 

A simple, “Wow! There’s so-and-so who I’ve been on the lookout for. Would you like to join me in meeting her?” is one very polite way to say “Our time is up.”

Of course that particular script runs the risk that the more obtuse Cling-On will not get the full message and instead will become a Tag-Along which is likely undesirable.

So, run the following mental movie a couple of times and master a version you’re comfortable with of the following monologue:

 

Before your eyes glaze over, at the slightest pause as your Cling-On rambles on, unleash an assertive I’m-in-control Vulcan Mind Meld grip as you initiate a parting handshake and say something such as:

“Hey … you’ve shared some useful information, but I’m sure you came here – as I did -- to meet as many people as possible. If we’re not careful we’re not going accomplish that and that would be a shame. So I’m going to head off now and do just that. Good luck to you.”

 

Elapsed time: 15 seconds.

Then step away. Be assertive. Be kind. Be not-too-subtle. Say no more. Don’t look back. 

One last point: From time to time we all should take a step back and try to see ourselves as others see us.

In big-forum networking opportunities do people you recognize as having met previously turn their backs as you approach?

As you engage them and start to chat, do they have to take a phone call or head for the bathroom?

Do they point in the other direction and say, “Oh my, did you see that?” and then disappear before you turn back?
 

Hey, it can happen:
Good Spock & Evil Spock

Most people are too nice to tell you to shut up. And, like Ensign Networker, they haven’t mastered a polite-ish getaway technique. So run a networking self-diagnostic from time to time and realize when you’ve possibly become “the enemy”.

And taking my own advice, now I’ll shut up.

“Live long -- network well -- and prosper.”   

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “Destroying an Empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an Empire is no defeat.” This axiom is cited by the Klingon character Kahless in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, episode, "Way of the Warrior." Apply it to unwinnable networking situations and it might be concluded that walking away would also be the Klingon way to escape Cling-Ons.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #421

SO? … SEW BUTTONS?

 

The New York Fashion District

("Garment Center" in my day) information kiosk

on the NE corner of 39^th St. and 7^th Avenue

with Needle-Threading-Button sculpture

in the background and

a sculpture of a tailor in the foreground.

The stainless steel needle is

31-feet long  with a 2-foot eye

threaded through a 14-foot button.

I can sew fairly well – which may be surprising to some.

And iron.

In fact you might say I’m a regular domestic wonder. (And others will disagree heartily.)

 

Those skills come about in part because, in my early post-high-school education, I earned a degree in Merchandising at the venerable Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

There the core curriculum required courses in textile and fashion design; courses that had a hands-on element as well as “book learnin’.”

So?

 

I became particularly good at making box pleats. But that’s not the point today.

This is: It was in those FIT classes I also learned a lesson that has informed my thinking for decades since. And it has to do with –

 

Sewing buttons. Every stitch that attaches a button uses a bit more thread, obviously.

• Use too little, and you’ve got a garment that risks coming apart before its time.
• But use more than necessary to securely fasten the button to the material and …

No, it’s not a “stitch in time” takeaway – as much as I like Ben Franklin’s homespun (intentional textile pun here) wisdom.

 

The TGIM Takeaway for today is –

 

There’s a cost associated with unnecessary “extra” thread. You probably don’t think much of it (as I did not) when you repair that dangling button using the hotel giveaway sewing kit. But in the world of manufacturing such goods, the little extras can add up.

 

Broadly speaking, that hotel hand-sewn button will consume about a foot – 12 inches – of thread.

Certainly industrial machine sewing would be more economical. However there are also thread-consuming issues of how many stitches … two- or four-hole buttons … a shank around the sewn button …. Don’t get me started. 

Point is: At the point of purchase it’s hard for the consumer to eyeball the extra holding power of more robustly sewn buttons.  So all that added thread comes at a cost in time and materials that ultimately add to the cost of manufacture and thereby may make a garment’s price point at least appear less desirable and competitive in the market.

The corollary to passing the cost along is, of course, to deliver a better made garment and hold the line on price. But then you may sacrifice profitability which doesn’t bode well for your enterprise in the long run.

 

TGIM CHALLENGE: Look again at the many elements that go into what you do and how you do it with an eye to opportunities where small savings can add big.

 

It’s not simply a “sew-sew” idea:

TGIM CHALLENGE IN ACTION: United Airlines, the top carrier out of my neighborhood’s Newark Liberty Airport, expects to save $200,000 a year by serving split cashews instead of whole ones in its hot nut cocktails for First Class passengers.

 

“Customers don’t care if it’s a whole nut or split in half,” CEO Jess Smisek told the Wall Street Journal earlier this summer.

 

“Well,” you may be thinking at this point, “while $200,000 is a big dollar figure, those nutty cashew savings seem like – uh – peanuts compared to the overall billions expended running an airline. And the same goes for the button-sewing.

 

“I question if the value of ‘small’ savings is really worth all the effort that must be put into discovering, then implementing, such cost-cutting efforts.”

 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Go figure. To get a better feeling for how “small” savings can really pay off, consider the simple math of cold, hard dollars and cents.

 

Here’s a chart that dramatically points out what cost savings represent in terms of sales.

Sales Values of Cost Savings 

If profit margin on               Then savings of $100

sales before taxes              net as much as sales

is:                                        of:                

                                      10% ……………………….   $1,000

                                        9% ………………………..    1,111

                                        8% ………………………..    1,250

                                        7% ………………………..    1,429

                                        6% ………………………..    1,667

                                        5% ………………………..    2,000

                                        4% ………………………..    2,500

                                        3% ………………………..    3,333

                                        2% ………………………..    5,000

                                        1% ………………………..  10,000

Get it? If your enterprise earns 10% on sales, every operational dollar saved is worth $10 in sales. And if your profit margin is 5%, every dollar saved is worth twenty dollars in added sales.

TGIM Takeaway: Holding the line on costs is vital – especially with costs today beginning to swing upward with economic recovery. 

In our observations centered on self-improvement, time management and the like, TGIM and I often cite One Big Universal Law of Living that works like gangbusters in many aspects of life. And in doing so we regularly comment that, while it sounds too simple to be profound, to dismiss it would be short-sighted.

That One Big Universal Law of Living has its dollars-and-cents parallel in the thread and nuts examples and the chart above. 

Just to remind you, here it is one more time. Remember it as –

 The Law of Slight Edge

Small changes,

Over time,

Make a big difference.

So that’s what. Hope the “small” ideas in this TGIM make a big difference to you and your bottom line.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “Spare no expense to make everything as economical as possible.” That somewhat contradictory demand is alleged to have been made by Samuel Goldwyn (1884–1974). As well as his movie making acumen, the film producer/Hollywood legend was so well known for malapropisms, paradoxes, and other speech errors that they were called “Goldwynisms”. (However, a number of them were reportedly written for him by the likes of Charlie Chaplin.) 

And speaking of sewing, Goldwyn got his immigrant start at the turn of the 20^th Century in the bustling garment business in Gloversville, New York. Soon his innate marketing skills made him a very successful salesman at the Elite Glove Company. 

According to legend, at a heated story conference at the height of his Hollywood power, Goldwyn scolded someone -- in most accounts famed wise-cracking and witty writer Dorothy Parker -- who recalled he had once been a glove maker and retorted: "Don't you point that finger at me. I knew it when it had a thimble on it!"

Thank Goodness It's Monday #420

HOW TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES

MORE OFTEN

You’re responsible for your decisions. It’s a significant part of why you’re paid for doing your job or are highly respected in your community at large.

The more responsibility you take on, and the more right decisions you make, the more you’re worth to any enterprise you’re actively involved in.

 

So, by now, an effective decision-making process has probably become second nature for you.

 

But how about the decision-making skills of the less-experienced folks around you?

In both the work-a-day world and in the bigger framework of life aren’t there promising individuals you would like to see learn and earn more responsibility and move up their ladders of success?

TGIM CHALLENGE: Step up and mentor them. Show them how to build their skills and make the right decisions more easily and more often.

It’s a fact: One reason “subordinates” can be reluctant to tackle a decision-making challenge is that they haven’t learned the often-invisible “best practice” techniques that you automatically apply.

Think about it: Making difficult choices is not something that necessarily comes up in the everyday routine. And when the need for quick and informed decision-making does arise, and others turn to you for your valued input, often there’s not the opportunity to patiently dissect and explain the process on the go.

 

So, if there’s a bit of a Dog Days of August slowdown in your circle of influence, maybe now is a good time to help others build skills.

As you reflect on your choice-weighing process and prepare to guide your future better decision makers -- and in doing so make them less reluctant and actually more helpful to you in your quest to progress – consider sharing these --

 

TGIM ACTION IDEAS: They’re four broadly described but proven-on-the-job strategies that improve the odds of making the right decision more often.

See how they align with your personal practices for sorting out which path to chose. Then, assuming they’re compatible with your way of getting to the right decision, mix in your own personal examples to make the correct course of action crystal clear.

Tell your future great decision makers:

 

#1: Use past errors. Treat past setbacks as the valuable learning experiences they are. Recall what led up to a faulty decision. Look for a pattern in the way you evaluate these situations. This way you’ll size things up better and learn how to prevent similar foul-ups in the future.

 

#2: Approach as an outsider. No doubt there are certain routine job duties you can do with your eyes closed. When it comes to decision making in an area where your comfort level is less, it pays to look at the situation without preconceived notions.

How to do it: For the moment, forget everything you know. View the problem as a detached observer, not as a business insider. What conclusions would you draw from the facts alone – without knowing the setup of the deal or the organization or the personalities involved? Decide on this basis and you’ll have a better chance of accurately judging what you’re up against.

#3: Get others involved. Others may see the challenge in a different light. To be sure you’re being objective ask them how they would handle things. Assuming it’s not a breach of confidentiality, ask the opinion of coworkers you respect. Ask family members or friends outside the circle of those with first-hand involvement.

What do they know? It may not matter. Even if it seems too “industry specific” or “inside baseball” for the uninitiated to understand, try it anyway. Trying to simplify your explanation for them may simplify your view and analysis of the problem.

 

#4: Trust your instincts. When all is said and done, go with your gut feeling about different choices that seem to have equal validity. As they used to say about multiple choice  tests, when you’re not sure of the correct answer and when the penalty for a wrong answers is equal to no answer, your informed first choice has the best chance of being right.

Finally: Still feeling reluctant?

Don’t! You’re getting to be the decision maker because someone believed that you were best qualified to make the call. So make it!

***

Good luck with your mentoring.

 

Hope you’re glad you chose to read this far. I appreciate it and I’m deciding to call this TGIM complete -- for now.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P.S. “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” Nobel Peace Prize winner (2001) Kofi Annan shared that insight.