Thank Goodness It's Monday #425

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

(AND TEACHERS GIVE IT AWAY, FREE)

Well, maybe not “free of charge” completely and absolutely. 

 

But certainly the best teachers give their knowledge away freely.

My friend, sports psychologist
and college professor for
 -- gulp! –
three decades,
Dr. Rob Gilbert.

So with that thought in mind, when I was recently asked for TGIM-like advice to share with young wisdom seekers as they embark on the path of higher education, I turned to my academically based friend Dr. Rob Gilbert for his input.

 

Here’s why: As I have confessed here previously, I was not much of a “student” in my pre-college days but I did get by without a great deal of effort. And, thereafter I was not the most disciplined, high achiever in my early post-high-school days. 

It took me a long time to shape up. Years, actually.

So I can certainly relate to the idea of challenge in the halls of academia. But precisely how to cope at the outset is a bit foreign to my experience. Thus “Do as I say, not as I did” advice from me is not necessarily going to provide the most direct path to success in school.

Instead, I think we should apply one surefire lesson I’ve learned on my meandering educational path and that’s –

 

Go to the source. Rob’s a friend of several decades and for as long as I’ve known him (and longer) his focus has been, first and foremost –

 

Getting students to succeed. Generations of students passing through Montclair State University here in NJ know Dr. Rob as the guy who inspired them right from the get-go with his new student orientation.

And beyond that, I have no idea how many others have also taken his classes and got all that the course curriculum promised – and much more.

 

I DO know that many of his pupils credit him with laying the groundwork for their success.

 

So where else would I turn?

But rather than pester him at this critical, getting-started time of the academic year, to find the wisdom worth sharing I dug out my personally inscribed and autographed First Edition copy of Rob’s opus – 

How To Have Fun Without Failing Out

– 430 Tips from a College Professor

There is so much concise, actionable information packed into this worthwhile volume (actually far more than the enumerated 430 tips) that I was challenged to know what to share in the hope that it’s the right information for the folks who asked for my input. 

I could just pick and choose a bunch at random

… pick one each from the nine chapters

… churn through the perhaps 50 sub-topics within the chapters

… select only from the numerous sidebar items that supplement the text

… share some of the world-class quotes that support the enumerated ideas. 

But then I had this brainstorm:

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Share the specific section that, in the clarity of hindsight, likely would have been most useful to me long, long ago.

 

Here it is: From Chapter Two: Skills to Succeed  –

 

Master Skill #7: Study Skills

 

Tip #90: Study at least two hours every single day, even weekends and holidays, no matter what. Do this from the first day of class until your final final.

 

Tip #91: When you don’t want to study for two hours, apply –

The fifteen-minute rule: Study for fifteen minutes and then see how you feel.

 

Tip #92: Find study partners, especially in courses you think will be particularly difficult. You will end up learning more and meeting new people.

 

Tip #93: Make a ritual of studying. Study at the same time and at the same place every day.

 

Tip #94: The best place to study is where you won’t be disturbed.

 

Tip #95: Work out in the gym. Eat in the cafeteria. And STUDY AT THE LIBRARY.

 

Tip #96: The worst place to study is where you sleep.

 

Tip #97: For your most difficult classes, read related blogs and Google articles – anything to gain a greater understanding of the subject.

 

Tip #98: At some point during the first three weeks of school, spend twelve hours in a room reading and reviewing your textbooks and notebooks. Take bathroom and food breaks only – no phone calls, radio, computer, television, or friends. Just you and your books. Most students think this is impossible. Once you do this exercise, you’ll have new respect for your academic endurance, and studying for two hours a day will be cake.

 

Tip #99: Review … REVIEW … REVIEW!

 

Tip #100: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

 

Tip #101: Take a five- to ten-minute break for every forty to forty-five minutes you study.

 

Tip #102: Keep your promises. This shows friends, family, and acquaintances that you are reliable.

 

Tip #103: Flash cards are (still) a great study aid.

 

Tip #104 During the first two weeks of the semester, study as hard as you would during the last two weeks of the semester.

 

Tip #105: Study the most difficult material first.

 

Tip #106: If you really want to see if you know something, teach it to someone else.

 

TGIM TAKEAWAY: I trust TGIM readers -- each and all, regardless of age or position in life -- are believers in the power of lifelong learning. So while it’s my conviction that Tips #90 thru #106 above can be applied in some way or another by each of us, now, this final Master Study Skill item is a must for us for all time.

Tip #107:

Stop thinking like a student

and start thinking like a teacher.

 

TGIM SUCCESS GOLD: Be proactive in learning new skills or expanding those you already possess. Whether it’s in a formal classroom setting or simply by self-education, without continued growth -- both personal and professional -- people quickly stagnate.

Get out into the world and excite all your senses and inspire your sense of self with exposure to stimulating experiences. Be interested in others. Be interesting to others.

 

Have fun.  And now that you have a better idea of “how to do it” –

Don’t fail out. Teach as well as be taught.

Make sure you’re in a place in your company or community where you share what you know and can share in the experiences, reaction and feedback of the newly informed.

 

Pay it forward. The feedback loop of “education” affords benefits to all parties in the circle.

 

Like, I hope, Rob and me, through efforts such as this TGIM. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com 

P.S.  I’ve heard Rob share this story on more than one occasion and, each time, it never fails to make an impression. See if you agree that it’s both inspirational and motivational:

One day a middle-aged woman clutching a plastic bag close to her chest walked into a picture-framing store.

She looked at the manager behind the counter and said, “I have something in this bag that cost me over $150,000, but it’s worth much more than that.”

“May I see it?” asked the manager.

Carefully and with great pride the woman unrolled her daughter’s college diploma.

 

P.P.S. Other things teachers give away free: Every morning since 1992 Rob has recorded a three-minute-or-so motivational message on his Success Hotline which you can listen to 24/7/365.

Call (973)743-4690

 

And in our NOT not-for-profit world, one source of Rob’s book is via its publisher: HERE.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #424

“MOST PEOPLE LIKE HARD WORK.

PARTICULARLY WHEN THEY’RE PAYING FOR IT.”

That quip concisely sums up one of the persistent dilemmas of the modern age. It originated with reporter, public relations executive and humorist Franklin P. Jones (1908 - 1980).

And it’s one of the real reasons underlying the establishment of, and ongoing need for, observing Labor Day, isn’t it?

Not to be overly analytical about it, but … 

As analysis originator Sigmund Freud saw it: 

“No other technique for the conduct of life attaches the individual to reality as laying emphasis on work: for his work at least gives him a secure place in a portion of reality, in the human community.”

So as I see it, these two divergent realities create a bit of conflict, especially in the world of “modern” capitalism that began to flourish in the middle of the 19^th Century.

To oversimplify --

• The holders of “capital” want the most work for the least expense.
• Workers must work, but capitalist demands of “too much for too little” destroy any sense of humanity and community.

Thus working people are sometimes forced to organize themselves and their work lives in ways that they perceive are more beneficial for their “conduct of life”.

 

And that inevitably leads us to –

Jersey Shore Boy

(born in Cape May NJ)

Uriah S. Stephens (1821-1882)

First leader of the

Noble Order of the Knights of Labor 

Labor Day. It’s generally accepted that the first major Labor Day observance in the United States was September 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union of New York (a branch of the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor, a secretive labor union founded in 1869 by a clique of Philadelphia tailors.

Their initiation oath -- “We mean to uphold the dignity of labor” – certainly anticipates Freud’s insight:

 

Labor Day became a Federal holiday in 1894.

 

And it was a Jersey Boy (like me) – born-in-Caldwell, NJ (1837) President Grover Cleveland – who, in 1894, signed the legislation that made Labor Day a federal holiday.

 

Not to “belabor” the point (yes, an intentional pun; I was “working” up to it), and before we get to a Labor Day 2013 TGIM Takeaway or two, here’s a quick look back at what moved Grover to act:

 

Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike in the summer of 1894, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law.

 

Cleveland and other politicians put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. The September date was originally chosen by the CLU of New York.

Unlike more strident May Day Socialist/Communist “Labour” observances around the world on May 1, the form for the September celebration of Labor Day in the US was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families.

 

And now, we all celebrate.

 

No matter if you describe your “collar” color as white or blue.  No matter if you are part of an organized labor group or not. Labor Day marks the traditional “end of summer” … back-to-school signal … beginning of football/NASCAR/ season.

TGIM TAKEAWAY: While these days we seldom relate to fairly valuing the sort of “sweat of your brow” physical effort that labor organizing in the 19^th Century was about, we still have strong views on the value of the individual’s contribution to the world of commerce and the disparity between wealth classes, real or imagined, in our democracy and around the world.

Assuming this is a day you have the good fortune to be able to celebrate, sometime between checking out your local Labor Day parade or similar civic celebration and the last official beer and burger before someone winterizes that pool, appreciate what we all have gained since the first Labor Day largely as a result of the protests and efforts of workers of the world uniting.

 

Here’s a thumbnail roundup:

• Child-labor laws
• The 8-hour day/40-hour week
• Requisite time off or compensation
• Public education
• Minimum wages & other compensatory assurances
• Occupational safety & health protections
• Medical benefits
• Birth & dependent care allowances
• Unemployment safety nets
• Social Security
• Name your own favorite (Equal Pay Act, Civil Rights Act, National Labor Relations Act, ERISA pension standards, all have a foothold in what can be viewed as the labor movement.)

LABOR DAY 2013 ACTION IDEA: This Labor Day let us remember the sacrifices endured, and the challenges faced, by organizing and organized workers. Collar color notwithstanding, let’s acknowledge our indebtedness to this group of people who have played a significant role in making the American workplace what it is today and who strive to extend that success.

 

LABOR DAY 2013 IDEA IN ACTION: In the spirit of Labor Day, rather than looking for scapegoats to blame for some of the world’s most profound economic problems, let’s resolve, starting tomorrow, to insist our politicians work on – not just blather about -- getting people back to work in a way and at a wage that gives them “a secure place in a portion of reality, in the human community.” 

“Uphold the dignity of labor.” Real working people know the most straightforward way to get our economy moving as it should and to keep it moving forward is to put more money back in the hands of working families, who will in turn spend their money locally.

 

Be bold! Speak up. Act on your ideals.

“A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves.” Grover Cleveland said that.

Important note in closing: Many parts of our Jersey Shore and other vacation-centric communities that were hard hit by SuperStorm Sandy last fall are planning on extending their “season” beyond Labor Day to make up for lost business.

Please get out and support them if you’re able.

 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com 

P.S.  “A man’s work is his dilemma; his job is his bondage, but it also gives him a fair share of his identity and keeps him from being a bystander in somebody else’s world.” Journalist and essayist Melvin Maddocks (1924 – 2008) made that appropriate-to-the-day observation.

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.