A Letter To The President

Normally I don't write letters to politicians, but I felt this letter to the president was worth sharing with anyone in small business.  Feel free to copy it and send one yourself.

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing this letter to you in response to your selection of Jeff Immelt to run the Jobs Council.

Selecting the man that built GE, Jack Welch, might make sense, but his replacement doesn’t.  Mr. Immelt like many bankers and large corporate leaders have been quick to accept help from the government and slow to work towards the goal of a better country.

It is the small businesses that the country depends on, not those who are chosen to be members of the S&P 500.  Your thoughts of working with businesses to solve the problems of the country are on the right track.  A council of small business owners are what you really need.  Big banks and big business need to be disrupted from time to time in order to prevent a larger melt down. 

A Focused Business Strategy should Lead to a Focused Marketing Strategy.

Yesterday I was putting around Orange County in my favorite little car, a 1966 Mercedes 230SL.  There is something mystical about this car that creates an immediate love or hate response just like Beetles and Mini Coopers do.  The people that own them are more often than not smiling while they are driving around.  There is just something fun about it.  The controversial Pagoda Top of the late 60’s model Mercedes SL’s  has been the butt of jokes by many great automotive writers.

For me however, there is nothing cooler than putting up PCH in my little convertible.  The only thing missing is a cup holder.  As a Porsche engineer once told me “We make cars to drive, not to enjoy a Coca-Cola.”  Since I still have an addiction to Diet Coke, I am pretty familiar with every McDonalds in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area and Orange County, my two major hangouts.

As long as I can remember I have been going to McDonalds and In-n-Out.  My dad liked the chocolate milkshake and coffee at McDonalds better so we went there more often, at least that was his story.  I think it was because the owner of the McDonalds franchise next door to his office was a patient and we were getting free food.

Resrtict Bandwidth To Be More Productive?

Yesterday I was reading the paper, and there was an article about Lockheed Corp in Dallas having to restrict social networking sites because they used too much bandwidth. The comment from a senior manager was almost funny. He said “unlike other countries, bandwidth in the US isn’t cheap.” That’s funny because cheap bandwidth should have nothing to do with the decision.

What if everyone is using Facebook as a group work tool to post ideas? What if they are using YouTube to post training videos? I know I do, so why can’t Lockheed employees. If the manager was being completely honest he would have said something like “We are restricting the websites because we think the employees are engaged in non-work related activities on company time.”

In a previous life I worked for Apple Computer when they had Friday keg parties, pinball machines, pool tables and ping pong tables. All of these “non work related activities” were meant to keep people at work longer and to stimulate creativity. Apple realized that the most successful people would not ever separate work and play. When you have the right people in the right jobs, work and play become one.

Are You Too Busy To Make Money?

It is amazing how busy we are and how little we really get done. There are just so many things to do, laundry, house keeping, get gas in the car, buy dog food and the list goes on and on. It is a wonder any of us have any time for our work. We start our morning with the shave-shower-shine routine and for those with long hair, there is some coiffing to do.

Next there is the whole breakfast ritual with coffee or tea, and some quick bite because there just isn't time for breakfast any more. How did people ever survive before cars sped us off to work, and cell phones brought the office right to our pockets? By the time most of us get to work, at least a couple hours of the day are already gone. The start of the office day is usually slowed down by clearing out all of the spam in our inbox that made it past the filters and reading a couple of jokes from our friends so we start the day with a smile.

Jeeez, where has the time gone, now it is already time to start planning the lunch run to squeeze in a couple of errands while grabbing a sandwich and a soda. We just have to much to do. Have you ever heard anyone say something like “I am just too busy to make any money.”

They are probably right, and probably blaming the wrong person. If you truly wanted to be hyper successful, it is your choice. All of this “busyness” is due to a lack of focus and preparedness. People are confusing “busy” activities with “achievement” activities. There is only one way to get things done, and that as the Nike slogan says is to “Just do it.”

I meet people that are managers and business owners who are stuck in a rut and can't figure out why. The why is clear to everyone around them. The why should be very clear to them and it isn't until someone just puts it right in front of them. The why is a simple problem of setting priorities.

When people have a clear set of “achievement” goals for every day, every week and every month they are more likely to actually achieve something. When the choice is write the article that is due or stop and dry cleaners, the choice becomes simple. When the choice is call three clients or go to the ball game, the choice is simple. When you set your goals and stick to them your priorities stay in the right order automatically. Only you can change them.

Achievement, no matter how small leads to success of an equal magnitude. Like investing, if you only achieve 7% more each year than your peers, in 10 years you will have achieved twice as much due to the effects of compounding growth. Before you go to bed to night, write out a list of 3-5 goals for tomorrow, two or three slightly larger goals for the rest of the week. Then tomorrow, get started on your goals first. Skip the water cooler chatter and facebook time, get your goals done and see how much better you feel at the end of the day.

Real achievements give you energy and focus to achieve more. Start small and work bigger a little each day. The sky is the limit if you just put your mind to it.