“Get Over it”, I remembered a hilarious advice, ” Your dog has been dead for five years.”

Sometimes, we do have a problem getting over something.  Or letting go.  But if there is something that will contribute more to our happiness, or health, it is precisely this.

In an age, where sometimes persistence and bulldog headedness is necessary for success ( don’t believe the detractors!) , it is also important that sometimes we accept the reality.

We have to get over that we are never going to be Tiger Woods, or  can not write as well  as J. K. Rowlings. Or maybe my programming skills may never be as good as my co-worker, or I can never look like Brad Pitt.

It also means acceptance of circumstances.  As a manager, and entrepreneur, I can be very persistent, and never accepting defeat.  But in some way, that behavior that contributes to your success can be sometimes expensive, and can cost you in terms of health and friendship in many ways.  There are a couple of people I work with who have been doggedlypushed by me that they can do better.

Some made it, and some have only bitterness.

Sometimes, things are just not meant to be.  As a manager the best skill you can bring to the job is to understand what skills and attitudes to be needed and make sure you get the right person who can do the job.  Putting somebody unqualified will just push him/her to overheat without accomplishing anything….,

One of the greatest art in life, I have learned, may be simply knowing when to let go.

I meet up with some friends and relatives over the weekend for lunch, and after that, one of them took out almost 10 pills.  He says that he has to eat these pills to cure various maladies — vitamins, minerals, supplements, as well as tablets to aid digestion, prevent stomach upsets, lower blood pressure, ease hypertension, combat diabetes, and fight joint pains.

Gosh! and this friend, despite eating all those medicine ( assuming he is indeed sick all over) persist in not exercising, drinking, going out late nights, and eating fatty foods whenever he can.  Does he expect he can get better by drowning himself in bad habits and indulging in magic pills?

I guess we have the same attitude as him — in business and in life. We go around looking for magic pills and silver bullets, so in spite of bad habits, laziness, and whatever, we can still succeed and find happiness without changing ourselves.  WE go around looking at the world, and complain that it is preventing our happiness after believing all the magic it can weave on us ( of course, led by companies who says magic pills and formulas for success do work) and when you look deep down, it is not the world, but ourselves who are doing it all wrong.

Maybe there is worth in the chinese medicine practice which expounds that if you are sick, it is because your energy flow, and your whole body is not in harmony, and if you want to get well, you have to make the whole system healthy.  In contrast to western medicine, which focuses on a specific issue, and tries to fix only that issue.

Maybe we can check out - if we have not succeeded the last 5 years, and we found out that we persist in doing the same things we have done the last 5 years, then are we expecting different results if we continue the same things just because we subscribe to shortcut theories and silver bullets?

Over the weekend, I finally sat down and said that I would solve an issue — for so many weeks, I have been getting over a hundred comments a day - all what we could call spambot posts, where advertisements jumbled links.  It is easy for these people to post comments as they have an automated software to do so.

There are ways to combat this, and I believe the best way is to force users to identify a random word displayed as an image so that automated software cannot read it, and therefore cannot post.

I used Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam Image Plug-in and so far, it has been quite effective — I don’t have to spend time everyday deleting useless comments, and I believe more people like to comment as they can see it immediately posted as opposed to writing something and not seeing it for 2 or 3 days because it was still being moderated.  If you are using Wordpress, you can use this!

Joel Spolsky is a well known writer and programming guru-entrepreneur.  In this article, he makes a good point on what people to hire ( get only smart people, and people who can get things done — and he make a clear example and distinction), and generally how to hire and conduct interviews plus a whole lot of other great tips.

There are two kinds of businesses ( there are more, but this is rather a simpler way to analyze this) that you can classify - businesses like legal, film-making or software development where getting the best people becomes essential - because a great programmer can do the job that a hundred programmers cannot do, or a great salesman can sell a hundred times more than a salesman who does not have a clue), and businesses like Walmart or McDonalds where you have very well defined brands and processes where getting more quantity people ( rather than quality people) is good enough - in short, put a person in front of the McDonalds counter, and whether he is PhD, or is three times smarter, he can only sell or do so much more than the averaged well trained counter clerk.

But no matter how smart, you absolutely want to get people who can get things done.  I must admit that most of my frustrations the last few years ( and I reckon also most of the people/entrepreneurs I know ) are working with people who can talk, and seemingly smart, but who probably finds it a challenge to get some of the simplest things done.  As Joel aptly points out — there are people out there who can mesmerized an audience for three hours on the theory of branding and marketing, but who seemingly would be lost ( and take days to resolve ) when confronted with a customer who wants to return a product that is out of warranty.

Although some parts of it tends to be technical ( and after noting that Joel is speaking from the point of view that his business is looking for just a handful of great great people per year)  then you should absolutely read this.  But even if you don’t, he makes excellent references that you can remember.

After all, all things being equal, it is always better to get people who are smarter, and knows how to get things done.

Many of my posts, and questions have been how to get into business.  Yet, it seems as important is how to get out of business - that is how to either sell the business, or hand it to the next generation of leaders.

This is not a concern for many businesses for now, but for instance, statistics show that the majority of Canada’s small and medium size business owners plan to leave within the next 10 years, yet more than 52 percent of them haven’t plan on how to exit.

As I said before, maybe this is also an opportunity for some business to buy existing businesses as many of them may probably have not a successor, and probably many small businesses may choose to liquidate or simply close.

The Canadian Federation of Independent business launched a book called Investing in Your Fuutre; building a Succession Plan.  How about you?  Do you have a plan?

Raytheon has 76,000 employees and sold over $22 billion in 2005.  CEO Bill Swanson’s leadership is based on management rules he picked up in his over 30 plus years of Raytheon.  His 25 unwritten rules of Management has become a classic, and was the cover of Business 2.0 Magazine.

Bill Swanson’s ‘25 Unwritten Rules of Management’
1. Learn to say, “I don’t know.” If used when appropriate, it will be often.
2. It is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it.
3. If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
4. Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what’s there, but few can see what isn’t there.
5. Viewgraph rule: When something appears on a viewgraph (an overhead
transparency), assume the world knows about it, and deal with it
accordingly.
6. Work for a boss with whom you are comfortable telling it like it is.
Remember that you can’t pick your relatives, but you can pick your boss.
7. Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits
are what they are supposed to be. Avoid Newton’s Law.
8. However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best efforts.
9. Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of
difficulties, discouragement, or indifference. Don’t be known as a good
starter but a poor finisher.
10. In completing a project, don’t wait for others; go after them, and make sure it gets done.
11. Confirm your instructions and the commitments of others in writing. Don’t assume it will get done!
12. Don’t be timid; speak up. Express yourself, and promote your ideas.
13. Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get it done.
14. Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.
15. Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements.
16. Don’t overlook the fact that you are working for a boss.
* Keep him or her informed. Avoid surprises!
* Whatever the boss wants takes top priority.
17. Promises, schedules, and estimates are important instruments in a well-ordered business.
* You must make promises. Don’t lean on the often-used phrase, “I can’t
estimate it because it depends upon many uncertain factors.”
18. Never direct a complaint to the top. A serious offense is to “cc” a person’s boss.
19. When dealing with outsiders, remember that you represent the company. Be careful of your commitments.
20. Cultivate the habit of “boiling matters down” to the simplest terms. An elevator speech is the best way.
21. Don’t get excited in engineering emergencies. Keep your feet on the ground.
22. Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.
23. When making decisions, the pros are much easier to deal with than the cons. Your boss wants to see the cons also.
24. Don’t ever lose your sense of humor.
25. Have fun at what you do. It will reflect in your work. No one likes a grump except another grump.

I noted this entry and agree wholeheartedly. I think of the chinese ( and asian) culture that we pay respect to our elders, and actually acknowledging other people’s strengths and respect is really the hallmark of the true great person.

Respect: The Ultimate Business Etiquette
>From anita campbell’s small business trends:

—–
Your Business Blogger is noticing a most disturbing trend in small and large business clients. The younger employees do not, it appears, render proper subservience and groveling to their elder-better bosses. This disturbs my sense of order and entitlement.
Is good ol’ fashioned bootlicking dead?
As I traverse cubicle farms across the fruited plain, I see entry-level drones who toil away. Plowing as straight a furrow as any dependable farm hand. Yet these hayseeds have yet to learn manners.
In the US of A the worker bees would continue typing and mousing away when the boss and Your Observant Consultant would wander by and stand at the cube entrance. The employee’s eyes would remain on the monitor — ears open to the boss — listening, we were told, to the manager’s every instruction. The young employee would call this “multi-tasking.”
I call it rude.
I compare this ‘dis’ trend to the contrast of the warm glow Your Business Blogger would routinely feel when consulting in India. Whenever the business owner enters a room. All work would cease. All would stand.
Then the boss would magnanimously, graciously invite the employees to be seated and resume their work.
Of course, no one moved. Until the owner left the room.
(There’s a lot to be said for the kiss up, kick down management style of the sub-continent.)
In India the employees would stand up. In North America the employees don’t even look up.
The US Army, as usual, gets it right when dealing with rank:
The senior never thinks of it.
The junior never forgets it.
Whenever soldiers would cross paths, the junior would acknowledge the senior. If one is an officer the junior will salute the senior. And the senior will return the courtesy.
The private businesses who never had employees who were privates in the Army, think and behave as if everyone is equal.
Wrong.
There is far too much of this egalitarian nonsense in our culture. Much of it comes from the academy, where most nonsense originates.
At the University of Virginia where Charmaine earned her doctorate, the instructors are addressed as “Mister.” Not “Doctor.” Mr. Jefferson was a fan of fraternite and Voltaire and all things French.
Egalite run amuck.
But the manager and the astute, ambitious young woman, understanding the spirit of the times, knows that nothing changes in the human spirit. We all want to be appreciated. Even the boss.
So the young future leader desiring to be a stand out, will stand up when the boss enters.
The young man will stand up when a lady enters the room.
The employee with integrity will take a stand.
A stand up guy.
And everyone will accuse him of apple-polishing.
But he will soon fill those boots everyone thought he was a-licking.

I do a lot of emails, both using thumb keyboards and full keyboards, as well as short text messaging from cell phones.  It has always been an interest how to get your thoughts quickly- to people and to the computers.

I can probably type about 60-80 words a minute in a keyboard, and probably a fraction of that in a thumb keyboard, and even slower with predictive texting in cell phones.  The quest of course, has always been how to make this process easier.

That is why I read this with interest - because it confirms that at the end, we can do it better because of two things - we can inherently speak faster than we can type and a good voice recognition system is really the way to go in the future.

This was what Been Cook (reputedly the world’s fastest texter) acknowledge when he handed defeat to a voic recognition computer who bested his record on a complicated 27 word message.

The 18 year old from Provo Utah, competed with a computer, as well as two other people.  He used basic 3 key typing ( which means texting from a cell phone numeric keypad which may involve 1 to 3 strokes in the pad to generate a letter).  His three competitors were a voice controlled computer, one using predictive software, and the other a thumb keyboard of a Blackberry phone.

The first message, “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in 30 minutes,” took over a minute with the predictive software, 29 seconds with a Blackberry and 16 seconds for the record holder. The voice recognition software finished it in under 8 seconds.

The final defining message was the message that brought Ben the accolade a few months back.  This was the message that read “The razor toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygo centrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.”

Cook finished in 48 seconds, six seconds more than his record. But it took the Nuance voice recognition  program just 16 seconds.

The program Nuance is an add on to the phone that envisions it as a tool for drivers and others who want to send text messages, instead of calling or leaving a voice mail, but don’t have time to sit and type.

At any rate, maybe it is time to go back and check out also the voice recognition programs in Windows Vista and new Office 2007. With more accuracy, hopefully we will find more productivity by talking to the computer!

Source: Yahoo

A McKinsey study noted that there are certain theories that may not be as simplistic, and therefore when used, is not as effective. For instance, simplistic organizational solutions, or popular techniques like Key performance Indicators ( KPI) would not be adequate if not properly implemented.  The carrot and sticks incentives is hardly effectively as an option to motivate and encourage,  and command and control leadership can be the least effective way to direct the efforts of the employees.

There are best practices that needs to be more clearly defined — defining a structure for accountability, the importance of articulating the vision to set the directino, and the development of an environment that encourages openness, trust and challenge.  More ….

Got this from Business Pundit and totally agree with it:

Greatness and success are two different things. Success requires some luck and
timing, no matter how good you are. (Tiger Woods still loses tournaments.)
Greatness is a measure of skill at a particular task.

And the only way to be great ? … Deliberate practice.  The more you do it, the better at it you will be.