Norm!

Many of us can remember this being yelled at the entrance to a beloved character on the old “Cheers” sitcom.  It reminds me that we really do like it when we are recognized and appreciated for just being somewhere, even if just as a customer.

A story from my past:  When we lived in Lees Summit, Mo, a new coffee shop opened in a direct line between where I lived and where I worked.  This was simply more than one could expect out of life.  The name of the shop was JP Coffee, and as I looked for them on the Internet, it looks as though they have closed.  That truly saddens me.  But, anyway, the story is great.  I started stopping for coffee and after several months passed, the person who had been taking my orders cautiously asked if there was any chance that I would ever order anything different.  I answered that I would always order the same thing.  From that point forward, no matter how full the place was, my coffee would always be sitting and waiting for me.  Over time, I found that the person who served me my coffee in those early days was Linda, the owner.  And, also over time, every so often, Linda would just tell me that I had paid for enough cups of coffee for the week and that the one in front of me was “on the house.”  What a great way to interact with a vendor.

In my life, and probably even more so as I begin to age, I have gravitated to this type of a business relationship.   This is not only with the people that provide goods and services to my family, but actually to those that I buy from at work.  Whether it is a family doctor, the person who works on my car, or the person I buy coffee from, I seek this type of relationship.  I know there are times I could probably save some money by shopping around and comparing prices, I find comfort in the familiarity of people I know. I believe that if something goes wrong, they will take care of me.  In the business world, this has worked out for me on several occasions as I have been able to explain to a vendor that I really need help on an order.  In the past, I even had one vendor who gave me the spreadsheet he used to calculate his cost, and told me what his target margin was.  That way, if I needed to price something, I had everything that I needed in front of me.

This all seems to come down to trust in the business relationships we are involved in every day.  When I take my vehicle to Jack at Freedom Tire, I know that the work he suggests will be the right thing to do, and not just a bunch of extras to drive the fees up.  I also know that he will tell me what I need to do to make sure our vehicles are safe, because the last thing Jack would ever want to have happen is for someone to be hurt because of work they did or didn't do.

So, how does this happen?  How do we replicate this in the rest of our business lives or if we are trying to launch a new idea or business?  I think that it happens with repetition and time, but, if JP Coffee is really gone, there is something else.  I think that it is really about the “folks,” but honestly, that is kind of the place I always go first.  When I look back at my experience at JP Coffee, after the place started getting busier, I was always taken care of, but when it was no longer Linda at the counter, the experience was different.

Does this mean that we can’t grow business to be big?  I remember the owner of a BBQ joint in Kansas City (Hayward’s) telling me that when he had attempted to run multiple locations all that happened was that the food was not as good, and neither was the profitability.  On the other hand, my friend Jim Bradrick has developed this type of a relationship with a monster, Starbucks.  He has their app on his phone, and only pays there by reloading the app.  He walks into any Starbucks in the UNIVERSE with utter confidence, knowing exactly what he is going to experience.  Sometimes, when we're together, I expect him to address the person at the counter by their first name, even though he has never been in that location before.  Simply amazing.

There will always be a place for the giants in the economic landscape, but I also think that there also will always be a place for the little shops.  We need both.  We need to be able to go to a place that has the buying power of hundreds, or thousands, of locations to hold our costs down.  But, we also need a place to go where they know our name, and who we are, and will take care of us as individuals.  And although we may pay a little more there - we will probably feel better about it.

Mis-Placements

Have you ever stopped to think about the things we inadvertently leave behind?

Last year when we took an old washer and dryer set out, I found a needle nose pair of vice grips behind them.  Well, this was a coup for me since I didn't have a pair of those, so of course that's where my mind went first, but after that, I began thinking about things that just get lost along the way.  If you watch any of the shows about antiques/old stuff today: “American Pickers,” “Pawn Stars,” “American Restoration.” etc., you can't help but be blown away by the prices some of these older items fetch.  I remember someone talking about taking something worthless and burying it in the desert for 10,000 years. At that point it would be priceless.

But all of that is just stuff.  And those of you who know me understand that I believe while stuff makes our lives comfortable, it really is unimportant in the overall scheme of life.  I had the good fortune in the middle of my life to have many of my “worldly” possessions taken from me. It was at that point, I truly discovered that the important things are people who around us, and the activities we share together.

When we were on vacation, we had the opportunity to celebrate three different times with my sister, in groups of ever increasing size, leading up to the last celebration with fifty-seven people.  These people from all walks of life have one thing in common - my sister.  It was a joy to watch.  It was amazing how many times that evening I heard people tell me they looked forward to meeting me since they had only known me through my sister’s stories.  That really made me smile.

The other day, I also ran across a quote of my sister’s from her senior year. It resonated with me as I was thinking about all of this.  She said, “You have to be ready at a moment’s notice, to abandon everything you are and everything you have in order to become what you truly can be.”  These probably aren't her exact words, but I bet you all get the idea.  All of this came together for me and made me think about what I have done to bring me to this point in my life. Once again it challenged me as I wondered if I am in the right place.  That is something that I will keep working on.

So, I find myself asking what it is I will leave behind in people's memories.  First of all, I have two great kids who are beginning to build wonderful lives for themselves.  This is without a doubt my biggest legacy.  And then, of course, I will leave a ‘bitchin’ shop. But that is something that will probably get slowly taken apart as friends and family need items or there is a sale.  Mostly though, I expect it will be the same thing we all have from those who went before us.  There will be a certain amount of things which will survive for some time.  I still have a very nice set of screwdrivers that were my father’s, but those things get used up or lost with time.  The things that you never forget are the memories - the moments that were just right. There was a day with my son that we didn't really have anything special to do, but we were together all day long and we both still remember the day with fondness.

Even though my tendency is to want to get home at the end of the day and then stay there, I will continue to push myself to be around people, to have fun and make memories.  And even more specifically, I will continue to do this with my family, especially as it continues to grow.  We will laugh, have fun, and make memories.  That way, all of the things left behind will be fond memories and thoughts, and not just an old pair of needle nose pliers behind the washer and dryer.

Back in the Saddle

Finally! It feels as though I am finally back to normal and have fully returned from vacation.  There were many things which helped me get to this point: being back at work, back in Johnston, back with friends, back on a normal schedule.  But one of the big ones was finding my way back to the Toybox ... to my shop.  I had missed being where I could actually build something.  The first opportunity I got out there, I spent most of the time just sitting - no music, no tools, just quiet. I have never been into meditation or anything like that, but I have to think that what I felt was similar to that type of experience.

This has always been my pattern.  My mom knew that when I had been through enough, whatever it was, she would find me in the shop at home doing something, even if it was only cleaning.  I am not the first generation that behaved this way. When I was very little, the shop was where dad and all of his friends would gather at the end of a day, or on a weekend to get what had happened during the week out of their minds.  They spoke about woodworking or gun-smithing and there was always a good deal of humor and picking at each other. This was a group not above the occasional practical joke.  So that was the first group of men I found myself belonging to.

When I worked for Payless Cashways and was assigned to the store in Ft Dodge, we found a shop that helped all of us to find our center.  The Midwest Top Shop was a countertop provider for us during the day, and at the end of the day, it became a place to go and sit and have a beer.  Matt, the owner, was never foolish enough to let any of us have a key to the place, but it was always open to us regardless of the day or the hour.  If our families were unable to find us, they called the Top Shop and inevitably found us there.  That was a good time.

While there, I had the second nicest shop I ever owned.  It was a 24 x 24 double garage, heated and insulated, and where Andrew and I spent a great deal of time. He began to have an appreciation of the skills needed to put things together and think things through.  He was also spending time in his grandfather’s shop, typically pounding nails or using the scroll saw.  I remember the night he had come to the Top Shop with me and was working at a bench.  The rest of the guys that were there were amazed by the fact that at the age of five he could accurately make all the sounds for the equipment he was used to being around.

Fast forward to today. Andrew has spent a couple of weekends at home since he graduated.  While this is truly at a time when he is facing big changes, the fun thing is that during these visits, he's gone to the Toybox with me not just because I asked, but because he wanted to.  He's been a big help on some of the projects that I have going on out there.  Maybe I've extended the desire for a shop in the next generation.  His may look completely different than mine - it may well be electronics and computers, but he will have some kind of space where he can process his day and work on his passions.  So Lyndsey, I will just apologize now, because the acorn really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Anyway, I am back, re-engaged, and looking forward to getting projects completed and other projects started.  I also have most of the parts bought for a computer that I am going to build.  A friend sent me a list of the Top 10 DIY 'must-dos' a while back and building a computer was on that list.  That will be something to look forward to in the next few months.

As always, thanks for reading and have a GREAT week.

Relativity

Nope, I am not going to talk about Albert Einstein or time compression today.  Those might be interesting but are way beyond my field of endeavor.  The relativity that I am talking about is why the week before vacation seems to go so quickly, and the week after vacation seems to drag on forever.  Did you ever think about that?

I have always wondered why it seems as though during the week prior to vacation you must complete two full weeks of work in order to 'earn' the right to leave for a period of time.  Of course, once you arrive at your destination, you then feel the need to stay attached.  This has really gotten much worse in the last few years with the addition of cell phones, laptops, and instant communication which seems to deluge us every moment of every day.  Anyway, while on vacation we still check email and voicemail, make a few phone calls to assure that everything is going right, and may even be part of a conference call just to assure that all is really okay.

As if this weren't enough, we come back from vacation and spend what seems like the longest week ever catching up on little things that people didn't do the way you would have the week you were gone.  Typically, for me, these are all of the little things that I just handle and others don't know exactly how I do them.  So I come back and spend the week getting little things done not only for the present week, but the week I'd been gone.

As I sat and thought about all of this, there were two things that really struck me about myself.  The first goes back to my father and mother.  My father was the County Attorney.  This meant that there was never a time that people didn't stop him on the street or come to the house for advice.  In fact, over the doorbell on the side of the house everyone used was a typed note saying simply, “Remember, free legal advice is worth exactly what you pay for it.”  When mom and dad started looking for a place to go for family vacations, they looked far enough away that people couldn't just drop by to see them.  In their case, this was Lake Okoboji in the Iowa Great Lakes system in northwest Iowa.  It was close enough that we could get there in a day, but far enough away so people wouldn't just stop by.  It worked wonderfully for them and as a family we had a great deal of wonderful family vacations - typically staying at the lakes in June which was not yet considered tourist season.  So, like my parents before me, last week my family went to Maine, in a time that is not considered tourist season, and a place definitely far enough away that people couldn't stop by, but the experience was completely different.  Now, don't misunderstand, we had a great vacation, but because of the way the world is today, the only days I escaped work were when the business was closed.  We will come back to this in just a minute.

The second thing I learned last week (probably relearned) is that you can have the best possible team working with you and if you do not share everything which needs to be done on a regular basis, you will still feel alone.  Our Lean Consultant refers to this as “heroic management,” and I believe he is right.  I have a great team of people with whom I work, but there are a bunch of things that rather than teaching, I just handle myself. These are the things I have to catch up on when I get back, and the things that make the first week back after a vacation such a struggle.

Back to relativity. Based on the way that I behaved, both getting ready for and coming back from vacation, I changed the way both of those weeks felt.  After the first,  I felt as though I needed a vacation to recover, and after having time with family and friends, I came back and put myself through the grinder, making it feel as if I had never taken a break at all when I finally arrived at my weekend.

What am I going to do with all of this new found, or re-found, information?  I am going to try to learn from my parents and find a way to vacation where people cannot reach me as easily.  In the world that we live, this is not geographical, this is attitudinal.  Between now and the next vacation I take, I will work diligently to make sure my team knows about all of the weekly functions I accomplish. With that, I will work to be more willing to leave the cell phone and the iPad sitting on a table and just enjoy the vacation.

It will be interesting to see how I do with this.

Humanity Revisited

Last time I wrote about watching people around you. As I said, I've always found this fascinating, but unlike other things I've shared with you, this topic really stuck with me. It continues to resurface in my mind over and over.

We just spent the week in Maine visiting my sister. My family and I have visited the state many times. The people in Maine - or Mainers - are a fascinating group and I enjoy getting to know them and even watching their interactions with others. This year the depth with which I was already considering this thought of people watching brought a new level of interest. A couple of stories may help you see this through my eyes.

I believe the first time we visited Jaye was in 2000. The kids were relatively young - 10 and 7. Everything was all new to us and we were going to be there for nine days, so packing was far from light. This was also prior to the time airlines discovered they could charge fees for everything. Anyway, we flew into Portland, gathered the untold number of our bags and then drove two hours to Jaye's house. About three hours later, I looked for the camera bag and it was nowhere to be found. In mentally retracing our steps, we determined it had been left sitting on a bench in the airport. I immediately wrote off the bag and all of its contents, knowing it would have been found and removed by this time. I was ready to move on.

Jaye, on the other hand, convinced me that we should drive back to Portland as the bag would still be there. Off the two of us went, with me truly believing we were on a fool's errand. I was wrong. When we got to airport security, our bag as there, and the only issue they had with the situation was that I didn't have information on the bag for them to find me.  They had gone through everything: found my gym pass and had even called them to see if they could help find me.  Of course, who thinks to keep your local gym up to speed on any address changes, so of course they were of no help. The security officer's biggest concern was their inability to locate me so I wouldn't worry.  I was blown away.

Off we went, back to my sister’s house, with me shaking my head about how nice the people were in Maine.  To emphasize the point, just before we got home, Jaye told me to pull over to a roadside stand since we needed tomatoes and strawberries.  I pointed out that the stand was closed, and with an exasperated wave of her hand, she told me to just pull.  After choosing what she wanted, Jaye looked around to find something else - a cash box.  Inside were slips of paper, a small amount of cash and a note that simply stated, “Write down what you got and leave the cash in the box. Thanks.”  As you could expect, I was DONE for the day.  What was this place?

Now fast forward thirteen years.  In that time I think that I have visited eleven times, once in the middle of the winter when there was no thought of tourists or how to treat them.  Last week we were preparing for a friends and family celebration and of course we needed to go to the grocery store.  After coffee at Jaye’s kitchen counter one morning, off we went.  We wandered around the store, gathering the needed items and it struck me that everyone we met in the aisles made really strong eye contact, but unless I said something, they really felt no need to converse at all.  This seemed odd.  In my state, there is little eye contact, but when it occurs, we feel the necessity to speak, if even to just say hello.  Way different.

So, to follow up on my experience I asked Karen about the near encounters in the grocery store.  She explained that by commenting that since there was obviously nothing that needed to be said, why would you speak.  Karen is a Mainer, through and through.

As I wrote last time, look around and be amazed by the unique differences you see in people.  Enjoy them and think about what drives them.  It can really help you to have a stronger insight into another member of the human race.

I need to get back to the Toybox.  I haven't been out there for a couple of weeks and am craving the smell of sawdust.  Sooner rather than later. Maybe this weekend.

Humanity

A couple of weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to help with the YESS Duck Derby.

I call it an opportunity for two reasons.

First, I was able to help an organization I truly believe in.  YESS spends all its energy protecting those in our society that need the most protection, our children. Even more specifically, YESS provides safe housing and food to those who need help the most.  I am always amazed by the fact that the folks there can do their job effectively, day after day, without becoming completely overwhelmed and just giving up.  My hat is off to them every single day.

Second, and even more to the point for my thoughts today was that I was given the chance to people-watch for the day.  This is one of my true joys in life, and if you don’t do this once in a while, you are really missing out.  We live in an amazing melting pot, in our own neighborhoods and across the country. Anytime people meet en masse, the cross section you see is phenomenal.

The Duck Derby was a perfect example.  The day was cold and rainy, but even so, I saw every degree of the clothing spectrum; from those with full rain gear and umbrellas to those who were wearing scanty running shorts and tops.  This is the thing that I love about this people-watching thing.  If you stop and think, or maybe listen, you understand the way people think.  In every case, they got up in the morning and dressed; making decisions they believed were the best for the situation.

Another perfect opportunity to people-watch is at the Iowa State Fair.  It is a venue which begs for the activity.  Part of what you see at the State Fair is the way people fit into groups.  Many times you find that the way people look and act actually seems to bring them together into groups.  At this point you may say “Duh” as I have said something that we all intuitively know, but rarely do we actually get to see this at work.  You can watch it at work at the fair.

I have one more.  If you want to see the reverse of this, but one that still seems to work itself out, go to a hockey game; I would recommend the Des Moines Buccaneers if you can.  If you look closely, you will find the most unlikely people sitting right next to each other and being all sorts of fine with it.  The guy wearing a motorcycle vest having just ridden in from Colorado is seated right next to the lady wearing a $10,000 mink coat, and both are having fun.  In fact, more than likely they will come together and actually find something to talk about.

In the work world, we attempt to artificially create these situations by putting people in the same uniforms or shirts and through work, they have shared experiences.  This works to a point, but falls far short of what the world does all on its own.  So, get out there and watch people.  Go to a ball game, or a mall, or even to the airport.  Watch the interactions that occur and how the groups informally come together and break up.  The experience is fascinating, and can actually be a little humorous.  And, if you see me dressed in black dress socks, sandals, and shorts, don’t laugh because for whatever reason, I thought that this was the thing that was right to wear today.  Celebrate my freedom and independence in making a decision.

One last thing today.  One of the authors that I follow is Seth Godin.  I enjoy his thought process, the manner that he challenges me, and the things his writing causes me to think about.  He had a very good blogpost  last month about competence and possibility.  This one I will keep.  I thought you might like to read it as well.

I get to spend time with family and friends next week and I am certain that I will have a new thoughts and stories to share here.  Stay tuned….

Tactical Blunder

In the last few weeks I talked with some college age students about their future and I was reminded of things I have told young people several times.  I believe that this generation, just like every generation which has come before, has the ability and potential to change the world.  Not just in small stepwise motions, but in big sweeping ways.

Then I asked myself why my generation didn't change the world like that?  What happened with the children of the 70s?  We certainly made changes, but I for one, expected more from us.

You probably won’t be surprised to read that I have spent some time thinking about this and I have a theory.  Since we were born when we were, we watched the 60s happen, but we weren't participants, at least not in big ways.  We were just enough younger to not be part of the marches, the sit-ins, and all that was the 60s.  We watched it passively, and we listened to what others, mostly older people, had to say about things that were happening.  Needless to say, most of what we heard was not positive.  The fascinating thing though in looking back, is that group, for all of their negative comments, really did change the world.  They changed the way people viewed basic concepts such as family, sex, and honesty.  They pushed and asked questions and didn't accept standard answers as good enough.  And my generation watched.

I think that this caused many of us to decide that the right thing to do was to work from within the system rather than outside the system to exact change.  And we got really good at it.  We learned how to climb the ladder within the organizations we belong to; we learned to help through volunteering at church, Scouts, or community.  We did a lot of good.  But, at the same time, I think we missed an opportunity to turn the world on its head and ask hard questions.  If we had, where would we be now?  Would we be free from foreign oil?  Would we have cured many of the big diseases of the day?  I don’t know.

Here is what I do know.  Sometimes it is best to work inside the system, and sometimes it is best to go outside the system, and the trick is in knowing when to do which.  I actually think that with more maturity, I have a better sense today for which approach works and when to apply them.  So, as I continue to interact with younger people, I will continue to encourage them to change the world, and I will talk to them about how to make those changes happen.  We will discuss ideas such as when it is best to network and talk to those whom you know and believe in you, and when it is best to climb on top of a bench in the middle of the public square and scream about something you are passionate about.  Not doing that was a mistake on my part several times in my life, and I think it was a mistake my entire generation made.  We worked so hard to get along and not rock the boat that we only accomplished a fraction of what was possible.  I hope that does not happen to another generation.

Changing gears just a little bit, I wanted to tell you that I appreciate those of you who take the time to read my blog.  I hope it brings a smile to your face sometimes and on other occasions causes you to stop and think for a moment.  It has been fun to write and I look forward to continuing.

In the shop, I am working on the build of a stationary router table.  After my sander, this is a piece of equipment I have needed for a long time.  I also finished reworking my father’s lathe and I am excited that it is still a part of my shop.  If any of you are working on projects, take time to share them with us.  I would love to know what you are doing.