Walk the Talk Mid-Week Motivator

I don't know about you, but I really appreciate daily reminders/motivations/affirmations/whatever, especially since the buck stops at my desk. Consequently, I've subscribed to a few regular M-F newsletters to help get me going in the mornings. Certainly, they don't all hit it every day, but they do jump start that internal cheerleader who reminds me of what's important.

So, this morning when I opened the WalktheTalk.com newsletter, I read this list.


OUR CHARACTER IS SHOWN BY…

The jokes we CHOOSE to share…and not to share.
The derogatory terms we CHOOSE to use…and refuse to use.
The promises we CHOOSE to break…and the ones we keep.
The rumors we CHOOSE to spread…and those we ignore.
The resources we CHOOSE to waste…and those we use wisely.
The lies we CHOOSE to tell…and not to tell.
The responsibilities we CHOOSE to accept…and those we shirk.
The courtesies we CHOOSE to extend…and fail to extend.
The efforts we CHOOSE to put forth…and not put forth.
The quality we CHOOSE to provide…and the corners we cut.
The information we CHOOSE to share…and that which we hoard.
The listening we CHOOSE to do and not do.
The respect we CHOOSE to give…and fail to give.
The helpful hands we CHOOSE to extend…and those we keep in our pockets.

As I read each one, I thought about how it applied to me personally, then how it fits into my professional life, as a company owner, a service provider, and an evangelist of the customer experience.

I don't think the "rules" for great customer service can be expressed any more eloquently than in those used above that define character.

Life Is Now

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t.
Believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it.
If it changes your life, then let it.
Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it’d be worth it."

This quote is all over the place and there doesn't seem to be any site that can offer an attribution. A Facebook friend whom I really don't know well at all recently posted this to my Wall. The timing was perfect. The instructions are perfect. But then again, the Universe has a way with that sort of thing.

It's a gorgeous autumn Saturday. Put away any work and go out to play! Save the review of last week and the planning of the new week for tomorrow.

You Never Know Who You Might Run Into...

This past Saturday was windy and cold here in Marin County, so I decided to do a hike instead of a ride after running errands, catching up on some work (ah, the perks of being the CEO in start-up mode! more on that later...).

So, on the way back from Whole Foods in Mill Valley, I turned off onto the short road that leads up to the Tennessee Valley parking lot. Since it was Saturday, the lot was nearly full and there were quite a few people preparing to set out and more coming back. I have to qualify "quite a few people" as fewer than 40 total. Nice, huh?

This hike/walk into a part of the Marin Headlands follows a paved road slightly downhill to where the pavement runs out and the roadway is fine dirt. You get the feeling of being embraced by the surrounding hills that rise up covered in a variety of natural plants in a subtle range of grey-greens, straw yellow, dark greens, and dun. All along both sides of the roadway were a beautiful variety of wildflowers in blues, pinks, oranges, yellows.

Living in New York your iPod is a first line of defense for creating a bubble around yourself to escape the sometimes unwelcome cacaphony of sirens, cellphone conversations, horns, etc. more than as a source of entertainment when you go for an urban hike, bike ride, or just a cross-town busride. When I first moved to Marin, I'd go out the door similarly "armored" for a workout. Now I leave the iPod behind to enjoy the immense silences broken by the sounds of birds or the crash of the surf on the beach.

The approximately 2 miles to the beach is just right to clear your mind and open up to creative solutions. At one point, you reach the crest of a little hill that reveals the ocean, beach, and lagoon behind it framed by this V of hills folded back to expose this incredible vista.

I go to the beach, spend some time watching the surf, casually look for something to bring back to commemorate this walk. Sometimes I find something, sometimes not.

On the way back I notice the seagulls taking baths in the lagoon water, beating their wings against the water to createmakeshift showers. A little further on, there were three or four quail hens with what must have been 30 babies, skittering off the side of the dusty road into the bushes. Just as I was at a turn in the road framed by several large eucalyptus trees, I look down and see this chubby little fella just hunkered down staring back at me. Didn't move a muscle.

So, we looked at each other. Chubby didn't move...and, I went around and left Chubby to do what newts do.

You never know who you might meet or run into during the course of any given business day. Past experience guides us in choosing the proper action when confronted with a new challenge and helps us avoid disasters. That's what we're working on making happen easily for you in your business every day using the Venntive solutions.


More later.

Despite Everything...

"The secret of success is constancy to purpose." - Benjamin Disraeli, the only Jewish prime minister of England who brought India and the Suez Canal under rule.

Stage 1 of the Tour de France, Robbie McEwen produced a perfect sprint in the final 100 meters to come out of nowhere, surprising even the commentators in a chaotic finale and a decisive stage win. Robbie'd crashed with about 20km to go in a pileup and regained contact with the peloton with less than 10km to go. On a very narrow road, he had to push his way through a mass nearly two hundred riders, a nearly impossible feat. But, he stayed true to his purpose, appearing in the last frantic dash to the finish line to eclipse everyone else. What a finish!


Today in Stage 4, there were so many crashes, guys riding in shredded shorts, dripping blood. Alexandre Vinokourov went down hard and the huge hole in his shorts revealed a quickly darkening purple-dark red bruise covering his hip. Again, it was a race to try to get back on the back of the peloton to remain in contention. His team members led him out to bridge a huge gap, each gradually dropping off after a huge pull at the front of the team paceline. Again, he prevailed and not only regained the peloton, but made it nearly to the front to lose a little more than a minute. (Considering the smallest margin ever by which the maillot jaune was won after three weeks and nearly 2,500 miles is 8 seconds, a minute plus can be devastating.)

Despite all the conjectures, accusations, and outright guilt surrounding cycling's elite about doping, this sport at this level is awe-inspiring and a source of so many important life and business lessons. Team building, singularity of purpose, strategy, persistence, grace, fortitude, etiquette.

These are all top of mind for me right now as we prepare to launch a new Website to feature our first turnkey business suite, VENNtive, a pre-integrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ESP (Email Solution Provider) suite for small groups with up to five users.