NOT Richard Cory but the Author of the Poem

Before we learn the lessons from Richard Cory some of you may need a little background as to who Richard Cory was.  He, in fact was a fictional character written about in a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson and later a song by Simon and Garfunkel.  The song is based on the poem which they studied while in middle school.  I also read that poem in school and it has stayed with me over the years.

I  have included the poem below for you to read and a link below to the song performed by Simon and Garfunkel on YouTube

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, 

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean-favoured and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good Morning!” and he glittered when he walked. 

And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine — we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place. 

So on we worked and waited for the light,

And went without the meat and cursed the bread,

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet in his head.

There are several lessons we can learn from Richard Cory.  The first is be happy with what you have and maintain a good balance between work and home life. This is true today.  When the times are difficult we are tempted to put more hours in at the office to land that next sale.  Remember; don’t let your business run you.

The second lesson we can learn is to be charitable to the best of your ability.  Mr. Cory was richer than even a king yet he passed by people on the street that had nothing and ate only bread.  Perhaps he could have employed these people in one of his business ventures from where his fortune came.  Perhaps at least he could have given a helping hand in some way so they could have a little better life through his charity.  Is this why Richard Cory was unhappy, unhappy enough to put a bullet in his head?  In my years as a CPA I prepared many tax returns for many “Richard Cory’s” and have seen a shocking amount of charitable giving on their tax returns – shockingly little.  I have seen tax returns where absolutely nothing was given to charity for people making hundreds of thousands of dollars and worth millions of dollars. 

Yes, we can assume Richard Cory was a very successful business man but the lesson he has for us is to not follow his example.  I encourage everyone reading this to keep working hard but temper your success or failure with a good work and home life balance and to measure your success by making the world a better place, not in the size of your bank account. Doing good deeds for society through the success of your business is an important metric to measure as a business owner.  How do you measure up?

Have a great week NOT following the example of Richard Cory.

Webster's Dictionary

Last May I wrote a blog about this topic and it has been very popular - getting “hits” quite often.  In the spirit of all movie sequels out there, this week I figured why not try a sequel myself.  I run out of ideas too, just like Hollywood did in about 1982.

Streaming – usually used in the following context:  “The use of mobile devices to watch streaming content increased 55% in 2011”. This means to download and watch movies, television programs or live events on a cell phone, tablet or similar type device instead of watching it on a 55 inch flat panel hi-definition television with Dolby surround sound.  Sometimes this “streaming” occurs within a few feet of the aforementioned television.

Content – See above for use in a sentence.   Until recently, this was generically called entertainment.  For some reason it is now called content.

Mobile device - See above for use in a sentence.   This is what used to be called a cell phone, but can also be anything that has cellular phone or internet connectivity.  These new items have been grouped together but I don’t understand why my old car with a bag phone wasn’t called a mobile device.  Actually, a Winnebago is a mobile device as far as I am concerned.

Tablet - See above for use in a sentence.   This is also a new invention but my definition would be: a computer that does nothing productive.  I believe, when invented, it was designed for how most people use computers and stripped away things that were not used.  After these tablets were in circulation, people realized they could be useful in doing tasks at work so “apps” were created so they could use them for spreadsheets and for letters and other written correspondence.  This phenomenon reminds me of the days when personal computers were first “networked” and it was hailed as a brilliant idea.  IBM kind of thought it was just like the mainframe-”green screen” terminal concept they invented decades earlier.

I hope you enjoyed me poking fun at the world of technology.  I enjoy technology but also find some of the jargon and fads very funny surrounding the latest gadgets.

Have a great week and don’t forget that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow.  Maybe you can buy your sweetie a mobile device so she can stream content on her new tablet.

Hi, I'm a QR code

Technology has created additional needs for businesses and many people, including myself, focus on areas of these new costs that did not exist in the mainstream that long ago.  A few items that come to mind are:

• High speed internet for website, email, Facebook page, remote connectivity to the company network and E-Commerce
• Social media ad campaigns using QR Codes in mobile text messaging, Facebook and Twitter to name a few
• Data plans for smart phones
• Smart phones
• Point of sale technology – “Pay at the pump” etc

The cost of the items listed above are substantial but to be fair let’s look at things that have been reduced or eliminated as a result of the technology.  Employee productivity has gone up simply due to the ability to work when out of the office using remote connectivity to the company network and smart phones for email on the go.  Many forward-looking companies have reduced office space needed by implementing a telecommuting policy.  By doing so, other overhead costs are reduced such as electricity and office supplies since more work is being done at the employee’s home.  The employee on the other hand does not mind because they win by working from home and many times work more just because they can and bottlenecks caused from being out of the office are reduced. See the blog I wrote about telecommuting by clicking here.

The cost of point of sale equipment can be significant but also can reduce the need for labor in the form of cashiers handling customers.  It also increases the speed of the transaction so that more transactions can occur in the same amount of time. Doing more with less without sacrificing service is always a plus.  Think about the swiftness of transaction via debit and credit card versus handling cash and counting out change.  Another benefit is reduced cash drawer shortages since the amount of cash handled has been greatly reduced.  The cost of debit and credit card transactions are not inexpensive, but you must take into the account the positives when counting the cost of the transactions fees that the card companies charge   See my recent blog about credit card company fees by clicking here.

Social media ad campaigns have reduced the need for traditional advertising and marketing media such as the yellow pages and direct mail.  Many studies have also suggested that these new forms of advertising are many times more successful compared to the traditional forms.  Companies with large advertising budgets need to consider reducing their spending in traditional area and taking the savings and devote it to the new social media of Twitter, text/mobile for discounts and coupons using QR codes and Facebook to engage with their customers.

The message we need to understand is that we should be objective and look at the additional costs AND cost savings in the new age of business before making final decisions. I encourage everyone to embrace the technology available today.  If you don’t you may be left behind by your competition and may lose customers who are no longer being reached in traditional ways.

To be fair and balanced, next week I will poke fun at technology.  Have a great week.

Dry hands in about 10 seconds

What you see above is the answer to a simple problem that took decades to solve – the XLERATOR XL-SB.  Now, there is one less problem in this world.  Isn’t that wonderful?  It seems we always are hearing about new problems that have arisen in this world.  Whether it is a European sovereign debt crisis, identity theft or a variety of malicious cyber attacks the new issues seem to grow daily.  We never seem to hear about things we no longer have to worry about.

Please allow me to share my joy with you and let you join me in a celebratory dance as we forever put to bed the aggravation of the poorly designed and long despised public restroom hand dryer.  I feel so good about the demise of those awful wastes of metal.  Not only did they replace and improve the product, the replacement is an absolute home run.  These new hand dryers work wonderfully well and the only question I have is; what took so long?  Was it really so hard to put a turbo on the motors of these things?  We put a man on the moon over 40 years ago but it took until recently to get a decent hand dryer that actually dries your hands in about ten seconds.  The improvement over the former standard is completely unparalleled.  The only thing I can compare it to is when Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927 when the entire league only hit 425!

What other things do I want to go the way of the old, low powered hand dryer?  Below is a list of things that I want the people who solved the hand dryer problem to get working on pronto:

• Good cell phone reception.  I constantly drop calls in the Atlanta suburbs that I frequent.  If I can’t good reception there then where can I?  I have literally been in the shadow of a cell tower cluster and have dropped calls.
• Ala carte cable Television.   The technology exists to do it, let’s make it happen.
• Better climate control at hotel/conference and similar facilities.  Why do I have to wear a sweater in the middle of summer when I go to one of these things?  The same goes for movie theatres.
• An easy option to skip the outgoing message on cell phone voicemail.  I takes 47 seconds for me to listen my wife’s message and the standard message by the cell phone company.  I spend almost as much time using my cell phone as I do repeatedly listening to that stupid 47 second message. Why do I have to search extensively through the manual and internet to find out how to skip the outgoing message?
• Hmmm, so far 2 items are related to cell phones.    While I am at it, how about a speaker in the earpiece of my cell phone that is loud enough for me to hear soft-spoken people?
• Photoelectric eyes that work all the time, without fail, without delay or re-trying.  These failures of technology are mostly found in public restrooms so I guess we solve one problem and get a new one.  I spend almost as much time trying to get these things to work as I do listening to that 47 second outgoing message on my wife’s cell phone!  I saw a study that cited attempting to get one these things to work as the second worst time waster in the workplace after Facebook. Let me make a preemptive statement to defend myself.  I really do not spend that much time in public restrooms.
• How about a side view mirror for your car that shows objects to be as close as they appear rather than being closer than they appear?   In my opinion, when they made the mirror that shows objects closer than they appear it just added more confusion in this age of technology overload.  When I look in the mirror I don’t want to re-calibrate what my eyes see because spending that extra amount of time might make me look at the mirror too long and I will run into the guy in front of me.  So how did this really help anything?  I don’t remember the old mirrors being a problem.  Why don’t they put this trickery to good use and make a scale with this warning: “objects on the scale are heavier than the display shows”?  I would much rather appear be 10 pounds lighter when I step on the scale.  Deceptive and possibly dangerous you say?  Well, it is just as dangerous as having a mirror from the fun house for my car’s side view mirror.

I guess that is enough ranting about the wonderful world of failed technology.  This was supposed to be a celebration of a technological triumph.  I am going to start my celebration dance now, have a great week knowing you can have dry hands in 10 seconds or less.

Is this your most valuable asset?

How will you answer that question?  Is it your computer system capabilities?  Perhaps, you have manufacturing equipment that is valuable.  Maybe it is a delivery vehicle, bulldozer or dump truck.  You might say how you answer that question depends on the business you are in.  I say you might be wrong.  None of those responses consider human capital, your employees.

Over the past several years the economy has been terrible but you have probably maintained your equipment and machinery to keep it running properly.  What have you done for your employees?  Are your treating them as an asset or as a liability?  The “problem” with employees is they have feelings and are just as easily affected by neglect or abuse.   What can you do to keep them happy and working at top speed? 

First of all, money is not everything.  So I am not necessarily saying to give out raises when the times are tough.  Many studies have shown that money is usually not the number one priority for workers.  What you can do is treat them with respect and be up front with them about prospects for wage increases.  My recommendation is to lead by example and show that the belt-tightening is affecting you as an owner too.  This means you should not be having extravagant expenses such as getting a new company car or a plush remodeling of your office. 

Below is a list of some small things that can go a long way to help morale:

• Recognize employees by “catching” them doing something right
• Be accessible to employees don’t hide from them with a bunker mentality
• Be a leader and keep positive. They should take the cue from you and the positive tone at the top will spread through the company.  You must be authentic because if you are phony it is easy to see and will work in the opposite direction of what you want.
• Relax the dress code if appropriate or offer some flex time or establish a telecommuting policy if applicable.  That will save you some overhead and they will save time and gas money even if only for one day a week. 
• If possible, you can give an early quit day once in a while.  An hour early on a nice Friday afternoon goes a long way and really doesn’t cost much.
• Buy donuts or bring in pizza for lunch if possible.
• Find creative ways to keep the mood light and positive, ask for suggestions.

By the way, all of the above can and should be done during good times as well as the bad.  It doesn’t cost much to be nice.  If you have a happy workforce it will pay dividends through better productivity and happier customers.  Good luck, I encourage you to take a step to keep your most valuable asset running at top speed.

Have a great week applying the soft skills of managing your employees.

Stay in 2011, please

In no particular order here is my list:

• My stupid mistakes, other people’s stupid mistakes – forgive and forget!
• The lousy economy
• The European sovereign debt crisis – but can our politicians take a look at what we are heading towards here in the good old USA?
• Billionaires and Millionaires fighting over how to spend their customer’s revenues – DO YOU HEAR ME NFL AND NBA?
• The NFL and the NBA
• 10 year $260 million dollar contracts
• Performance enhancing drugs, steroids and the cheating cheaters that use them
• Data plans for cell phones that cost $30 per month.  I thought the price of technology went down over time?
• Gutless politicians from both sides of the aisle
• Hurricanes, tornadoes and floods
• The BCS and NCAA hypocrisy
• Lack of leadership in all areas
• Hollywood movies.  How about making something that I want to watch that isn’t a sequel or a remake.
• $9 movie tickets
• Chocolate, without you I would not have a problem keeping the weight off
• “LOL”,” JK”, “UR”, “U” and any texting terminology creeping into non-texting use.

Many phrases such as:

• “The New Normal”
• “At the end of the day” – can we please stop using this? I was tired of it 7 years ago.
• “Really?”  This phrase apparently applies to anything but it has run its course.

Have a great week and say goodbye to the silly things of 2011.

Come and get it!

I had the opportunity over the holidays to watch my Alma Mater play a basketball game on ESPN. Despite the foul mood I was in due to the defeat handed to them by a team that had not beaten a ranked opponent since the 1970’s, I began to reflect on my old school and on things I liked about it.  The first thing that came to mind was Essie’s Original Hot Dog Shop located at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Bouquet Street.

This blog, however; is not about The University of Pittsburgh or The Original Hot Dog Shop.  It is about business lessons we can learn from the old-fashioned street vendor. 

Street vendors typically have a loyal following and a long history.  In a commercial airing recently, Pink’s, a famous hot dog place in Hollywood explained how they started as a street vendor over 70 years ago and built their business into a famous restaurant serving their dogs to everyone from the Hollywood stars to the common folk.  What can we learn from these street vendors?  How do they survive in such a competitive market with typically no advertising?   Here are a few reasons:

1)      Location, location, location.  Even if you are not a retail establishment you can learn something about this.  I have mentioned this before.  How convenient is it to do business with you?  Do you have a website for online orders and purchasing?  Do you accept credit cards?   Are your hours adequate and are you open when your customers need you?  Take time at the beginning of the year to look at you from your customer’s viewpoint and adjust where needed.

2)      Word of mouth advertising.   This is often described the best form of advertising and can also be called referral business.  Is your business getting enough word of mouth referrals?  If not, why not?  Is it because you aren’t that good?  Take an honest look at your business and step up your game if you aren’t meeting expectations.

3)      A quirky intangible.  Many street vendors have something about them that makes going to them special.  Maybe it is the owner’s personality, the ordering procedure or something else.  Find a way to get that “thing” that sets you apart from everyone else.  If you are a small company the best way to differentiate yourself from the competition is to make the difference YOU!  No one can sell yourself better than you and no one can be you.  I can thank my friend Mark Zangari for this one as he tells me this all the time and he is right.  I highly recommend him.  How’s that for word of mouth advertising.  Check out his website here.

Have a great week applying lessons from our friends the street vendors.  I am going to get a Hot Dog, I am hungry…

Old reliable

(I have to thank my brother for suggesting this blog topic.)  Back in 1981 I bought a refrigerator for my dorm room; it cost $99 from Sears.  That same size refrigerator today is now $49.  In today’s dollars that $99 purchase in 1981 is equal to $251 after adjusting for inflation.  I don’t know what to think about that but I guess we can thank cheap labor in China for the decrease in price over time.  To run your own calculation for inflation adjusted prices click here.

After my first year of living in on campus housing, I moved to apartment living and I gave that refrigerator to my brother to use at his business.  It is still there and working to this day!  Incidentally, so is my brother’s business but that is probably a topic for another day.  That got me thinking about things that I have replaced over those 30+ years.  In that time span, I have had 8 cars, 8 watches, 4 computers (starting in 1992) and 12 addresses in 3 states.   In that same time we have had 5 U.S. Presidents, 4 Economic recessions, 3 NFL commissioners, 2 Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and 1 appearance by Halley’s comet. 

Even though the $99 price tag was a good bit of money in its day, I guess you could say it was a worthwhile purchase.  I checked with my brother to see if he could tell where that refrigerator was made and the only thing that he saw was a sticker that gave the vital statistics but no official information about where it was made.   I wonder if the $49 dorm room refrigerator made today will last for over 30 years.  My guess is no, it won’t. 

Have great week.

Ringing in 2012 with a bang!

We are rapidly closing out 2011 and I thought it would be a good time to look ahead to what 2012 will bring.  First of all it is a leap year so those of us who are self-employed get an extra day of work so let’s ratchet up those earnings expectations!   February 29^th is a Wednesday in case you want to plan to work extra that day.  The Summer Olympics will be held in London in 2012 running from July 27^th to August 12^th.  Set your DVR now for riveting coverage of your favorite sport.   It is also an election year.  We elect, among other things, a President on Tuesday November 6^th.

For your reference, I have listed below the day on which  banking holidays fall (which sometimes sneak up on you) and some major holidays:

• January 1^st – Sunday
• January 16^th Martin Luther King Day – Monday
• February 20^th President’s Day – Monday
• May 28^th Memorial Day – Monday
• July 4^th – Wednesday
• September 3^rd Labor Day – Monday
• October 8^th Columbus Day – Monday
• November 12^th Veteran’s Day (Observed) – Monday
• November 22^nd Thanksgiving – Thursday
• December 25^th Christmas Day – Tuesday
• December 31^st New year’s Eve – Monday

There are 5 Fridays in these months in 2012 – hurrah for Friday:

March (Q1)

June (Q2)

August (Q3)

November (Q4)

For those of you that prepare payroll please make a note of these holidays so you don’t forget to adjust your pay dates and money transfers accordingly for the holidays listed above.

 Finally, some famous leap day birthdays:

• 1904-Jimmy Dorsey (James Francis Dorsey) – Legendary saxophonist, conductor, songwriter and composer.
• 1916-Leonard S. Shoen – Entrepreneur, founded U-Haul Rental System.
• 1916-Dinah Shore (Frances Rose Shore) – USA, Actress, Singer, Talk Show Host.
• 1924-Al Rosen – Ballplayer, slugging Cleveland 3rd baseman.
• 1936-Henri ”The Pocket Rocket” Richard – NHL Hall of Fame Center, Montreal Canadians.
• 1944-Dennis Farina, USA, Actor
• 1952-Bart Stupak, American politician (Rep-D-Michigan)
• 1960-Anthony Robbins – American Motivational Speaker 

See a complete list here

Have a great week and have a Happy New Year.  See you in 2012.

It's great to take a break from the daily grind

Season’s greetings, my name is Jimmy Sad Eyes and this week I am writing the blog and giving the regular guy the week off.  He asked me to do this and I held out until I got what I wanted – a 5 minute tummy scratch each week in January.  I wasn’t supposed to tell anybody so keep it a secret between us.  

 I am going to write about my favorite things of Christmas. I am not quite two years old so it will be a short list as my experience is limited.

Favorite song:

Jingle Bells.  In case you don’t know it starts out like this:  

Woof, Woof, Woof

Woof, Woof, Woof

Favorite Gift:

Extra Large Rawhide Bone (with a compass in the stock*)

Favorite Christmas Television** Special:

Anything with Snoopy in it.  That dudes rocks!

Honorable mentions:

Christmas leftovers, hey a dog likes to splurge once in a while too.

When the neighbors and their dog Tina come over for a Christmas visit – if you know what I mean.

Eggnog – ‘nuff said

Eating the milk and cookies left out for Santa.  So far they haven’t figured it out.

This is the part when the other guy tells you to have a great week but I always have a great week.  I mix in a few walks, a couple of meals and about 12 hours of naps throughout the day.  You should try that some time, I recommend it in fact.

*Editor’s note – OK, I added that due to my affinity for the movie A Christmas Story

**Editor’s note #2 – Jimmy doesn’t have a high def Television or use the abbreviation “TV” either -   read about low def eyes in a high def world here