Well, I just ran the gauntlet again, zipping from coast to coast and back. Here we were 30,000 feet over the ground on a United flight. Remember when they used to feed you? Now they sell you a “meal” for $5. We aren’t even going to discuss the food!

Here we were, three of us, strangers, side by side. During takeoff they made an announcement about food and because I’ve heard it 40 or 50 times recently, I can tell you that they were asking us to take out our in flight magazines and check the menu for our options. BUT. That wasn’t what we heard. What we heard was more like, “Welcome to oulaksjdflkajsdflkjaflkjsadfj. Thanks for Choosing United.”

Our attendant arrived quickly at our row (the second in steerage) and asked the guy next to me in the window seat what he wanted. His response seemed reasonable, he asked what the options were. Her response was amazing in its simplicity, “The menu is on page 104 of your inflight magazine!”

It was like a small bomb of rudeness had been dropped. The three of us were instantly on the same team, arrayed around her, the weak little prey. She was done fore on the spot. And she didn’t care. The FACT that she didn’t care about her passengers in the slightest was written all over her response. We recovered. We all actually ordered a “meal” from her as it was a 5 hour flight.

As I said, I’ve flown a lot and this crew wasn’t the worst I’ve been with, but it was close.
They weren’t just rude, they were also at times chatty! You never knew. Manic came to mind. On the way home, we were treated to a crew that went out of it’s way to make us happy. So what’s the problem? This is a question of Dignity!

When I fly to Houston or Newark, I’m on Continental. To Chicago? American or United. Denver… You get the idea. I am choosing primarily by schedule. BUT. Every once in a while there is a choice. And when there is a choice, I choose to fly with the most dignity that I can.

Think about that one next time you are interacting with a customer/friend/relative/mentor/stranger! Is this relationship transaction leaving both of us with our dignity intact? If not, is there something simple that I can do to preserve his or her dignity? Dignity is at the root of all good customer service interactions. Shared dignity!

What does strategy mean to you? To me, strategy is conservation of effort.

1. Take 5 highly intelligent, motivated, successful people and put them in a single company. Get out of their way.
2. Take 5 highly intelligent, motivated, successful people and put them in a single company. Aim them in the same direction and get out of their way. Now that is a strategy.

Sounds simple, right? Well, as one commenter pointed out finding a leader for that team is the hard part. Option 1 is like a box of rockets, lit at the same time and headed all over the place. Basically, Duck FAST! Option 2 is more like a five stage rocket, well planned and executed.

Simple, right? Hah!!!!

So this is very apropos to my recent posts. Yet Another friend has jumped over the fence (let’s call him Bill), but he is with a vendor of ours (lets call them IT Support, Inc.), and the owner (let’s call him John) was in my office to let me know the bad news.

We outsource our level one and level two IT support to IT Support, Inc, and John was in my office to explain that we were losing Bill. His story was that Bill was being pressured by members of his religious community to fall in line and work for a more “correct” firm. In fact he went on to explain that Bill was taking a cut in pay.

Well, without even examining the truth of the statement (that will come later), let’s look at the facts here.

1. We REALLY like Bill. Our users like him and we trust him implicitly.
2. Bill was a valuable resource to IT Support, Inc.
3. Bill was valuable enough that this is bad news for all of us.

In fact, I want what is best for Bill here and I think a stint as an IT Manager is probably not a bad idea. On top of that though, I like John and IT Support, but I was not happy to hear the sour grapes. It made me empathize with Bill, not John. Remember, I have invested a lot of knowledge in Bill and we are losing that, but I like Bill enough that I wish him well.

John is in an interesting position here. He knows that his clients love Bill. So he should use that. He should have been telling us how happy he was for Bill. He should have been extolling his virtues and explaining how he hopes to have him rejoin IT Support, Inc., possibly in a more senior position once he has the new skills and experience gained from running his own budget.

He essentially has nothing to lose (he’s already lost it), BUT maybe everything to gain. This may not be very original, but sometimes it needs to be repeated, over and over. Negative is just negative. Remember, attitude is free! John should start reading more of Seth Godin.

I was talking to a friend the other day and he said something that I find repeatable. We have a friend in common. One of those confirmed bachelors who is all of a sudden in a serious relationship and his new girlfriend made a comment that My friend overheard. She said that everything always turns out well for him. He has all of these stories and they all end well.

Well part of it is picking the window for the story. He doesn’t end his stories on a down note, always continuing them to a positive note. On the other hand, I know him fairly well, and his has not been an easy life. Sure, he is a millionaire, but money isn’t everything.

During his childhood, they were on welfare and things were tight. He didn’t make it through college, almost ending his college career in jail, but instead managing to just end his college career.

The truth is though, that his glass is always half full. I don’t know if he was born that way, or if he learned it, but half full it is. And that is the way I live my life. Our childhoods were full of those simple little platitudes, but they were true. Given lemons, make lemonade.

I spent a good part of a year unemployed once, during which the economy seemed fairly unemployed as well. I finally realized that no one was looking for an unemployed CTO. I gave my resume a crew cut. And I got a job doing development. Six weeks later, I made a move to a trouble shooter in a consultancy, and learned what it was like to fly 3-4 days a week.

The truth was though, that as soon as I stopped talking about how hard things were, they weren’t. It wasn’t all rosy. I lost my wife and ended up divorced. But I also learned a lesson. Don’t wait too long for someone to give you a kick in the pants, sometimes you just have to do it yourself.

Never forget that Freedom = Success, not the other way around! Don’t wait for life to hand you Freedom. Instead, grab that attitude by the horns and give yourself Freedom. Success will be there.

Over the course of my life I have learned many things, not the least of which is that sometimes the best way to stand firm is to appear flexible.

Think of the huge Fir downed in the storm, surrounded by a veritable sea of younger saplings, still stranding. It isn’t that they moved, it is that they were able to sway with the wind. People who know me, but don’t know me well are always surprised when I don’t give way. I strive to be easy going, with the flow. But with cause, I can be hard.

I deal, day in, day out, with strong individuals. People who wield power and money on a day to day basis and are used to getting their way. As an agent of change, I’ve been dealing with these people for 15 years. People and businesses are so trained to the stereotypical that they rarely expect the out of the ordinary.

Remember that Fir in the woods? Well, also remember the others that are still standing, hidden in the sea. Life has many things to teach us, but sometimes the surprise is that others aren’t paying attention.

Lately, I’ve been listening to the Ancient Art of War while I run. Let me repeat that. Lately, I’ve been listening to the Ancient Art of War! I’ve read quotes and passages and numerous articles referencing this work in the past, but I’ve never actually read it. I’m listening to it mainly as I run. This means that I’m listening intently (Anything to NOT think about running!).

I’m not done yet, and I plan to listen again in fact, but something is striking me. This guy knew his pragmatism. If your army is expected at A, then go to B. If you are supposed to be strong, then appear weak. If weak, appear strong. If you are planning to go towards A, then be prepared to go towards B.

I could go on, but it isn’t really needed. The Ancient Art of War is like an MBA. If you need it, then one won’t help. If you don’t really need it, then it will help greatly.

So remember, be strong like steel. Be flexible like spring steel!