By nature I am a control-loving person. If you've met me for a short time, you know that. I'm a "place for everything and everything in its place" type of person. I like it when things flow by the rules. Consequently, I can get quite bent when people don't do what they are supposed to do. For example, our people gets lots of safety training by an excellent trainer (me!). Even though they know what they are required to do, they don't always do it.
Lately though, I've taken another approach. I have started telling myself and others who are frustrated by these type of incidents one of two variations on the same theme- "I can only control one person (me), and I don't always do as well at that as I should" or more succintly "I can't control other people". Granted, this is something I've known for a while, but I've never really taken it to heart. People control their own behavior. Period. Does that mean we shouldn't educate them and try to influence good choices? Absolutely not! What it does mean is that once I've done my very best to show them the right way, if they choose not to take it, it reflects fully on them. The ensuing consequences are totally on them. I'm completely in the clear.
If it's not in my control, there's really nothing to be done about it. Thus, no need to get upset. I wish I'd have figured this out a long time ago. It does make life a lot simpler.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
This Might Qualify As Justifiable Homicide
Today I was telling one of our managers how well I thought one of his new hires was doing. At the end of the conversation he said "I'm lucky I survived last night". I was really confused until he held up his left hand and said "I lost my wedding ring." He's been married 4 days. The ring lasted 3!
He said he went to the tanning bed yesterday (always a bad idea anyway), and he took off his ring. He thinks it must have fallen out of his pocket at some point. He realized it and went back to check at the tanning salon, but no luck. He had just said last week how the price of gold (currently around $1500/ounce) had made his simple band cost almost $1000. He said he's buying a silver one to replace it.
He said his new bride didn't say much, but he could tell she was not happy. I'm surprised she didn't kill him on the spot and go for a defense of "justifiable homicide".
After he told this story, one of my coworkers said her husband lost his wedding ring when they'd been married less than a month. She said they never replaced it (they've been married over 35 years), and he wears his college ring (which he got quite a bit later) on the ring finger of his left hand.
Morale of the story: don't lose your wedding band. Your spouse will probably not like it.
He said he went to the tanning bed yesterday (always a bad idea anyway), and he took off his ring. He thinks it must have fallen out of his pocket at some point. He realized it and went back to check at the tanning salon, but no luck. He had just said last week how the price of gold (currently around $1500/ounce) had made his simple band cost almost $1000. He said he's buying a silver one to replace it.
He said his new bride didn't say much, but he could tell she was not happy. I'm surprised she didn't kill him on the spot and go for a defense of "justifiable homicide".
After he told this story, one of my coworkers said her husband lost his wedding ring when they'd been married less than a month. She said they never replaced it (they've been married over 35 years), and he wears his college ring (which he got quite a bit later) on the ring finger of his left hand.
Morale of the story: don't lose your wedding band. Your spouse will probably not like it.
Why Warren Buffett is the Ringmaster
Recently I wrote about the trip my mom and I took to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder meeting. Yesterday I saw this article about how the purchase of BNSF has been even more successful than Warren Buffett thought. The guy is a financial genius (and the article has a great illustration too of Buffett as a railroad worker). Enjoy!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Favorite Work Phrase #11
I shared with you my team's motto (see Team Motto). This week another team shared with me their motto- "Order everything". Not surprisingly, this is from our purchasing team. Other areas are supposed to do a weekly inventory of a wide range of items used in those areas. Based on the results, items are ordered as needed. One of the purchasing people told me he has a horrible time getting people to do their inventory. Yes, this is crazy as these are the end users of the products, but I digress. He said his boss now tells him not to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, just order everything for which he didn't get inventory data. If there's too much and nowhere to put it, that's not their problem. It's the problem of the people who should have done their inventory properly.
I used this last week myself. There were two different lunches planned for last Monday. One group had given me an exact count, but I did not get a response for the other. (Ordering company lunches is yet another talent of mine). What did I do? I counted everyone who had the slightest possibility of attending, and ordered food based on that. Was their enough? Yep. Lots of extras- You bet. Griping about running out- Not a chance. I told the purchasing team that I'd put their advice into action. I think they liked that.
I used this last week myself. There were two different lunches planned for last Monday. One group had given me an exact count, but I did not get a response for the other. (Ordering company lunches is yet another talent of mine). What did I do? I counted everyone who had the slightest possibility of attending, and ordered food based on that. Was their enough? Yep. Lots of extras- You bet. Griping about running out- Not a chance. I told the purchasing team that I'd put their advice into action. I think they liked that.
Favorite Work Phrase #10
This week one of my coworkers introduced me to one of his new favorite work phrases "Curtain in the Hot Box". Of course, I had no idea what it meant initially, so he explained it to me. I'll do the same for you.
A hot box is basically a big low temp (roughly 200 degree) oven. We use it because some of our raw materials are like asphalt at room temp. They are heated in the hot box, then they become liquid enough to be used. A garage type door is used to access them. A door to one of our hotboxes failed not too long ago. It came off the track and got bent when it crashed to the ground. Thankfully no one was hurt.
Immediately plans were made to have the door repaired with an ETA of five business days. One of uppity ups said that wouldn't work, we use that hot box every day, and we must have a work around before then. Another department spent no small amount of time coming up with a temporary fix. I was told that the door was actually repaired in 2 days, and that as far as this person could tell- that hot box was never used either day.
"Curtain in the hot box" describes any situation in which someone without the necessary expertise butts in on a situation and unnecessarily adds more work to a team that does.
A hot box is basically a big low temp (roughly 200 degree) oven. We use it because some of our raw materials are like asphalt at room temp. They are heated in the hot box, then they become liquid enough to be used. A garage type door is used to access them. A door to one of our hotboxes failed not too long ago. It came off the track and got bent when it crashed to the ground. Thankfully no one was hurt.
Immediately plans were made to have the door repaired with an ETA of five business days. One of uppity ups said that wouldn't work, we use that hot box every day, and we must have a work around before then. Another department spent no small amount of time coming up with a temporary fix. I was told that the door was actually repaired in 2 days, and that as far as this person could tell- that hot box was never used either day.
"Curtain in the hot box" describes any situation in which someone without the necessary expertise butts in on a situation and unnecessarily adds more work to a team that does.
Team Motto
Does your department at work have a motto- either officially or unofficially? Ours does- "You have not because you ask not". Short, sweet, and full of truth. Very often the reason people don't have things is they simply don't ask for them. I tell people "The elves are on strike. They don't just come in at night and take care of everything." Some examples:
1. Someone came to me a while back and said "Did anyone tell you we're out of forks in the cafeteria?" (ordering plastic cutlery is one of my myriad areas of expertise). I said that no one had. She said "Unbelievable. People have been griping about it all week and no one came and told you we were out". Hehe. I of course ordered them, and they arrived posthaste.
2. Last week someone asked me "Can you please buy us some Gatorade?" (Our plant is not air conditioned, and it hit the 90s last week. We don't want our peeps to get heatstroke). I said sure. I got another call from someone else before I got to the store. Before the week was over a large supply had been obtained. As I was delivering it, someone told me he'd asked another person if we'd be getting any. The person told him to talk to me. I said "You have not because you ask not".
3. Friday I was out in the plant, someone asked me if we were going to get any Popsicles. (see reason in #2). I said "Since you asked, we will". I figure if people really want something, they'll let me know. If not, there's not need to waste my time and the company's money buying it.
I could give you more examples, but I think you get the point. This motto is applicable in many areas of life (those of you from a church background probably recognize the origin on the phrase). In most cases, the worst thing that will happen if you ask is that you'll be told no, and then you are no worse off than you already are. So instead of whining, ASK.
1. Someone came to me a while back and said "Did anyone tell you we're out of forks in the cafeteria?" (ordering plastic cutlery is one of my myriad areas of expertise). I said that no one had. She said "Unbelievable. People have been griping about it all week and no one came and told you we were out". Hehe. I of course ordered them, and they arrived posthaste.
2. Last week someone asked me "Can you please buy us some Gatorade?" (Our plant is not air conditioned, and it hit the 90s last week. We don't want our peeps to get heatstroke). I said sure. I got another call from someone else before I got to the store. Before the week was over a large supply had been obtained. As I was delivering it, someone told me he'd asked another person if we'd be getting any. The person told him to talk to me. I said "You have not because you ask not".
3. Friday I was out in the plant, someone asked me if we were going to get any Popsicles. (see reason in #2). I said "Since you asked, we will". I figure if people really want something, they'll let me know. If not, there's not need to waste my time and the company's money buying it.
I could give you more examples, but I think you get the point. This motto is applicable in many areas of life (those of you from a church background probably recognize the origin on the phrase). In most cases, the worst thing that will happen if you ask is that you'll be told no, and then you are no worse off than you already are. So instead of whining, ASK.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
An Open Letter To Political Candidates
Another primary election has come and gone. After doing my normal pre-election homework, I am still struck by how many people running for office don't get some basic concepts. If you are running for office or know someone who is, please pass these along.
1. You need to be accessible
I'm not a native where I live, so I don't know you. I need to have a way to contact you. Having your name listed in the phone book is a real start. Ladies- if the phone is listed only in your husband's name, that doesn't help me. Remember, I'm not from here and don't know his name.
A website is even better. It doesn't have to anything fancy. Just a no frills page with your phone number and why you are running is great. When I search for "Bob Smith, City Council, My Town", that's what I need to find. If tech isn't your area, have one of your supporters do this for you. If you don't have any supporters, you shouldn't be running.
2. You must return phone calls
I called both candidates for one of the local races. Neither called me back. REALLY? You are desperately trying to get elected, and you can't be bothered to return my call? Well, that does tell me all I really need to know about you. You'll be a lousy officeholder.
3. Have an elevator speech
Be prepared with a 30 second summary of who you are and why you are running. This isn't a speech accepting the Presidential nomination. Focus on being clear and concise. If all you essentially tell me is why your opponent is horrible, that's not helping me. I had one candidate who went on for at least 20 minutes before I cut him off. Remember, short, sweet, to the point.
Following these rules will get you off to a good start, especially in a local race.
1. You need to be accessible
I'm not a native where I live, so I don't know you. I need to have a way to contact you. Having your name listed in the phone book is a real start. Ladies- if the phone is listed only in your husband's name, that doesn't help me. Remember, I'm not from here and don't know his name.
A website is even better. It doesn't have to anything fancy. Just a no frills page with your phone number and why you are running is great. When I search for "Bob Smith, City Council, My Town", that's what I need to find. If tech isn't your area, have one of your supporters do this for you. If you don't have any supporters, you shouldn't be running.
2. You must return phone calls
I called both candidates for one of the local races. Neither called me back. REALLY? You are desperately trying to get elected, and you can't be bothered to return my call? Well, that does tell me all I really need to know about you. You'll be a lousy officeholder.
3. Have an elevator speech
Be prepared with a 30 second summary of who you are and why you are running. This isn't a speech accepting the Presidential nomination. Focus on being clear and concise. If all you essentially tell me is why your opponent is horrible, that's not helping me. I had one candidate who went on for at least 20 minutes before I cut him off. Remember, short, sweet, to the point.
Following these rules will get you off to a good start, especially in a local race.
Where Have You Been?
As my mom and I went through airport security Friday morning, we saw a man and a woman at the end of the x-ray conveyor. They had gallon bags of full size toiletries pulled out. A TSA agent was explaining to them that they could either throw them away or go back to the counter, put them in checked baggage, then go through security again. The lady was starting to get loud. The man with her was calm and try to tell her what they had to do. She said "I can't throw that away. That's my deodorant." She started sounding even more irate. I'm not sure how it ended since by this point we had put our shoes back on and were headed to the gate.
My question- where have these people been? These rules have been in effect for several years. Even if you haven't flown since then, did you not see the big notices on the overhead screens and the signs in the security line? CRAZY.
My question- where have these people been? These rules have been in effect for several years. Even if you haven't flown since then, did you not see the big notices on the overhead screens and the signs in the security line? CRAZY.
I've Been To The Circus
This weekend I went to the circus. In Omaha. My mom and I attended the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Wow, it was awesome. We've both followed Warren Buffett for a couple years. In addition to being a financial whiz, he has some very witty quotes on the subject. The only way to attend the meeting is to be a shareholder (or get someone who is to give you one of their credentials).
Until last year, ownership in his company Berkshire Hathway was out of reach of most of us mere mortals as a single share trades in the 6 figure range (closing price today was $122,310). Last year a B share was created to help finance the purchase of BNSF Railroad. These shares are more attainable ($81.58 at the market close today). Mom and I each bought early last year. When we got our annual reports and shareholder meeting info a few weeks ago, we discussed going. Airfare was not totally astronomical, and we could still find affordable hotel and rental car arrangements, so off we went.
The event has two main portions: the business meeting and the exposition. Every year the meeting opens with a movie. Stars this year included Arnold Schwarzenegger and the cast of the Office, all of whom donated their time to shoot the skits. The majority of time is q & a with Warren and his #2 Charlie Munger. For nearly 5.5 hours they answered questions posted by shareholders. The questions were posed live, so they had to answer from the top of their heads. It was impressive to say the least.
My mom characterized the exposition as something to the effect of "capitalism in action", and she hit the nail on the head. Many of the companies that Berkshire owns whole or in part had their wares for sales. Among the offerings:
Blizzards and Dilly Bars (Dairy Queen)
Underwear (Fruit of the Loom)
Candy (Mars, See's, Ethel M)
Berkshire T-shirts (Fechheimer)
Insurance (Geico)
Shoes (Born, Justin)
Jewelery (Borsheims)
Furniture (Nebraska Furniture Mart)
Kitchen Supplies (Pampered Chef)
Yes, it was something to behold.
Two final thoughts on the circus
1. I would love to know the sum of the net worth of everyone in the building on Saturday. Even if you exclude Warren Buffett and Bill Gates (he's on the board and was there), it was a crowd with some bucks. There was no flashy bling, and everyone we spoke with was very nice and down to earth, but you could tell this crowd had cash. My being there probably lowered the per capita average quite a bit.
2. If Warren and Charlie ever get tired of finance, they could do stand up (or maybe sit down) comedy. They are simply a riot.
As you can gather, we had a great time. If you ever get the opportunity to attend the circus, you should. It's a must-do.
Until last year, ownership in his company Berkshire Hathway was out of reach of most of us mere mortals as a single share trades in the 6 figure range (closing price today was $122,310). Last year a B share was created to help finance the purchase of BNSF Railroad. These shares are more attainable ($81.58 at the market close today). Mom and I each bought early last year. When we got our annual reports and shareholder meeting info a few weeks ago, we discussed going. Airfare was not totally astronomical, and we could still find affordable hotel and rental car arrangements, so off we went.
The event has two main portions: the business meeting and the exposition. Every year the meeting opens with a movie. Stars this year included Arnold Schwarzenegger and the cast of the Office, all of whom donated their time to shoot the skits. The majority of time is q & a with Warren and his #2 Charlie Munger. For nearly 5.5 hours they answered questions posted by shareholders. The questions were posed live, so they had to answer from the top of their heads. It was impressive to say the least.
My mom characterized the exposition as something to the effect of "capitalism in action", and she hit the nail on the head. Many of the companies that Berkshire owns whole or in part had their wares for sales. Among the offerings:
Blizzards and Dilly Bars (Dairy Queen)
Underwear (Fruit of the Loom)
Candy (Mars, See's, Ethel M)
Berkshire T-shirts (Fechheimer)
Insurance (Geico)
Shoes (Born, Justin)
Jewelery (Borsheims)
Furniture (Nebraska Furniture Mart)
Kitchen Supplies (Pampered Chef)
Yes, it was something to behold.
Two final thoughts on the circus
1. I would love to know the sum of the net worth of everyone in the building on Saturday. Even if you exclude Warren Buffett and Bill Gates (he's on the board and was there), it was a crowd with some bucks. There was no flashy bling, and everyone we spoke with was very nice and down to earth, but you could tell this crowd had cash. My being there probably lowered the per capita average quite a bit.
2. If Warren and Charlie ever get tired of finance, they could do stand up (or maybe sit down) comedy. They are simply a riot.
As you can gather, we had a great time. If you ever get the opportunity to attend the circus, you should. It's a must-do.
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