Big Red Car here. Had a big storm come through last night right at midnight. Wind, rain, lightening. It was very powerful. There is something comforting about listening to a big storm from the safety of one’s warm, comfy bed, no?
Well, folks, I was out in the driveway drenched and freezing, so I hope you were thinking of me. But, hey, enough whining — how about some Rules?
This is Big Red Rules X, so we will be compiling Big Red Rules VI through X and making another booklet. The first booklet — Big Red Rules I through V — got over 4,000 reads over on Scribd.com. <<< link Maybe you were one of them.
Planning
Plans are important — they tie the vision and strategy and tactics together — but they mean nothing without action. Every day ask yourself and your managers — what have our best people done today to further our strategic plan? To accomplish the objectives of the tactical plan? A few consecutive days of answering “nothing” and you are in the swamp. Get back on plan. If your best people are not working on the strategy, who the Hell is?
Plans, knowledge and skill are not the same thing. You have to see it. Plan to change it. You have to develop the skills to enact the changes. Brain surgery is still manual labor regardless of how much knowledge a brain surgeon has. Don’t overlook the necessity to incorporate the development of skills into your planning. Who in your organization is wielding the knife that makes the changes? Are they skillful?
Immaculate incompetence
Sometimes folks who have been wildly successful and competent become miraculously incompetent — how? They forgot to evolve with the times. They forgot to update skills that had propelled them to be successful. They kept doing things the way they were always done. Evolve your skills constantly.
One of the benefits of process development and process documentation is to be able to envision and see the loci — hahaha, see Sister Theresina, The Boss was paying attention during Latin class after all — at which definitive skills are being used in your enterprise. Here you can unplug and replace archaic skills or less than cutting edge skills with newly developed or new found skills. Look for the application layer of skills in your enterprise and evaluate them constantly — are they the best, most efficient and repeatable?
If you can’t even get through your email on a regular basis, how are you going to identify and respond to Michelangelo when he sends you the painting bid for your own Sistine Chapel? You have to do the little things right to do the big things well.
Alignment in the application of force is a measure of competence. A poorly struck blow is not a useful blow. You must align force — work — with the strategy. A seasoned carpenter uses a light hammer because he hits every blow square. He has paid full tuition to acquire this skill. A novitiate carpenter selects a heavy hammer to strike a mighty blow. He is young and seemingly filled with limitless energy. At the end of the day, the seasoned carpenter has applied more force because of the squareness of every blow he has struck. The novitiate carpenter is only tired. Help your organization use a well struck light hammer.
If you cannot find seasoned carpenters, buy the best nail guns you can find. Now all you have to worry about is “aim”.
Education
Education is the great leveler as well as the driver of achievement in American society today. Get some — every day.
It is not possible to learn everything one needs to know in college, if it ever were. A liberal arts education or a technical education leaves a huge void on the other side of the ledger. Plan to get one in college and the other after college. Never stop learning.
Learn how to speak, write and to understand numbers. Learn logic, ethics and philosophy. Learn empathy, sympathy and mercy. Learn negotiating, self defense and first aid. Apply them in even measure to everything you do. You will be surprised to learn how interchangeable they all are.
Do not be afraid to put some space between undergraduate and graduate schools. Get some real life experience. Think of graduate school as a vocational school — you will likely have to apply what you learn while you can probably lead a long life without ever writing a Haiku. Nothing against Haikus mind you. They are, indeed, lovely.
Skills
Orthopedic surgery and auto body repair are both mechanical skills. If you need a rotator cuff surgery look for a surgeon with strong forearms. Particularly if you have seen a video of the operation — it is just a wee bit removed from auto body repair. Pro tip.
When learning new skills strive for mastery — not a minimal level of competence but mastery. Mastery takes about 10,000 hours to accomplish. This is why a master plumber, a master electrician or a master carpenter are such wonderful friends to have. Do not hesitate to advise your daughters to marry into such families. You can make it up to them later, if necessary.
If you do not love the smell of sawdust, the feel of blueprints, the noise of a nail being driven, the sound of a power saw — do not become a real estate developer or a contractor. If you do not like the sound of the violins, do not become an orchestra conductor. They are very similar lines of work.
Death
Do not take advice from anyone who is living about dying. What the Hell do they know about it anyway?
Long before your loved ones are going “best of three” with the Grim Reaper, go to them and say the things that you would want to say if you knew they or you would exit Planet Earth tomorrow. Timing in life is everything. Better yet, write them down and go see them and read them to them. Then have either a hot pretzel with mustard and a beer; or, alternatively, sandwiches with the crusts cut off and a nice green tea with lemon and honey. Your letter will be the entree, trust me on this one.
Everyone is going to keep living longer and better and more productively. Plan for it. You are not going to retire at 60 or 65 — you are going to want to continue working until you are 80 years old and you will be healthy enough to do so. Deal with it. Sorry — under the current economic scheme of things, you will have to work to 80 to be able to afford to retire.
The marketplace
The marketplace is a mean spirited bitch who always speaks the truth. She does not care about your feelings but she will give you the respect of speaking the truth. Do not follow your own advice when the market is telling you something completely different. Your enterprise is your own interpretation of what the market is saying. The market may speak in tongues — learn to speak “tongue”.
When you can, speak to the market BEFORE you create a product or service. In today’s rapid Internet cycle of innovation, it is easy to ignore tried and true marketing concepts like focus groups and testing. Take a deep breath and create a mini-market to test your ideas before you bet the ranch on them.
Sometimes — not always — the market does not know exactly what it wants. Henry Ford did not produce a faster horse because he was able to understand that the market would want “faster transportation” once they could see and understand the alternative. Do not be afraid to be ahead of the market but make sure you really are.
The market is always looking for a good time and leaders will inject their own enjoyment into their business enterprises. Sir Richard Branson has done this with a number of businesses — “Virgin” is just more fun than some of his dour faced competitors. There is always room for a smile in business and it can be an important ingredient in long term success. Sometimes nice guys do finish first.
Enjoyment
Life is not a hair shirt. Enjoy yourself and go out of your way to do so. Meet and befriend interesting people. Eat good food. Drink fabulous things. Be kind to others and see how kind you are capable of being. Then lie in bed with a loved one thinking about how great life can be.
When you are zooming through Waco, Texas, on the Interstate do not fret about what you have for lunch. Feed your necessary hunger and move on down the road. But if you are in Charleston, San Francisco, New York, New Orleans or Savannah — do not waste the calories on anything that is not fabulous. Fabulous. Not necessarily expensive, but just great food and drink. You deserve it.
I dare you to come up with anything in life that is more enjoyable than floating in the ocean with the sun warming your topside and the prospect of riding a wave into the beach is a real possibility. Nothing compares. Learn to swim. Learn to body surf. Do it frequently.
Political financial reality
Every single Governor and State Legislature has to balance their budget and routinely does so. The President and the US Congress are waiting for a direct contact from the Holy Spirit to get this bit of revealed truth. Balanced budgets are normal. What is going on in Washington is absurd. Let’s stop stupid.
Spending is an addiction on a personal and a political plane. It is silly to suggest that the answer to a spending problem is to increase the credit limit on the Nation’s credit card. Would you give an alcoholic a case of Jack Daniel’s? Let’s stop stupid.
There is enough blame to go around for everyone. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans own the moral high ground on this financial mess. Time to take off the nametags and employ some basic financial skill, expertise and competence. Get our financial house in order and do it now. Let’s stop stupid.
If you cannot find 1.5% in savings in a $3,600,000,000,000 budget — the arithmetic equivalent of finding a $30 savings in a $2,000 monthly budget — which is bloated beyond comprehension, please just resign and go home. You are an idiot and do not deserve to lead our Nation. Let’s stop stupid.
Finding a $30 savings in a $2,000 monthly budget can be accomplished simply by buying in bulk from Sam’s Club or Costco; or, eating at home instead of at restaurants. It is easy. If you cannot do this, you really are an idiot. Let’s send the idiots home in the next election. Let’s stop stupid.
Let’s stop screwing around, we all already know exactly what is going to happen with Social Security — age eligibility increase, means testing, reduced long term benefits — just do it already. Let’s stop stupid.
But, hey, what the Hell do I know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.
Be good to yourself. You deserve it. 