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Food For Thought: Perspective

Perspective is a beautiful thing. It allows you to shape a story, paint a picture, and develop an image that will last with the recipient. Whether you like it or not, people’s ability to put their “spin” on things is often times what drives some of life’s important decisions. Today’s business climate requires a lot of perspective. As well as the ability to be a consummate storyteller. One of the biggest areas we see these spins is certainly the political landscape. Far be it from me to advocate for Corporate America to start being more political (as it is already fairly political already), but I do think there are probably valuable lessons to be gleaned from the way that politicians and their political machines create (and sometimes, fabricate) stories for public consumption.

Just today, I saw a Facebook post on the indisputable ‘success’ of President Barack Obama. Whether you love him or hate him, these are some pretty powerful numbers. Now – you can make all of the chatter or argument you like – but whether or not a president is directly responsible for things like consumer confidence, the economy, and the state of the union upon entry (and exit), is actually wholly irrelevant at the end of the day. Their legacy will be (generally) markedly judged based on public perception. Which is typically founded based on the perspective with which our media’s paintbrush portrays him.

I will admit that I personally am not the biggest fan, although I’m far from being his biggest hater as well. Take a look though and see what our children’s children’s history books might actually say in his remembrance as the 44th President of this great nation:

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Just some food for thought on a Monday…

Til Next Time,

Michael

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The Silicon Prairie (Kansas City)

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As many of you know, I’m from Kansas City. Born and raised. I lived there my whole life up until the time I left for college. It’s a wonderful town with so much to offer.

So when I see it starting to get a lot of press as being the “Silicon Prairie”, naturally I am excited. But also cautiously optimistic because of what I hear from my friends who still live there and are active in the technology and venture capital space. I have a friend who is prominent in the startup scene, and it’s great to hear stories about how Kansas City is on the rapid incline. I have heard both good and bad things about KC becoming a major player in the space, and I firmly believe that (as with anything) there are certainly pros and cons to a relatively new player trying to race on to the scene and grow up in a hurry.

It is tough to argue that the cost of living and the quality of human capital available aren’t extremely competitive in the overall landscape of technology and corporate America, though. And, with continued advancements and investments from major companies (e.g. Google Fiber) – it may very well continue to rapidly expand into a major player on the technology/startup/venture scene. It will be fun to watch!

Take a look at this TechCrunch article describing the scene in Kansas City before you consider it just another “flyover state”. You might be surprised.

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Project Management vs Program Management

I am obviously far from an apologist for all things Project Management (the prevalence and blind embrace we give to PMI, PMP, every other acronym known in the project management certification universe, is sometimes rather exhausting). Lately, however, I have been analyzing the difference in mindset between a typical “project manager” and someone more sophisticated – namely a “program manager”.

To me, a project manager is like a line cook. Meticulously dedicated to the ingredients, the recipe, the steps to prepare a perfect dish. The program manager, however, is the one tasked with understanding where the line cook’s dish fits within the overall context of a meal. The project manager, in the face of adversity, will inevitably have tunnel vision. They will be derailed the moment any one thing changes (lack of availability for an ingredient, the absence of a critical cooking surface/tool, etc). The program manager, though, has the foresight and the understanding of how to make it all work, even against all odds. They understand if the patrons are vegetarian, they understand how meals must be coursed rather than served all at once. They embrace customer expectations and adapt their philosophy to fit the needs of a given situation.

Sure, I am giving program managers a little bit too much credit here. Even they can be as blinded by factors external to their tunnel as the project manager. But – the more we can start to make people think like a program manager more often (and – in doing so – understand where they fit in the grand scheme of things), the sooner we will see the macro picture instead of simply having to settle for the micro.

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement has been a hot topic recently in many corners throughout Corporate America, and I think it is a wildly fascinating topic. Over the past decade, the radical shift towards a more “progressive” office culture has yielded many beneficial ways to spur engagement. Engagement is something that many organizations struggle with, and there is nothing worse for the corporate morale (or the bottom line) than a large faction of disengaged (or disgruntled) employees. But – there is no silver bullet. Everyone operates at their own pace, and is motivated by different things. Listening to employees, though, is the one way to be certain that the methods or tools you are using to engage your workforce are ways that are preferable to and resonate with your employees. It’s all about the “Voice of the Field”. Embrace it.

Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith published a great article on Forbes a few years back that gives her opinions and examples of times that Employee Engagement has been done well. I think it offers some good insight and provides food for thought for anyone struggling with the idea of engagement. Take a look; you may like what you find!

Til Next Time,

Michael

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National Drink Wine Day

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It seems like more and more of these “National (insert activity, group, etc) Day” have been popping up recently. Every so often, though, there is one that I can get behind. Today is one of those days. Cheers!

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Change Management in a Box

A buddy turned me on to a “Branding in a Box” type Kickstarter Campaign which got me thinking… Is it time for me to develop Change Management in a Box?

I know I have used this site to express a lot of my opinions, reflections, lists of “Do’s & Dont’s”, and generally opine on the topic (most of the time, that is – when I’m not selfishly reflecting on other items I’m passionate about like Music and Entertainment), but I don’t know that I really have that much to say that isn’t overly obvious or common sense? But at the same time, I probably have a lot to say and at least moderate organization skills and the requisite writing skills to pull it off so it’s not just another boring e-book on the topic?

I’m sure I could re-package these words, throw in some splashy design (think Cards Against Humanity from a design/aesthetics standpoint), add a couple online elements, and be halfway there…  But would people really buy it? I guess if I keep my investment cost low, and price it competitively (yet where I still experience a profit per unit) – maybe there’s a market? We shall see; stay tuned!

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Economic Impact of EDM

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Electronic Dance Music has been around for a long time, albeit (until late) under different names or titles. It is only of late, though, that it has started to really creep into the wallets of the rich, famous, and elite on a large scale (i.e. not just the persistence of places like Area 51 during the Disco heyday).

A recent article published by Nightclub & Bar, discussing the Top 100 clubs for 2015 (based on past revenue generation), reveals just how far many fans (and, by consequence, club owners) have come on the ‘willingness to spend on electronic music’ spectrum. Now, sure, this economic impact isn’t directly associated to EDM – but the parallels and associations most certainly are. Just look at the headliners and resident DJ’s that frequent these clubs on their largest grossing nights. It’s Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Avicii, and the likes. A clear indication that the “club life” has expanded exponentially under the careful direction of these artists. So the economic impact is without question alive and well.

And I, myself, am a fan of the music. But it does make me wonder; how much higher before the ceiling bursts?

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Pricing

The idea that pricing should follow traditional rules that have persisted since the early retail ages (or at least “retail” as we know it since big department/box stores started to pop up) is quickly becoming antiquated. I think we are past the days where specific industries should price goods as a strict percentage markup against cost. An article I read today on TechCrunch agrees. Although, what I will say is that the themes it brings up does almost take pricing back to its most basic roots, which I think is great.

Think about the days when items were bartered (the most early form of ‘pricing’ as far as I’m concerned). Cows weren’t empirically worth 10 chickens, or vice versa. Cows were worth exactly what a peer or separate member of your “society” (I will use this term loosely – as I am trying to indicate a member of any group of people, be it a city, a town, a dwelling, or what have you) valued that cow. And, if they had an abundance of chickens, it probably meant that your cow was worth a lot more chickens to that individual than it may be to any other individual. Not a strict cost based on some pricing table that some dude in the village “pricing department” set.

In short, I love the article and think it raises great points about the real pricing dilemma in an Amazon/e-commerce economy. With the prevalence of mass amounts of venture funding, crowdsourcing of financing for new ideas/projects, and a general movement back towards consumerism, I think we will see a great evolution of pricing of all goods in the near term. And I’m very excited for that!

Til Next Time,

Michael

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Wanderlust

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Lately, I’ve been following way too many travel/points blogs, sites, and Instagram profiles. It has really made me wonder whether there is an opportunity to grow or expand the professional services that have only moderately existed in this space over the course of time…

Think about it – if you’re a consultant or anyone with relatively decent writing, photography, design, (insert any other) skills – why not consult things you care about? Can you really tell me you have a vested interest in traveling to Columbus, Ohio to help some widget manufacturer figure out how to get a more accurate view of their inventory through supply chain best practices? Or would you probably prefer traveling to incredible vacation destinations to optimize service levels and improve the customer experience for global travel brands?

Yes, I know this is a bit of a stretch. But there has to be room to expand that arena, right? Travel and Leisure, Fodor’s, and the likes have certainly done a good job (and, similarly, have the budget to do so), but I think a few more positions should be opened to join and support the cause.

Til Next Time,

Michael