Back to Reality…

Well, I’m back from my relaxing vacation. Glad to see the world is still here, sorry to see that it didn’t make any great strides forward. Nothing really changed, so on we go.

The Sabres took the first two games in Buffalo against the Rangers, and then they lost yesterday in New York. Works out perfectly. Now we can win the next one in NY and close it out in Buffalo in front of the home fans. Plus, it keeps us loose, no-one wants the long layoff that comes with a series sweep.

It’s going to be a long hot summer, a lot of traveling, and a lot of closed door meetings are right around the corner. Hopefully at the end of the summer we’ll be able to look back and smile at all we’ve accomplished.

Live, from St. Maarten – a quick update

We’re having a great trip. I’m blowing all that hard work I did running and working out by eating too much great food and partying like I did when I was 23, but… That’s what we came for. The weather has been great, and our luck at the casinos has been pretty good.

We spent yesterday on the French side of the island, in Marigot. It was very nice, and the French people were incredibly friendly!!! I won’t say I was really shocked, I’ve never really had a negative encounter with a French person in my travels to France or through Europe, but a lot of the travel sites have stories from other travelers that talk of how rude the French people in St. Martin are. I think you get what you give in that regard. People the world over are ready to be friendly to friendly people. If I had to rate my traveling experience here in terms of friendliness, the French come in first, followed by the locals, and bringing up the rear are the Dutch. For some reason, the Dutch people seem a little more aloof, and less approachable. They have not been outwardly mean by any stretch, just a little detached. That said, Saint Maarten as a whole is living up to its billing as “The Friendly Island”.

I finally found a sports-book last night, just in time to catch the end of game one of the second round match-up between the Sabres and the Rangers. Buffalo put it on them. It was great to see, especially after their round one jitters. They definitely responded to the New York coach’s comments about how they are not “The Cream of the Crop” in the NHL. I hope we use that to power our way to a four game sweep… But I also wouldn’t mind dropping one in New York, just so that we don’t have such a long layoff between this round and the conference finals. But I digress….

We’ll be flying home tomorrow, refreshed and ready for whatever else this year decides to throw at us. See you soon.

JLS – out…

Sorry to be Missing You…

I wish I could say that my mind was focused on the important issues of the day today… But after a relaxing period in the hot-tub here in Saint Maarten, I can honestly say…. “I don’t really care what is happening anywhere else in the world… I am enjoying paradise…”

So, until I decide to rejoin humanity… Keep the peace, be good to one another, and leave me alone…

Buffalo Sabres Advance

Ryan Miller saved the day with some spectacular play in the final minutes while the Isles were pouring it on. The Sabres let this one get a little too close after they took a commanding 4 to 1 lead in the third period. I’ve got to give it to the Isles, they played a great series. Hopefully Buffalo learned something in this round. It’s going to take 60 solid minutes of hard work in every game to make it through the next round.

Unless Tampa Bay can get it going, looks like we’ll be taking on another New York team, the Rangers. Go Sabres!!!

Don’t Just Talk the Talk…

Do not say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders, so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday I was having a discussion with my 12 year old daughter. She was confused by the words and action of one of her school administrators. Taylor goes to the private christian school that one of her older brothers, Ryan, went to. Michelle and I really liked it while Ryan attended. It was exactly what Ryan needed, he needed the smaller classes, and the attention of the teachers to keep him focused on getting through high school. We never saw any signs of over-zealousness when it came to the religious side, it seemed fairly balanced. The kids went to bible class, but it wasn’t in their face all day. So, when Taylor was ready to go into middle school, we made the move to put her there.

Fast forward to February of this year. One of Ryan’s friends started telling us stories about a slight change in the administration. Kids were getting kicked out of school after administrators found pictures of them drinking on various MySpace pages. Now, I’m not advocating teen drinking by any stretch, but these kids were by and large good kids, that were drinking off school grounds, and not wearing any clothes that identified what school they went to. When my wife called the school to find out if this was in fact happening, she was told that the administration was not seeking these kids out, but rather had been presented with evidence from a third party. It just so happens that most of the kids getting kicked out were all from the same social group, and the person turning in the evidence was doing so anonymously. My thinking is that it was another student that had an ax to grind, and used the school administration to do their dirty work.

Hearing this made us quite upset, some of these kids were seniors that we had known well from Ryan’s days in the school, and were like our kids. As if that wasn’t bad enough, about a week later, Ryan’s girlfriend was expelled for the same reason, another anonymous letter with pictures that had been cropped to hide certain peoples identities but disclose hers.

So now that Taylor has seen these incidents occur, to girls that she looked up to like older sisters, she had some questions about why. Her question was why would the administration that routinely preaches forgiveness, caring for others, and non-judgement of your peers, why would they kick these kids out of school? Wasn’t that the opposite of what they were teaching them? She said the head administrator had actually been speaking at an assembly, and was telling the kids that she was there to protect them. That she would do anything to help these kids succeed, that no matter what problems they may have, or what trouble they may be in, she was there to help them in their time of need.

Taylor called BS on that line. Good for her, I was proud of the fact that she thought for herself, and could not reconcile what she was hearing with what she was seeing. I explained to her that she had just been witness to what is called hypocrisy. I explained that while it is easy for people to talk about the right way to live, it is much harder for them to actually do the right thing. I told her that she would see this action in almost every facet of her life growing up, that we were all guilty of it from time to time. The trick is, to be honest with yourself. Hold yourself accountable, and think first, before you act. Think about what it is you are about to do, and how that action stands up to your core values and beliefs. If you can do these things, you have a better chance at doing the right thing, instead of just talking about it.

This is also important to keep in mind in your business. It is important to ask yourself every morning, “Are we doing the right thing?” “What can we do to improve?” “What impression am I making on my customers?” “If I was my customer, would I do business with me?” Ask yourself these questions every day before you start working. Keep them in the back of your mind as you move through the day. Don’t make a decision without answering these four questions.

I know of people that are the complete opposite. Instead of asking themselves these questions, and answering them them truthfully. They say what strokes their egos and will those words into truths of their own making. They think that the mere act of making a statement, makes it the truth. These people that love to hear themselves talk, and limit the voices of opposition, are not the kind of people I would want to work for. The effects of working in such an organization can be disastrous. See my previous post about not working for an asshole .

I worked for one such CEO that instilled fear into his employees by telling them lies about their customers and competition in an effort to scare them into blind loyalty. That company became isolated in the market. The employees didn’t trust anyone, so instead of building relationships with others that could have helped them, they built walls to keep them safe. Soon their customers started leaving them, and suddenly it was the fault of the competition that had somehow stolen all of their knowledge overnight…

Luckily I got out. A lot of my friends stayed, and are no longer friends, unfortunately. Not by my choice, but because the CEO forbade them from speaking with me, I was labeled as the enemy because I didn’t conform to the CEO’s ideals. Yet more isolation. What they don’t understand is that isolation in business is a slow death. You need constant interaction with not only your customers, but your competition.

A truly dynamic company doesn’t talk about how much they know, or how great they are. They take the lead and show everyone. They should be involved with industry associations, trade shows, user groups, and other networking opportunities. Sharing their knowledge with others, and learning form others as they always strive to improve. You cannot say you’re the best in the market, and have that make it so. You have to constantly work to be the best in the market, and never settle for what the numbers show. The numbers always move. Just because you are the largest in a market today doesn’t mean you will be tomorrow. As fast as you rose to the top, you can drop to the bottom even faster.

Actions always speak louder than words. Walk the walk…

Sabres 4, Isles 2

The Sabres took a three games to one lead in the series tonight. This was Buffalo’s best game. They outplayed the Isles all the way. Two goals for Chris Drury, and one for Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek each. Great game guys, let’s go home and close ‘em out.