Thanksgiving Is Not Over Yet

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was thinking how much we all went through over the last 7-10 days and what we should look forward in the coming weeks.

We all had to deal with the Thanksgiving food shopping. We had to deal with the returning kids and their travel schedules. In our case we had to deal with the families that came from long distances and stayed with us for few days. A lot of airport runs and a lot of clean up afterward.

Then we had to go through the Black Friday which this year actually started on Thanksgiving evening just as we were finishing our Thanksgiving pies. Luckily the traffic at the malls were much lighter on Friday and wasn’t as bad as previous years.

Next came Cyber Monday with all the great deals we can get online. Actually there were many good deals and I found the next laptop I want to buy.

So as you see, we had to go through a lot in the last few days and now it’s all done. Or is it?

If you pay attention to what we did in the last 7-10 days you will notice that we did a lot of things that relates to our family and friends such as the Thanksgiving dinner and the Christmas gift buying. The total sales for the Black Friday weekend was $57.4 billion and Cyber Monday added another $2.3 billion. That equates to over $420 that each shopper spent on gifts presumably for family and friends.

In the next few weeks, there are no major events other than a few Christmas parties. I suggest after all the things we did for our family and friends, we take some time and give to others who may need some help.

This is the time of the year that we are in a giving mood and our communities need our help. The recent economy has not helped and there are many people who at no fault of themselves have become less fortunate and are in the need of some help.

I know many of you help various charities and groups and I hope you spread the word with others and get more people involved. Let’s make this holiday a happy one for more people.

My Thanksgiving

I thought for this week’s blog, it would be fitting to write about Thanksgiving. Then I quickly figured out there isn’t much I can write that hasn’t been written before. So I am going to tell you what this holiday means to me and what I like about it.

This is an adopted holiday for me since I migrated to this country about 40 years ago. I didn’t grow up with Thanksgiving traditions and didn’t experience my first Thanksgiving until the age of 18 when I came here. Once I formed our family and we had our kids, this holiday became even more important to me.

We always have tried to have Thanksgiving at our house and make it a big occasion with family and friends. I took the role of cooking all the foods and Sheri has taken the role of making our home beautiful and comfortable for the visiting guests. Yes, most of our family stays for a few days and she has to feed them other meals as well!

In recent years, my daughter has started to help with the food and enjoys it as much as I do. In the last 5-6 years, our turkey has become a deep fried turkey, which I cook in front of everyone on our patio. The act of dropping the turkey (actually lowering it gently) in the fryer has become a part of the tradition of this holiday for us. My sausage and artichoke stuffing is a must have and my son loves my corn chowder soup.

I also ask my kids and/or one of the younger people to specifically talk about what we are thankful for before we eat.

As you see, we have learned to celebrate this wonderful holiday as it has many traditions and the great purpose of bringing family and friends together. We mainly celebrate it to remind ourselves, our kids, our family, and our friends why we are thankful. I personally like to use the word “grateful” to express my thanks and gratitude.

• I am grateful that my parents sent me here to better myself.
• I am grateful that I was able to become successful and have a wonderful life.
• I am grateful for my wonderful wife and kids.
• I am grateful for our health.
• I am grateful to have all of you as family and friends.
• I am grateful that after 31 years of work I can have the time to do the fun things in my life.

It’s easy to be ungrateful for the bad things that happen to us (like cancellation of my medical insurance due to Obamacare) but being grateful for the good things create a positive energy that can change our attitude towards our family, our work, and life in general. As Jon Gordon says: “We can't be stressed and thankful at the same time. If we are feeling blessed we can't be stressed.”

So on Thursday, no matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving, what kind of foods you make, and how you prepare your turkey, take the time to pause and think of all the things that you are thankful and grateful. I am sure you could come up with many no matter what your situation is.

Bossing or Leading?

I have a magazine clipping in front of me under my PC screen which I have had for many years. Before I retired, I used to have it at work in front of me as an important reminder.

I don’t remember where I got this clipping but it has provided inspiration and guidance to me for many years. I still look at it from time to time to make sure I am following the advice.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember where I got this and there is no name on it to give the author the credit.

This small clipping has 15 observations relating to leadership. It specifically differentiate a Leader from a Boss. You may find them cliché but I think they are valuable if practiced.

As you know, I also advocate good leadership not only in business but also in our personal lives with our family, friends and society. These observations can also apply to anyone in any situation.

Let me list them for you first before I go on.

• The boss drives people; the leader coaches them.
  
• The boss depends on authority; the leader on goodwill.
  
• The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
  
• The boss says “I”; the leader says “WE.”
  
• The boss says “Get here on time”; the leader gets there ahead of time.
  
• The boss fixes blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
  
• The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
  
• The boss says “Go”; the leader says “LET’S GO.”
  
• The boss uses people; the leader develops them.
  
• The boss sees today; the leader also looks at tomorrow.
  
• The boss commands; the leader asks.
  
• The boss never has enough time; the leader makes time for things that count.
  
• The boss is concerned with things; the leader is concerned with people.
  
• The boss works hard to produce; the leader works hard to help people to produce.
  
• The boss takes the credit, the leader gives it.

Again, they may sound simple or cliché but they are very powerful in shaping our character and behavior. I think the challenge is when you are in the moment, which side you tend to gravitate to. We can all agree with these observations but doing them consistently on a sustained basis takes a lot of discipline and courage.

Do you agree?

Automate your Tasks

My last blog was a technology related blog and was about Philips’ Hue. Since some of you were interested in it, I am going to follow it up with another cool technology which also relates to Hue.

This week’s blog is about a software and an app that you can install on your computer or iPhone (not on Android yet) and it will perform some interesting tasks.

It’s called IFTT, which is an acronym for “If This, Then That.” It’s also pronounced like “gift” without the letter “g”.

IFTTT is a service that enables users to connect different web applications (e.g., Facebook, Evernote, Weather, Stocks, Dropbox, etc.) together through simple conditional statements known as "Recipes."

IFTTT enables users to create and share "Recipes" that fit the simple statement: "if this then that." The “this” part of a Recipe is called a Trigger. The “that” part of a Recipe is called an Action. The combination of a Trigger and an Action from a user's active channels are called Recipes. The service offers Triggers and Actions for 73 channels (as of now), such as Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, ESPN, Flickr, Evernote, and Microsoft SkyDrive. It also integrates with Belkin WeMo devices and Philips HUE allowing Recipes to interact with the physical world.

I have started using it to see how it works and how helpful it can be. I have set up all of my recipes on my PC which was very easy and quick. For example, I created a recipe that states: If today's stock price for Twitter rises by 1%, then send me an email. You can also pick from a list of thousands of recipes that are created by other users.

Here are a few examples of what you can create:

• When a new book is added to Kindle Top 100 Free eBooks, send me an email.
  
• If it’s going to rain tomorrow, remind me by text to take an umbrella.
  
• When a new pictures is taken on my iPhone, then upload it my Google Drive.
  
• When it’s time for the kids to go to bed, turn the Philips Hue lights into a rainbow colors.
  
• When a new apartment (or anything else based on your criteria) is listed on Craigslist, send me a text.
  
• Every year post a new Facebook status wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.
  
• If I'm tagged in a photo on Facebook, then blink the Philips Hue lights to let me know.
  
• When Facebook profile picture changes, update Twitter profile picture too.
  
• Upload new Instagram photos to Flickr.
  
• Turn a device on or off from anywhere. (Needs Belkin switches in your house.)
  
• Call my phone at a specified time as a wakeup call.
  
• When I text “help”, call my phone so I can get out of a meeting or a tricky situation.
  
• Keep track of a particular stock's daily closing price in a spreadsheet.

I think you get the idea. This is a fun service which can do many things and it can become more useful as more channels are added and more physical things can be controlled. I like to see a GPS service added so based on my location I can have different actions happen. It would be interesting to get a text between noon and 1:00 PM whenever I am close to an In-n-Out Burger. :)

Give it a try, it’s fun.

Is Hue in Your Future?

This week, I am going to change direction and write about something a bit lighter. With all of the problems our country’s leadership is having, I don’t want to add any more frustration and anxiety onto you.

So this week I am going to write about a new technology that I find it very interesting.

Since Thomas Edison invented the first incandescent light bulb in 1879, not much has changed until recent years. Sure, there have been better and longer lasting incandescent light bulbs in all sizes and shapes but nothing major has happened until recently.

These days, we have halogen, CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), and LED (Light Emitting Diodes) bulbs. The latter is more efficient and longer lasting than any other type of light source, although still expensive, it is being developed for more and more applications within the home.

Some of the new LED lights have wireless capability that can be controlled with a smartphone. Philips came out with a 3-bulb set and its own communicator (bridge) called Hue that can set you back about $200. The bridge can control up to 50 bulbs and each bulb has a unique Web address for communication on the Internet.

Of course that’s a lot of money for three light bulbs but check out the things you can do with them. These LED bulbs can create 16 million colors which you can easily set with your smartphone or computer.

Once you install the app on your iOS or Android device, you can remotely control your home lighting for added security, personalize your lighting experience with custom settings, or program timers to help manage daily schedules. For example, you can turn on the lights just before you arrive home from work. If you're working late or maybe are out for the night, you can simply turn your lights on or off remotely. You can also set your lights to come on at a set time. Perfect if you're away on vacation but you want people to think you're still home!

Here are some more features. The app has several light recipes for different moods. The Relax setting will change the selected bulbs to a soft, soothing glow. The Energize setting will turn the lights to a bright and vibrant color to give you energy boost. The Concentrate setting tested in schools to a tone and brightness that’ll keep you focused and alert.

You can also set your lights to gradually brighten or dim over time. Kids like their lights on at night and you can dim the lights gradually and automatically as they fall sleep.

These bulbs can be turned into any colors with just a click on your smartphone. Imagine changing the colors for various events such as that deep red color for your romantic Valentine dinner or the multicolored perfect for Disco party you always wanted to throw. :)

In my opinion, the coolest thing you can do is to take a picture of anything or anywhere and have the bulbs match that color. If you want the lights match the color of pumpkin for your Halloween, just take a picture of it and have the bulb match it. You can create the lighting to match that beautiful sunset dinner you had on a vacation. Just upload the picture of it and you will have the same sunset in your house.

Is there a Hue under your Christmas tree this year?

To learn more about it see Philips web site at https://www.meethue.com/en-US.

You can also watch this short video about it.

Dealing with Bad News

Yesterday, I heard some news about the new Health Care website which made me disappointed and infuriated. Apparently the government has hired six companies including a lead Canadian Company to build the Affordable Care Act web site for a total cost of $45,000,000! That’s a lot money but unfortunately they have spent over $300,000,000 of our tax money so far and it still has many issues. Ouch!

I think they should have asked an American company like Amazon to set it up as a store on their website which could have been a lot cheaper and faster. :)

But kidding aside, we get a lot of news every day that is upsetting and can diminish our positive outlook in life. I also got some terrible news today about the health of a close relative that is saddening since I can’t help him very much.

In today’s environment, it’s very easy to find discouraging news which will cause negativity and anxiety in our reactions. Just look at the disagreements and disputes in countries around the world, our own government, the media, markets, corporations, unions, and even in our personal lives. I actually have stopped watching our 10:00 o’clock news (which I liked) as it’s mostly about various murders around the Bay Area.

This is plenty to raise our pessimism and want us to give up hope. So how are we supposed to deal with all of this bad news? Maybe these ideas would help.

Understand what is going on. When you hear bad news, ensure you don't jump to conclusions. Get all of the information surrounding the problem and then you will know how to feel and cope with the news.

Try to stay composed. Don't overreact to bad news, and know that simply worrying about it won’t help either. Understand that one cannot change what has already happened, but only how one responds to it.

Work on solutions. Finding answers and solutions not only will help to correct the problem, but it will also calms you down, which will lower the anxiety level in the long run.

Look for the positives. This may be difficult to do, but with every terrible situation, there may be some positives. When you focus on understanding what’s going on, you will be able to see the positives and the negatives, and know how to deal with the situation.

Don't feel guilty. If the bad news is something that happens to a person, you may feel guilty about it. You want to help but you can't. You should try not to feel like this. Sometimes life is unfair and very surprising. So don't start feeling guilty; instead support the other person, know that it is not your fault, and try to find solutions.

Talk it through. Talking about it with people close to you is one of the best ways to cope with bad news. Share your thoughts with your spouse, friends and co-workers. When you talk about your fears, your hopes, your feelings and your worries with someone, you will feel a lot better. Just make sure you are not complaining and just dumping bad news onto them.

Remember, no matter how terrible you feel about the bad news, there is nothing you can do to change the past. There is no “undo” button on the remote or the people that created the bad news or the people that told you about it. However, by feeling inspired, grateful, positive, supportive, and creating solutions we have the opportunity to convert these low energies into higher ones. That is the best service we can provide for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our communities.

As Zig Ziglar said: “You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.”

What's your DISC?

Let’s switch from political issues, where there will never be an agreement between the two sides and can make some people irritated, to something more useful.

Since my retirement, I have been reading more books and articles as well as listening to podcasts. All of my readings and podcasts are generally business and management related but I always find something interesting that can be applied to everyday life as well.

I keep coming across the D.I.S.C. profile.

It’s mentioned in a lot of management books and articles and how it can be effectively used. Many companies use it as a way to screen potential employees, with the thought that a certain personality type would be better or worse in certain jobs or positions. The DISC assessment can also be used is leadership. There are different leadership methods and styles that coincide with each personality type, which could help leaders be more effective.

This is not a new concept and some of you may have seen it in a business environment but DISC can also be useful and effective in your personal life. If you have a clue about the profile of your spouse, your kids, your friend and others in your life, it can be very helpful in dealing with them.

This blog is not where I can explain everything about DISC but I will give you a quick overview. You can learn more about it at www.discprofile.com and many other sites on the Internet.

The DISC assessment is a behavior assessment tool based on the DISC theory of psychologist William Marston. Marston's theory centers around four different personality traits abbreviated into D.I.S.C. DISC is non-judgmental and helps people discuss their behavioral differences.

The four personality traits are:

• Dominance – relating to control, power and assertiveness. People who score high in the intensity of the "D" styles factor are very active in dealing with problems and challenges, while low "D" scores are people who want to do more research before committing to a decision. High "D" people are described as demanding, forceful, egocentric, strong willed, driving, determined, ambitious, aggressive, and pioneering. Low D scores describe those who are conservative, low keyed, cooperative, calculating, undemanding, cautious, mild, agreeable, modest, and peaceful. 

• Influence – relating to social situations and communication. People with high "I" scores influence others through talking and activity and tend to be emotional. They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, demonstrative, trusting, and optimistic. Those with low "I" scores influence more by data and facts, and not with feelings. They are described as reflective, factual, calculating, skeptical, logical, suspicious, matter of fact, pessimistic, and critical. 

• Steadiness – relating to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness. People with high "S" styles scores want a steady pace, security, and do not like sudden change. High "S" individuals are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Low "S" intensity scores are those who like change and variety. People with low "S" scores are described as restless, demonstrative, impatient, eager, or even impulsive. 

• Compliance – relating to structure and organization. People with high "C" styles adhere to rules, regulations, and structure. They like to do quality work and do it right the first time. High "C" people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic, accurate, and tactful. Those with low "C" scores challenge the rules and want independence and are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary, and unconcerned with details. 

These four dimensions can be grouped in a grid with "D" and "I" sharing the top row and representing extroverted aspects of the personality, and "C" and "S" below representing introverted aspects. "D" and "C" then share the left column and represent task-focused aspects, and "I" and "S" share the right column and represent social aspects. The graph below shows a visual summary of this concept.

By knowing your DISC profile, you can increase your self-knowledge which helps to understand what motivates you, how you respond to problems, how to get along with others at work and at home, how to lead or mange better, and what you need to be most successful.

There are many DISC tests available online that you can purchase and take. I also found a free version at http://www.tonyrobbins.com/ue/disc-profile.php that takes about 20 minutes to take and will give you a comprehensive report on your profile.

I had taken this test years ago and took it again yesterday. I learned that I am a high “D” and a high “C”. It summarizes me as someone that deals with the problems and the challenges head-on and likes to do quality work and do it right the first time. I tends to agree with that :)

So what’s your DISC profile?

Now What?

Well, it’s been a week since my last blog about the Government Shutdown and nothing has changed. There are some people who starting to feel the pain but unfortunately can’t do anything about it. On top of it, the death ceiling problem is nearing on the horizon which has added another significant dimension to this shutdown.

Today, the President said that “he is not budging.” The Republican replied by implying “we don’t budge either.” I guess we are in for a long shutdown and a government default if neither side is going to budge.

I remember some of the courses I took earlier in my career and I think the Democrats and the Republicans need to take the same courses in conflict resolution, negotiation and win-win methodology!

Why is it that we always have to wait until the last minute and many times after the deadline to come up with a solution?

Those of you living in the Bay Area have seen the same scenario over the BART negotiations. They started talking in this past spring which followed by a 4.5 days strike in July and finally followed by a sixty days cooling off period which will end this Thursday at midnight. And there is still no agreement.

As I look back, I can think of many ways to have a meaningful and productive negotiations and conflict resolutions. There are some basic fundamentals that can be used in any negotiations to get the two sides closer.

I think what holds people back in business or society is the same thing that holds them back in personal relationships: We don’t want to talk about the problem. This results in unresolved issues, misperceptions about another person's intentions, escalated negativity, and an overall lack of progress.

Sheri and I came up with a simple principal for our marriage many years ago which to this day has proved to work. When we have disagreements and as the result we stop talking to each other, we have mutually agreed that “the not talking part” will always end at midnight. So when we get up the next morning, we say hello with a kiss and start talking to each other again and try to solve our differences. Many times, the issue is not as big as we made it the night before and it’s easily resolved. Unfortunately, I see many couples go for days without talking because they are mad at each other.

I guess our President and Congress are mad at each other. So why aren’t our representatives talking to each other?

I am not suggesting they get up tomorrow and hug and kiss each other but they can certainly start a dialogue with respect for each other’s point of view. Regardless of the issue and how they deal with it, I believe that most people are coming from a position of sincerity and true belief. Neither side is trying to cause trouble. They simply believe in their position.

So I say to our President to start talking with the Republicans and stop drawing lines in the sand. I say to the Republicans to start talking to the President and stop making unrealistic demands. America and Russia came to an agreement on Syria by talking to each other and negotiating with each other in just a few short days. If that can happen, our government must be capable of reaching an agreement amongst themselves.

What Shutdown?

Well, how was your first day of the Government Shutdown?

Mine was very normal and actually productive. I left the house in the morning and bought my $4/gal gas without any problem and headed to a client’s office listening to the radio that was broadcasting and enjoying the drive on our highways. Later, I had lunch at a famous burger joint where they gladly accepted my hard earned money and offered me service in exchange. In the afternoon, I met with a friend and discussed a potential business deal. And later in the evening, I went out with a large group of car enthusiast, where we had a great dinner and enjoyed our mutual interest.

I did all of this without any problems and didn't notice the government shutdown at all. I guess if you are not relying on the government to support you, you may not see a lot of changes. Oh and on top of that, the stock market went up and so did my investments. I say the first day of the shutdown wasn't bad at all!

Please realize that this shutdown is partial and most of the government is still working. We all received our mail yesterday, went through airports with the help of TSA, Social Security and Medicare continued and the military got paid.

I watched the 10:00 o’clock news last night to hear more about the shutdown and was surprised that their headline news was about how a few highs school students couldn't visit Alcatraz Island due to the shutdown! Really?

All kidding aside, I tried to write my blog about another topic but this government shutdown overwhelmed all other subjects so I had to say something about it.

As I was reading the various news channels on the Internet, I came across an article on Yahoo News which caught my interest. Actually it wasn't the article itself but it was the number of comments made by the people, which was over 18,000 and were very interesting.

I decided to share some of these comments with you as I was surprised to see how people felt about this situation. I will add my commentary at the end.

There were so many good comments and I added a lot of them here. So you may have to skim through them to get the gist of it.

“Over and over we post comments of dissatisfaction and anger every time something like this happens. Yet, posting comments on the internet will not bring the types of real change needed to bring our government accountable to its people again. Until that happens don't expect our state of affairs to improve. We will simply meet here again and post our rhetoric as usual.”

“They can shut the government down permanently for all I care. People that actually take care of their own business won't notice the difference.”

“American people are going to have to do something they haven't done for a long time! Unite & work together to fix this broken government! We have to vote ALL incumbents out! Regardless what party you support, incumbents have to go! This is only way to show politicians that Americans are sick of their incompetent performance and we want our country back! Voting is only power we have and it only works with huge number of participants! Voting does not cost you anything, but it costs if you don’t! How much more proof do we need?”

“I woke up with the biggest smile on my face this morning, knowing that the government had shut down. I think it's just wonderful. Of course we have the press that makes it as if "the sky is falling" (just like it was with the Sequester). Sorry, no sky on the ground here.”

“We have had 18 shutdowns since 1976. Most people didn't even notice.”

“This is happening because we let it happen. We elect these people to run the country that serves the American people the best, not themselves and each other. We don't elect them to fight, we elect them to work together for our benefit, not theirs. We need to take a long hard look at who we are electing.”

“This needs to be repeated as often as is possible. The government has become so cancerously rotten and criminal to its core, that only a large scalpel cutting out the entire insides and replacing with clean replacement material will save it. Vote them out. Vote them ALL OUT.”

“Ironically Government officials are immune from this shut down.... No matter what happens, they will all continue to get paid... It's easy for a group of people with nothing to lose, to play Russian roulette with the lives of other individuals... We need a Government that has to live by the same standards it forces on its people.”

“The problem is with the American people. We keep electing these politicians who care more about their party lines than they do about the people. They are supposed to be public servants. What a joke. We hard working Americans are their servants. They're not working for us. We are working for them. We need to start voting on independent people who care about our country and the people. To hell with republicans and democrats. All they care about is their party and supporting one another.”

“First order of business needs to be regulating the number of terms by any single elected government official.”

“The men and women who were elected to run this country are tearing us apart - as a private citizen, I feel violated and angry about their seeming indifference to the damage they are doing - I have been active in campaigns since I was old enough to vote but it appears to have been a waste of time and effort, so here's one American who is through - there are tears in my eyes as I say this.”

“Term limits, term limits on the Congress. How do these people in Congress keep getting re-elected? There must be a lot of people who just don't care about our future and just vote one party or the other or these Congressman would be gone.”

“Luckily, shut down is one thing. Come Oct 15^th, when the government literally has no money, the government will default on their bills. Oct 15^th is the big one. If we don't get bills paid it might not matter if they want to raise the debt ceiling because nobody will give us a loan. That is when their fits hit the fan. Can't borrow and they have no money. The only good I can possibly see out of this is it would force them to live within their means.”

“They will still be reelected, People vote party over priority. Nothing will change until voters stop allowing big money to run the country.”

“Go ahead and stay shut-down for a bit and give us a chance to recover financially from all of your frivolous spending and stupidity. I do not see a downside to this shut-down and if there is I think the benefits far outweigh the cost!”

“You all point fingers at one party or the other, just like congress points its finger. Away with parties all together. They are at the root of the problem. No one cares for the people, only for their party and what it represents. America does not matter to them. Pay them minimum wage to serve and the ones who really want to do the job will apply for principle not a fat paycheck.”

These were certainly interesting comments. It appears most of them were not directed at either party and were aimed at how the Government and the Congress should operate.

People seem to be angry with the entire system. They seem to understand the issues and want major changes but feel helpless as how to make them.

Unfortunately, the media is not helping with providing the facts. Every media outlet, whether it’s on TV, in the newspaper or on the Internet, has a tendency to lean to the Right or to the Left. A lot of people pick one side and only get their information from their trusted media source and mostly get one side of the issues. For example, if someone routinely watches MSNBC they probably will never watch FOX News. This further puts us in separate silos and keep this division among us which ultimately shows its results in the people we elect to the Congress.

I don’t know when this shutdown will end and how it will end. But I think we can all conclude that at the end we the people will suffer and not our congress people.

What do you think?

Happy at Work?

This week I am going to try something new with my blog. As I have told you before, I listen to several podcasts as I take my daily walk. These are mainly related to business and management as well as some technology podcasts.

One of the podcasts that I really enjoy listening to is some of Zig Ziglar’s podcasts, who sadly died last year. Ziglar was a top salesperson in several organizations before striking out on his own as a motivational speaker and trainer. He used his Southern charm to make his podcasts funny while motivating and nudging people to see the bright side of life.

Here is one his interesting quotes: “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

One of his podcasts which I have listed it below is about a lady in Birmingham who was not happy at her work and angry with her co-workers.

I see this type of attitude from some people as they talk about their work. I always have wondered why so many people are unhappy with their work. If they are so unhappy, why don’t they make a change? I believe a lot of times, it’s up to the person to make their work fun and satisfying. It’s about how they get along with their co-workers and what expectation they have from their job.

This episode of Zig Ziglar podcast helps to better realize the concept of work satisfaction and happiness. I have converted his podcast into this audio file that you can listen to. Please press on the play button below and listen to this podcast which is about 14 minutes. It’s also funny.

Do You Have a Bitcoin in Your Wallet?

As you may know, I am very interested in technology, electronics and computers. I am always reading and learning about these topics as I find it necessary to adapt to our new digital world, which has changed drastically over the last 20 years.

One new technology that I have started to learn about and have become amazed by it is Bitcoin. However, I am just learning about it so I can’t tell you if it’s a good or a bad technology. I hope those of you who know more about it can respond and enlighten the rest of us.

So what is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a decentralized virtual currency that exists only on the Internet and can be used to buy goods and services on some online stores as of now. It's so big that the value of all outstanding Bitcoins just hit $1.5 billion. You keep your Bitcoins in a digital online wallet. You can buy Bitcoins from exchanges, trade Bitcoins with others, and most interestingly, you can generate Bitcoins through a process called mining.

Mining is basically making your computer run a program to do mathematical calculations for the Bitcoin network to confirm transactions and increase security.

While your local bank keeps a private ledger for deposits and withdrawals, Bitcoin’s ledger, called the Block Chain, is public and therefore, everyone can download a copy of it. Your Bitcoins are sent to an alphanumeric address that is randomly generated by a virtual wallet. While all transactions and wallet addresses are recorded in a public ledger, the keys needed to access funds are private, which ensures that only you have access to your Bitcoins.

Each transaction over Bitcoin network is verified by a software program that generates a cryptographic algorithm, which is sent to the public Block Chain. This is how your computer’s spare power is used to verify the validity of each transaction and earn you Bitcoins. People who actually do this work with their PCs are called Miners.

Mining takes up a lot of space on your computer, and your odds of receiving any Bitcoins from mining on your own are slim. To compensate, many people join what are known as mining pools. In a pool, people can combine their computing power to crack the codes together, splitting the Bitcoin profits among themselves.

Originally, people used the CPUs of their computers to mine for Bitcoin. Then they learned that the GPU (the video card) of the PC was much faster to mine for Bitcoins. Now there are special mining devices that utilizes microchips specifically designed to run the Bitcoin calculations; these devices can be purchased for around $300.

Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin value has varied widely: $1 could buy one Bitcoin at the beginning of 2011, but in April 2013, you needed $230 to buy that same Bitcoin, making it a damned good investment! The value of one Bitcoin has dropped to around $140 as of now.

If you want to get started in Bitcoin business, you can visit some of these sites to learn more.

This is a short video about Bitcoin: http://youtu.be/Um63OQz3bjo

www.coinbase.com Coinbase is a Bitcoin wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact.

http://guiminer.org/ is one of the most popular mining programs for new users.

Are any of you using Bitcoins?

Does Culture Matter?

As part of my business consulting, I have talked to many company owners, Presidents & CEOs in the past year. One area that I am always very interested to learn about is their company’s culture.

Over the course of my career, I realized how important a well-defined culture is to the success of a company. That’s why when I meet new people, I gravitate toward understanding their company culture and how it relates to their success.

I define business culture as guiding principles, which includes the organization values, visions, goals, customs, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs that make a company unique. This creates a set of shared mental viewpoints that guide understanding and decision making in organizations. Simply said, “It’s the way things get done around here.”

Culture is consistent, observable patterns of behavior in organizations. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher said, "We are what we repeatedly do."

Organizations should strive for a “strong” culture in order to increase productivity, growth, efficiency and reduce counterproductive behavior and turnover of employees.

Strong culture exists in companies where employees respond to challenges with respect to the guiding principles and their alignment to organizational values and objectives. In such environments, strong cultures helps firms operate like well-oiled machines, engaging in outstanding execution and customer delight.

Conversely, in weak cultures there is little alignment with organizational values and objectives, and control must be exercised through extensive policies, procedures and bureaucracy.

Where culture is strong, people do things because they believe it is the right thing to do.

Research also suggests a strong organizational culture may provide various benefits, including the following:

·         Competitive edge derived from innovation and customer service

·         Consistent, efficient employee performance

·         Team cohesiveness

·         High employee morale

·         Strong company alignment towards goal achievement

A Harvard Business School study reported that culture has a significant impact on an organization’s long-term economic performance. The study examined the management practices at 160 organizations over ten years and found that culture can enhance performance or prove detrimental to performance. Organizations with strong performance-oriented cultures witnessed far better financial growth.

As I have mentioned in my past blogs, many of the corporate philosophies relate to our personal lives as well. Creating a good culture in a company starts with our families first. Teaching our kids the right values, visions, customs, traditions, and attitudes creates the future leaders that eventually will establish the strong culture in their organizations.

Finally, Management guru Peter Drucker got it right when saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” as he clearly understood that corporate culture is an incredibly powerful factor in a company’s long-term success.  An organization that has the best strategy in the world, but a culture that won't allow it to make that strategy happen, is doomed from the outset. No matter how good the strategy is, when it comes down to it, people who are aligned with a common culture always make the difference.

What Did You Do on Labor Day?

Well, I hope you had a wonderful 3-day weekend and enjoyed the Labor Day. I, like many Americans, celebrated Labor Day by having a few friends over for a pool party, a scrumptious BBQ and lots of drinks. Unfortunately, we never talked about Labor Day and the reason for our gathering.

As I mentioned in my 4^th of July blog, it seems our summer holidays are mostly celebrated with some water activities by the pool, the lake, or the beach accompanied with big BBQ and drinks. In addition, we spend some of our Labor Day weekend in the malls enjoying huge “sales” on stuff that perhaps we really don’t need.

The true meaning of these holidays are starting to fade and there is less of the tradition that’s being passed on to the next generation.

Labor Day was established in 1894 by Congress and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

So are we truly celebrating the contributions of the workers that have made this country so prosperous? I don’t think that by dipping in the water and having hot dogs and burgers we are appropriately honoring them. Also, I don’t think we are honoring them by making them work extra-long hours on Labor Day so we can enjoy a big shopping day at the mall.

Maybe a better way to celebrate their contributions is to recognize and appreciate their hard work at the work place. Maybe on the Friday before the Labor Day weekend, we all should take the time to recognize our team members and thank them for their accomplishments. Maybe we should have our BBQ celebrations on the same day at work, and publicly recognize their efforts. Maybe the stores don’t have to be open long hours and can shorten their shifts so the workers get some well-deserved time off. Maybe we should publicize and talk more about the workers’ productivity and teach our children about it. Maybe we should take pride in how our labor force and their productivity has made this country as one of the top performing economies in the world.

And maybe we should consider to call it something more positive than Labor Day when discussing it. Workers Day? Workforce Day? Employees Day? Team Members Day? Appreciation Day? Recognition Day?

I guess it doesn't matter what we call it as long we don’t forget about its true meaning and what it has done for us and our country.

Standing Out

I was doing some shopping last weekend at one of those big box stores better known as Costco. As I got to the cashier line, I noticed a difference among the cashiers. Some of them stood out more to me than the others. It seemed those who stood out were enjoying their job while providing good customer service.

Those who didn't stand out were just OK, and seemed as if they didn't want to be there and couldn't wait until their shift was over. They were not showing any urgency in taking care of the customers and looked distracted with other things.

Later, as I thought about my business career, I realized how quickly I could remember the people that stood out for me. There were always a handful of sales people who stood out above everyone else. There were always a few engineers and project managers who stood out to me and I will always remember them. There were always a small number of people in the support services such as Accounting and IT who stood out for me which I always turned to them. Also as I look amongst my family, friends and others in my social circle, I clearly see some people stand out more than others.

So why some people stand out and some don’t? After some thinking and study, I found these principles to be helpful in standing out.

• Be polite and respectful. People always remember the person who respected them and were polite to them; make sure that person is you.
• Think before talking. When talking, it is important to come across as self-assured and knowledgeable, so be sure to have done your research and know your facts before you open up your mouth.
• Take risks and work hard. Many people won't take risks because they're afraid of failure. Yet, without failure nothing new can be gained and it is only those who are willing to take risks and to work hard at their dreams who eventually succeed and stand out. Nothing – nothing – is a substitute for hard work.
• Do what you say you'll do. People who stand out from the crowd are people who keep their word and follow up their promises. Reliability makes you memorable and causes you to stand well above all the forgotten promise-breakers.
• Display initiative. Standing out from the crowd often means that you take action while everyone else stands back. Be the first to point out what's working and what’s not, and how to make the most of what's great and improve on what's not. If you see someone in trouble, don't assume they're getting help. Stop and help.
• Dress tastefully and accordingly. Clothing speaks in its own way, and a well-tailored outfit that fits you perfectly is bound to have people notice you. Not dressing for the occasion will make you stand out negatively.
• Keep a good posture. The person who stands out from the crowd will also stand tall, no matter their height. Just remind yourself to stand up straight, to keep your chin up, and to make eye contact with others. This is a sign of confidence.
• Be attentive. The greatest honor you can give another person is to show you've really heard them and to show that what they've said matters.
• Put away the cell phone in meetings, in restaurants, and during conversations.
• Stop your eyes from wandering around the crowd when you're with someone.
• Focus fully on them and be truly interested in them.
• Remind people how great they are. Regularly single out people in your life, from the workplace to home, to remind them how great they are. So few of us take the time to acknowledge the people in our lives whom we take for granted (see Recognition blog) that when someone does validate us in this way, it comes as a totally sweet surprise and is so out of the ordinary that it gets remembered.

I am sure there are many other ways to stand out in business or in personal life. The bottom line is that we all enjoy dealing with the people who stand out and we will always remember them.

Democracy Chaos

When I started blogging a few months ago, I mentioned that I would be writing about the things that I have learned in my career as well as my personal areas of interest. One of those areas of interest is politics.

Despite my interest, I also have tried not to write a political blog as I figured it surely will be debatable, as most political opinions typically are. Most people have strong beliefs in their political views and I didn't want to start a contentious dialog amongst my family and friends. So this blog and any future political blogs are going to be my observations and not pointed at any political party, Presidents or individuals.

This week’s blog was prompted by the chaos that is going on in Egypt. Almost 1,000 people have been killed in recent weeks in clashes between security forces, backed by the ruling military, and supporters of Mohammed Morsi, the first legitimately elected president in Egyptian history, who was ousted in July.

For three decades, Egypt was a stable Muslim country, a friend of the United States, the first Arab country to recognize Israel, and on a slow road to democracy. Now it appears to be falling apart.

What made me write about this issue was the similarity of this situation to a few others that I have observed, and my frustration about the lack of a clear vision for these countries and a desired outcome. Let me elaborate.

As an Iranian born who came to United States at age 18 and eventually became a United States citizen, I witnessed a similar situation in Iran. The Shah of Iran was toppled in 1979 which brought us the current regime that has been a thorn in United States’ side. In that situation, the United States who had supported the Shah for over 38 years withdrew its support and Iran went backward into a religious government who now is anti-United States. Not the outcome we wanted.

Fast forward to 2011 and a similar scenario happened in Egypt. The government of Hosni Mubarak, and Anwar Sadat prior to that, who were friends of United States and were being supported by United States for over 41 years was toppled after the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the public withdrawal of U.S. support. Over the ensuing two years, a new government was formed but toppled again just last month without a clear support from the United States. Again, not the outcome we had hoped for.

We also have witnessed several other cases where we have assisted in a regime change in countries that generally were not friendly with the United States and we had hoped for improved results which didn’t materialize.

The war in Iraq is well documented and the price we have paid for this regime change in number of lives and financially has been enormous. Was it worth it?

In Afghanistan, for many years the United States had tried spreading influence and in 1979 led to a bloody war between the US-backed Mujahideen forces and the Soviet-backed Afghan government in which over a million Afghans lost their lives. This was followed by the rise and fall of the extremist Taliban government and the present war. The current President, Hamid Karzai is supported by the United States however, has been relentless in his criticism of American involvement in Afghanistan’s political process. Is this the outcome we wanted for Afghanistan?

In 2011, the United States assisted the opposition groups in Libya who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi and his 42 year regime. Currently, the country is undergoing political reconstruction under a transitional government but there are protesters demanding that Islamic sharia law be the source of the country's future constitution. Again, not something that we had hoped for.

And most recently, the civil war in Syria has resulted in over 100,000 casualty. The United States officially has supported the opposition and is providing arms to them but it’s not clear who the opposition group is and in case of victory if they will be friendly to us.

Again, I am not listing these conflicts to blast one party or the other or any President. I just simply wish we had a more clear vision for what our role is and what outcome we are after.

The United States spends billions of dollars every year in supporting many countries without a clear benefit. Egypt is getting 1.5 billion dollars in military aid from the U.S. and still it is not clear what kind of government they will have and if those arms will be used against us some day. Pakistan gets about 1.7 billion dollars but has not been very supportive of our fight against Al Qaeda.

One theme that is consistent with these changes is the support for democracy. The United States has taken on the important role of protector of people from tyrannical rule. People everywhere throughout the world when given a choice wish to be free. The United States has always encouraged this and has been a role model for it. We should be proud of this and feel good about it.

I am in support of change for democracy but we need to realize that democracy can’t be imposed on people and it takes time. Democracy took roots in this country after declaration of independence and signing of the constitution but it took almost another 90 years before the salves were freed. Democracy must be earned.

In my opinion, one ingredient that is needed in establishing any democracy is to teach and inform people. Until people get educated, they won’t know what democracy is, and why they need it. I wish, instead of the recent wars that we fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, we had taken a fraction of the money spent on the war and had spent it in building more schools, universities and other means of education in these countries. Let’s first teach them what democracy is and why freedom is so important and they will eventually earn it.

The other thing we need to do is to be respectful of other countries culture, religion, traditions and their values. We should not expect they change those beliefs quickly in the name of democracy. We will not be making any friends and followers if we don’t treat them with respect no matter how much our ideologies makes sense.

So next time you hear any news about Egypt, Syria or any other conflict, ask yourself if we are doing the right things to help these countries to develop their own democracy. Are we using force to get change or are we teaching and nourishing democracy? And finally, do we have a clear vision of what we really want at the end?