ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SMILE AT YOU ARE NOT NECESSARILY YOUR FRIEND:

A family reunion just reminded me of this old quotation.

Addendum: Nor are they necessarily happy.

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OLD NUMBER ONE:

"When I was growing up, one of my favorite cartoon characters was Scrooge McDuck. He still is. Uncle Scrooge knows the value of a dollar. Even though he has three cubic acres of cash socked away, he never forgot the lesson of his first dime, aptly named "Old Number One." - The Debt Adviser by Steve Bucci • Bankrate.com

Strangely Scrooge is also one of my favorite cartoon characters. As much as Scrooge LOVED his money bin he found obsessive "sentimentality" to the first dime he earned. Scrooge felt this "icon" was a symbol of the effort afforded to its acquisition and an item to compare all other VALUE.

We all need to have an "Old Number One" in our portfolio/possession for comparison purposes. We need to be able to remember just how much effort (and sacrifice) is necessary in making our savings and daily purchases. Without such a reminder people have the tendency to make careless and impulsive purchases. This is especially important as we approach the holiday season.

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THE PROJECT TRIANGLE:

Every project has COST, FEATURES (Quality), and TIME (Speed) contraints. It is important to remember you can control EFFECTIVELY any TWO of these factors. Any attempt to control all three generally results in project failure.

http://www.43folders.com/images/Project_Triangle-1.png
(Prints a chart for your wall.)

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LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE:

All the preaching and verbage given to others is NEVER a substitution for leadership by personal EXAMPLE.

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SAVING & SPENDING SUGGESTION:

A friend called the other day and wanted some suggestions on "saving" money. I told her that the best solution to save was NOT TO SPEND. After listening to her frustration of trying to keep to a budget I suggested she try an idea recently printed in LADIES HOME COMPANION - taking her discretionary cash and dividing it up in a series of envelopes (each labled with a spending category.) When the envelope is empty her spending is ended.

I have no idea if you will employ this strategy but I did like the solution.

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PERSISTENCE

This morning I went to Home Depot to purchase an advertised item "available only for a limited time." When I asked for the item ($59 Gorilla ladder) I was told that all 40 of them went out the door in the first 30 minutes.

I asked for a "rain check" and was told they did not issue "rain checks." Following a discussion with the store manager I was told I was "just out of luck." I took his business card and told him that because I was persistent I was going to pursue my requested purchase. He merely smiled, and said "Good luck."

I visited a second Home Depot and got the same run around from another store manager.

I reread the ad and found no mention of rain checks but did note a small note mentioning the Homedepot.com web site.

After visiting the web site I found the advertised item for the SAME PRICE and FREE SHIPPING. I made my purchase and decided persistence paid off (and saved me $45 in the process.)

As a good deed I called both of the store managers back and informed them that not only was that product available on-line but several other advertised products as well. Sadly, neither manager had any idea of this promotion. (This is another example that management often has no idea of the WHOLE PICTURE.)

If you really want something - be persistent. There is no guarantee of success everytime but as the lottery winner once commented "If you don't play you can't win."

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"TOO MANY NOTES":

One of the interesting scenes in the movie AMADEUS was when his musical rival Antonio Salieri informs Mozart that the King did not like his Opera. When Mozart asks what exactly the King did not like Salieri replies "It hurt his ears" having "too many notes."

The story can have multiple interpretations depending on your point of view. To Mozart perhaps the King's response only demonstrated a lack of understanding of a complex and brilliant composition. To the King it was a loud composition not corresponding to the muscial FORM and traditions of the day.

To me it is also a reminder that even the best of plans can be overly complex and devour too many of your available resources. Always keep in mind the KISS Principal (Keep It Simple Stupid).

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FAILURE TO RESEARCH A PLAN:

Recently I began work on rehabbing my basement. I had decided to redo the kitchen area by ripping out the suspended ceiling before I redid the walls and floor. I had no sooner completed this task when I asked myself WHY I did this since the ceiling grid was in structionally good condition - but only cosmetically aged.

I stopped my work and spent an hour on-line to research other options. Three options appeared not only to UPDATE the ceiling grid but do it at 1/20th of the labor and 1/50th of the cost.

This reminder applies to all future projects. Not only should you measure twice and cut once - you need to research twice and ripout once.....

Fortunately the 50' x 13' basement ceiling is still intact and can benefit from this new research.

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LOOK INTO THE MIRROR - AND WHO DO YOU SEE?

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"YOU LIED!" "NO, I EXAGGERATED":

I have generally believed there are two types of lies: The lie of Commission (intentional distortion of facts) and the Lie of Ommision (ommitting essential information in the answer). Perhaps as Mr. Spock stated in the Star Trek VI movie we should add the Lie of Exaggeration.

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WHO LOST THE DEBATE?

Some years ago a Latin teacher was holding a Latin debate in a school auditorium. The teacher noted that the school custodian always attended the debates and seem to listen intensely to each debate. The teacher approached the custodian and welcomed in Latin. The custodian looked at him and said he did not know what he was saying.

The teacher apologized and told the custodian that he "assumed" he knew Latin because he came so frrequently to the debates.The teacher then asked him how could he know who won the debate.

The custodian looked up and said "That is easy, it is whoever looses their temper first."

Lesson learned: When you display your anger in public you may have "lost the debate."

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"GET MAD and GET OVER IT":

This Quote is attributed to Gen. Collin Powell.

Those people who carry their anger of situations, events, judgements, or people sadly deplete their own energies and loose prospective of their own life goals and pleasures.

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GETTING THE FACTS:

Recently I heard someone in a considerable leadership authority say: "I don't have all the facts, and don't even know much about this subject, but that has never stopped me from making a decision."

This is really a SAD comment and yet it is not an uncommon trait by many administrators.

It would really be wise if important decisions required the FACTS used to support a key decision. But I can guarantee you that will never be popular trait.

So what is the lesson learned? Don't ever assume that any important decision has any powerful logic behind it.

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IT IS NOT WHAT IS TRUE BUT WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE...

that determines peoples behavior.

People seldom scruntinize their beliefs prior to their actions.

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BEING FLUSH:

It is always interesting to watch people who suddenly come into a "stash" of money. Feeling "flush" , they generally turn off half of their brain cells and proceed to make impulsive and careless purchases.

The very best thing you can do with "flush" money is to deposit the money in short-term negotiable instruments and devise a PLAN to conserve your principal. Avoid the impulse making careless purchases.

As my father used to comment "Anyone can give it away."

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WHICH WAY SHOULD I GO FROM HERE?

When Alice in Wonderland came to a fork in the road she exclaimed "Which way should I go from here?" The Cheshire cat looked down from the tree and said to here "Where do you want to go?" Alice looked up and replied "It doesn't really matter where I go." Then, the cat replied "It doesn't really matter which path you take - your bound to go somewhere."

But it does matter. Making good choices at the various crossroads of your life requires thoughtfulness decision-making. Unless you control your "choices" others will make them for you - and you may not like the consequences.

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