Hard-Working People

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally gotten my schedule to the point where I've been able to get in some early morning runs. The weekend runs are good, but they can only help you maintain some conditioning not build any.

In any case, I've been doing a lot of running starting at 5AM and I have been amazed at the number of homes that I see with lights on at that time. Even more startling is the number of folks leaving for work between 5 and 6AM. Of course, this is the greater Los Angeles area so it can take a long time to get to some places. But still, that's getting a pretty good jump on the day.

As I run along, seeing traffic pass by, I'm wondering how many of these people are leaving their homes at 5 or 6 in the morning, arriving at work at 6 or 7AM and aren't leaving until 5? There's really no way to know. But, if there was a way to find out, well, I wish they'd send me their resume. It is getting harder and harder to find folks who will consistently put in more than the minimum effort.

Show me more than the minimums, come in and do what it takes to get the job done and you'll do well in my book. I'm just looking for some hard-working people.

Publishing Out of Touch with My Wallet

I have a friend in publishing and so I have been very close many of the changes in publishing over the past decade or so. I also happen to be a lover of books, though I've had less and less time to engage in that particular job over the last few years. Finally, I'm quite tech savvy so I've watched the Internet impact both of these things.

E-book readers have been really exploding over the past few years and are putting all kinds of pressure on book publishers to change and adapt to the changes in distribution options. Why change? Well, I have to tell you that the idea that the cost for a book when distributed electronically should be the same as when distributed electronically is myopic and foolish. This was the same argument that music companies tried to take when music services came on-line. Remember $17.99 CDs anyone? How's that working out now?!?

Specifically, I'm starting to become very interested in the Kindle DX. This is purported to tackle an issue which is very near and dear to my heart. Textbook prices. I'm (slowly) working my way through an MBA program at a local university. I've recently converted to the online program, in fact, and while that's very helpful to my schedule, I find that it compresses the amount of time I have available to acquire the text book. The welcome email for the course came out on Friday. The first class is Wednesday, the first assignment is due Tuesday. As a result, I have to usually run to the local University bookstore to pick up the book.

Cost is an issue when you are pursuing a graduate degree. A $200+ Fundamental Financial and Managerial Accounting Concepts with Harley Davidson Annual Report

does not give you a big old warm and fuzzy. Granted, the online price is cheaper. But even at that "discounted" rate, that kind of cost for a book that I'm going to use for only 8 weeks borders on felonious. Can purchasing a Kindle DX or the upcoming iPad save me money over time and transform the cost structure of academic books?

I'm rapidly getting to the point where I'm willing to try. This just doesn't seem sustainable at this point.

Mirror, Mirror

A classic failure of the human mind is the inability for us to accurately and objectively judge ourselves. Case in point, the classic survey (which I couldn't find online) that says that a majority (something like 80%) of people believe themselves to be above average drivers. That, good friends, is statistically impossible. The average of all drivers would of course be the average, so a significant percentage of people failed to accurately assess themselves. Of course, it's hard to know what the survey asked and how one might measure "averageness" but in any case, that's just an example.

We recently finished the annual review process at my company. Each staffer was asked to complete a self evaluation form. The form included a ranking of their own performance using three scores: Needs Improvement, Valued Performer and Exceptional. Unsurprisingly, about 80% of all folks ranked themselves as Exceptional. While this is statistically possible, I suppose, we have an internal metric that about 20% of staff may be considered exceptional, 70% are valued and 10% will need improvement.

Whether these numbers are right or wrong for any particular company, I cannot say, but overall, I would say that they hold true for most places. So why the gap? We just aren't good at seeing ourselves through others' eyes. My old boss used to hand me a mirror and tell me to ask myself if I was part of the problem or the solution. He felt that there a plenty of times where introspection is necessary.

So, grab yourself a mirror next time something goes awry and ask those tough questions about what you could have done differently. This is one case where you are allowed to judge someone. Yourself.