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All At Once!

I'm an avowed incrementalist—even if the aim is stratospherically high. That is, get going ASAP—and quickly experiment your way toward/to success.

But this spring-summer has been different at our house. We had a Grand Idea for a landscaping project that would change the look and feel of the Farm here in Tinmouth VT.

And we decided, more or less, to do it all at once.

There has been pain—from biting off more than one can readily chew—but the story to this point has the mark of a real success far beyond our initial imaginings.

The power of "getting going on everything at once" with but a sliver of a master plan (a couple of sketches) was that we could see (see, the real deal) from the outset what was sort of going to end up more or less happening—and then we could adjust like crazy, improvise constantly, destroy and create using the entire palette, and dramatically reshape the overall work, and even the overall concept, as we went along. Which, of course, means we didn't really reject my beloved Rapid Experimentation Method—we just did it on and amidst a grand platform called "everything is in motion and up for grabs."

To be more specific, we essentially started by blowing everything up—sticking in a roughed out new road that changed the entire dynamics (look, feel, flow) of the Farm. From there a dozen supporting projects began, or were also roughed out, at once. (In the space of a couple of weeks.) While we didn't look as devastated as our poor neighbors in Iowa do this morning, the place was a disheveled inchoate mess ("that only a mother could love") from stem to stern, north to south, and east to west.

And then the real "serious play" (book with this title by Michael Schrage is an inspiration) began. To stick to the Basic Texts of Life, we were following the master economic growth process labeled "spontaneous discovery" by Nobel Prize winner F.A. Hayek.

I'm not sure I'd do things, big things, this way in every instance, but I do think there are times when such an "all at once" approach is merited—when you have a Big Idea but need to be living "in the middle of it," with all ends loose ends, to figure out what it means. You might say that this is the approach, in his case on a monster scale, that HRH Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has taken in Dubai over the last two decades.

Further confirmation of this idea—and how gutsy-nutsy it is!—has come from, coincidentally, reading Wendy Kopp's (One Day, All Children: The Unlikely Triumph of Teach For America and What I Learned Along the Way. I think Ms Kopp's story is one of the most amazing sagas—ever. From a Princeton dorm room, in 1988, she hatched a scheme that has arguably become the most profound educational and public service experiment-success in America in many a year or decade.

The point in the context of this Post is that then 20-ish Ms Kopp rejected from the start the advice from the Captains of Industry and other Great Ones who intended to support her—namely, she decided that even though she really didn't know what she was up to tactically, she would mount an enormous program launch to demonstrate to the world the power of her idea. Test it with a handful of young untutored teachers in an out of the way place—off off off off Broadway, if you will—was the advice she got again and again and again and without exception. But she was adamant that if she was going to attract great recent graduates to give up two years of their lives teaching in depressed areas she had to create a Wave of World-rattling Momentum on Day One.

Of course we now know she pulled it off ... Big Time. But the close calls and pratfalls occupy most of the 193-page book. Everything that could go wrong—and then some—did go wrong. Not just tiny miscues, but enormous boo-boos—again and again and again. Her tiny staff fumbled and bumbled their way to survival, then eventually success, holding on only to the Dream and Ms Kopp's staggering intensity and energy.

As I read the book I came to the conclusion that she had been right—that the only way to go in her case had been the Big Way from Day One. One needed the energy of youth and the spirit of youthful naiveté to bite off such an enormous, often contentious ("20 year old 'girl' tackles teachers unions in Manhattan, etc., etc.") notion.

(I also had the chance to think about "all this" on my recent trip to Korea. The Korean approach to many humongous opportunities is to eschew the master plan, or much of any plan—and just get the hell going, firing full bore on a thousand thousand cylinders at once. I witnessed one Act of their show a couple of decades ago, when they leapt, from ground zero, into electronics. From that cold start they built, à la Dubai, enormous production facilities—and learned on the fly how to make it all work and effectively compete with the best. Their individual and collective success, and the speed thereof, was mind-boggling in aim and accomplishment alike.)

Between my little project and Wendy Kopp's Richter 8.0 project, and Dubai and Korea, I am pondering the circumstances when "do it all at once and figure out what 'it' is and how to do it on the fly" is the right answer. There is no doubt that such conditions exist—though the key, beyond the compelling dream, is the raw talent and energy and enthusiasm and obsession and resilience of the participants. It is 99.99% (or more) a matter of raw emotion—not a matter of analytically identifying a big opportunity, assigning "good people," and then proceeding based on state-of-the-art project management software.

Tom Peters posted this on 06/18/08.

Comments

Hope you had the requisite Environmental Impact Statement approved after 45 day waiting period, permits processed, EPA fugitive dust control methods in place, etc., etc. Hmmm. Why do well-documented effective methods so often run afoul of bureaucratic obfuscation and obdurance and, how we fix that problem?

Posted by Randy Bosch at June 18, 2008 4:03 PM

TP Asks – ‘I am pondering the circumstances when "do it all at once and figure out what 'it' is and how to do it on the fly” is the right answer’

My answer would be the world I now occupy as a sole trader, freelance, independent professional after hundreds of years in corporate healthcare. I have so many things 'out there' as possibilities that I have completely lost track of just what I am potentially letting myself in for. I love the nickname given by Virgin HQ staff to Richard Branson 'Dr Yes' - He always says ‘yes’ to any idea put to him then says – ‘How can we make that happen?

I take the view that if I take a scatter gun approach and proactively explore hundreds of possibilities for work then some are going to come up positive. Most of them probably won’t … but hey that’s life …. It’s a great journey nonetheless. I sometimes get positive feedback from leads I started maybe 12 months previously and I had frankly forgotten about or given up on.

As for:

‘Analytically identifying a big opportunity, assigning "good people" and then proceeding based on state-of-the-art project management software’

In my world that’s just BS - I am firmly in the camp of John Lennon’s wonderful lyrics every time – 'Life is what happens while we’re busy making other plans.’

And anyway it’s fun ….. It makes life interesting and beats the hell out of having to get up every day to ‘go to’ work in some stale clinical office full of people who look like they are desperately in need of a holiday every week because they can’t do ‘everything all at once' – even though they are capable of just that. I’ve come to the view in three and a half years of freedom that ‘corporate confinement’ is a terrible affliction.

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 18, 2008 4:58 PM

So, the 'flower' post got 30+ talkbacks, and this one's currently lingering on less than a handful. Whassup?

Maybe it needed a picture... perhaps some Bauhaus-ian thing hinting at 'man's liberation from labor'. Snore.

Wonder if some 'disruptive excellence in a business age' will shake it up?

Was it Walton, Negroponte or Harpo Marx that mouthed 'Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy.' Dunno. Whatever.

'We essentially started by blowing everything up' has to be among the best-ever gambits. And, 'we need more lunatics' it's personally reassuring to see someone else who so clearly gets it... 'it' being dramatic advance in pursuit/creation of wow-scale payoff. (And, honestly... when did Peters ever NOT get it?)

Not being a terribly bright person, I get lost in the semantics and often mistakenly consider 'incrementalism' as 'increments'. My error. Silly me.

In so doing I lose the 'majesty' of 'mighty change through happy accident'... a willingness to experiment and then experiment some more... to wander off the damn map with the glee of a five-year-old with that new red bike and who just wants to 'ride! ride! ride!' until the sun comes down, and then ride some more. And, if we ****-something-up in the process? Oh well, shit happens... what's next?

I suspect I'm not alone in this.

>It is 99.99% (or more) a matter of raw emotion - not a matter of analytically identifying a big opportunity, assigning "good people,"...

Abso-lutely. And let's not lose sight of its forebear and offspring... PASSION - that thing that gets us out of bed and helps keep us awake during that great-blight-of-dullness snoozeathon which is much of commerce.

Any takers?

Posted by g at June 19, 2008 9:07 AM

‘PASSION - that thing that gets us out of bed and helps keep us awake during that great-blight-of-dullness snoozeathon which is much of commerce.’ - That’s brilliant g - can I be in your team :-)

‘to wander off the damn map with the glee of a five-year-old with that new red bike and who just wants to 'ride! ride! ride!' until the sun comes down, and then ride some more. And, if we ****- something-up in the process? Oh well, shit happens... what's next?’ - I love that too and one of the many joys in my career is how I’ve set sail on a journey with broad ideas of my destination but quite often ended up in unexpected or unplanned places. I now drive my car with the aid of satellite navigation (my latest toy) and yet I still like to experiment and take the odd unexpected turning. By the way I’m the only person I know who got lost driving in a supermarket car park so my sat nav was a great investment!

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 19, 2008 9:52 AM

Hey gulliver - maybe we all got sick of agreeing with each other all the time...

Actually, I may not be in complete agreement with TP here - should I be ashamed? ;-) But let me first say what I am not disagreeing with. I do believe in Passion - oh, absolutely! It is essential to any endeavor worth doing (is it the litmus test of whether it is worth doing? Perhaps).

I don't see passion as having anything to do with the approach to figuring out what the problem is and then coming up with a plan on how to address it. That is, you should CARE and REALLY want to fix the problem, but that is separate from the manner in which you proceed. Many times, I guess, planning can be seen as really clinical - and for good reason! Many times it is. But it need not be. Further, there is a big difference between understanding what the issue is and how to respond to it. All too often people leap to a solution before they have a good handle on the problem.

In the great tradition of American incrementalism: "A problem well described is half solved" -- John Dewey. Now Dewey was a serious radical, wishing to change education dramatically, for example (everything at once!), but he was also a "meliorist" (make things a bit better, don't ever try for perfection). These are not contradictory at all (but I won't bore you all with the theory). The point is you may not know what the solution may be, but you better damn well know what the problem is. The "what" is general - it does not mandate a "how". But knowing the "what" well gives you judgment to assess the "how".

If everyone in the team knows and understands the issues they are tasked with - and has a full sense of the vision that makes THAT issue worth tackling, then planning exactly how to do it is MUCH less important. They each will be able to help judge whether an idea has merit or is worth pursuing. If, however, you have a bunch of people that you treat as brainless cogs, then you better damn well have a seriously detailed plan - because you won't be able to draw on the passion, intelligence, respect, and caring of your employees.

What's that Patton quote again? "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 19, 2008 11:43 AM

Choose your team well-

1) LOTS of the red trike brigade- youngsters full of ideas and no experience. They don't know what can't be done or is 'inappropriate for our company/industy'. They take it for granted that they can communicate with people everywhere all the time, across boundaries and borders, doesn't matter if they meet face to face. Everything is relevant. They also recover better physically from late nights/early mornings/round the clock stuff.

2) A few grizzled veterans. These are the ballast in the hold- don't have to be beautiful, just keep the craft from overturning in the storms and crosscurrents. Bonus points for addiction/depression/bankruptcy in past. Those who've seen ugly and fought their way out into clean air have the cynical optimism needed to power the sleep-deprived youngsters through when disaster looms. Also necessary to enforce the boundaries- is this illegal, immoral, disrespectful of our customers or co-workers?

3) Some years in, some levels up- a tricky group- experience with process and procedure, know the industry standards, have seen a few fashions come and go. The danger- they play the game by the rules so well that they can't grasp that not only the rules but the game is being changed. The cure? Suss out the few who are appalled in their souls that they're on the freeway to corporate success and eventually the watch and retirement party, and show them the off ramp to Trikeland.
Watch them unleash their considerable talents to use the system they know so well to grab resources and approvals seemingly out of thin air.

Add intractable problem, dying industry, major disaster, hubris- your choice- and stir well.

Posted by Lois Gory at June 19, 2008 12:35 PM

Picking-up on Martin K-B's point...

To me, disagreement is good - often a learning experience. Besides, if everyone agrees someone's redundant, and the thread turns into a cheering-party. (Or, in the responses to that 'flower' post, an ad-hoc gazetteer - all very nicey-nicey buddy-buddy on a slow road up its rear-end.)

You're of course right that passion has nought to do with the process of problem->solution... and the understanding thereof.

Key of course is 'balance'. There's many who know 'how' and not 'what' to do - they're skilled but imaginatively-challenged. And also many who know 'how' but not 'what' - they've oodles of ooomph but bugger-all nouse. (Sure, 'how' and 'what' here are semantically interchangeable.)

Here's where we maybe diverge... like a thirty-buck trick with a street hooker, I can buy the talent to get the job done.. And... all the money in the world can't buy me love. (O'Leary, where are you?)

Also, I don't think business is that difficult. Sure it's complex - often needlessly and damagingly so (enter Trevor, smiling, stage left) - in the sense of there's a lot of things to do. But difficult as in 'hard'? Really? Hhhmmm... don't think so.

The good solutions are usually either simple common sense, or so left-field inspired that no amount of process & planning could even begin to understand - much less have originated - them.

And, the kicker... those inspired nuts will 'limits, what limits?' dream & scheme a fix waaaaaaay beyond any 'call of duty' you'd get from a hired-hand. They'll find a way because it's important - nay, vital - to them. The help would just suggest a feasibility study and then deliver a recommendation report.

To be a really cool troubleshooter requires an element of troublemaker... so sure (read: please) burn the ****er down long before it gets old and rickety. And therein lies the real key... too many of us try to 'design our way through', 'innovate our way out' or whatever we choose to call it. The really good businesses have a life of their own - provided we've the stones to get out of the damn way and just top up the oil and water when needed, rather than manage the life out of the beast.

And, in most cases where there's 'a bunch of people that you treat as brainless cogs', all the 'seriously detailed plans' in the world won't help you - you're already ****ed and sooner or later you'll have to lie down.

;-)

Posted by g at June 19, 2008 3:12 PM

Right with you g - give me a skunkworks and a bunch of pirates that none of the friggin' black belt six sigma middle managers could stand and we'd kick butt. :-)

I live this life - for now. In February gave a presentation at a developer conference for a Business Process Management product. The first day was the vendor talking about best practices. The second day began with me telling everyone in the audience that to deliver on the process I was demonstrating we broke every single one of the rules the vendor talked about the day before.

Makes you feel warm and anti-establishment inside.

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 19, 2008 3:50 PM

Martin, Lois and g – brilliant. What a fabulous stream of comments that complement each other. Your comments are crammed full of common sense and simplicity with no BS. The three of you put it so well and I recognise the truth you are telling. Within all three comments I see little academia (and that’s a compliment by the way) All I see is simplicity and common sense by the boat load. Wonderful – Amen and thank you!

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 19, 2008 3:53 PM

Lois, patent it! Brilliant!

Posted by tom peters at June 19, 2008 3:54 PM

You raise a good point 'g' ....why is there more chatter about flowers than management? More chatter about things we think we know about rather than things we have no real insights about? I don't know why I only know that the fact it happens is something I learned about in organisation theory 101.... Observing the discourse on tompeters! over the past 2 years I propose the following simple explanation for what is going on....

A powershift has occurred within the flat world of the internet...

C20th innovation was led by staff. C21st innovation is led by consumers.

The digital age consumer is the same as before, only different...

Within digital networks consumers are the new talent. They cluster on the internet and become viral marketers for everything they like and dislike. They form what I term Chattering Clusters who chatter incessantly to each other about everything from soap powders to celebrities. They are on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Fast Company Now, LinkedIn, Linux forums, etc talking about what they want and need.

What they want and need most is to 'belong' to a Clan (a global network with low levels of trust) or a Tribe (a local network with high levels of trust). There is nothing new in this desire because Tupperware Parties in the 1950s served the same purpose. Consumers today want to 'be heard' by their favourite reality TV show host as well as their favourite soap maker. They want to be involved in product or service innovation. They want products and services that are customized for them rather than just another version of 'one size fits all'.

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at June 19, 2008 6:19 PM

Richard - I lost the thread on your analysis of why there was a lot of chatter on the flowers. Are you saying that it is because a new set of TP chatterers have arisen and they respond to fluff but not to content? Or, alternatively, are you saying that some of us are becoming somewhat like a clan or tribe and thus like sharing more personal sides of our lives?

Either way, it is an odd distinction to make - work v. not work, relevant v. fluff. I don't make one - you can find insight in any human endeavor, whether it be gardening, soccer, golf, management, etc.

I see creating a context where people can express delight - delight in the sharing of life or what is important to us - as an extremely important part of any relationship. Whatever that relationship may be. The "professional relationship" has been created by mindless and dull HR types, not passionate Tom Peters types.

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 19, 2008 9:11 PM

What I always say is "Don't let the perfect get in the way of the possible". This simple saying helps me get through situations where a big idea can be overtaken by the effort required to see it through. At the end of the day I focus on getting "it" done. The key for all of us is to find our "it".

Posted by Kaplan Mobray, Author 10Ks of Personal Branding at June 19, 2008 9:25 PM

Martin K-B.... whatever... thank you for this feedback, I appreciate it....

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at June 19, 2008 9:35 PM

Hey Richard - there was no criticism intended - I just was not sure what you were getting at. I appreciate a good disagreement more than preaching to the choir any day. And I am not even sure I disagree! Your analysis of how the web has changed is interesting - still chewing on some of the bits - so I was trying to get a better idea of what you were getting at.

I suppose my point was that I was not surprised at the responses to the flower post (hell, I was part of it). Some things spark conversations - and in lieu of another topic that grabbed attention, the flower was it.

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 19, 2008 10:32 PM

Martin K-B... I thought the flower discussion was excellent... I was pleased to see TP being 'in the moment' (I think I used words to that effect)... I have no qualms with your comments on my explanation of "things" (I surely do not understand the digital era and that is precisely why I continue to try to make sense of it - I suspect it is just like every other era before it except we have this wonderful new set of technologies...) Most of what you said in your comments about my explanation of "things" I probably agree with .. My basic point is our global and local organisations are changing because of digital technologies... Increasingly our organisations seem to have become loosely coherent networks rather than bounded entities - they stretch equally well around the globe as around the block... The key to understanding them for me is to understand their revenue models... If you understand how they make or derive (ie taxes or charitable contributions, etc) their revenue then I believe you will better understand why and how they make the types of decisions they do ... I have been struggling to understand the new passive revenue models of Google, Skype, eBay, etc as a platform for human activity within and beyond the corporate boundary.. I stumbled upon this notion of 'Chattering Clusters' (the core of the idea has been with me for 20 years actually) for a whole host of reasons...finally it just made sense to me that people are chattering all around the place with 'delight' about flowers and with 'passion' about new ways to succeed with a project at work... Beyond the chattering the early adopters seem to form Clans which tend to promote change in a broad sense - then they progress within a specific context to prepare either 'a framework for action' or to go build 'a prototype'... Trust (ie trust in the conversation within the Clan) is the key to them mounting a cohesive effort...within Clans (which incidentally are built 'to flip' by the very nature and the proclivities of their membership) the trust levels needed are low to medium... As trust levels build within a Clan so a shared purpose (or even a shared set of values, ideologies, ideals, mores, etc) becomes evident and so the more dedicated members tend to form into Tribes... Tribes are more likely to have some face-to-face contact or regularly scheduled meetings (but even here the notion of a 'meeting' has changed and I like what Stephanie Palmer says about 'mini-meetings'... indeed this diatribe from me to you is in a sense a 'mini-meeting') because the trust levels have to be maintained at reasonably high levels for Tribes to work... In the early to mid 1990s I tried desperately to build 'online communities of interest' within local and global workplaces - I failed dismally.. I did not know then what I know now about online 'conversations' and thus I did not fully comprehend the need for what I might now refer to as 'purpose based' trust.... Anyhow you get what I mean I am sure... The bottom line is I am still grappling with so much of this stuff... To bring this 'mini-meeting' to a close (not before time I know!) I took no offense at what you said... Stay well and please stop to smell the roses whenever you can Martin...

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at June 19, 2008 11:46 PM

Cheers Richard - great stuff. I too have been interested in online communities (my job for 9 great years - started in 1997), and while never articulating it in the same way as you, I recognize the issues. My realm was education, and how to get educators involved sharing successful uses of technology with each other. The answer - and it was successful (at least for a time) - was locating the "purpose-based trust" (to use your term) in communities organized along already strong discipline ties, where they saw the web community as belonging to them as (for instance) mathematics teachers.

I have the Palmer book in my Amazon wish list (birthday coming up!) - but if not bought for me it goes into the cart and comes to my house forthwith.

Posted by Martin Koning-Bastiaan at June 20, 2008 1:30 AM

Latching onto man-from-downunder RL's clips:

>A powershift has occurred within the flat world of the internet...
>C20th innovation was led by staff. C21st innovation is led by consumers.

Yeah maybe... and, in counterpoint... 'the public still largely wants what the public gets'. No, that's not a typo. Satisfying market demand remains a largely illusory hoax.

Did we ask for a flawed computer operating system?
Or crappy, reality-based tv shows?
Dull and/or corrupt politicos?
Heathcare that's neither 'health' nor 'care'.
Hell, did we even dream of the social notworking (again not a typo) sites?

Don't think so. The consumer continues to be led--and often in an wholly exploitative manner, so make that 'misled'.

Seriously... the 'information revolution' came and we did what? Stood up? Hardly? Most of us simply sat down again and grabbed another slice of pizza. 'There's nothing in the streets, looks any different to me' so Won't Get Fooled Again remains just a great song.

Most of us are channeled down carefully managed and manipulated pathways... there's few 'rebel bastions' which remain untouched by the corporate claw. The breakthoughs quickly took the corporate handout of VC funding... doubt me? Have you seen Napster recently?

So yeah... 'squandered my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles'... we could have been Forest Rangers or learned how to fly without wings... instead we just took typing lessons, mastered PowerPoint and settled for 'Senior VP, Marketing'.

The Matrix logline of 'machines creating a false reality through which to control humans' is wholly flawed--we made it ourselves.

Say you want a revolution? Pah! Will you settle for easier shopping and free porn?

And, on 'chattering clans' etcetera... any fool knows a dog needs a home (more for O'Leary, there).

Seriously, with liberation comes coagulation... gifted an almost limitless expanse to roam, explore & discover many of us simply sought sanctuary. Altogether too scary, rather than 'caged-bird-flown' it just sat there, bemused by the open door and awaiting the next meal and a 'who's a pretty boy, then' thing reaffirmation of belonging.

Choosing the 'clouded warmth of the crowd', we gather... in clans... on some-or-other forums. 'Bleeding hearts and artists, we make our stand'... pleading our this-or-that Hillary-Obama, PC-Mac, Red Sox-White Sox, Save the Whales, Homeland Insecurity 'let's nuke the ****ards' case.

Global warming? How's about global dulling?

And whilst we're doing this... trading electrons and binary bytes... we're missing so much. Coulda/shoulda spent this time with the wife/hubby/significant other and kids... but we didn't.

Best (worst?) case scenario they're likely all interconnected... separate rooms with laptop, cellphone, blackcurrant... bashing away at the keypads.

Or tragically (literally), 'all alone, or in two's, the ones who really love you walk up and down outside the wall--your wall' while you (we, I) pontificate silently through 'Comments 43'. Shame on us.

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So here we be, where it's all very safe and usually predictable... Tom'll opine on what's currently pissing him off then stand back to mow his lawn, pet the emus or whatever's on the farm, or quickfire write another five posts.

Then the chorus arrives... Mr Nice Guy Trevor... a few others I cannot remember... three-to-five 'good post, I agree' chime-ins from Judith... Lipscombe with 'linebreak, what linebreak?', and me of course with the whole Dark Angel totin' a verbal howitzer schtick and all-the-words-stuck-together-with dashes nonsense. And why? Because we like to belong.

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Yeah... 'belong'. Not 'have something to say'. Were it the latter, we'd do it on our own sites - or literally on a street soapbox. But we don't.

Whatever, this is of course just one entirely self-indulgent view. And a warped one at that.

Thanks for reading. Now switch off the damn machine and go hug someone or kiss the dog. Better still, appreciate the flowers--and thank your god someone's still planting them for us to enjoy.

Posted by g at June 20, 2008 2:30 AM

g - Absolutely brilliant once more!

Mr 'Nice Guy' here - thanks my friend - you are nice too and thanks for such an undeserved compliment :-)

As per your guidance I've just kissed my wonderful wife, both my dogs and a virtual kiss for my two fantastic grandsons aged 3 and nine months. How I pray they will be called 'Nice Guys' in 50 years time. And by the way many times EVERY day I thank my God for giving me another day to enjoy the flowers etc.

With ‘lyrics’ like yours I’m pretty sure it’s all a conspiracy – come on admit it – tell the world - you are really a secret songwriter in partnership with the marvellous John O’Leary. :-)

Have a glorious Friday all …..

Yours truly,

‘Nice’ Trevor

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I could get used to that ….

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 20, 2008 2:55 AM

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PS g - one factual correction in respect of your sentence (then I promise I'm off 'cos I'm travelling to London our wonderful capital shortly on a Richard Branson Virgin puff puff);

"Yeah... 'belong'. Not 'have something to say'. Were it the latter, we'd do it on our own sites - or literally on a street soapbox. But we don't."

Sorry my friend you are wrong - I do

I've posted my words on my own Simplicity Blog for the past three and half years - now over 850 posts. I think that means about five postings per week on average – and more remarkably, I'm even ‘nicer’ on that site!!

Best

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 20, 2008 3:17 AM

Can't do "all at once" in my business because our customers won't stand for it. When you sell products to automotive OEMs you can't go into new models and product launches with a "chaos-is-order-sort-it-out-as-we-go-change-it-on-the-fly" attitude. They won't stand for it. The reason they won't is because YOU won't. You want your auto to work properly the first time and every time. That means a very controlled, incremental, linear, and project-managed approach. It may work for landscaping on the farm, Tom, but not in (most of) the real world. We answer to the market.

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g--sorry to have to agree with you and say "good post." My theory is that consumers are manupulated because the group with the most money are very young and easy to manipulate. As for most people intentionally seeking sanctuary, tribes, and other comforts rather than seeking the stars--that's human nature. As an old coworker of mine used to say, "if everyone were as cool as us, nobody would realize how cool you and I really are."

(My dog much prefers tummy rubs to kisses.)

Posted by Mike at June 20, 2008 7:49 AM

Mixtures rock.

Mix "all at once" with "structure" and dance between the two.

Isn't that what happens in jazz?

Isn't that what happens in nature (think about that beautiful flower)?

Isn't that what happens when great chefs cook?

Both are necessary. The tough challenge for leaders and teams is to learn the dance.

(PS-Regarding the nature of meeting the needs of the market, sometimes the market isn't completely clear on what it wants, but it knows it when it sees it. Don't let a fear of the market hinder your progress. )

Posted by Manoj Pawar at June 21, 2008 1:09 PM

I am a Regional Manager for a small multifamily property management firm in the Midwest. Saint Louis to be specific.

Every summer around this time we get a flux of Teach for America teachers that come to us in search for apartments before they head to L.A. for their 2 month training.

I find it difficult to describe the interactions with these amazing individuals. They are full of absolute passion for what they are doing. What they believe in. Many of these students are taking on the two year challenge in preparation for careers in other fields and nevertheless they are both jazzed and focused on their choice.

I feel it an absolute blessing that we get to serve these servers in the way of giving them a home for the two years they are here in Saint Louis. We find it easy to go out of our way to put together Teach for America discount programs for their living expenses. I wish we could comp it all.

If you have the chance to serve this amazing group of people, do it. And, do it well. M

Posted by Mike at June 22, 2008 11:15 AM