My daughter, Lindsey, visited this holiday weekend and told me about a management seminar that she attended. She brought me one of her assigned books and I almost inhaled it. I could not put it down.
The book is "Getting Naked: A business fable about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty" by Patrick Lencioni.
The fable part was scarily similar to my last year. It concerns a large consulting firm that buys a small firm that operates totally different. That got my attention.
The book is about consulting with clients by using vulnerability! The three fears explained are
1. fear of losing the business
2.fear of being embarrassed
3. fear of feeling inferior
When you read this list, it probably makes no sense, but I can assure you there is much to think about.
Last week I read "Calico Joe" by John Grisham. Grisham is a master of legal tales, but he is also a great fan of baseball. "Joe" is a novel about a major league player from Arkansas who as a rookie player starts breaking all the hitting records. A parallel story is about a major league pitcher for the Mets and his family. The pitcher is a selfish person, bad parent, bad husband and abusive when drunk. He has anger issues. The pitcher and the hitter are destined to meet and what happens changes many lives.
This is a story about facing one's life, about forgiveness, and about confronting demons.
I have been sparse lately with my blog posts. Real life overtook reporting on life! I like it better when I blog regularly but I have been doing a class at church that has challenged me to tread waters that I have never explored. You see I can blog about things I know or have experienced, but when I "Teach"(story tell) I like to investigate things that I need to explore for my on good. I use the possibly mis-guided premise that if I haven't considered a subject, chances are many in the class are like me.
I went to a seminar today on Strategic Planning today and was taught by a "professional" that knew way less about the subject than I did! I first became uneasy when he started each Power point slide by saying: "Here I said.........." and then he read it to us. He included all the worn out quotes. I became a fan of the new "Open Carry Law" when he showed a quote and said: Here are some of my favorite quotes and then show: "If you always do what you've always done, you always get what you've got!" Then he explained it to us. If followed that this another gem that I will paraphrase since my eyes were rolling back in my head: "You can't change if you don't change!" he explained that also.
Let me say up front: I am not a fan of Tim Burton movies.
However, I am a fan of Johnny Depp and the new Dark Shadows movie. I totally loved the over the top story of a vampire locked away for 200 years and finds myself in 1972! This is a movie where the humor really works. As a matter of fact I didn't even worry about the plot and story. Watching Depp's vampire character figure out his new world was a hoot. I even thought the story got in the way at the end and got a little serious when I wanted more crazy. It has well acted, well conceived and loads of fun.
I give it ***1/2 stars.
2012 Movie #16
FYI IF the ticket prices get much higher, I expect to see my name on the credits as a Producer!
Seems that "Blogger", my host, decided to upgrade and change the way that posts are made. Now the way I navigate it is totally whack. See the last post where I have 5 of the same image! I had no way of knowing that I did that AND no way (so far) to delete and correct!
Yes, I made it to see the Avengers movie. I enjoy this brand of super heroes. Iron Man and company have personalities and don't take things seriously. There is banter and humor while we watch New York City being destroyed by the new set of villains. The special effects are as great as ever and the star power is great.
I wonder how I would feel about this movie if I lived in Manhattan? How many movies do the residents of NYC have to watch of their city being destroyed?
Any who, I contributed my part of the $600,000,000 made worldwide this weekend. I can only imagine how many toys they will sell!
My 1-1/2 year old phone would no longer hold a charge! I go to the phone store and the salesman says that I could get a new battery at the Apple Store for $79 dollars or a new phone for $99. He then says that there is nothing he can do. I did not like his answer so I headed to the Apple Store.
At the Apple Store the staff guy says, "We don't put batteries in iPhones? That would cost much more than a new phone. But lets look at your phone to see what is causing the drain." He checked the phone and says, "WoW, you have about 85 apps!" He said he on;y had 60 apps. Then he asks if I ever turn my apps off. I don't know what he meant? He double taps the big button on my phone and shows that all my apps have been "ON" since I bought the phone! And draining my battery. He then showed how to turn off the apps daily and save the charge. I decide to turn them off, recharge and see if I'm ok.
On the way home, I realize that I had to get a new iPhone 3 because of the battery and now the I4! I had never "closed" an app! The recharge did not work!
So, back to AT&T to buy a phone. This morning there are 4 staff people and 2 customers. The sales person meets me and tells me that I have to sign in on the touch screen and wait till my name is called.
I sign in and take a step back and someone calls my name! I tell the guy what I need and he checks my phone. He says that I qualify for a new phone. Surprise! He says, "Do you want to upgrade to a 4S for $199,00?"
"No, I don't need the new features. Just a 4" for $99,"
He looks at my account and my old phone and says, "Mr Martin, your old phone is 16gig and you have over 8 gigs on it. We know longer offer the 4 with that many gigs. Only the 4S has 16 gigs! The I4 only comes with 8.
I give him a look. Okay then 4S
"Do you want the service plan? Two years for $99. If you had a plan now you would get a new phone at no charge."
I think: Fat chance with that. They no longer make my 16gig phone.
I call Carol and she reminds me that my only trouble with phones is the charge and I now know how to save the phone. I turn down the plan. He argues and I frown. He then says, "I'm really not trying to act like a car salesman.' I thought: Wow, he reads people we;;!
I say that I want a screen protector put on and he wheels me away from the standard sheets and says that they will only put on the $25 one.
Then he tries to sell me on a new case, even though my current one fits fine.
I say, "Let's check out."
As he is totaling up he actually says, "I know you don't want the service plan, but you can insure your phone and that will ONLY add $9.00 a month to your bill."
I ask, "How does this differ from the service plan?"
He says only the cost. (which would be $108.00 a year OR $216.00 for 2 years instead of $99 for 2 years!
I was waiting for him to say, "Let me check with the sales manager and see if we can deal!"
