I recently finished “Attracting Capital from Angels” by Brian E. Hill and Dee Power. It’s well written and well organized, which translates into a pretty quick, concise read.
Between the covers you’ll find a wealth of information ranging from a 30,000 foot view of trends in angel investing through to the minutiae of negotiating a term sheet. Most of this was review for me, and/or simply confirming my own experiences. The book focuses on the situation in the USA, requiring any Canadian reader to look at certain sections from a north-of-the-49th perspective.
For me, the real value came in the second last section, which dealt with “Living with an Angel.” As I welcome upwards of 20 or more angel investors into my business, I am definitely looking for knowledge on how to manage expectations while keeping everyone fully informed. I’m also interested in systems and processes that will help streamline all aspects of an effective relationship.
I’ll also include two conflicting reviews from Amazon.com, starting with the pro, then moving to the con.
From Amazon.com:
A real gem! In over 35 years as a serial entrepreneur, investment banker and angel investor, I've come across dozens of books addressing various aspects of raising money, writing a business plan and/or finding investors. Most rehash existing theories and consolidate existing sources of research and advice on the topic. Brian and Dee have done a remarkable job of gathering fresh information through direct interviews, original essays and new surveys. The result is a truly enlightening, useful and very readable work which should become The Bible for anyone thinking of starting a business, financing an existing one, or investing as an angel themselves.
A must read even for someone just interested in learning more about Angel Investing, a little known area of our economy which just happens to be one of the most powerful drivers of our free enterprise system.
Bob Geras,
President
LaSalle Investments Incorporated
Also from Amazon.com:
I am planning a new business, and payed for this book, along with express shipping, since it is very topical. I feel cheated since the book is completely worthless. My only consolation is writing this review.
There is not enough information in this book to make a newspaper article. Aside from very short interviews with Angels that are scattered randomly among the pages, the book consists of constant repitition of a few very simple ideas:
1. Angels invest their own money, VC invest other peoples
2. Some Angels may be able to help you with your business. Some may not.
3. Don't waste potential investors time, make sure your business plan is short and reasonable.
Thats the whole book. Many other reviewers (who signed themselves "A Reader") praised this book. I have to question their impartiality.
If you are planning a new business and looking for investors, I can offer you some free and valuable advice. Don't waste your time reading this book.
Daniel Ginensky
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Coming To The Web
I’ve dedicated a lot of time over the past days to our center-level web pages. Our website, for Parmasters Waterloo Region, will live within the larger Parmasters Golf Training Centers website. Our center-level web pages are those pages within the site that focus on Waterloo Region.
We’re also starting conversations with leasing companies, for the equipment, and banks, regarding debt capital. In both cases, initial conversations have been very positive.
As I worked on the web pages, I was reminded of this quote. I’m not sure I would be “ruthless,” but the point is well made.
“If you lose dollars for the firm by bad decisions, I will be very understanding. If you lose reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless.” -Warren Buffet
I’m also reminded of an oft heard mantra from a friend and colleague, Jim Estill. “Fail often, fail fast, fail cheap.” By this Jim means experiment often, push the envelope, but do it quickly and economically.
We’re also starting conversations with leasing companies, for the equipment, and banks, regarding debt capital. In both cases, initial conversations have been very positive.
As I worked on the web pages, I was reminded of this quote. I’m not sure I would be “ruthless,” but the point is well made.
“If you lose dollars for the firm by bad decisions, I will be very understanding. If you lose reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless.” -Warren Buffet
I’m also reminded of an oft heard mantra from a friend and colleague, Jim Estill. “Fail often, fail fast, fail cheap.” By this Jim means experiment often, push the envelope, but do it quickly and economically.
Monday, March 26, 2007
What Are You Attracting?
Over the weekend, and into today, we finalized and then submitted an offer to lease space within a building in Kitchener, ON. As the offer has not yet been accepted, I can’t really get into details. We’re getting close, but of course, the deal may still fall through.
I’ve also spent many hours working on our website. The franchisor provides a solid template, but the local franchise owner must do the updates. I’m not convinced this is the best use of my time, but when something must be done and you’re a one-man show …
We’ve also finally set up a business phone line. Apparently it’s virtual. We can direct it to ring at any land or cellular line, which is very convenient. And we can also take it with us and make it a permanent land line when we open our site.
On Sunday afternoon I attended a hockey challenge organized by the local Toyota manufacturing facility. A team from Japan was in town to play against a local team. I believe the players were around 14 years old. The Japanese players were exceptionally fast and very gifted.
The entire experience took me back to a time when I was 14 or 15, and a touring European team came to our little town to play an exhibition game. The stands were full and there were lots of dignitaries, speeches and quite a ceremony. Not bad for our tiny little town. Unfortunately, our teams were not evenly matched. I think we won by about 10 goals. By the third period we were passing the puck to them.
The game on Sunday was much more evenly matched and very entertaining. Kudos to all involved!
I watched The Secret again over the weekend and was reminded of the assertion that everything in our lives today, we have attracted, via our thoughts, feelings and emotions. This is a powerful, empowering concept. I urge you to consider it, and watch The Secret yourself, soon and often!
I’ve also spent many hours working on our website. The franchisor provides a solid template, but the local franchise owner must do the updates. I’m not convinced this is the best use of my time, but when something must be done and you’re a one-man show …
We’ve also finally set up a business phone line. Apparently it’s virtual. We can direct it to ring at any land or cellular line, which is very convenient. And we can also take it with us and make it a permanent land line when we open our site.
On Sunday afternoon I attended a hockey challenge organized by the local Toyota manufacturing facility. A team from Japan was in town to play against a local team. I believe the players were around 14 years old. The Japanese players were exceptionally fast and very gifted.
The entire experience took me back to a time when I was 14 or 15, and a touring European team came to our little town to play an exhibition game. The stands were full and there were lots of dignitaries, speeches and quite a ceremony. Not bad for our tiny little town. Unfortunately, our teams were not evenly matched. I think we won by about 10 goals. By the third period we were passing the puck to them.
The game on Sunday was much more evenly matched and very entertaining. Kudos to all involved!
I watched The Secret again over the weekend and was reminded of the assertion that everything in our lives today, we have attracted, via our thoughts, feelings and emotions. This is a powerful, empowering concept. I urge you to consider it, and watch The Secret yourself, soon and often!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Exceptional Customer Service
Customer service will make or break our business. As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’re building and operating Disneyland. Our business is all about highly effective marketing, to bring patrons in the door, and then incredible service, to keep them coming back. Pretty simple stuff really.
The topic of superb customer service came to my attention at least three times this week. Once during a board room discussion, and twice while interacting with “service” providers.
I went to a local sub shop and placed my order. It was just a tiny little counter in a small food court. There were three “staff” on duty, and they were having a lot of fun … while largely ignoring the customers, including me. They were throwing things, laughing loudly, trading inside jokes, using slang, etc.
Last night, I was at a local home renovation show. Basically two arena ice pads full of booths, with companies selling everything from mortgage solutions to gardening designs. I stopped at one booth and picked up a pamphlet. I stood there for close to a minute reviewing the pamphlet, before replacing it in the rack and moving on. There were two gentlemen “staffing” the booth, but neither approached me. They were both too busy talking to and laughing with a young, attractive woman that was “staffing” the next booth.
Lastly, earlier this week I was discussing parking at a particular site with my regional franchisor. In particular, we were discussing staff parking, and the need to ensure patrons had sufficient parking close to our entrance. I noted, and he agreed, that if we hired the right staff, we wouldn’t have to ask them to park in the far reaches of the lot (thus ensuring that patrons have access to the parking closer to our entrance). We wouldn’t have to ask them, because they’d already know, and they’d do so voluntarily.
When we receive exceptional customer service, we notice. Why? Because it’s very rare. At Parmasters Waterloo Region, we will deliver, on a daily basis, exceptional customer service. And our patrons will notice, and return.
The topic of superb customer service came to my attention at least three times this week. Once during a board room discussion, and twice while interacting with “service” providers.
I went to a local sub shop and placed my order. It was just a tiny little counter in a small food court. There were three “staff” on duty, and they were having a lot of fun … while largely ignoring the customers, including me. They were throwing things, laughing loudly, trading inside jokes, using slang, etc.
Last night, I was at a local home renovation show. Basically two arena ice pads full of booths, with companies selling everything from mortgage solutions to gardening designs. I stopped at one booth and picked up a pamphlet. I stood there for close to a minute reviewing the pamphlet, before replacing it in the rack and moving on. There were two gentlemen “staffing” the booth, but neither approached me. They were both too busy talking to and laughing with a young, attractive woman that was “staffing” the next booth.
Lastly, earlier this week I was discussing parking at a particular site with my regional franchisor. In particular, we were discussing staff parking, and the need to ensure patrons had sufficient parking close to our entrance. I noted, and he agreed, that if we hired the right staff, we wouldn’t have to ask them to park in the far reaches of the lot (thus ensuring that patrons have access to the parking closer to our entrance). We wouldn’t have to ask them, because they’d already know, and they’d do so voluntarily.
When we receive exceptional customer service, we notice. Why? Because it’s very rare. At Parmasters Waterloo Region, we will deliver, on a daily basis, exceptional customer service. And our patrons will notice, and return.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Quiet
I’d like to share lots of details on what’s happening lately with Parmasters Waterloo Region, but they’re mostly very confidential. We’re in a bit of a quiet period.
Unfortunately, I’m fighting a cold through this “quiet period.” It’s a head cold. Very congested. I find it can affect my concentration, and energy level.
I started the day, as I start pretty much every day, with my bowl of cereal and the newspaper. I was saddened to read that John Keating, CEO of Com Dev, had suffered a health setback. I’ve blogged about some of his words recently.
I also spent sometime with an old friend who recently became a grandpa for the first time. Exciting times.
The bulk of the rest of the day was spent on all that stuff that I’m supposed to be quiet about.
Scheduled to work out tomorrow morning. The cold began on the weekend, and I’ve made it through two solid workouts thus far this week. Not sure I’ll run on the weekend. That tends to really aggravate my colds.
When we emerge from this “quiet period,” we’ll have news, and we will have turned a significant corner. Or perhaps I should say we will have hit a significant milestone. Either way, my day-to-day activities will change dramatically. Looking forward to the progress!
Unfortunately, I’m fighting a cold through this “quiet period.” It’s a head cold. Very congested. I find it can affect my concentration, and energy level.
I started the day, as I start pretty much every day, with my bowl of cereal and the newspaper. I was saddened to read that John Keating, CEO of Com Dev, had suffered a health setback. I’ve blogged about some of his words recently.
I also spent sometime with an old friend who recently became a grandpa for the first time. Exciting times.
The bulk of the rest of the day was spent on all that stuff that I’m supposed to be quiet about.
Scheduled to work out tomorrow morning. The cold began on the weekend, and I’ve made it through two solid workouts thus far this week. Not sure I’ll run on the weekend. That tends to really aggravate my colds.
When we emerge from this “quiet period,” we’ll have news, and we will have turned a significant corner. Or perhaps I should say we will have hit a significant milestone. Either way, my day-to-day activities will change dramatically. Looking forward to the progress!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Blog, Blog, Blog
I didn’t blog over the weekend. There were two reasons really. First …
Let me interject. I tend to do that a lot. No, I’m not referring to the interjecting, I’m referring to the “First” noted above. I tend to list and number my statements in my writing, frequently. I’ve noticed this before, and even discussed it with a friend. I’m not sure if it’s my detail orientation, my mathematics degree (although not likely since it is a degree in mathematics, not arithmetic, or counting), or perhaps simply my way of writing as clearly and concisely as possible. I wonder what my Grade 9 English Grammar teacher would say about this….
Now, where was I? Yes, the reasons I did not blog over the weekend. First, I was very busy, and second, I’m in a bit of a blogging funk right now.
Saturday went pretty much as planned. I attended a coach’s clinic starting at 7:30am, and then we drove to Cobourg to attend a funeral at 3:00pm. From there we looped back to Whitby for supper with my parents. We were home just before 10:00pm.
I worked most of Sunday. I did break for a bit of lunch, and did spend half an hour with Val Kalnins of Parmasters Northern Ontario. And I didn’t work much after 4:00pm as my eldest son had a late afternoon hockey game. By the end of the day, I had little energy for another blog post.
Which brings me to my second reason (there I go with the numbering again), my blog funk. I believe this is primarily related to current activities within our business. We’re in the middle of negotiating a lease. This is occupying a significant portion of each day (it’s a rather important, long term decision) and I can’t really share much on that process. We’re also initiating some marketing activities and I also, of course, continue to raise equity capital.
I suspect, once the lease is signed, and we move into the next phase of building the business, my blog funk will quickly dissipate.
Let me interject. I tend to do that a lot. No, I’m not referring to the interjecting, I’m referring to the “First” noted above. I tend to list and number my statements in my writing, frequently. I’ve noticed this before, and even discussed it with a friend. I’m not sure if it’s my detail orientation, my mathematics degree (although not likely since it is a degree in mathematics, not arithmetic, or counting), or perhaps simply my way of writing as clearly and concisely as possible. I wonder what my Grade 9 English Grammar teacher would say about this….
Now, where was I? Yes, the reasons I did not blog over the weekend. First, I was very busy, and second, I’m in a bit of a blogging funk right now.
Saturday went pretty much as planned. I attended a coach’s clinic starting at 7:30am, and then we drove to Cobourg to attend a funeral at 3:00pm. From there we looped back to Whitby for supper with my parents. We were home just before 10:00pm.
I worked most of Sunday. I did break for a bit of lunch, and did spend half an hour with Val Kalnins of Parmasters Northern Ontario. And I didn’t work much after 4:00pm as my eldest son had a late afternoon hockey game. By the end of the day, I had little energy for another blog post.
Which brings me to my second reason (there I go with the numbering again), my blog funk. I believe this is primarily related to current activities within our business. We’re in the middle of negotiating a lease. This is occupying a significant portion of each day (it’s a rather important, long term decision) and I can’t really share much on that process. We’re also initiating some marketing activities and I also, of course, continue to raise equity capital.
I suspect, once the lease is signed, and we move into the next phase of building the business, my blog funk will quickly dissipate.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Busy Time
I’m a little behind. Quite a bit of email has piled up in the last few days, all of which requires a reply of some sort. Sunday will be a day of catch up.
Today was quite diverse. It began with a refreshing workout at 6:30am. Meetings included a web property/content development firm – they say they “aggregate web traffic.” I am considering dedicating a small percentage of my time to golf-oriented writing. This firm may provide a means for me to publish on the web. My goal is to raise my profile in the local golfing community.
I also met with Parmasters HQ to dig deeper into lease details. Negotiations continue. They’re moving along very well. The pace is appropriate.
I also sat down with a couple of bankers to discuss our debt financing needs. I simply wanted to ensure that our ratios were correct, that we had a very good chance of securing the necessary funds, and also to identify what hurdles we would have to cross to make our banker more comfortable. The two gentlemen I met with were very helpful. They expressed interest in our debt, which is more than I expected.
This evening I took my eldest son to hockey practice. Unfortunately there was an on-ice incident between two players, which then became an off-ice incident between one father and the coaches. Nothing too serious, but quite upsetting for many involved.
Saturday will be a full day. Once again this year I’ve volunteered to be an assistant coach on my son’s ball hockey team. As such, I must attend a coach’s clinic starting at 7:30am. It ends at noon, at which time we’ll be heading to Cobourg for a funeral. I also have a Spectradigital board meeting, to which I’ll be dialed in. They’ll call me in the car – hands free phone! – at 1:00pm. From Cobourg we’ll head to Oshawa or Uxbridge for supper with my parents. We haven’t seen them since Christmas.
Sunday I’ll be catching up on email, pouring over more lease details, updating web pages, hopefully meeting with Val Kalnins who runs Parmasters Northern Ontario, and tidying up a few sundry tasks.
Today was quite diverse. It began with a refreshing workout at 6:30am. Meetings included a web property/content development firm – they say they “aggregate web traffic.” I am considering dedicating a small percentage of my time to golf-oriented writing. This firm may provide a means for me to publish on the web. My goal is to raise my profile in the local golfing community.
I also met with Parmasters HQ to dig deeper into lease details. Negotiations continue. They’re moving along very well. The pace is appropriate.
I also sat down with a couple of bankers to discuss our debt financing needs. I simply wanted to ensure that our ratios were correct, that we had a very good chance of securing the necessary funds, and also to identify what hurdles we would have to cross to make our banker more comfortable. The two gentlemen I met with were very helpful. They expressed interest in our debt, which is more than I expected.
This evening I took my eldest son to hockey practice. Unfortunately there was an on-ice incident between two players, which then became an off-ice incident between one father and the coaches. Nothing too serious, but quite upsetting for many involved.
Saturday will be a full day. Once again this year I’ve volunteered to be an assistant coach on my son’s ball hockey team. As such, I must attend a coach’s clinic starting at 7:30am. It ends at noon, at which time we’ll be heading to Cobourg for a funeral. I also have a Spectradigital board meeting, to which I’ll be dialed in. They’ll call me in the car – hands free phone! – at 1:00pm. From Cobourg we’ll head to Oshawa or Uxbridge for supper with my parents. We haven’t seen them since Christmas.
Sunday I’ll be catching up on email, pouring over more lease details, updating web pages, hopefully meeting with Val Kalnins who runs Parmasters Northern Ontario, and tidying up a few sundry tasks.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Are You Good To Yourself?
It’s been a busy couple of days with meetings, events and a lot to accomplish. I introduced myself to two other indoor golf operators at a Chamber of Commerce event on Tuesday evening. I’d be happy to meet with them, but I’m not certain they’re keen to do so.
Larry King (CNN) dedicated another hour to The Secret recently. I recorded it and watched it late Tuesday evening. One quote stood out for me. Please note, I’m paraphrasing.
“Do you treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you?”
I’m very hard on myself, and always have been. I know many others that are equally tough on themselves. I demand a lot, whether it is a lot of work, a lot of skill, kindness, understanding, intelligence, knowledge, perfection, accuracy, etc. I suspect many of us are like this. We’re our own worst critics. And yet, how can we expect others to treat us better than we treat ourselves?
I then began to consider another quote.
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” -Max Planck, Nobel Prize-winning physicist
So, as one extrapolates …
When you change the way you look at yourself, your self changes.
This took me ultimately to a quote favoured and indeed evidenced by my friend and colleague Hardy Premsukh.
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour.” -Henry David Thoreau (from Walden: Or, Life in the Woods)
And lastly, since I’ve been so actively quoting this evening, here’s one last piece of borrowed prose to bring some levity to this oh so serious blog post. This quote is largely unrelated to the above topic, and also sadly reflective of much of society (myself, and I’m sure you also, excluded).
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the local BAR.” -television show, Drew Carey
I encourage you to treat yourself the way you want others to treat you!
Larry King (CNN) dedicated another hour to The Secret recently. I recorded it and watched it late Tuesday evening. One quote stood out for me. Please note, I’m paraphrasing.
“Do you treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you?”
I’m very hard on myself, and always have been. I know many others that are equally tough on themselves. I demand a lot, whether it is a lot of work, a lot of skill, kindness, understanding, intelligence, knowledge, perfection, accuracy, etc. I suspect many of us are like this. We’re our own worst critics. And yet, how can we expect others to treat us better than we treat ourselves?
I then began to consider another quote.
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” -Max Planck, Nobel Prize-winning physicist
So, as one extrapolates …
When you change the way you look at yourself, your self changes.
This took me ultimately to a quote favoured and indeed evidenced by my friend and colleague Hardy Premsukh.
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavour.” -Henry David Thoreau (from Walden: Or, Life in the Woods)
And lastly, since I’ve been so actively quoting this evening, here’s one last piece of borrowed prose to bring some levity to this oh so serious blog post. This quote is largely unrelated to the above topic, and also sadly reflective of much of society (myself, and I’m sure you also, excluded).
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the local BAR.” -television show, Drew Carey
I encourage you to treat yourself the way you want others to treat you!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Retired Competitive Curler
My last entry dealt with “productive days.” I had two of those over the weekend. Yes, unfortunately, this is still a time of working on weekends. Activity within Parmasters Southern Ontario is finally starting to heat up. We’re deep into lease negotiations. We’re starting some marketing activities. And we’re attracting more and more investor attention every day. More on each topic below.
Regarding the lease negotiations, you didn’t really think I could/would provide more details did you?
And the marketing activities. The franchisor lays out some 30 or 40 proven – primarily direct – marketing techniques and strategies. These are divided into three time frames around pre-opening, opening and ongoing operations. Lots of work to do. We’re starting with one or two special sections within the KW Record. They’re both coming out in April. Look for the Parmasters logo!
We’re also working on our website/pages (we’ll exist within the large www.parmastersgolf.com) site.
As for the investor activity, we’ve intentionally focused more energies and time on site selection and lease negotiation of late. Once the lease is signed, we’ll work night and day to quickly close the remaining financing.
On a lighter note, I did take some time off during Sunday evening to watch the Brier final. I recorded it, and then started watching it midway through, allowing me to fast forward through the commercials and boring parts.
I used to curl competitively. Certainly not at the Brier level, but only one step below. We had some successes. In years gone by we’ve played matches against some of the players and teams that were in the Brier this year. I recall in particular a great game in Ottawa against the team that represented Quebec this year. Our lead made just about every shot perfectly. We won handily. The team from Quebec was less than gracious in defeat. Unfortunate.
I “retired” from all curling after the 2003 season. We had played at every level, except the very top/elite. Basically, we’d been there and done that before. And to play at the elite level, you basically have to arrange your entire life around curling. I wasn’t prepared to do that. And truth be told, I’m not certain that I had the skill to compete at the elite level.
Regarding the lease negotiations, you didn’t really think I could/would provide more details did you?
And the marketing activities. The franchisor lays out some 30 or 40 proven – primarily direct – marketing techniques and strategies. These are divided into three time frames around pre-opening, opening and ongoing operations. Lots of work to do. We’re starting with one or two special sections within the KW Record. They’re both coming out in April. Look for the Parmasters logo!
We’re also working on our website/pages (we’ll exist within the large www.parmastersgolf.com) site.
As for the investor activity, we’ve intentionally focused more energies and time on site selection and lease negotiation of late. Once the lease is signed, we’ll work night and day to quickly close the remaining financing.
On a lighter note, I did take some time off during Sunday evening to watch the Brier final. I recorded it, and then started watching it midway through, allowing me to fast forward through the commercials and boring parts.
I used to curl competitively. Certainly not at the Brier level, but only one step below. We had some successes. In years gone by we’ve played matches against some of the players and teams that were in the Brier this year. I recall in particular a great game in Ottawa against the team that represented Quebec this year. Our lead made just about every shot perfectly. We won handily. The team from Quebec was less than gracious in defeat. Unfortunate.
I “retired” from all curling after the 2003 season. We had played at every level, except the very top/elite. Basically, we’d been there and done that before. And to play at the elite level, you basically have to arrange your entire life around curling. I wasn’t prepared to do that. And truth be told, I’m not certain that I had the skill to compete at the elite level.
Friday, March 09, 2007
More Productive Days
I find that my ability to handle volume – the amount of work – waxes and wanes. I’m sure that’s very natural, and that we’re all the same. We have good days and bad, productive days and days when productivity slips.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to the factors that lead to good days, productive days, and the factors that lead to bad/unproductive days.
And clearly there’s a value system element to all of this. In the text above, I’m equating a “good” day to a “productive” day. That’s a value judgment. At this point in my life, and our business, I value productivity very highly. But others might equate a “good” day with a “lazy” day, or a “peaceful” day, or a “bright and sunny” day. All are value judgments. There’s no right or wrong answer. Just values.
I know that during a productive day, my energy is high, very little phases me. I can make decisions quickly and readily. I can quickly dispense of many small tasks and also really focus in for extended periods of time on more complex tasks.
And since we purchased the franchise rights to Parmasters, and we’ve been working at this business, almost all days are “productive” days. Very few are unproductive. That stems, at least partly, from passion, conviction, loving what you’re doing, having fun, having a clear vision/picture of success, and a clear plan/path to get there.
So the problem is not really productivity. And it’s not that I have many unproductive days. The answer is simply, how to eliminate the few unproductive days.
And of course, as I type this, I’m also reminded of life balance, and the writings of Jay Paterson within this blog. Always lots to think about.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to the factors that lead to good days, productive days, and the factors that lead to bad/unproductive days.
And clearly there’s a value system element to all of this. In the text above, I’m equating a “good” day to a “productive” day. That’s a value judgment. At this point in my life, and our business, I value productivity very highly. But others might equate a “good” day with a “lazy” day, or a “peaceful” day, or a “bright and sunny” day. All are value judgments. There’s no right or wrong answer. Just values.
I know that during a productive day, my energy is high, very little phases me. I can make decisions quickly and readily. I can quickly dispense of many small tasks and also really focus in for extended periods of time on more complex tasks.
And since we purchased the franchise rights to Parmasters, and we’ve been working at this business, almost all days are “productive” days. Very few are unproductive. That stems, at least partly, from passion, conviction, loving what you’re doing, having fun, having a clear vision/picture of success, and a clear plan/path to get there.
So the problem is not really productivity. And it’s not that I have many unproductive days. The answer is simply, how to eliminate the few unproductive days.
And of course, as I type this, I’m also reminded of life balance, and the writings of Jay Paterson within this blog. Always lots to think about.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Toss A Coin
I’m borrowing this post from Leadership Strategies by Briefings Publishing Group. I hope they don’t mind. I shared this concept with a friend on Wednesday and we both agreed it was a very unique approach.
From page 3 of their premiere issue.
Leaders Know The Value of Intuition
Much has been written about intuition, whether it should be relied upon or ignored in favor of concrete information. As a result of interviews with 60 decision makers, Ron Schultz has learned that many rely on intuition to make decisions.
For example, John Rollwagen, former head of Cray Research, has a favorite method for making decisions when intuition seems to be sending a message: Toss a coin. While you shouldn’t act on the results of the coin toss, note how you feel when you get your “answer.” Are you pleased? Disappointed? Pay attention to that feeling.
While not strictly logical, intuition does draw on a combination of experience, knowledge and analysis as well as a lot of “gut” information you may not even know you have.
- Adapted from Ron Schultz, Unconventional Wisdom (HarperBusiness, NY)
The same issue of Leadership Strategies includes the following quote:
“Never confuse activity with results.” –Lou Gerstner, CEO IBM
From page 3 of their premiere issue.
Leaders Know The Value of Intuition
Much has been written about intuition, whether it should be relied upon or ignored in favor of concrete information. As a result of interviews with 60 decision makers, Ron Schultz has learned that many rely on intuition to make decisions.
For example, John Rollwagen, former head of Cray Research, has a favorite method for making decisions when intuition seems to be sending a message: Toss a coin. While you shouldn’t act on the results of the coin toss, note how you feel when you get your “answer.” Are you pleased? Disappointed? Pay attention to that feeling.
While not strictly logical, intuition does draw on a combination of experience, knowledge and analysis as well as a lot of “gut” information you may not even know you have.
- Adapted from Ron Schultz, Unconventional Wisdom (HarperBusiness, NY)
The same issue of Leadership Strategies includes the following quote:
“Never confuse activity with results.” –Lou Gerstner, CEO IBM
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Calm Before The Storm
Activity is starting to accelerate within Parmasters Waterloo Region. We are also making more progress. We’ve been searching for a site (a location/building) for a very long time. Much longer than anticipated. We are now, finally, nearing the end of that search.
Indeed, I haven’t blogged much lately on business because we are now in a period of lease negotiations. I can’t really say much on that topic, for obvious reasons.
Like everything, working out a lease deal occupies a surprising amount of time. We have to run various projections based on different scenarios. There’s footprint (how much square footage) and layout (the arrangement of the equipment, rooms and features within our space) to consider. Further, there are a million little details within any commercial lease, all of which we must consider and negotiate. Such fun!
This is also a period of relative calm before the storm. Once we sign a lease, there will be a whole new set of tasks and we’ll become very schedule and budget oriented. We’ll start marketing and selling memberships. We’ll have a couple of months to finalize all financing, including bank and leasing company. We’ll be working on blue prints, permits, layout, interior finishes and all of the build out details.
Once we sign a lease, the fun begins. I’m working feverishly to get that lease in place in March.
Indeed, I haven’t blogged much lately on business because we are now in a period of lease negotiations. I can’t really say much on that topic, for obvious reasons.
Like everything, working out a lease deal occupies a surprising amount of time. We have to run various projections based on different scenarios. There’s footprint (how much square footage) and layout (the arrangement of the equipment, rooms and features within our space) to consider. Further, there are a million little details within any commercial lease, all of which we must consider and negotiate. Such fun!
This is also a period of relative calm before the storm. Once we sign a lease, there will be a whole new set of tasks and we’ll become very schedule and budget oriented. We’ll start marketing and selling memberships. We’ll have a couple of months to finalize all financing, including bank and leasing company. We’ll be working on blue prints, permits, layout, interior finishes and all of the build out details.
Once we sign a lease, the fun begins. I’m working feverishly to get that lease in place in March.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Straight Down The Target Line
This is an interactive blog post. I hope you feel like getting up out of your chair and trying something, especially if you’re a golfer!
I’m going to show you one small example of how we can guarantee results.
At Parmasters our focus is golf game improvement. If you join us for a series of lessons, you will play much better golf. WE GUARANTEE IT! Yes, that’s right. If your game does not improve by at least 25% – that is a 25% reduction in your handicap, or the difference between your average score and par – you get your money back. Period.
How can we do that? We’re the only company in the entire industry that guarantees results from golf lessons. NO ONE ELSE DOES THIS. So how can we?
Because we teach a simplified golf swing that is based on anatomical certainties – that are the same for all of us – rather than teaching the traditional, complicated golf swing that relies upon athletic ability, timing and coordination. We call our method Straight-Line Golf ™.
That said, the golf swing we teach looks very traditional, so you will not feel self-conscious on the course. (Besides, when you’re always in the fairway, who cares what others think!)
So, I said I would show you one small example. Let’s start with the traditional golf swing. First, stand up and get into your golf stance/posture. Feet shoulder width apart. Knees slightly bent. Bend at the hips to tilt the upper body slightly forward. AND, shoulders back and head up. This is the traditional golf swing stance or address position.
Now, swing your left arm left to right, keeping it straight, as you would during a golf swing. No need to go all the way up into a backswing, or all the way through to a finish. Just keep your lower body still and gently swing your arm so that your hand travels roughly elbow height to elbow height on each side.
You will notice that your left hand is traveling in an arc around your body. Traditional golf swing.
Now, let’s try the Straight-Line Golf ™ method. Get back into the same golf stance. Head up. But this time, don’t keep your shoulders back. In fact, lift your left arm and move it to the right, across your body, such that your triceps (the muscles on the back of the upper arm) sit on top of or in front of (and touching) your chest. Rest your upper left arm, your triceps, on your chest.
Now, swing your left arm elbow height to elbow height. It may feel a little awkward at the start.
If I’ve described this effectively – and it’s much easier to do in person – then your left hand is no longer traveling in an arc. Instead, your left hand is now traveling straight down the target line.
Just think about that. What if all of your movement in your golf swing traveled straight down the target line, directly towards your chosen target?
We’ll be open later this year …
I’m going to show you one small example of how we can guarantee results.
At Parmasters our focus is golf game improvement. If you join us for a series of lessons, you will play much better golf. WE GUARANTEE IT! Yes, that’s right. If your game does not improve by at least 25% – that is a 25% reduction in your handicap, or the difference between your average score and par – you get your money back. Period.
How can we do that? We’re the only company in the entire industry that guarantees results from golf lessons. NO ONE ELSE DOES THIS. So how can we?
Because we teach a simplified golf swing that is based on anatomical certainties – that are the same for all of us – rather than teaching the traditional, complicated golf swing that relies upon athletic ability, timing and coordination. We call our method Straight-Line Golf ™.
That said, the golf swing we teach looks very traditional, so you will not feel self-conscious on the course. (Besides, when you’re always in the fairway, who cares what others think!)
So, I said I would show you one small example. Let’s start with the traditional golf swing. First, stand up and get into your golf stance/posture. Feet shoulder width apart. Knees slightly bent. Bend at the hips to tilt the upper body slightly forward. AND, shoulders back and head up. This is the traditional golf swing stance or address position.
Now, swing your left arm left to right, keeping it straight, as you would during a golf swing. No need to go all the way up into a backswing, or all the way through to a finish. Just keep your lower body still and gently swing your arm so that your hand travels roughly elbow height to elbow height on each side.
You will notice that your left hand is traveling in an arc around your body. Traditional golf swing.
Now, let’s try the Straight-Line Golf ™ method. Get back into the same golf stance. Head up. But this time, don’t keep your shoulders back. In fact, lift your left arm and move it to the right, across your body, such that your triceps (the muscles on the back of the upper arm) sit on top of or in front of (and touching) your chest. Rest your upper left arm, your triceps, on your chest.
Now, swing your left arm elbow height to elbow height. It may feel a little awkward at the start.
If I’ve described this effectively – and it’s much easier to do in person – then your left hand is no longer traveling in an arc. Instead, your left hand is now traveling straight down the target line.
Just think about that. What if all of your movement in your golf swing traveled straight down the target line, directly towards your chosen target?
We’ll be open later this year …
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Astounding Individual
From Oxford:
Rainmaker – 2. N. Amer. slang a person who is highly successful esp. in business.
I was surprised by the definition. I’ve always thought of a rainmaker as someone that has a pronounced, very positive impact. Someone that gets the right things done.
I spent some time Friday with such a person. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be named with such praise being heaped upon him, but JP is truly a rainmaker, and not just vis-à-vis “business.”
We have a family friend that is struggling. I won’t go into the details. Let’s just say the difficulties run the gamut of the kinds of problems a family can face. She’s facing them all, together, right now.
We want to help. We’ve tried to help. We have helped. But there’s so much more help needed. We couldn’t organize our thoughts. So we asked the rainmaker for help. It’s not what he does. It’s not his business. But if he can make rain …
JP jumped right in. We started mind-mapping. Brainstorming. He made several calls. We very quickly came up with ideas that may be helpful on many aspects of the challenges that our family friend faces. I received emails, and voice mails after our meeting.
JP doesn’t know our family friend. All of the people that JP has enlisted to help don’t know our family friend. This is simply humanity in action. The Secret in action.
Of course, our friend may not embrace all of the help that will be offered. That’s up to her. Time will tell. The goal is not to meddle. The goal is simply to do all we can to help. The rest is up to her.
Have you made any rain lately?
Rainmaker – 2. N. Amer. slang a person who is highly successful esp. in business.
I was surprised by the definition. I’ve always thought of a rainmaker as someone that has a pronounced, very positive impact. Someone that gets the right things done.
I spent some time Friday with such a person. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be named with such praise being heaped upon him, but JP is truly a rainmaker, and not just vis-à-vis “business.”
We have a family friend that is struggling. I won’t go into the details. Let’s just say the difficulties run the gamut of the kinds of problems a family can face. She’s facing them all, together, right now.
We want to help. We’ve tried to help. We have helped. But there’s so much more help needed. We couldn’t organize our thoughts. So we asked the rainmaker for help. It’s not what he does. It’s not his business. But if he can make rain …
JP jumped right in. We started mind-mapping. Brainstorming. He made several calls. We very quickly came up with ideas that may be helpful on many aspects of the challenges that our family friend faces. I received emails, and voice mails after our meeting.
JP doesn’t know our family friend. All of the people that JP has enlisted to help don’t know our family friend. This is simply humanity in action. The Secret in action.
Of course, our friend may not embrace all of the help that will be offered. That’s up to her. Time will tell. The goal is not to meddle. The goal is simply to do all we can to help. The rest is up to her.
Have you made any rain lately?
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Be Number 1, Or Number 2, Or Perish
Following on from my post yesterday …
John Keating of Com Dev noted that any plan for success must involve being number one or two in your particular market niche. We’ve all seen business plans that say the market is $10B and we’re going to ensure we get at least 5% of that market. A sure recipe for failure! If you’re bit player in a market, eventually you will annoy your much larger rivals, and they’ll squeeze you out. They’ll have far more sales over which to amortize their overhead, and much deeper pockets to withstand any temporary price squeeze.
It’s simple economics.
This meshes nicely with Blue Ocean Strategies, which I’ve blogged on before. The Blue Ocean theory calls upon companies to adjust their resource allocation as a method of differentiation. Many companies increase spending in a particular area – delivery time guarantees perhaps – but do not generate corresponding savings elsewhere. Thus, they drive up their cost structure.
The Blue Ocean approach emphasizes the need to reduce expenses in areas that do not differentiate you from others in your overall industry. Indeed, you may be dedicating resources to aspects of your product or service that matter very little to your customers.
In our business, a prime example is customer service versus selling services and products. If we dedicate more resources to service, we will increase sales via retention, referrals, more frequent customer interactions, etc. If we dedicate more resources to selling, customer service will lag, and we’ll likely have to dedicate even MORE resources to selling. The point is, you have to find the right balance.
In a Blue Ocean, in a true Blue Ocean Strategy approach, there is no other competition. You’re out there on your own. (Of course, we’ve also all seen business plans that ridiculously assert that the business has no competition, but that’s another story, another post …)
John Keating of Com Dev noted that any plan for success must involve being number one or two in your particular market niche. We’ve all seen business plans that say the market is $10B and we’re going to ensure we get at least 5% of that market. A sure recipe for failure! If you’re bit player in a market, eventually you will annoy your much larger rivals, and they’ll squeeze you out. They’ll have far more sales over which to amortize their overhead, and much deeper pockets to withstand any temporary price squeeze.
It’s simple economics.
This meshes nicely with Blue Ocean Strategies, which I’ve blogged on before. The Blue Ocean theory calls upon companies to adjust their resource allocation as a method of differentiation. Many companies increase spending in a particular area – delivery time guarantees perhaps – but do not generate corresponding savings elsewhere. Thus, they drive up their cost structure.
The Blue Ocean approach emphasizes the need to reduce expenses in areas that do not differentiate you from others in your overall industry. Indeed, you may be dedicating resources to aspects of your product or service that matter very little to your customers.
In our business, a prime example is customer service versus selling services and products. If we dedicate more resources to service, we will increase sales via retention, referrals, more frequent customer interactions, etc. If we dedicate more resources to selling, customer service will lag, and we’ll likely have to dedicate even MORE resources to selling. The point is, you have to find the right balance.
In a Blue Ocean, in a true Blue Ocean Strategy approach, there is no other competition. You’re out there on your own. (Of course, we’ve also all seen business plans that ridiculously assert that the business has no competition, but that’s another story, another post …)
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