Stepping up to the challenge

Steve Jobs redefined the digital landscape. Linus Torvalds galvanized a movement which enables much of the Internet to exist. Terry Fox attempted to cross Canada on one leg. How can you rise to such a challenge?

 

Have a powerful "Why." If you read about people who have accomplished great feats, when they were not forced to do it, it always boils down to the reason. Whether it be Terry Fox, Steve Jobs, Linus Torvalds, or someone trying to stop smoking or to lose weight. All have a powerful reason to accomplish what they set out to do. Without a powerful reason, the challenge will best you.

 

Plan and prepare. If you are going to run a marathon, you can't simply show up on the finish line and hope to finish. You must prepare in advance, whether it be running longer distances than usual, changing your diet or getting the proper running gear.

 

Start. It's fine to get ready and to plan, but if you don't actually start, nothing will happen. The first step is often the most difficult. You can either start slow and pick up speed as you go along or start with a bang and ride the momentum. The latter is best because once you get a good start, it becomes harder to simply give up since you've done so much in so little time.

 

Measure. How will you know close you are to your goal? If you can't measure your progress, it is difficult to know if your are moving in the right direction. Eventually this can become disheartening and can cause you to simply give up.

 

Have a support system. The harder the task, the more you need one or more people to support you along the way. Let them know how you are progressing. That person (or those people) must be people who believe in you and will encourage you when you face the inevitable roadblocks. Stay away for people who live to criticize and put people down.

 

Celebrate. The end goal shouldn't be the only thing to celebrate along the way. There should be various milestones to celebrate. Celebrations make the entire process more enjoyable and increase the chances of success. Beating yourself over the head won't have nearly the same effect. Celebrate, have fun, and enjoy the ride.

 

Back in May, I decided that I wanted to participate in this year's National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to complete a 50,000 word novel in one month. That's an average of almost 1,700 words per day. To put it in perspective, if you type 30 words per minute, which is not that fast, you have to type without interruption for one hour every day for the entire month. My average, so far, is about 500 words per day. Completing the novel will be quite a challenge!

 

I'll let you know how it went in December.

Creating Loyal Employees

Every day, I receive offers in my mailbox from companies with which I have done business in the past. Sometimes I'm interested, but most of the time I'm not and I delete them, often without reading them first. However, I don't unsubscribe because once in a while, I need their services and I know I can get offers which will be useful to me. That makes me loyal to certain companies or brands.

 

Businesses face the same challenges every day. However, you can't make employees become loyal partners simply by offering them specials or dangling carrots for them. Eventually, employees will find this behaviour condescending and it may have the opposite effect. However, loyal, and even passionate employees are important to businesses for they are the ones that propel things forward in good times and in bad.

 

Creating loyal employees is not difficult, but it requires time and perseverance. It doesn't happen overnight and it especially doesn't happen because the leaders want it: it happens because employees want it. Otherwise, they simply go on with their work, waiting for a better offer to come along.

 

How do you create loyal employees?

• Treat them fairly.

• Give them meaningful work.

• Give them adequate resources to complete their work effectively.

• Give them latitude to make choices in the work they do.

• Take the time to explain how their work fits and benefits the overall picture.

• Take the time to thank them and acknowledge their contribution.

These are simple steps, but many companies fail to implement them all. Employees know this, so when they find a company where all of these elements are present in their everyday life, they tend to want to stick around. Not only do they become loyal employees, but eventually, they even become fans and advocates. There's no better situation for a business.

Network marketing's devious tricks

Last night, a woman called from a network marketing company, and she claims that a distant cousin (Jane) is part of her "organization." The woman claims that she is furthering Jane's education and as part of  the process, wants me to give names of people who would want to build a business, yada, yada, yada. I start by humouring her, to see how she does her pitch. She's enthusiastic, she seems to believe in what she says, she's just vague enough to make a desperate person want to meet her and listen to what she has to sell. So far, so good. However, things start breaking apart when she realizes that I'm not too keen on being part of her network, and that I don't want to send her the names of people I know because they would not be interested. Her response is: "Don't filter! Just go through your cell phone, and write down all the numbers in there, then go through your Facebook page and write all the names and contact information you have there. Then you can send me the information by email." She's got some nerve! That's pretty much when I lost my patience and hung up.

It's interesting how, in network marketing, people seem to think that you just want to give them all the names of people you know because it's the "right thing to do" in their world. This isn't the first time I've had this sort of call and usually, I hang up after thirty seconds. This time I was in a good mood, so I was  more patient. One thing I never got to ask her was: "Why doesn't Jane call me herself instead of sending you. If you're helping her in her training, shouldn't she be doing all of this on her own? Isn't that part of the learning process?" What a deceptive approach.

Why can't all voice mail systems use the same shortcuts?

I mean, it seems rather simple, no? Press the # key to skip the message and leave your voice mail. This works in many cases, but other times, when you press #, you are greeted with a message that says "Please enter your password" and then you're stuck. The only option is to call again, then listen to the entire greeting (which is sometimes obnoxiously long), followed by the moron-specific instructions (e.g. "please wait for the beep to leave a message. When you are finished, you can hang up or press the pound key for more options." Argh! It makes me want to throw the phone across the room!

Try calling yourself and see how long it takes for you to leave a message. If a caller can't leave a message in less than 15 seconds (even 10 seconds) then your system needs fixing. This can be as simple as saying "Press 1 to leave a message immediately. Hello you've reached Laurent Duperval, and let me tell you  about my life..."

Of course, you can always try to get your phone carrier to fix their system to allow # instead of some other key.

Kinect rock-tude

 

I don't say this often but... Microsoft rocks!

 

The kids received a Kinect for Christmas and it's amazing. I have no idea how it compares to the other consoles and frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. This thing is cool!

 

Friday nights are much more interesting when you're competing for points against your kids than when you're listening to yet another movie. Tonight, Kinect saved us from that cinematic masterpiece, Vampires Suck! Dubbed in French, no less.

 

We bought Dance Central which is an awesome game. I had tried the other dance title on the Wii and, to tell you the truth, when I played, you could mistake me for one of those vampires. On Dance Central, though, I rock! Well, except on those girlie dances. I can't quite get my feminine side to come out like it should. But those dude-songs are awesome!

 

The soundtrack is great and reminds me of my club days. You know, before I suddenly turned old and started to dance in front of my TV instead... Too bad House of Pain isn't part of the mix. It'll probably be downloadable soon, though. Hint! Hint!

 

I also tried the game that comes with the Kinect. First time I actually took time to play it and, honestly, it is purty darn decent. The one where you have to jump to make the thing go faster had blood and sweat pumping out my ears. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. And that's what makes it such a superior system compared to the Wii.

 

I remember playing the boxing game on the Wii about a year ago and feeling highly frustrated from the experience. I was playing against an "expert" and here I was, punching and jabbing and flailing my fists in wild uppercuts while she was merely flicking her wrists... and she won! After one game, i was on the floor, heaving and panting, wondering if should call 911 and she was filing her nails. I'd like to see her cheat now!

 

Too bad Electronic Arts won't come out with a FIFA title for the Kinect. Oh well, maybe in a couple more generations of the device.

 

Are dynasties bad for sports?

During a discussion with my colleague Richard Martin, we discussed the issue of salary caps and their effect on sports. Salary caps, to me, have a negative effect on sports. With a salary cap, all teams are equal and any given year, any team can win. That's fine for sportsmanship, but is it good for sports?

I used to watch basketball and I stopped when Michael Jordan left. Why? Because I couldn't rally for any given team. The Jordan-era Bulls had Pippen, Jordan, Rodman, and Phiil Jackson. I just loved watching the team play, I wasn't watching to see a particular player. Today, I don't watch basketball because... well, after the Bulls dynasty ended, there was little interest on my part. The league started to focus more on individuals than teams. 

Same goes for hockey and football. It isn't so much about the teams as it is about the individual players. Dynasties have disappeared. Teams can't win back-to-back championships, and I contend that it's not that good for sports. Dynasties creates legions of fans, equality doesn't.

If we look at soccer, you have dynasties which stand the test of time: Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Brazil, Germany, etc. Those are the teams that create the quasi-religious fever surrounding the sport. Those are the teams that make the World Cup the second biggest sports even in the world.

Dynasties are like black holes: they attract people to them. Many people will be attracted by a dynasty because of the caliber of the players, the fluid play, the nonstop wins. Many others will be attracted because they want to see the dynasty brought to its knees, they want to see the minnow knock down the giant, they want to hate the team that wins all the time. That's good, it makes the weaker teams work that much harder.

However, when all teams are equal, when it's a coin toss from one year to the next, the sport loses some of its luster and some of its magic. It becomes ho-hum.

And so it is in business: businesses work because there are superstar companies and there are jobber companies. There are superstar salespeople and there are run-of-the-mill salespeople. If you try to rein in stellar companies, to try to bring them down to the level of lesser-performing ones, you destroy initiative, innovation, and ultimately, leadership. Just look at what happened to Microsoft. They were ahead of the game on many fronts, not always because of their clean business tactics. They were brought down by the DOJ and today... well, they still make decent products but where is the buzz? Where is the innovation? Where are the rabid fans?

In a company where you reduce compensation for the best performers in order to level the playing field and salaries, the best performers will either stop putting in the efforts or they will leave to go to another company which better appreciates their value. They'll take their dynasty to a better playground.

Dynasties set the standard, they pave the way. As the ad used to say: "We're #2 so we work harder." That's what dynasties do.

Until they are toppled and replaced by another.

How big a change does Haiti truly need?

Unless you've been living under a rock, or have no interest in international politics, you are probably aware that Haiti is preparing to have an election this year. There hasn't been such an international buzz around Haitian elections since the first democratic election that brought Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in 1990. This year, the buzz is all around Wyclef Jean, the hip hop star-cum-president hopeful.

Judging by the media hype, you would think that Wyclef is the only artist looking to be elected in November. Actually,  another charismatic singer has thron his hat in the race: Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, also know as Prezidan (president, in Haitian creole).

Clef is getting all the press, but honestly, if both of them were to be on the ballot, I wouldn't be so quick to say that he is a shoe-in. In fact, if there were only two candidates, Clef and Sweet Micky, it would probably be a very close race. And you know that whoever wins, it's going to be some party. With the headache to go along with it...

I can't comment on either man's political acumen, nor can I say that either of them is better equipped to become president. The problem in Haiti is that anyone who touches the presidency becomes corrupt. Everyone. It happened to Aristide, many people say it happened to Préval, the current president. Let's not mention the litany of army generals in the '90s. The Duvaliers before that, Magloire, and so on. The position is poisoned. In order to fix this, I think something very different has to happen, and that may be where Clef has an advantage.

He's been around the world, has been educated in the US, and is an accomplished businessman. That should help him bring new eyes and a new vision of what Haiti can and should be as a country, the first Black-led independent country. La perle des Antilles, the Carribean Pearl.

Clef has charisma, he can make things move. He loves his country and can probably propose a vision that is much more optimistic than a politician could. Because, let's face it: in order for Haiti to get out of this mess, the people need a dream. They need hope, they need something to look up to, something drive for. Maybe it's education for all. Maybe it's rebuilding a new city, where everyone will have safe housing. Maybe it's a job for everyone who is willing and able to work. Maybe it's food on the table three times a day, every day. Maybe it's knowing that all your babies will reach adulthood, that they won't die of malnutrition or water poisoning or some other ailment brought on by poverty and famine. There has to be something more than waking up and barely being able to survive.

What Clef doesn't have, yet, is a team. If he were to be elected, I could see him as the leader. I could see him as the one pointing the way. I don't see him as the president, though. I don't see him as the one to make the difficult decisions about monetary policy, foreign affairs, and so on. He will need a solid team to whom he can say "This is what I want our country to look like. Tell me how we're going to do it." He has to be surrounded by people who will say "Let me find a way" not "We can't do that." Can he create that team? If so, does he have enough humility to stand back and say "OK, you know this better than I do. Explain to me how it works, do your thing, and I'll talk to the people."

Which could be another issue: Clef's French and Creole are not quite there yet. I won't say his Creole is "mawon" but will the people look past the accent if, indeed, he is able to lead the country efficiently? I don't know.

Can Clef draw enough money and machinery to clean up the rubble that is Port-au-Prince in order to let it rise from its ashes?

Can he do it in five years, which is all he is allowed to have under the current constitution?

Can he clean up his image quickly enough and make people forget about all the allegations surrounding his Yele Haiti foundation?

Is he ready? Is he able? We all know he's willing and that may be half the battle. He'll have to go through a lot of muckraking and mudslinging just to reach the vote. And it won't stop there, he'll probably still be attacked after the vote, if he wins. Will he be able to withstand it?

For most of these questions, I don't know.

How about the other singer, Sweet Micky? Can he make a decent president?  I don't know. I know he's charismatic, I know he can work a crowd, I've seen him do it. Unfortunately, the only images I have of Martelly is of a man so drunk on stage that he can barely stand straight, uttering a constant stream of profanity-laced ramblings. From what I hear, he has always been rather cozy with the richer and shadier individuals in power. To me, that doesn't bode well for his presidency.

As I mentioned in an interview after the earthquake, Haiti isn't lacking a president. What it's lacking is a leader. Préval was an awful leader during the earthquake. He was largely unseen, and unheard. He should have been on the radio, on TV, every day, to let the people know what was happening, what he was doing to clear this mess, and how he was planning on pulling the country out of yet another catastrophe.

There needs to be a severe change of direction in the country. But not so abrupt that it causes it to go past the tipping point and fall.