Self-Contentment...what a nasty word...or is it?

I was talking with this one lady, very smart lady, at my workplace and she was talking about when she joined the company, she liked what she was doing and was content. She never pushed to get ahead. It was like she was speaking a foreign language when she said the word "content" to me. I don't know what that means right now in my career life. I think that is not always a good thing. I always want more. I enough is never enough right now. I want it all, plus one. But I know things will have to change or I will be going down a path of destruction, if I plan to have a family (which I do). With kids and a wife, I think you have to have a level of contentment and understanding in regards to putting "career" in its proper place in order for your family situation to be successful.

The King is Dead!...The King is Dead!... or maybe not

I am not a fan of USC and actually I have wanted them to loose all year, but after the win against ND, you can’t question their resilience and heart. I had my ND shirt on cheering the Golden Domers on, marveling Touchdown Jesus overlooking the stadium and I thought to myself before the 4th and 9 play by the Trojans on their last drive of the game, "The King is Dead!!!” But as Jarrett raced down the sideline after catching a perfectly thrown ball by Leinart, my heart dropped down to my stomach. He was ultimately tackled from behind and again I had hope. But, I got that same feeling as Leinart raced to the end zone and ultimately the ball was jarred loose and went out of bounds at the one yard line. As the clock ran out, I screamed and cheered. But then I got that sinking feeling again when the refs put time back on the clock. Since the ball was jarred loose and was propelled out of bounds, the clock should have stopped. As the Trojans lined up to take the snap with 5 seconds left on the clock, I knew in my hearts of hearts that they were going to try to sneak it into the end zone instead of spiking the balling, going for the tying field goal and playing for the win in overtime. The USC/ND game was so good, I was emotionally drained. I haven't been that way in a while over a game. This year’s Heisman Trophy winner ultimately won the game. I am not talking about Matt Leinart, I talking about Reggie Bush. Bush is a phenomenal talent. I have been watching college football for around 15 years, and I don't think I've ever seen a player as dynamic and explosive. He had 3 TDs and 160 yards rushing in the game. Four touchdowns if you count the Leinart touchdown at the end of the game. He gave Leinart the push from behind to ultimately get him in the end zone. It does matter whether or not you like USC; you can't doubt their will to succeed when faced with extreme adversity.

Marriage....One of the most important business decisions you will ever make

People may not want to admit it, but marriage is one of the biggest business decisions you will ever make in your life. It is very similar to a corporate merger. The two organizations (or two individuals) combine assets and liabilities to make an efficiently ran new unit. One organization may be weak in one area where the other has strength. For example, one organization may have strong worldwide brand recognition but may have a mature product or service and another organization may not have great brand recognition but a more diverse and dynamic group of new products and services. On the individual level, one individual may have great credit but no real assets and the other individual may have bad credit but may have a large accumulation of financial assets.

Companies looking to merge normally utilize an outside firm to gauge the financial health of each other. With individuals, the topic of financial health is more often visited on an informal basis. But it should be discussed formally. Finding a “skeleton in the closet” would not behoove the marriage. Creditworthiness, assets, liabilities, growth potential and a host of other important factors should be made known to both parties before the unity.

From a company or individual standpoint, being in an acquisition can present a great challenge. In the corporate situation, the executive management of the acquired organization rarely stays in its same capacity. The acquired organizations corporate culture and corporate norms rarely cease to exist after the acquisition. Most often processes and systems will need to be converted to the processes and systems of the acquirer.

I define an acquisition situation on the individual level as one in which one person has a drastically more favorable financial situation than his or her partner. This could mean one or a combination of the following: credit, assets, liabilities, and growth potential. There could be two major drawbacks of an acquisition situation. 1.) The acquirer person might develop some resentment towards the acquired person and ultimately may not see himself or herself as an equal (superiority factor) 2.) The acquired person might develop a feeling of being looked down upon and ultimately may not see himself or herself as an equal (inferiority factor). Or a combination of both may occur. The acquisition situation may work, but the drawbacks mentioned have to be kept "top of mind".

The biggest difference between a marriage and a corporate merger is that, with a marriage you have to have more than your finances in alignment. Love should be omnipotent. But finances do matter. Love doesn't pay the bills. The number one reason for divorce in the United States of America is money. Need I say more.......

Breaking my focus

I was at the gym this morning. When I go to the gym, I can get pretty intense. I was on the last phase of my morning run on the treadmill and things were getting pretty extreme. Then this young lady gets on the machine next to me and asks me how to operate the machine. I love helping people, but she broke one of the unwritten rules of the gym. You don't ask another member an equipment operations question when he or she is in the middle of his or her workout. Before or after a set or a run is cool but not during. I gave her instructions on how to get the machine going as I was trying to finish up the last phase of my run, but they were not any help to her. Finally after my run was over, I assisted her in getting her machine going and then I was out the door.

Do good looking people get preferential treatment in the business world?

This question is sparked from my friend "ThaDiplomat" In a previous post Diplomat implied that if a young lady is hot, she may get preferential treatment. I wonder if critical jobs or work assignments are made frequently in the business world solely based on looks. I am sure to some degree it does, but personally I would like to think it is minimal. Hiring a secretary that is a "looker", I can see happening, but giving a "looker" a free pass to the executive ranks, I can't. I don't think it happens frequently.

Decisions that lead us down different roads in life.

I am not a person who spends time thinking "what would have been" after making one decision over another and regretting some of my past actions. Those choices (or lack there of) have made me into the creature I am today.

But my boss was talking about how her father made a last minute switch to be stationed in Jacksonville, Florida over New Orleans, Louisiana at the tail end of his military duties. She stated he said wherever the destination, he wanted to retire there. She stated that she mostly would have never been in her current position if it wasn't for the last minute decision by her father. She most likely wouldn't have the husband she has today or the exact same lifestyle she currently has(it could be better or worse).

That little story was so profound to me. Because we as people end up in different situations because of the decisions we make. Decisions like what school to attend, what job to take, who to date. Each decision combined with other factors in our lives can create opportunities or obstacles. Making the decision to leave your hometown with everything you own packed in your car without a definitive destination in mind might lead you to a life you never knew existed. Making the decision to get the tall young lady's number before the end of the evening instead of the short young lady's number might take you on a road beyond your wildest dreams. You never know how things would have turned out if you made the contrary decision. Who knows, by making the contrary decision in a certain situation, you might have ended up in your same current state. Chances that happening......Very small. You just never know.

Excuse makers

One thing that burns a fire of frustration hotter than the fires in the depths of hell is people who make excuses for everything. They make excuses for everything that is not going right in their lives. The are afraid to say "Things just didn't work out like I thought they would" or "My bad, that was my fault". They often say "I did "Y" because you did "Z"" as an excuse for their actions. It is always someone else's fault. Excuse makers do not know personal ownership. I try to banish these people from my life and those I can't (family members), I love them, but deal with them very sparingly. Its funny, I don't know too many great men or women that specialize in making excuses, but I do know a lot of losers that do.