Hoping in Duple Time…

What stimulates your hope? 

The Polka is a happy, little tune - don’t you think?  (Really, Gary?  The Polka?  Slow day?)

No, really.  I was station-surfing the other day; looking for a little hard-rock music; it was my “Mandatory Metallica Monday”.  I came across Polka music on the radio and it immediately triggered memories of my childhood - and the movie “Home Alone”.  Did you see that movie?  John Candy played Gus Polinski, the leader of a Polka Band from Milwaukee. Remember his pride over one of their hits, “Polka-Polka-Polka”?  Classic!

From Centralhome.com (of all places):

Polka is defined as a vivacious couple dance of Bohemian origin in duple time; it is a basic pattern of hop-step-close-step; a lively dance tune in 2/4 time.

Vivacious; lively; duple time; doesn’t that just perk you right up?  OK, who brought the accordian?

Answer.com adds:

Polka music is a form of European dance music which originated in Bohemia (what is now an area within the Czech Republic).

And from Wikipedia:

Apparently, it was so well-received that it became a sort of dance craze, spreading across all of Europe, and to the US.

“OK Gary, but the Polka?  Today?  How does that stimulate hope?” 

Well, you see the Polka is part of my family roots.  When I was grade school aged and visited my Aunt and Grandmother in Chicago, I watched my Cousin John practice and play the accordion.  At family gatherings everyone would dance (lively; in duple time!).  I remember the cold beer would flow, as would the rich happiness of blue collar, working families, who made the most of celebrations that they could rarely afford.  Although they struggled to make ends meet, when they partied – they really partied – and they polkaed!

There have been other dance crazes, for sure.  In the ‘60’s it was the Twist.  Anyone remember the Hustle from the ‘70’s?  Who hasn’t heard of the Electric Slide?   How many of these dances will outlast the Polka?

 

Back to Wikipedia:

The actual dance and accompanying music called "polka" are generally attributed to a girl, Anna Slezakova of Labska Tynice, Bohemia, in 1834.

Alright Anna! 186 years and still going strong!

When my relatives danced the Polka years ago, it was all about celebration.  Celebrating some occasion, for sure; but also celebrating family; celebrating life; celebrating hope!  The hardest working people are often the ones that enjoy family gatherings and modest accouterments the most, yes? 

These celebrations are enthusiastic expressions of hope.  Blue collar families stay pretty focused day-to-day; living paycheck to paycheck.  They have to.  But when it’s time for a family celebration, hope springs eternal! 

Throughout the ages, dances of hope were common among many people. Texas Bix Bender, who brought us such sage advice as:

Don’t squat with your boots on.

and, 

Never drink down stream from the herd.

Also offers us insight about dance, the future, timing, and hope.  In the Great Plains and throughout the West, for instance, we’ve all read lore about the rain dance.  And Texas Bix said:
 

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

So I’m smiling today about the timing of my life and the opportunity to envision memories of my Cousin John playing the accordion while my Uncle Frank and Aunt Bernice danced the Polka into the wee hours of the morning. Yes - the Polka – a happy (and hopeful) little tune indeed. 

What stimulates your hope?

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Day by day…

Happy Anniversary Debbie!

Tomorrow will mark 47 years.  That is the equivalent of 17,155 days.  A significant amount of time to be with one’s significant other, true?

In reality it’s actually been more than 17,155 days when I add in the 365 days we were engaged, plus the many more days we dated from high school into college. And every day for over 17,155 days - more than 47 years - I have enjoyed being married to my high school sweetheart. 

Many of you are in a long-lasting relationship; many have been married longer than we.  A Mile High Salute!  Maybe my relationship thrived because I was a “Road Warrior” for several years?  A colleague of mine once said:

           

The secret to a long marriage is a husband that travels.  

Lisa Kwiecien

As you know, I write about my wife frequently; not necessarily daily; but frequently.  Like any couple, we have our good days and our not-so-good days.  Like many couples, we’ve also had some of those relationship-testing; foundation-rattling; we’re-not-going-to-make-it; kind of days.   When those days have occurred we followed James P. Owen’s advice:

When you’re riding through hell… keep riding.

Any meaningful journey is like that, don’t you think?  Even one of America’s most famous sweethearts offered all of us her guidance on life’s journey:

Pain nourishes courage.  You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.  

Mary Tyler Moore

Over our 17,000+ days, we have had more than our share of wonderful things happen; all driven by love.  In fact, 47 years ago this month the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was “Love Train” by the O’Jays.  According to Wikipedia:

 

The word 'train' comes from the Old French trahiner, from the Latin trahere meaning pull, or draw.

I have been a passenger on that love train as my wife has pulled us along for 47 years!  Of course, I’ve tried to pay attention to the little things that make a difference day by day; lighten her load a bit; smooth the tracks.  Rob Gilbert made a list:

How to have a Winning Day:

You have to listen more than you talk…

You have to smile more than you frown…

You have to be fascinated more than you're frustrated…

You have to believe in yourself more than you doubt yourself.

You have to work more than you whine.

You have to do more than you don't.

                                 

I have also paid attention to my role, responsibilities and boundaries:

Men ordering custom colors must first bring in a note from their wife.  

Guiry Paint Store

It’s OK; she writes the notes; I run the errands; we make a great team.  And on those occasional occasions where disagreement looms, I heed Harlan Miller’s advice:

Often the difference between a successful marriage and a mediocre one consists of leaving three or four things a day unsaid.

                                 

17,155 days and our love train is still rolling strong.  No matter our future course; no matter the challenges we will face; the trials that will test us; not even the weather we may encounter; our love train will continue – pulled along by my significant other – regardless of whether the wind is boosting us from behind our back or resisting us as it blows hard in our face.  Etheridge Knight’s words will continue to guide us:

Love is a rock against the wind.

Happy 47^th Anniversary Dear!  You’re my rock and I love you.

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Start-Up…

I had a LinkedIn exchange recently with a woman seeking career advice.  She was exploring a career pivot; going into business for herself; starting her own company.  She told me she “has this idea…”

That phrase reminded me of my volunteer experience at Denver Start-Up Week in 2017.  I staffed the coffee depot at “base camp”, where local restaurants donated free coffee and pastries daily for Start-Up Week attendees.  That year there were over 12,000 attendees!

In my LinkedIn exchange, I related that experience and recommended books by Brad Feld, a highly educated and tremendously successful investor.  He was one of the keynote presenters at Denver Start-Up Week.  I met him at base camp; commented on his Star Wars shoes LoL! 

I cautioned my LinkedIn pen pal though – Brad’s views are; shall we say; direct.  Like this preface in one of his books: 

Trust Me.  Your Idea is Worthless.

He elaborated that we sometimes feel we have an idea that is totally original and unique.  Based on all the “pitches” he has seen over the years; Brad thinks we haven’t.  It’s OK though… investors don’t invest in ideas.  They invest in people.

Atul Gawande wrote in The Checklist Manifesto ©:

But finding a good idea is apparently not all that hard.  Finding an entrepreneur who can execute a good idea is a different matter entirely.

I suggested to this fledgling entrepreneur to solidify exactly how she will start-up; and then “ramp-up” her company.

Several years ago I was a volunteer consultant for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), part of the Small Business Administration.  I too benefited from the market research they offered on small companies’ successes - and failures.  The stark reality is up to 90% of start-ups fail.  The #1 reason for failure is lack of sales over the first 5 years.  A close 2^nd is lack of capital in the face of slow sales.

Today it’s tempting to turn to investors.  “Hey, I don’t have enough money and our sales are a bit light…  I’ll just ask someone else to fund me… because I have this great idea!  Like Shark Tank.  That’s it; I’ll present my great idea on Shark Tank!”

Makes me think of Mark Cuban who has shared many views on that show as well as in other venues, true?  Starting up a company is so hard they even made a game show out of the premise!  He even summarized his main points in this infographic: https://inc42.com/entrepreneurship/mark-cubans-12-rules-for-startups-infographic/ Rules #1 and #2 standout; Rule #4 is absolutely key to success. I chuckled at Rule #10. 

Still, I have a great deal of respect for the women I have worked for and been mentored by over the years.  I’m meeting with one of my mentors this week.  Teah Bennett was the Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Colorado a few years ago.  Teah started several successful companies; failed at one as well.  She mentors me to this day.  She’s awesome! 

I know that when women put their mind to something, all things are possible.  Our favorite, Unknown Sage offers:

Woman's Equation

Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.

So after cautioning my LinkedIn pen pal that her road ahead would be difficult, I encouraged her to go for it!  After all, running her own company is her dream.  Who am I to say a woman can’t succeed?

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Mutual Mystification…

What do you think?  If someone asked, “How much does something like that cost?” how would you respond?  Before you answer, think about whether your answer clarifies, confuses, or confounds your customer.

I have written about this often.  When facing the money question if we respond with something along the lines of, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly give you an answer without conducting a complete portfolio review first…” how do you think that response will go over?

I was the prospective customer in that very scene recently during a financial planning seminar.  The presenters wanted to be considered subject matter experts and not product peddlers.  They were presenting investment products and the underlying strategies they aligned to.  Their presentation was very interesting.  Interest on the part of the prospective customer almost always stimulates the money question.

I asked it – they avoided it; and just that fast they undermined their credentials.  They gave me the proverbial “non-answer, answer”.  They said I had to jump through more hoops first.  The prospective customer hates jumping through hoops needlessly; you and I hate jumping through hoops.

Oh, if they were here they would probably say that it is inappropriate to recommend any investment product before having an understanding of the customer’s financial situation.  In the brokerage industry, that is referred to as “know your customer”.  I suspect they would respond that they are financial planners and not stock brokers.  Fair enough perhaps, but just relating these events to you reeks of “hoops”.

Investing is complicated; I was mystified.  I wasn’t asking to buy; I was seeking context.  It’s the “fork in the road”.  When asking straight forward questions, customers prefer straight forward answers.  It’s not a quote; it’s an answer; we don’t know yet if the product or service is a good fit.  But before any more time is invested to clarify fit, fair or unfair today’s modern buyer needs an understanding of how the money works up front.

When we flinch in the face of money, the prospective customer will see it and make their decision based on our flinch.  If we flinch, more times than not the customer decides, “sounds expensive”; or “sounds complicated”; and that can easily put them on the defensive.

Mahan Khalsa, put it this way:

If you walk out of qualifying meetings with clients and do not know how much they are thinking of spending, and they do not know how much you are thinking of charging, you will both be guessing.  This is mutual mystification.

A direct answer to the direct money question is not a quote.  The transaction is not ready to be finalized.  But let’s not flinch in the face of money and inadvertently “spook” the customer.  Mystified customers do not transact.

Answering how the money works up front may lead to further conversations.  Or, the prospective customer may just walk away.  The cost may not be what they had in mind.  Our price may simply not be a good fit.

 

On the other hand, for every transaction that seems to be in the realm of possibility in the mind of the customer, they will then agree to jump through the necessary hoops.  The customer wants to confirm the degree of fit and cost justification.  When we are purchasing something, we all want to make fully informed decisions.

It’s not mystification that leads to a successful transaction.  Today, the customer’s money question must be addressed up front; before further hoop-jumping.

                              GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.