I just finished reading Tribes by Seth Godin.  It takes me a while to finish a book sometimes because I get distracted by other things.  In this case my Runner’s World came in and I got back into playing Fallout 3 on my Xbox.  Seth’s writing style took me a little while to adapt to but overall I enjoyed the book and pulled several good things from it.  Here is quote the I specifically enjoying in the closing sections of the book (the book does not have chapters, which is non-traditional, which is part of the point the book makes):

If your organization requires success before commitment, it will not have either.

The same thing goes for products.  If a company waits for a product to be successful before committing to it then it will never be successful.  There are very few products that hit the market and are an instant success.  Instead, you have to get the product out there, improve on it, market it, and work hard to make it into a success.  To use other business terms you may have to “invest” in a product well before it takes off (maybe years).  This is harder for a company that already has one successful product because the new product is always “behind” and you have to work harder on it.  But, in the end, would the time, cost, and effort be worth having two successful products instead of just one?

First, for the record let me state that I am by no stretch of the imagination a Miley Cyrus fan.  However, sometimes even the most unexpected person will say (or sing) something that makes you stop and think.  Her new song, Climb, hit a real chord with me this morning.  The chorus says:

There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you’re going to have to lose,
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

For nearly 10 years now my brother and I have been climbing mountain after mountain in our business.  When you stand at the bottom of the mountain it is all about getting to the top.  When you get there, you realize that while the view is great there is a taller, and steeper, mountain on the other side.  But, in the end it’s the climb that is the most valuable part of the journey and it prepares you for what is on the other side.

On vacation last week I took a couple of books hoping to have time to finish at least one of them.  Since I was already a couple of chapters into “Churched” by Matthew Turner I decided to start with it.  Reading this book is like reading the story of my life growing up in the fundamental baptist regime.  Never have I read a book that I could relate so closely to or that I actually laughed out loud while I was reading.  If you have a chance you really should pick up a copy of this and give it a read.

Now I am on to reading “Tribes” by Seth Godin.  This is a complete switch from “Churched” but is something that is practical to my life now.  I am trying to finish this book up by the end of the week.  Maybe someday I will write a book.  My brother and I have even tossed around a title, “Oh Crap!  We Got the Deal… Now What”.

I’m sorry for driving the speed limit this morning.  I’m sorry that Cobb County drops the speed limit to 35 miles per hour when the same road in Paulding county is 45 miles per hour.  I’m sorry if I made you late getting to whatever emergency had you riding my bumper and swerving back and forth like a NASCAR driver trying to find a way around.

However, I would like to remind you why you bought that shiny, new, red Toyota Prius… to save the environment.  I’d like to remind you that at speeds under 40 miles per hour the Prius runs on its battery so that it is not consuming fuel.  I’d like to remind you that rapidly accelerating to get around the guy driving his gas-hogging Ford Explorer at the speed limit expends more fuel than driving at a constant speed and requires your Prius to kick the engine on.

I hope you made it wherever your were going on time.  I am not upset or angry.  I just find it ironic.  I am thinking I may go cut down a tree in your honor.

Sincerly,

The guy in the white Ford Explorer

I have been thinking about this for several days now since the photo of Michael Phelps with the Marijuana pipe surfaced.  I was impressed that rather than pull the President Clinton approach of saying, “I didn’t inhale” or the Michael Vick approach of, “I didn’t do it” he came right out and apologized.  He didn’t try to pass the blame, make excuses, or claim he didn’t do it.  He simply said he was sorry and that he made a mistake.  Resfreshing in light of the typical way things like this are handled by celebrities.  I think Dara Torres summed it up well, “he didn’t let the USA down at the games, so we shouldn’t let him down.”

On another unrelated note.  I opened a new jar of peanut butter this morning.  For the first time ever I found myself looking for the address of the manaufacturer to see if it was a Georgia (or Texas) address.  There is no address for the manufacturer just the distributor.  I think the FDA should require the manufacturer’s name and address to be printed on all food labels in the future.  Hopefully the peanut butter is safe because I ate some!