Always buy the best

Know what I agree 100% with this statement you should always buy the best, problem is some people delude themselves into thinking the best means the most expensive or the system albeit audio, computer, or security with the most flashing lights, bells, whistles and other useless addons. Remember the old bait and switch – often all of these extra gadgets distract you from the most important aspects of a system – any system – namely the technical specifications.

Let me use a car audio system as an example

• System 1 – AM/FM/ Cassette, CD player with digital tuner, 50-20,000 frequency response, 100 watt per channel amp with 50 db SNR, 4 speakers and sub
• System 2 - Colored led plate, Ipod dock, AM/FM/CD, Satellite radio, 100 -16,000 frequency response, 100 watt per channel amp with 100 db SNR, 6 speakers

Care to guess which system is best – number two may cost more but number 1 is a better quality system – most would be distracted by the gadgets of the second system.

What is I compare a Ford Expedition with a Lincoln Navigator – sure one is a for and one is a Lincoln but look at the specifications.

Now lets take a computers

• System 1 – Vista Ultimate, 4 GB Ram, 2.50 Dual core Intel processor, 256 MB Nvida graphics card, 350 GB HD - $1000
• System 2 – Vista Basic, 4 GB Ram, 2.5 Dual core Intel, 512 ATI Radeon graphics card, 250 GB HD - $1,200

With system 2 you are paying more and actually getting less – so remember pay attention to the specification or get someone who understands them to help you so you make sure you are always getting the best for your money.

Audio Design

So you want a new sound system because you never had one or the old one no longer serves its purpose or you need to expand or just maybe the one you have is obsolete or never adequetly served your needs.

Often I have seen many sales people who instead of listening to the client pushes a product line. Fact is just because you see what appears to be an imposing system downs not mean it is or was the best system for you. When designing an audio system there are many things to take into account 

Sometimes some of the best sounding systems are those systems you cannot visually detect. Each system, amp and speakers have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Also what type of system are you doing to use. Did you know a system designed to accurately reproduce a human voice is not the same as one to recreate music but one that is specified to do both offers the most flexibility and yet depending on what it is going to be used for (say a church sanctuary) is overkill. 

• Acoustics - study of sound
• Aesthetics - study of sensory or sensori-emotional values
• Reverberation - persistence of sound
• Tonal reproduction
• System use
• And many other factors. 

Next time you decide you want a system make sure the company is listening to your needs and working to supply a system that is as pleasing to look at as it is to hear.

Hard drive technology

Computer hard drive technology has come a long way. Gone are the days of Megabyte hard drives now Giga even Terabyte are common place and yet even still expect soon to see totally solid state as a norm with will allow the PC or laptop to be shrunken.. For those of you who remember floppy disk, think of a hard drive as a self contained BOX with multiply floppy disks inside needing a connection to the system and power. The evolution of this mechanical technology was as follows 

• SCSI - Small Computer System Interface (Parallel)
• IDE - integrated development environment (Parallel)
• EIDE – Enhanced integrated development environment (Parallel)
• SATA – Serial Advanced Technology Attachment  (non-Parallel) 

Now a new generation of devices are still in their infancy - SSD - solid-state drive This about a huge flash (memory) stick. Because there are not moving parts it does not have the vulnerabilities of mechanical devices but it does have its limitations much like the early hard drives. 

Each generation offers faster performance, more storage, and more stability. 

I know you are wondering if this is so great why do servers use SCSI more often than not still today – simple really fault tolerance – due to the high traffic and information demand on servers you want a hard drive that overlooks minor errors and handles them more easily. This is also the advantage other than speed of most RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) arrays. 

Note: picture source

What is a router and how does internet work?

A router is a device that allows you to bridge or connect networks. Most people use a router as a modem. The router allows the use to connect their home network (wired or wireless) to the network of the ISP. They can also be used to connect two different networks. The easiest way to think about a router is as a door that allows two way traffic and you as a person are the information being sent out. Imagine being sent to the store by your parent or spouse – you leave from inside your house , open and close the door, go to the store, exchange cash for the item and return home giving it to the person who requested. 

• Your house = your network
• The door = router
• Your neighborhood or apartment complex = ISP’s network
• The roads and highways = internet
• The store = someone else’s network 

In a nutshell that is how the internet works – see not technical at all (smile!)

What is an auto iris and how does it work?

Like the digital camera, security cameras use a cmos (Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) to capture and translate the image the camera sees to data which is translated back into am image that can be viewed on a monitor . An auto iris like the iris of your eye adjusts the light level to maintain a reasonable amount of brightness. The brighter the light the smaller the iris. There are two types of irises – auto (automatic) and manual. 

Manual irises are set to a single level of light while automatic use sensors to adjust exposure. 

Yes, even in technology the iris serves the same purpose and functions much the same as the human eye's iris.

What is an IP based security camera system?

Traditionally security observation cameras used coax cables to connect tem to a splitter and/or a multiplexer. The multiplexer allows a combination of various signal sources or a signal camera to output to a video display like a TV or High definition monitor. 

The newer generation of camera allows use of a network much like a computer. There exist options of either a wired or wireless network. Many cameras even offer the option of remote control and have auto iris options as well as sound transmission. The relocation and redeployment of these camera is in many cases more cost effective than the older technologies due to the reduced likelihood of shorting a network or wireless vs a coax. Also like computers on a network they take advantage of the TCP/IP protocols and become nodes on your network meaning that they can often be individually observed by any computer that is a member of the same IP and subnet family.

Happy Founder's Day - Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc

Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift



Bro. Lionel Spearman
"I_Que" 5EGG90

About Money

Money is a tool nothing less and nothing more.

Understand this simple truth allows it to be put into perspective. It is a committee of exchange contractually agreed upon for so many hours of your time. So think of it as a way to measure how effective and valued your time is and as such it represents a commodity you cannot replace so you should use it wisely. That said there is more than one way to acquire it, however since it is a tool lets talk about another tool could be a broom or a screw driver but lets us a vacuum cleaner. Did you know there are three ways you can get a vacuum cleaner

• You can enter a store, a house, or borrow someone elses identity and effectively steal it
• You can barter and exchange your times and services as in so many hours of work will equal the price of this device
• You can make a contract with an employer exchanging your time for money and use the proceeds for the expended time to purchase the device.

Same holds true for money

• You can steal it
• Barter for it
• Earn it

How you acquire it is as if not more important than how you spend it.

In business do you give your best to your clients in exchange for the compensation or do you short change them?

A few simple questions of why?

• Why did or do you want to start a business?
• What made you think you had what it takes?
• What price are you willing to pay?
• Are you the type of person who inspires trust and confidence?
• What distinguishes you from others?
• Are you dependable?
• Are you ethical?
  
• Do you think a business will make you rich?
• Why would I want to do business with you?
• What are you willing to give up?
• Are you comfortable taking full responsibility for your life?
• Are you comfortable accepting responsibility for the lives and well being of others?

Are you Going Green?

Being socially and environmentally responsible is what the upcoming generation is concerned with. Many have been turned off be the excesses and greed of the current and previous generations.

• As an individual what are you doing to be more environmentally and socially responsible?

• As a business or business owner what are you doing to be more environmentally and socially responsible?

• What are your suppliers doing?

• What are your clients and how are you helping them?

Lessons in business and insanity

If you do what you have always done you will get what you have always had because it is pure insanity to do the same things and repeat the same habits over and over again and expect different results – sound familiar?

Let us talk about GM Saturn. GM had the chance to create something unique – a business based on a new model and yet was unwilling to change to make it work. Saturn was created to understand how the Japanese made cars – ironic when you consider they followed an American’s suggestion and that American approached the US manufacturers first and was told you are crazy so Japan asked him to come and help them and they listened the had the answer first and did not want to listen wanting instead to do what they have always done guess what happened?

Even now to them the choice seemed as simple as do we have this division that does not function like our others and is loosing money or do we convert it and make it a division of GM like the other ones?

Has anyone figured out where I am going yet and can anyone see the problem yet?

Let me start with a part of it the initial premise – to make a division to understand how the Japanese model works (their model is not purely Japanese and the premise is flawed – more on that later). As you know GM opted to make Saturn like its other divisions incorporating and follow the flawed model that was broken to begin with after all what sense would it make to do radical things like:

• Tie bonuses to customer satisfaction
• Send R&D out into field to ask customers what you like and want
• Reduce total overhead to 20% of company and executive salaries being no more and 21-25% of payroll
• Asking line workers what their ideas are to increase efficiency and improve safety
• Eliminating executive bonuses and privileges
• Giving everyone gain sharing bonuses tied to company performance or all functions
• Asking customers past and current – what do you want to see
• Being humble enough to understand they are in business to serve the client the clients do not exist to give them money
• Understanding that it is only when you ask the right question will you get the right answer

Starting to see where I am going.

• The question with Saturn should have been – how can we create a business division that is profitable because it understands and provides the customers the best values in the cars and services they want from us as an auto maker and then how can we take those lessons and use them to fix GM?

Business is personal because it is run by people. People are very predictable because what they do without fail is revert to what is familiar instead of what is best.

How does this apply to a small (or any sized) business especially yours

• You exist to service the clients
• What you need to do is often the opposite of what you want to do – example – when money tight traditionally accepted behavior says – cut down on expenses and fire people when you should be marketing more, doing customer satisfaction surveys, and finding out what customers need and increasing your exposure to increase your chances of creating new revenue
• Making commitments and then citing excuses as to why you or your company failed to live up to what you promised a client
• Copying other companies or people – the blind following the blind – instead of being an original or an innovator
• Not understanding the being likes is not a requirement, being respected is and the true bonus is when someone respects you and likes you and your company not the other way around
• Assuming you know what is best or are someone better than your client or are entitled due to birth, family, past education or maybe you inherited your company
• Lacking humility – asking for help but being unwilling to change the habits and behaviors that brought your company to failure in the first place
• Taking the revenue from your company and spending it on yourself instead of investing it back into the company to better serve your clients
• Believing your own hype or greatness and failing to realize no one is self made – everyone had someone help or take interest in the more their company
• Surrounding yourself with people (leadership) who enable your dysfunction and poor choices instead of challenge you (think president Bush) but businesses and people do it all of the time – push away people who challenge and try to help them and embrace those who are along for the ride and who are more than willing to crash them into the ground and leave when they do
• Not listening to following the advice of your mentors and those helping you
• Running from problems and challenges instead of dealing with the root cause (remember as a business you are paid to solve problems for your client so you should by extension be able to solve your own company’s problems or be willing to seek help to do so) - you and your business should always being solution oriented
• Creating arbitrary rules and limitations what what you can and cannot do that have nothing to do with servicing your clients or living up to your mission and being unwilling to change (extreme example - I will never work with purple haired people who live in ____ or we can never do this because ____) - instead of asking what does my client want me to do
• Not having your priorities in order (enough said)
• Believing the accepted school of thought that the sole purpose of business is to make money instead of understanding money is a byproduct of services the clients effectively

Are you seeing how all of this ties together yet?

Selecting clients

Did you realize that just as your clients select you, you should also select your clients? Its true and just like you may occasionally have a bad employee (a poor investment) so might you have a bad client (also a poor investment) whose relationship needs to be terminated.

Any relationship is an investment of your time, intellect, mental, spiritual and financial resources and just like any other investment you want it to grow and mature. Any investment starting out needs you to grow and nurture and pay special attention to it yet over time as they mature this relationship should grow into one that benefits both parties not just the client. In cases where the relationship remains excessively one sided, reverses, or become a drain to your resources then like any good broker you have to make a call as to whether the investment was a wise decision and in some cases it is not.

There are some tell tail signs you can look for when make your decision as to whether to do business with a person or a company

• How do they speak of their other vendors?
• How do they treat their employees?
• What do their employees say about them?
• Do they treat others as if they are beneath them?
• How is their business organized?
• How do they make business decision?
• What sort of ethics do they use?
• What does your gut tell you?

Fact is while it is more the exception then the rule some business just is not worth it or the price – taking a job for example that pays $140 when you cost if $200 does not make sense and this too is a factor. So you must also have a great working understanding of your business

• What are your margins?
• What is your rate?
• What is your per job break even point?
• How mature is your business?
• What sort of reputation do you have?
• Do you have the intellectual or financial capital and/or good will to perform the job?

Running a business is not for everyone especially the delusional or the faint of heart. You must know yourself well, understand your business and know what your strengths and weakness are – only when you have a high level working understanding of these things can you make educated business decisions.

With that in mind are you ready to manage your investments properly?

No matter where you go there you are!

So often people fail to face their problems not accepting responsibility for the role they had in creating them – this is bad for a person but it is fatal for a business. Some call it insanity, how many people have you seen move from one location to another constantly complaining about the problems they have or the people they encounter. The problem is not the other people it is the person they see everyday when they look in the mirror. A person must change and accept responsibility to realize different results and so many are not willing to do this instead blaming everything and everyone else.

About two years ago I did a post – I will not repost it in full but will the highlights

There were two women looking for a place to live because they had each gotten a new job, they each drove through this little town and saw a man sitting on the porch. They each asked the man what kind of people live here and the man answered what kind of people live where you are now? The first woman spewed many negative things about the people where she is moving from and the man responded – you will find the same type of people here while the second had nothing but praise of where she lived and how much she will miss them – again the old man said you will find those same type of people here.

• How could he give the same answer to both women?
  
• How does this relate to business?
  

Your attitude often is the only factor in your success or failure because often what you are seeing is people reacting to your core nature. Worded differently you can Change, Grow or Die.

Growth comes in many forms – one need but look at our current financial crisis and see the results of being stagnant and maintaining a status quo. Think of it this way – what happens to water that sits over a long period of time – it goes bad. Granted the problem s with the financial industry are deeper as well as auto – business models and infrastructure is being used to do things it was not designed – a failed or flawed system no matter how much you want it to work will fail time and time again - same holds true with your mind (BTW – I am amazed the leadership is just now starting to figure out the bailout will not work and that change must occur!)

I know it seems like I am skipping around but really this is a variation on a theme being growth, change and namely continuing education. As a business owner it is important that you never stop learning and growing. This can take many forms both structured and informal however is not suggested, but required. Have you ever wondered why professional organizations make continuing education a part of the requirements to maintain active membership? Simple, to keep information fresh, to remind people of and reinforce the basics, to allow people the chance learn new and more effective ways to do things, and to educate their members on what does and does not work. In short to allow you to benefit from the knowledge and experience of others, to not take advantage of this is tantamount to suicide and will lead to a slow and agonizing death.

Where can you get this knowledge?

There are many places to look

• Internet websites
• Business books
• Business schools
• Colleges, Universities and tech schools
• Trade fairs
• And so many other sources

A desire to learn shows your clients you are willing to grown and become more. It is an indication that you as a business or a business owner are willing to do everything in your power to realize your potential and utilize all of the tools available.

Ok – pop quiz

• Question – How many of you think Sears is still just an appliance store?
  
• Answer – Sears (appliances), Sears Logistics Service, Allstate Insurance, Hertz Rent a Car, K-Mart, Real Estate, Orchard Hardware, The Discover Card, etc

Just a little food for thought!

Security Camera placement and technology

Today my personal camera broke. The irony is that it failed while I was considering placement of cameras for a system augmentation. Remember the phrase “Big brother is watching you!” That is literally true in more ways than you know. One of the most secure places to be is actually not an airport or even in some cases a government installation , rather it is a casino. Why, because they want to catch people trying to beat the system or the odds. Here is the challenge in that security is for honest people just like locks and contracts, a dishonest person will expend extraordinary amounts of energy to attempt to circumvent any systems and processes you put in place. Once you understand this basic fact you can start a system design.

Camera placement is important. You want to ensure the maximum amount of coverage per camera. There are some limitation – unless you have someone sign a release camera must be in a public place, that is why you never see one in a bedroom, bathroom or jail cell (baring internet peep shows).

What are your options? Many, it all depends on what you want to accomplish and how much you want to spend. With the advent and consequent advancement of IP camera you can choose between coax based systems that attach to a VCR or DVR with has a built in web router allowing connection to your computer network or an IP based camera system (either wired or wireless) which allow you the added benefit of being able to directly select from your web browser what camera you want to see and depending on the model and features control it remotely. Having a basic understanding of human behavior is helpful in this pursuit as people tend to be creature of habit and you can observe the typical traffic patterns and design a system to monitor that flow and any potential deviation from it.

Some things to consider aside from placement are frame rate, recording retention time, bandwidth, resolution, and least of all cost. Why is cost last, because first you need to determine everything you want to do and from there back into what you absolutely need. Sure there are other issues and factors – distance, light levels, power supply or POE, and of course housing, cleaning, product life, sound and environment, yet this is meant only as a high level explanation of things to consider is you are thinking about purchasing and installing (or having installed) a security system.

Protect your technology investment

A common mistake many people make is not or only partially protecting their computers. Many people buy one and plug it straight into the wall. Problem is 120V AC is not that – it can range from 110 to 130 Volts in normal operation from power company. As you can imagine the further under 120 you get the more of a strain it puts on the PC ironically the higher the voltage much the same though for different reasons. Often (and be happy it does) the power supply will sacrifice itself to protect your system yet allot of good that does in the short term because a PC without a power supply is like a person without a heart – useless. I could get into the math of wattage, heat generation, resistance, however point is either extreme is damaging to your system.

As a stop gap many opt to put a surge protect on it to regulate the upswings which is great because it prevents the sudden surges but does little for down swings. As such if there is a brown out and a power surge, the brown out strains the system but it is protected from the surge thus preventing a current overload situation.

A solution would be a UPS (Universal Power Supply) some of which also act as power conditioners. These devices augment the power if it drops below say 115 Volts and protect the PC if power ever rises above 125 Volts. In some advanced models software is even included that once installed and the device connected via USB or serial port shuts down the PC during a blackout to prevent system damage sue to crashed hard drive heads during an extreme power loss.

Make sure you invest in the proper equipment to protect your system, $25-70 (depending) will save you hundreds in damage and potentially thousands in lost intellectual property. (this post inspired by the PC I am currently replacing power supply in that was killed during a power outage)

The Spearman Leadership Manifesto

Before I go into this post let me start with a true story. I just got back from a frat brother’s house. He is a teacher at the computer center of a local elementary school. He told me a story that has application to what I see often in life. His classroom is closed right now. It is closed because not long ago a deer jumped through the double paned windows of his classroom (I will post a picture if and when he sends it). To escape all the deer had to do is leave the same way it came but instead it panicked and spewed blood everywhere. Finally animal control was called and the buck had to be put down. I hope I do not have to explain the moral of this true story.

I was asked by a friend and the upcoming chair of the board to document my thoughts on leadership. For years I spent a good portion of my intellect helping and serving other business owners and setting up a bar of which my successors will be mentored. 2009 will be my last year in office and am already grooming my successor, while there are two potential if either win the organization should be fine and able to rise to a new level.

Before I write about me on a professional level think it is important to put who I am in context on a personal level. I am a person who has been burned and lied to many times, who has some trust issues and as a result created systems to deal with them. I live by the school of thought trust but verify, I expect the worst of people because I have seen in personally and professionally – woman abuse, me used, children neglected and as a result when people actually do what they should and are decent I am pleasantly surprised. I do not operate as an optimist – to do so to me is to set yourself up for failure, I instead am a pessimist and a long term strategist. The people I trust and who I place faith in have shown me through their words and actions that they can be counted on, trusted and respected. Yes, I expect people to fail and let me down and plan accordingly, it is the exception that I believe people to be honest and genuine. Though I plan with others not living up to their potential or promises I hold myself to a different standard – a higher one

I believe:

• I believe God speaks to us in the quiet times and when we least expect telling us through other people, songs, sings, and other things message often we do not want to hear yet need to and who always provides us with what we need so long as we have faith.
• I believe that God’s personality to me is much like the characterization shown in the Almighty movie and sequel as portrayed by Morgan Freeman
• I believe if you want someone to serve you must show them by example want it means to be a servant
• I believe everyone has ethics except for some those revolve solely around the acquisition of money and perceived power because that is their true god
• I believe that the only real way to acquire power, wealth, respect and loyalty as well as many other things in life is to give them away freely
• I believe that your self image dictates what you will do and that regardless of what anyone says you will eventually reach equilibrium with your self esteem and its level will dictation whether that is in a positive or negative direction
• I believe pride (lack of humility) is our greatest enemy
• I believe money is a byproduct of service and that businesses exist not to make money but to service their clients
• I believe words are cheap
• I believe if you want someone to be honest you must in all things be above board because a lie is the most selfish thing you can do
• I believe in surrounding myself with people who share my values and who challenge me to be more than I am even though we do not always agree we share similar values and goals of service
• I believe greed is wrong, by its definition it means taking something that others own that you have not earned
• I believe that to lead you must allow be willing to be vulnerable and to trust people and allow them and everything to fail (guiding people but allowing them to do for self) because they do not learn or grow when you fix problems before things blow up and they never get a change to realize their potential
• I believe control is an illusion driven by an innate sense of insecurity
• I believe it is the quality not quantity of friends that matter
• I believe trust and respect are earned because of the consistency of your conduct , the integrity and predictability of your actions
• I believe I was put on this earth to leave it better than I found it not to selfishly exploit it for my own personal gain
• I believe it is not so much what you do that matter but why you do and that the ends in no way justify the means
• I believe people trust you when they know you place their needs before your own
• I believe respect is more important than friendship
• I believe your time is the most important commodity you own so it should be used wisely as it can never be replace
• I believe all relationships should be treated as investments and as most investments you nurture the ones that grow and discard the ones that decrease in value.
• I believe liars are evil and selfish and that if someone lies for you they will lie to you and that a liar will also steal from you if and when it is expedient and serves their needs
• I believe that I is not what people do when it is easy and convenient that tells us their true character or what they are about rather it is what they do when things are hard, inconvenient and difficult that tells us not only what they think about us but themselves also and it indicated if their priority is our collective well being or simply their own
• I believe you should hold people accountable not to what you want of them but only to what they promise you
• I believe people refuse to put things in writing only when they do not want to be held accountable
• I believe loyalty is something people emulate and copy from watching your behavior by example
• I believe if you want someone to work with you , you must create a vision that transcends your differences and is bigger than all involved
• I believe if you are not honest with yourself you cannot be honest with anyone else
• I believe if a person is unwilling to listen, learn, grow and change they are essentially dead and waiting for their body to catch up with their mind
• I believe fear based decisions are often short term and self destructive
• I believe when you fight against something or someone that thing or person has control over you because they define the rules and dictate your behavior
• I believe all good leaders are first good servants
• I believe that we all rise or fall together
• I believe everything we do affects those we come in contact with and in turn those they come in contact with
• I believe you should share and help people not because you believe yourself superior rather because if you are blessed to have more than you need and we are all God’s creation the least you can do is share
• I believe people are often stupid because they seek out excitement, fun and stimulation – the people around when they had a good time who were often the same people responsible for their demise and totally missing or ignoring the people who carried them when they passed out, picked them up when they fell, or took a bullet to save their life – in part because they are so traumatized at the time they believe the single sets of footprints they see on the ground where their own not realizing another hoisted them upon their shoulder to carry them
• I believe that when someone helps you – a mentor – who may have knowledge and experience I do not that I should listen and though I may not understand do everything to do what they ask in the manner they request it.
• I believe negative behavior should not be rewarded and that positive peer pressure – praising examples of the behavior you want emulated is more constructive
• I believe games and manipulation are tools of childish immature people and are best left in grade and high school where they belong and tat many adults function emotionally at the level of a 6 year old
• I believe when you put other people down or speak negatively of them it speaks more about your personal shortcoming them theirs both personally and professionally

With all of that said I want to see people succeed, to live up their expectations, to do well. I am happy when I see others succeed and it gives me hope when they do regardless of whether I played an active, passive or not part at all in their success. I guess much of my thoughts can be summed up in Mathew 25 for those who read the Bible. I will not repost the scripture here but if you click on this link you want to read.

So now that I am in context personally, lets discuss leadership (especially in business and non profit volunteerism.) and to who I am professionally and how some perceive me. Yes, in some circle I am considered highly gifted, this is not an over inflated ego but a statement of fact as well as documented. That said my intellect does not mean I think in any way I am innately superior or entitled, I have seen and know people that lack my brains who have on a business level built far larger businesses and to be honest I am happy and proud of them all.

In my years in office on a local and national level working with and through others accomplished the following:

• Created a national leadership orientation process that was inclusive of all of the constituent committees
• Created policies and procedures to assure the consistent performance of the organization
• Created and ethnically and sexually diverse leadership team
• Silenced much of the animosity and turf wars that existed in the constituency groups
• Created tools and processes which facilitated the saving and growth of many borderline businesses while allowing those established to grow
• Created an objective awards process that recognized positive behavior
• Never violated my personal morals or ethics and never betrayed a trust or a confidence
• Developed the reputation of being the voice of insight and reason, the person people sought out when they wanted a straight solution oriented answer
• Focused constituency on business development
• Assisted in turning council from an organization that was on the verge of disaffiliation to being a national benchmark
• Removed many of the games and politics from our culture
• Worked to create opportunities for business owners to receive continuing education to equip them to build their business
• Created an MBE Summit and got participation from globally recognized corporations and nationally respected legal professionals and business owners
• Starting bringing Charleston back on line
• Set path to bring Ashville and Wilmington back on line
• Replaced underperforming leaders
• Made Carolinas MBEIC and its processes the defacto benchmark nationally
• Standardized the national election process and successfully passed to new chair
• Created a peer mentor protégé program
• Segmented council into industry groups
• Establishing a fasttrac educational program for Carolinas business owners based on Tuck model slated to go online in North and South Carolina in 2009
• My final legacy will be the PAC am setting up to advocate for business owners in the Carolinas and Nationally and setting up indices of measure because what you cannot and do not track you do not care about minor work to correct

The is more but it is my hope that in this document my thoughts, motivations and be inference my processes are defined such that anyone opting to follow in my footsteps and hopefully surpass me has enough information to do so and gains a clear understanding of my thought processes and motivations.

So what suggestions do I have to offer anyone wanting to assume a leadership position:

• Use common sense – see things as they are not as you want them to be then take an honest assessment of the tools you have available
• Set the standard of behavior – Do not tell people what you want them to do – so them by your example
• Never lie – if people cannot count on your word they cannot count on you making you worthless
• Share – you cannot control others – never try – you can only inspire them and only if they see what is in it for them
• Commit – either your are all in or not – there is no half way – no playing at – there is only doing – trying will never work
• Playing is for children so leave the games on the playground – the only way to not get burned in politics is to not play them, also emotional outbursts and utterances reduce you in ways you cannot imagine and show everyone you lack the ability to restrain and control yourself – so the question becomes if you cannot lead yourself why should anyone follow you?
• Check your ego at the door – A true leader especially and elected one is about service not self, not you , not your business, you are their to serve the organization and your constituents – to lend you talents to the greater good
• Have a vision – create a picture or a goal bigger then you of where you want to be and make sure it aligns with the goals of the organization
• Be humble – you do not know everything surround yourself with good people
• Be professional – make no excuses why you cannot do something and do not commit to anything you cannot do, better to say no outright then to make a fool of yourself.

Feel free to add your thoughts inputs and ideas - good luck, remain blessed and God speed and wisdom to you all!

Some thoughts as I look forward to hiring in the near future

What is wrong with business employees in America?

I could go one and on about the many things and why other country’s especially Japan seem to kick out but however I can best sum it up with a question/statement – what are the lyrics of the songs or their titles that deal with work in America?

Top 10 '80s Songs About Work (source http://80music.about.com/od/top10list1/tp/working.htm)

1. Huey Lewis & the News - "Workin' for a Livin'"

2. Bruce Springsteen - "Working on the Highway"

3. Loverboy - "Friday Night"

4. Billy Joel - "Allentown"

5. Donna Summer - "She Works Hard for the Money"

6. Bruce Hornsby & the Range - "Every Little Kiss"

7. The Bangles - "Manic Monday"

8. Sheena Easton - "Morning Train"

9. Members - "Working Girl"

10. The Alarm - "Devolution Workin' Man Blues"

Need I say more – what do these songs say about our collective psyche regarding work?

Let me ask you a question – when you meet an American what is the first thing you typically ask them? Did you know that in Japan the first question is what company do you work for?

Wonder why it seems so difficult to find a good employee who is as committed to the company as you are to their well being?

I will offer this advice also, I know it sounds cruel yet do not make the mistakes I made. My personal weakness often is I am too nice and let people in the past take advantage of me and have many stories about that very fact. It took me a long time to learn that the purpose of the business is to serve the client first and then employees. That said if you in your firing screening or while doing work find you have an employee that lies (regardless of the reason) fire them. A lie is actually the highest form of selfishness and disrespect. Further if a person will lie you cannot count on them to satisfy the needs of your client in a professional or timely manner and when they fail to do so you will loose that client. No client no revenue. Additionally it has been my experience that a person who lies will also steal. As such it is just best that you fire them but do so in a professional manner – gather the appropriate documentation. Simply put a liar will pull you do, they will use you and destroy your company’s reputation and any good will you may have. They will selfishly take your resources and expect you to tolerate their behavior and want you to continue to reward their negative behavior. It is easier said than done though because as people we tend to not want to cause anyone harm and yet in perspective this person is causes us great harm and if our company folds we will be in no position to help anyone or serve clients.

I bring this up because once upon a time I had quite a few employees who lied, abuse the company and took advantage of me and like a fool I let them come back or rehired them and you know what – they did it again – not much different from the national financial bailout. What I find in business and person life in times of crisis is when people shoe their true nature. If they exploit you that is what they will do when given the opportunity again, if they abandon you – guess what, if they seal from you or a client because they want it and that justifies their action – guess what? Lets even be less harsh – what about those employees who refuse to learn because they know everything there is to know?

I am discussing these things because soon I will be looking to staff up once I am done with some other changes in focus and direction. So how do you avoid allowing things to get to that point. Selectively higher people. You want people who work for you who share your values. These people do not have to agree with you in fact you never want employees or suppliers that agree you want people who will challenge you and offer you better or alternative solutions. You want people who are solution oriented and have high levels of integrity and commitment and loyalty. People who understand what it means to serve not be served.

When you higher someone a good place to start is not so much in talking to them but with their resume. Here is how

1) Look at their education – it is a good indication of their drive, commitment and ability to defer gratification

2) Look at their civic involvement – this will give you some idea of their desire to serve, give back and/help and notice were they members of leaders

3) Look at the awards they received – it is an indication of their drive

4) Look at their GPA with respect to the above often a C or B student is better than an A because they had to work for it but you will also have to talk to then to gauge if they are not slackers

On a site I found these Sample Interview Questions – all very good

Personal Motivation and Traits

· How do you feel about your present workload?

· What motivates you to do your best work?

· How can we best help you get your job done?

· Tell me about a time you went "out on a limb" to get the job done?

· What are the disadvantages of this line of work?

· What do you find most frustrating at work?

· Tell me about a project that got you really excited?

· How do you define doing a good job?

· What makes a job enjoyable for you?

· Under what conditions do you work best?

· What is your greatest strength/weakness or deficiency?

· Tell me about a work task you enjoy.

Goals

· What are your 5-year goals?

· Tell me what "success" means to you.

· What does "failure" mean to you?

· Do you consider yourself successful?

· Do you set goals for yourself and how do you do that?

Communication

· Tell me about a work situation you had that required excellent communication skills.

· Do you prefer to speak directly with someone or send a memo?

· How would you grade your ability to communicate with upper level management, customers, and peers?

· What was more important on your job, written or oral communication?

Flexibility

· Tell me about the last change which occurred in your office. How did you handle it?

· I'm interested in hearing about the last time you took a risk. What was it and in retrospect, was it the right decision?

· How important is communication and interaction with others on your job? How many departments did you deal with? What problems occurred?

· Tell me about a time when a work emergency caused you to reschedule your work/projects.

· Give me an example of the last time you went above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done

· In what areas do you typically have the least amount of patience at work?

Stress

· Tell me about a deadline you had to meet. How much advance notice did you have?

· You have worked in a fast paced environment. How did you like the environment?

· What kinds of decisions are most difficult for you?

· What is the most difficult work situation you have faced?

· What types of jobs do you have the most difficulty with?

· What do you do when you're having trouble with your job?

· What do you do when you have a great deal of work to accomplish in a short period of time?

Manageability

· What do you do when you're having trouble with a boss?

· If your boss knew you were interviewing, what would he say?

· What do you feel an employer owes an employee?

· Your supervisor tells you do to something in a way you know is dead wrong. What do you do?

· If your supervisor unfairly criticized you, what would you do?

· Would you like to have your boss's job? Why or why not?

· Tell me about a time when your manager was in a rush and didn't give you enough attention.

· What are some of the things about which you and your boss disagree?

· What are some of the things your boss did that you disliked?

· In what areas could your boss have done a better job?

· I would be interested to hear about an occasion when your work or an idea was criticized, what was criticized, who criticized you, and how did you handle it?

· Describe the best manager you ever had. The worst. What qualities did each of them have?

Just remember your employee is the expression and representation of you and your company to the client – there are your public face, make sure you are conveying the positive message you want about yourself and your company.