Cheers,

Cheers,

What's luck got to do with it?

I was walking over the Farmer Market Saturday morning and casually recapping the week in my head. I was fortunate to meet a pretty good group of students from the University of Montana Business School, Yes…The Harvard of the West.  The class is something that is relatively new as it’s only in its third year.  The class comes out to the Portland and Seattle and meets with various different businesses that have alumni from the University working for them or owns them.  The class is basically one big networking event for the students to get insights into what it takes to work for of these companies (2 of them are on the100 best companies to work for list).  As I was headed over to the market I got to thinking about luck…to be more specific how much luck really had to do with your success.  I picked up a quote somewhere that I like to use that says “luck is when preparation meets opportunity”  And while is still believe that is true, I still pose the question, how much does luck really have to do with it?  I can remember when I was looking for my first job, and my second for that matter, and what I thought I had to offer an employer. I still feel pretty much the same that is my attitude, desire to win, coach-ability, and just plain ol’ common sense.  But again, was me getting to where I am today more of just being at the right place and right time?  I look at many of my friends and see their success and would say they are talented and motivated, but when they started off did they get those one or two “lucky breaks” to make it were they are today?  Of course if you pile on the “Great Recession” we’re currently in, most of todays college grads are probably scared to death of entering the work force…and rightly so.  However, looking through my rather optimistic lens I’d say that in order to succeed you need to be motivated, have a competitive advantage, and sprinkle in some stubbornness just for good measure, and then hope to god that just maybe some luck does come your way.

Cheers,

Viva la Boston!!!

Cheers,

Cheers,

I was reading the NYTimes.com, one of my favorite sites, and I came across an article that will be in the NYTimes Magazine about President Bill Clinton.  Its a somewhat lengthy read, but it really dives into a few different aspects of Clinton’s post presidency.  When it comes to politics I only like diving deep into a few areas, their first “100 Days”, their post presidency, and the funeral.  Before you judge me on the funeral part, you get more history in one presidential funeral than any history book.  Case in point, did you know that Regan only tied his ties in a double Windsor? 

I always liked Clinton for the way handled crowds and could get anybody to listen to him.  The ultimate politician.  He also did a lot of great things in office,  balanced the budget for the first time in three decades, prosecuted a war in the Balkans, created NAFTA, reformed Welfare, etc. He also did some not so great things.  You can pretty much all but pin the Derivatives mess on him.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, that is one of the many tools that lead to the “Great Recession”.  I’ll refrain from the cigar incident…pretty sure we’re all familiar.

Brilliant for his skills, but a mess for some of his decisions.

Here is a link to the article…NYTimes Clinton Article

Cheers,

So while I was on this little sabbatical I stumbled across a few things that I think are pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread.

1. iTunes.  I know, it’s been around pretty much since the advent of the iPod, but hear me out.  It started when I was trying to watch President Obama get sworn in as president in January.  Our lovely news channels did such a bang up job of their internet feeds that I wasn’t able to watch it.  This lead to my thinking, hey…maybe I can find something on iTunes.  Like NPR or something.  That led me to stumbling on to NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Normally, well what normal used to be anyway, I loved watching the news when I got home from work.  But given my erratic schedule I catch it occasionally at best.  I now have iTunes download it for me every morning when I turn on my computer so I can watch/listen to it while I plow through emails and such.  And yes, I found the inauguration highlights on iTunes.
2. NYTimes.com. Again, nothing new here.  However, Columnist Adam Bryant has started a new column that comes out every Sunday in which he conducts a Q & A interview with executives from various different industries.  It’s about a 3-5 minute read and very insightful.  In my eyes it’s really some basic stuff that you might ask an executive over coffee…if you could sit down with the CEO of say eBay.  Here is a link to the series.  2 of my favorites, in this order, are “There’s No Need to Bat .900″ with John Donahoe, the CEO of eBay.  The second one is “He Was Promotable, After All” with Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney.
3. iTunes…again.  I used to be a diehard supporter of Netflix and somewhat still am for the most part.  But leave it to Apple to strive towards world domination.  While toying around with iTunes one day looking for some music I noticed a little icon for movies, I also vaguely recall reading an article about this along the way.  So I checked it out.  Sure enough, I could buy or rent pretty much any and every movie I could possible want with the click of a button to my laptop.  Now I know what you’re thinking…I want to watch them on my TV, not on my laptop/PC.  If you’re like most people you probably have some flat screen TV that takes up the better part of the largest wall in your home…it’s the American way after all.  If so, then you only need to buy and HDMI cable and you can hook your laptop up to your TV and have a whole bunch of High Definition goodness straight from the internet.

 Until the next time,

 Cheers

I don’t hide the fact that I love movies.  I will pretty much go to a movie no mater the weather, the day, etc.  Generally I prefer to go alone, no idea why…but I just love movies.  Between marathon training, work, and the lack of good movies out, I haven’t been in some time.  In the coming weeks there are going to be some pretty good ones coming out which i’m looking forward to.  Today was a pretty typical spring day in Portland, cloudy to the point that the sky looks like it wants to rain but can’t decide to do so, thus prime movie watching weather.  A movie I’ve wanted to see for some time, The Soloist, debuted Friday so I opted to catch a Sunday afternoon matinee.  I’m not going to give you a run down of the plot of the movie.  Instead will only say you should really go see it.  If and when you do, after you leave think about all the homeless people you’ve ever seen and think about their story.  It’s a very powerful movie that really shows the power of the human spirit. Here is a link to the premise of how the movie came about. LATimes

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.” - JFK

Cheers,

•  I went to the play “Wicked“, the prequel to the Wizard of Oz.  This was my first play I’ve seen since college and my first “professional” play if you will.  It was incredibly good.  The cast was amazing.
• I made it out to have a few beers with my good friend Ryan from Petmarmoset and his wife Jeana.  One of his bands that Ryan does PR for, Derby (you can check them out on the links on the right side of the page), was the main act. It was over @ Mississippi Studios in NE Portland.  They recently redid the venue, and while it lacks some personality, it is a great place to see a show and it has a real intimate feel.
• About 4 weeks ago a bright burning orb showed up in the sky over Portland.  From what I’m told it’s a mythical creature which has been referred to as the “sun”.  Apparently it just burns really bright and make things warm, people come out of there homes to worship it, and women wear decidedly less clothing.  I’ve come to the conclusion I need to hunt for a place where this fabled orb burns on a regular basis.  And I digress…I was able to take my good friend David’s convertible out as he was out of town and crazy enough to leave me the keys.  Since the car costs about as much as my life insurance policy is worth I opted to drive where most people would not.  I stumbled across a floating bar on the Multnomah channel west of Portland.  2 weeks later the sun came out again and I decided to convince 9 of my friends to come join me at my new favorite Oregon bar.
• Yesterday I finished my final long run of my marathon training…its somewhat refreshing that I can run 10 miles like I’m going out to get a cup a coffee.  Next week comes the real test…26.2 miles in Tracktown U.S.A.
• Baseball season is in full swing…so Friday night I made it to happy hour to catch the Red Sox/Yankees came. Needless to say the home team won.  Viva la Boston!!!

Until the next time.

 Cheers,

The first article is the leading story on the business section titled “Is Facebook Growing Up Too Fast?”. It talks about the growth of FB over the last five years (obviously) as well as some other interesting areas of FB and how it interacts with our lives.  When reading it, try looking through the Brand Lens.  Not just FB brand, but also your own if you happen have an account.  I’ll be writing a post on this later.

The 2nd article, also in the business section, talks about how huge events shape corporate strategies and businesses.  “How Crisis Shapes the Corporate Model” is less about Brand Management/creation and more about just business in general.  Given the current announcements at my company I can truly relate to the article.  I’ve found this particularly interesting given that I’ve had a few conversation’s over coffee or cocktails on how the current depression will do a number of thing to the world.  The first being that its going to create a new generation of wealth (not really what the article talks about, but just thought I’d throw it out there) and secondly how we go about doing business…its going to be totally different than what we’ve done in the past and my hunch tells me that only the early adopters will survive.

As always, I welcome your thoughts

Cheers,