Life of Riley

practice what you preach

As a business owner/manager/supervisor one of the greatest, most important clichés to live/work by is Practice What You Preach. That is, make sure that you are following the same rules you set for your employees and work to lead by example. Making sure that you do so will show your employees that you care about business as much as they need to and you are just as invested in the success as you want them to be. Making sure to lead by example will help to garner the support needed from them and will help to build and sustain a strong, viable team.

 If you want your employees to work extra hours, don’t come in late and leave early because you can.

 If you want your employees to shoulder extra responsibilities, don’t spend the day on the phone and take extended lunch breaks.

 There are so many more that I could come up with, but I will stop there and leave it to you to come up with other examples.

great ads

The other day while listening to ESPN radio I learned that during the 2008 Beijing Olympics somewhere near 100,000 condoms will be distributed to athletes in the Olympic village. What is interesting is that there are only about 2,000 athletes or so. Why so many condoms? Well, apparently in Athens, during the ’04 games, over 75,000 condoms were provided…and demand was not satisfied.

 So when I shared this info on Friday night, Caroline took it upon herself to research these interesting facts. Well, she came upon this article, which shows some very intriguing, comedic uses of condoms in advertising. I am not really sure how the accompanying slogan of “Sports make you health." fits within the scheme of this, though. Whatever…the ads are great and make light of a somewhat awkward product to market.

The ads seem to be working. There is quite a bit of buzz surrounding the campaign, which is exactly what advertising is supposed to do. Great job. I've included one of the ads above, but there are many more here...including a basketball, gymnastics, & swimming gimmick.

another new favorite

I am busy parking cars this weekend, so I am unable to visit the track as I enjoy doing during the month of August. I was able, however, to get a hold of the daily entries and I was immediately drawn to a horse named Arrrrr who was running in the 6th race. If I was there, I would certainly bet on him...I couldn't get the NYRA wagering site to work on my new phone, and I totally forgot about the 800 number I could call...so I missed out. Well, not only did I miss out on a great race and a winning ticket, I missed a great call, a classic call, by Durkin...check it out here...

I love it when horse owners know that they have a great horse and they give it a name that makes it fun for the fans.

addict

So I have joined the ranks of the millions of CrackBerry addicts out there. I purchased the Curve 8830 yesterday afternoon and haven't stopped playing with it since...except for the few hours of sleeping last night. I am having so much fun searching out different applications, browsing the web, and just playing with it. So far I am enjoying Viigo the best...and I am trying to stay away from Brick Breaker. I am seriously considering purchasing Guitar Hero, but I am not sure how fun it would be on a phone...

My experience with Verizon was, predictably, awful. I have been with them for 10 years now, have tried other companies, and their service can't be beat...cell service that is! VZW needs to get its employees all on the same page. No matter where I am or what I am trying to do I always seem to get a different story about what I can do, can't do, should do, or shouldn't do. My latest issue couldn't be solved by the customer care people in the store...even though it was a corporate owned store...I had to make a phone call to the customer care national line. Absurd! The manager at the store apologized and assured me that it was a free call to national customer service. LIKE I CARE! I spent over 40 minutes waiting in line to be told that I need to call someone because they can't credit accounts in the store.

So here is my take...if you don't trust the people you hire to do the right thing...especially management...you shouldn't be hiring them at all! Get everyone on the same page, get all of your policies in order, and get your customers happy. Having a $175 strangle hold on your customers doesn't mean that they don't deserve a good experience. Love/Hate with me & VZW...

where to go

There are points in each of our lives where we reach an impasse. There are barriers that we reach that entirely block our paths and make us re-think where we are going...they make us re-explore the paths that we have chosen to take. These road blocks not only impact the events of our lives, these blocks impact our thinking and our doing. Personal roadblocks affect our way of life and our way of thinking...in ways that are helpful to no one.I am at a roadblock...I have no where to go and no direction to take. I have used every map that I have and taken all directions I could.

At this point it is time to reverse course, re-map life and get a re-go...hopefully mulligans aren't ear-marked for golf...

park playhouse

Last night we ventured down to Albany to the Park Playhouse in Washington Park to celebrate my mother's birthday. The Park Playhouse is a fully outdoor theater that puts on very well known productions each spring & summer. Patrons can choose whether or not they would like to purchase tickets...yes, free admission is possible for those who choose to bring their own chairs and sit up in the ampitheater section...which are still great seats. We were in the paid seating, right up front with really great seats.

This year's production is West Side Story. The cast did a fine job and the show brought back memories of watching the movie version back as a kid. The sound system could use a major upgrade as there was much feedback at times and also a lot of crackling through the speakers.

What amazed me, however, was that the production was fairly intricate for a 'free' show. The bulk of the costs are covered by an endowment as well as corporate donations...and for a small part ticket sales. There is also a funny little song that is put on during the intermission asking patrons for donations...and most people did give something.

I am not a big 'arts' guy, but last night was fun and we are already wondering what show will be put on next year. Which is another neat little twist on this place...fans can cast their votes online for what show they would like to see put on next summer. I voted for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels...we'll just have to wait and see what everyone else wants to see...

at it again...

I have signed up for another triathlon this summer. I am a bit disappointed as there is no real beneficiary for this race...the funds go to support the local triathlon club. This is fine, of course, but it is always nicer to know that my registration dollars are going to a 'good' cause...like cancer research or the local YMCA.

togatown update

I've taken a few days off from posting any thoughts. Well, it is now week 2 at Saratoga...the greatest track on earth...and there have been many an exciting events and happenings at The Spa. The first week was certainly marred by rain, rain, and...oh,that's right, more rain, but I think that the crowds still turned up for the excitement.

I have been lucky enough to make it over to the track for a few races. Twilight racing on the first Friday was great as I got to see most (if not for the vet, all) of the races. Prices were reduced to be more friendly...big marketing gaffe, if you ask me...and many fans turned out for the excitement.

I have hit a few, missed a few, and, well, cursed a few. All in all this is my favorite time of year and I am trying to make the best of it. I will certainly try to make some time to post more thoughts on the mis-steps of NYRA, the excitement of my winners (hopefully), and the general observations from summer in togatown...

and they're off...

...at Saratoga! Today is opening day at Saratoga Race Course and for the second year in a row I am not there. This is quite a disappointment as, before last year, I had attended opening day for 10 years in a row...either as an employee or as a spectator.

The weather is awful today and I expect quite a few morning-line longshots to hit big in the slop. I'll be keeping an eye on the results through the day...probably wishing that I was at "The Spa" partying it up. Maybe next year...

art of money getting

I was recently pointed to a great service called DailyLit, which is an online service that emails portions of books to you at pre-determined intervals. There are many titles from which to choose...many are free and some require a small fee. I chose to start with Art of Money Getting by P.T. Barnum.

This is a great book on many levels. There is inspiration for life as well as business. There are many lessons to be learned for the eager entrepreneur as well. I am only a little past half done with my installments, but I figured now was as good a time as ever to share. The author delves into topics such as avoiding debt, hiring and dealing with employees, running a business, creating and maintaining success, and perseverance.

Although it is written in an old style with many outdated references this is certainly worth a read for anyone in the business world, anyone looking to start a business, anyone in need of some good advice, or anyone who just likes a good book. His advice is on point and many of his suggestions still hold true today.

I will put together a more detailed review of the book at a later date once I finish the whole thing, but for now I will share a little piece that I read today and really enjoyed. There is a relayed conversation where a student asks an old lawyer whether there is room in his profession and the lawyer replies that "The basement is much crowded, but there is plenty of room up-stairs." This is true in so many ways today...we need good people in (almost) all fields and there is always room for those who work to become the best. It is those that choose mediocrity that fill the basement, so to speak.

So no matter what the chosen path, aim for the top, work hard and almost surely you'll end up up-stairs.