About 30 years ago, I realized that youth was no longer on my side and decided to join a gym and start lifting weights to get into shape. I was assigned a personal trainer who took my measurements and made up a chart of the exercises I should be doing. I kept the chart in a file drawer at the gym along with all the other members.
I faithfully and regularly worked out, recording my somewhat remarkable progress. One day a few months later, I went for my regular workout to find the file drawer missing. I was told that they had thrown out the charts; they didn’t know how many people used them, and besides, it wasn’t their responsibility to keep track of everybody’s charts anyway. I was furious. I could have easily kept my chart in my gym bag if I had known they were going to throw them out.
Not long after that the management posted signs at the parking places closest to the door saying they were reserved for the owner and mangers. It was not unusual to see the parking lot full, with cars on the street with the four or five parking spaces by the door blocked, being reserved in case the owner should stop by. It was pretty obvious that the needs of the members were of little interest.
Of course, I cancelled my membership and moved to another gym. Now 30 years later, I still workout and lift weights regularly. I think I am in better shape now than I was when I was thirty. Of course, I will never know, since Gold’s threw out my workout charts years ago.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
On being flexible
This week I heard two different definitions of being flexible. One method which I am familiar with is flying by the seat of your pants because you haven’t prepared. This seems to be what most people are referring to when they say they are flexible.
A better definition of being flexible is being so over prepared that you are prepared for just about any contingency. This seems to make a lot more sense.
I was at a gig recently when the question of flexibility came up. I said I was flexible. It dawned on me that what I meant was that I had about every piece of equipment I might need, and a few backups, in the car. Not that we would make do with what we had as is sometimes what we mean by being flexible.
Yes, flexibility is a good thing, but only if it means being over-prepared and not under-prepared.
A better definition of being flexible is being so over prepared that you are prepared for just about any contingency. This seems to make a lot more sense.
I was at a gig recently when the question of flexibility came up. I said I was flexible. It dawned on me that what I meant was that I had about every piece of equipment I might need, and a few backups, in the car. Not that we would make do with what we had as is sometimes what we mean by being flexible.
Yes, flexibility is a good thing, but only if it means being over-prepared and not under-prepared.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Foul Language and Consistent Pricing
I have inadvertently got caught up in a couple of controversies lately that I didn’t even know were controversial.
The first was a few months ago when I responded to a survey asking whether cursing was ever appropriate in a business setting. I said no and soon found out I was in the minority. Later when I quoted my late father as saying that foul language is a sign of a lack of vocabulary and poor education, I was surprised by the negative response. And when I said that if I ever heard one of my employees cussing a customer, I would show them the door, there was even more negative response. Someone suggested that I was out of touch. Obviously I am because I thought cursing went out of style with smoking. I presume that most of those people have no idea how much business their language has cost them.
Then this last month I commented in a professional photographer’s magazine that photographers should follow the lead of other professions and develop a consistent pricing policy. It turns out many, or maybe most, commercial photographers make up prices as they go based on the clients ability or willingness to pay.
In looking at the history of civilization, one mark of a civilized culture is consistent pricing. Third world street merchants are pretty good at sizing up their customers and extracting as much money as they can from them. In western culture, we rely on prices in stores being well-marked and everybody paying the same price. I know how much my mechanic charges an hour and my dentist will quote a flat rate for teeth cleaning no matter who calls.
In every business I have owned, setting the prices, publishing a rate card, or displaying a menu has been a high priority. Restaurants know that they live or die by their menu. When I decided to get back in the photography business a few years ago, having sold my photo lab in 1996, the first thing I did was decide on my hourly rate. I charge $50 an hour plus expenses, with prints and extra CDs a la carte. If there is any negotiating with a client it is over how much time a project should take, not how much I charge per hour. If I get too busy, I will raise my hourly rate. This is basic Econ 101.
Five thousand years ago Moses cautioned the Israelites in Deuteronomy 25: 13-16, “You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, and you must use full and honest measures. Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God.” The problem Moses faced was merchants using a different set of weights depending upon the customer. In modern terms - treat everybody the same.
I researched some books on business ethics and just about everybody addresses this issue. The most common problem is charging poor people more and wealthier people less without a sound business reason. For example should people with less money pay a higher interest rate than a major corporation; after all, what is the chance of General Motors going bankrupt? (That’s a joke.)
The last time I addressed this issue it concerned the wholesale cost of film. My question was “Is Walmart seeing the same price list as I am?” The answer was yes they were. If I wanted to buy film by the truckload and send my own trucks to Rochester to pick it up, I would get the same price as Walmart.
But the opposite question is, “Is Walmart paying more for their commercial photography just because they have deep pockets.” Apparently they are. Commercial photographers still size up the client, shoot from the hip and charge whatever they think they can get away with. Portrait and wedding photographers usually have printed price list, offer a variety of packages, and let the cutomers know what they are getting for the money, and charge everybody the same.
My dad was in the auction business. An auction is the purest form of letting the market determine the price. The rest of us have to make sound business decisions based on what we think out product or service is worth; and then stick by those decisions until we have a good reason to change our prices.
After five thousand years, it seems most professionals are finally standardizing their rates and charging fair and consistent prices to all of their clients.
The first was a few months ago when I responded to a survey asking whether cursing was ever appropriate in a business setting. I said no and soon found out I was in the minority. Later when I quoted my late father as saying that foul language is a sign of a lack of vocabulary and poor education, I was surprised by the negative response. And when I said that if I ever heard one of my employees cussing a customer, I would show them the door, there was even more negative response. Someone suggested that I was out of touch. Obviously I am because I thought cursing went out of style with smoking. I presume that most of those people have no idea how much business their language has cost them.
Then this last month I commented in a professional photographer’s magazine that photographers should follow the lead of other professions and develop a consistent pricing policy. It turns out many, or maybe most, commercial photographers make up prices as they go based on the clients ability or willingness to pay.
In looking at the history of civilization, one mark of a civilized culture is consistent pricing. Third world street merchants are pretty good at sizing up their customers and extracting as much money as they can from them. In western culture, we rely on prices in stores being well-marked and everybody paying the same price. I know how much my mechanic charges an hour and my dentist will quote a flat rate for teeth cleaning no matter who calls.
In every business I have owned, setting the prices, publishing a rate card, or displaying a menu has been a high priority. Restaurants know that they live or die by their menu. When I decided to get back in the photography business a few years ago, having sold my photo lab in 1996, the first thing I did was decide on my hourly rate. I charge $50 an hour plus expenses, with prints and extra CDs a la carte. If there is any negotiating with a client it is over how much time a project should take, not how much I charge per hour. If I get too busy, I will raise my hourly rate. This is basic Econ 101.
Five thousand years ago Moses cautioned the Israelites in Deuteronomy 25: 13-16, “You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, and you must use full and honest measures. Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God.” The problem Moses faced was merchants using a different set of weights depending upon the customer. In modern terms - treat everybody the same.
I researched some books on business ethics and just about everybody addresses this issue. The most common problem is charging poor people more and wealthier people less without a sound business reason. For example should people with less money pay a higher interest rate than a major corporation; after all, what is the chance of General Motors going bankrupt? (That’s a joke.)
The last time I addressed this issue it concerned the wholesale cost of film. My question was “Is Walmart seeing the same price list as I am?” The answer was yes they were. If I wanted to buy film by the truckload and send my own trucks to Rochester to pick it up, I would get the same price as Walmart.
But the opposite question is, “Is Walmart paying more for their commercial photography just because they have deep pockets.” Apparently they are. Commercial photographers still size up the client, shoot from the hip and charge whatever they think they can get away with. Portrait and wedding photographers usually have printed price list, offer a variety of packages, and let the cutomers know what they are getting for the money, and charge everybody the same.
My dad was in the auction business. An auction is the purest form of letting the market determine the price. The rest of us have to make sound business decisions based on what we think out product or service is worth; and then stick by those decisions until we have a good reason to change our prices.
After five thousand years, it seems most professionals are finally standardizing their rates and charging fair and consistent prices to all of their clients.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Ice Driving
In 1968, me and four others musicians left Manhattan, Kansas for a gig in Guyman, OK 350 miles away in the Oklahoma panhandle. Before long, rain had begun to pour. Soon it was freezing on the road and our windshield.
About thirty-miles outside of Dodge City, we were stopping every few minutes to scrape the ice off of the windshield since the defroster in my nearly new ’67 Ford Econoline Van would not keep up. There was about a half inch of solid ice on everything and it was coming down fast. After one stop, I pushed the accelerator down and heard a snap. The throttle linkage had broken. We somehow propped the throttle open a little and limped into Dodge at about 15 MPH, which was a comfortable speed considering the conditions.
The Ford dealer said he could have the part in a couple of days. We called to cancel the gig, but the promoter had already cancelled due to the ice storm. Wiser folks would have checked in into a hotel, but we fashioned a make-shift throttle linkage out of coat hanger and headed back to Manhattan, 230 miles away, driving the entire distance on ice, holding onto a piece of coat hanger hooked to the carburetor.
We arrived home almost 24 hours after we left, driving 20 hours on ice, half of that with a hand operated throttle, having accomplished absolutely nothing.
Twenty years later, my wife and I decided that we had had enough white knuckle driving and enrolled in ice-driving school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (www.winterdrive.com) There we learned about four-wheel drive, all-wheel-drive, front wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and the advantages and disadvantages of each. We spent hours driving each type on ice learning how to maintain control and regain control once you lose it. Since we were avid skiers, this made our annual winter trips to the mountains much less nerve racking.
Now I actually look forward to getting out and playing in the snow. The beautiful days we are now having with blue skies and fresh white powder on everything makes me wonder why we didn’t plan a winter vacation this year.
About thirty-miles outside of Dodge City, we were stopping every few minutes to scrape the ice off of the windshield since the defroster in my nearly new ’67 Ford Econoline Van would not keep up. There was about a half inch of solid ice on everything and it was coming down fast. After one stop, I pushed the accelerator down and heard a snap. The throttle linkage had broken. We somehow propped the throttle open a little and limped into Dodge at about 15 MPH, which was a comfortable speed considering the conditions.
The Ford dealer said he could have the part in a couple of days. We called to cancel the gig, but the promoter had already cancelled due to the ice storm. Wiser folks would have checked in into a hotel, but we fashioned a make-shift throttle linkage out of coat hanger and headed back to Manhattan, 230 miles away, driving the entire distance on ice, holding onto a piece of coat hanger hooked to the carburetor.
We arrived home almost 24 hours after we left, driving 20 hours on ice, half of that with a hand operated throttle, having accomplished absolutely nothing.
Twenty years later, my wife and I decided that we had had enough white knuckle driving and enrolled in ice-driving school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (www.winterdrive.com) There we learned about four-wheel drive, all-wheel-drive, front wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and the advantages and disadvantages of each. We spent hours driving each type on ice learning how to maintain control and regain control once you lose it. Since we were avid skiers, this made our annual winter trips to the mountains much less nerve racking.
Now I actually look forward to getting out and playing in the snow. The beautiful days we are now having with blue skies and fresh white powder on everything makes me wonder why we didn’t plan a winter vacation this year.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Golden Rule
Every business person I know understands that the key to success is treating your customers well. Jesus laid out the basic principle for business when he said to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We even call that the golden rule.
I know of only two industries where this is not normal business: banking and airlines. In both situations the federal government has had to step in with new rules and regulations to keep certain businesses from abusing their customers. I find it amazing that this is even necessary.
The airlines now face fines of up to $27,500 per passenger if they leave passengers stranded for more than three hours on the tarmac. I presume that this will get their attention. Of course they are squealing. Apparently it takes that threat to stop certain airlines from physically abusing their customers, because they did it more than 600 times last years in the US. The European Union already has similar laws about such things.
Most of us in business don’t have to be threatened by the government to treat our customers right, because we know they will go down the street to the next guy if we don’t. It would be nice if the big banks and big airlines would start seeing their customers as assets to be nurtured and not as captives to be gouged and abused.
I know of only two industries where this is not normal business: banking and airlines. In both situations the federal government has had to step in with new rules and regulations to keep certain businesses from abusing their customers. I find it amazing that this is even necessary.
The airlines now face fines of up to $27,500 per passenger if they leave passengers stranded for more than three hours on the tarmac. I presume that this will get their attention. Of course they are squealing. Apparently it takes that threat to stop certain airlines from physically abusing their customers, because they did it more than 600 times last years in the US. The European Union already has similar laws about such things.
Most of us in business don’t have to be threatened by the government to treat our customers right, because we know they will go down the street to the next guy if we don’t. It would be nice if the big banks and big airlines would start seeing their customers as assets to be nurtured and not as captives to be gouged and abused.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Why war?
On the day when President Obama went over to Oslo to pick up the Nobel Peace Prize, I was thinking about war and peace and violence in general. The skeptics are right to question whether the leader of a violent country like the US is qualified to receive the prize; especially when we are involved in two wars that we started. But the other side is that President Obama didn’t start the wars, and he appears to be trying to get us out of them, though not very whole heartedly. That may not be ideal qualifications for the Nobel Peace Prize, but not many others seem to be doing much better.
In a bigger concept, violence on any level is just the ultimate failure to communicate. Whether it is the punk on the street frustrated with not being able to get a job, to nations feeling like they have somehow been violated, violence is always rooted in poor communication.
The kid who feels like nobody cares about him or understands him will turn to violence to make his point. Groups of people opposed to everything from abortion to “infidels” sometimes turn to violence because they think that the world is not listening to their concerns. Responses and tit for tat quickly lead to gang wars and wars between nations. Jesus said, “If someone strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek.” Instead most people and nations believe that standing up for our “rights” is more important than stopping violence.
Perhaps we should rename the State Department the “Department of Peace” to remind them that that is their job. War is always the result of failed diplomacy. If the Department of Peace (State, or Foreign Ministry as most countries call it) received as much funding as the Department of Defense, the world would be a completely different place. And by the way, the War Department’s named was changed to Department of Defense to remind them they are defensive not an offensive group, but I’m not sure it has helped. I can’t even name all the wars that we have fought in just my life time.
Perhaps the Nobel committee was doing a little wishful thinking, or maybe they realized that with the Nobel Prize for Peace sitting on his desk, that President Obama might see the opportunity he has to actually advance world peace in this decade. But peace doesn’t start with the Department of Defense; it starts with the State Department. Peace ends with the Department of Defense.
In a bigger concept, violence on any level is just the ultimate failure to communicate. Whether it is the punk on the street frustrated with not being able to get a job, to nations feeling like they have somehow been violated, violence is always rooted in poor communication.
The kid who feels like nobody cares about him or understands him will turn to violence to make his point. Groups of people opposed to everything from abortion to “infidels” sometimes turn to violence because they think that the world is not listening to their concerns. Responses and tit for tat quickly lead to gang wars and wars between nations. Jesus said, “If someone strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek.” Instead most people and nations believe that standing up for our “rights” is more important than stopping violence.
Perhaps we should rename the State Department the “Department of Peace” to remind them that that is their job. War is always the result of failed diplomacy. If the Department of Peace (State, or Foreign Ministry as most countries call it) received as much funding as the Department of Defense, the world would be a completely different place. And by the way, the War Department’s named was changed to Department of Defense to remind them they are defensive not an offensive group, but I’m not sure it has helped. I can’t even name all the wars that we have fought in just my life time.
Perhaps the Nobel committee was doing a little wishful thinking, or maybe they realized that with the Nobel Prize for Peace sitting on his desk, that President Obama might see the opportunity he has to actually advance world peace in this decade. But peace doesn’t start with the Department of Defense; it starts with the State Department. Peace ends with the Department of Defense.
Monday, December 07, 2009
The Fourth Quarter
In watching a sporting event on television over a recent holiday weekend, there is one thing that is obvious to me: you have to play all four quarters. It is nice to get a good lead in the first half, but you still have to play the whole game. More often than not, the last two minutes are important and in the case of a recent game featuring two rivals that came down to a score with less than two seconds on the clock, the last two seconds were very important.
I am now in my sixties. Any way you look at it, I am in the fourth quarter of my life, certainly the fourth quarter of my productive years. Anything beyond eighty years is probably overtime. At sixty-one I am definitely starting the fourth quarter. Running out the clock or going to a knee, as sometimes happens in American football, at this point just doesn’t seem very sportsman like, even if I had a good lead going.
I know many people my age who are eyeing the clock figuring that they can coast to the finish line, that is, if they haven’t already given up or headed for the showers. The funny thing is I feel as good as I ever have, I’m not tired, I’m more creative, and I know a lot more. It may be time to revise the game plan, make better choices, or play like the game is one the line, but just run out the clock? I don’t think so.
The Apostle Paul uses the analogy of life being like running a race. The point being that you run all the way to the end. In I Corinthians 9:24 he said “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
We seem to have gotten the idea that at some point we can take it out of gear, coast, and still win the race. This is a relative new idea dating from the 19th and 20th century. Germany was the first country to introduce the idea of retirement in 1880. Now many, if not most people, in industrialized countries consider retirement a basic right. Whether or not a person keeps working in their career or not after a certain age should be a personal decision. We should, however, continue to serve the Lord and serve others in various capacities as long as we are able.
In Philippians 3:14 Paul says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul knew that at that point the race was not over, he was pressing on until the game was over.
As for me, I intend to play hard until the final gun, whistle, Gabriel’s trumpet, or whatever it is that stops the game. After all we owe it to the coach, our team, and ourselves. That is why we were put here, to play the game until the end.
I am now in my sixties. Any way you look at it, I am in the fourth quarter of my life, certainly the fourth quarter of my productive years. Anything beyond eighty years is probably overtime. At sixty-one I am definitely starting the fourth quarter. Running out the clock or going to a knee, as sometimes happens in American football, at this point just doesn’t seem very sportsman like, even if I had a good lead going.
I know many people my age who are eyeing the clock figuring that they can coast to the finish line, that is, if they haven’t already given up or headed for the showers. The funny thing is I feel as good as I ever have, I’m not tired, I’m more creative, and I know a lot more. It may be time to revise the game plan, make better choices, or play like the game is one the line, but just run out the clock? I don’t think so.
The Apostle Paul uses the analogy of life being like running a race. The point being that you run all the way to the end. In I Corinthians 9:24 he said “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
We seem to have gotten the idea that at some point we can take it out of gear, coast, and still win the race. This is a relative new idea dating from the 19th and 20th century. Germany was the first country to introduce the idea of retirement in 1880. Now many, if not most people, in industrialized countries consider retirement a basic right. Whether or not a person keeps working in their career or not after a certain age should be a personal decision. We should, however, continue to serve the Lord and serve others in various capacities as long as we are able.
In Philippians 3:14 Paul says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul knew that at that point the race was not over, he was pressing on until the game was over.
As for me, I intend to play hard until the final gun, whistle, Gabriel’s trumpet, or whatever it is that stops the game. After all we owe it to the coach, our team, and ourselves. That is why we were put here, to play the game until the end.
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