A great post over at businesspundit...
Reminded me of my dad, Sonny The Big Cat. He helped a number of CEOs get their act together. Me included.
This is one off my favorite photos of us together. You can tell this is Ohio, taken in April 1958. I was three years old. The motorcycle is a 1944 Harley-Davidson "Army Bike" owned by my grandfather (dad's father-in-law), Harley W. Buss... whose dad, Geo E. Buss was one of the first 200 Harley dealers. Ever. With a shop in downtown New Philadelphia circa 1911 (when his son was born, and named, yep, Harley).
I remember grandpa coming to get me on his various Harley's over the years, and riding with him up and down and all around the country roads (before interstates!). As I recall, he owned at least one other "suicide shift" bike (note the gear shift on the tank in the photo). My first real motorcycle was a Harley 65cc. If that two-stroke powerhouse counts! My cousins had mopeds, so I thought I was hot. But I digress.
The businesspundit post reminded me of a habit that I acquired from dad: the morning "think session" over coffee at an area restaurant. Starbucks is 30 miles away, so I rarely make that trek in the morning.
I take my iPod, a book, at least one magazine, small tablet and pen. As Harry S. Stamper (Bruce Willis) says in the movie Armageddon, for all my "thinking $#!& up", I should work for NASA. I have had some real breakthroughs. For myself and my clients.
I remember during my Red Horse custom motorcycles days (as a consultant and acting Director of Manufacturing), doing the coffee break thing in the mornings at Jitters in Clear Lake, Iowa (where the "Music died" and no Starbucks exist). I was applying Schragenheim and Dettmer's sDBR and I needed more bikes in the production schedule during the slower winter season. I came up with a great idea: any dealer for Red Horse that had a bike in stock for display, would be added to our American Iron magazine advertisement. No bike meant no mention in the national magazine. It worked. We had a number of dealers order bikes in order to be included in the marketing effort.
I cannot place too much emphasis on getting away at the start of the day, to "think stuff up," and determine the focal point for one's efforts.
Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah
www.ThroughputPress.com
P.S. Need help "thinking stuff up?" Call me: (330) 432-3533
tag: Red Horse Motorcycles
(c)Copyright 2007, Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey.
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