Sunday, January 27, 2008

January 27th

January 27th at Throughput.us LLC


Where does time go?

If we only have today, yesterday is forever gone, and tomorrow never arrives, how did we get to the 27th day of the new year?

Beats me. But that is not the question.

No matter your plans for tomorrow, what are you going to do with today? May I suggest two thoughts: first, plan globally and execute locally. Second, think different (thanks Apple).

Plan Globally

"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself;
but the simple pass on, and are punished."
—Proverbs 27:12


This might be insight into the magic of strategy and tactics. Strategy is as Tony Rizzo says, riding in the limo, announcing the destination. "Take me to the Hilton Head Island airport." Best set by the president of an organization. Better yet, "Make money now, and more in the future."

Execute Locally

"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy
flocks, and look well to thy herds."
—Proverbs 27:23


What happens when you take your eye off the ball during the golf swing? For me, it goes in the lake. Or trap. Ever feel trapped by the "state" of your business? Rizzo tells us that tactics are like maneuvers of the limo driver: turning left and right and pressing on (at a variety of speeds, including reserve on occasion) to navigate the course to success. To profits.

Or how about just to smaller losses!

My dad used to tell me, "Quit borrowing money, and someday you will be out of debt."

I tell my clients, "Stop doing the stupid things that you are doing, and it will get better."

Rizzo further suggests that we get the President to write a letter (official, on letterhead and everything) stating that in the next 90 days, fill_in_the_blank has my authority and blessing in directing all necessary actions, activities and budgetary expenses to complete the fill_in_the_project.

King Solomon went on to add clarity in this small yet important chapter:

"Iron sharpeneth iron... "
—Proverbs 27:17


In Purple Curve Effect, Thayer Bennett and I said it slightly differently: "Involve others."

In case you were not quite sure, let me restate: I am a lot more serious about your business succeeding that you are. Unless you are getting up early every morning and getting away from home and office, and simply thinking about success. Success for your family. For your business. For your country.

Get a journal and start to think different!

Write down your thoughts. List your problems. Your assets. Your network of resources. Recently, I had a department manager mention his turnover problem. FYI: It will cost your organization at least $10,000 every time you replace a valuable member of your team. Assuming that you get the hire "right." Get it wrong, and the true cost is significantly higher. As in much higher. But I digress...

So, I give the manager the answer: "Buy and study the book, the dream manager."

This book may be the third best book every written (behind only the Holy Bible and my Purple Curve Effect). It is that good. In fact, I stole its message (after a fashion) in my book, even though my book was written three years BEFORE Matthew Kelly's masterpiece. But I digress...

Just one more thing, some day I must share how I use "front loading" to solve problems. But for now, let me say that I was headed to a client's site. I knew about the turnover issue on some level. But had no real details. And while passing through a book store killing some time, I noticed Kelly's book. Skimmed and was amazed. So I bought it. And it is EXACTLY the answer to the question that would be asked many days later!

I am not suggesting that the exact approach used in the book (another business novel) is the only or the best approach, I am simply telling you that it should force everyone in business to examine a number of assumptions that they hold dear. Too dear.

As H. Willliam Dettmer pointed out, I am fond of the Socratic Method.

The first step towards solving a problem, any problem, is asking the right question. As we all know, the way to ask the right question, is to ask a lot of questions. Yes, some of them will be wrong. So what. "But that takes a lot of time!" you might remark.

Well, I can help with that: you have today. This day. And only this day.

"But I don't get paid enough to tackle all the problems facing the business I work for!"

"Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the
fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his
master shall be honoured."
—Proverbs 27:18


You will be compensated. It is a law of the universe. But it is easier than you think. May I let you in on a small secret? Find the weakest link, and fix it. Period.

That alone is the key to all your problems. Get help. Actually, to be more correct, "involve others!" Ask questions. Read books. Better yet, read every post that I have made on this blog. Yes, if you are serious about success, there is a better than average chance that I have already addressed your problem and offered one or more solutions.

Like the dream manager...

Or, simply pick up the phone. And call me.

-ski

P.S. Sorry if this seemed like "preaching" to you. But it is Sunday. And I am passionate about success. Yours first, which as Zig Ziglar states, will assure mine. So there it is; my dirty little secret. SKI is only interested in helping me so that he will succeed.

Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah
ski@throughput.us
(330) 432-3533

(c)Copyright 2008 Jeff SKI Kinssey. All rights reserved.


Saturday, January 26, 2008

Roadfly dot com

Life. LIBERTY. AND THE PURSUIT This review from roadfly dot com sums up my feelings as well... -ski

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

SKI TV




The time has come...

SKI TV

Saturday, January 19, 2008

i am Indy



i am Indy
by Gene Simmons and Simmons Abramson Marketing

Browsing through the hits on my blog, I noticed an unusual search term was used to lead folks to my site:
"gene simmons was right on kodak"
As you know, that was my obvious conclusion. I was surprised that others felt the same way, especially when my search on Friday produced nothing but "The Donald Trump" is king of all. How bogus. He has accomplished a lot, but he makes as many stupid remarks as I do. But I digress...

I found this great post (great on a number of fronts, not just because he agrees with me!):

www.iamaninvestor.com

The right marketing message is key.

I do not give financial advice... but if I owned Kodak, methinks I would start selling it short.

-ski

P.S. Learned that Simmons actually gets paid (real money, in large sums) for his marketing ideas. Like the "i am Indy" promotion.

P.P.S. My earlier post: Gene Simmons, MVP

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Ted Sorensen Part Two

Ed McCullough's Talk of the Town Not everyone knew there was a second segment posted on YouTube of this great interview. Click the video "play" button on the image (above). -ski tag: tag:

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Ed McCullough on YouTube

Talk of the Town with Ed McCullough I am pleased to share a link with you for YouTube where Ed McCullough interviews former John F. Kennedy speech writer, Ted Sorensen. If you are not into politics, do not watch the video. I do not make my political thoughts known. I am simply sharing a great job by my friend and mentor, Ed McCullough. I neither endorse or "not endorse" the candidate mentioned during the interview. -ski P.S. In the second segment (Part 2), Sorensen pays Ed a huge compliment as a great interviewer. Perhaps Ed's "first, best" destiny. tag:

Thin is In




Apple MacBook Air

Gotta have a dream!

And, it appears to have the built in camera.

I loved the Dodge pickup truck ads a few years ago, where the message was something like, "Not sure? Try looking at the New Dodge Ram from the seat of your old truck."

Not sure.

Look down at the computer you are using to read this post.


-ski

P.S. Unless of course you are on a Mac mini...

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

catalyst

SKI as Catalyst The airwaves around me and WWW.THROUGHPUT.US (TPU) have been stilled of late. Did you notice? I do not multitask. I was conducting a workshop. The Dynamic 4^3 Process workshop to be exact. When I interviewed Eli Goldratt in 2001, he remarked that his 4x4 Process was his greatest contribution to date:
"The 4x4 process is, in my eyes, the biggest thing that I have ever done because it’s not just a process of management, it’s a psychological process." —Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt
Agreed. However, it has evolved. Mostly for the better. But in my not so humble opinion, if it is all about TOC (Theory of Constraints), it lacks depth. Enter my 4^3 Process. Plus, the major emphasis on being dynamic. As in tailored to the audience. Focused on your operating environment. My version is heavy on strategy, knowledge transfer, and H. William Dettmer's Constraints Management Model (CMM), which is the combination of TOC and Col. John Boyd's OODA Loop. With my Purple Curve Effect (PCE) framework directing action behind the scenes. Need to move your organization into hyper growth? Want to capture market share? Significantly increase profits? Call me. Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah ski@throughput.us (330) 432-3533 P.S. You know... before your competition does. tag:

Friday, January 04, 2008

More Col. John Boyd




Eject! Eject! Eject!

This post is a great tribute to "John Boyd – Pope John, The High Priest of the Fighter Mafia, the Mad Major, the Ghetto Colonel – Forty Second Boyd".
"... That is more than luck. That is more than skill. That is more than tactics. That level of supremacy is the result of the ability to see things in an entirely new way. It is the difference between escaping from a maze you are embedded in, versus finding the way out from one that you look down upon from above."
Eject! Eject! Eject!

-ski

P.S. Albert Einstein said that the mental abilities that created a given problem are not likely to be enough to solve same. Boyd preached the same message!

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Thursday, January 03, 2008

the dream manager




"the dream manager"
by Matthew Kelly

This is a great new year's day find... as I popped into the mall and scanned the biz book section for any new arrivals. Sure enough, there it was: "the dream manager".

With foreword by Patrick Lencioni (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team). Another great author.

Written as a business novel, this is a lot of fun to read. And packs a huge message. How important are your people?

-ski


Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Your Throughput would Increase




Tim Ferriss asks a Great Question

"What if you protected personal time as “family time”?

I would bet your throughput would increase significantly. Not just a little. A lot. In the wake of the events of 911, my soul-searching resulted in a number of changes. A life worth living is on the other side of the stress filled rut most call work.

I enjoy Tim's approach. It may not fit me perfectly, but it is a lot closer than most.

-ski

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Talk of the Town Part II




My interview with Ed McCullough

Is back "up" after the server spent the long holiday on, well, holiday!

ed mcculloughs talk of town.html

-ski

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Dr Lisa in 2008



Dr Lisa Lang :: On the Move!

I received this email from Dr Lisa yesterday:
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Happy New Year. Here are the upcoming (1st Quarter) Theory of Constraints events.

1st Quarter Group Mafia Offer Boot Camp
  • January, 30, 31, Feb 1 2008 in Denver
  • February 25, 26, 27 2008 in Denver
  • March 24, 25, 26 2008 in Denver
More information at www.MafiaOffers.com

NEW REMOTE (on-line) Mafia Offer Boot Camp
PRIVATE Mafia Offer Boot Camp
  • Done at your location and at a mutually convenient time
  • More information at www.MafiaOffers.com
NEW Theory of Constraint PRICING Project

We usually do pricing projects as part of larger results based consulting engagements, but because they have been so successful (typically 10 to 20% return on sales), we have decided to offer stand alone pricing projects. - If you have not yet gone through “Pricing using Theory of Constraints”, please see: [pricing]

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-ski

Disclaimer: Dr Lisa is a client; I may receive compensation from my efforts to promote her activities. I am also a consumer of her services.

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