InterestingLee ______________ Lee Richan

Blog Away

2011-10-12T10:41:00.004-06:00

In my various leadership roles in government, engineering, law, teaching, and executive entrepreneurship I see evidence of students who accumulate on lists such as school enrollment who are mentioned (name, email address) but fail to engage until after they graduate. It's like they expect to flower only after they've been crowned with credentials. However, the one who gets my dollar is the one who has already picked up the broom-- because its their nature to be a 'doer'-- without first asking for payment or credit to do so.

Greybeards in a recent board meeting murmured how we can learn about applicants by picking through chunks of social vomit such as are written on Facebook. I disagreed but said blogs are our 21st Century version of a white paper or any manner of professional publishing. Blogs are (to me) is one form of volunteerism, and I know I am enriched by others who unselfishly make time to share insights, such as Tom Kuhlmann's The Rapid eLearning Blog or Hack A Day creative engineering site to crack open everyday wireless, cell phone, and electronics.

Blogs encapsulate and personify someone's pith and personality, coupled with their desire to freely generate output, and expect it to contain insights into the measure of what occupies their minds. They're unlike the typical fat-faced "gimmie gimmie gimmie" Jabba The Hutt types.

Blogs, I submit, are the bona fide measure of irrepressible value measured BEFORE someone thinks they merely get an award for survival, or because they've endured elective coursework. More accurately, the absence of independent action as demonstrated through blogs or white papers are good indicators of intelligence insolvency, which, for me, precludes any serious hiring considerations.

Cheers!
Lee

v|100 Top 100 Venture Entrepreneurs 2011

2011-04-30T23:49:00.005-06:00

vSpring Capital announced the 2011 class of vSpring Capital Top 100 Venture Entrepreneurs, also known as the v|100. I won! Since it’s sorted by first name, you can find my name in the “Rs."

Honored to make the list. Even more excited to rub shoulders with Utah’s most recognized entrepreneurial leaders. It sounds cool and will give a rocket-sled boost to stuff I've got going.

Enough said. Want to see who else made this list? Press release upcoming mid-year at http://vspring.com, with articles everywhere in Connect magazine, the Deseret News, and more.

To each of you who helped me get here, thank you. It's my opportunity to give back and serve.

Cheers
Lee

Bread and Circus

2011-03-30T09:28:00.004-06:00

I was but a teen when I read Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I've retained a powerful memory of the shock of societal downfall indicators... especially now witnessing it with our wholly-dishonest Socialist President, Mr. Obama, at the helm. Even someone who should know better, like Senator Harry Reid, states every bald-faced lie as if the truth.

Two thousand years ago Rome's citizens were not concerned as long as they had 'bread and circus' (food and entertainment). That's precisely our lot now. We're not quite at Bob Marley's lament over revolutions falling to the party who 'keeps their bellies full,' because we have sufficient to eat. Gas prices are rising, but it's a frog-boiling... we're not furious because at a nickel and dime more each week, we're not really shocked. And with five hours per day our Internet Hulu and cable TV keeps us docile. We're at bread and circus. We're at the door to ruin.

Not debating politics in the usual sense (twaddle for pseudo-intellectuals), my gut simply aches over the turn from truth... a simple matter with no complexity. Speaking of pain, I recall all too well the pain I experienced at the hand of an apparently-sincere girlfriend who one afternoon made a very impassioned case about the goodness of marrying her. I kept feeling "wrong" as she detailed how she'd be a great mother and a wonderfully-committed wife... and then later admitted she was pregnant with some other guy's baby. When I pointed out that glaring moral inconsistency (not to mention her attempt to trick me), she merely shrugged and went on her way as if no big deal; the carefree implication, well, just get over it.

With similar pain I watch as people merely shrug when it comes to truth. People no longer live based on facts, truth, evidence, law, logic, reason, or the merit of personal promises. I lament the loss of honesty and "what is right." Increasingly associates numb this concept with 'whatever.' Even 90-year blue-hairs who, by now, have lived a century with Victorian concepts of honesty, still trick with alacrity. I'm frequently lied to, with the accompanying sneer and implication "...so what can you do about it? Nothing. Ha! Sucker..."

Fools mock but they shall mourn. (Ether 12:26)

Some pick at the Book of Mormon as irrelevant or fictional history, but even if it were wholly-fabricated, it tells a solid moral story. So too President Ronald Regan represents truth and Mr. Obama represents deceit. Many other harbingers of societal decay as Gibbons' 1776 treatise on Rome's last days bespeak the truth that we degrade and disintegrate unless we remember that a lie is a lie; a crime is a crime, and wholesale ingratitude is tantamount to crimes against humanity. But first learn the lessons of the garden-- the Lord is judge over all.

If for no other reason, in your own shoes stand tall and prove honest.

Amagasaki Train Wreck

2011-02-07T08:43:00.002-07:00

Condolences to families of those killed in the commuter train wreck in Amagasaki, between Osaka and Kobe. Although I rarely traveled the remote mountainous train to Takarazuka, one of my homes was in nearby Mikage, Higashi Nada-ku, all within range of a few dozen kilometers.

Thus I potentially knew some of the people who would have gotten off that train on their way to work, like my work-mate Hiroshi Tanaka who lived in Takarazuka. He was devastated by the Great Kansai Earthquake (1995). When I last met with him in Osaka years later, he'd just finished fixing his mansion doors and windows. His concrete apartment had shifted out of plumb so all the doors jammed during the earthquake. All windows shattered in the whole building. He was one of the lucky ones in that 200-apartment building, but because the building wasn't condemned it didn't generate insurance repairs. Furthermore, the 200 apartment dwellers themselves had to cough up the money to uncover the foundation to make repairs. In other words, for years Mr. Takana was not only living with plastic over his windows and doors, but that natural disaster (earthquake) drained him of every yen he earned.

In the west we hoot about "safety first" and the like. It's all idiocy. Life brings with it a fatal disease that ensures we don't get out alive. Face it, whiners. More to the point, this train crash was attributed to a 23-year old driver with 11 months of experience driving trains. In the west we'd all start wailing about inexperienced youth, but we want it both ways-- experienced, seasoned workers are not in vogue and cost too much so we don't hire the 'gray beards' and then we whine and wail when inexperienced youth makes a mistake.

"Experience costs blood." (Yiddish proverb)

Honest Gratitude

2010-12-11T08:58:00.004-07:00

My son wrote a thank you note the other day. It's the first time I ever recall him doing so for any reason to anyone. My wife teared with gratitude. I was deeply touched.

It's funny and seems natural on the face of it-- but a key tenet that we ignore to our peril.

Each of us encounters crossroads where we either embrace or ignore the little light inside. Ignore it and the next time it'll dim. Ignore it over a lifetime and one goes completely dark inside. I've met those people with black hearts. You have, too.

On the other hand, embrace the little spark, and one improves. My son probably felt good about his little note. My wife felt wonderful. I glowed with pride, and I'm sure his little siblings picked up on it, too. Maybe some unborn generations will yet read his note and be moved, too.

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. (Cicero)

Nice work, EJ. I knew it was in ya all the time.

Dad

New Beginnings and Great Endings

2010-11-29T10:40:00.005-07:00

"Every boy is born many men, but dies only one man."

I think like a scientist. I create like an artist. I am a musician. I write like an author: The first third (1/3) of our lives is spent learning the things we like to do, and the last two thirds (2/3rds) we spend in vain trying to find time to do them. ("The Life of Myself" ca 1983)

Thankfully I've grown to love the winnowing process. Pick the best and remove the rest. Keeping about a tenth (1/10th) of the projects or work that come across my desk, I now feel little remorse jettisoning otherwise worthwhile activities. As I remarked to my very good friend Ryan as to why I couldn't do more than 85%, "I'm only five people."

As long-ago friend Kevin Trudeau repeatedly said, "Do the right thing, long enough, consistently..." and you'll achieve your goals no matter how difficult. On an Infotrack news program last night, they presented the results of a study on hugely famous performers... only to find they concentrated on practice sessions which repeatedly worked on bettering by just a little bit. This they did over years and years-- they focused, Pinky, they focused.

This powerful singularity which-- coupled with whatever remaining time the good Lord sees fit to grant-- will allow me to spotlight that one man, whomever he reaLee, truLee is. And with that singularity comes the power to crush the weaker person I once was.

Cheers
Lee

Medal versus Mettle

2010-07-18T08:22:00.004-06:00

"Let's be honest-- 'standards' are cubbyholes for the fearsome."

I wrote that when approached recently about how I felt concerning ISO standards proposed for market research (e.g., ISO 20252).

What nonsense. In our frenzied run towards government-controlled lives, we are really becoming sheeple.

In market research there is always a trade-off between doing good quality research versus the speed of doing research at all. These things drive marketing efforts, which are always based on creativity... theoretically, unbounded and unbridled. ISO standards will not help deliver better "quality" research. We're always out to deliver a product to the buyer seeking their objective, NOT to comply with a bureaucrat whose purpose is to rubber-stamp an application.

That is how market research firms work. We should not shift focus just to navigate some false gamut of check boxes so we can gather ISO approvals like a collection of scout badges.

It's a sad western proclivity to look to the medal before the mettle. We turn off our brains to value by looking to the chintz. In the same way that schools eliminate all kinds of benefit for the students by insisting an instructor have a teaching certificate, we limit-- not increase-- veracity and value with false "standards."

In so doing we thereby ensure mediocrity propagates when we exclude the wild-eyed creative someone who didn't know the plodding rote of "the system."

Cheers
Lee

Dead Man Walking

2010-07-01T11:53:00.003-06:00

Must be my stress these days: Every haircut reveals more of the white.

Must be my work ethic these days: Every accomplishment reveals more tenacious perseverance.

Must be my job these days: Every comment is about hiring someone younger.

Must be my wisdom these days: Everything my mother tried to teach me makes sense.

Must be my intolerance these days: Every lie makes me cringe.

It's not because it is difficult we don't dare,
But because we don't dare it is difficult.
(Seneca)

Cheers
Lee

Wanna See My Marketing Wound?

2010-06-23T13:23:00.006-06:00

Mr. Kilpatrick lived two houses down from my boyhood home. He must have been 20 when they sent him off to World War 1. At 90 he'd fearlessly assault my gang. "Wanna see my war wound?" I think he got it in France. Before the leather-jacketed teens could scamper away en masse he'd hike up his trouser leg and show us a long gash on his white, spindly old leg. It was horrendous... and it was fascinating. No, the wound was cool. Mostly it was horrendous because he was so old. And drunk. And incoherent. Mostly it was fascinating because he was so fascinated with it.

Really, really sad when someone is trapped in their era.

How has marketing and advertising fundamentally changed since the 1980s?

I've somehow survived "everyone" becoming "experts" about "everything." For instance, I have a huge library. It's the legacy of my entire life. I once bought a huge home that actually had library shelves and reading rooms and an unabridged dictionary on a stand... but books? Google it, bra. Or I learned music recording when recording was an art. Today any teen with Audacity on a laptop thinks they know the score. Photography was once a true profession. Physics of light. Reciprocity failure. Monochrome photos from Time and Life can still make us cry. The one-shot Crown Graphic with the single flashbulb that the photographer pre-focused and waited and waited and waited and waited to push the button of the knockout punch or the burning building framed by the two firemen. Today, little digital snapshots flood the world... capturing and portraying nothing of value, and many from our cell phones. Graphic arts? Naw... break open Photoshop. Change this, change that, and it's tweaked. Don't like it, do it again.

I saw the professions of marketing, advertising, copywriting, and design industries change over 30 years, too. Was it for the better? Are we producing ads for those who do not read, or reading ads from those who cannot produce properly?

Or, like Mr. Kilpatrick, do the ghosts of my memories haunt old marketing battlefields where the gains were measured by little inch-dollars? Seventy years of his moments of glory after Cambrai were exchanged for the pocketchange of teen titters and scornful guffaws, mostly caused by our insensitivity, but also because he clung so steadfastly to them.

Wanna see my war wound?

Cheers
Lee

Extreme Pride of Workmanship

2010-05-27T10:21:00.005-06:00

The Keeper Wife is a thinker. She doesn't watch television commercials; she analyzes them. So I've given a lot of thought to her comments.

One trend that particularly worries me is rooted in my engineering experience. The problems I see with manufacturing are framed nicely with the immediate reality of American cars. We look at the shiny bits and hear tinkling bells... and buy.

Quality manufacturing (to me) was never about the shiny bits. For instance, the moment someone put a Leica IIIf camera in my hands I could hardly catch my breath. It was 30 years old at the time and still had such nobility I wanted to know how they did every step. (I ultimately traveled to Wetzlar, Germany to find out. The answer? Extreme pride of workmanship.)

These days the public is now being sold sizzle versus steak-- with virtually all products. That is why our valuations of product value (and by extension, manufacturing) are so wanting-- we know the product cycle is so short that "I'll get another one anyway."

This cheapening of our values is also illustrated with things like "100k-mile drivetrain warranties" or product underwriting that is calculated (key word) to encompass the 20% returns. On the surface, people have become such idiots and suckers that they swell, Wowow! 100k-mile drivetrain warranty means it's really improved!!

In reality, we have become conscripted as Beta testers. Manufacturing has been forced away from issues of real quality-- just faux "JD Powers initial quality." Things have become so cheap and disposable that companies no longer care if stuff ultimately works-- just hurry up and get it out the door. Companies evaluate revenue from 80% who will buy and go away quietly with the 20% who might seek a replacement... which replacement they'll either get or more likely be tripped up with the process of rebates, forms, corporate refund cards, recalls, refurbished models, reverse logistics, seconds, or some another program to get them to go away. Who cares if they're dissatisfied? Statistically they're throwaways.

Watch the left hand when the right hand is visible.

We in manufacturing are the behind-the-scenes people who have historical pride of workmanship, but it's a different era. We're dinosaurs. The trend is toward trickery and lax attitudes. Sharper pencils winnow the losses. Quality work is thwarted by economies, marketing, and general public sentiment... illustrated by willingness to buy an American automobile with drum brakes, live axles and spongy steering... replete with 20% recalls... all because it has a sparkly paint job.

Cheers
Lee

What Makes a Tom Hopkins Champion?

2010-05-18T18:16:00.002-06:00

In 1997 I sacrificed greatly to attend a three-day Boot Camp by Tom Hopkins (http://www.tomhopkins.com/). After returning, my first sale doubled in a fingersnap because of some things I learned there. I still owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tom-- fantastic things he teaches, honed and laser-focused, and all based on honesty and integrity. Wonderful stuff.

However, the greatest lesson came shortly after when a water-purification salesman visited my friend, and per the Kool Aid, asked my friend for referrals. So my friend's telephone call got the salesman into my home.

Although I had NO intention, need, or ability to buy a water purification system upon hearing some buzzwords, I rapidly realized the fellow had fully embraced the Tom Hopkins methodology. As if on cue he'd ask exactly the question I'd just been schooled. He'd memorized every chapter and verse. Fresh out of a roomful of wannabes, my curiosity was piqued. I had to see how it worked in real life, so I dangled my gonads-- rationalizing that I could safely pull them back from the alligator at any time.

"After all," I thought, "I know what he's going to say. I just want to see how it all works. Forewarned is forearmed."

An hour later as my wife looked on, horrified, I handed over a check for $5,000. Rick Kania had wrangled it out of me as painlessly as taking candy from a baby. But I was the most amazed person in the room. How had he done it? I had truly been schooled.

Among other things I learned that (1) Someone who relentlessly learns and incessantly hones their craft is the most formidable opponent. No motion, action, thought, or question was offhanded, casual, or ineffectual. He knew what he was asking, and he knew what to do when I answered this way or that; (2) The only effective "no" is irrationality-- if you wish to appear sane, dignified, coherent, and apparently in control of things, you'll always surrender to the truth that another more effectively wields; (3) Never dangle your gonads.

And as the circle closed, and the gentleman took my check, he asked, "Who is your best friend? May I call-- no, actually, would YOU dial their number now? Just tell them you'd like them to meet someone..." he gently coaxed as he took the ringing receiver from my hands.

Cheers
Lee

Oh, Hang It!

2010-05-07T17:23:00.000-06:00

I worked in Japan for twelve years, amongst Japanese, in Japanese.

One coworker explained it to me thus: "In the east we carefully walk all ten steps to get to the point of decision; our unity and cohesiveness is our strength-- It takes us longer to get there, but when we do get to market, out went most bugs along the way.

"In the west you take about three steps forward and impulsively decide, 'Oh hang it-- let's just get it to market! We're losing money!' Out rolls the product or the software. The sales people are surprised and untrained. The repair and returns people are caught without parts or manuals. The product literature and advertising is hasty and shallow. But worst," he concluded, "mostly you spend the rest of your time issuing patches or fixing bugs or taking returns."

In trying to adapt kaizen to America (with a whole other host of other focused disciplines native to Japan), the cultural differences are so pronounced I've often thought, "Oh hang it-- just get the blasted company to market! I'm losing money!"

Oh, to be in the land of Wa again.

Cheers
Lee

Is You Is Or Is You Ain't?

2010-03-27T13:03:00.003-06:00

A long-time friend found my blog recently. He wrote specifically to chastise me on my belief in God, Mormonism, Joseph Smith, etc. I thought it was marginally funny, as he'd been a long-time hater of religious stuff. Never wanted to talk about it before.

I'm no glowing example of spirituality, but when he asked me if I'd answer a couple of questions, I said yes. Although his request was dripping with anger and confrontation, I opened the door for a few rounds. Problem was that we didn't agree on the rules of the debate.

We never even got to come out and shake hands. We never even put on the gloves. Opening statements were met, as it were, with him immediately jumping up and down, throwing feces, and screaming, "The Easter Bunny gave me a revelation," etc.

I might have reacted the same way if we'd been discussing global warming or Obamanism.

"What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" asked Frank Zappa.

Some say your nose.
Some say your toes.
But I think it's your mind.
I think it's your mind.

Cheers
Lee

The Pause that Refreshes

2009-09-03T06:17:00.004-06:00

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. (Mahatma Gandhi)

"Two weeks ago while on family vacation in Colorado, a well-known philanthropic business executive named Tom Murphy (age 45) was tragically killed when a boulder fell from a mountain and struck his car. Two days after hearing the news, I found his obituary in the paper," wrote Brian Sullivan in his PRECISE Selling Weekly Motivation.

"As I read it, I was moved by the words used to describe Tom's life. In fact, he did so much good for so many people they needed to use Kansas City's biggest arena, the Sprint Center, to host his funeral. Tom left an enormous footprint.

"As I set down the paper I wondered what my own obituary would say. And though it might seem a bit morbid, I thought it would be a good 'life' exercise to write out my own. At points throughout I wondered if what I was writing was what I HOPED people would say or what they would actually say.

"This 15-minute exercise helped me to quickly think about what is most important. And I realized if there was any doubt about what would be written, NOW is the time to do the things necessary to take that doubt away. Because I have control over the content written after I graduate to the next life."

Brian continues, "So this week, as uncomfortable as it may seem, think about what your obituary would say. Then get to your computer and write it out. This moving exercise will create urgency in you to love more, experience more and to share more of yourself with everyone you meet... a formula Tom Murphy figured out long ago."

(Brian is author of the book, 20 Days to the Top-How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company's Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. To learn more, go to www.preciseselling.com.)

The Quality of Life Just Improved Drastically

2009-08-28T17:56:00.004-06:00

Being from Massachusetts, I am eminently qualified to dislike intensely the "Liberal Liar."

You can't pick up a turd by the clean end.

I can imagine his first greeter was Mary Jo, waiting to claw his eyes out for eternity.

Then come the millions of aborted fetuses cheated out of mortality.

Yeah, great life to memorialize. What a "great leader."

Cheers
Lee

Cash for Clunkers: The New Lee-O

2009-08-07T08:08:00.003-06:00

Urgently contact me if you need a new CEO or GM operating under New Economics lessons learned from Obama (NEO): I can now label "successful" an ill-conceived program (such as the Cash for Clunkers for Idiots Program) to exhaust my company's budget by (1) giving away money (as long as they take some kind of junk WITH my money), and (2) becoming bankrupt 70% faster than scheduled.

Wow! We could skip right over the compelling feature-driven advertising and just offer raw cash to our customers!! Why didn't we think of this before?

Man, all the silly traditions I can now ignore on my way to "success"!

Cheers
NEO-Lee-O

Be Kind

2009-07-11T03:11:00.004-06:00

Listen, I certainly don't know nuttin' from nuttin' but I was sort of struck by some bad news this week.

Of one of the larger accounting software companies, Sage, had a huge division called MIS in Dallas and other places. Lots of people, lots of families, lots riding on their work-- twice Sage's #1 dealer. Anyway, the news of their demise somehow floated to my attention. What was odd was that "MIS" kept appearing here and there in the news. So I started reading tweets, news stories, articles, posts, and other things.

What struck me was how fast the vultures descended. Boom! Competitors, consultants, renegade companies-- all just tried to herd customers or clients to them. Lo here! Lo there! Yoooo hoooo! Send us your business! Bad Sage this or Good us that.

But one company, AboutTime Technologies, simply took the time to put out a simple press release that read, Gee, we're so sorry. Anything we can do? We're praying for you. Good luck. (http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200907/1247287543.html) About Time could have started caterwauling, too, trying to get some mileage out of Sage's hardship, but instead they chose the high road.

That's pretty impressive. Bravo, people. (http://abouttimetech.com/)

And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house,that I said, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

(Genesis 20:13)

Cheers
Lee

Just Plain Mad

2009-06-25T09:04:00.002-06:00

New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, and many other places report horrible budget bloodshed.

The day of accountability has arrived-- and there's far more budget bloodshed to come. California's troubles sound like millions of similar troubles around the nation. The people are furious. For myself, I'm angry at virtually every Democrat (and for that matter, any who support this socialist insanity). I don't mean ticked, torqued, or miffed. I mean red-hot furious at how they're flying our beautiful Gulfstream jet of a nation straight into the ground. Others similarly call those radio stations to attest the magnitude of their ire-- and how the irrationality of spending money you don't have makes absolutely no sense.

By what reason, logic, or rationale can Socialists continue to plunge a knife into the heart of my country?

I returned to the USA as land of opportunity. I could start a business, own a home, invest in land, and had the opportunity to do virtually everything I wished. Times got hard and times were good-- but I had control more so than in other countries.

In every leadership and business role I've had to live within my means. I've had to do so at home, too. Although I once knew a woman who lavishly spent every penny the family had, and then kept spending far more, that is a personality foible, not complete insanity. In the process of getting "what she deserved" she just murdered a few innocent hearts. To her such was acceptable in exchange for "security." History remembers all the wonderful potential of what she could have been... but instead refused to become.

But think of it-- if I again became CEO or General Manager, imagine the sheer stupidity of walking in and as my first act committing $25 million to new advertising, $152 million to a new factory addition, $22 million to wheelchair ramps, and $781 million to a new parking lot... before peering deeply into the rusty old coffee can to see what was inside-- and before learning what needed to be done... merely because I "deserved it" as CEO; because my "election" to that office made my vision superior to reality.

Rubbish.

That's the difference: I have both experience and a sharpened common sense. Mr. Obama does not. The only experience he and his ilk will gain is what it feels like to be hated by those millions whose bankrupt lives can no longer support his reckless idiocy.

We thought we lived in a civilized society, but when our very existence is threatened, we'll react. New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix... many countries throughout the centuries have chased despots out of office with pitchforks and torches by the castle walls.

In Jamaica the dictators know, "Keep the people's bellies full to avoid rebellion."

We will not let this one go because it threatens our existence-- it's not optional for us.

Cheers
Lee

Moe Anthropomorphism in Japanese Entrepreneurship

2009-06-13T07:51:00.004-06:00

In pondering a simplistic article proclaiming how Japan desperately needs startups if it hopes to climb out of the recession, ("Searching For Entrepreneurship in Japan" Forbes.com 29MAY09), I'm reminded how wrong western society interprets oriental society. Americans watch the Japanese or the Chinese and think we know what they're thinking. We don't. Our interpretation of their actions via our western perspective is often wrong.

Perhaps the most easily-comprehended differences come from this Japanese book 擬人化たん白書 (Gijinka tan Hakusho, lit. Anthropomorphism-tan Files, ISBN 4-7572-1262-3. Tokyo, Japan: Aspect, 2006. ) which discusses how faces and bodies are always used by the Japanese to depict common objects.

You'll find this anthropormorphism in many cultures, but it's everywhere in Japan-- even in otherwise sophisticated instruction manuals. We've seen the look of Pokémon or 'anime' and 'manga' and think it's all cute, but virtually everything from televisions to power cords to even such mundane things as tires or pencils have a personality in Japan.

It's not about cuteness, though-- that's our western interpretation. To the Japanese it's yet another method of keeping the raw truths of life from rubbing too close to inescapable reality. And having lived in Japan over three decades, as well as having been top management at a major Japanese company for almost a solid decade, I've been VERY involved in discussions about how to distill Japanese anthropomorphistic "cuteness" to the western world... to depict professional products to professionals who don't think electronic components should be depicted with faces.

If someone thinks entrepreneurism is any different, it's not.

Consider that Forbes article regarding stalled entrepreneurism in Japan. One (American?) gentleman wrote in response, "[Not] only does it take resources which there are fewer of here (and costs more) compared to at the least the US to which I am familiar, but the individual faces great risk in terms of social, financial and career. These risks are starting to dissipate but they are still additional hurdles that mask and hold back great ideas. ...I saw a study some years ago on the view of bankruptcy comparing Americans, Germans and Japanese... I have interviewed perhaps a dozen Japanese entrepreneurs that have gone bankrupt and they are ashamed beyond belief and some have contemplated suicide - not to mention it is hard for them to enter the work force again."

To him I'd write,

With respect, in discussing how a culture reacts towards failure (e.g., bankruptcy) is like discussing the ketchup on the fried egg-- we're not not talking about the eggshell which is the core of the issue.

Japanese society keeps a fence around entrepreneurs-- even the ones who are a-societal or attempt to break out and "do their thing." By return, "rebels" implicitly do their breakout thing within the bounds of acceptable cultural boundaries... and so by mutual, implicit agreement, they're granted extended, push-back boundaries. Cultural pressure (the eggshell) is somewhat flexible as long as society, as a whole, is not threatened.

That's why these failed entrepreneurs you've interviewed are allowed back into society at even reduced levels... the eggshell resists and chides and reminds, but is not totally heartless. Instead, it is the failed entrepreneur child who feels far worse to have lost his position in the family of man and failed mother society that causes the act of contrition and apology-- not a statement of absolute purpose (as suicide represents in the west).

Skipping over most of my extended analysis of what is wrong and how it got there, here's how to get around it. Any Japanese wanting to succeed will have all power in this one suggestion IF they realize it does not come from a foreigner who would never understand; they will put this FACE on their idea:

Find some one (or some company or some nation) who has already done something, and then indicate you're IMPROVING, not PIONEERING (a bad word in Japan). You go from 'opposition' or ' leader' to 'coach'... which latter position is acceptable.

Countless times (and for tens of millions of dollars in contracts), I myself-- personally-- have overcome the I-don't-want-to be-the-first-and-chance-other-people-will-laugh-if-we-fail mentality by simply tricking the system. I've demonstrated that Company A is already doing something like this... and we at Company B can trump them. My company not only accepts the task, but funds it and works with a will. This is possible ONLY because I'm reassuring the top leaders at Company B that there's an escape pod-- a safety valve-- that in the case of failure, the finger of failure will always point AWAY from them and toward Company A.

I've pre-stretched the eggshell. I've animated the inanimate. I've made it acceptable.

Culture (and people) in Japan is not now (and will never be) agreeable to the lonesome cowboy; the rags-to-riches waif, nor the do-it-alone iconoclast. Japan is not set up that way. It must function as a physical collective. It needs an imaginary layer-- even an anthropomorphic one-- acting as safety valve to keep reality from getting too close. With its population density of eight (8) people per square meter, and its history of cooperation its people MUST do so-- so anyone causing a rift in the happyplasma will continue to be ostracized. It's a matter of survival for EVERYone that no ONE be allowed to monkey with the machine.

In both our worlds, the common word for that rift is 'entrepreneur.'

That's why the imaginary or cartoon cowboy is infinitely more acceptable than the real cowboy... which, interpreted, is the entrepreneur.

The bottom line is that the youthful Japanese entrepreneur has not learned to play the game of his own country. They're emulating the western breakout hero, bucking Japanese society, instead of learning from their own culture, history, and operations... which learning is precisely what I had to do to survive in Japan.

Cheers
Lee

Jurisprudence vs Righteous Judgments

2009-05-20T10:44:00.005-06:00

In adjudicating court cases as Utah Traffic Court Justice (1979-1980; U.C. Sec. 41-6-18), I quickly learned to separate jurisprudence (the theory and philosophy of law) from real-life circumstances. I encouraged the accused proffer detail and encouraged an explanation of mens rea (intent) be laid before the court. When the finding of 'guilty' was the unavoidable outcome, I often mitigated the penalty to encompass the situation.

In business, however, I sometimes find people's (and by extension, a company's) actions very disheartening. Personal honor is all but a fossil. Good judgment, fairness, and an open mind are frequently missing elements-- but even more painfully absent is any kind of rule of law. We treat each other with random actions and arbitrary resolutions. When a person or company offers good will, honest intent, and even backs up their efforts with research, documentation, and proof, the question should turn in favor of the preponderance of evidence. It's a sad commentary that proof and empirical data is often discarded, ignored, or negated.

I think back to the many cases brought before my bench, and imagine how many faces would have contorted in disbelief if I had arbitrarily discounted all documentation and proof the accused brought to my attention. If they'd brought a notarized affidavit from a doctor's office to prove they were 100 miles away from the infraction and I simply said, "I don't care about that..." what a howl would have come from my courtroom.

Such was never my way, but is the phrase I most often hear these days in every venture.

Stand tall and be honorable: That's the reality we also expect from others in every arena.

Cheers
Lee

Unforseen Green Wolverine Overseen

2009-04-03T12:37:00.004-06:00

I really dislike raining on other's parades. I do. But I just had to reply to some nutjob's postulate, "Recession is Ripe with Opportunities for Lean & Green Thinkers." The concept of forcing the look to the green side makes me seethe. As follows,

"Sorry, but I dispute your postulate. My slant is based on experiences from a variety of international businesses operating under firm governmental control and/or socially-mandated "advantages." This includes operations in East Germany, Japan, the Koreas, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Canada, and many other 'beneficently-socialist' locales.

"Any mandate-- geared by public perception, government or other external force-- will fail. Human nature guarantees it. The only viable and sustainable concept will be (and forever ONLY will be) because something makes financial sense (cents) to the principal-- the business owner or the consumer. Social mandates of any sort are doomed to fail.

"The Lean Enterprise or the Green Enterprise, by definition, must become what we can do cheaper, faster, and better... with 'greenness' a side benefit. It operates under the same principle as assigning the laziest to do a task-- knowing they'll find the easiest way to accomplish something. We all fit that description when it comes to taking out extra bundles of hard-won cash from our wallet to buy that snazzy new lightbulb or zippy electric car... the majority will seek an easier, cheaper, faster, simpler way to get the same thing. Social responsibility is a secondary impulse, and the harder the economy, the 'lesser' the social responsibility matters.

"So stop beating the drum for more green eggheads-- because 97.991242321% of the population will never accept their more expensive, more complicated, more frustrating inventions... irrespective of jackbooted government-sanctioned thugs (with or without machine guns). More money in our pocket gives us the OPTION of going green, but poverty (especially when caused or abetted by a corrupt state that steals our money whilst forcing 'green') guarantees we'll always seek the cheaper (and often more destructive) option.

"Cheers, Lee"

Lest you missed it, I repeat,

Cheers,
Lee

Lay Down and Die

2009-03-07T07:30:00.005-07:00

The human aquarium is an amazing laboratory.

Like rats on a wheel, people limit themselves-- wasting the rich "otherness" of other peoples, other languages, other cultures, other foods, and and many other experiences. Thus, English (poorly learned) is their only language; America is their only nation, and their high school job is all they ever want to do. They beat their heads against a locked door and wonder why it doesn't open.

One B-17 bomber pilot from World War II made the point that when he joined the Air Force in 1939, his training (like millions of others) were just a few blunt words from a roughshod pilot. "For the next six years," he said, "our only qualification was the moxy to try everything new. We learned in the field; we made our way."

This is why he and his compatriots are called "The Greatest Generation."

"If you're not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business."
--Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's Corporation

But we've gotten soft. We could easily be called "The Flatline Generation." We sheepishly look for certifications, weeks of training, or official validations before we try something that has never been done. Our lives are way out of whack when we call 911 when McDonalds doesn't have Chicken McNuggets (as per a recent news story). We're whiny, cowardly weaklings when we look to the federal government to solve our problems.

If you own a business, look to other paths. How did people and businesses survive the 1930s? Look to other countries who have endured far worse-- and do so each day. Learn to survive, just like our B-17 pilot and all the others who conquered evil in WWII.

With unemployment nearly 10%, people are going to become vicious. In the next few years, labor shortages, aging family needs, gender differences, etc. will completely redefine talent and business. People won't come to work, sit at a desk, and pick up a phone. Firstly, you may not be able to afford office space, nor will you have enough for a multi-line phone system. Such will redefine the way workplaces and companies function. Secondly, attracting the best talent will mean embracing people who demand Flex Time, Work-at-Home, or Telecommuting (antiquated terms)-- but which portend yet another completely new trend in business.

More than just a fad, this is an angry revolt.

Companies and individuals with the moxy to push through this New Depression will not look to the teat of the government, awaiting handouts and "stimulus refunds" of cowardly, weakening incentives, but must strive to harness technology to enable their work and their livelihoods to continue... to stave foreclosure at their own hand.

We of this new Greatest Generation (if we ultimately deserve the title) will learn the moxy to virtually work anywhere. We currently have programs like GoToMeeting (http://www.gotomeeting.com) and powerful cell-phone based tools such as mobile time clocks through About Time Technologies (http://abouttimetech.com/). Their software turns your Blackberry, Palm, and Windows Mobile cell phone into a mobile time clock. You can start work anywhere and seamlessly "beam" time and attendance to the office for payroll. We can work via cell phone features like Telepresence, and WebEx on your Smartphone (http://cisco.com/). We can chop up and sell our work week to multiple companies-- five hours here, and ten hours there-- and keep track of it all.

It's all here-- with more features on the way.

So instead of doing like you did in high school, yours being one of 800 resumes sitting on HRs desk, realize that you can today work from home... and still keep the clock ticking towards your paycheck. You can roam to clients' locations... and still clock in. You can work around children's soccer schedules, PTA meetings, and be out in the world... and still clock in, be responsible, and do your job.

The point is you can work... and the clock keeps ticking off monies into your bank account. Whether individual or company president, look into these technologies. They're here now. Your 'Stimulus Check' isn't.

Learn from the laboratory of life-- if not willingly, by force. You'll either find the next few years inflicting a lot of pain and suffering, or you'll learn the moxy to find another ways to do your work. Either way, you'll learn. Lose your job, your income, your home, and lose every bit of comfort and happiness you have? It's your choice as to how much of your blood is letted in the process.

If you own a company, start utilizing About Time mobile time clocks. Get a grip on your labor costs. Accurately price future jobs. Barcode and monitor everything. Measure fuel, and use GPS to find out who is sabotaging your profits. Pay attention to Six Sigma process improvements, Lean operations, and Kaizen Continual Improvement methods. Make a real business plan. Conduct more business through the Internet, and explore a dozen methods of expanding your current methods.

Stop whining, and back away from The Flatline Generation. There's work to do.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes."
--Marcel Proust

Cheers
Lee

Without The Enemy Within

2008-12-12T09:19:00.002-07:00

After working for over a decade as TPS/LSS in Japan (Toyota Production System/ Lean Six Sigma), functioning daily as a Japanese in top management at Japan's 14th largest company, I can tell you that The Real Secret is that the HEART of the person is the key to every productivity advancement.

We in the west are always on a quest to discover some new understanding or inner secret. We compare our novel understandings to the magical Toyota baseline. When that morphs into a new understanding we run to shout to the world our re-calibrated perceptions.

But we're using a flawed measure.

I can tell you firsthand that 'the secret' is not a system or a process or tool or development... instead, we in the west need more need to understand the core REASON why a vaunted worker does what they do; focus on what is in their heart. Accordingly, we need to hire those who have "it" instead of hiring people willy-nilly because they're a quota minority, or turning a blind eye to their morality. Inner thinking and outer actions impact performance. You cannot do the right thing for the wrong reasons.

We in the west feel all fuzzy when we hire some "protected class" who are otherwise on a course of self-destruction and wonder why our team doesn't function correctly. So we put up a 5S poster (heralding some quality process improvement) and cross our fingers. Instead, we need workers who have the heart (and understanding and will) to turn off the lights during lunchtime, or who work to save an account NOT because they're going to make overtime, or because "it's a big account," but because they WANT their company to succeed in the smallest matters.

Those are the people who constantly think "'Good enough' never is."

Before poo-poo-ing all to think everyone is the same; that we can keep our spate of feel-good diversity measures, note that this kind of heart is 110% invested not in Equality, but in Quality. Focus, Pinky, Focus! People are different-- treat them as such. Evaulate their quality of life; test their quality of personal decisions; understand the quality of their personal standards. Select people who are LOYAL (new word?) not only towards their company, their bosses, their products, their customers, etc., because their core desire becomes the well-spring of true quality, flowing without compulsion. Find people whose desire comes not from a paycheck, but from knowing their company will NOT lay them off in hard times (contrast Novell's idiocy in hiring 800 and firing 800 on a quarterly basis, or other American companies who act towards their employees like some rabid dog waiting to take a bite).

For years my co-workers and I watched short-sighted Americans come to Japan to frenetically in a week (ha! in a day!!) try to "learn why" the Japanese ate our lunch. I learned long ago that it's not the system or the process (although that helps)-- it's the will and the mind of the hire that matters most. Finding, hiring, and maintaining that type of tender heart (maintaining it at all costs) not only "produces quality" in their work, but it's a circular flow that goes to the employee. It maintains their loyalty, retains their trust, nurtures their will to work, and harnesses camaraderie... which all resides within the heart of the worker.

"If there's no enemy within, the enemy without can do you no harm." (Les Brown)

Cheers
Lee

A Leaf in the Streams of Time

2008-10-22T18:11:00.004-06:00

As I've done genealogy I thought it strange that the name Richan appears so infrequently. It is, after all, a rare name. In some ways my parentage has distinguished themselves with deeds done for kings and queens. So although I've been able to work my lineage to the year 700 or so, yet only rarely does appear a joyous inscription or other written recognition.

However, moments ago I searched Google Images for my name, distinguished in quotes to exclude things unconnected with myself. Certain photos or other things appeared, but on the last page appeared two images that took my breath away (see screen shot at right).

Although I haven't yet determined exactly why or where within my name appears, two books by Yoshio Tateishi (arch: Tateisi) appeared via the search, linked again to the Tateishi name. It's not improbable that my work at Omron is mentioned in his books. I have been the subject of many case studies and a few articles. I was, after all, the first foreigner to work at Omron, and I did, after all, invent a global marketing philosophy that is reputedly still in use in 2008. And it's no mystery: The President of Omron wrote that my work was pivotal in generating an additional US$3.6 Billion over the initial US$1 Billion. But to have my name appear with this great man and his great company and at his hand... is again breathtaking.

Sizewise, Omron was, at the approximate time of my employ, #127 on one Forbes Fortune 500 list (Coca-Cola was #120; XEROX #142, and Toyota didn't even make the 500 list). To think I could grow that company was-- at the time-- inconceivable.

My North American contemporaries sometimes get frustrated when I try to make clear the magnitude of work I did whilst in Japan. Truly I created some amazing innovations, and I will do it again. But to be perfectly honest, at this moment I feel overjoyed that yet another proof appears to the world-- I'm amazed that Google connected my name to the Tateishi name still, nearly two decades after I was there.

Now I have sons and daughters. It's time for them. And as my stream of life carries off the bright foliage of a season gone by, some deeds done for kings apparently yet live on. For that I am grateful.

Cheers!

Woodsounds

2008-09-26T17:54:00.004-06:00

Being a world musician and a Zildjian-featured drummer / percussionist on half a dozen recordings from around the world, I’ve personally known or played with some incredible musicians, among them guitarists Al Dimeola (Return to Forever) and Kevin Breen (The Breathers), drummers Mike Portnoy (Dream Theatre) Steve Gadd (Steely Dan) and Brian Keenan (Chambers Brothers), Peruvian percussionist Alex Acuna and Turkish Arto Tuncboyaci (Al Dimeola Project).

And with some professional and national pride I speak of Native American flutist Carlos Nakai (Navajo-Ute).

In February I learned Carlos had obtained a beautiful flute handcrafted by Woodsounds, located nearby in the mountains of Utah. Carlos had been part of a ceremony honoring, respecting and appreciating Vietnam veterans, and his inlaid flute, “Free Again-- Never Forget,” rekindled my decade-old interest in these flutes.

So in March I drove out in search of Brent Haines of Woodsounds flutes, “the Maseratis of the flute world and the most beautiful flutes I have ever played.” (Bill Miller, master Native American flutist.) Like many of the other top musicians I mentioned, Brent is very friendly, warm and engaging.

When I finally held one of Brent’s flutes, I felt a connection that is hard to describe. As Brent wrote on his websites, “…a satin feel makes you want to keep touching the flute and a deep luster brings out and enhances the natural beauty of the wood, causing it to glow with its own inner light. Frankly, you won't believe the incredible look or how silky smooth the flute feels to the touch…” How right he is.

The silken feel of that turquoise-inlaid flute was breathtaking but when I heard Brent play it, my mind exploded, recalling some deep emotions I’d ignored for years.

My mind went back. I first recalled the bittersweet flute solos of mournful 1960s jazz tunes. Then I was moved by Japanese Shakuhachi (so-called because it measures one “shaku” –the distance from elbow to fingertip— and “hatchi” (eight) additional finger units). Then I remembered graduating a decade ago I drove through Indian Nation along the Grand Canyon as I listened to R. Carlos Nakai’s “Desert Dance.” I realized that the Native American flute most closely approximated my innermost feelings. In 1995 I Carlos agreed to join me in the recording studio for some world recording sessions (http://www.echoes.org/onlinenakai.html), which encounter led me to learn of Brent and Woodsounds (http://woodsounds.com).

But why does a Native American Indian flute take on such human intonations?

Brent told me that while each Native American flute’s construction and performance differs, its throaty tones impart breathy, voice-like pulsations on a deeper level than just our hearing. We first became attuned to mother’s vibrations whilst in the womb, and then we learned to swim in a world of sensations, frequencies, and harmonics, bathed even in vibrations of light that envelop and define us. Oprah chatters about “how we feel bad” on a gut level, completely overlooking the very medium of how we feel anything at all.

“Something very special about this music… it evoked ancient blood memories… it moved me.”
--Martha Graham, Night Chant

“Deep inside you know this music because you can feel it echo in your bones.”
--Greg Fasolino, Reflex Magazine

The cream of the cream of top flute players also play Woodsounds: Jan Michael Looking Wolf, Joseph Fire Crow, Johnny Whitehorse, Robert Mirabal, Jeff Ball, and Bill Miller. These flutes have accounted for many Grammy Awards and music awards around the world.

Carlos Nakai once suggested that a sick child’s moaning was perhaps attempting to create harmonics evoking a cellular healing process that perhaps went back to elemental vibrations learned whilst in the womb. Voice brings about its own healing vibration that triggers a deeper power within. Words uplift compassionately — not by language, but by sound— when we speak quietly and coo understanding.

The Native American flute’s rich, visceral tonality comes from its big, open, almost-human resonance. Unique in nature, the Native American flute sound is akin to your voice’s particularly alluring “bore.” A “throaty” flute phrases a timeless sound on a par with resonances from your vocal cords.

I found that in just a few minutes virtually anyone (yes, even drummers) can make earthy sounds on a flute that are deeply appealing. Instead of listening I now participate, and the sound of my flute imparts a sense of peace and security that somehow fills holes in hearts like no other instrument.

Cheers!

Rancor Be Gone

2008-09-07T20:38:00.004-06:00

I've noticed that fanaticism often becomes the gross summary of a person misunderstood.

Inside I cringe when I infrequently hear myself summarizing someone as "untrustworthy," "paranoid," or "dishonest," when their particular trait constituted only a small streak within an otherwise good person. I hate relegating to the dustbin of history the bulk of an otherwise salvageable (or misunderstood) personality trait.

As I reflect on what others must think of me, I think it interesting that almost every effort I've made to honor and obey the laws of man and God have somehow engendered resistance or eventual malefic outcome. Other than the occasional misstep, I still believe it is possible to maintain and retain friendships and business relationships, and I ponder constantly all workable ways to counter or avoid struggles that might eventually turn sour.

However, I am struck by the frequency of people who have been hurt by a business partner. When I was a kid I wondered why most old people seemed surly and mistrusting. As I get older, I see that my overriding mission is to keep normal wounds from turning to scar tissue. I don't want to be defensive, suspicious, or dour. The Savior could not manage to engender long-lived peace with those whom he knew, but as far as I can tell, he maintained a positive attitude.

In the long run I strive to keep peace within me, and work predicated on honesty, follow-through, and integrity. My understanding may be "off" when judged by those who look on my efforts as fanatical, but I try to live my life always predicated on endeavoring to do right.

The odd thing is that I'm reasonably certain that others are following the same prescription.

Would that rancor and misunderstanding be put behind us. If not merely towards beneficial cooperation, at least to tell me where I'm deficient so I can work on my problem(s).

Cheers!

From Unconscious Incompetent to Leader

2008-07-09T11:10:00.003-06:00

Fair to say I'm a student rather than teacher.

In that, I'm fortunate to have learned of leadership from great books.

One such gem comes from John C. Maxwell's genus tome, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You. Especially telling is how to tell leadership from management, in the chapter, "The Law of the Lid." This predictable yardstick determines just how high any company will rise.

Over the years I've witnessed powerful people attempt to manage-- 'powerful' only in the sense that they 'command' with money or with sheer brute force, causing their employees to cower. I've been a party to factories filled with people too afraid for their jobs to speak their minds, as the wrath of their unpredictable payday god is too bitter to endure.

And then are The Others; those rare folk we would gladly follow into any pains of battle. When we know we're supported, justified, and placed above the temporalities of "just business," we have found a leader, and will give everything to a commonly-held goal.

On to become one of the Unconscious Competent in leadership.

Cheers!

That's Marketing!

2008-04-23T07:09:00.003-06:00

As an international marketing and advertising professional, with an accumulated US$4 Billion in new sales accredited (in writing) to my efforts over 35 years, it saddens me to daily watch otherwise competent products, services, and companies fail or languish because they haven't figured out sales is not marketing.

Pure marketing is far more scientific and detail-oriented than sales; it's where you first think. Then you sequentially stage growth events to cascade one into another to produce sales. This creates value within heart of the customer-- a warm feeling of security-- who is then more willing to transfer money to you.

An overblown example perhaps, but to illustrate the differences between marketing and sales, say that you put a simple notice of your garage sale in the local paper one week prior (Advertising). Then you post 10 or 20 Day-glo signs-- all the same color-- with big letters and large arrows around the neighborhood two days earlier (Branding and Crowd Flow). Your items are laid out on waist-high tables, grouped, clearly marked color-tagged and ready for sale (Ergonomics). You might hand out fliers with layaway or financing for your bigger-ticket items like jet skis, cars, or furniture (Separate Business Units). Same-color Day-glo nametags would show who is in charge (Safe Passage) and empowered to negotiate (Admirable Organization). It wouldn't cost too much to offer small cups of lemonaide or a small cookie to everyone (Obligation Psychology), and it would cost nothing to play targeted music (Neuro-Linguistics) and post signs warning that everything must go at a certain time but reduced 30% during the last 30 minutes (Fear of Loss), or will be picked up by the Salvation Army in 30-minutes (Community Service and Public Relations).

"Sales" (strictly speaking) is just the moment you negotiate the price, close terms, and exchange money for the service you offer. Everything else is marketing, and market planning. With marketing planning you engineer the experience to be smooth, comfortable, reassuring, and rewarding. You know how one action will cascade into another, multiplying your efforts and maximizing your sales.

People respond to those things-- and they'll respond to your product or service, too.

(Not the point of my illustration, but I'd bet that your "take" at the end of the day would far exceed expectations, earning perhaps as much as 30% or 80% more than just your junk dumped on a lawn with a foreboding gaggle of vultures.)

I daily explain this difference to our advertising agency clients who say they want more... but often see sad faces. They don't want to do more than instantly jump to the money-taking. They want quick results-- piles of cash suddenly dumped into their hands-- and are focused on liberating dollars from their customers. Their interest does not extend to the longer process of creating value, follow-up or satisfaction maintenance, nor to creating relationships or repeat sales. They just want the money... NOW. "Pay me and then go away," they say.

Of all the tools in my 35 years of sales and marketing experience toolbox, creating a marketing plan that creates long-lasting value with the customer is the sharpest tool of all. That's marketing.

Cheers!

Taru Onsen, Yubara, Japan Saturday, 10 February 2001

2008-03-16T18:04:00.003-06:00

I’m ready to retire. Snow falls on snow, here in deep twilight at an inn in old Japan, about four hours' drive northwest from Kobe.

Fired into the whiteness of the porcelain cup I hold is a dainty light blue flower. It looks like a dragonfly with blue wings. I take a sip of the water within, then quietly study the cup.

Into my mind come thoughts of life's transience. Like the first sip I took, life's treasures must be savored as they happen. They refresh, but are finite. I take a second sip, this time deeper, more courageously. The blue wings of the dainty flower seem to whisper me on; seem to beg I gulp the final sip and enjoy the full glory of the longer moment.

I do.

The water's now gone. Only remains a wet sheen indistinguishable from the pure white cup. The light blue wings no longer promise to refresh. There's no more water to partake.

Life is shared but for a moment. Bright memories linger, and then leave only transparent essences. In the cold, crisp air of Yubara tonight, the ghosts of all my ex-ancestors all around, I feel their own unmistakable essences mingle with my own former hopes and dreams. All are now but forgotten. I guess I’m alone with the wonderful times my family enjoyed here. Memories flit into my mind, like Cerina and I holding up fingers upon which mid-summer dragonflies once landed and then flew off to eternity. EJ fishing. Monika playing the piano each morning. Stuart in his Scout uniform. Mako laughing.

God willing, there will be an eternity where I might work out my challenges. God willing, there will be an eternity where I can finally “connect” and tell others how much they meant to me. Friend and foe, married or divorced, God willing, there will be a time where I can grasp and correct crazy issues which have caused me to heave my sorrows silently out into far too many dark skies, alone.

But those are the afterbirth. I look down again at the little blue wings. They're still delicate. They're still pretty. But the moment of their refreshment started ending long ago. I came, I drank, and now I see. My cup is empty, coated only with see-through memories. I've experienced the contents. I could be wrong, but I find nothing else makes sense: Life is for drinking up and for moving on. Loving is for Eternity, where we can work at understanding answers.

A page once turned cannot be written upon any more.

Cheers

The Degree of the Blue Vase

2008-02-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan Kell walked into my office yesterday and put a blue vase into my hands. It was empty. It was blue.

"Huh?" I said, articulate to the end. (Insert very long pause here whilst brain not computing much at all.)

It took me a very long minute to finally figure out what was happening-- with a generous reminder about an old book I'd strongly recommended he read, The Go-Getter by Peter B. Kyne.

"Life-changing!" he echoed. "Absolutely amazing!"

I am honored. I wish I'd written such a book, but I'm equally proud to be the bearer of such a life-changing tome. "It shall be done--" Esprit de corps doesn't bubble up from the bottom. It filters down from the top.

Or as Kevin Trudeau repeatedly quoted Cavett Roberts, "Character is following through on decisions long after the excitement of the moment has passed."

Read The Go-Getter, and learn of the Degree of the Blue Vase: It shall be done.

Cheers

Thank You Kevin Trudeau

2008-01-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

Last decade I was privileged to work closely with Kevin Trudeau, the Mega Memory guy you see on television infomercials. Over the course of perhaps four years we worked together in conjunction with Nightingale-Conant, developing a handful of international business enterprises.

Chatting with my eldest son recently, he recalled one life-changing moment when we were on the set of a Hollywood-style video production. Dozens of people bustled around when Kevin suddenly turned to my then 16-year old lad and said, "Here. When this vibrates, answer it, 'Kevin's phone!' and chat with them. Show them your personality. Take a number, and let me know who called." To EJ's (and all of his staff's) shocked look he simply assured, "Listen, I've seen you. You can do it. You're better than you know." The first thought that flashed through my mind was how many potential million-dollar deals might chance to come through his phone whilst he was away for a few hours. But he was right-- my son already had confidence, had read some of the success books, and Kevin's challenge changes his life still. I saw EJ straighten that day-- not figuratively, but forever and still. It's a very sobering thing when someone trusts you. It can change your life forever.

So, too, as the years roll by I am increasingly grateful for Kevin's personal tutelage and instructions to me. His list of recommended books has changed my life forever. Dozens of motivational classics sit in my bookshelf, ready at hand. I devour motivational audio in the car, and listen as I work my 16-hour days. I set yearly, monthly, and daily goals and measure my progress, and each day print out a list of to-do items, striving to be better.

Funny, though how I saw others scoff at Kevin, or heard them berate his advice.

The years go by. I'm privileged to befriend another billionaire, Mr. William Farley, part owner of the Chicago White Sox and CEO of Fruit of the Loom clothing (to name but two enterprises). It's wonderful to receive an e-mail out of the blue with, "Looking forward to seeing you again."

But rich people don't think like poor people.

I was meeting with Mr. Farley ("Bill") when he quietly mentioned to a group of top leaders that his life had been changed by the book "Think And Grow Rich"[an!] . I began applauding heartfelt appreciation-- but was surprised to hear me clap alone. He looked at me and we smiled a sort of brotherhood that began between us that has even rewarded the two of us with an actual discovery of earliest-known recordings of Napoleon Hill, author of the life-changing book. Funny thing though is people look at us like we're two crazy kids.

And so far, it seems no one else has picked up the book despite Bill's hint. Rather unbelievable, but 20% of 80/20 I guess.

For myself, I squarely owe Kevin a debt of gratitude, and I thank him publicly. I also thank God for exposure to these unique men, and further seek their counsel on temporal applications of spiritual principles. Whilst I'm not in the class of these leaders, for whatever reason I am in their company. Under Kevin's tutelage I've already laid a foundation for a rich relationship with Bill Farley. I can "see" Bill with the insight of Kevin's experiences. We grok the same classic principles, but in my case that came only by first shutting my mouth and learning something new. I learned a lot. And as in EJ's case, I faced my fears and did the hard thing first.

By taking the road less traveled, "that has made all the difference."

Cheers

Cleaning Out The Dirty Old Year

2007-12-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

Got a few things to clear out before 2008 hits:

1. Last election's results gave me tenfold the previous number of votes. Whilst I wasn't elected (at least they haven't asked me to City Council), I DO thank all 200+ who voted for me. The reason I take your nod so seriously is that I wasn't just a knee-jerk vote. Since I didn't spend one dime on posters, placards, handbills, or other falderall, every single one of you learned of me by word of mouth, and gave rapt consideration about how I would serve you. My reputation was apparently enough to vote tenfold your confidence in my works and credibility. One and all, I consider your expression a high honor. Thank you. I'll win next time.

2. Speaking of honor, for the second time in four years I've now closely witnessed and had to deal with complete dishonor. Around a deep woods campfire this story would make your skin crawl-- and no less dramatic were days spent working with this creature.

This fellow had been employed at the advertising agency, and from the start acted as if evil incarnate. His one-note recommendations to sell all products were to create "booty billboards," his way of suffusing sex and pornography into every meeting. My partner gave him a chance, but like the scorpion who cannot help but acting like a scorpion, he reverted to his black heart.

But the joke's on him: Though this cretin slurked away one day, immediately reaching out to steal clients, utilize our vendors, actually taking physical documents (and computer hardware), we'd already taken massive steps to contain him. We knew he was on a course of self-destruction and we were not going to be collaterally damaged. So wherever he turned the steel doors of containment had already clanged closed. With the parade of evidence from every sphere and possible gathering method, our upcoming day in court will be most satisfying. He has no idea how completely and utterly his life will be changed. I anticipate he will again run as he has before run from his past, changing his name as he flees, but we have him.

Most pitiable is that everyone attests to what he apparently cannot see: He vibrates on such a low and sinister wavelength that his life is already over. He trails his scummy reputation and his dishonorable thinking, and every act spreads the word. In this day and age, he cannot escape the spread of warnings about him on the Internet. It's a new world.

But he has no one to blame but himself. While working with the agency, people gave him a chance. I know I did. I gave him every chance. I kept hoping he was taking the opportunity to pull out of his personal nose-dive. But he invariably engendered such bad feelings that people shut him down when came in on his own. They reviled him. No one wished to associate with him-- excepting one or two of the same mind who enjoy that kind of "booty billboard" darkness. Most treacherous is how he presents a lightness of being-- promising the world as all the while chatty and smiling to allay the blackness permeating his soul-- trapping, if possible, those unaware of the tarbaby he is, until he steals from them whatever he can get: Equipment, relationships, connections, things, or whatever else. So he hops from one sucker to the next, draining them of valuables.

The bottom line, though, is that anyone listening to their own 'gut feeling' would know his laughter and smiles hide a truly sinister heart; one that would (and apparently will) do them harm. It's just a matter of time.

3. And the same goes for any other damnable people, such as abusers of children, or those who terrorize the elderly. Not too long ago I encountered such a "man" who, when the police escorted him away, screamed such horrible things at his widowed mother that the police said, as recorded on video tape, "I've never encountered such foul words said by a son to a parent." He lives in a similar blackness of spirit and brings no joy-- except to depart. There are "dirty old men" and there evil old men... How tragic to reach over 70 years of age, and still foment such evil within.

Good riddance, we all say: For evil to triumph it is necessary for good men to do nothing.

I keep the Cross close in my life, and will testify against them when the time is right. In the meantime, as over 200 local people recognized when voting for the strength of my reputation, yes, I'm working on perfecting myself, yes, but more important, I'm working on keeping out the darkness that sometimes surrounds us. I don't like darkness to any degree, and fight it at every turn.

So at this turn, clean out the darkness and dross from 2007 to make a stronger and more pure 2008.

Cheers!

Holy Schmokes!

2007-10-30T23:00:00.000-06:00

Gadzooks!

One week from Tuesday (more or less 'today') three local Salem City Council seats will be filled via election with three people. I hope to be one of them.

Yeah, I know something like that is off most people's "to do" list. It's like going out of your way to hit your thumb with the hammer. I'm not a butt-kisser politician, or someone motivated to close the ozone hole by being kind to pinecones-- but I do have a thought or two that could either help the City Council noodle things out better. That or I've got enough of a stubborn streak to just drag my feet when things are just plain 'ol going the wrong way. Common sense means heel tracks left all over the floor.

Service-- including public service-- is me. I like people and I get along with most everybody. And I think the city population will like that I'm pretty frugal when it comes to money. For example, I haven't spent one cent on political flag-waving via placards, signs, banners, posts, rope, fliers, buttons, straw hats, heated socks, or wash-off tattoos either. Let them eat cake, I say, or remember the Alamo or something like that. Keep your money and buy more ice cream to raise the GNP.

Last election I got 22 votes. (Thank you mom.) Can't wait to see how I do in the polls this time around.

Cheers!
E-LectabLee yours

Heartfelt Gratitude

2007-10-06T14:41:00.000-06:00

I've been extraordinarily fortunate this past week to be awash in love.

I suppose I find it noteworthy in public mention first because love is such a rare and delicate treasure, and second, because I believe expressing gratitude to God is a condition of deeper fondness and Christlike attributes. I developed a keener understanding during the last decade in inexpressibly hard times, seemingly independent of cause and effect. "Pain engraves a deeper memory." (Anne Sexton, OMNI, May 1985)

So while you might not find it strange to hear me vocalize (and blog) my deep gratitude for the obvious-- family members serving unselfishly, children who love and grandchildren who innocently smile-- you would then hear me express an equivalent and deep thankfulness for coworkers and clients, people who share their instruction and insights, people who simply call to say hello, and Church leaders in quiet service... even for those over whom they have no responsibility to so serve. You know who you are-- and to you I express love.

Thanksgiving this year marks new beginnings for me. I know it will be the first time in two decades I find myself truly thankful. Year after year all color remained bleached from of my world, and I marveled how "goodly" people delighted in taking advantage of my time, my efforts, my skills, and my offerings to them. I watched them grab and go.

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." (George Washington Carver)

Cheers!

On Perfection

2007-08-04T13:32:00.000-06:00

I am not perfect.

The topic of perfection came to mind via two events: A huge work I recently performed that, with thousands of tiny bits incrementally performed over the course of over ten hours, was negated for a single error; I also consider the ongoing plight of my teen-aged daughter, now at the stage of life where she expects too much of herself.

Perhaps there is no answer in either case, but I try to understand.

I recall a Led Zeppelin concert on Thursday 23 October 1969. While I was unfazed, friends publicly decried the "different" sounds of the live band.

Having been a recording and performing drummer for years (and for years to come), I knew that produced music (then and now) is incrementally assembled. One "lays down tracks" --a best effort-- and then works hours to remove or replace imperfect portions one at a time.

However, my friends could only spread the word that the Zeppelin concert was nasty.

Again, I understood. This was the first time Zeppelin had played the Boston Gardens (prior to that they'd simply done the intimate Boston Tea Party-- about 500 people). At my own concerts, I knew it was all we could do to balance the mix-- hall dynamics, reverberation, amplification all changed the timbre of the drum sound... not to mention the difficulty of stage-replicating precise settings of fuzz boxes, compressors, equalization, and even imitating layers of vocals laid down in the studio by the same person!

But two decades later, in Japan in 1993 I ruminated, "Everywhere I look I am surrounded by perfection. Perfect paintings, perfect orchestrations, perfect vocalists, perfect artistry, perfect rock bands...

"We live in an astounding world of perfection and humanities. Russian operas, symphony orchestras, background rock music for games, classic and renaissance paintings, movies, faces, bodies, cinematography, cartoonists, writers, performances, hand-made jewelry creations, jingles─ the television constantly heralds a stream of one perfect achievement after another.

"But what can I do that is perfect? If someone were to come up and take inventory, what could I do that is unique, awesome, or flawless?

"I don't know. Some things I do (I think) may come close, but most don't even register. Is this a question for which most people will not know their own answer? Are [humans] supposed to do one thing perfectly?

"Maybe the answer is more to be found in the story of Vincent Van Gogh─ not in the part about his suicide─ but in that he sought for perfect expression of what was inside, yet could not express it to his satisfaction. The frustration of what he considered imperfect paintings sentenced himself to death to end the pain.

"Yet his 'imperfect' paintings top every list..." I wrote almost 15 years ago.

Without moralizing further, I'd simply say that things haven't changed all that much for humankind. People still irrationally expect perfection-- both in performance of others and by their own delivery:

...My "one mistake" amongst thousands of corrections in 2007 cost innocents honest earnings.
...Led Zeppelin's concerts disillusioned many in 1969 because the band didn't sound like their recordings.
...In 1890 Van Gogh (then 37) shot each and every one of us to death in a small way.

The sickness of irrational hopes of perfection (in others) kills everyone a little bit every day.

And you? From whom do you expect perfection today?

SeriousLee

Thoughts On Becoming A Thoroughbred

2007-07-27T00:32:00.000-06:00

A person's honesty will usually show up in their face. Especially obvious after decades of living "just a little too close to the edge," I think it amazing how clearly will be written the roadmap of where a person has been... and usually, their faces will show the dark places they might try to go with you.

The other day I met to discuss cable broadcasting and broadcast software with a group of five professionals at BYU-B, or Brigham Young University Broadcasting. Gathered around the table, they each radiated a light and a glow so obvious I just had to ask each their backgrounds. I felt recharged, invigorated, and proud to be associated with them-- and hoped I radiated back such a light, too.

While I'm aware (oh, so aware!) that life will dent you, ding you, toss you around and scrape off layers of proud, personal paint, one can still strive to live with integrity and honor. All of us are obligated to keep striving to root out the darkness that troubles our souls, and in my case I just hope it won't leave a mark.

I'm reminded of something I heard long ago:

You're born into the world all naked and bare,
Spend your years with worry and care,
And leave this place you know not where,
But if you're a thoroughbred here, you'll be a thoroughbred there.

Cheers

America Has No Idiot Lights-- Only Gauges

2007-07-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

These two topics might seem odd, and even unrelated, but there is a very important connection.

Not too long ago I visited someone in the hospital. I was asked to turn on the television. So I grabbed the remote and noticed there was one button, "TV." No on or off button. No channel changer. No sound control.

Just one stupid button. How do you control a television with one button?

Second, not too long ago I went to school. Of course I fought it, but I was taught the classics. I read poetry. I learned of civics, of government, of geography. I learned how to compose a coherent thought and string them together to make a point.

So it comes to a point when even a movie like Star Wars is based on an understanding of the classics: of complex cultures, wild history, and a thousand civilizations. Star Wars came directly from the likes of Homer, Aristotle, Hitler and Napoleon. Time has collected for us an array of the good, and of the bad, all centered around the difficult and complex questions of human existence.

And so it amazes me to see and read of simpletons who think, "Why can't we all just get along?"

The answer is you can only try. There is nothing in your world-- the "today" you are enduring right this moment-- that can be distilled down to just one "happy button" like that hospital television. Frustration over one's powerlessness over lack of choice will erupt, just as surely erupted my ire. It is better to trust the individual to control themselves, although some will not, rather than to take away any possibility of choice.

Mankind is not a one-button one-size-fits-all kind of person.

So this Fourth of July give a little thought to those who fought (and fight) to solve the complex issues of life. Our country was born by complex men having learned difficult lessons from the turmoils of France, of England, of Greece, and of Rome. They did not try to simplify life, but to understand it-- and deal with it.

So deal with it.

Cheers!

The Sound of Rattling Nuts

2007-06-26T22:54:00.000-06:00

Someone asked me, "What is your glob... er, blog about?" Hmmm... the sound of rattling nuts. That's me.

"Outside the box" doesn't mean just get outside and walk around the square lines-- think different!

Mash, slash, crash, flash, dash, and splash... smoooooooothLee.

To date, my personal ROI is US$17.7M to my employers for every $1k paid me in marketing in 18 years.

I do nuts very well.

Use Things and Love People

2007-06-12T10:38:00.000-06:00

No matter how technology captivates me, I've not found anything that exceeds my full-time fascination with people. I study how they think, how they act, what they prefer to do, and why they buy what they buy. Year in and year out I watch them, tally their actions, and test them-- and thereby become enriched.

As a result, I have a demonstrated love for the related fields of sales, marketing, and advertising.

One might think these things are quite different one from another. However, they are simply facets of the same diamond: Providing people their proclivities.

For example, in advertising, I become like a mosquito-- targeting the warm vein of someone's interest. In the shortest period I take aim on the largest segment of the population. But in marketing and market planning I work behind the scenes at companies to ensure long-term production, delivery, support, and service. Nothing breaks the bank faster than rush production and delivery... constantly falling behind because of poor planning and follow-through.

And in sales (that dreaded word for most people) I can do what I love doing most: Help people get what it is they wish to get. I love being on the phone with people, especially when I can I aid them in achieving ownership, helping them move their own lives forward. That only happens when I know what it is they want... when I learn 'how they tick'... and then I help them get it.

And in my experience, nothing is finer than to have the power and authority at a company to provide service in all three areas: advertising, marketing, and sales. That comes full circle to loving them.

I was once counseled to use things and love people; sadly, some use people and love things. As our society becomes more and more technologically advanced, my counsel is to remember the warmth of a handshake, the joy of a smile, and the fulfilment of helping someone achieve their goals in life.

Cheers!
Lee

NABbed Me Again

2007-05-11T01:48:00.000-06:00

Gambling capital Las Vegas, Nevada holds no particular fascination for me. Not for the usual reasons, anyway.

But each year I take a four or five-day dive into Sin City to make a beeline for the National Association of Broadcaster's exhibition, an invitation-only event for those of us in the broadcast and cable industry. I've been privileged to attend annually since late last century. I'd go if I had to walk, because each year I'm struck with new products as if with a baseball bat.

For example, this year at NAB2007 I expected to see progress in the accepted format of High Definition (HD) television, but I wasn't at all prepared to see that the HD format has taken over virtually everything produced to make film and do post-production. Virtually every camera, every patch bay, every type of input and editing and output gear was all HD... and at a low cost that left me scratching my head in wonder.

For well under US$20,000 I could completely replace my anal-igital production studio from A to Z, bypassing SD cameras, large Sony FXE switching units, titling generators, and all the other "boat anchors" holding down the concrete. Truly, fully 1080i HD production could well be made with three units-- an HD video camera, my beat-up old laptop, and a BluRay DVD burner... and on my lap at the beach, no less!

Speaking of the beach, I had a long chat (in Japanese) with the heads of the powerful Japanese "PBS" empire, Nihon Hosou Kyoku (NHK), who demonstrated "the next big thing," SUPER HD, broadcasting in 4300+ ...more than four times the definition of HD! They were displaying a prototype camera that probably weighed in at half a ton, but man, what a view!

For example, I saw a video shot from (apparently) the top of Hawaii's Diamond Head, looking about five miles out into the ocean. I not only could see EVERY whitecap, but could see virtually all coral and seaweed in perhaps 1000 acres spread out before my eyes.

But wait! There's more!

At some point I tired of gawking at the seaweed. I kept thinking "There's got to be a limit to what the human eye can see..." when I noticed I could see fish! FROM FIVE MILES AWAY I could see each fish flitting through the coral! I supposed that if I kept refocusing my eyes I would eventually see plankton and sea monkeys, too.

Whereas telco and cable broadcast marketing is my personal expertise, not to mention being foremost in consulting for international HD cell phone delivery technology via 4G (after August), I can't help but remember my jungle roots making 35mm films and studying cinematography at Emerson College in Boston. I think how amazing it is that HD production has made startling visuals so affordable and pervasive that I can pack an entire Hollywood production studio into the back of my van (photo attached).

It's an amazing (and amazingly fast) world we live in. Keep on top of it (as by attending NAB or CES). Don't get stuck in a professional rut, or an amazing world of wonder can pass you right by... and put you right out of a job.

Cheers!

Keith Junior Richan (1922-2007)

2007-04-05T01:58:00.000-06:00

My first cousin once removed and a great and kindly man, Keith Junior Richan (shown at right), died suddenly at home on Sunday 01 April 2007 in American Fork, Utah. He was 85.

Keith was important to me because he was an honorable man. Whilst my own efforts at walking uprightly fall laughably short, Keith was what I want to be.

For example, once I planned to rent a home from an old gentleman who mercilessly thrust document after document at me-- credit checks, background history, employment and wage statements, etc. etc. You know the type: ready to put a lien on your firstborn.

The man stopped cold when he saw my family name, Richan. "Any relation to Keith?" the old curmudgeon snarled.

"Yes, he's my cousin," I said tentatively.

"Then we don't need these," he said, and grabbed the papers back. "He and I went to school together," he said. "Anyone who knows Keith is alright in my book." And truly, that was a frequent experience.

Keith ran for public office back in the 1980s, and won handily the title of Utah County Commissioner. It seemed that everyone who knew Keith had a bold statement to make about how Keith had helped someone, or gone the extra mile, or had done something remarkable.

When you shook hands with Keith, he didn't keep you at arm's length-- he pulled you in. "What can I do for you?" he'd ask at first. As you tried waving him off, he'd insist, "No, really-- what can I do for you?"

That's the kind of man I want to be. I'll miss you, Keith. Nothing 'junior' about you at all.

Oh, and in that photo-- his name tag reads, "Yippee!"

Cheers.

Fixin' It Up

2007-03-22T01:05:00.000-06:00

Curious George ain't got nothin' on me.

Ever since I was a small lad in western Massachusetts, I took things apart.

As my grandfather defended, "to see what makes it tick." His smile didn't dim (much) when I took apart my grandmother's favorite brass lamp, replete with chains, threaded projections, and ornate base. Can't quite recall whether or not I ever put the thing back together, but my parents suggested a few corrections to my personality during the drive home.

Nevertheless, I'm constantly amazed at what I've learned in the past few decades about how things tick.

For example, after about ten hours tonight I fixed a complex stepping motor control central processing unit that drives an industrial engraving machine. It's a big ol' computer, but with fingers and toes. Funny thing (that even amazes me) is that the fellow never told me what was wrong with it, how it stopped working, or even had schematics (detailed electronic plans) for clues. But when my wife saw me tracing a circuit board to visually uncover the electrical workings, she shook her head as if I were doing rocket surgery... which, in a way, perhaps I was.

But this is all is not about me, really. I'm nothing special, nor do I have a magical wand.

Point is that when I counsel youth, I tell them the story of how my skills appeared-- whence they came as if by magic: I can do what I do because I was poor in my teens. I think back on years and years of personal poverty (mostly through poor decisions about the use of money) and realize that I learned to repair electronics and mechanical things precisely because I didn't have the money to buy what I wanted. So I had to settle for broken motorcycles, or for cars abandoned by others-- and many "basket cases" of plain ol' stuff disassembled and cast aside. Most of my stuff started out in the trashbin.

It was through fixing things (and breaking them enough by myself) that I learned how things really tick.

Quite honestly, while I might not have made money, I was always paid experience.

And so warmly quoth I the words of Mr Harold Geneen, "In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later."

Cheers!

Wars of the Worlds

2007-03-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Peace? War? Is it a decision so simple?

No endless prattle here involving reason and civics. No thumping of chest. No politics. Nothing (I hope) but sincere 'heart.'

In the wake of all the carbon offsets, with Al Gorp on the one hand loudly proclaiming the solutions to all ills (with Rush Windbag 'all-knowing-ly' and 'all-seeing-ly' describing Mr. Gore's hidden hand), I honestly try to decide which camp I belong.

I deeply desire to make sense of a senseless topic. Yes, I prefer the warmth and tranquility of peace. I also realize peace has a price. And I'm well-enough read to be able to see, in my mind's eye, the brutal reality of that cost of peace... which brings me back to the question: "How might one decide?"

In my humble opinion, understanding can only come when walking with the Prince of Peace... and even then, hand in hand, I believe both He and thee will shed many tears at the apparent folly of trying to outdo the other side. Whether contesting through war, or protesting too loudly otherwise, both sides fail when tussling to prove they are the 'righter' side.

As my once-esteemed Frank Zappa sang in Dumb All Over:

Whoever we are
Wherever we're from
We shoulda noticed by now
Our behavior is dumb
And if our chances
Expect to improve
It's gonna take a lot more
Than tryin to remove
The other race
Or the other whatever
From the face
Of the planet altogether...

We are dumb all over
Dumb all over
Yes we are
Dumb all over
Near 'n' far
Dumb all over
Black 'n' white
People, we 'is' not wrapped tight...

As I learned when dating, stop trying to "find" the right person. Work on "being" the right person.

Dumbness stops here.

Cheers!
Lee

Goodbye, Old Friend

2007-02-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Last night I killed a part of me: I buried my Nikon F2 camera system.

I then threw into the trash five new cans of Kodak film. It was sad to see it all go.

Despite having two photo books published (1975 and 1984), and decades of experience as a professional commercial photographer, an era has officially ended. I hoped for some use for the dozens of rare Nikkor lenses, scientific bellows, special finders, focusing screens, esoteric filters and other accessories I'd collected during four decades, but alas... I couldn't even recall when I'd purchased those rolls of Kodak film.

I hadn't used the camera for perhaps five years. Film cost, processing cost, slide costs, print costs, archival page cost, scanning costs... in the end, all proved to be unnecessary.

To be sure, I'm still shooting photographs. My most recent, "Perseverance," won an award and is slated to be published soon. But I shoot digital for all my advertising and publishing work.

My latest Sony S70 with Zeiss-licensed optics has accounted for nearly 50,000 photographs. I'm hoping to buy the Leica D-LUX or Leica M8 digital camera soon, although I must admit I'm deeply smitten with the beauty and functionality of the Leica M7 or MP rangefinders... which models still use film, however.

So I guess my memories come full circle. I can recall the pure pleasure shooting all over Japan with my Leica IIIf (shown below)-- as flawless and indestructable a machine as man ever made. I recall making a living photographing stage and movie sets with my whisper-quiet Leica M3, and recall how I shot virtually all my children's pictures with my Nikon F2 system. But it's all a bygone era.

What matters is not which machine I used, but the fact that I used it at all. I am grateful that my life story is now copiously preserved in many tens of thousands of photographs. Deep nostalgia extends an hundredfold to life depicted in their rectangular frame, but I always will remember the feeling of a fine machine in my hands... and the sound of the tight "snick" of a finely attuned shutter.

Goodbye, old friend. I will not forget your uncommon service. I also will not forget the hands that made you.

May mankind seen through future lenses be as skilled as the hands that made your parts from raw ore and sand.

Secret of Life

2007-02-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap.
If you want to be happy for a day, go fishing.
If you want to be happy for a year become a millionaire.
If you want to be happy for a lifetime, serve others.

Air: Necessary, But Unseen

2007-01-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." --Anatole France, Nobel Prize-winning author

I have two ears and one mouth. I try to use them in that proportion.

But when I was in my 20s, it wasn't that way. It was with some pride that I was the first foreigner-- ever-- to work at Omron Japan, a huge company (http://omron.com/index2.html). I was surrounded by (it seemed all) 25,000 Japanese co-workers, and for a very long time I felt like the lightning rod in a fishbowl with an electric eel... with electric toasters soon to fall in with me.

As the days ticked by, I remember crescendos of panic-- perhaps the same emotions that grip all college graduates when they enter the real world: "What if I can't produce something of value right away? How can I show how I'm brilliant? Where should I look to uncover some lost revenue, or suggest a better process, or make changes to so I can show immediate worth? I gotta get going!"

At some point, my boss and the man responsible for my hire, Tsutomu Narita (later named President of Omron Electronics in 1999, photo insert), saw my struggles and took me aside with a sage smile.

"Richan, I want you to forget your western expectations of greatness. Yes, I expect great things out of you. But until two years have passed, you have only one job: 'Be like air-- necessary but unseen.'"

Like air? Unseen? Two years? Oh, the humanity.

I sputtered and protested that I wanted to do great stuff, that I was a brilliant engineer, that I was hired because he saw some existing value in me, etc.

But in the end I agreed to be malleable. Very humbled, I quietly studied Omron's product line.

And I learned I also had two eyes and one mouth.

I studied companies like Gould, Square D, and Cutler-Hammer. Then I studied switches, and then timers, then counters, then programmable logic controllers (PLCs). I studied pricing, markets, and marketing schemes. I took notes, clipped articles, made comparison charts, sales charts, and corporate charts. I studied the Wall Street Journal for competitor information and press releases. I studied London's Financial Times, and Singapore's Straits Times, etc.

In short, I kept a very low profile, proving 'oxygen' to company internal functions (like evaluating advertisements written in horrible English), but I kept quietly learning the basics of my industry before I began to reach upward. I was 'breathable' insofar as I was always available for questions from co-workers, whilst I quietly kept gathering information, per Mr. Narita's advice.

Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at once.

And eventually it happened. Slowly I became an expert in competitors' tactics. In due course I was included in meetings all around the company, becoming consultant for all kinds of new products. I found I was at the right hand of product division managers, and spent about 25% of my time at the R&D facility counseling engineers and project managers of every stripe.

After my tenure spent steeping in the basics, my suggestions carried weight.

I was able to eventually make those great quantum leaps into the unknown... based squarely on the good footing obtained by quietly reading a dry catalog. It was because of this "planting and growing cycle" that I became a key player in pushing sales to over US$3.6Billion by the time I left... billions still accredited to me to this very day.

But that's the story. Few care to hear the details. Fewer still can understand them.

Another place? Another time? Another galaxy far, far away? Yes. Antiquated, irrelevant ethics? I think not.

My story can be told in simplest terms, in the words of the great Marvin J. Ashton,
"Listen... or thy tongue will keep thee deaf."

Cheers!

The Shortest Distance Between Two Points is Under Construction

2007-01-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

While I'm not quite Monk (of OCD Friday night television fame), I do like order and reason.

So I recall quite clearly the sweet-sour feelings I had when in Fuji, Japan years ago, I met a young man who would have driven Monk out of an upper-floor window. Unorthodox, daring, brazen and clever, David C. Kravetz of Murray, Utah (and Arizona) put apples and oranges together... and made us all like the blend.

Public relations and promotions were things for which he had a special genius, from starting a radio station, teaching volleyball and soccer at public schools, and "our public relations work was second to none. I was privileged to spend Christmas with him, and we 'did up the town' [Fuji] with banners, leaflets, newspaper ads, publicity shots with famous people (not counting two Santa Clauses), free distribution of candy, oranges, etc. He's a real man." (The Life of Myself, page -792H)

Not to be outdone-- even by himself-- David again shows that he's still got what "it" takes.

This time, though, he is staring into the mirror to face his own demons... and has started what promises to be the epic reality show-- paring down his nearly 500-lb (227 kg) bulk in the public spotlight.

For any of us wanting to whittle off a few bulky lumps here and there, we can hardly relate to what he must be going through. For the human oddities amongst us who rubberneck a bad automobile pileup, there's plenty more of Dave (and wife Julie's) dance with demon food to be had by reading his blog footprints:

http://hmrjournal.sumoflam.biz/2007/01/25/details-details-details--some-interesting-calculations/trackback.aspx

And for the pure few who just champion success... jot him a note.

Tell him that Monk Jr. says hi.

Cheers

Vista-wrapped Dog Doo

2007-01-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to anything made by Microsoft.

And my opinion is that they suck... they 'suck BAD.'

Admittedly I have found one or two fine products they've offered over the years (e.g., PhotoDraw), but about once every month I go to use it and it informs me that I've got to insert the Install CD again... because it just vaporizes on its own.

Oh well. You get used to their non-thinking ways.

Anyway, the other day I expressed to an experienced programmer (and recovering lawyer) how I thought the brand new operating system, Vista, was simply a marketing ploy by Microsoft to convince us to love something we'd otherwise dislike. I said, "Microsoft is largely trying to solve their own piracy problems, but they've put out the spin that Vista is good for us.

"It's like they took dog doo from your yard and put it on a plate... and with the pretty girls showing a big smile and colored balloons and a brass band they try to sell us on the idea that it's really GREAT stuff!"

He promptly disagreed, citing other's opinions (e.g., the press). Yes, I was surprised that a developer-- a programmer-- someone who is knee-deep all day long in code-- wouldn't detest the stuff by now.

However, it's my studied opinion (remember, I have nearly thirty years experience delving deeply into computers, with twenty of them working the insides of a laptop running some form of Microsoft products) that he's wrong. Microsoft is ill-conceived, horribly mangled, and ill-executed... and so far, no new release has ever done more than stick Band-aid over Band-aid over Band-aid. Here's why:

1. Microsoft operating systems have always been a hideous amalgamation of mistakes cobbled together by teams who hardly speak. Their versions (95, 98, 2000 and XP) are Band-aided by patches covered by security holes covered by revised routines that should have been done right in the first place. The company never should have released a product before its time, but it's their habit to continually do so.

2. Microsoft hasn't the ability to keep a straight course-- even internally. Just look at the products they themselves release-- Microsoft products from their own hands! Note that features are never consistent. SHIFT-TAB does something in one program, and something else in another. Even their menus-- which identical features would ostensibly operate the exact same way-- are unnecessarily different, like when pressing ALT+R for Properties. You get something that happens in Word, that doesn't happen in Excel, but "something else" pops up in Project. It's a nightmare of confusion.

3. Microsoft focuses on the "pretty" and "nice" stuff-- like those Macintosh-like highlighted, glowing buttons, and screen animations fading in and out... every one stealing valuable processor time and memory. The more clever the animation, the slower operates your program.

But, gosh, I forgot... the way they address their problem, yes indeed-- like with Vista-- is to yet again force us out to buy another "modern" computer with gaggles of memory and dazzling hertzes of speed.

It's like giving a safety rating to a car by putting airbags in despite it can't steer, stop, or handle.

Bottom line is that in my opinion, Vista (which in fairness I must yet try), was NOT made to solve our problems. It was conceived, constructed, and marketed to solve Microsoft's own piracy problems by interlocking software keys, registration, distribution, and CPU authentication... stuff that they should have corrected before it left the factory in the first place. But because they tossed in some glowing buttons and animated screens, and told us Vista will be wonderful-- as long as we toss out nearly everything and every device we've gathered in the past five years to make their lumpy, chunky, herky-jerky XP function properly-- we should embrace it.

That whole concept is dog doo.

No matter that everyone is still pretty much doing the same tasks we always do (e.g., writing reports, surfing the web, balancing our checkbooks), now we have to pay more money to do the same things.

It's dog doo for the masses, but gosh, ain't that screen pretty?

Cheers!

Tools Of The Trade

2007-01-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

While in Japan, one thing that struck me was how tradesmen (say, carpenters) carried only a few basic tools, and yet created breathtaking structures. In their little toolbox were carried only a hammer, a wood plane, a few chisels, and a saw (Japanese-style, with teeth on both sides). Day in and day out these quiet men worked with these tools, growing more proficient.

Their skills increased, not their tools.

Indeed, this was most obvious when I bought a small pair of illuminated wooden toro (lantern) that astound me to this day-- the finest cut hardwood lattices mate perfectly with the cross-pieces. There are no gaps, no flakey little bits of wood, no slathering of glue, and incredibly, no corruption of any kind. After nearly 15 years the wood has not warped or changed in any way, except, perhaps darkened as belies the hard miles we both have traveled.

The lesson I learned is contrasted with the world in which I live.

First, I would do better to stay with a "tool" (e.g., computer software, camera, some process) until I have mastered it. Second, I'd do well to remember that "ease of use" by its nature will remove a certain degree of control. In other words, I've lost the ability to grow towards perfection because an "easy" feature invalidates some honed skill I've learned.

And third, I should remember that not all things I can do with new features or new products is something I ought to be doing. I found this out when I started digitizing old vinyl record albums-- about 300 in the collection. After the first dozen, it occurred to me that the time tradeoff wasn't worth the family time I was consuming.

Thus the lesson of life: We're at our best when we work to perfect our thoughts, our attitudes, and learn to hold our tongues and tempers. We, too, have just a few tools in our tiny mental toolbox (e.g., love, language, actions, perseverance, fidelity), and so much the better for our souls-- and our relations-- if we look to perfecting ourselves through perfecting these "little" skills.

Cheers!

Half Robot, Half Human

2007-01-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

A little while ago a friend touted loudly the features of Vonage, voice over IP (VoIP), “A better way to phone for less.” Anything had to be better than normal Qwest (non-) service, so I gave it a look.

Fully automated companies can afford to offer great prices.

Qwest advertises, “’There’s No Comparison’ [to their phone and Internet service] for under US$98 a month!” Among other things, they’re right— on the face of it there’s no comparison to a price more than twice Vonage. There’s also no comparison in services (the other half I pay is for cable internet service), as Qwest provides only 1/10th Vonage features… not to mention all the free calling to Europe and Canada (and other places), calls which if I made, Qwest would bill me with glee. So Vonage installation went smoothly, and customer support people were actually helpful around the clock. Top marks so far for Vonage.

Fully automated companies complete orders fast.

Well, many wonderful customer support people (located in India or the Philippines) hear my problem, and counsel me to simply re-enter my billing information. I again check the accuracy of my data, and yet a day later I get an automated e-mail telling me the account number is invalid. Hey, guys, my payment works just fine. There’s apparently a glitch in their billing software.

Fully automated companies are fine until you fall between the cracks.

Today, however, I determined to get as high in the Accounts Management Department as I could. Then I demanded I keep in contact the person to whom I telephoned, Kerri Hellwig. Instead of trying to slither away behind company anonymity policies “Oh, you can just call Customer Service and talk with anyone,” she first gave her e-mail address, and told me she’d lead this matter to a conclusion. Six hours later she’s kept that promise having worked on the problem all day, although we’re slated to resume in an early Monday meeting to keep going. She painted a satisfying picture of various know-it-alls sitting around a glowing computer screen, inputting my payment information, and then watching extra digits insert themselves into the data. So it wasn’t me after all.

Fully automated companies are fine until you find a real person with backbone.

[To be continued…]

Marketers Unite

2007-01-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Marketing is not sales. Yes, they are similar. Both are related, but the work is different.

My work as a marketing planning guy is centered on helping companies unify, codify, and operate their plans forward. Many companies have good ideas for products, but other than hopes of "just get out there and sell it" really don't know precisely how to move things forward.

That's where I come in.

I'm surely no genius, and (per the latest blog entry regarding Dr. Matsushita) I can't see forward 500 years, but at the same time, I can help these companies... by first seeing what is being done by competitors; second, by coming up with plans and directing production of support items (e.g., catalogs, websites, infomercials) to help support sales; and third, by helping them stay on track once they've decided what they will do.

That last item I find is the most important... and the first to be discarded in our current world. A unified company via a unified strategy is an unstoppable union. There is monumental strength is waking up each day and knowing, precisely, where to start chipping.

So I often help companies remove "the idea of the week" syndrome and keep them on course.

Seems this is somehow novel that someone would plan the work and then work the plan, but there it is.

MAKE it a great week!

Cheers

Long-term Planning... For A Better Society

2007-01-06T01:45:00.000-07:00

In a conversation today with Bryant Eastham of Panasonic's Electric Works Laboratory of America (PEWLA) in Salt Lake City, I recalled a story I heard while working at Omron in Japan.

As Omron occasionally teamed technologies with companies like Panasonic, it was not unusual for us to brag a big about various personal encounters with notable and great leaders. Omron Chairman Dr. Tateishi Kazuma (1900 – 1991), with whom I spent a fair amount of time from 1986 until his death, was a dear contemporary of Panasonic's founder, Matsushita Konosuke (1894 - 1989). Since our offices were located in the Crystal Tower near Osaka Castle at Kyobashi, exactly across the street stood the Twin Towers of Panasonic (founded 1918, and also known as National, and Matsushita Electronics-- one of the world's largest electronics giants— founded by a visionary man). I've never heard this story elsewhere, so hopefully you haven't either.

As I best recall it, when Mr. Matsushita grew ill, news organizations beset Panasonic headquarters to grant interviews before the 95-year old leader passed. Newspapers, magazines, and media were granted organized access, but under the conditions that only one member of any publication was sent, that only one question was asked, and that each reporter stay no more than five minutes.

As each representative from world news organs filed into Mr. Matsushita’s hospital room, they politely asked their obligatory question, quickly scribbled the answer, and left.

The American reporter turned out to be a cub— with little experience in the world, and (from what I heard) little understanding of the greatness of the dying man before him. Yet the reporter managed to squeak out his single question,

“Sir, what are your long-term plans for the company?”

Mr. Matsushita paused for a long time before replying,

“Well… young man, do you want to hear the 500-year plan, or the 1000-year plan?”

It’s fair to say Mr. Matsushita was totally serious. I don’t know for a certainty that he indeed had a workable business strategy that actually ran to year 2989, but I can attest that Omron operated from a detailed 25-year operational plan. Every five years details were adjusted and with great fanfare 25,000 employees renewed efforts, all with a singular understanding of our work this year, next year, in ten years, and towards a better overall society through our efforts.

I've noted this vision is frequently absent in our western companies. Other than making a living, we're not focusing our efforts towards solving problems of community or society.

For example, Omron devoted a great deal of resources to solving ethical, social and philosophical position. (See http://www.jimpinto.com/commentary/omron.html#2) I recall when Omron spent millions to create Sun Taiyo, two factories created— entirely— to employ the handicapped. Each station is manned by someone whose physical challenges are minimized by customizing for their ranges of movement, and in some cases, production is improved by persons who have sharpened their senses, such as the blind woman who checked relays with her acute hearing for any signs of sticking contacts. The factories were surrounded by dormitories and included stores, supermarkets, nightclub and lounges. People who worked and lived there tearfully told how wonderful it was to actually fit into and benefit society at large with the impact they could make.

With vision, planning, and hard work, all of us can make similar impacts as did Dr. Matsushita, and Dr. Tateishi. It involves long-term follow-through, not typical wishy-washy on again/off again thinking.

Cheers! 今年も宜しく

The Eyesight of an Eagle and the Vision of a Clam

2007-01-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today's headlines of Ford's violent thrashing and gasping to cope with slumping sales saddens me. It's not news, but business as usual.

While I have no love for planned obsolescence in engineering, Ford and all their Tier1's are fellow countrymen. I feel coming tensions in their marriages, see the faces of their pained children, and watch the encroaching reality of foreclosures, just because the dingleberries in management can't get it right.

I think back on my own experiences working in Asia, and wish others could see what I saw.

Let me explain...

"Tom" Tsutomu Narita of the huge international electronics company, Omron Corporation, hired me to work in Japan in 1980s. A young engineer fresh out of Brigham Young University, I had no real idea of the fortunes that lay ahead. Yes, riches and fame and success et cetera came my way during the next decade, but far more valuable were simple lessons of humanity in business. Lessons drawn from something as simple and as deep as not wantonly crushing the ant that walks past just because 'you can.'

For example, Omron experienced extremely hard times in the mid- and late 1980s. The worldwide depression downturns lasted for years. My western experience told me to worry about being laid off. Omron still sold around US$1Billion annually, but profit margins ranged from 1% to 3% for many heart-stopping quarters.

But President Yoshio Tateishi (also written Tateisi) with founder and aged Chairman Kazuma Tateishi stated that "ALL would stay– workers were as family. As the company fared, so would all," they said.

So I became part of an astounding show of support.

When 25,000+ workers in 40 factories around the world making over 100,000 electronic products showed their sincere appreciation by putting 'shoulders to the wheel’ with voluntary overtime, extra-mile service, ZERO defects (not a concept-- a reality), and even sometimes foregone paychecks, Omron prospered, becoming the 10th to 15th largest company in Japan.

Oh yes, we invested– gladly– to support the leaders who similarly cared for us.

Smirk all you like, but it happened because we felt loved, wanted, and valued... and somewhat secure. Times were rough but virtually no one was cut. And so everyone worked smarter AND harder, and results arrived.

Back to Ford for a moment longer: For those mis-trained in western ways of quarterly profits, easy layoffs, middle-management house-cleaning (and the idiotic practice of asking high-school-grade dimwits to run HR), all I can say is companies reap what they sow. In business, Ford's laughable 'Bold Moves' show that Americans often have the eyesight of an eagle and the vision of a clam. It's not about CARS, people, it's about PEOPLE, people.

The lesson is this: “Human Resources” isn’t a euphemism.

Tom Narita showed how to treat employees right, and I wish we'd dare make such bold moves in our culture.

Cheers

XTree, XTreeGold, XTreePro, and now ZTree... For Me

2007-01-03T23:49:00.000-07:00

With the new year, it's official-- I've been using a laptop for 20 years!

When Toshiba introduced the first J-3100 series computer (with a 10MB hard drive), I didn't care how much it cost... I had to have one. I'd spurned the first IBM laptop (junk), and the Wang laptop (compatibility issues), so my desire was ripe. And my intuition was right-- despite the $7,000 price tag, that laptop changed my life.

October 1987 a friend from Germany introduced me to XTree, a powerful disc maintenance program that allowed all kinds of DOS disc operations. Keep in mind that at the time, the normal process to copy a single file required an exact string "at the C prompt" that looked something like C:\>copy c:\whattheflip a:\*.* /-n

Yes, I've seen a few changes over the years.

But the other day I discovered that my former power-tool still lived! ZTree aced Windows in the same way XTree aced the DOS operating system. The new ZTree delighted me to the point I installed the trial version, but contacted Kim Henkel (khenkel@zedtek.com) and bought it within hours.

Impossible to detail everything ZTree does, but believe me, it's an amazing program-- and even more earth-shattering and necessary than it was 20 years ago. Like you, I hate it when Billy Freakin Gates tells me with goofy popup window, "Whoah little fellah! You can't do that!" ZTree allows me to blow right past normal Windows limitations of all kinds as if I were in control.

What a concept.

For example, in a classic case of "Where'd I put that??" today I had to locate an important file in which I'd written the word "SymbianOS." But I wasn't certain where I'd written it, or under what conditions. So I wasn't sure what to open. The obvious suspects were MSWord documents, Notepad, WordPerfect 5.1 text-based processing files, but I also could have made a note in Excel, my appointment calendar, any of my five databases, as an embedded note in a jpg photograph, or even in the 1980s program TornadoNotes (aka InfoSelect).

It would have taken me hours to open two dozen user programs, and then "search" specific directories for files. In short, I was screwed. But oh yeah! ZTree to the rescue!

In less than three minutes (that's 180 seconds, stupid MicroSloth), I "tagged" 500 to 800 files in two or three suspect directories, and with one command search-examined every file irrespective of formatting, for any occurence of 'Symb' --and found exactly one. The one I sought by three minutes of complete control.

Most Windows sheep cringe when they hear the "ding" and see the little Windows "ERROR!" popup message. Mr. Gates has them cowed. But for those of us with an endlessly enquiring mind, who know something CAN be done, ZTree is not just another new shiny chrome wrench in your toolbox. It's puts a very godlike power in your hand.

Check out ZTree in a sample download at http://www.ztree.com/

My tip is to pay attention to the menu screen at the bottom. Note that the menu selections change when pushing CTRL or ALT. The power of this program might take you a while to master, but keep at it.

Trust me: After 20 years of using it, I can verify that it's worth every moment of your time.

And if you start using it today, by the year 2027 your blog will squeal about it, too.

Cheers!