Quote on Leadership

"The great leader speaks little. He never speaks carelessly. He works without self-interest and leaves no trace. When all is finished, the people say, “We did it ourselves.”

-Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu

Quote on Manager Failure Rate

"We've found that 40 percent of executives hired at the senior level are pushed out, fail or quit within 18 months. It’s expensive in terms of lost revenue. It’s expensive in terms of the individual’s hiring. It’s damaging to morale."

-Kevin Kelly, CEO of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, discussing the firm's internal study of 20,000 searches.

Woot Makes Me Think

I got an email from Woot today. At the bottom they had this silly graphic:



I've been minimalizing a lot of stuff in my life lately: Possessions, bills, work, Facebook friends (yeah, I got rid of people I didn't really know and it simplified my Facebook experience.) I'm enjoying freedom from life's unnecessary burdens, and it's freeing up my time so I can focus on the things that really matter to me.

I never thought about freedom from knowledge before, but it really makes sense. Freedom from knowing what other people expect me to know. I don't need to know the meaning of every inside joke. What happens if I never watch the most popular TV shows and I don't get references? Will my life be less meaningful? Will I be less happy? What happens if I stop watching the news? Will my vote count less? Will I be less of an American?

I really don't have the answers to these questions, but the woot monkeys made me think about it. I'll let you know if I land on anything brilliant.

Planning Into Minimalism

I'm on day 2 of my journey into Minimalism. I'm planning. I didn't buy a calendar like they recommend, but instead used Microsoft Outlook. I'm thinking Outlook might be the problem. That software is expensive. I'm planning my digital minimalist life. I have a lot of monthly, quarterly, and yearly fees for digital services, when free ones are just as good or nearly just as good. I think I'll spend my free time during Christmas transitioning to the free services, like using GMail instead of Outlook/Exchange.

I pay for source control, when I could just host it myself for free.

I pay for web hosting from several different companies, but I should consolidate and make my expenses cheaper.

I canceled GOTOMeeting (which I use primarily to remote control computers or show someone my screen), because I can just use mikogo for free.

I'm going to comb over my cell phone bill and cancel unneeded phones and services. My phone bill is typically $330 a month. YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT! I know, I know...it's embarrassing. But I have three sons. Little buggers are expensive.

My Must List for the Next 90 Days

I read Day 1 of the journey from The Minimalist Blog. They mention that I need to turn shoulds into musts and I totally agree.

This is who I am for the next 90 days.

I must do P90X first thing in the morning.

I must write 1000 words a day on my book.

I must complete projects for work.

I must listen to podcasts to and from work.

I must be available for my sons for surfing, golf, and bonding time.

I must eat healthy for every meal.

I must not watch TV, HULU, etc.

I must not go on the Internet unless it's to research or write.

I must not hold on to my fucking phone like I'm Gollum and it's the goddamn One Ring.



I must watch a technology video every day.

I must make time for making good friends.

New BunkSpeed Site is Amazing!

Brad Cunningham just showed me the new website for his company, Bunkspeed. This site was created with Javascript and CSS. I'm flabbergasted how seamless the scroll in and scroll out works without losing any graphical detail. Brad and his team did some breathtaking work here and they should be proud.

www.bunkspeed.com

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