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I was raised by an artist.   In the 70’s my Mom cut hair at a salon that also taught belly-dancing.  Nonetheless, she was an artist of hair.  Later, she became a nationally recognized Interior Designer.   Later still, a more conventional artist, with oil paints and a canvas.

My house, growing up, was always changing.  One day we had French doors that were white; the next day we had something else.

As a kid, I remember going to visit her at Ethan Allen, where she worked earlier in her career,  and playing on the carpet samples for hours and hours.

Roles shifted, and as a young adult and fledgling entrepreneur myself, I convinced her to go into her own business www.janicemccubbin.com. This scared the crap out of her; yet further developed both her art and the quality of her client base.

I was also raised by a financial planner.   My Father worked for Smith Barney as a financial planner; specializing in options.  Puts and Calls.  He taught me about money.  How money is a tool.  It can be leveraged.  It can be dangerous.  It can be rewarding.   And It should be respected.

They both spoke to me for hours on end about their careers.  When I was lucky I would get to meet their clients.   Both of them served the wealthy.  The VERY wealthy.

And I was a sponge.  I learned.

Could I sum up my Mom or Dad’s career in one sentence??   ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

That would be both offensive and presumptuous.

BUT… I can tell you one of the most important lessons I learned from these amazing people.

– and here it is –

Money is a tool; it has no soul. – But it can be made to dance, and sing.  It can be leveraged to create.  It can serve a purpose beyond itself.  It can feed people.  It can provide blankets to the homeless.  It can create a bridge for laughter. Love. Light.  But it does exist.  And it must be respected.

Art is expressive; it has soul. – But it can be made into a blunt object of force.  Words, paint, music, religion, expression.  It can be leveraged for power….and abused.  It seems innocuous.  But its beauty has both beauty AND a razor sharp edge.  It can create a bridge for laughter. Love. Light.  And it does exist.  And it must be respected.

Power can exist over people in many ways.   Their strength, and protection, is in realization of this truth.

P.S. The artwork featured in this blog is from my 10 year old son, Jonathan.

There are three types of employees. You are likely one of them:

Category A - These people bust ass. They work virtually all hours; from home, via Blackberry, on weekends. Whenever needed. They expand their skills and their job role to encompass what the employer needs at that moment, not necessarily for the employer… but for their selfish desire to move ahead AND their personal desire to scratch that internal itch called Pride. They do this happily, without warning, forethought, or demand.

These folks never need to be asked to do X, Y, Z… Oftentimes, they even require training on focus and slowing down. Balance is achieved through personal productivity.

They are team players; helping and not begrudging their time invested in others. They don’t let family or personal concerns block their career efficacy; using their personal life as a motivation and not a road-block.

Their work is an investment… In themselves and in their career.

They are the crab seeking ever to climb out of the bucket. Not because the bucket is horrible, but because they are excited about what lies beyond the edges of their current limitations. Read more

One thing I realized long ago was that no matter how competent I was (or thought I was), I needed the help of others to achieve my dreams and goals. These “others” fell into many categories: mentors, investors, support network, clients, vendors, friends, drinking buddies, peers, wife, kids, and…employees. All of them played crucial roles in my development; tons of amazing stories. However, many moons ago I learned the concept of leverage through the use of something called a fulcrum, which produces a mechanical advantage when utilized properly.

Now… I’m not trying to get all engineering on you here. But it is really this simple; I was a very small kid…super short. Even as an adult, I stand now about 5′5″ and a half (and a HALF damn it). So… I had to learn how to make things work for me when nature simply had not/did not/would not/wasn’t planning on providing. Same principle that causes many fat people to be funny (see: John Candy, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Jack Black, etc, etc, etc). Anyway… fact is, you gotta figure another way to get what you want if the standard apparatus doesn’t achieve the goals. Read more

Ok, ok… I admit it. Despite having made fun of the ‘weak’ people who see or have seen a therapist of some sort… I have been to one on and off for the last couple years. He says I am crazy. I already knew that; can I get a refund?

I will admit it’s nice to be able to just gab, blab, and blubber in someone else’s paid and professional care. Men who habitually pay for female companionship know exactly what I am talking about…a lesser known skill taught at pole-dancing school is listening to the client B&M (Bitch & Moan) about their often self-perpetuated self-abuse.

That said – let me sum up professional therapy, and the Champagne Room counseling session, and save you thousands or even tens of thousands of Benjamins: Read more

Rules to Follow When Making Decisions

In the last ten days, I’ve taken on the job roles previously assigned to four people (including me). When you have an almost insurmountable amount of work in front of you, you get very good at making decisions and delegating.

Making decisions – this is crucial for leadership. Most people are scared to make decisions, captured by the fear of risk. What if…? And their mind fills in fears, the weight of the decision looms- even grows- and they then use some personalized delay tactic.

Thing is… Leaders lead. If the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, then we see that nowhere more exemplified in the ability to make decisions.

I have some underlying rules, related to my own behavior, that I almost religiously follow when faced with decisions (weighing the risks of two partial unknowns)… to the extent that they are habitual. Read more

I haven’t posted on this blog for over a year.  Lots of reasons why; but it starts with my life was “messy.”  Someday I’ll have the guts to put it all out here, but for now, I don’t.  Let’s let it suffice to say that I have had some major life changes and been through many humbling life learning experiences.  Those that are applicable to business or personal development, I promise to someday share. In the interim, I have decided to start re-posting on this blog, and to re-focus the intent of my postings. So first, let’s assess WHY I am posting and to WHOM I am focusing my message.  These messages are not for the nameless sea of faces we call the “internet,” but for the people I refer to as friends, employees (current, past, and future), and family.  I want them to learn from my experiences and my viewpoints.  Right or wrong, I hope they can benefit from the learning opportunities I have had, resulting from the decisions I made and actions I took when difficult problems presented themselves in my business at Pop Labs.

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I love people sometimes; they come up with every possible excuse and self justification for their own actions. Usually focused on how somebody else’s actions or thoughts are the REAL reason they turned into a sloppy, irresponsible, broke jerk wad. So…I decided to sum up some of the more effective methods of thinking and acting like a loser. The next ten steps are not in any particular order, you can choose any combination of the ten below in order to prove to the world how awesome at NOT being awesome you really are:

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I’ve taken way too long to list out ten simple rules…but here are the last two. I’m currently at the San Jose Search Engine Strategies Conference and about to attend the Google Dance…so I gotta type fast…Mecca calls (at least for my industry). Remember, these were in order of task completion or at least as you will become aware of the issue they address as your business evolves from wild-ass idea to something you can pass on to your kids (or dog if you are a loner):

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Your people…that’s who!!! What people? Employees, vendors, investors, and customers. Note: I did not put the customer first. The customer does not ALWAYS come first…because some customers are better off being sent to your competitors. Great post on that right here…I’ll write more on my vehement belief that customer service is crucial but clients do not always come first. Back to that later; on with the countdown: Read more

Continuing the list, Number 4: If it is good enough for Rudyard Kipling, it’s good enough for me -

The Five W’s (and one H) of SALES. Many a great idea has died a slow and painful death due to no cash to buy food and drink for the human beingswho are building this new enterprise, many an army has lost the war before ever entering battle from a lack of supplies. Business is no different. Cash is oxygen. Cash flow is created through the production of sales. I must admit, this is a subjectI can wax poetic about for a while. Sales can be one of theleast appreciated, albeit oftentimes highestpaid, career paths in existence. Bottom-line though is this, new businesses need to generate cash. Cash can be easily generated from sales. Sales don’t happen by accident though, and they rarely happen virally. They happen through a planned target for customer acquisition and servicing. Thus…Rudyard Kipling’s poem:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

Read more

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