Showing posts with label pictures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pictures. Show all posts

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The definitive guide to Rehobeth Beach, Bethany Beach & Dewey Beach

What follows is the quickest overview of the Delaware Beaches (hopefully to become part of the "Delmarva Coast" tag line).




Rehobeth is more "open" and has the most to do of the three. It feels like a modern beach spot, but retains small town charm. Best restaurant and shop options.

Bethany is stuck in the early 1970s, in a good way. It has a couple of restaurants and bars, more than enough shops for a long weekend, and tons of beach houses for friends or family.

If "Virginia is for lovers" then "Dewey is for drinkers". Only a small handful of restaurants (Nalu Hawaiian Surf Bar and Grille was good) and lots of 16-24 year olds roaming around looking for beverages and a new "friend".


Monday, April 5, 2010

Business Lessons learned from little league, part 2

Coaching 9 and 10 year olds can be a great way to learn some business lessons. Especially on how to deal with unique circumstances and "interesting" perspectives on proper conduct.


Not everyone will listen or play along - whether they be your boss/es, coworker/s, or direct report/s it is a guarantee that despite your infinite wisdom and perfect plan that people will both willfully and unintentionally not go along. On the ballfield there are two types of mistakes: physical and mental. Physical mistakes are to be tolerated and corrected, mistakes happen, people throw the ball too hard or too soft, swing and miss, etc. That is life, and sometimes innate abilities can't match the situation.

But mental mistakes? No no no. These are because people are not paying attention, were not listening, were not thinking, etc. These cannot be tolerated.


In the workplace, those who unintentionally stray from the path need to be corrected and brought back into the fold. Honest mistake, no harm no foul, etc.

Those who intentionally won't go with the plan, well there are hundreds of books written on how to deal with those people. I simply recommend making it clear what expectations are, and keeping a log of willful disobedience. For my little leaguers this can result in a player/coach/parent meeting, emails to parents, etc. Typically these are resolved with a one-on-one meeting between the player and coach. But not always...



Match abilities to the situation - Don't put the least skilled and least experienced player on the pitcher's mound. It is principally not fair to them, and secondarily not fair to the team. Don't put your newest consultant in front of a senior executive to give a presentation they didn't create, and don't intimately know. This should be obvious, but in sports and business we make this mistake a lot.


Give everyone a chance - However you define a "fresh start" in business, make sure this opportunity exists. On a little league team, this should be the beginning of the new year. For consultants, when you go to a new project you should enter with few biases and a chance to prove yourself. You shouldn't be fighting an uphill battle. Lots of times little league coaches talk to each other about players and bias each other "Timmy was afraid of the ball" "Billy was a bad shortstop" "Sally can't pitch". These are kids, they mature in the blink of an eye, give them a chance to prove themselves. Don't be their enemy to start off with. Same for employees, give them a chance.

(that being said, fool me once shame on you...)



The great pictures, in order, come from:
  1. on2wheelz
  2.  stuartmoulder
  3. ArkansasSportsPhotograp hy.com
  4. stuartmoulder 

Thursday, July 2, 2009

It's time to get ride of the corner office

3638241854_0e5347db96_m.jpg or 494856508_f0d055d0a5_m.jpg

In the course of my modest nearly 8 year career (July 9th will be the 8 year anniversary, which is the bronze year evidently), I've been able to work with some facilities organizations. Facilities? You mean the janitors and maintenance crews? Yes, those guys, plus a lot lot more. Managing corporate real estate is a large task, as it involves a heavy dollar investment for any organization.

The cost per square foot is rather shocking, and when you look at it on an annual basis, wow is that a lot of money.

All that beind said, the corner office holds a special place within corporate America. Long viewed as the symbol of "making it" in the business world, corner offices are the modern day anethema to green/sustainable work places. Corner offices block sunlight, leaving the lowly peons of the organization with fluorescent lighting. Corner offices alone as a status symbol cause devisiveness, tension and angst among workers.

Peers can become rivals when space planning and real estate demands result in one equal getting a corner office and the other not. Friendships have actually ended over this stuff.


If an organization's leaders claim to put their people first, claim that they want to create an open environment where people are valued, etc then check to see where their office is located.

Also, check out how large and lavish the CEO/President's office is in comparison to everyone else...


(pictures by redskins5926 and bellhalla, respectively)

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Paintball

Went painyballin' for a friend's bachelor party and took a good shot to the facemask. (No, it didn't taste good)

Thursday, June 5, 2008

You can't tell

But there's a bright red Robin in the middle of this picture that was greeting me in our backyard this morning.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Friday, January 18, 2008

Most popular dog breeds?

The American Kennel Club has a list of the top 10 breeds in the US.

10) Bull dogs, making pugs look cute since 1210. #10: Bulldog

9) Mops are popular? #9: Shih Tzu

8) The poodle, really? A very smart breed, but smart enough to know it looks really really stupid? #8: Poodle
7) Everyone loves a weiner! (is that in bad taste?) Great dog, but it looks like they took a normal looking cute dog and stretched it out. Which I guess means you get extra dog. I'll take it, no mustard please. #7: Dachshund
6) Boxer. I have no witty comment #6: Boxer
5) I'm perfectly ok with a beagle being #5 #5: Beagle
4) I demand a recount!!! Golden retrievers should be at wort 2 in this list #4: Golden Retriever
3) Great, a dog that is as warm and friendly as a German. Good choice people #3: German Shepherd
2) Ok, I'll admit the Yorshire Terrier is small and cute, and my Aunt had one (Muffin). But this is a mini-mop. And very yappy #2: Yorkshire Terrier
1) Everyone loves a big dumb Lab, I concede that one #1: Labrador Retriever


Check out some other dog posts I have:

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