Smart Bomb

Smart Bomb?
Smart Bomb?

The silver bullet, and we’re not talking Coors Light here. Don’t we dream of finding the silver bullet?

The silver bullet for leadership, for customer service, for brand recognition, marketing, market share, sales, etc.

Maybe we are searching for the wrong solution.

Maybe we should be in search of the …. smart bomb.

Smart bomb?  Yes. I just discovered it. (it was right next to the fountain of youth)

My son and his friend are playing video games.

I’m eating some cold, left-over Pasitano’s Pizza for lunch.

Watching them play, with their nine-year old competitive juices flowing, they just got excited about a smart bomb.  I watched the bomb grow in size, until it was a giant bubble on the TV, and then it exploded.

All I could think to do was groan for them, in their apparent loss.  Because, like most bombs, a big explosion does serious damage.

They corrected me, the way nine-year olds do when adults reveal their complete incompetence about stuff they didn’t grow up with.

A smart bomb, when it explodes, makes everyone near it – smarter, more effective.   Better.

Smart bomb.  Has a nice ring to it. Imagine if you worked on something important and then it sort of exploded in your face. Youch.

Or, “EUREKA!”  As in – “Used to express triumph upon finding or discovering something.”

You know, the silver bullet.

Look At All These

Money Tree?
Money Tree?

Look at all these things we have to do:

  • Buy Insurance
  • Buckle our Seat Belt
  • Say Thank You
  • Brush Our Teeth
  • Be Nice to Others
  • Lock Our Doors Before Bedtime
  • Do a Great Job at Work
  • Blah, blah, blah

But, ask us to think about our personal vision statement, and you might as well ask us if we can grow a money tree.

Why is that?  Am I missing something?

Not A Big Deal

What Would You Find?
What Would You Find?

Hey, don’t want to make a big deal, or start some internal swirl of guilt or doubt with anyone, so I won’t dwell on this blog thing from yesterday.

But may I please say one more thing before we move on?  Google a few things and see what you get:

  • Your name
  • Your Company
  • A few key words you use

Blogging will accelerate your search engine optimization. It’s not a silver bullet, but then again, and we all know “There ain’t no silver bullet.”

And as a “put your money where your mouth is” kinda thing, Google any of my blog titles (minus the .com, .net or .org).

Maybe there is a silver bullet.

Or, beginner’s luck.

Two Days Ago

What Are the Odds?
What Are the Odds?

Two days ago you saw the post about someone I know who got a separation package.

He saw it coming and started a business in advance of the separation.

Remember?

What I didn’t mention then, but must now, his chances for survival after five years are as good as all the others starting a business.

Entrepreneurial people have to work very, very hard.  Why?  Because if they fail…

But if they succeed, they have amazing opportunities.

But no one ever talks openly about the odds.  You know why?

You do know the odds right?

Leadership Books

The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture

I get it. There is only so much a person can read. We can’t do it all. Right there with you. And, many of us received new books as gifts recently.

What books changed your life last year?

There were a few for me.  Two had significant impact.

Up first, The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch.  Randy was a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, in his mid-40’s.  He had a wife and three children under the age of six.

Then he got pancreatic cancer.

To paraphrase what I heard Randy say:

This isn’t a book about dying. It’s a book about living.

It isn’t a book for you and me. It is a book for Randy Pausch’s children.

How did this book change my life?

It is in living in the moment that makes us great leaders. Doing things – things that matter – with a heightened sense of urgency has changed my life.  I’ll tell you why tomorrow.