Measure Your Chassis

November 17, 2009

(An Excerpt From Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less)
My chassis was a wreck.
Ten years ago, in the depths of my workplace chaos, I was also dealing with a very sick body and an exhausted mind. I was delirious during the day and couldn’t sleep at night. My doctor had me [...]

Read the full article →

Observing the Family System

November 9, 2009

Mother and daughter near the village of Skardu in remote NE Pakistan’s “Northern Areas.” Photo by Sam Carpenter.
The systems mindset will cause you to take different actions. Instead of floundering through the day in fire-killing, you will spend your moments constructing the life you desire, step-by-step. It starts with the “get it” event that will happen spontaneously and when [...]

Read the full article →

A Bull Rider’s Life, Part 2 of 2

November 3, 2009

Sam Kirkaldie, age 18, bull rider in national rodeo competition in Louisiana. 1958
 
A Bull Rider’s Life, Part 2 of 2 
So, here’s the second part of my interview with Sam Kirkaldie, my friend and business partner who turned 70 in mid October. As you read this, note what was important, where time was spent, and what the key [...]

Read the full article →

A Bull Rider’s Life, Part 1 of 2

October 27, 2009

Sam Kirkaldie turned 70 on October 18th. 
Let’s go back. Sam, his wife Bev and three boys arrived in Bend, Oregon in 1976. (With my wife and two kids, I landed here in 1978.) We’ve been acquainted since the late 80’s and business partners since 2000. We share the same lifestyle, political viewpoint, entrepreneurial spirit, and the foundational belief that life is simple. Sam [...]

Read the full article →

The Gates are Open

October 20, 2009

I had arthroscopic shoulder surgery yesterday. They put me down, spent an hour snaking tubes into my right shoulder joint, took out some loose bone debris, wheeled me back to recovery, and then I woke up. Linda drove me home.
This sort of mini-epic, like first-time sky diving, rock-climbing or public speaking, is a gateway to a [...]

Read the full article →

Finding Great Employees, Part 2 of 2: The Ten Hoops

October 13, 2009

Photo by egor.gribanov
This post, on the surface and in the details, is specific to employers. But the fundamentals are absolutely germane to employees or anyone who operates a one-person show. In fact, the more important message is the illustration of the ”work the system” approach to any work-related task.

Presuming the leader can provide a terrific work situation, the next challenge is to find good [...]

Read the full article →

Caffeine, Part 3 of 3: How to Quit

October 3, 2009

“The second strategy to use as the excuses line themselves up is to ask, “Why am I lacking courage at this moment? Why am I being a sissy?” It’s a bit of twisted psychology that rattles the cage and causes a passionate reaction.” -From the Chapter “Quiet Courage,” from the book “Work the System: The [...]

Read the full article →

Music is the Ultimate System

October 1, 2009

Everywhere in life, system mechanics all work the same. There’s a repeating, base cycle and upon that cycle creativity is unleashed.
Music is my favorite illustration of a system. Rock, classical, smooth jazz, country…it doesn’t matter:  There is a recurring throbbing cycle and built on top of that cycle is the emotional lead guitar, piano solo or crazy-maker solo lead [...]

Read the full article →

Finding Great Employees, Part 1 of 2: The Ten Hoops

September 28, 2009

This is the first part of a two part series. For this topic I started to write a brand new post and then realized my best analysis is right out of the book. So, here it is, modified a bit so it conforms to the expected comportment of a blog post. Note that employee strategies [...]

Read the full article →

Drug Testing, Part 2 of 2: How We Drug Test

September 15, 2009

Part 2 of a 2 part series
 
In Part 1 of this series on employee drug testing, I suggested that a manager/business owner should ask this question: Notwithstanding all the positive attributes that contribute toward the success of my enterprise, am I sabotaging myself elsewhere?
So, without sounding like a public service announcement, drug abuse is a [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →