Monthly Archives: January 2013
“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!”
Late morning inside a second story lounge at a printing company in Pittsburgh, three businessmen were spread out comfortably on separate couches. The older gentlemen were each playing with one of their favorite toys: an iPad. The younger fellow was slightly more formal with a Macbook Pro laptop.
Three people, wired-in to the wide world of seemingly everything, were content. Also know that the movie “21” was playing in the foreground and was thoroughly enjoyed.
The surfing of the web occurred during commercial breaks (& without the potential presence of a Great White Shark lurking nearby). Three and a half to four minutes does not seem like an ample amount of time to finish any kind of meaningful task, but aren’t we all just a little humbled to know it actually can be more than enough time.
One of the discussions between the three men was imagining what is going to come next after the iPad? The youngest declared with a high degree of supposed certainty about a much more grand ‘product’ for the future. This will remain confidential for now, but it correlates with the modern innovator’s mindset of believing in the notion, “why not?”
While the notion above is the mentality, the following is the subsequent process: When one domino falls, the rest will follow.
This thought rings true for children as much as it does for adults. The only differences are what the dominoes represent and how slowly or quickly they fall relative to time and perspective.
Technology is a permanently forward-looking concept. Humans have progressed from traveling by means of walking to riding horses to sitting in horse drawn carriages to relaxing on trains to driving automobiles to flying on airplanes. Yet this is only a brief history of transportation’s evolution within the last two hundred fifty years or so. Once person A figured out an easier way for people to travel, person B discovered a better way. Then persons C & D had new ideas and so on and so forth. It continues today and will continue evermore.
Want proof? Richard Branson is currently working on offering commercial flights to space…to space!
It was only about twenty years ago that someone figured out how to put lights in the heels of sneakers.
Convenience comes with costs though, with money and privacy as only two examples. This speed and access to information creates necessity to be up-to-date by the second. Not hours or minutes, but seconds.
Briefly reflect upon our own expectations for expectant e-mails and how quickly we demand it arrive in our inbox and how upset we become to be forced to wait even five-Mississippi’s. “What’s taking so long!”
The 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show took place in Las Vegas last week. This has become a premier showcase of what some of the brightest minds are willing to display to the public as the next great product. This year it included a new brand of high definition televisions known as “4K.” David Pogue of the New York Times wrote about its resolution: “It means more pixels — four times as many as HDTV.”
The cost is not even remotely serious when it comes to intrigued consumers and as Pogue noted, “There’s not a single cable TV show broadcast in 4K, and not a single movie available on disc in 4K.” While the world is literally not ready for “4K,” that has not prevented curious minds from innovating for the future. Just as Steve Jobs proved, it’s not always about the device you have right now, but it’s actually what comes after it that generates the real allure.
Currently, people can sit in a room and search an infinite number of websites, play games, watch videos and listen to music to their hearts delight on their computers, laptops, iPads, tablets and cell phones.
This is where we are right now, this second. But what’s coming in the next wave just on the horizon?
As individuals proved at CES 2013, the future of television will soon project unprecedented clarity. It’s a safe bet that an innovator or group of aspiring innovators have examined “4K’ and are already brainstorming about “5K” or a resolution even better, well before “4K’ has been formatted for the public.
There is a scene in “21” when newcomer Ben is playing his first round of team blackjack. It took him only a matter of minutes before he earned thousands of dollars with his disguised partner at a table in the Hard Rock Hotel’s casino in Las Vegas by using an encrypted system of counting cards with hand signals and code words.
Later in the movie, Ben foolishly charges full steam ahead with enormous bets while blinded by his own arrogance of entitled invincibility.
Incredibly, within minutes, tens of thousands of dollars were lost.
Afterwards, their professorial leader informed Ben that he was no longer counting, but instead gambling. This difference literally distinguished between winning and losing.
Every decision has weight and consequence. Speed and access of information comes with benefits and prices of various forms. It is dependent upon ourselves to be cognizant of this and prepare so that the right decisions are made at the right moments. Technology, society and business will continue to evolve in a myriad of ways and we need to be ready to adapt and react in this fast paced and ever-changing era of decision-making.
Otherwise, aren’t we just gambling?
The Real Price to Getting a Returning Customer
A couple days ago I received a new credit card. Doing the card switch during lunch was perhaps not the best because of the short time it takes to activate. I didn’t have much cash on me, but I was told the new card would be ready for use in roughly ten minutes. It was a relief to be assured at my bank that my credit was still rock solid and no problems were present with regard to spending or any other financial matter. (Wheww) Good.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for our federal government. The recent ‘fiscal cliff’ deal proved once again that our president and legislators will continue to purposefully (and destructively) spend beyond our means on programs that are known to be dangerously unsustainable. Not good at all.
I wonder if our federal government would be approved for a credit card if a local bank examined their statement?
Depressing news aside, the new year brings so many wonderful things: joyful hope, personal rebirth in the form of resolutions and college football bowl games! “The Grand Daddy of Them All” is of course the best, but this year it was actually the second best game of the day. The Outback Bowl, which hosted That State Up North and South Carolina, was quite a game for multiple reasons.
It was a battle throughout and included a KO hit courtesy of South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney. An almost hard to watch hit, the fact that the player struck was alright and he was a Wolverine made it a little easier to see.
Trailing 28-26 with 17 seconds left, Dylan Thompson passed to Bruce Ellington at the Wolverine’s two yard line, who then strolled into the end zone for what became the go-ahead touchdown. While this was good news for folks of the ‘other’ Carolina, there was a greater prize at stake.
Outback Steakhouse, understanding its national exposure, declared before kickoff that whoever won the bowl game, a free item would be offered to its patrons the following day. That State Up North=Free Coconut Shrimp and South Carolina=Free Bloomin’ Onion.
Calling at 5:30 for a reservation, the girl with a cute voice from Outback said the wait was about 45 minutes. Wow! Ladies and gentlemen, Outback wins the first award of 2013 for Best Advertising.
Returning back to obtaining a new credit card, I drove around for about fifteen minutes on my way to lunch to make sure the card would be usable. After walking into a Subway, I ordered my six-inch sub and decided to make it a meal with chips and a drink. Nothing too exciting, but sometimes so is life. I hand, who I believe is the owner and acting cashier, my rewards card and mint credit card. He swiped the rewards card with no problem. Next, the credit card…Declined.
This is a place nobody wants to be, especially with people behind you. I quickly shuffled for the $5 I luckily had in my front pocket. I requested the chips and drink be taken off my order. He obliged and as he gave me the change for the sub, he pushed the drink cup towards me. I said, “No, I can’t.” He replied with a belated, “Merry Christmas” and a gentle smile. I said, “Thank you” and proceeded towards the soda machine.
Later on that evening, my credit card was activated and my credit was flowing once more.
Some may be wondering why I spent energy writing about a free Bloomin’ Onion and getting a free drink from Subway. Let me explain.
People appreciate it when businesses and people reach out like this. It’s nothing permanent, but just a nice, “Thank You” to their customers (and in some cases, fans). Observing an uncomfortable circumstance, the cashier/owner took it upon himself to make it clear that giving a break to a patron is sometimes more important than a monetary bottom line.
In April of 2009, Jay Leno offered a free concert to people of Auburn Hills in That State Up North. It was part of his, “Comedy Stimulus Tour.” The show was meant to be a night out on the town for those in very hard hit areas following the events of 2008 to laugh a little with a free Pepsi and bag of chips.
Jay had said that the NBA arena where it took place was so large and that there were initial concerns about their only being one or two security guards. Turned out the concert went on without a single incident. In and around Detroit, that is impressive.
To be clear, this is not about getting free stuff whatsoever. It’s an acknowledgement of those in big business and big comedy that still see people and not just numbers on a spread sheet. These three examples could be viewed as varying types of random acts of kindness. Things like a free drink or comedy show are not expected to become formal protocol, but it’s always a very pleasant surprise when strangers or even familiar faces offer a helping hand.
A medium drink at Subway costs about $1.50 and that’s likely how much that particular Subway lost that day. However, I have a suspicion that the American people can live with this kind of relative over-spending by their government on certain occasions.
In fact, most people would probably prefer their government be run by someone more like the aforementioned Subway owner/cashier. The problem is most of the leaders in the private sector and federal government could not be farther apart in how they operate their given business/country.
Generally,
Businesses=Fiscally Responsible with a few friendly giveaways
Federal Government=Fiscally Irresponsible with too many ‘friendly’ giveaways
Jimmy's Daily Planet 