Friends of Dave #123: Wild Horses
It's May. It's Derby Day. What to say?
Busy week here Friends. Hard to believe we've rounded the turn and are heading into the back stretch of the year already.
Going to pull back the reins a bit on the intro this week and let you trot on down to the articles. There's some really insightful stuff there -- nothing too long or involved, so check them out. Think of it as the Triple Crown of curated content....And I know many of you will appreciate the Last Word piece this week.
But first, attention Netflix people:
Check out the "Call to Courage" special by Brene Brown. You have heard me refer to her a bunch here, especially as it pertains to empathy. Great talk about the link between vulnerability and courage and how it is important to incorporate it into leadership.
For the baseball lovers AND you entrepreneurs, I highly recommend "The Battered Bastards of Baseball." It's an entertaining documentary about the rise and demise of the Portland Mavericks, a minor league baseball team that was founded in the early 70's and owned by Bing Russell, father of actor Kurt Russell. Funny, inspiring, nostalgic with a bunch of cool tidbits and twists thrown in as well. Also provides a great lesson in market disruption and overcoming adversity that is definitely applicable to business (particularly startups).
Have a great weekend. Post time for the Kentucky Derby Saturday is 6:50pm ET -- hope you are able to grab your finest hat and a mint julep and enjoy the most exciting two minutes in sports.
XOXO
Dave
Kentucky Derby: Think on These...
The “silver tsunami” is the workforce the world needs right now
The most undervalued population in the world is the economy’s most valuable resource. With life expectancies going up as well as the cost of living and healthcare, the significant amount of the global workforce now over 50 should not be surprising.
Value Cards and Knowing Yourself
Your values are your internal control system. When moments of crisis occur, we rarely have time to explore options and consider alternatives in any depth. It is our core values that we rely on to guide us.
I have my own experience with "values cards" -- I first came across this on a site visit years ago at a Ritz Carlton in Atlanta. Every employee carries a corporate values card on them at all times. I liked the idea so much, I introduced a similar concept to a firm I was with a few years ago. Alignment of our own personal core values with that of our company goes a long way to ensuring excellent customer experience as well as employee satisfaction.
Preakness: A Few For Your Day Job...
Why You Should Never Write "Thank You in Advance"
I will appreciate your help with this situation.
I had an email correspondence this week with a former colleague where I made the mistake of adding "Thank you in advance" to the end of my email request. They replied with a good natured lecture about how this was rude practice and shared the above link. BEWARE!
The Secret to the Fastest Growing Sales Teams? It's About Growth, Not Speed.
Many sales leaders need to quickly hire salespeople. Taking an intentional approach to sales recruiting vs. speed will help you better scale in the long term.
From CB Insights: a very interesting, in-depth look at how personal finance apps are seizing the opportunity to disrupt the space. This is applicable to ANY business so a worthwhile read, and it uncovers core strategies that these apps are using to build, convert, engage, and monetize their audience.
The Belmont: Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
A giant (fake) potato in Idaho has been turned into an Airbnb, and you can rent it for $200 a night
In related news, we have advertised our 15 year old son's room as "Oscar The Grouch's Garbage Can" on AirBnb....no takers yet.....
Parrot taken into custody by police in Brazil for trying to warn drug dealers of raid
Polly doesn't want a cracker. Polly wants a lawyer.....
Fanny-pack Crocs are as absurd as they are a great marketing move
"Because nothing says I have completely given up on myself like fanny pack Crocs."
The Urine Deflectors of Fleet Street
Pisses me off they don't have these in Boston.
And The Last Word....
The Ruthless, Secretive, and Sometimes Seedy World of Hedge Fund Private Investigators — www.institutionalinvestor.com
“We’re not trying to find the chairman [with] hookers. . . . This is not a revenge business. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.”
Fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the lengths hedge funds will go (in the name of "research") to get dirt on the executives at the companies in which they are investing.