transparency

When Success Stinks

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Success is usually good, but sometimes it stinks.

My first huge commission sale came in late 80’s.   I got it when I inadvertently answered the company’s phone line past closing time at 5:15pm on a Friday.   Two weeks into my first real sales job and it was the Big City on the other end of the line looking for a spring water vendor to supply bottled water coolers and water for the school system whose water supply was just declared undrinkable.

I got that sale.  I was even on local TV news that weekend and was shown delivering and setting up water coolers in the schools.  I was a sales rock star at my company.  Already.

I thought I got the sale because of my insanely good sales skills on that phone call, my confidence and my gargantuan intelligence.  And I also thought that being a salesperson was a pretty easy gig.

And then the sales stopped coming in.

Truth was, we got the school sale because we were the only bottled water company that answered the phone after 5pm that Friday and the city needed the schools to have water for the students by the time classes started again on Monday.

But I didn’t know that then.  I couldn’t see that.   It took me about a year to realize I had nothing to do with that sale and that sales success takes a lot more work and learning than I wanted to accept at that time. 

Success is usually good but sometimes it stinks.  

Every once in a while think deep about that large sale you just landed, or that marketing initiative showing good results or that training you just delivered that got rave reviews. 

If you know deep down you got the sale out of luck:  don’t learn from that success.    If you know deep down that your marketing initiative launched at the same time a new sales rep incentive plan did, don’t bank on that success as a learning tool.   If that training class everyone is giddy about you suspect won’t bear out a month later in results on the floor, check into those results and don’t bask in what is really just the “promise” of success.

Given that, if the phone rings at 5:15pm on a Friday, make sure you pick it up and consider those moments as gifts that you deserve and not moments to learn from. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Lessons From A Grave Digger

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With Halloween being nearby and all the “fake headstones” popping up on people’s front lawns, I got to thinking about my first real job as a grave digger.

I learned some very important lessons that have stuck with me. There’s a lot here so be patient please.  I think they’re lessons helpful for all of us.   

Sometimes in a training session you get caught in an “Icebreaker Exercise” and are asked to share “Your first real job”.  When I was 16 and 17 years old, from the beginning of May till that September’s Labor Day, I worked at the town’s cemetery.  

When I mention it I get questions like “What was that like?”  (It was the most beautiful work place ever) “Did you really dig graves?” (No, I didn’t actually dig the graves (the backhoe did) but I did jump in, fill them and then tamp the dirt down by hand)),  or “Did you see anything bad? (Well let’s just say that after the family leaves, the “lowering” part doesn’t always go so smoothly)”.  I then quip something like “I learned a lot”. 

And I did.  And as I look back, the lessons are deep and very valuable to me.  These lessons deserve a renewed attention.  

I met a great friend in Brian  who at the end of the second summer, went on to travel the world playing horns for the musical “Showboat” on a Cruise ship.   From him I learned that if you have a dream, you have to take some risks.  This kid auditioned and got rejected way more than he was selected.  I want to work a little harder and take some risks as this year is almost over and not sure that I’ve stretched far enough.

I met a fellow worker named Jack whose dream it was that it would rain really hard so he could sit in the garage and do nothing, absolutely nothing.  He was the most miserable man I’ve ever met.  He hated his job, his life and everyone around him.  I hated him right back.  From him I learned what you become when you hate what you do and feel like a victim.  I want to remember that more when I think I’m having a tough day because unlike Jack, I refuse to be a miserable waste of space.

I met Bill, my first real boss I guess,  and I learned from him that a boss’s job is not to help you out or to “own” the business ( or the cemetery),  but rather to tell you what to do, go back the private office and have a drink.   I’m thankful my second real boss (at a department store one year later) Mr. Newman, untaught me that lesson right quick.   I want to remember more that the word “support” ought to be in my and every leader’s title literally and figuratively.

I met Mr. Sony Walkman (yes it was a cassette player walkman in those days) and learned early that listening to music all the time while working was a waste of precious time.   I put my first cassette tape in of somebody saying something smart instead of singing way back then while mowing grass in “A” block.   I want to spend more time “listening” to smart people and starting tonight will listen to that stuff while on the treadmill instead of Led Zeppelin.

I met Mr. Job Satisfaction.  This one is a tough one.   It’s a lesson harder for me to apply as often now as it was then.  There was a great feeling then of a job well done when you finished your day and saw that grass you mowed was now perfect and those headstones were neatly trimmed.  It was an awesome feeling.    In what I do today (and for some of you too); those immediate results and rush of knowing you did your job well or helped someone isn’t always as easy to see.    I bet a lot of folks on my staff struggle sometimes here too, so I want to work harder at finding and articulating the results of the work we do.

Lastly, the greatest lesson I learned stemmed from having the privilege to meet police officers, soldiers, nurses, leaders, business owners, mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers; heroes all.   Some had been at the cemetery for years and some came to stay for good those two summers I worked there.  I knew even then as a “know it all” teenager that I owed them good work, my attention and for the veterans, a crisp clean flag on Memorial Day.  The deepest lesson didn’t sink in until having watched nearly every day while on my lunch break sitting at the edge of the trees, a typically older person drive up with flowers, water and garden tools.  He or she would spend the next two hours standing or sitting, talking aloud and landscaping the grave site of what had to heartbreakingly be a husband, a wife or on occasion, a child.         

I learned then that those were the people I was working for.   Those were the people my work helped and made a real difference to.   You can whine about co workers, job conditions, bosses, your walkman, job satisfaction or anything else you want but if your job is to help someone else, that’s pretty much the most important part of what you do.    Those visitors every day showed me that, and for the rest of those summers, I worked for them. 

Those customers or employees you help everyday.  Those are the people I suspect you and I really work for.  Those are the people you and I help. 

I want to work a little harder remembering that and that’ll be good; it’s probably the best grave digger lesson of all.  

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

My Great Pumpkin Lesson

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I carved a pumpkin for the first time in my life Sunday.  Truly, I never had before.

My young son was feeling sad that he had not yet carved a pumpkin this year with Halloween being right around the corner and all.   He’d carved pumpkins with his mother before, but he wanted to carve one with me.

I was a little nervous about it.  I know that sounds silly.  My son said, “Daddy, it’s easy, you can do it.”

It is something many or perhaps most other people have done.  I never have.  No real reason I guess;  I grew up in the city and maybe that has played a part but I’m also not an artist and it sure looks like it would take one to make a pumpkin look any good.

“I’ll draw the face on the pumpkin for you, Daddy.”  He said.

I worried about the knives but he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take the little one and you can use the big one.”

I honestly (and please don’t laugh too loud) never thought to think what was in a pumpkin and how making it hollow or carving it out must be something that is hard to do.  “It’s full of squishy seeds and stuff and we need a bowl to put it in…” he said.  He was right; it wasn’t as solid I thought it would be.

We cut and scooped out the pumpkin.  “You do this section Daddy, you are stronger, scrape it all out.”

And then… Oh…what a face he drew!

I carved and sculpted and shaped the face.  “Careful not to push on the holes while you carve the other holes” he said.  Great advice.

I had so much fun.  I loved it.  It looks really cool and very scary.   “You did a great job Daddy.” He said.   I was all smiles.

Something about carving this pumpkin meant more to me than I expected.

I thought what a great teacher my son is.  He eased my fears and took control when he needed to.  He helped me through all the tough parts and even praised me.  But in the end gave me something so much more wonderful that I did not readily see it.

He was, in the carving of this pumpkin, being the teacher to me that I want to be, for him.

Later that day on the long ride back to his mother’s house, he put his hand in mine and said “Thanks for carving my pumpkin with me Daddy.”

No son, thank you.

Till next time,

Grow the Business.

Mark

Dear Business Owner

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Dear business owner,

It’s sketchy out there.

But you know that.  It’s been like this for a couple of years.  In my job, I get asked for advice about the marketplace and about business and about turning things around.    

Hope it’s OK I’m going to share my advice with all of you now.  The advice is real good I promise.

  • When you own a business today, taking a lot of risks probably feels crazier than ever.  Except that it’s not.  Risk taking right now is what you have to do if you want your business to survive and thrive.  It is riskier right now not to do anything or to just do what you always did.

 

  • When you own a business today, you have to step out.  Be noticed.  Look for new ways, not old ways, to sell your products and to get and keep customers.  The rules have already changed.  The basics you might think you should fall back on: the “tried and true” so to speak, are pretty much the “tried and failed”.  They don’t work anymore.

 

  • When you own a business today, you have to be indispensable to those who pay you. You have to add value and be a difference maker.  There is no “under the radar” anymore or just trying to keep on keeping on.  You must get on the radar.  

 

  • When you own a business today, even the “givens” don’t seem to be as reliable anymore. Sales are off.    Everyone is judging you no matter how long you’ve been at this game in this tough economy.    Seems like the “business” has to be earned all over again and again.  Everyone is watching you and all your touch points need to have a “wow” factor. 

 

  • When you own a business today, it’s clearer that innovation and creativity is going to rule the day.  Getting out there and doing that and actually investing in yourself, changing and updating your image and your brand, that’s going to take some serious work.  You better start now.

 

Of course, even if you don’t own a literal business; you actually do.

That business is you.

You are president and CEO of You Corp and quite frankly, the advice above is as much for you and me the individual, as it is for any traditional business right now.

Have at it. 
Till next time,

 

Grow The Business.

Mark

The Beginning Sticks

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The four brothers will be together again next week.  It’s been a while.

One’s flying in from New Zealand, another GreyHounding it from Manhattan and the third, well he’s local just like me.   And though we are all in our 40’s now, we’ll act like a bunch of 9 year olds (as we always do) when we get together at Mom’s house.

Because in the beginning, that’s what we did.  And the beginning really sticks.  Being all roughly two years apart, it was those middle school years, it was then that we truly bonded and for lack of a better word; brothered .

So sure our kids will be in tow and our wives and significant others will share in the fun next week but without doubt the youngest, most hyperactive and colossally immature crew will be the four of us.

We’ll settle into a hilariously silly game that will drive my 77 year old mother crazy (as she doth protest too much yelling “Knock it off!” whilst stifling chuckles).  Foam coasters will Frisbee around the living room chair to chair as we see how long we can play catch without dropping a coaster or worse, getting caught by Mom in the act of throwing them. 

And yes, we’ll try to hold the laughter in like giggling 4th graders every time it flies just out of her sight (or better yet, just behind her head as she walks back and forth from the kitchen).  Couch pillows will tumble, table lamps will teeter and spouses will hang their heads in embarrassment as we four being much older now, risk grave injury diving off that recliner to make the incredible catch to keep the game alive.

Because that’s how we were in the beginning, and getting together so many years later, it’s no use, we are going back- the beginning sticks.

**

You won’t think I’ll go from flying coasters to flying planes but I will.

Sullenberger landed that plane in the Hudson and he called upon all that training, all the experience and all stuff from the very beginning, from his “earliest days” he said, to land that plane the best he could.   He even called it “primacy”, those times in the beginning.  He did later what he knew from earlier, much earlier, because the beginning sticks.

Those flight attendants didn’t call out the emergency announcements they were most recently were trained on at US Air but rather,  they shouted out the ones they learned years and years ago when they first started out with another airline.  They did later what they knew from earlier, much earlier, because the beginning sticks. 

**

You won’t think I’ll go from coasters to cockpits to some counsel but I will. 

The beginning sticks.  It sticks no matter if it’s about something as ordinary as how 4 brothers bonded with their Mother in a living room, or if it’s about the extraordinary first days of training of a pilot and crew.   The beginning sticks and therefore it matters. 

The beginning sticks is a reminder of how important those first instructions are to help a child hold a bat or how to start that diary or how to deal with the loss of a pet.   The beginning sticks translates to business too and is a reminder of how important your new hire classes are, your on boarding programs are, your mentoring is or those first few initial team meetings or even those early team outings are.

It’s just a plain ol’ reminder about how sticky the beginning is of just about anything important.  

Don’t look past the beginning.  Prepare for it.  Do it right or do it fun.  Or do it both right and fun.  Because how ever you do it, it’ll stick.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Kill all Leads, Commissions and Sales Reps

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I’m done with these three.

You should be too.  It’s tough because I worked them, fed my family with them and have been one for a lot of my life.

But I don’t believe anymore in what we call these three.

We need to change the names of these things.   It would do us wonders on so many levels.   Bad names can hurt what people think about you.  Bad names can hurt what you think about yourself.

And I’m done with that.

**

Leads.  Ugh.  Please, this is word is the worst offender.  “Give me the leads”.  “The leads stink”.  “I need more leads”.  The word “leads” just reeks of a faceless commodity. 

Change the word to “Needs”.  Every lead is really a person or people with a need.  And every Need has a solution or a way it can be filled.  A Need is customer focused.  A Need is something to rally around.  A Lead on the other hand, is blah.  A Lead is for us.  And “us” should not be the focus.

Think of what would change and how we might feel or do differently if:

Leadflow becomes Needflow. Lead Management becomes Need Management. Lead Generation becomes Need Generation.  Isn’t that better?

Commission. An ugly heinous word in sales don’t you think?  A word so commonly hated that many companies go out of their way to advertise that their sales pros are not paid on something so ghastly as to be called “commission”. 

Let the Commission Plan become a Mission Plan that “rewards” behaviors and results.  “Commission” the word, disappears and “Rewards” becomes the lead story.  “Rewards Pay” details not what portion of a sale price goes to a rep but what portion is added to the reps pay as a reward for behavior or results. Semantics?  Yes, my point exactly.

“Rewards” the word doesn’t sound like a “take” or “cut” or an “added cost” to a client ( or to the sales rep).   Rewards are awarded by the boss or the company for a mission accomplished well.

Think of what would change and how we might feel or do differently if:

Commission payout becomes Rewards payout. Higher Commissions become Higher Rewards. I work on Commission becomes I work on Rewards.  Client Commissions become Client Rewards.  Isn’t that better?

Sales Rep:  Ah….. the almighty fearful title.  For at least 60 years people have tried variations to hide or mask or those two words.  Nobody it seems wants to be called a Sales Rep.  No doubt you’ve heard or have been an “Account Executive” or a “Territory Manager” or a “Sr. Business Development Mgr” and on and on….. all the while being um…..well, a Sales Rep.

Truth is, the name “Sales Rep” sucks.  It has always sucked.

It’s not customer focused, it’s company focused.  It’s not broad sounding, it’s narrow sounding.  It’s got one of the most stereotyped images around of greed, neglect and selfishness.

The new name is simple. 

Help Rep.

Help.  It’s what any true sales rep really does anyway.  Help fill a need.  Help fix a problem.  Help make something better. Help you feel happy or organized or in control.  Help you grow your business. Help you run your business.  

Think of what would change and how we might feel or do differently if:

You walk into a Macy’s store and you talk to a Macy’s Help Rep, or walk on a car lot and talk to at Toyota Help Rep, or call Deluxe Corp and get a Deluxe Help Rep.

Maybe all the Help Reps fly in for a big Help Conference in Chicago called the Big Help.   Maybe there Help Contests for the Help Reps.  Maybe you get better and better at Helping vs. better and better at Selling. 

**

Pretty simple stuff these changes are to make.  And if we just do it I swear we could change a little bit of the world.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

An Heartfelt Letter From Your Headset

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Dear Sweetie,

It’s about to get real busy again, so I wanted to write you this letter now.  

You and I don’t talk as much as we used to (at least not to each other).  Maybe it’s because I get up into your hair sometimes and am literally in your face all day, but our love feels like it’s waning.

I’ve been noticing some things and just need to get them off my padding before we settle in for our next push together to grow our business.  We’ve had great run together so far this year baby and I want it to continue.

I feel like I am in one ear and not the other.  And I’m not liking this trend.   A lot of the time I’m just hugging your right ear while the rest of me that should be on your left ear,  is dangling in your split ends.    I guess you do that so you can hear better the conversations of your friends or the Twitter feed or whatever.   But I like hugging you baby.   All of you.   Put me back on both of your ears and I think you’ll do better at your job too.   I can help you focus.

I’ve noticed your wandering eye.   Resist the One Eared ones dear.  Those headsets are trouble.  Oh sure, they dance around looking all sleek and sporty with that single ear “come hither” look.  I’ve seen some too that prance around without cords going brazenly wireless but they are bad news.  Don’t dump me for one of those honey, that just sends the wrong message all around.  You have got to listen and listen real good when talking with folks on the phone; that’s how we’re going to grow the business.  I’ve seen you staring at those One Eared ones though.  And while you can look; you cannot touch. 

You don’t show me a good time so much anymore.   My microphone has hit the monitors at least six times this year and you must remember the two times I got caught in the keyboard your head was so smashed up against the displays.   There used to be a time when talking to folks that you’d spin us around and look out the window or at the plants nearby.  Good times.    Seems you always had better and smarter conversations too when you weren’t obsessing with what’s on that darn desktop.   I want those days back love muffin, I really do.

You don’t smile at me as much lately.  When we first met you smiled and laughed a lot.   Sure, the job is hard but I miss your smile schnookems.  Smile on purpose and keep it fresh.  Heck, I’ve got hair gel, food crumbs and who knows what else encrusted on me ( which reminds me I could use a good cleaning) but everyday I try and make my sounds as fresh and clear as a daisy for you.    You have great smile and a great laugh and it may be the 50th person we’ve talked to today and we’re both tired, but heck,  being happy and positive is why I fell for you in the first place.

I don’t mean to sound all negative.  I don’t.   I feel so connected to you sweetie.  We are a great team.  Let’s buckle in.   The closer we get the stronger we’ll be.  Let’s work hard on keeping the magic alive.

With all my love,

Headset

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

The Bird

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I’m not thinking about the America eagle, or this year’s Thanksgiving turkey or even the late Detroit pitcher Mark Fydrich known as “The Bird” (loved that guy when I was a kid..RIP).

I’m thinking you know, The Bird.

This is a family blog though so I won’t just come out and say it.    Instead I’ll call The Bird a safe acronym like “TB” for the remainder of this post.   And since the acronym “TB” is more commonly known as Tuberculosis (which is a heck of a lot worse than this other TB I’m talking about) by comparison, mine is pretty tame.

What I will say and list for you, are the times during a typical day or a week that I feel I am getting TB (not Tuberculosis type) from businesses.  Not an “in your face” blatant nasty service experience that everyone writes and complains about, but a sudden unpleasant little message you flip in my general direction.  

And that is not good.  Maybe these little affronts are a sign of worse things to come from this experience, this business relationship.  Maybe these little affronts stop the relationship process really before it even starts.

My guess is that businesses may not have a clue they are doing this and if that’s the case, please get a clue.  And if it is being done on purpose, quit it.

The Bell.   If you’re a small business or even a large one and aren’t drooling at the prospect of a prospect walking in your door but instead place a little silver bell for me to ring to get your attention, then you are giving me TB.  Guess I’m not that important.  I suggest a mirror, a dog or some sort of bell on the door I open that gets your attention before I need to.

Flat Screen & Standard Definition TV:   Have a nice bar?  Have a nice place casual dining establishment?  Great, I love it.   But every time you hang that 47” screen over your bar but only show standard definition programming it’s like giving me TB.  If you can’t cough up the costs or work out the deal to broadcast HD don’t insult me with the blurry picture on your beautiful television screen while I sit paying 500% margins on your over priced local brew.  What’s next? Skimping on the soap for the dishwasher?

 “noreply @..”  Ever get one of these emails?  If your business sends out any emails with the sender labeled like this for any reason, you might as well give me TB.  Staff the darn mailbox or forward it to someone who cares because if the recipient is your customer and he or she cares to reply; you should care to listen.

Newspapers Outside The Lines:  This one drives me crazy.  You are giving me TB when you insist dear supermarket, that the newspapers be lined up against that wall at the far end of the store beyond the check out lines.  Now since I just decided upon viewing that I want a newspaper, I must decide to get back in line to pay for one. Nope.   Same goes for the firewood and charcoal and the winter shovels.   What is this losing sales tactic called anyway? “The After Purchase Purchase?”

The 24 Hour Sales Cycle (NOT); Ever get a LinkedIn invite one day and then an invitation to spend money the next?  Ever get a ReTweet on Twitter or a nice comment on your blog post one day and then a pitch from that person or business the next day?  I have.  I’ve gotten them from former colleagues, friends, people and businesses that I know or knew.  Ugh.    Faux Networking is TB in capital letters (I mean like really big capital letters).

TB is fowl.  And while you undoubtedly have your own examples of TB in the marketplace (and please feel free to share),  figuring out if you, your business, your team or your department is doing TB innocently to customers/prospects is important to think about too.   It may be hard to spot or put a finger on so to speak but it’s well worth the look. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

10 Things I Haven’t Mentioned….

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Nice picture.  Screams charasmatic doesn’t it?

Yeah I have to work on that.   But I’ll start with a little more behind the picture today.

I write about what could or should be done in the worlds of sales, marketing and training.   I’m not shy either about having a stand on a few life lessons too.   I’m OK with that. 

So, today here are a few things you won’t read about me in my About pages and that might offer an element of

Well, I have no idea really.

All I do know is that when I read a couple of posts like this one here by blogger Lisa Sonara Beam, who got the idea from Corbett Barr, it helped me. 

Not sure how it helped but it did.   When I read their posts or their tweets now I guess I feel a little more something.  Maybe it was because a little more was laid out there on a limb with the content of the blog.  It was a little more transparent maybe. 

I think too that they feel a little more something when they write having shared stuff that may not have been that easy to share.  Seems like a win- win.

So I’m stealing shamelessly.

1.  My father was a police officer and my mother was a nurse.  He worked days and she worked nights and then she worked days and he worked nights… You get the idea.  Though 4 sons and a daughter, none of us chose either profession as a career.  I feel kind of bad about that.    

2.  Toby W. doesn’t know I love him.  8 years ago he was kind enough to stop me in the hallway and say he knew I was desperately looking for an apartment and that there was one available in the next town over.  7 days and 75 miles later, I moved in, then went to the local church one hot day that summer, saw the love of my new life cantering, married her 7 years later and am still the Luckiest Man in The World.   Toby visits the office every once in a while (he’s a field sales guy), but he has no idea why I stare at him so long, often saying nothing.  He knows now.  I love you man.

3.  I was always afraid of dogs.  Till I got one.  Now I am just a little afraid.

4.  I went to college as an Engineering Major.  Oh yeah, a 5 year program with the last 2 years supposed to be at Notre Dame.   But in my sophomore year at Stonehill College when I started digging into the trash bins in the computer lab looking for hints of how to just start my computer programming assignments,  I realized this ain’t for me and changed majors right quick.

5.  For nearly 5 years I drove 4 hours a day commuting to and from work.  75 miles each way in some of the worst traffic imaginable.  Longest round trip? 9 hours.  You do what you need to do for your family, you discover books on tape and learn first hand that you never travel in the far left lane; ever,  it’s always the slowest.  Stay in the middle lane my friend.  Always.

6.  Writing is the Great Clarifier.  Writing adds more depth to my thinking, strategizing and execution without a doubt.  It’s not something I do in addition to my job.  It is something I do to get the job done.  Hard to explain, but true.

7.  It’s the little things that drive me crazy.  I’ll use cuss words that would make Capt. Quint wince (he’s from the movie Jaws for you youngin’s) when that razor falls out of the cabinet again or I am stuck having to open up a cereal package (impossible).  If I lost an arm in a power saw accident however, I assure you that you wouldn’t hear a peep out of me.  Seen it before; big stuff happens and I’m cool as a cucumber, little stuff happens and the good Sisters at St. Catherine’s would ditch the ruler and grab a 2 by 4.

8.  A 30 pack of Bud Light saved my life.  Between his second and third murder over the span of 5 days, this guy  walked up to my car window while I tried to pull out into traffic in Meredith, NH in 2001.  He leaned into my car window and asked “can I get a lift to the print shop just down the road?”.  His hand heavily resting on the door frame and his head now nearly touching mine, I just glanced at the 30 pack of Bud Light on the passenger seat, shrugged and said “Hey man, no room”.   I  then hit the accelerator harder than I planned and drove off; something just wasn’t right about him.  2 of the 3 guys he killed I found out later, had given him a lift just like I almost did.    Maybe this is why I still love beer so much.

9.  I love my Mom’s music .  On my IPod, I’ve got everything from Jock Jams to Broadway musicals to Mozart’s Requiem to Police (Live!) to John Denver to a dozen full length Biz books.  So what.  Everybody has a wild mix of music.  My favorite Playlist is the one I made for my Mom 2 years ago.  She’s 77.   I burned 2 CD’s for her of her favorite stuff ranging from Church hymns to Paul Simon to Les Miserables and I know I listen to it more than she does.

10. I know nothing about cars, babies, electronics, weapons, meat that is anything but well done, astrology, soccer, tennis and fishing.  Conversely, I know way too much about backyard sports (including dozens of made up games), football, books of lists, scrabble and cemeteries.  So there you go; that about evens it up.

Till next time,

Grow the business.

Mark