May 13 2015
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Financial Success, For Fun!

To Invest In A Pool, or Not?

To be clear, the jury is still out in my mind as to whether a pool is an investment, or not. I guess we’ll find out when it comes time to sell our house.

In the meantime…

Back in the late ’90’s my wife REALLY pressed me on getting a pool. While it sounded nice, I wasn’t yet fully convinced. We were still having fun with our young tikes running around the yard with super-soakers and playing in the sprinkler.

Over time, though, this got old. So, in the summer of 2001 we pulled the trigger and purchased an above ground (18′ x 33′) pool. We “rationalized” the expense with the following statements:

  • It would save us money vs. going on vacation. Reality: This is NOT true 🙂
  • If we have such an attraction in our yard the kids would be more apt to hang out here (under our purview) than someplace else (thus “reducing” the potential trouble they could get into).
  • It would be a lot of fun, right in our own backyard!

After 14 years of pool ownership (and being the family “pool boy”) I can tell you first hand that the latter 2 statements above are 100% true and good reasons to get a pool. However, doing so does NOT save ANY money. Instead, it represents a whole new category of expenses, including:

  • The increased electricity usage to run the filtration pump
  • The chemicals needed to keep the pool clear and balanced
  • The equipment which corrodes and/or otherwise breaks down and needs to be replaced
  • The water to fill it each year (after the thaw and when evaporation takes more than Mother Nature puts in via rain). We are fortunate to have a well, which provides free water. However, when you need to put in 10,000 or more gallons it is safer to have a water truck come by for the fill-up to avoid draining the well.
  • The TIME to maintain what I would consider an ongoing science experiment 🙂

What do I mean by a science experiment? For pool owners, you know!

On one day the pool water may be absolutely crystal clear and beautiful. Turn your back and the water is dull, cloudy and milky green.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME ?!?! I thought I was following the prescribed regimen to the “T”.

Off to the pool store with a water sample. Always an experience…

One of the local pool supply companies is managed by what we call a “Pool Nazi.” This guy cuts you NO breaks. We ask what we “think” is a simple question and he hammers on (thinks he is teaching about) the proper care and feeding of a pool to maintain the perfect pH balance, etc.

And, regardless of the pool supply store you go to for a water clarity issue, you’d better have room in your vehicle as they are going to LOAD YOU UP with lots of chemicals. Cha-ching!

That said, once you dump the chems into the pool (according to their carefully prescribed directions) the pool invariably clears within 24-48 hours. This process has been required “at least” once a year for us…

As you might imagine, an above ground pool is more of a temporary structure vs. an in-ground pool. Even so, with good care, it can last for many years. Assuming this, we put in a very nice deck to enhance the backyard experience.

Due to the HEAVY snowfall this year our pool liner failed us. We observed this several weeks ago as the winter cover and snow on top slowly descended into the pool, until it was laying on the bottom. This wasn’t a total shocker, since pool liners are typically only warrantied for 10 years and we got 14 out of ours.

At time of writing, Daigle Servicing Company (NOT the company with the Pool Nazi, mentioned above) just completed the installation of our new liner. And, I would highly recommend them.

While we still need to do a bit of spring cleaning, it is pretty much lit-up and ready for swimming. Although, if you jump in right now you’ll get an ice cream headache as the water is frigid 🙂

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Once we sell the house I’ll let you know if this “investment” served as an attraction or deterrent to would-be buyers.

All the best!

May 12 2015
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For Fun!, Inspirational

Never Unclip!

4 years ago I was driving home after a mountain bike ride, with my “old” dependable Trek hard-tail (a bike with front shocks and no rear suspension) hanging off the bike rack, of my wife’s Suburban.

For some reason I decided to stop by my favorite store (Goodale’s Bike Shop) to see if they had anything I couldn’t live without…Perhaps new gear: something to make me go faster or look cooler on the trail 🙂

It didn’t take long before I was gandering at the bikes, just to see what the latest features and functions were. I spotted a Trek Rumblefish, Gary Fisher signature edition. Gary Fisher is the apparent “official” inventor of mountain biking. I’m not entirely sold on that (Gary being the inventor of mountain biking) because my friends and I were riding our modified 10-speeds in the woods back in the 70’s. So, perhaps WE invented the sport.

Anyways…

The Trek Rumblefish may not be the highest-end bike, but it is up there. It is a full-suspension beast with disc breaks (front and rear) and 29″ wheels. You REALLY notice the difference when riding rough terrain with 29″ wheels as it is much easier to traverse obstacles (rocks, logs, roots, etc.).

Here is a picture of the Rumblefish, after beating on it for the past 4 years…

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Pride and joy 🙂

The feature I initially struggled with was the clip-on pedals I was “sold”, along with a pair of accompanying clip-on biking shoes. The “science” is that with clip-ons you become more “at one” with the bike as you leverage both the upward and downward motion during pedaling vs. the typical downward-only motion with flat pedals.

All good…Until…

The challenge is that once you clip your feet into the pedals you must be VERY aware of when it is time to unclip!

For example…I’ve been biking for MANY years and haven’t really taken that many wipe-outs (vs. miles ridden). My first summer with the Rumblefish changed everything. My “wipe-outs” didn’t increase, but I did have numerous spills. These spills consistently occurred when I’d come to a sudden stop and needed to put my feet down. Not being used to the clip-ons, my feet frequently remained stuck on the pedals and I’d tip sideways. This happened in the woods (which isn’t bad, as it is typically a soft landing) and on the pavement (painful!). After a few weeks I wondered why my elbows were aching…

As a result I bought elbow pads. The sideways spills no longer hurt, other than my pride, when there were witnesses 🙂

After that first summer I was able to ditch the elbow pads and, while I still occasionally do the sideways fall (like on today’s ride with my son Aaron), they have become infrequent.

My brother Roger (also has a Rumblefish) and I have an ongoing competition, when we ride. That is, we always want to perform as good as, or better than, the other guy. We have put a lot of miles on our bikes together and are pretty evenly matched.

Last weekend we had a ride scheduled with our cousin-in-law (Pat), at Yudicky Farm, in Nashua. Click here for a map of the Northern portion of the trail system, even though many of the trails we hit were newly developed and not yet documented.

My brother and one of my sons were potentially going, until they determined they couldn’t, after-all. So, I arrived at the trailhead to meet Pat. After explaining it would be just he and I, he said he invited a friend to join us. Sounds good!

Shortly after, a truck pulled up with 2 guys Pat had ridden with in the past. They too had high-end, full-suspension bikes and all the gear: helmet, semi-clear sunglasses that protect the eyes but aren’t too dark so you can see in the woods, gloves, Camelbaks for water and misc. gear. In addition, they had “armor” which consisted of shin and arm-pads.

Uh-oh, I thought, these guys seem a little more serious than Pat and I (they have body armor). This is going to be an experience…

Off we went. Pat and one of the other guys brought dogs so they suggested they hang back so as not to slow down the other 2 of us. So, we start with me 2nd in line as we hit the singletracks (mountain bike trails that are only about a foot wide), enjoying the experience of flying through the woods. All good, until I was getting a bit winded…So I slowed down and everyone passed me. No worries, I can swallow my pride. At this point, I’m really missing my brother 🙂

That was pretty much my position for the remainder of the ride through some FANTASTIC mountain biking terrain, which included numerous switchbacks, man-made bridges, obstacles and jumps. I’m not afraid of much, and I traversed many (but not nearly enough) of these obstacles.

For example, something like this bridge, isn’t bad at all.

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However, I skipped the bridge that looked “something like” the one below, although the one on our trail was quite a bit longer, with a couple of corners to navigate as well…

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Our 2 armor-bearing friends gave it a shot. The first made it with no trouble. The second, wasn’t so fortunate. As he was crossing the highest point (~4 feet above the ground) his front wheel came off the log and he went straight down, over the handlebars. After confirming he was ok, we continued down the trail.

I then asked the rider, who successfully crossed the bridge, if he “unclips” when traversing such obstacles. The reason (I would, at least) is that if you begin to fall you can at least attempt to land on your feet. Remaining clipped-in you simply don’t have that option (as observed by our friend taking his face-first plunge).

His response: “No [I never unclip]. It is like other things in life. You need to have belief that you are going to make it.“

Zowy, a great life-lesson while on the trails.

Wow, I’m thinking, these guys are at an entirely different level than me.

It didn’t end there…We were now entering the area of the trail system with some pretty LARGE jumps. Our 2 extreme riders let Pat and I know when the jumps were coming up so we could go ahead and stand-by to watch them. After observing their successful and impressive jumps I realized I’d probably be ok doing “some” of these, but I was too spent by this time and decided to “live another day.”

After about 2-hours we completed our grueling, 10-mile ride. I was happy to get home, hose myself off, eat and lay down for a while.

As I shared this story with my Dad he said: “Well, you know, you ARE almost 51.” Hey, hey…Go pound sand 🙂

Roger and I shall hit those trails soon and we’re going to take some of those jumps.

In closing, like many things in life: Never unclip – have belief that you are going to make it.

See you on the trails!

May 12 2015
2 Comments
Business Success

Launching A Consulting Business – The Image

Several months ago I “thought” I had completed the series on Launching a Consulting Business, with the post which provided an index to the 25 + articles written on the subject.

I just realized, I wasn’t done 🙂

Before going into this latest topic…

A current “rock start” management consultant is Alan Weiss. Prior to launching my own consulting business I read his books and attended events where he spoke. Bottom-line: He shares a wealth of knowledge on the topic of being a successful management consultant!

As such, if you are considering this path, or would like to take your consulting business to the next level, then the following book by Mr. Weiss is highly recommended. Simply click on the image and you’ll be transported to Amazon.com to get your copy!

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Now, let’s cover the latest topic…The Image.

As Mr. Weiss points out, clients (prospective and existing) want to associate with success. Any consultant that a client may engage, therefore, must have an image of success or they will NOT be as attractive a candidate to bring in to their company, under their good name.

This image includes our:

  • Dress code
  • Tools
  • Automobile
  • Emotions and Mannerisms

Reality is, people DO judge a book by it’s cover…

Let’s now cover each of our “covers.”

Dress Code

I recall, when I still worked in Corporate America many years ago, as VP of Customer Care, one of the Sales guys called me and said: “Craig, we need you to dress-up again like James Bond, for an upcoming meeting.”

Wow, I thought…I’ve never been compared to James Bond, but I can live with it 🙂

What he meant was, get on your best suit because we’re going to meet a customer.

The guiding principle here is, at least for the first impression, to dress at a level above how we expect our client to be dressed. For me, this means putting on my best suit, crispy white shirt, tie and polished shoes. It may turn out that this “is” the dress code for some companies. Thankfully, the dress code for many of my clients is business casual, which is the attire I’ll then don after the initial “meet and greets” have taken place.

I happen to top my suit off with a gold Cross pen in my shirt pocket. I recall one of my sons commenting: “Dad, you hammer on being frugal. Why the heck would you spend $50 on a pen? And, why do you need a pen anyway, if you are pushing for a paperless world?”

Out of the mouthes of babes…Very good questions…

My response – The high-end pen is part of the image. And, while I might want to push for paperless, some clients still ask that I execute contracts with ink. I ALWAYS want to be prepared for that.

So there 🙂

Tools

While we covered tools in the post Be Equipped I thought it important to reinforce and expand on this here.

First, not only do you want a laptop that has significant horsepower, it must “look good.” This includes making sure it is clean and not all banged-up. And, in keeping with our dress attire, it ought to be as good as (or better) than what the prospective client has. Why? Because YOU are supposed to demonstrate that you are leading edge.

You’ll also want to have the common tools of collaboration. For example, Webex…I cannot tell you how many client meetings I’ve been invited to and, upon attending, observe that one or more invitees could not attend in person – they needed to dial-in. The meeting organizer hadn’t considered this very real and highly typical possibility (REPEATEDLY).

What emerges is a very simple example of how and where the “power consultant” can shine by jumping in and offering to IMMEDIATELY launch a Webex session to enable remote attendees to participate. This, while the facilitator proceeds with his/her meeting.

While this may be a little thing, the simple gesture demonstrates that you are “always ready” to remove obstacles and ensure things move forward smoothly.

Again, instead of going into the topic of tools for the power consulting, in more detail, feel free to read the previous post on this topic (Be Equipped).

Automobile

Our transportation says a lot about us. This does NOT mean we should drive a BMW or Mercedes. What it does mean is that our vehicle must be:

  • In good working order (not constantly breaking down, causing late arrivals, missed meetings or deadlines)
  • Reasonably new (no rust, dings or dents)
  • Clean, especially inside, for that occasion when we take a client out to lunch

Emotions and Mannerisms

Back to James Bond.

Have you ever seen him truly stressed out? I can’t say that I have. He always keeps his cool; never blows his top. Calm, cool and collected. That is the image of a power consultant.

Another analogy…We must be like a duck gracefully crossing the lake. Rain (or anything else that hits us) simply rolls off our back (at least this is what people see on the surface). But, underneath the surface we are paddling (thinking, planning, strategizing) like crazy.

Bottom-line: We cannot let things ruffle us. Our clients look at us as problem solvers. They do NOT expect us to commiserate (wallow around in the mud) with them.

In closing, all of the above may seem superficial to some. Perhaps they aren’t living in the real world 🙂

Those who want to be considered (and paid as) a power consultant should NOT take these things lightly. Trust me and just do it…

All the best!

Click here to review the next article in the series.

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