I Just Drove by Somewhere Familiar – Parking Lot Chat

Today I decided to take a different route to work, you know Barnes & Noble, and I passed a building where I had an interview. I am almost positive they are the only company in said building and none of that is my point so I will get to it.

What was the problem, why didn’t I get the job?

At the time I was not sure because the interview went very well and I seemed to mesh with the two fellows I’d be working with. There was some change going on and the company is a serial acquisition operation. I made that up, I think, so if there is a word for always taking other companies over, that is their M.O. In my world, InfoUSA is a very good case of a company that takes over other list companies, adjusts, and then decides the next steps. Either way the steps are usually to make money but of course if you are Montgomery Brewster you have another agenda.

Click on the pic to learn more about Monty.

  

As a matter of fact, you should see all the Richard Pryor movies because that dude is nuts. He is a little different ever since blowing himself up and whatever other stuff so focus on the movies. The Toy, holy shit, that movie is flat-out wrong and I saw it in the theaters as a kid. My parents were cool like that because I was 9. Jackie Gleason, a super-rich tycoon buys Richard Pryor as a gift for his son, heartwarming… The Toy.

That rant was worth it… Moving on…

It hit me when driving by that they needed to fit a peg into a hole and that peg and hole needs to be 100% compatible. The second call after the big interview focused on my lack of experience with certain Database Administrator skills. Well the ad was for a Database Marketing Manager and my resume reflects that as my core strength. They called me in, spent a lot of time and decided that something outside of the job and outside of my skill set kept me from getting the job. They then went on to tell me about changes in the company and so on.

What Happened?

 

Pegs and holes, peanut butter and jelly, Joanie and Chachi, they go together right… or um maybe. When a company hires a part and not a full solution, they find themselves moving people around, laying off workers, hiring new people, and getting away from traditional practices. I like tradition and innovation and everything has its place. Some people seem to stick around at certain companies and it works out wonderfully for everyone. If you put me or a number of people who I work with or know from childhood and others I recently met that can learn almost anything.

Capitalize on character because that is what will grow your company and make it thrive. Hey I can learn to do some Database Administrator functions if you are willing to learn how creating dynamic spreadsheet with lookups and userforms in a simple Excel format enhances efficiency and accuracy with the same database. Character is something that pays off in the long run because when push comes to shove, good character has a conscience and an overall sense of Social Intelligence.

 



How Do You Like to See Your Data? – Parking Lot Chat

Are you a spreadsheeter, mapper, or grapher?

These days it doesn’t really matter, if you know what you are looking for. When data is in a good clean consistent format there are numberous possibilites of what you can learn. I just finished putting together some fairly simple analytics based on basic information that hopefully wows the audience. Unfortunately for the client, they would have to decode the data and possibly misunderstand how the data translates into information because they are not database marketers, they are the client that sells things or provides or services something etc.

I Like Spreadsheets…

And other visual formats but the spreadsheet is my friend. If the data is in Excel or a csv, ansi, or txt format, I can manipulate it while verifying that nothing is out of the quality control world. I have mentioned Pivot Tables and vLookups and other various Excel functions. Even when working with sophisticated programs like Salesforce, Excel is a big part of the reporting and both are useful and perform different tasks. Since Excel is able to read straight data, it is up to the user to make the magic and depending on the user, the magic is very cool.

On the Job

I worked for a database marketing agency for a few years and learned a great deal of valuable tricks, tactics, and shortcuts that create a more efficient use of time. The company has mail processors and they do a great job and it is important to verify, reverify, and confirm, when it comes to data, and even then there are errors that fall within a small margin that just have to be accepted. My point is that the processors never use Excel and don’t care to. I really do not want to process files and the nice thing is I like to audit them and find that issues.

Bringing it Back Home

Whether it is in graph, spreadsheet, map, video, or pictures, you know when something looks incorrect. If you look at data the way you look at or learn something that is more interesting to you it will increase your ability to work more effectively. I took data from a third party vendor and provided it to my contact with straight numbers, spreadsheets, and maps. I will follow up with what they like best.

Have a Nice Labor Day

 

The Pullman Strike (original photo info click picture)

Still some more time before summer is gone for good. Enjoy your Labor Day Holiday.

Just incase you aren’t sure why we take the day off…

All the information fit to spread around the internet, Wikipedia.

The Holiday and its origin:

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 6 in 2010).

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.^[1] It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.^[2] The September date was chosen as Cleveland was concerned that aligning an American labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair.^[3] All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

What it is all about today:

In U.S. sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. NCAA teams usually play their first games the week before Labor Day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day. The Southern 500 NASCAR auto race was held that day from 1950 to 2004.

Click Here for the full Wikipedia Entry

I am not proud, I looked it up because I know enough to possibly offend somebody by making something up. This scenario doesn’t actually work for Labor Day because I am not sure how much we care. Don’t get me wrong, we care, we have a concept of loving America and we have holidays that are sort of a given for all hard working full time employed people. (pause for laugh) Anyway, there are other things that people should know about before they just start giving answers.

There is a lot to know…

And we will never know everything. Part of the fun of knowing people, networking, and randomly talking to strangers, is the fun facts and information you can gain. Some is good information and some helps you realize that there are a lot of people on the street with opinions, passions, and conditions. Funny story if you have a second. Most people think of a “Jon” story but not this time.

Riding on the Lightrail with Rowen home from our guys days of haircuts and Bubba Gump Shrimp. I had a great time and I am pretty sure he did too. Anyway, today was the Colorado/Colorado State football game and a couple guys were on the lightrail. I randomly said something and about 3 minutes into the conversation the guy says something to the effect of not talking to strangers like you are and your son shouldn’t. I’m sure that means something, I should mind my own business.

Well I should but I have a problem with that minding my own business thing. I was told early on to “stay at this table” and to pay attention to myself not others. I still have that problem and now see the benefits. I listen to everything and get information and research based on that information and so on. Sometime I am right and sometimes I am dead wrong, the interesting thing is I don’t always have the answer, I hear it and then confirm. I also like to defer to people that are experts in their fields. The best way to figure out the service business in an auto dealership is not the General Manager or even the Service Manager, it is the Technicians. I’m just saying that you should get your information from the source if you plan to spend money on an idea.

Again I was going to write a few sentences and ended up with this. I write like I talk so hopefully I captivate my audience. Now go talk to a stranger… but don’t let your kids see you do it or you’ll get the Sad Pancake

Of Course Jon Has Something to Say – More Circles

One day these guys will grow up and drive a real car to real places together. I hope they always have this much fun!

Find a way to have this much fun as an adult.