How Disciplined Are You?

I have a new favorite tree- the Utah Juniper.  What makes this tree very special is that it will cut-off water to healthy branches when there isn't enough water...a self pruning tree.  Every time we spent time at Axium doing strategic planning, it was always easier to put things on the todo list than to put things on the not to do list.   Looking back we did so many things simply because that is what we had done despite not being able to quantify the return for customers or shareholders.  When there are plenty of resources (e.g water) this isn't a  problem.  That said, we were always constrained by talented people and their ability to focus.  We built a great business, but what if we had more discipline to turn off somewhat healthy sections of the business to divert our focus to even better parts of the business?  That's what has made the Utah Juniper such a tough tree in the inhospitable canyon lands of Utah.https://plus.google.com/+DanielLaun/posts/ez9Lij33iKd

There is nothing like momentum

Momentum- it's hard to get and all too often is easy to lose.  For small businesses it's critical to gain momentum.  Driving into Vegas reminded me just how powerful momentum can be.  Driving into Vegas I was stuck in a two hour traffic jam in the middle of the desert.  Californian's were driving past California casino's and Nevada state line casino's for Vegas...why? because Vegas has used it's casino momentum to create a destination.  The San Antonio spurs also reminded me of momentum when they signed Lamarcus Aldridge away from my beloved Blazers.  Over the past two years the blazers worked hard to get a bit of mojo working with 2 consecutive seasons of 50+ wins only to have Wes Mathews snap his achilles...and there went all of our momentum.  The spurs on the other hand haven't missed the playoffs for 18 years...in a word momentum.  If you don't have it you have to work 2 to 3x to get it.  Once you have it...don't squander it.

Slice of Americana

I've always been a fan of camping- I like sleeping outdoors, bonding with my camp mates and even sharing a knowing glance with a stranger to indicate how awful the bathroom is.  Usually you have just a bit of space separating you from others...  Well this week at Morro Strands was a bit different.  It was a parking lot where you could sleep next to the parking lot basically in sand.  Our neighbors on the first night weren't great...in hindsight I wish they had stayed.  Attached is a picture of our neighbor who showed up with is Pa...Sadly this picture only starts to capture the image...moonshine, missing limbs, cuss word bananza, beer for breakfast and dinner from a can....then came the intimidation, threats etc.  But after a interesting two days, we ended up in a hotel...thankfully we had the money to do this.  I suspect everyone else simply left.  It does setup my observation about C

alifornia- the gap between the have's and the have not's is incredible.  There is the homeless and near homeless and then the vineyard folks.  It's an astoundingly visible gap.  I suspect that it is also a gap of education, access to jobs etc.  If California is the american dream, we need to get back to work on making that dream come true.

Be sure to zoom in and weigh in on if he's wearing shoes...