…must come down.

When I was in the high-tech world, I enjoyed one of the most prosperous times any industry has ever experienced. I graduated from Ga. Tech in 1999 and jumped on board with Nortel Networks. Cash, parties, lavish expenses, incredible stock prices and rewarding options decorated a time when the company and the industry could do no wrong.

I jumped ship in Febuary 2001. Thankfully. 2 months later Nortel laid off my old division of over 2,000 employees. Over 50,000 more were given the pink slips that year. What went up came down fast and hard.

I never thought I’d see that violent swing in the chicken business. But right now I am watching it play out in disbelief. I’m not saying that the industry will see the layoffs once seen in the high-tech world. However, there are difficult times now and there will be difficult times ahead.

To put it in perspective, the price on some cuts of meat are off 62% while other cuts are off over 90% as compared to the highs of 2 years ago. All of this and we have yet to confirm positive H5N1 Avian Influenza (AI) in North America. Consumer demand overseas declined between 30% and 90% in individual nations due to the public hysteria over AI.

The current industry climate reinforces the fact that only progressive businesses who constantly execute on their opportunities will fair well (as did Cisco in the high-tech bust). Many others will struggle and I imagine some will go under. Consider this statement from sharecast.com regarding the 2nd largest poultry producer in the USA:

Pilgrim’s Pride said its Mexican business was breaking even through February, but warned the US operation sustained a net loss of about $15m.

Just like in the high-tech world, I have now experienced an industry with record highs and record lows. Only those who execute will weather the storm without major damage.

Here are some industry stories:

• Gold Kist May Be Scratching Bottom
• Tyson Stock Drops
• Pilgrim’s Pride withdraws profit forecast
• Sanderson Farms Posts 1Q Loss

Most businesses place high value and respect on the buyer, the customer, the person who brings revenue. That’s why we answer the phone with a human voice, respond quickly to emails, and put “Visitor” parking spots right by the front door.

Today I witnessed a flagrant violation of the sacred code of supplier-buyer relations. I was patiently standing in the security line with a zillion others at Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

Up rushed 3 Continental Airlines crew members, scurrying past 30 or so people in our line, breaking in at the front of the line and proceeding through first. Presumably they were late for their flight and thought it important not to make passengers wait to depart for their destinations. But they offered no “excuse me”, no “pardon”, and no apologies.

Their indifference toward the customer and the customer experience reflects the attitude (as demonstrated by action) of big airlines. Until big airlines change that attitude and realize that every single customer experience should be a good one, they will not be able to succeed as Southwest and Airtran have done.

Next time, arrive at the airport early for your flight. Stand in line like the rest of us. If circumstances out of your control force you to be late, apologize and ask those in front to “please” let you skip ahead. You may work for a big airline, but ultimately, you work for me, the customer.

Spring is the Period by Emily Dickinson.
From Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Published in 1955.

Spring is the Period
Express from God.
Among the other seasons
Himself abide,
But during March and April
None stir abroad
Without a cordial interview
With God.

Lenten Roses at my home on Frances Avenue

Waiting can be good unless you force your customer do it.

I waited in line (thankfully in my car) for over 10 minutes to get a coffee at the new local coffee shop, Emerson Coffee Company. The bizarre thing is that there was only 1 car in front of me.

With any new startup (business, product line, new employee), forgiveness typically comes from others simply because its new and we hope and need for their best. But how long do we wait until they “get it right”?

I promise you I don’t typically have 10 minutes to wait for a decent (not great) coffee before work. I’ll move on and find another solution. And I firmly believe that the customers and prospects of any new startup will do the same.

*Update: I borrowed the picture above from the Whitlock Avenue blog. I used that photo and linked to the Whitlock site because they had the only reference to the coffee shop on the web that I could find. I guess I should write about how crazy it is to have a startup with no online presence…

Life has been anything but quiet. 3 boys under 4 years old at home. Our 10-month move-out-of-the-house renovation should be complete next week. The pace of business and the travel schedule has picked up.

But quiet here because thought challenge has not been as prevalant as in times past. Now tends to be a season of execution. Of waiting*. Of pondering which way to go next. Of investing in others. Of slowly working with the team to develop a true team environment with candor, trust, and respect.

I will continue to write as life unfolds.

*Do “Execution” and “Waiting” contradict? Critical to successful execution is the ability to wait. But, we must never allow the wait to idle our efforts; instead, waiting allows a parrallel track to be pursued more fervently.

With the coming of Spring, the boys are spending more time outside and we all are eagerly anticipating the move home. Our builder continues to suggest that the move-in date will be April 1. Is it simply an April Fools’ joke? Either way, we have a couple of recent pictures to share with you. One is of Teddy last week and the second is of Harry playing outside on a warm March day.

10 Week Old Teddy

Harry Outside on a Warm March Day

3 weeks ago, Matthew Cornell posted a comment to one of my posts and said,

I like the idea of accountability – As I understand it, it’s crucial when my clients need to take on a new behavior. However, I personally find the hard-core christian angle off-putting. “terror to evildoers” sounds just like our president, whom I think is not a good role-model for taking responsibility.

His words have been resonating in my head since then. Tonight, I did a keyword search on “enemy” and started reading something incredible:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone… “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Working as a team continues to be a strong theme in my learning experience. I should say that the theme is for an organization to be successful, it must function as a team.

A team is made of players, including me, who cooperate and work together towards success. In response to Matthew’s comment, I believe he is correct in the direction that he was heading. A mature Christian’s response is not to treat someone who has done wrong with wrath or terror. My responsibility as part of the team (but not the coach of the team) is to give my all in my work and also to do my best to build the rest of the team.

I’ll admit I am not the best at doing the “live at peace with everybody.” Ask anyone about my history and they’ll probably agree. But, hopefully they are beginning to see that I realize I am just one of the players, one of the teammates, and we all need each other in order to succeed, in order to take care of the customer, in order to grow our business.

So now, when someone else on the team doesn’t play by the rules and breaks the spirit of teamwork, my responsibility is to continue to build team and function as a team player. As the wisdom given says, “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Tonight was one of the most difficult nights as a travelling business developer for the company. Monday night I spent in NJ. Last night and tonight (Friday) are in Houston. Weeks ago I planned to attend this conference Thursday through Saturday. Then, a last minute “have to” trip came up where I needed to be in NJ on Tuesday morning early. So, the week got booked pretty solid.

What’s the big deal? Well, I’ve got 2 friends who are more experienced and both keep telling me that they are looking for jobs with less travel. One is on the road 4-5 nights each week and the other has spent 30-40% of his time travelling. Both are reminders that life is more important that winning the business deal or collecting a bigger check on Friday.

Travelling is fun, right? No, travelling is necessary. It is important. It is critical to be face to face with customers and prospective customers. And for our business, those customers are mostly out of state.

But just because it is necessary doesn’t mean it’s fun. I’ll admit, I miss being at home on a Friday night. Tonight has been pretty hard dealing with that. My bride is at home with 3 young boys (ages 3, 1 and 2 months). My birthday is tomorrow. And my flight doesn’t have me landing home until after 7pm.

You know, it’s just that tonight I feel it. I sense it. And it’s hard. I hope that I will learn after this trip to do two things:

1. Don’t book multiple trips in the same week that require 3 nights out or more total that week.
2. Empower others to be able to assist in the customer visits so that if a “have to” comes up, the team can help relieve the stress of travel.

For some reason, everyone thinks my driving on business trips isn’t so great. (Click here for some thoughts on it from May last year.) No matter what you think, I saved our lives today by being observant at an intersection. When the light turned green, I looked left and saw a car coming the wrong way on a one-way street. Then, it ran the red light. Idiot! That driver, not me.

For those of you who live or have driven in Atlanta, check out this video on I-285, the beltway around our ever-expanding metropolitan area.