The Least Read Blog In The World!: August 2011

I always thought that “writers block” meant you had nothing to say and you didn’t know where to start. But I have come to realize that a form of writers block isn’t just that you don’t have anything to say, but it is also that you have so many small things to say that together they make no sense!

THAT IS ME! It is not that I don’t know what to say or where to start. I don’t stare at a blank page hoping something will just come to me. I do have lots to say and opinions on just about everything. But together they don’t make a best seller nor do they make much sense.

Want some examples? Here you go:

-There are two books coming out that I cant wait to get my hands on. And if you know anything at all about me, I haven’t read a book since college and that is not a lie. I will read newspapers, magazines and articles online all day long, but books have never been my thing. I will read the Wikipedia version before even thinking about getting the book.

But there is a book out next week by the founder of TOMS Shoes called START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS by Blake Mycoskie. It “tells the story of TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, and combines it with lessons learned from such other innovative organizations as method, charity: water, FEED Projects, and TerraCycle.”

The other comes on in late November and it is the authorized Steve Jobs bio. Now there have been a lot of books written about Steve, but not one of them has he authorized. It is said to include details about his resignation and I cant wait. It should be great!!!

-I am in need of a technology upgrade. My 2006 Black MacBook has finally died on me. Now, I could spend a couple hundred of dollars to upgrade the hard drive and memory and get another year or two out of it, but I would really like a new MacBook. Sadly the budget does not allow for it.

-I really would like a nice camera to take good pictures of things. However, this is a ”want” and right now we have so many “needs” we have to take care of first. But one day I would like to have a good camera and maybe create a coffee table book of some kind. I think it would be fun!

So there are some examples of what goes on in my mind but just wouldn’t make good blogs. But there are two more things that I have been kicking around in my head.

The first one is a story about Charity : Water and a girls birthday wish to raise $300 dollars to provide water to those in need. Her name was Rachel. Long story short, she ended up $20 short and then weeks later passed away in a car accident. Since then people have donated over $1.2 MILLION dollars! That is enough to provide water for over 61,000 people.

Check her Charity : Water page out HERE.

Here is her story:

The other one revolves around the resignation of Steve Jobs. In reading about him over the past week one of the things that stood out to me was that his name is on 313 patents and he is the lead designer on 33 of them! While he is not Thomas Edison, who has over 1,300 patents, Steve Jobs amassed over 300 patents in a time when so many things have already been created! Just unheard of.

But what caught my eye was a post by Vic Gundorta. I know most of you have no idea who this is, but he is the head of Google’s Mobility program and works really close with Steve Jobs and Apple on how Google essentially looks on the iPhone and iPad. And this was his post:

Icon Ambulance

One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said "Caller ID unknown". I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. "Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss" it said.

Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

"Hey Steve - this is Vic", I said. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn't pick up".

Steve laughed. He said, "Vic, unless the Caller ID said 'GOD', you should never pick up during services".

I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

"So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I've already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow" said Steve.

"I've been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I'm not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn't have the right yellow gradient. It's just wrong and I'm going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject "Icon Ambulance". The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I'll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

To one of the greatest leaders I've ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

Now I know I just made this post really long and I am sorry. (It is my blog after all). But the line that I have not been able to shake all week is this: CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

That is what transforms good companies into great companies…good CEO’s into great CEO’s…but most importantly good people into great people.

So my goal is to care about shades of yellow even on a Sunday and I challenge you to make it your goal as well!

What if you could go back in time? What if you could go back and “take the road less traveled”? What if you could go back and start all over? Would you?

I always see people talk about doing it over or if I could go back I would do it differently. But would you really?

I am a person that believes the series of choices you make puts you on a path to where you are today. I don’t regret choices I have made. Do I wish maybe I had handled some things differently? Sure, we all do. But saying you wish you could “do the whole thing over”? No thanks.

Looking back on life, no matter how old you are, it is easy to say “maybe if I had done this” or “maybe if I had done that” things would be different. But would that be a good thing?

Looking back at some of the major decisions in my life, I cant say I regret the choices that I made at the time…but I do I wish the outcome had been different, you bet!

For example, I always wished that I had just gone to college. It is easy to sit and say that I “regret” it because it has had an effect on my career. But I don’t. Why? Well, let’s take a look.

If I had gone to college, I probably would have went to one of the handful of colleges I was accepted to…all of which were out of Dallas/Ft. Worth. When I graduated, would I have moved back to D/FW? Who knows? I might have met someone in school and stayed there. I might have gotten a job that required me to move. Any of a number of things might have happened.

But I can tell you what wouldn’t have happened…

Eleven year ago I wouldn’t have run into a buddy from High School (Chris Childress) and swapped phone numbers. And Heather wouldn’t have run into him a few weeks after that and got my number from him. And ten years later, I wouldn’t be married to my best friend with an amazing daughter living this thing called life.

Every decision you made impacts where you are today.

Sounds simple, but have you embraced that?

Or do you wonder ‘What If’ all the time?