The No Asshole Rule

Do you want to know what is a very interesting book? It’s The No Asshole Rule, Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t by Robert I. Sutton, PhD.

For several months I have seen this title on the book shelves and just couldn’t bring myself to read it. Finally, I decided to get a copy and see what it was all about. I have to say I was surprised. I know the title may be offensive to some people, but when reading the book, I have to admit that the term butt-hole isn’t what I’m thinking when I have to interact with certain people.

Anyway, this book is full of case studies that explain the advantages, disadvantages, remedies, and qualifications of being an @#$hole. I enjoyed the book and it was good for a little self evaluation. It is definitely one of those books where it is easy to picture someone else while reading it.

For Cause, For Country

For sometime now I have gradually been reading Eric A. Jacobson's For Cause For Country. A friend of mine gave me an autographed copy and it has been the book that has taken residence on my bedside table for the past several months.

This book gives a wonderful account of the Battle of Franklin along with the affairs that took place in Spring Hill during the US Civil War. There is a great deal of detail and research put into this book. In fact, this book will continue to stay on my bed side table, so I can continue to learn about the battle that took place just a mile or two away from my house.

This is the second book I have used this year to learn more about the Battle of Franklin. The more I read about it the more I feel connected to this great city. I love knowing the stories that took place at the various locations I drive by everyday.

If you live somewhere that has a rich history tied to a major event in history, I encourage you to know more about it. It really changes your perspective.

I'm a Mac Daddy Now

As of this morning, I can now walk into a Starbucks or some other coffee shop and pop open my new iBook and look important. According to my friend Smitty, all I need to do now is lose about 30 lbs., buy a graphic T-shirt and blazer, and grow some hair so I can put gel in it. Then I will be the ultimate mac user.

Frankly, I hate bandwagons and I kind of feel like I am jumping on the apple one except for the fact that we need a new laptop and my budget was not big enough to get a HUGE machine just so I could run Windows Vista. That's what finally convinced me to try a Mac. It was good timing for Apple.

I actually just bought this thing from a guy at work and I don't have a clue about how to use this thing. Everyone is telling me that I will love it. I hope they are right.

Always, We Begin Again

John McQuiston II classifies himself as a middle aged lawyer who grew up in church. After the death of his father several years ago, an Episcopal Priest who was close to his father recommended that he read Living With Contradiction: Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict by Esther de Waal. After a few other experiences, McQuiston wrote a paraphrase of St. Benedict’s rule.

Always, We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living, is a short and very simple read. Although you could spend hours giving thought and discussion to just a single page. The Monastic way of life has always intrigued me. I appreciate very much the insight that is offered to our own spiritual growth.

Our Iceberg is Melting

This morning I finished Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber. It is a short fable about Penguins who have to figure out how they are going to handle the fact that their iceberg is at risk of falling apart.

The fable is simple and teaches some simple points about dealing with change and how to successfully handle it. You can read more about the book at:

http://www.ouricebergismelting.com

I didn’t get a great deal out of it, but the authors do recommend that you discuss it with others who read it in order to gain more. So, who else has read it?

Mountain Fog

I thought this was a really cool picture. I wonder what it would have been like to stand there and watch it sweep over you.

(click picture to enlarge)

Poor Pepper, You Had it Comin'

When I was around age 7, a lady at church gave us a black spaniel named Pepper. Pepper wasn’t what you’d call a “good dog.” Pepper wasn’t what you’d call a “smart dog” either. He like to do two things; jump on people and chew up stuff. Everything we had outside, had to be put up off the ground or Pepper would ruin it. He’d eat water hoses, the plastic wheels on our big wheels, lawn chairs, etc…

About the time we got Pepper, was about the same time my dad became fire chief for our community volunteer fire department. One Wednesday afternoon the fire department got a call. My dad took off in his new fire chief helmet to take care of business. Even at age 7, we loved to watch dad race up our half-mile driveway with the little red light flashing on the dash board of the red and white striped Dodge van. It was so cool to see someone drive up the driveway that fast.

Anyway, when dad got back, we were in rush to make it to Wednesday night Bible study. So, without thinking he quickly laid his gear on top of the metal trash can in the carport, ran inside, got cleaned up, and then we all hurried off to the church building.

That’s right. While we were gone, Pepper pulled down Dad’s brand new fire chief helmet and went to town on it. As we returned home and pulled around the corner of the carport, there was Pepper and the 10 different pieces of the fire helmet. Dad was furious.

He slammed on the breaks as mom, my brother, and me, looked on in fear of what Dad would do to Pepper. He yelled “stay in the car!”

So, we did.

He got out, went over to the metal trash can where his stuff had been laying and grabbed the can along with the lid. Pepper, being the stupid dog that he was, ran up to dad smiling foolishly as a dog might do and jumped up to greet him. That’s when dad grabbed him by the back of the neck and flung him in to the trash can. Veins started popping out of Dad’s neck as he put the lid on. He rattled and banged the trash can all around the carport. He’d lift up over his head and then slam it into the brick columns holding up the carport. He then grabbed a shovel and started beating the crap out of the trash can. Then he continued banging it on the ground some more. Inside the car we all looked on in horror. Nervously I asked, “Momma, is Dad going to kill Pepper?”

That’s about the time Dad stopped his torture of Pepper. What happened next was about the smartest thing pepper ever did in his short life. He barreled out of the trash can and took off around the house in fear of his life. Too bad for Pepper that he didn’t learn his lesson. The next day Pepper chewed up another water hose. A few days later, we came home from school and Pepper wasn’t there.

We learned a lot about my Dad that night. He is capable of anger and stronger than we thought.

Lorum Ipsum

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”

What is this? Find out here.

Cake Decorating

The GinBlog has a funny story about getting a cake from Wal-Mart.

Some people that work here had a going away party the other day for a woman that is leaving.

One of the supervisors called a Walmart and ordered the cake. he told them to write: “best wishes Suzanne” and underneath that write “we will miss you”. here’s the cake that was delivered:

Marketing to the Social Web

If you are trying to figure out the best way to get started with marketing in the Web 2.0 world, you might want to check out Larry Weber’s Marketing to the Social Web. The book does a good job of laying down some basics that you need to know as a marketer but it also creates some natural questions that would lead to some good discussions with your marketing team.

Weber identifies and discusses four areas of the web. (1) Reputation aggregators (Search Engines). (2)Blogs. (3) E-communities. (4) Social Networks .

Father Knows Less: Or Can I Cook My Sister

For my birthday a few weeks ago, my wife gave me Father Knows Less or: “Can I Cook My Sister?” by Wendell Jamieson. The book was a fun little read that attempts to answer unique questions that kids come up with. As I was reading it, I was thinking of a lot of the questions I had as a child. As an adult the answers seem so obvious, but as a kid they were really mind boggling questions. It also occurred to me that kids can ask some pretty intuitive questions as well. Even questions that make what we do as adults seem pretty stupid. I’m not going to give you any examples. You can just read the book.

Basically, Jamieson goes in search for answers to questions kids have by going to a source that is an actual person who works in a field that is related to the question. He doesn’t get the answer from the internet, books, or other methods of research, but he gets it “straight from the horse’s mouth?” In fact, that is one of the questions…What does “straight from the horse’s mouth mean?”

You can also learn more about the book at http://www.fatherknowslessbook.com.

Now, Discover Your Strengths

I am wrapping up Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. I am aware there is 2.0 version, but I believe there both built on the same StrengthFinders test. This is a fantastic book. It has helped me appreciate things I do, think and say. It’s helping me to look at myself in a positive way, rather than a negative way. There are some really great illustrations that show you the importance of working in your strenghts rather than focusing on your weaknesses all of the time.
Here are my top 5 strength paths according to StrengthFinders.

1. Competition: People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.
2. Maximizer: People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
3. Individualization: People strong in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.
4. Significance: People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.
5. Analytical: People strong in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.

Breakfast at Puckett's

A few Saturdays ago me and my wife were awakened by our 17 month old boy about 6 am. We were just excited that it wasn’t like his weekday routine of waking up at 5:30 am. Anyway, we all got up, got dressed, and decided we may as well get the day started on a good note with a good breakfast. So, we headed to downtown Franklin (TN), and enjoyed the weekend breakfast buffet at Puckett’s Grocery. (I hear their lunch is good too!)

It was our first trip to Puckett’s as a family and we enjoyed every minute of our stay. The food was delicious and the service was INCREDIBLE! It’s a nice cozy atmosphere that reminds me of growing up in the country. It’s no psuedo-country atmosphere like Cracker Barrell. This is the real deal.

The waitress took a liking to our boy and flirted with him and went to refill his sippy cup with milk right away. We enjoyed our breakfast so much that we went back the following Saturday. As soon as we walked in the door, she remembered us and called out my son’s name. She was excited to see him, along with every other kid that came in. Talk about a good impression, that was it. We sat down at her table again and she even remembered what we had to drink. Now, I was really impressed. We’ve now been 3 straight weeks and it is a new family tradition.

So, if you ever want to meet us for breakfast on Saturday morning around 8:00 am, odds are we will be at Puckett’s, sitting at Sally’s table in the back, next to the pole. It’s an open invitation so come join us.

Scooter Sidecar

How about this for one of our scooters?

Drum Solo

New to Astronomy

A coworker of mine has discovered a new interest outside of the US Civil War. I like the US Civil War and I don’t mind talking about it with him, although he does most of the talking, but sometimes I could use a new topic. So, now his new topic is “Space,” and I want to encourage it. It’s a subject that does interest me a little, but to be honest, I know very little.

From NASA to Astronomy, I have never really done much beyond sitting outside at night and looking at the stars wondering how people find lions, rabbits, dippers, bears, etc… So, I picked up my first book on astronomy by Jay M. Pasachoff. It’s very simple, with a few maps of the stars. It’s enough to allow me to have an elementary conversation with someone on the subject.

I do feel smarter and do appreciate just a little more about the “infinity and beyond”.