Getting the Cure on!

Tim and I were lucky enough to attend a breakfast this morning for the Denver affiliate of Susan G. Komen. The sea of pink napkins, dresses, and ties were delightful to see. The stories of the women and men who have won their fight with breast cancer were truly moving.

As I sat there, I thought about my close friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She caught it early enough that her outcomes look promising, but she still had to undergo radical surgery and chemotherapy. Her life and the lives of those who love her have been impacted tremendously. And she is one of the lucky ones-- she was educated on self-care and has insurance. Like many states, Colorado has had extreme budget cuts and preventative care for breast cancer has not escaped.

We hope you will join us in supporting this important cause -- by following the link above -- or participating in one of their upcoming events.

Giving More Than 100%

Here is something I received from my daughter since she knows I do motivational speaking and the like, thought i would share it with you in good fun.

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%. How about achieving 103%? Here’s a little math that might prove helpful. What makes life 100%?

If

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then,
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%
K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%

But,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%

And,
B U L L S H I T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%
So, it stands to reason that hardwork and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top.

And look how far this will take you......
A S S K I S S I N G
1 19 19 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 = 118%

Think about it...
and have a nice day at work.

Tips vs. Gratuities

While twisting up a storm at Dave & Busters in Westminster the other night I ended up in a conversation that reminded me that we often confuse tips with gratuities. It is a simple enough mistake, both involve giving a subjective amount of money for a performance. However the difference is all in the timing of the thing.

When a grandmother comes up to me and hands me $20, asking me to make something really crazy for her grandchild's birthday, she is giving me a tip. I have not yet done anything to earn her patronage. In fact, I could be the WORST balloon guy in the world, and she's already put money in my hand, in the hopes that it will motivate me to do something spectacular. Tips are a motivational monetary gift.

When I do a balloon for a family and the grinning, giggling girl it hugging and happy with her balloon, the $5 that the parents give me is a gratuity. They are grateful for how I have made their daughter so happy and wish to give me something in thanks for the effort. In both of these cases, it is not a payment.

Personally, I am not a fan of tips. It is a blind assumption of skill and performance that I find rarely fits with reality. If you give me $100 to make balloons for your table, and then only 3 people want balloons, and what they want is teddy bears and flowers, there is little I can do to expand that offering. It is equally challenging when a parent pulls out $1 to give me before knowing what it is I am going to make and hands it to the child before turning away and ignoring the performance. Often that child wants a pirate ship, a mermaid, or perhaps a pod racer.

When calculating a proper gratuity for a server, I look to the effort and energy put into the work done during the meal. When giving a gratuity following a haircut, I look to see if my expectations are in line with the results, how much art was put into the efforts. When I tip my barista, it is a motivation to make a beautiful chocolate chai with maybe a little extra sweetness.

When giving a tip or a gratuity what do you consider?

Glee: Diverse but NOT Inclusive

The absolutely amazing hit television show Glee is one of my favorite ways to spend an evening in front of the TV. Its poignant humor and irreverent approach leave me shaking my head and laughing on a very regular basis. The diverse cast does a solid job of crossing the spectrum. There are Asian kids, and Black kids, White kids and Jewish kids. There are socially awkward kids, sexually promiscuous kids and prudish kids. There is a kid in a wheelchair and kids of varying body sizes. There are bisexual kids (sort of) and gay kids and straight kids.

They miss the idea of inclusion entirely however. They have episodes focused on the gay character and the young black woman. They even have an episode where the antagonist points out to the main characters how they are sidelining the kids of a more diverse background. But when the next episodes continue, the behavior does not really change. The white kids are given center stage and the diverse supporting cast remains supporting them. I was most triggered by this while walking through Costco Where I saw them selling the Complete First Season of Glee.

At first I was impressed that, while the cover art was the main 4 white characters, the spine had the Black, Asian, disabled and gay characters. Then I realized that the spine they are featured on is the one that will traditionally be facing IN on a DVD shelf. Why is that necessary? If the cover art is featuring one set of characters, why not have the primary spine feature others from the cast?

Inclusion is about creating an environment where the differences are not a separating factor. This conversation needs to continue.

An Open Letter to Stephen Tebo

Dear Mr Tebo,

I wanted to thank you for your inspiration to young entrepreneurs and your contributions to the Boulder business community. I have heard your story told at so many functions from Boulder Chamber events, to award functions where you were being honored for a philanthropic effort or a general Boulder stimulus recognition. As a young professional looking forward to a career of growth and achievement your example has been one to study.

My question to you is concerning the current state of the Boulder business climate. In attending networking events and conversing with a variety of local Boulder business owners I have seen a disturbing number of people talk about how close to the line they are riding, even when producing a consistent and significant revenue stream. That the cost of their space is such an inordinately high percentage of their overhead they they are often barely breaking even. Many times they are not, evidenced by the more and more "Tebo Space for Lease" signs that we all see appearing around Boulder. I am wondering what your plans are to help with this situation? How many businesses need to close their doors for you to notice? After so much attention for your work in stimulating the Boulder economy, why not reduce your rates? Why not give some of the other businesses an opportunity to flourish as you have?

You have been honored and awarded for your work. You have accumulated an incredible amount of the commercial property in Boulder. When do you think you will have enough? When can the prices be made reasonable again so that small businesses trying to start with a new idea, or existing businesses that produce regular revenue are actually able to show a profit instead of closing their doors because of high rent. I plan to open a store, but will be looking in Louisville or Lafayette because the space in Boulder is just too costly to even consider. How many other businesses are driven away from Boulder because of this?

You have the power and the responsibility to help. Please do so. Thank you.