I admire Emily Theis and her relentlessness in making the lives of less fortunate people better.
Ball State Better Way Imports Party from Emily Theis on Vimeo.
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02
Nov 11
Great year of racing with Team Ragged Glory
My favorite diversion is adventure racing. A group of friends and I have been doing adventure races since 2001 as Team Ragged Glory. This year we did four races and finished well in each :
Planet Adventure Urban Sprint – 1st overall
Planet Adventure 30 Hour Challenge – 6th overall
Planet Adventure Urban Sprint Race – 2nd all male division
Indianapolis Adventure Race – 3rd overall
Our success this year was due to a combination of factors: experience, navigation skills and good team dynamics. It’s the people that are the key ingredient to the fun we have every year. I raced with some incredible teammates in 2011:
Eric Henricks – Exceptional navigator, calm thinker, great all-around athlete. Eric knows how to lead.
Dave Tanner – Endurance legend, incredible swimmer, cyclist and navigator. Dave is kind, gentle, and relaxed during every race.
Nancy Gawrys – Energetic, positive, focused, competitive and fun. Nancy is probably the best athlete on the team, and the easily the most fun.
Julie Nor – College athlete, long-distance deity, Julie is one of our youngest and strongest. Her first race with TRG was legendary. Her faith and her strength make every race memorable.
Steve Kincade – a founding member of Team Ragged Glory, Steve is more of a brother to me than a teammate. Steve navigates, he’s supportive and considerate in-race. He effortlessly cranks out unbelievable distance on foot. He’s a rock.
Jeff Boxell – Jeff’s steady, focused relentlessness and his understanding of the inner game of adventure racing make him an excellent teammate. And brother-in law.
Joe Madren – Another one of our youngest, Joe’s strength, team mind, and focus on the finish line all give him the strength to lead. He’s also a fine brother-in-law.
Bob Mueller – Fast, accurate navigator, our strongest cyclist and a true all-around athlete, when Bob’s race face is on, we’re headed toward the finish line. The last race this season was amazing thanks to Bob’s navigation.
And even though Leslie Thompson didn’t get to race this year, Team Ragged Glory is really all her fault. She is the one who introduced me to adventure racing in 1999. She is the third founding member of Team Ragged Glory. Thanks Lester.
If you haven’t tried adventure racing, make 2012 your year. If you’re fortunate enough, you can race with friends that you respect and admire. I’m grateful for the friendships with each of these teammates. These friends make me a better person.
08
May 11
The power in a circle of friendship
I had the pleasure of going to the Mira Awards last night with Douglas Karr. Doug and his company, DK New Media were sponsors of the event. Doug invited friends and business partners of DK New Media, and I’m proud that I was included in that list.
Doug and I met three years ago at a Smaller Indiana gathering. We got to know each other better through the Southside Smoosiers Technology Group, a loose collection of technology folks who met once a month at the old Bean Cup near Greenwood.
We’ve shared ideas given each other advice on a variety of issues, including politics, religion, marketing, sales and doing business in Indiana.
Doug served on my Techmakers Board for a year and helped Techmakers define its online presence and bring value to the group.
Through the course of our friendship, we’ve developed a business relationship. DK New Media is the strategy behind all of Lifeline Data Centers‘ marketing.
But our relationship is just one relationship. Doug’s circle is diverse. Harry Howe helps companies that become a victim of their own success. Denise Speer solves administrative problems for companies. Adam Small helps realtors use his online and mobile software tools to grow their business. Matt Nettleton teaches real people about the true nature of selling.
Although we’re quite different in many respects, I believe it works to all of our advantages. What binds us together is frendship and the willingness to trust each other and help each other both personally and professionally.
23
Jan 11
Sales/Business Alignment – I’m proud of you. Remember, you still have a long way to go.
My late father, Ed Theis, used to tell me, “I’m proud of you. Remember, you still have a long way to go.” Sales and business alignment is an ongoing process. Successes and failures occur along the way. Working to build a self-correcting alignment system ensures long-term success.
Let’s look at the simple facts:
- Your company’s leadership decided to go into business to make money by selling something.
- There are companies or businesses out there that are potential clients; they need the something that you sell.
- Your marketing department identifies who is buying, and works to convince potential clients of the merits of something
- Your sales department talks to potential clients interested in that something, and converts interest into a sale.
- Your customer service department works to keep clients happy and to offer an additional something.
Is there such a thing as a self-correcting alignment system? What needs to happen for a business to stay aligned with the process?
- Willingness to adopt a program of ongoing improvement.
- Understanding of the relationship between sales, operations, revenues and profits.
- Creating a clear set of goals around these relationships in terms of throughput, inventory and operational expense.
- Defining and implementing tactics and metrics to track progress.
- Implementing tactics to meet the goals.
- Evaluating success (Ed Theis: I’m proud of you) and changing course based on a look at the results (Ed Theis: remember you still have a long way to go).
A plan/do/check/adjust approach like this is a self-correcting system. But it takes a special team of key people from sales, marketing, operations, and leadership to make the self-correcting system a success.
A self-appraisal approach are a great way focus on real issues with the right people to develop a set of goals and actions for near-term action. Interested in learning more about the self-appraisal approach? Call me at 317.502.7622.
