We went to Joan’s Farm & Pumpkin Patch in Livermore this morning and I think we got some great pictures. The lady in the video is Joan, the owner of the pumpkin patch.
Month: October 2009
Ranged Up
I took this picture with my iPhone a while back on one of my last road trips.
Beware Of Your Gunless Friend!
Beware Of Your Gunless Friend!
The dangerous people are not the ones
Who hit you with clubs and rob you with guns!
The thief won’t attack your character traits
Or belittle your abilities to your face!
It likely will be a well-meaning friend
Who merely crushes your will to win.
No, he doesn’t rob you, at point of gun,
He simply says, “It can’t be done.”
When pointed to thousands who already are
He smiles and says, “They’re superior!”
Personality-wise, and abilities, too,
They’re way ahead of what others can do!”
It matters not that his words are untrue
For, you feel “others” must know you!
So, you’re robbed of your hopes, your dreams to succeed.
Robbed of the material blessing received,
Robbed of your faith that says, “I can.”
And robbed by an ignorant, gunless friend.
So, the deadliest of men is not he with a gun,
But the one who tells you “It can’t be done!”
For that taken by burglars can be gotten again.
But, what can replace your will to win?
~ Author Unknown ~
Ghost of Collegiate-Past
You Can If You Think You Can!
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.
~ C. W. Longenecker ~
If You Know HTML This is Funny
Hint of what the <i>tag does</i>.
Uncovering Steve Jobs’ Presentation Secrets
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2009/sb2009106_706829_page_2.htm (no longer available)
“The Apple Music event of Sept. 9, 2009, marked the return of the world’s greatest corporate storyteller. For more than three decades, Apple (AAPL) co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs has raised product launches to an art form. In my new book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, I reveal the techniques that Jobs uses to create and deliver mind-blowing keynote presentations.
Steve Jobs does not sell computers; he sells an experience. The same holds true for his presentations that are meant to inform, educate, and entertain. An Apple presentation has all the elements of a great theatrical production—a great script, heroes and villains, stage props, breathtaking visuals, and one moment that makes the price of admission well worth it. Here are the five elements of every Steve Jobs presentation. Incorporate these elements into your own presentations to sell your product or ideas the Steve Jobs way.
1. A headline. Steve Jobs positions every product with a headline that fits well within a 140-character Twitter post. For example, Jobs described the MacBook Air as “the world’s thinnest notebook.” That phrase appeared on his presentation slides, the Apple Website, and Apple’s press releases at the same time. What is the one thing you want people to know about your product? This headline must be consistent in all of your marketing and presentation material.
2. A villain. In every classic story, the hero fights the villain. In 1984, the villain, according to Apple, was IBM (IBM). Before Jobs introduced the famous 1984 television ad to the Apple sales team for the first time, he told a story of how IBM was bent on dominating the computer industry. “IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple.” Today, the “villain” in Apple’s narrative is played by Microsoft (MSFT). One can argue that the popular “I’m a Mac” television ads are hero/villain vignettes. This idea of conquering a shared enemy is a powerful motivator and turns customers into evangelists.
3. A simple slide. Apple products are easy to use because of the elimination of clutter. The same approach applies to the slides in a Steve Jobs presentation. They are strikingly simple, visual, and yes, devoid of bullet points. Pictures are dominant. When Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, no words could replace a photo of a hand pulling the notebook computer out of an interoffice manila envelope. Think about it this way—the average PowerPoint slide has 40 words. In some presentations, Steve Jobs has a total of seven words in 10 slides. And why are you cluttering up your slides with too many words?
4. A demo. Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain gets bored easily. Steve Jobs doesn’t give you time to lose interest. Ten minutes into a presentation, he’s often demonstrating a new product or feature and having fun doing it. When he introduced the iPhone at Mac world 2007, Jobs demonstrated how Google Maps (GOOG) worked on the device. He pulled up a list of Starbucks (SBUX) stores in the local area and said, “Let’s call one.” When someone answered, Jobs said: “I’d like to order 4,000 lattes to go, please. No, just kidding.”
5. A holy smokes moment. Every Steve Jobs presentation has one moment that neuroscientists call an “emotionally charged event.” The emotionally charged event is the equivalent of a mental post-it note that tells the brain, remember this! For example, at Macworld 2007, Jobs could have opened the presentation by telling the audience that Apple was unveiling a new mobile phone that also played music, games, and video. Instead, he built up the drama. “Today, we are introducing three revolutionary products. The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device…an iPod, a phone, an Internet communicator…an iPod, a phone, are you getting it? These are not three devices. This is one device!” The audience erupted in cheers because it was so unexpected, and very entertaining. By the way, the holy smokes moment on Sept. 9 had nothing to do with a product. It was Steve Jobs himself appearing onstage for the first time after undergoing a liver transplant.
One more thing…sell dreams. Charismatic speakers like Steve Jobs are driven by a nearly messianic zeal to create new experiences. When he launched the iPod in 2001, Jobs said, “In our own small way we’re going to make the world a better place.” Where most people saw the iPod as a music player, Jobs recognized its potential as a tool to enrich people’s lives. Cultivate a sense of mission. Passion, emotion, and enthusiasm are grossly underestimated ingredients in professional business communications, and yet, passion and emotion will motivate others. Steve Jobs once said that his goal was not to die the richest man in the cemetery. It was to go to bed at night thinking that he and his team had done something wonderful. Do something wonderful. Make your brand stand for something meaningful.”
Life Is Like Survivor: You Never Know What Your Gonna Get
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As much as people like to knock “reality TV” I am finding at least 80% of what I watch on television these days is just that. If you have watched Survivor you know there are certain personality types the producers seem to cast but interestingly maybe those they select are actually representative of our society. You have those who have no clue why they are there and those who know exactly why they are there. You have some who are lazy, yet some break their back to provide for their tribe.
You have some contestants who are old, some are young, some are male and some female. Some come to the game with a clear strategy and some ride the coattails of others to make it as far as they can. Some are smart, some are athletic, and some rely on their looks to get them through the game. Some are honest yet most lie. Some stay loyal while others stray from the commitments they made to their tribe upon the merge. Don’t even get me started on the merge. It never ceases to amaze me how many times it is advantageous to stick together as a tribe yet someone always falters and stabs their tribe mates in the back by voting against someone they committed their allegiance to because they feel doing so will ultimately further themselves in the game.
Be like Gump, Forrest Gump that is. Forrest loved Jenny and his mother unconditionally, he was faithful to his friends even if it meant risking his own life, what Gump lacked in intelligence he made up for by living the golden rule (treat others or love how you want to be treated or loved), and he never let life’s obstacles impede his progress.
- Forrest Gump: [narrating] You know, it’s funny what a young man recollects. ‘Cause I don’t remember being born. I, I don’t recall what I got for my first Christmas, and I don’t know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But, I do remember the first time I heard the sweetest voice in the wide world.
- Young Jenny: You can sit here if you want.
- Forrest Gump: [narrating] I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. She was like an angel.
- Young Jenny: Well, are you gonna sit down, or aren’t ya?
- [Young Forrest sits down next to Jenny]
- Young Jenny: What’s wrong with your legs?
- Young Forrest: Um, nothing at all, thank you. My legs are just fine and dandy.
- Young Jenny: Then why do you have those shoes on?
- Young Forrest: Momma says my back is as crooked as a question mark.
- Forrest Gump: [narrating] I just sat next to her on that bus and had conversation all the way to school. And next to Momma, no one ever talked to me or asked me questions.
- Young Jenny: Are you stupid or something?
- Young Forrest: Momma says stupid is as stupid does.
- Young Jenny: I’m Jenny.
- Young Forrest: I’m Forrest. Forrest Gump.
- Forrest Gump: [narrating] From that day on, we was always together. Jenny and me was like peas and carrots.
Maybe we could all learn from our friend Mr. Gump. Life may be a game we all play but it is how you play the game which determines who really wins at the end of the day/game. Live a good life, find what makes you happy, and live life to its fullest.
- Forrest Gump: What’s the matter, Momma?
- Mrs. Gump: I’m dyin’, Forrest. Come on in, sit down over here.
- Forrest Gump: Why are you dyin’, Momma?
- Mrs. Gump: It’s my time. It’s just my time. Oh, now, don’t you be afraid, sweetheart. Death is just a part of life. It’s something we’re all destined to do. I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your momma. I did the best I could.
- Forrest Gump: You did good, Momma.
- Mrs. Gump: Well, I happened to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you.
- Forrest Gump: What’s my destiny, Momma?
- Mrs. Gump: You’re gonna have to figure that out for yourself. Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you’re gonna get.
- Forrest Gump: [narrating] Momma always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.
- Mrs. Gump: I will miss you, Forrest.
- Forrest Gump: [narrating] She had got the cancer and died on a Tuesday. I bought her a new hat with little flowers on it. And that’s all I have to say about that.
I Ran Like A Girl!
It’s official, according to the Nike site I ran like a girl in the marathon! I think for walking the majority of the course we made pretty good time. Haha, still funny though.
SF Nike Women’s Marathon 2009
Well, we survived the marathon today and I’m pretty sore but glad we did it. I clearly have some training to do for next year but here are some pictures and a video of the 13.2 mile death march.
Fast Food: Per Store Sales Information
In the October 2009 edition of Fast Company Magazine they list some sales information for fast food chains which I thought was interesting.
- Total company U.S. revenue = $30 billion
- Average transaction = $6.00
- Average annual per-store sales = $2.3 million
- Number of U.S. stores = 13,958
- Total company U.S. revenue = $1.28 billion
- Average transaction = $8.10
- Average annual per-store sales = $1.8 million
- Number of U.S. stores = 800
- Total company U.S. revenue = $9.13 billion
- Average transaction = $5.75
- Average annual per-store sales = $1.3 million
- Number of U.S. stores = 7,213
- Total company U.S. revenue = $8.75 billion
- Average transaction = $4.75
- Average annual per-store sales = $985,000
- Number of U.S. stores = 11,537
- Total company U.S. revenue = $9.6 billion
- Average transaction = $6.95
- Average annual per-store sales = $445,000
- Number of U.S. stores = 21,881
