YOU AIN'T GONNA LEARN WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW

Shea Stadium Behind the Plate

This is the final season at Shea Stadium, a place I really like.  I took this image yesterday.....a great day at my favorite field, with the family.

A few comments on this picture.

1) notice the new stadium in (Citi Field) behind center field

2 notice the two guys at the bottom of the pic clicking their bottles of Budweiser.

3) This is the last Sunday Game in July ever to be played at Shea.....

In the Strangest of Places.....

A wise man once penned, 

"Once in a while you can get shown the light - in the strangest of places, if you look at it right...."

I believe wholeheartedly in this premise, concept, and way of life.....it has helped guide me, and look at people, situations, and opinions all with a different "lense" on this journey

I think it has helped me find my way a bit, and dance up the aisle of life...on my way to wherever I'm going.

Along the way we get to meet people who make an impression in a myriad of ways.

One such person is Roger Ehrenberg.  I met Roger while working with the team from Wallstrip.

Roger was the leader of a company called Monitor110 - and over on his blog he wrote a post that blew me away.....he starts off:

"Writing a post mortem is hard, particularly when the result is failure: a failed deal; a failed investment; a failed concept. That said, without a post mortem, without deep reflection, honesty and introspection, how can we get better and do better the next time?"

Monitor110 no longer exists, and Roger has blogged about some of the high level reason (7 to be exact) that he believes a company that he led, did not succeed.

His insight is like a playbook, or a roadmap of "what to avoid, and be aware of as you seek to create value...."

He certainly made me aware of what he termed, his 7 Deadly Sins:

"The Seven Deadly Sins

While we certainly made more than seven mistakes during the nearly four-year life of Monitor110, I think these top the list.

1. The lack of a single, "the buck stops here" leader until too late in the game
2. No separation between the technology organization and the product organization
3. Too much PR, too early
4. Too much money
5. Not close enough to the customer
6. Slow to adapt to market reality
7. Disagreement on strategy both within the Company and with the Board"

In this era of self publishing, all too often we read things that dont have an impact on us.  They are good reads, informative and filled with data....but,

WHAT ROGER EHRENBERG HAS WRITTEN ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE HAS HAD A TREMENDOUSLY POSITIVE IMPACT ON ME SINCE I READ IT......AND FOR THAT, I THANK HIM.

Here is Roger's piece titled: "Turning Failure Into Learning."

Well done Mr. Ehrenberg, and thanks giving many of us a real life Business School lesson on life......and success.

Thanks for shining the light on the strangest of places.....to look at it just right.