"Good to Great" book exerpt

“Few successful start-ups become great companies, in large part because they respond to growth and success in the wrong way. Entrepreneurial success if fueled by creativity, imagination, bold moves into uncharted waters, and visionary zeal. As a company grows and becomes more complex, it begins to trip over its own success—too many new people, too many new customers, too many new orders, too many new products. What was once great fun becomes an unwieldy ball of disorganized stuff. Lack of planning, lack of accounting, lack of systems and lack of hiring constraints create friction. Problems surface—with customers, with cash flow, with schedules.

In response, someone (often a board member) says, “It’s time to grow up. This place needs some professional management”. The company begins to hire MBA’s and seasoned executives from blue-chip companies. Processes, procedures, checklists, and all the rest begin to sprout up like weeds. What was once an egalitarian environment gets replaced with a hierarchy. Chains of command appear for the first time. Reporting relationships become clear and an executive class with special perks begins to appear. “We” and “they” segmentations appear—just like in a real company.

The professional managers finally rein in the mess. They create order out of chaos, but they also kill the entrepreneurial spirit. Members of the founding team begin to grumble. “This isn’t fun anymore. I used to be able to just get things done. Now I have to fill out these stupid forms and follow these stupid rules. Worst of all, I have to spend a horrendous amount of time in useless meetings”. The creative magic begins to wane as some of the most innovative people leave, disgusted by the burgeoning bureaucracy and hierarchy. The exciting start-up transforms into just another company with nothing special to recommend it. The cancer of mediocrity begins to grow in earnest.

The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline—a problem that largely goes away if you have the right people in the first place. Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to manage the small percentage of wrong people on the bus, which in turn drives away the right people on the bus, which then increases the percentage of wrong people on the bus, which increases the need for more bureaucracy to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline, which then further drives the right people away, and so forth.”

www.jimcollins.com

Starting the Garden

This weekend we started working on our garden.

It was so beautiful and warm (63F 18C)



We bought paint for our planters boxes. I planted a big barrel of fresh herbs. Rosemary, leeks, parsley, cilantro, oregano and basil. We tilled composted manure into half of our garden, then covered it with black material to rest. We working on getting the soil much better for next year. It's not great soil right now. We will fill out planters boxes next weekend with soil, compost and vegetables.

We had paint left over so decided to paint out 2 bird houses, which we dull and faded wood. I hope that the birds like them ! I dug up some old plants that came with the house. I don't see the point in having prickly vines that don't grow any flowers. Our rose plant did so well last year that I would like to plant a rose garden behind the house. So beautiful.

I am also starting some fresh herbs inside the house. The smell is wonderful and we use lots of herbs for cooking so the more the merrier.


I am so excited. I don't know much but am learning and enjoying the experience. I hope that my garden does well in the future. Last year we had tomatoes and peppers, but the over abundance of rain ruined a lot of our plants. Lets see what the raised beds do this year and hope for the best.

Clouds

"A cloud is a visible mass of droplets. The process of condenstaion results in the formation of clouds."

I am obsessed with clouds.

I can't stop taking pictures of them.

Always changing, ever beautiful, forever intriging.

As a kid, the game of guessing what the cloud looks like was always fun. I still do it today. You can see so much in them. It stirs the imagination.

The colours of the sky. The shape of the clouds. You can't find this beauty anywhere else. Mother Nature is magnificent.

Imagine being a bird and being able to fly amongst the skies. the sights you would see. the wind you would feel. The freshness of the Earth's beauty.

Walking around and staring at the sky. Driving in traffic and just taking a few seconds to look up and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us every day. People take it for granted. I try not to. I love having lots of windows in my house, so I can always look out and see the sky.

I would love to study them more. To understand them. To read them.

They are truly an amazing part of this world.

"A pessimist only sees the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philisopher sees both sides and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them." -- Leonard L. Levinsen

the Olmpics

I've never really been an avid watcher of the Olympics. My husband loves it, so I've been watching this year. The opening ceremonies were great. I really enjoyed that.
The footage on the luger dying did not sit well with me. I'm an emotional person who empathizes much too easily. I cried thinking about his family, and how hard he had worked to get this far. It's a sad situation. I also couldn't believe what was shown on TV. It was so graphic and shocking.
~~
Because I am not a reagular watcher of the Olympics, I have so may questions that I need to look into for satisfaction. Why would they let NHL players compete? Why not let hard workers that are hoping to get into the NHL a chance to prove themselves? These players already have bad habits from getting away with stuff for years. It should be a little tighter on the rules (no body checking, no roughness, etc) Isn't it for the love of the game? There is too much attitude and arrogance in my eyes. Some Olympians are only 16 yrs old. I am sure there are many athletes of that age group that would love to play hockey in the Olympics. Why not let them play. These NHLers who are overpaid sports celebs don't give the Olympic feeling that the others athletes do. I feel pride for the others doing their best at skiiing and skating. Hearing their stories and feeling their hardships. I don't feel that way towards the hockey teams. Yes, it is great to see our coutries competing, but ... too many buts. . .

I enjoy one event for a few days and then I personally get bored of watching it over and over again. And the same athletes compete in several events, so you are hearing about the same people over and over. Depending where you are watching the games, the coverage is different too. As a kid, it seemed very different. I am know that there have been changes, and wish that I wasn't so separated from things that I would pay more attention.

I commend all the athletes for what they accomplish. I don't care what country wins medals. I cheers for everyone who does their best and earns top marks. Sure, I am rooting for Canada because I am Canadian, but I am rooting for all star athletes to be praised for thier hard work.
Go everyone !

My Life is Wonderful

I am so grateful for the life that I live. Sometimes I miss people or things from the years passed, but the past is gone, and we must live in the moment. At least I experienced thos things and met those people; fond memories can be cherished. I look forward to experiencing new things and meeting new people. I look forward to every day with my wonderful husband.

I may not be doing what I thought I would with my life. I had dreams and hopes and goals and aspirations when I was younger. Things change. Nothing is what you expected it to be.

I never thought I would get married, but then I met someone who I can't live without, and my ideas changed.

I never thought I would move to another country, but that's the way things unfolded and I am very happy where I am living. I have a beautiful home in a perfect little city. There is so much to see and do. I wouldn't have gotten to see this place had we not moved here.

I never thought that I would lose my mother so early in life. And I never thought that I would miss her as much as I do. It makes me grateful to know that I loved/love her that much. I apprecite knowing her as long as I did, and learning as much as I could from her.

I never thought that I could 'grow up' and conquer my depression. All those years of hard work and research really helped me find control and accept who I am. With that knowledge, I have been able to help others with their mental issues. I'm no expert, but I do have first hand experience, and am grateful to share any advice to help others stop suffering.

I never thought that I could be as happy as I am today. I had such a cloud of sadness over my head for so many years, that I never thought it would go away. It proves to me that you can never give up. You can be happy and healthy and grateful. I try to look for the good in everything and everyone. It's there. It may not seem to be at first, but it is always there.

Life is wonderful.

I couldn't ask for anything better.

Online games

Ok.
I am addicted to playing games online.
Once I start to play, I cannot break the spell.
They are mindless and time-wasting, but they make me empty my mind of rambling thoughts or things that I don't want to think about.
But I can't stop once I start. I get hungry and ignore that. I have to go to the bathroom, and I ignore that too. My tea gets cold. My phone rings and rings.
How can I pull myself away? I need to get off the damn computer and exercise, or go for a walk. There is lots to be done around here. I can't help myself.
These games are just simple little speed pieces that I try to get a higher score on over and over.
Time to stop. Gotta get to sleep.
Gotta work in the morning.
What? I missed my show?
What? I was supposed to feed the pets?
OMG
I guess it's a better addiction that drugs or alcohol.
But it's time to STOP !

Valentine's Day

I'm not one of those tyical girls who need anything for V-day, except to hang out with the love of my life. And that's what I got to do. Exchange of silly cards back and forth in the morning. I actually got school-type valentines for him, he got me sweet and funny cards. I made him a braclet out of embroidery thread.

We went to the Zoo. We are both Tigers in Chinese Astrology, and Feb 14 was Chinese New Year 2010, Year of the Tiger. We decided to visit out tigers at the zoo. It was a beautiful day. Quite warm and sunny, but brisk. Walked around for hours and enjoyed outselves immensely. After some food shopping, we went home and I got my favourite lunch: Eggs Benny. Paul makes the best !

Watched some Olympics, and had BBQ drumsticks with grilled asparagus, corn on the cob and green beans with carrots, almondine style. Beautiful day, wonderful meal, excellent company.

I love my life.

Why can't I just paint again ?

My art work is null and void. I use to be so inspired. I used to be able to just sit in front of a canvas and create from my own mind. I really enjoyed painting and creating new things. I feel like I have lost my abiblities. My will to create new ideas is lost. I still enjoy sketching but I need to look at others work to get ideas. I have so many other hobbies that have made up for my lost time in front of the easel, but it's not the same. Do I just sit down and make myself paint? Do I drop all of my other hobbies so the only thing I can do is paint? When I took an art class oh so many years ago, I was feeling the same sort of funk. As the class went on I felt inspired and created so many wonderful things. I could paint again ! Perhaps I should take a class to get my momentum/motivation flowing....

Am I no longer the artist that I once thought I was, or wanted to be? Time to look at more options....

New job

So it's my third week on my new job. I am learning a lot and enjoying it so far. It's very different working from home. Has a lot of advantages. I can keep up with my housework which is a major plus. I can stop and snack on healthy food whenever I feel the need. I am in my comfort zone. My office can reflect whatever I want.
It takes motivation and dedication to work from home. Get up at the same time and don't sleep in (anymore) and just work. No TV, no distractions, etc.
I hope that I do a good job for my company and that they are satisfied with my work.
I aspire to accomplish great things.

I was so nervous to start working again, after 17 months of being a housewife. That sounds bad. It will be nice to contribute to the household financially. I won't feel like a costly burden anymore. I prefer not to rely on someone else for money; not when I am more than capable to make my own. I have been working since I was 13 yrs old. Started in the kitchen at my family Lodge. Waited tables, washed dishes, etc. In the summers I cleaned cabins, did laundry and helped guests with their requests.
When I moved out of the house at 19, I was temping for a family friend when I found a job at a Bakery. I worked there for 6 years serving customers and running the store. It was a great experience. Met lots of great people and learned a lot. Went onto the transportation industry from there. Stayed with another company for 6 years, working for 3 different facilities. My knowledge grew and so did my personal accomplishments.
I moved to another city and worked for 6 months at a job I did not like. Moved back home to Dad's for another 6 months, and worked some odd part-time jobs for pocket change.
After a while, my sister and I decided to move across the country, so we packed up our lives and drove out west. I worked fort 2 years in air freight, met my husband, who was transferred down to the USA. I followed. Waited almost a year for my paperwork to finalize, and now I am a permanent resident.
Got my new job just by knowing someone through an old work connection. They had potential business in my area, and asked me to join the team.

And that's where we are at.
Back to work now.