Quote of the Day

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” — E. B. White, “E. B. White: Notes and Comment by Author“, The New York Times (1969-07-11)

Quote of the Day

“If you’re going to try to tear something down, what are you trying to build?” — Jack Johnson, Episode 132: Jack Johnson “You Can’t Control It,” Song Exploder

Quote of the Day

“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.” — Walter L. Sheldon, “What to Believe: An Ethical Creed” (1897-04)

Quote of the Day

“Our own distinction of right and wrong is founded too much upon the immediate convenience of the community, and does not inquire sufficiently deeply into the ultimate effect.” — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Stark Munro Letters

Well Said Seth

I really like the way Seth Godin packages his thoughts and I find myself frequently quoting him or blogging about his posts. Following are a few examples from recent posts on his blog:

• Get better at buying – Seth cites Ruth Stevens’ report that the typical company with more than 1,000 employees involves 21 people, on average, for every sale over $25,000. It makes it easy to understand that purchasing is inefficient in most large companies.
• Hungry or guarded – Two analogies to describe two customer attitudes and each attitude requires a different sales approach. The fan is compared to the hungry person at a buffet ready to taste anything.  The customer protecting themselves is compared to the guarded person that avoids eye contact with the homeless, ignores requests to sign a petition and doesn’t help the Boy Scout helping an elderly lady. With these analogies, I can recognize the two customer attitudes and figure out how to approach them.
• Improving the trains – “While making the trains run on time is a good thing, making them run early is not.”