Updated Musings

It's been a busy and interesting couple of weeks for me.  A few points:

- I'm about a month into my new position at Deluxe Corporation.  I'm still in the transition phase of learning about different processes of the business and learning what the leaders need.  It's a pretty casual environment here where folks generally work normal business hours to get things done.  A vastly different environment compared to Best Buy.

- I have kept in touch with my old colleagues at Best Buy and I have to say the more I hear from them the more I am appreciative of the Almighty's guidance in my career decision.  Let's just say that if I went back my area would look a bit different.

- With this new job I've been able to go up to Duluth to help my mother at the Golden Inn a couple times this month.  It's nice to help out, but even through April the city looked like this.

I do invite you to come to the Golden Inn this spring (it's this season, right?) and summer.

- I'm also glad that the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is going to be playing soon.  As an SPCO member, I wondered if I would ever see a concert this season.  But soon enough, I'll be hearing high quality music live and in person.  That's a good thing.

So that's it for now.  I'll surely figure out something more interesting later (like tax policy, ha) to talk about.

Head Slapper of the Week

As we set ourselves to the time of year where balloons will be seen across open houses across the country, Rep. Johnson provides perhaps a John Lennon perspective.

 

Need I say more?  Three and Half Head Slaps. 

Reaction to My Poll

I received the following email regarding my poll regarding global warming.  It's from a fellow Carleton alum that as you may see does not necessarily agree with me on many issues.  But as a man of peace, I allow his this forum for your information.

 I looked at your poll and would like to protest the wording of your question. A lot of political conservatives in the US still refer to the concept as "global warming". I don't follow the discussions inside the US very much, but I think it's more accurate to call it "climate change" because the effects are much more complex than just a warming of temperatures. In some cases, it might even get colder. In some areas, like in much of Southeast Asia, sea levels will rise enough to flood major urban areas. In some areas, rivers and water sources will dry up. In many areas, the changing climate conditions will alter disease vectors. People in some parts of the world will be exposed to more illnesses, and agricultural productivity could be wiped out because of new pests, etc. But in other parts of the world, people might become healthier and agricultural productivity could boom. In either case, climate change will lead to a realignment of who has access to scarce resources, so of course there are broader political and economic implications.

Also, as I understand it, the debate is not whether climate change is happening. It is. The debate inside the US is the extent to which humans have contributed to climate change, and the extent to which human intervention can help avoid (or adapt to) climate change. Of course, this has economic implications for companies & consumers who potentially face increased costs of regulation. The debate internationally is largely about equity -- if climate change is manmade, then it was made by developed countries such as the US and EU which benefited economically from their industrial growth. So many developing countries say that they should not be punished for the harm caused by others & in fact they should be compensated for the harm that has been caused.

In the end, this issue is much like every other issue. It's about money, about power, and about poverty.

He said what he said, alright.

Head Slapper of the Week

As another sign that we're entering the new age of technology.  In China, an enterprising techie figured out another reason why there is a smartphone app for everything these days with this new app that many folks could find useful.

I will attest through personal experience that knowing if there is toilet paper in public restrooms in China is a big deal.  Most of the time it comes at cost.

Three Head Slaps.

Visit to the Civil War Exhibit

About a month ago I told you how excited I was to learn that the Minnesota History Center was hosting an exhibit about Minnesota and the Civil War.  Well,  I was able to visit the exhibit  a couple weeks ago and was quite impressed by its setup.  However, my IPhone lost all it's juice so I couldn't take any pictures.  Well, today I went back to the History Center on it's free evening and was able to test out my IPhone 5 camera.

Here's what I saw:

This is what I saw when I walked into the exhibit.  It's a smaller one, but much information

Picture of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry on the War Eagle near Red Wing

Interesting fact:  Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey  was the first to volunteer its regiment to the Union Army.  This is the letter he wrote volunteering the !st Minnesota to the Union Army.

A cannon used during the Civil War

A Civil War camp set up.  Could be a makeshift medical tent also

Surgeon Kit:  there were two bone saws I recalled in the kit.  Many times soldiers limbs would be severed in battle to keep from getting gangrene (where body tissues die and is life-threatening)

However, the highlight of the exhibit is that I actually saw this:

This is the flag that the First Minnesota obtained from the 28th Virginian Infantry during the Battle of Gettysburg.  262 Minnesotans were available to hold back the Confederate front and only 47 survived 15 minutes later, but got the job done.  Later in that battle Marshall Sherman somehow captured this flag and subsequently won the Medal of Honor. Virginians have wanted the flag back ever since, but I don't think they will ever get it back.

I'll just all in all, it was an educational experience.  I acknowledge that this was a sad time in American history.  But if we don't know history, particularly war history, it's likely to repeat itself.

Ode to the Iron Lady

Today we received news today that Margaret Thatcher (aka 'The Iron Lady") died today from a stroke, she was 87.

Lady Thatcher was Prime Minister of Britain from May 1979 through November 1990.  Her Administration catalyzed the resurgence of the British economy and foreign policy status through her steadfast adherence to conservative principles through the 1980s.

Lady Thatcher was one of a kind.  There has not been a comparable figure since she left office in world politics.

To sum up her reign, I take the words of the  Lord Saatchi:

Everyone wants to be immortal. Few are. Mrs. Thatcher is. Why?

Because her values are timeless, eternal. Tap anyone on the shoulder anywhere in the world, and ask what Mrs Thatcher “believed in,” and they will tell you. They can give a clear answer to what she “stood for.”

She developed all the winning arguments of our time — free markets, low tax, a small state, independence, individuality, self-determination.


Lady Thatcher is not immortal in this world, but her values are indeed timeless. R.I.P.

Head Slapper of the Week

Today I ran across a story of government showing strange focus.  The Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, signed legislation creating an annual "National Day of the Cowboy" to honor the Western state's "unique cowboy culture" and recognize its proper place in history.   

The cowboys will be honored every fourth Saturday in July. It will not be a paid legal holiday.

All I'll ask will there be this old TV show clip each 'National Day of the Cowboy?"

Hard to figure.   Three Head Slaps.

Transitions Detailed

As I have now completed my last day as a Best Buy employee (for now at least),  I will now answer the questions of how this all came about and how I came to my decision for a new start.

The journey started two months ago when the "Head Cheese" of the Business Intel (BI) area at Deluxe Corporation called me saying that she found my name on LinkedIn and would like to have discussion with me.  I thought it was odd that the head of a Business Sciences unit of a public company would call me up personally, but was flattered that she did and thought this would be a good opportunity to learn about Deluxe and increase my networking contacts.  So I decided to have tea with her at Starbucks to do so.  We had a intriguing conversation as she told me about the changes going on at Deluxe, transforming from a check printer to financial and small business services model. She also told me about how well the company was doing in the growth phase of their business.  I thanked her for the conversation and to keep in touch.

About a week later I got a call from the "First Lieutenant" of the BI area at Deluxe asking me about my experiences working at Best Buy and in consulting.  I answered his questions as asked.  Then he said he would like to see if I would be open to coming in to the Deluxe headquarters and talking to a few of their folks.  I said sure, but inquired if there is something specific they want from me.  He more or less said "perhaps you."

So I went into the Deluxe office for three hours of discussions or interviews in late February.  I felt very comfortable the whole time answering and asking questions about Deluxe, their culture and my experiences.   I left thinking that the whole thing was a good experience for me since I gained network contacts of six folks at Deluxe Corporation and apparently left a good impression.

About a week and a half later, Target called me up asking if I would interested in coming in and talking to them about apparently joining their team and the "Target Culture."  I said I would be open to a discussion if I considered the opportunity a promotion and would foster my career development.  They assured me that is what "Target is all about."   So I agreed to come in for a discussion.  At this time I started to wonder if I should actually consider moving on from Best Buy after about a year of service there and when things are really starting to look up for the company turnaround.  At this time, I started to really seek on the Almighty's guidance specifically for the next decision.

The day after my discussion with Target, Deluxe contacted me to offer a position that would be both a title promotion and a notable compensation upgrade.  I thanked them for the offer and said I would think about it over the weekend.  I then decided to inform both Target and Best Buy about an offer being on the table.  Target called me back asking if I would consider a different position with them.  From the conversation that followed, it did not seem like really anything different from what I was doing at Best Buy.  I apparently hurt the recruiter's feelings because that discussion did not end well.  

I decided to inform Best Buy of the offer since there has been much turnover in my area since I've been there. For example, a strategy team that was created last fall was totally eliminated as well as all the jobs in it, all of them there for a shorter duration than I was.   So my Director immediately set up a discussion the following day and I we discussed the offer and the issues I had with my Best Buy job that would be appealing for me to take the offer.   After the discussion he called up the Senior Director and Senior VP and got them to provide a strong counteroffer.  This made this decision much more difficult.

At this juncture the Almighty's guidance became clearly apparent to me.  Throughout these discussion I kept my mother informed.  Asking for guidance, she said, pray because God knows what's best.  I found that encouraging.   Then when I was reflecting on my decision I recall all the prior discussions with my mother after I started working at Best Buy and they always included two specific comments from her.  One was my mother telling me that I'm working "Day and Night, Night and Day," and the second one was her asking "When are you coming home?"   Pre-Best Buy,  I was able to come home every weekend.  Now I'm able to go once a month, if that, due to working on Saturdays and nights.   

I recalled my discussions with Deluxe regarding work/life balance and they all said it was great,  saying they don't recall going home after 5 pm.  This surprised me for a company that is growing significantly over the past 5 years.  At Best Buy, many folks in my area work till 10 pm if not later.    Additionally,  during my discussion with Senior Director, she acknowledged that they should have done a better job moving along my development, calling it a "big miss" for them.   She also acknowledged that a title promotion like Deluxe was offering was not going to come for awhile despite my 'notable' contributions to Best Buy.   These facts were coming together quite quickly.

Also, I've also intrigued by the opportunity to assist small business that Deluxe was offering, especially I've been associated with small business my whole life.  Also, the opportunity focused more on intermediate to long term projects, not the continuous fire drills (i.e. a task that needs to be done right away with short notice)  that I had to complete at Best Buy.  

However, the remaining  question that I had was if it was worth the career risk to me to leave Best Buy after about one year there.  This question gave me some consternation since the rule of thumb is one should stay at a specific job for two years before making a move.  Well, as I reflected on this question, I recalled that many of the 400 jobs that were cut at Best Buy recently were there for a shorter time than I have been at Best Buy.  In fact, one individual who was in his job for four months and that I have weekly meetings with was among the 400 cut.  Then I know that Best Buy was still looking to cut an additional $575 million in costs from the company.  From what I know, they were looking for redundancies  to consolidate.  One area that they have widely made known and I have found in my work is that many analysts in different areas produce similar types of reports, which leadership thinks is an opportunity.  Talking to the Senior Director, she could not deny that eliminating  redundancy  would not create more layoffs.   (Coincidentally, I found out that at the end of the week all open positions in my area were cut, including analyst positions).

As I took in all this information towards a final decision,  I suddenly recalled the following that made deliberating on this question much clearer:

"He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap." Ecclesiastes 11:4

In my myopic opinion, taking risks is part of learning to follow the Almighty's will and keeps us progressing, not stagnating, in taking advantages of the talents He has provided.  To me, I took it through my faith and the guidance I have been given that I should make the decision to take the Deluxe offer as a risk worth taking.

So in the end, all I can say is "Yes, mom.  I will be coming home more often."