News for May 2019

2 Traveling Pro Tips

So – I travel a lot. Like 2-3 nights a week are in a hotel. Fortunately, my company is pretty good about taking care of me with this – I can stay in some nice hotels and have a per diem that is solid. We work hard, should be taken care of.

But 2 things that have been to mind recently that have made a difference considerably when traveling …

1 – Remember (and use) this IP address: 8.8.8.8. If you are using different hotels (sometimes under the same banner, ie Hilton), this address will reset any cookies that you had in your system and send you to the sign-in page if you are using the hotel’s wifi. Through the years, I have gotten hung-up consistently because the sign-in page I am trying to contact to sign in that night is still hung up on the prior night’s/visit’s stay in another city. Try 8.8.8.8 – it works well.

2 – Really only applies if you are a cord-cutter (we recently ended our 20 year contract with DirecTV and use the Firestick for HULU, Netflix, etc (it’s amazing … did my due diligence on this vs Roku, etc). Carry an extra streaming device in your bag! It’s like bringing your TV with you. You see, when I’m in a non-home city or from hotel to hotel – every market and TV and remote is different. Sometimes it is so fustrating to fumble around to find the ‘guide’ or channel you want … this is just plainly awesome. Plug it in, connect, BOOM! Your channels are right there and you have your handy voice-activated remote. Can’t say just how awesome this has been for me …

That’s all for today …

back to email.

Posted: May 21st, 2019
Categories: tech, travel, tv
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My Most Valuable Experience is the Most Detested

One thing I have realized since leaving my prior employer is just how we are perceived in the world. They (DG) serve the under-priveleged, rural areas of the populace; thereby -by association, it seems- they and their leaders are perceived the same: Less Than.

I will say my 10 years there was ‘interesting’ – it was tough at times, great at others. I had incredible times to work with some of the best minds in retail; however, I mention the company name to people I work with now, and I can see the grimace. It’s unfortunate. To some extent, my most valuable time in my career (operations/leadership/growth/execution/vision) feels like the most damaging (cheap/little-league/tacky). 16k stores can’t be wrong, but it always feels that way now.

As an outsider to them looking in, it’s very easy to join that train of thought.

Ultimately what matters is breadth of knowledge and passion. These are things no one can teach. Don’t judge – learn to appreciate and collect wisdom and different perspectives from unlikely sources. You will be surprised, I promise.

Just my thought for the day that I wanted to put out there …

Posted: May 16th, 2019
Categories: business
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