A Killer Gets A Reprieve

In 1993 Nathan Dunlap killed four employees and wounded another at a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant where he once worked. After trial, a jury of his peers sentenced him to death, in the State of Colorado where voters have voted twice in favor of the death penalty. As you might expect, Dunlap appealed the verdict and for 11 years did everything he could to have the verdict and sentence overturned. Last year he exhausted his last appeal and the death sentence was scheduled to be carried out this August.

Last week, Governor John Hickenlooper disregarded the judge's verdict, the decision of a jury of Dunlap's peers and the voters of the State of Colorado. In a sign of complete weakness and a total lack of character and leadership, Governor Hickenlooper disregarded the oath he took to uphold Colorado's Constitution and delayed Nathan Dunlap's execution "indefinitely." Instead, he called for a conversation about the death penalty in Colorado. Another conversation.

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Brandon Graduates From College!

Tomorrow, my son Brandon graduates from the University of Colorado, Leeds School of Business with an Accounting degree. Unless he goes on to graduate school, this is our last graduation and a tremendous accomplishment for Brandon.

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Is It Just A Matter Of Perception?

I heard this story yesterday. The person telling me the story (Let's call her Karen) heads a team of people at a large company. The team consists of different groups of people with different skill sets. One of the groups was made up of 4 people and this week one of those people left and another gave two weeks notice.

This news was devastating. So horrible that Karen had to take personal time off from work to clear her head. All she could think of was her team was self-destructing and she wasn't going to be able to replace the two people she lost. "Oh woe is me."

So, I'm thinking this could be a situation where a change of perception might help. What if Karen put aside the "Oh woe is me" thinking and accepted reality. One person left to do some travelling and you knew about it for weeks. The other person got a great new job. This kind of stuff happens. It happens all the time and if you're going to be a leader then you need to deal with this kind of stuff and stuff that is even worse.

What if Karen changed her perspective. What if she rejoiced in her "misery" and started to look at the situation differently. Maybe this is a test of her leadership skills. Maybe it's a test of her ability to make solid decisions under pressure. Maybe Karen could look at this as a challenge. Maybe it could be looked at as an opportunity to prove herself to her superiors and colleagues. Maybe, with a change of perception Karen can make lemonade out of these lemons she was handed this week. Maybe not.

What do you think?

Economic Gardening - Ever Heard Of It?

Next week I will attend a retreat to get the training required to become a Certified Economic Gardener.

Based upon the core belief that only entrepreneurs create jobs and drive economies, Economic Gardening takes an entrepreneurial approach to regional prosperity. Often referred to as a “grow from within” strategy, it helps existing companies within a community grow larger. In contrast to traditional business assistance, economic gardening focuses on strategic growth challenges, such as developing new markets, refining business models and gaining access to competitive intelligence. Economic gardening specialists help CEOs identify which issues are hindering their growth and then leverage sophisticated tools to deliver insights and information that CEOs can apply immediately.

I've been working for the past two weeks to prepare for the training while getting more excited about the program every day. I hope to get certified and eventually place on a team that is helping second stage companies grow and succeed. I'm guessing I'll be writing more about this in the future.

Social Media: The Formula For Success?

Some think there is a Formula for social media success.

They assume if they mimic the activity of a major brand, success is just moments away. Like with many other things, people are looking for the simple answer that will provide the huge boost they are looking for.

Can they make a viral video, develop the next "Greatest Ever" tablet, post flawless post several times a week and write exceptional blog content. And then there are those who believe that if their company joins a social network they will build trust and credibility with their customers, leading to better relationships.

Few are asking the important question:

"What does all this look like to my customers?" Few ask their customers if the relationship with their brand is a good one. Businesses are still forgetting how important it is to define success. What does success look like? How will success be tracked and reported on?

My position: There is no formula for social media success. Every strategy is different and must be based on the audience you seek to reach, their expectations, your expectations and the well-defined goals and metrics you've established for your business.

How Did We Let It Get Away From Us?

Page 2 of today's Denver Post contained these news blurbs:

Man with gun arrested; woman hurt, dog dead. Man shoots dog. Woman hurts hand. Both are arrested.

Possible witness sought in case of missing boy. Dylan Redwine was last seen November 19, 2012 in the Vallecito area. Dylan's 14th birthday was last week.

High school teacher faces child-sex charges. A Douglas County High School teacher was arrested and being held on $50,000 bond. He was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

What has happened to the world. These were just a few local headlines. It's gotten away from us. We've lost control. I just can't even imagine how some of these people do the things they do, or even think them up in the first place.

We used to live in the greatest country in the world. Last night, President Obama gave the State of the Union Address. He said, "We have cleared away the rubble of crisis and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger."

Really?