EVEN VIDEO GAMES??

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."

Auguste Rodin, 19th century French sculptor

Suggesting there is value in everything.

Ok, I suppose, but choose wisely what you feel is worth the time you waste.

That time, however long it may be, will never come again.

WHAT'D YA KNOW?

"Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct."

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English novelist.

The more accurate your specific opinion proves to be, the more valuable it, and by extension, you, will be to others.

Accurate and specific; one without the other doesn't work.

WHEN YOU GOT NOTHING

"How many people make themselves abstract to appear profound. The most useful part of abstract terms are the shadows they create to hide a vacuum."

Joseph Joubert

18th/19th century French moralist

Better to acknowledge you don't know than to pretend you do.

I Need You?

"Make yourself necessary to somebody."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

19th century American poet/essayist

Good advice on a personal level in addition to business, but certainly in business.

People sometimes pay for what they don't need, but always pay for what they do.

The Real Deal?

"It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true."

George Santayana

Late 19th/early 20th century American philosopher

And no less so in business.

If what you are selling does not warrant being sold, you won't be selling it for long.

The Envious Mind

"Worth begets in base minds, envy; in great souls, emulation."

Henry Fielding

18th century English novelist

True.

You have only two choices.

You can can wish you had, did, thought whatever you see that has value.

Or you can contribute to make something of equal or greater value.

Which will it be?

Too Close To See The Value?

"Distance is a great promoter of admiration!!

Denis Diderot

18th century French philosopher

We do tend to admire those not close enough for us to see their flaws.

But it is your employees, the ones close to you, who will do the bulk of whatever it is you will accomplish.

Replace them if you absolutely cannot value them.

Reward them if you do.

This Is Hard!

"Every noble work is at first impossible."

Thomas Carlyle

19th century British historian

And while you're at it you can substitute "important", "critical", "beneficial", and a host of other adjectives for "noble" as well.

In short, if it's worth doing it may well initially appear to be difficult if not impossible to do.

But don't let that stop you.

Do It!

How Much?

"The best is the cheapest."

Benjamin Franklin

18th century American statesman/inventor/philosopher

The vast majority of us do not opt for the "best" automobiles, technology, clothes, food, airline seats, nor most anything else you can think of.

So who's wrong here, Mr. Franklin or most everyone else on the planet?

By the way, my take on this is slightly different.

You get what you don't pay for.

How Much?

"You get what you don't pay for."

Bill Matthies

Planning consultant, Business Wisdom guy, serial entrepreneur

I was thinking about quality and the role price plays in our purchase decisions.

(Please forgive the personal indulgence; with more than 800 posts and only this one from me, I thought it wouldn't hurt.)

How much something costs is important but only in relation to value, which in turn does not correlate 100% with low price.

It Was Worth It!

"They never fail who die in a great cause."

Lord Byron

Late 18th/early 19th century British poet

So in business you never fail if what you attempt is worthy of your effort?

Other than ROI, what if anything defines our business efforts as being, or not, worthy?

Performance: At What Price?

"You get what you don't pay for."

Bill Matthies

"Penny wise and pound foolish" comes to mind as well.


During austere times such as now, it is essential that we measure each and every dollar we spend. There simply is no room for waste.

But "waste" can be many things, many of which have little or nothing to do with how much they cost.

Are shoes that cost $100 a waste while those costing $10 are not? What if the $100 shoes fit perfectly enabling the wearer to do what they cannot with the ill fitting $10 pair?

How are you deciding what is and is not "wasteful" in your business?