Why Buy the Cow?

Archive for the ‘Just a Thought’ Category

Free Wi-fi? Starbucks, That’s So Yesterday

Jun
2010

The coffee lover in me has a hard time resisting news about, well, coffee shops in the news. It appears Starbucks has bitten the java bean and will finally offer free Wi-Fi in their some 6,700 stores around the U.S. For any of you that have gone before, you know the big pain getting online can be at their shops. The question though: how many years have the corner coffee shops already been doing this? When will the copy-catting end? Does this mean their coffee will get better, too? Okay, one mountain at a time.

Now, the true test in serving customers will be when they cease with the coffee lingo snobbery and stop correcting the way I order my coffee, or at least keep said correction to themselves.

Distracted Drivers Panel: A Social Discussion

May
2010

Tomorrow I will take part in a panel with colleagues who will have varying opinions on what constitutes “distracted driving”. My friend Kyle Perkins is already weighing in on this, so it will be interesting to see what other panelists think. The panel is assembling at the CBS4 Station in Denver and we’ll get to view a segment on the subject, then share our thoughts and opinions, involving our own social networks in what could be a lively discussion.

Before the panel, I decided I would read a bit more on the subject, just to see the other side. I found a moldy article on the subject and had to shake my head, not just at the silliness of the piece, but the softening of the phrase “distracted driver”:

My Grandma

Feb
2010

I’ve pondered the title of this post for too long and decided finally that before I stalled out again, I would just keep it very simple. Grandma would have liked it that way.

You see, she passed away today, February 17, 2010. And already she’s left a void that will never be filled. Her 90-year life was full to the brim, so while the pain is still fresh, and numbness lingers on, I wanted to tap some words down and let the world know what they missed in not knowing her.

Need Knows No Season

Nov
2009

help In a previous post, I talked about volunteering. It was heartening that many others feel the same way, giving time and skills to issues or organizations that move them. I purposely timed that post to coincide with no particular holiday, but I decided on the eve of Thanksgiving, it would be appropriate to write this little reminder of sorts.

This is that time of year when we pause and give thanks. So what am I thankful for? It’s cliche′, but everything: the opportunity to work as I do at what I love, to enjoy my family and friends and live a life I’m proud of, to take in as much hockey as my legs allow, and spend my spare time engrossed in hobbies that feed my soul. I’m also very thankful that I can then turn around and help others, not just nonprofits, but businesses and individuals, for if things were not okay with other areas in my life, this would be difficult.

The Art of Thanks

Sep
2009

How many ways can you say “Thank You” to someone in your business? With customers or other people you do business with, it could be a lost art 2086641_23234fb0f8 form for you, but potentially a great way to reconnect or even solidify your relationships. I remember early in my sales career, my manager said I should keep notes all day in order that I be able to recall and then write a note of thanks to each of the people I encountered. It seemed like homework initially, as some days this list would be exceed 30 notecards, so my stationery and postage budget did get quite large at one point. Some how though, this simple gesture began to pay off: people would remember me when I’ve arrive at their office weeks later, or I’d make friends with people just because of a short, funny note I sent them. Over time, though, email got the better of me, and I have relied maybe too heavily on dropping an email note instead of the handwritten variety. Thanks doesn’t stop with notecards and can take on all kinds of forms, large and small. Here are some ideas that you can use online, to supplement your scribed-to-paper ones: