1 Postcard and 2 Tweets

As you know, I let random tweets from celebrities influence my blog post topics.  See here and here for posts from @RevRunWisdom.  So much for a content calendar, eh?  So, really, today it shouldn't be a shock to you to learn that RuPaul is inspiring me to write.  Here's the tweet that flew across my eyeballs this morning:

"Life is so [expletive] short - Don't waste it on petty [expletive]"

RuPaul's words are essentially about how our energy is best directed towards the things that matter in life.  While these are not new or even provocative thoughts with or without the expletives, they are timely because I've got effective resource management on my mind these days.  

Are we allocating the right amount of time, the right amount of energy and the right amount of dollars to all of our business initiatives no matter the size?  Do we know the value of an hour spent of our brain power?  Do we appreciate the value of an hour spent of our brain power?  Do we know the value of a dollar?  Do we know the opportunity cost of a dollar when we have a couple of places we can spend it?

Ultimately, it's about respect.  Do we respect our time, energy and resources on our path to business growth and success?  Do we respect our businesses?  Do we respect ourselves?  I ask because of postcards like this one that I just got in the mail (see below).  I'll give you time to look both sides over but it should be no time for you to figure out what's wrong.  I'll cue the Jeopardy music...

There is no call to action here: no email, no phone, no address, no name, no Facebook page, no Twitter handle, etc.  How do I find out more -- assuming what's been presented to me here is compelling enough for me to want to find out more?  And, why, if they're seeking my business, am I the one required to do the legwork?  It's rather like someone inviting you over to his/her home for dinner but asking you to bring the salad, entree and dessert with you.

And here is where my comments about effective resource management and opportunity cost come into play.  Does this business respect time, energy and resources generally?  Does this business know the opportunity cost of ill spent time, energy and resources when there are such glaring errors as above?  Does this business understand this type of glaring error is kind of an "in your face" to business owners that are bootstrapping their way to success and sweating over the most finite of details?

The answer to the questions is clearly no.  Regardless of an up or down economy, every dollar and every effort matters particularly because of the cost of what's been foregone or sacrificed.  It's our job as manager, owner, executive, chief bottle washer, Idea Chef or Network Sommelier to make sure that we don't lose three times: once by the literal costs of poor execution (printing, design, postage, etc.), once by the opportunity cost of poor execution (no call to action means no foot traffic) and once by the opportunity cost of the "other" that could have been well executed.

I know mistakes happen.  We're human...  but in the immortal words of @RevRunWisdom:

"You were not born to live a mediocre life.. Excel!!! Shun #mediocrity!"

What are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear from you!  And, if you've liked this post, please share it with others!

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

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