For today, in no particular order or connectivity—just writing from experiences…..
People are better at constructing, building up, and expanding than de-constructing, tearing down, retracting. But sometime life calls for more deletion, simplification, deconstruction. This is true personally and professionally.
When all else is stripped away, the the first priority of any business is survival. It’s not fancy, but survival is 1st. Sell work, do work, bill work, collect for the billed work, profit by spending less than we take in. Being visionary or doing long range planning is a waste of energy if we aren’t dealing with sustainability of delivering excellence over and over and growing outward.
Cash is underrated. We can’t eat (literally) off of equity (unless it’s in land producing food.) We can grow wealth by equity, but we need cash for daily life. Each has its place. Don’t mistake one for the other.
It can be healthy to consider the “least plausible explanation” for an outcome or occurrence. This is threatening to some people, but it can be refreshing to consider.
Conspiracy theories are only such until they aren’t.
Much can be discerned from pattern recognition. This is not really emphasized in most formal educations. Patterns, broken patterns, changing patterns can reveal much. Sometimes we call this “trusting our gut,” but it really isn’t about the gut. It’s about awareness and processing patterns. Don’t discount it.
Everything matters, small or big. So finish it.
Making the bed in the morning really is the start to a more organized and ordered life. It sets in motion a pattern of getting things done, owning the day, developing healthy habits. (We own the bed, the bed doesn’t own us.)
Agility and resilience are key qualities of people, families and businesses that continue to endure in spite of constantly changing circumstances.
Buildings constructed without a qualified Building Envelope Consultant under-perform compared to those constructed with one. This is a key investment that provides a short and long term ROI (return on investment) in better comfort, longevity, aesthetics, capability, reduced risk. The old phrase, “pay now or pay (a lot more) later” applies to this in every instance.
It may sound obvious, but builders, architects, and engineers all have their role in the built world. Don’t confuse one for the other. Engage each according to their value to a project
The Antarctic Ice sheet gained significant mass from 2021 to 2023, reversing the trend of mass loss. This doesn’t make headline news. Look it up. This is not a political statement, just a fact.
Accounts receivable (collecting cash payments for billed services or products) is the hardest part of managing a small private business in B2B world. The “work” of the business is easy. Keeping AR moving is hard unless we can dictate terms 100% of the time, which is not reality. Every client has a different process, platform, payment method, chain of command, etc. Be wise, be sensible, be reasonable, but set boundaries.
Outsourcing anything is a mixed bag; it’s two sides of the same coin. It requires sacrificing some measure of control for convenience. Assess and monitor regularly
That’s it for today. Randomness. I had to get that off my chest. Comment if you choose.
JOHN L WHEATON BLOG 