Author Archives: Kerch McConlogue

The fun of the reply

I just knew when I started this blog more than a year ago, it would be a great way to build rapport with people who stumbled in here. I’m definitely getting comments — tons of them — really, several hundred a day. But most of them are like this:

Best site I see. Thanks.

Generally, that comment is followed with lots and lots .. and lots… of links to sites selling stuff I’d rather not talk about.

I particularly love the comment that says:

Your site is very cognitive. I think you will have good future.:)

Is my future sewed up in a fortune cookie? Thanks for the smiley. I never would have known you weren’t serious.

I also love this one:

Hello Jane, great site!

Yo! My name is Kerch, not Jane. But Jane, if you’re out there somewhere and want to buy lots of stuff you probably wouldn’t talk to your mother about, send me your email address so I can forward these very important notes to you!

And as for this very common comment:

I just don’t have anything to say right now.

Why did you bother?

Comments, conversation, connection: These are the things that make a blog fun. Exchange of information and of ideas. What’s the point of talking if no one listens?

Here’s what I wonder, what’s the one thing you wish you could change? What steps do you need to take to make that happen.

And hey all, know this: I read these comments. I’d love to start a conversation. Let’s have some fun. And let’s get the ole gray cells agitated.

PeeWee’s Playhouse returns to TV!

Sometimes in this blog, I write about things that are important to life, opportunities to try different perspectives.

And sometimes it’s just so people who read it get a better picture of who I am. This is one of those opportunities!

I confess, I am a big fan of Pee Wee Herman! Nobody does what he wants to do quite the same way as Pee Wee.

And now, Pee Wee’s Playhouse returns to TV. Not exactly prime time, although some viewers in MY house consider it to be.. Adult Swim on Starting July 10

Oh I will be setting up the TIVO for this momentous occurrence! Prepare for the glorious day coming!

Decision making in three steps: Part 3

In case you missed the other parts of this process:
In step 1, you assess the danger of a situation. If there’s blood, attend to that immediately. 911 is the standard call for help all over the US — so people know what to do in crisis.
Step 2 addresses the need for survival past flowing blood. Money allows you to buy what you need. So people who want to give you money should have a pretty high priority.
Step 3: Everything else is negotiable.

Maybe that’s what makes deciding hard. Because there are so many options, so many reasons for making one choice or another. It means you have to think about what you decide. Negotiate, evaluate the options and adjust — and readjust –the priorities. Do what must be done.
Rules just eliminate possibilities. Sometimes you need that. But don’t be too quick to presume that limited options make deciding easier. You could miss a really great choice. Or an opportunity to learn something new.

My father told me “NEVER mess with batteries. The stuff inside them is acid and can burn you.” So I didn’t. It was a rule and it made pretty good sense.

When my son was about 10 he and a friend decided to find out what really is inside batteries. They gathered all the 9 volt batteries they could find. (Sorry about your burglar alarm, folks.) They put them in the street and waited for cars to drive over them.

They learned that 9 volt batteries are made up of six little skinny batteries, all wrapped together. Cool? Huh?

If he’d followed the rule, even I wouldn’t know that.

I’m glad, however, that they didn’t get further, because there’s acid in there and you can get burned!

Experiment! What away to learn.

When does “the man” own you?

I said in my first bit about my prioirites for deciding: “The second step or priority I use for making decisions is this: People who want to give me money take priority over everything else.” But I’ve been thinking about that.

It’s important to decide how much of your life you’ll give over to people who want to give you money. I’m wondering if you’ve been on the road for a three days and you get home at 8 pm, should “the man who wants to give you money” expect that you’ll work another couple hours on a report about the trip?

At what point does “the man” own you? At what point do you get to say, “No.”

I think that it could be a different answer for everybody. The new hire may be more inclined to toe the corporate line, to learn the corporate culture. A man with 30 years experience may be in a different position.

But if you know your decision about “the man,” and you know why you chose to construct it in that specific way, I’m thinking it will be harder to be taken advantage of without your consent.

Decision Making in three steps: Part 2

Priorities don’t have to be complicated.

Here’s a reminder of my number one priority… always: If there is blood, you must attend to it. Immediately. By the way, that doesn’t mean you have to get inappropriately “big.” It means attend to the problem. If a child fell off the swing and knocked a tooth loose, push it back in, apply ice, and call the dentist.

The second step or priority I use for making decisions is this: People who want to give me money take priority over everything else.

When my clients, or prospective clients, call nothing else matters. Except, remember, when step one applies. One could say that’s terribly mercenary of me. But, in fact, if you have a job, you go to work every day. You have to. If you don’t, the man won’t pay you. You could choose to take a day off. But you can’t do it randomly. You ask permission. You plan.

If something comes up, like blood, it’s an emergency. You call in, if you can. People bleeding are, or should be (in my opinion), more important than work.

But when the emergency is handled, you go back to work. After you take that kid with the loose tooth to the dentist, you go back to work.

People who want to give you money are the top priority.