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You know that feeling after your payment has been processed for an As Seen On TV product that you can’t get the money for shipping back on? You just got a box on your doorstep with a Slap Chop that didn’t change your life and you found out the billow pad they made your Snuggie out of gives you a rash? It’s deflating. Overhyped Advertising + Underdelivered Product Quality = Vows Against TV Products and Nightmares About Billy Mays. In ReWork by the founders of 37 Signals Jason Fried and David Hansson there is a blurb on being “At Home Good”. Essentially, it’s the idea that a product that may not be as flashy as others when you first come across it, but after spending time with that product, you can’t help but realize how remarkable it is. ...

Each and every day bad decisions are made. Most of the time, you realize it’s bad in retrospect. A lot of times, you probably don’t. So what is this bad decision you don’t know you’re making? The sunk cost decision.  Sunk cost is one of the most commonly referred to economic principles. It’s a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Think of it as a non-refundable deposit. You’ve already fronted the resources, and there is no getting them back. ...

The Story In the 1940s before the invention of the barcode, there was a problem with people switching the sticker price tags of items in retail stores. These half-thieves would pull the price sticker off of a something like a Hershey bar and place it over top of something more expensive. The result? A whole lot of toasters being sold for a nickel and a huge loss for the store. ...

When you’re in a group of people and you’re being chased by a bear, how fast do you have to run to make sure you won’t get eaten? Faster than the slowest person.  Now consider the process of being picked from a pool of applicants for a job, the process of gaining a new customer, or being the winning contestant on The Bachelorette. To win the job, win the customer, or win the “dream” woman, you have to outrun all of the other contestants to survive. Lucky for you, they all run at the same speed. ...

We’ve all had days when we aimlessly wander. We’ve got nothing to do, no direction, and no motivation to accomplish anything. Now don’t get me wrong, I think a day of rest each week is critical, but every day can’t be a sabbath. The thing about each day you wake up is that it’s more important than yesterday and tomorrow. The past can’t be changed and the future isn’t guaranteed. All you can do is make the most of what you’ve been given. ...

In the world of work, everyone chastises procrastinators.[tweetmeme source=”jshirk.com” only_single=false http://jshirkman.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/http://jshirkman.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/procrastination-isnt-a-dirty-word/]They’re lazy. They wait until the last minute. They put things off. They’re the ones stapling the paper, adding the last image to the PowerPoint, or making that phone call seconds before the deadline.  Photo provided by http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktiqui/ But if they get it done…does it matter? The person who finishes something weeks ahead of time and the person who finishes it just in time, if the quality of work is the same, are no different. They finished the job. They met the deadline. They shipped. Now tell me, where’s the issue? ...

Many of you know I had an incredible opportunity to attend an invitation-only seminar by Seth Godin this morning. There will undoubtedly tons of posts to follow on this unbelievable experience, but here’s my initial reaction and my baptism into video blogging. Oh, and some breaking news about Seth’s future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV0w4pNAwFc

Economy of Abundance ****We live in an economy of abundance. In the United States, the vast majority of people have all of their physical needs met. Many have disposable income, some have so much they aren’t sure what to do with it.  Even in the midst of economic downturns, companies like Exxon Mobil and Wal-Mart break profit records year after year. We have shifted from an economy reliant on production and manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution to a services economy chock full of consumers. No longer can this nation rely on manufacturing to provide jobs; we must now provide world-class services to compete in a global market. ...

I was talking with a friend last week who was sending out “email blasts” to clients for a part-time job. He asked for insight about a certain way of following up with someone, so for background, I asked how he got the names of the clients.  “Our company buys lists of email addresses and then we ’email blast’ them and ask if they need help with social media” ...

Last week in one of my classes, a professor stopped class for a public service announcement. He said: “I’m not going to learn your names this quarter. I’ll call you ‘this gentleman’ and ‘that lady’, but I won’t learn your name. In fact, the only way I’ll know your name is if you get in trouble. So it’s better if I don’t learn it.” Thank you for the disclaimer, prof. You’ve just earned my divided attention and haven’t garnerned an ounce of respect from that statement. ...