Archive for the 'Accountability and Responsibility' Category

Date: July 2nd, 2008, Filed under Accountability and Responsibility, Entrepreneurship

Chicago, IL

By A.B. Dada

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One simple fact of business that many entrepreneurs and employees ignore is the idea of efficiency: doing more in less time.  We generally want to find ways to save big amounts of time only, which is a mistake that almost everyone in business makes.

One key area to increasing efficiency is to shave seconds off of tasks you do commonly.  From buying a printer with a faster warm-up and first page out to reducing overhead on your desktop are ways that I find to make myself much more efficient.

It’s July 2, which is the time of the year when I do the most important thing possible to save myself a ton of time in the long run: wiping my workstation clean.  Sometimes I prefer to buy a new workstation completely, but lately I’ve found that starting fresh is better than buying new.  My most used workstation is 3 years old, and works just fine if I take the proper steps to maximize that micro-efficiency.  Saving a few seconds here and there every minute can mean almost an entire work-week saved annually.  Consider the following situation:

Is your web browser running a bit slower than expected?  Does loading up a needed website take 10 seconds instead of appearing instantly?  Does double-clicking on a program to load take 30 seconds instead of 5?  How about simple processes like pulling down the file menu and clicking “open”?  These are areas where cutting down on the time it takes to do a task can save you significantly.  I find that as my workstation bogs down, I lose important seconds.  By starting fresh, I can save more than a work week per year.

A slow computer (meaning latency of doing fast operations, not operations that always take long) can lose me up to 90 seconds per work hour.  Doesn’t sound like much.  If you lose just 1.5 seconds of work time per minute worked, that’s 90 seconds per work hour.  Getting that time back is precious.  90 seconds per work hour means 720 seconds lost per work day, or 3600 per week and 187,200 per work year.  That’s 3120 work-minutes lost per year, or 52 work-hours lost.  1.3 work weeks a year are lost to inefficient computing!  If you make $40,000 per year at your job or business, you’re losing $1000 per year in lost efficiency.

Here’s what I do quarterly:

1. I upgrade the memory in my workstation to the maximum, based on what it costs.  I went from 512MB to 1GB to 2GB to 4GB in my workstation over 3 years.  Extra memory means the computer has to “swap” to the hard drive less, which saves you a TON of time in terms of micro-efficiency.

2. I upgrade my hard drive to a faster hard drive.  I went from a 5400 RPM drive to a 7200 RPM drive to a 10,000 RPM drive in 3 years.  The 10,000 RPM hard drive is surprisingly zippy, and files open and save MUCH faster, possibly saving me more than the whopping 6 minutes per day.

3. Once you replace your hard drive, put your old one in an external case, which costs about $15-$20 locally or online.  Use that USB based drive to retrieve the data you need.  On the fresh drive, reinstall your operating system and needed applications.

After you finish these fairly simple tasks (I can do it in under 90 minutes each quarter), your PC will be completely refreshed.  Programs will launch quicker, the web will feel zippier, files will open and save much faster.  You’ll save mere seconds here and there, but you’ll save a huge amount of productive time in the long run.  Even if you do this at a job you’re employed at, you’ll be more productive than the person in the cubicle over, which means you’ll finish your projects early and make an impression on upper management.

Another little secret is to replace your Internet network’s DNS server with an open one from OpenDNS.com or another.  I prefer to run my own little DNS server on my own computer, which makes web sites pop up significantly faster than relying on my ISP’s DNS server.  Again, saving a few seconds here and there on common tasks adds up to a huge savings.

Don’t lost productivity by wasting seconds here and there.  Open a file and see if there is noticeable lag.  Save a file and note the same.  Visit a common website and see if your PC takes time to “think.”  Open a program and see how long it takes.

Then follow my simple 3 step process above, and make the same comparisons.  After you realize I’ll save you at least $1000 a year, send me $10 via paypal today as thanks to making you more efficient, more productive, and more profitable.  Then share this secret with friends and family by providing a link to this site.

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Date: June 24th, 2008, Filed under Accountability and Responsibility

Zion, IL
By A.B. Dada
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In yesterday’s post titled Why teamwork is a bad idea, blogger JDavidB of Voice of John posted the following insightful reply:

This is not to say that you should never seek anybody else’s interest. But it is to say that there is a lot of “moral” manipulation out there as people try to manipulate others to give more for less, through “values” like “teamwork.”

It is often in a person’s best interest to consider the needs of others, but it is difficult to do so without considering the impact on your life and future. If I help the needy, I do so out of my faith calling, but I also have the selfish desire to help those in my town increase their value to society to reduce crime and poverty. It’s a difficult road to walk if one truly tries to be humble without hubris. I personally have trouble dividing the two.

Thankfully I was abused by my peers in elementary P.E. and learned to despise sports and thus never acquired a taste for “teamwork.”

I, too, was abused by me peers in P.E. and main classes. I was not financially capable of being “hip” and was definitely an outsider. While I’ve worked hard to dismiss any lasting feelings of anger or grudge, I also learned so much at how the world works based on the cliques formed in high school and later. It was through learning of the opiates of the masses that I realized that the moment you join a “group,” you restrain your own ability to grow and flourish. Every relationship I have is outside of the groups and scenes that many of my friends and collegues join, even subconsciously.

Thankfully also my father taught me that my schools were being ridiculous for their faddish emphasis on working in groups “because businesses say their biggest problem is people who can’t do teamwork” [read with the voice of the babysitter from Pixar's The Incredibles saying "leading experts say, listening to Mozart makes babies smarter"].

This is wise, and I was not taught the same, unfortunately. It took a lot of time in watching people and reading about the human condition to realize that the only way to persevere in the trials of life is to try things both inside and outside the box. If I follow the rest of society in how they battle life’s hardships, I am left with what society has offered itself: debt, sadness, frustration and the desire to escape through drugs, promiscuous behavior and mind-numbing television. None of those are for me.

People will read the above paragraph and totally misunderstand. They will think I (and my father) am a disgusting, cynical person.

But “they” are part of a huge group of people who hate themselves and are told that the reason they hate themselves is because they’re not part of a team or group. It’s taught by the churches, by advertisers, by the educators and by the law. Be part of a group, or be a miscreant, to paraphrase the ways you’re taught you can’t be your own person.

That is so far from the truth. I love and care about people and seek their true welfare. And that’s why I don’t want to see them manipulated into being less than they could be by false morality. LOVE, yes. “Teamwork” and placing abstract concepts and groups above yourself and your loved ones? Absolutely not.

That’s the most insightful part I read in JDavidB’s response. Teamwork IS an abstract concept. Your hand and your feet and your heart and your brain are separate elements of the same unique form. They don’t work as a team, and sometimes work against one another. When you discover how to use each element individually, the entire society of the body works well. But they don’t necessarily always have to work in unison. Sometimes you will hurt your back to provide for what your heart needs. Sometimes you will ignore your brain to perform works with your hands. These unique elements in your body only seem to work together, but in fact they are separate elements to be treated separately and unequally.

Help a neighbor because he is made in the image of God, not because you feel some guilt urge to “give back” that was programmed into you during your 12+ years of compulsory state-sponsored brainwashing. In so doing, you’ll make better decisions and provide better help.

Absolutely correct, and important to understand. Guilt is a primary reason for joining groups and reducing your ability as an individual. So is loneliness that comes from not seeing the power of yourself as an individual.

Speaking of the image of God, I’m so sick of hearing the following in church: “I think if the Apostle Paul were alive today and writing his letters, he’d pick a better analogy for the church. One that everyone can understand. He’d say that the church is like a sports team. Everybody can identify with a team, with the teamwork required to achieve a team’s goals.”

Again, very true. If the Apostle Paul was alive, I’m sure he’d be providing for the same “Individual Empowerment” that he did. Jesus Himself never promoted groupthink until His Apostles forced Him to. We see so many scriptural stories about Jesus basically AVOIDING groups until he was forced to (except in a few rare instances). Walking past the funeral precession, ignoring the hunger of the masses, ignoring his blood family outside the home, avoiding the crowd gathered around His dying friend. Jesus worked with individuals, except when He was prodded to work with groups. He may have preached to groups, but the overall story is about individuals and their relationship with God that was ruined by groupthink of the Ancient Israelites. Jesus abhorred that relationship. The Church of the Ancient Israelites was groupthink; the new Church/Covenant was embodied in each individual uniquely.

Yeah, it’s a real crying shame back then Paul didn’t have an analogy that everyone could identify with so he could communicate more clearly. You know, like saying the church is like a body or something. Hardly anyone can identify with having a body, right?

So true, as I mentioned in my body explanation above.

I’ve been sick of hearing that for about the last sixteen years. Reading your above post brings home just how wrong the “sports team” analogy for the church is, and not just because I personally can’t identify with sports teams. Interestingly enough, when the Holy Spirit did choose to inspire sports analogies, He chose individual, not team, events. Hmm….

But the modern churches have often reverted to the very Temple-mentality that God punished and destroyed the Ancient Israelites for in 70AD. It is important to read the Sermon on the Mount, as I mentioned in a previous article today. I’ll take some opinion from Wikipedia in an excellent mini-article titled Woes of the Pharisees, which covers a subset of the Sermon on the Mount:

Jesus criticized the following regarding the Pharisees (leaders) of the Ancient Israelites:

Shutting the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. Jesus told many that the Kingdom of Heaven was evident then and there, but many modern churches continue to preach that the Kingdom of Heaven is “to come.”
Making converts twice as much a son of hell as the converters themselves are. So many modern churches promote the whoring of their congregation with the beast of government. Even though I no longer believe in Hell as preached by Futurism, I do believe in separation from God in the here and now based solely on a person refusing to see the Kingdom that exists, here and now.
Claiming that swearing by the temple is nothing, but claiming that swearing by the temple’s gold is everything. I don’t have a strong modern opinion of this portion of the Woes of the Pharisees, but I have some weak opinions here.
Obeying the minutiae of the law (such as giving up a tithe) but neglecting the important facets (such as justice, and mercy) - metaphorically straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. Jesus had just TWO Commandments: Love God, Love Others. If you try to follow the Old Covenant (now banished, in my eschatological opinion), you refuse to see what Jesus superceded as His New Covenant.
Being shallow - metaphorically cleaning the outside of the cup and dish but leaving the inside full of greed and self-indulgence How many churches teach about prosperity over stability? How many churches teach separation from the world rather than integration?
Hypocrisy - appearing righteous but actually being full of wickedness, metaphorically like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but full of dead men’s bones. This is apt when a pastor promotes war and theft and judgment and the rule of man. This is why I do not financially support congregations that are registered as 501(c)3 which prevents them from speaking out against the modern beast of government.
Claiming that they would have behaved better than their forefathers - even though they build and respect the tombs of those who murdered the prophets. And this is true to this day. How many prophets were killed in the same way that our legislative leaders kill even Christians in other countries? I can not respect the tomb of those who murdered others and believe that they behave better than those Judged 2000 years ago.

When one becomes part of a group, one loses their individual ability to be the best they can be. You will be held back due to rules and regulations. You’ll be fearful of taking calculated risks because you’ll fear being considered an outsider. You’ll be warned and even threatened if you rock the boat. If you have faith in yourself as you were created, with certain abilities and talents and certain shortcomings, only then can you maximize your ability to serve others as you grow stronger in the knowledge that you can accomplish much more than society would tell you you can.

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Date: June 23rd, 2008, Filed under Accountability and Responsibility, Be a Man, Entrepreneurship

Los Angeles, CA
By A.B. Dada
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I hate the idea of teamwork. In high school, a teacher used to tell me “There is no I in team,” to which I replied “That’s why I’m not part of the team.” Teamwork is an illusion created by those who want to control the team, or restrict individuals from progressing for their own selfish benefit.

I consult with businesses with a focus on increasing their efficiency. I have one person I answer to: the boss. I care little about middle managers or lower end employees, except for those who come to me with the only important question: “How can I do better for myself?”

Successful “teams” are not successful because they work together. They’re successful because the individuals within the team are out to better their own lives. A smart go-getter will understand that they do have to work well with others, but only if those others are also self-involved.

Look at professional baseball: it isn’t about team play, but about each individual taking advantage of their skills and trying to be the best man on the field. If an outfielder has to make a play at home plate, the focus is on him, not on the team. He wants to shine with a perfect throw that will be played over and over on the evening news. He wants his statistics at the plate to shine, too, so that youngsters can trade his card in delight at his high batting average or pitching stats. If he fails at that long throw to home, it’ll be on him. If he succeeds, it’ll be on him. It isn’t the teamwork that matters, it is making each play with perfection.

Do you remember even playing a little tag football and not getting a pass when you were wide open? Maybe you were ignored because you were just a team player. If you were the one who had the motivation to always make the touch down or at least the next first down, regardless of how many people were defending you, you’d get the pass. You’d then go to make the play. That’s how teams succeed: selfish individuals want to be in the spotlight. Together, when many selfish individuals triumph over conflict, some people will say “What a great team.” I don’t. I’ll say “What a great bunch of individuals.” Each one wants to be the one in the spotlight. What makes a great “team”? Competition from within, not competition against the enemy.

If you have a 9-5 job in a cubicle, you’re not really part of a team. You have a job, responsibilities, and if you focus on doing the best job you can, you’ll be in the spotlight. If you see someone ahead of you in rank and salary, it is in your best interest to find out what they lack that you can fulfill, and work to implement those tasks so your bosses and managers can see that you’re not a team player, you’re a profit-maker. The company that talks about teams is the company that would rather keep you in your place. It isn’t the top boss that cares, he needs bottom lines that make sense for him. His money is at stake, he wants to see a return that is better than sticking it in a savings account or a CD. Be selfish. Take risks. Find the reward. Replace the guy above you. Take his salary and send him to the bullpen. He’s not there to make your life better. Neither is the guy in the cubicle next to you.

Those who shine in business, in sports, in relationships and in life overall are those who take selfish calculated risks to make their lives better. They save their money rather than spend it extravagently. They stay out of debt. They don’t listen to what the Joneses are doing, or care about who is going to win the next fake singing or cooking reality show. They look at choices they can make, and try to find new choices that will make their lives better. Are you going to work tomorrow only to talk about which character is cheating on which character on Sunday night TV, or are you going to work thinking of how you can shine in front of your boss or his boss, so one day you can climb the ladder?

Are you sitting in your car or on the train or bus each morning, wondering why life is going nowhere, or are you thinking about what talents you have that you can sell to another employer who could pay you more to do more than you do now?

You’re not part of a team. You’re your own person, and no one will be looking out for you except for yourself. Jump today on the “There’s no team for me” bandwagon, and join me in finding ways to make your own life better today. Work hard. Save hard. Bring the spotlight to you. Do better for yourself.

Comments: 2

Date: February 22nd, 2007, Filed under Accountability and Responsibility

I’m looking at my calendar and I can’t believe that it is February 22, 2007 — almost 8 weeks have passed since we all had to buy new calendars. Around New Year’s Eve many people make new personal promises for how they’ll do 2007 differently — and few will stick to them. That’s normal, we get stuck in our habits and our desires and tend to forget our past mistakes.

So today is a great time to open up to yourself and figure out what you would have done differently. Feel free to share at the forum if you have some good advice for others — especially in the realm of accountability to others or responsibility to people you forget you are responsible to.

Read this entire article at the accountability and responsibility site.

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Date: November 24th, 2006, Filed under Accountability and Responsibility

I heard it twice in the past 2 weeks, and 4 times in the past 6 months. If we look at a (fake) estmated progression curve, that means I’ll hear it 2 times per week within a month, and ten 4 times per week in less than 6 months. Actually, maybe that estimated progression isn’t fake.

The most recent time I heard it was at the top of the 2 week period. A friend I haven’t talked to much over the past 3 years called me up out of the blue and asked if I’d go with him to spend a “free” US$250 credit he received from a local casino that he hasn’t gone to in 6 months. From what I know of him, he goes to play video poker about every quarter, and spends a few grand playing. I’m fairly certain that he’s broken even over the long run.

Read this entire article at the accountability and responsibility site.

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Date: October 31st, 2006, Filed under Accountability and Responsibility

One of our closests friends Rebecca Georgakis passed away this morning peacefully after a 4 year battle with brain cancer. She was in her early 20s, and married to one of my closest friends and oldest business partner, Christos. They have been married just short of one year.

This is one of those situations that brings tears to my eyes for two reasons: out of love for the family, and out of selfishness in my own life. I can not imagine losing my closest friends and loved ones so early in their lives. My significant other and I argue just like anyone — but not over money or over time or over infidelity or any of the usual suspects. We usually disagree over economics and politics (ha!). Today’s a great day to put that to bed.

Read this entire article at the accountability and responsibility site.

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