White Lightning

Smell that? Hear that? Feel that? Its baseball season again. Yes, the Sox are off to a great start but I'm not talking MLB, I'm talking about all the little fields all over the country filling up with all of tomorrow's superstars. I have the distinct pleasure of coaching my 8 year old's baseball team again this year and I can not wait for the season to start. Why?

Why not! You get to hang with your kids, meet their friends, and their friend's parents. You get to help sculpt little minds with all sorts of coaching insights, you get to teach the greatest game that ever was created, baseball! My God just writing this makes me want to hit the field and start throwing live BP to our collection of super outstanding kids.

Don't get me wrong, we're not turning double plays, we're likely to barely get the ball out of the infield but who cares! It is fundamentals time! Time to set the base. Baseball for me growing up was more important than my family, I didn't worry about staying out late on Friday night because my folks might punish me, I was more worried about letting down the team. You see for those of you that never partook in team sports there is a wonderfully familial type dynamic that happens on a baseball field. You rely on each other, you cheer on each other, you look out for each other on and off the field. You are a baller, through and through.

So we're called White Lightning, I get a kick out of the name, and yes its another term for moonshine. Call it an inside joke. We put the name in place last year and you know what? All the boys from the team last year are already asking me when they will be getting their new White Lightning jerseys, they feel like a part of something, and I love being along for the ride.

The parents mostly are awesome, and pitch in to help with practice and at game time. Again, is there a better way to really get to know the kids yours are hanging out with than to actively be their coach? Get to see them in action? Meet their parents? Some of my favorite friends are the parents of my son and daughter's friends!

So if you get the chance coach. If you can't coach, help out however you can. I can PROMISE you that you will get a wonderful sense of fulfillment from being directly involved in your kids life! Don't have time? BS, make the time! As Ferris Bueller said, life moves pretty quickly, if you don't slow down every once in a while you might miss it! And after all, whatever is at the office, whatever outdoor work you think you need to do, will still be there long after the last pitch is tossed and your done having pizza and creamees with the team. Get some!

Han Shot First.

I was born in 1976. One year later the greatest space story ever told began. So put on your nerd hat folks, I'm going to dedicate this one to the best character in cinematic history, Han Solo. The name says it all, and growing up I emulated Han to keep me alive on the mean playgrounds of my youth right through the trials and tribulations of high school and college. Even had my own wookiee, in fact I had two. Better safe than sorry and as you all know its not wise to upset a wookiee.

So how has Han guided me post high school and college? Are there valuable lessons to learn from this deliciously awesome character. You bet there are, so here we go.

First surround yourself with the right people, folks that you trust implicitely to support you through thick and thin. This goes for friends, family and co-workers. In Han's case he had a wookiee, no one else (ok, he also bagged a princess but more on that later). And all he needed was Chewie, a good blaster at his side and the right ship, the legendary Millenium Falcon (you know, the ship that made the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs). So find your wookiee (or wookiees), and also the right equipment. In my case its my beautiful bride, kids, handful of friends (Seinfeld said any more than 3 is too much work) and select co-workers (now and prior). My blaster? Simple, the right smart phone. You don't need much else.

Second. Keep your enemies or in our case competitors closer. Think Lando here, classic Sabacc competitor (for those of you that don't know Sabacc is a card game, Han won the Falcon from lando in one of these games), that often bested Han at the table. BUT when push came to shove (or in Han's case his ship failed him and his soon to be father in law was breathing down his neck), he turned to Lando to help. Sure there was a bit of a misunderstanding, the whole carbonite thing with Boba Fett and Jabba for example, but in the end Lando came through. Lesson? I've said this before, get to know your competitors, you never know when you'll need them!

Third. Nothing beats a knowing smile. Seriously. We all know that person when talking to us that flashes a sideways grin, like they know something we don't. Be that guy (or gal). Its fun. In fact I believe of all the Solo attributes I've sought to emulate, the sideways grin is my go to move. It keeps people on their heels, right where you want them to be!

Finally, there hasn't been a cockier character in cinema than Han (Tony Stark takes a close second, and I'm sure I'll have some Iron Man insights on here soon). Kid Rock says it ain't cocky if you back it up, so live by that folks. After all, if its the bottom of the ninth and you can choose between two closers to seal the game up, you going to pick the one that is oozing with enthusiasm and self assurance, or the other that won't even make eye contact? You know the answer so be that person, after all people like to be around people that believe in themselves.

Now we wait for Episode 7, to see how the Solo saga wraps up. Stay tuned.

Side note here, when your wife texts that she loves you she will not see the humor when you answer "I know", so steer clear of that Hanism.....

Do you have any cinematic characters that influenced you growing up? Who and how? I'm always curious.......

Wretched fees......

We live in a fee crazy world. Buy a car, pay some fees, get a loan at a bank, pay some fees, switch cell phones, pay some fees, forget to feed the meter, pay some fees (and pay them quick or you will pay even more fees). fee fi fo fum, fees. It is a delicate topic with customers, and I have yet to meet one that is excited to pay them. I switched my cell phone the other day at Verizon, sales guy had the best saying when I questioned it. He said "even Mrs. Verizon has to pay this". Got a kick out of that. Ultimately with a good explanation, and keeping the fees reasonable, most folks understand the reasoning.

I had a very interesting conversation last week with one of my clients, some very good people doing some very good work here in CVT. We were contemplating a rate reduction as well as a re-amortization of their existing facilities, and had nailed down all the details but the fee that the bank would charge for these accomodations.

My strategy on this was to handle the fee conversation the way I would want to be approached under the same circumstances. So try this folks, I think it is the most fair way to come to a fee for services that we all can live with. I asked the client to go back to the office once we finished lunch, think about the accomodation we were agreeing to make as a bank, and assign a value to that as a fee. Now the hook here is to ask the client to assign a fee that they feel is fair for the accomodation being made, but also a fee that they can comfortably live with, and won't eventually resent me for. You see I never subscribed to the "fee them and flee" approach to banking, call me old fashioned but I want to have a nice long life with these folks as their partner, and trying to get a "higher" fee because I can doesn't sit well with me.

So guess what ended up happening on the fee? My client came up with an appropriate number, based on sound reasoning, that we both could go to bed tonight feeling ok about (after all it's still a fee). And you want to know the secret here, I was fully committed to agreeing to whatever they came back to me with. I'm confident that allowing them to be a real part of the conversation will garner more trust in our relationship going forward, which after all else is said and done is the most important thing.