Jason's Notes About Stuff

Last week, I was hanging up my laundry, listening to a great business podcast about consulting, and was hit by a wall of wisdom: "Your reputation in business is in large part based on your ability to make commitments and fulfill them. If you can make commitments and fulfill them, people trust you. That's what trust is based on. If you and I are developing a relationship, and the first thing you tell me you're going to do, you do, I go, "Ok, that's cool, he did what he said he was going to do." Now, I'm not going to trust you with my life at that point. But then, the second thing you say you're going to do, you do. A few weeks, a few months, then years, if you continue the habit of doing the things you say you're going to do, then I trust you with more and more. And that's how our reputations are built." [1] I think this applies equally to business and life in general. So many people fail this simple test. It really comes down to ...

Anyone who knows me knows one simple thing: I really, really hate being wrong. Everyone does. Nobody likes the feeling you get when you realize you're going to have to eat some humble pie. Mmmm... pecan humble pie But over the years, I've learned important lessons about how to handle this situation. I had one of these moments recently while registering a new car here on the island -- a long process that takes several hours and visits to 4 different places . (Traffic police, bank, insurance company, inland revenue) At the very first stop, the police traffic division, we realized that we were missing one of the two vehicle identification numbers. (Unlike American cars, Japanese vehicles have two VINs) The number had not been entered on any of the previous documentation. I had this situation with a previous car, and they went ahead and entered it with just the one number. This time they insisted they needed both numbers . I pushed back and tried to explai...

A formula for success and happiness, in both business and life: Keep your own expectations tempered, but always try to exceed the expectations of others.

Don't think: "I'll just do that tomorrow." Think: "Wait a minute -- What if I can't do that tomorrow?" This is one situation where having a slightly pessimistic view gives an advantage.

You may have noticed that we tend to apologize a lot in Canada. Much to my benefit, this has led to Canadians being viewed as very kind and polite, all around the world. As a proud Canuck, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You see, "sorry" in Canada may not always mean what you think it does. Imagine the following: You're visiting Canada and shopping for groceries in the local store. A woman ahead is blocking an entire aisle with her shopping cart. Another woman walks towards her, stops, looks at the cart and says, "Oh, I'm sorry." The first woman realizes she is in the way, and replies, "Oh, I'm so sorry," as she moves the cart. The both smile at one another and continue shopping. You think to yourself, "Wow, what a kind and decent society. These Canadians are so polite!" Now, the secret translation: "Oh, I'm sorry," actually means, "Oh, I'm sorry that you're blocking the enti...

Note: This is a guest blog post from GrumpyOldMan123. Dear younger generation, As many older generations have done before, I humbly offer you some sanctimonious , unsolicited advice. When you encounter a minor obstacle , never, ever make any effort to find a solution by yourself. If you can't immediately find someone else to solve a problem for you, don't even consider researching it on your own. Instead, amuse yourself with distractions . Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook are all great resources for this. If anyone asks you about the problem, complain loudly that you "just can't figure it out," and ask "why is this so hard?" When you suffer the inevitable consequences, be sure to explain how you were "going to do it eventually," and say: "It's not my fault!" And rest assured, this attitude has no adverse impact whatsoever on your career and personal life . You're still entitled to the best of everyth...