It’s a fact of business that we cannot do it alone. Tom Peters once said that “if you’re currently doing something internally and not world class at it, outsource it to someone who is.” Sounds easy enough in theory but in reality is very hard to do and at times, costly.

As an optimist I don’t look at the thousands of dollars spent the past few years on trashed websites or failed PR strategies as wasted but instead tuition. And one of the lessons I want to share is the difference between Partners and Vendors.

A Partner is someone who actively works on and oversees your project to completion.

A Vendor replaces the designer you bought into with a younger, cheaper one that sends you endless mock-ups in an effort to wear you down and have you settle for.

A Partner charges a fair price while continuing to look for ways to save time and increase quality.

A Vendor sees only the check and the finish line.

A Partner returns calls or emails within an hour or two of leaving a message.

A Vendor doesn’t return calls or emails for days or sometimes weeks feigning one excuse after another.

A Partner is someone you continue to talk to and brainstorm with long after the check is cashed.

A Vendor is someone to whom you become a non-entity once the check is cashed.

Do you have any other examples? I’d love to hear them.

Dwain – The Biker Guy

As always – This is my opinion and I look forward to yours.  So, if you disagree or simply want to pile on, please do so either here on the BLOG or email me directly at Navigator@BikersGuidetoBusiness.Com  I look forward to hearing from you.

Why is it that the specter of death always reminds us to live?

Sunday night I received an email from my buddy Mark with the not so subtle subject line – Richard is dead.

The person he referred to was Richard Frohlich, who for the past couple of years fought the demons associated with a debilitating disease that ultimately won.

Richard was a wonderful character in my life and came into it at critical time when starting to write my book. An extraordinarily talented man whose intellect bordered on genius, he always showed up with energy, enthusiasm and support – even after we parted company professionally.

At all times one of the smartest guys in the room, I could count on Richard to laugh at the wrong moment or too hard at a bad joke, but that was just his way. He saw things differently and recognized the absurd in even the smallest of circumstances.

But isn’t that what it’s all about? Isn’t it about going through this world on your own terms and painting it the color of your choice?

Richard did that and then some as he walked into your world and lay down a bit of color to remember him by. And as one of the privileged few he did that to I am forever thankful.

I only wish he’d have stayed around a bit longer to see the finished tapestry…

Dwain

The Biker Guy

As always – These are my thoughts and I look forward to yours.  So, if you disagree or simply want to pile on, please do so either here on the BLOG or email me directly at Navigator@BikersGuidetoBusiness.Com  I look forward to hearing from you.

I just read a New York Times article that scared the crap out of me.  Not so much the topic, but instead the underlying theme to the piece – that while we’re fixing healthcare and trying to fix Afghanistan, the rest of the world is doing business…and maybe leaving us behind.

Which led me to bring that premise down to a more personal level, thereby begging these questions –

Am I focused on the right things in order to achieve success in the new decade?

Am I still fighting old battles that are better left alone?

Hell, am I even on the right battlefield?

There’s a wise old southern saying that goes (I paraphrase) – “It’s difficult to remember that you came here to drain the swamp when you’re up to your ass in alligators.”

Or better yet as Sun Tsu put it in his masterpiece The Art of War – “There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked…”

Remember your purpose and that it’s OK to leave some battles not won because the ultimate goal is to win the war.

Dwain – The Biker Guy

As always – This is my opinion and I look forward to yours.  So, if you disagree or simply want to pile on, please do so either here on the BLOG or email me directly at Navigator@BikersGuidetoBusiness.Com  I look forward to hearing from you.