3 October 2013

Remembering a certain David Yankey….

… a week after I heard the “news”

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

Poet: Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)

Category: Our Friends | 4 Comments on Remembering a certain David Yankey….
3 October 2013

Living longer? :-)

Yesterday, our corporate head of HR – a dear friend, colleague and peer of mine, traveled with me to DC to address my organization there.
She is a great speaker and was eloquently explaining our new healthcare options and the challenges companies like ours face with rising healthcare costs.
Some of the analytics she cited were very insightful. One rather innocuous one she told us was “married people live longer”. Driven by unbounded curiosity, I had to ask what I thought was a very challenging and certainly entirely relevant question: “do they live longer or does it just seem that way to them” 🙂 Then I dutifully sat down expecting an equally insightful answer 🙂
Let’s just say I am glad she tolerates my terrible sense of humor 🙂
She did get back at me during drinks that evening. But I am not going to tell you about that! This is my blog. Let her write about it in her blog 🙂

Category: Humor | 6 Comments on Living longer? :-)
2 October 2013

Puzzle: Assorted socks

Flying back from DC. Puzzle time. I am switching back to logical/math puzzles since the word puzzles were not much popular last time.
As always, send me personal messages on FB. Do not write your answer on the comment section to give others a chance to try the problem.

In a basket, there are 8 pairs (16) of black socks, 7 pairs (14) of white socks, 6 pairs of red socks, 5 pairs of blue socks, 4 pairs of green socks, 3 pairs of yellow socks, 2 pairs of purple socks and 1 pair of pink socks.
Assume that there is no difference between a right sock and a left sock.
If you are blindfolded, how many MINIMUM number of socks do you have to pick to guarantee 3 pairs (six) of socks that are of the same color (any color will do)?

Category: Puzzles | 19 Comments on Puzzle: Assorted socks
30 September 2013

The energy of it all…

This evening I was sitting at Tyson’s Corner in the patio of a well renowned bar trying to hammer out a deal with a strategic partner. All the tables outside were filled with a lot of people with laptops opened up.
Occasionally, each table would erupt with boisterous yelling and high-fiving. For whatever reason, the women were yelling the most.
You have to be in the DC area on a Sep 30th to understand this all. Today is government financial year ending. All contracting has to be done today or else there is no guarantee for project money for next year. Everytime a table was hearing about a win, they would just burst out in joy.
It is like report card day for all government sales teams!
People who know me probably know that my the arc of my career has taken me from coding software to running services organization to leading marketing to leading sales to eventually being a general manager. Of all those, sales – is still to me – the job I respect the most. And the profession where the difference between the best and the not-so-good is so wide.
That is the job that has the clearest metric – you either got the dollars or you did not – and the least control of the variables – you are too dependent on external factors.
That is why winning a deal unleashes such a primal energy.
Sure, it comes with the cold slap across the face when you lose one. But over a larger horizon, if you are a good sales guy, you win out….
Love the energy. Respect the profession!!

Category: Travelogs | 9 Comments on The energy of it all…