From the Mind of MandoRon

So what am I supposed to do with the mandolin?

Where is the mandolin supposed to go?

Oreo actually had the nerve to hiss at me when I moved her…

I came across an interesting article in the Wichita Eagle today - “Trip to NYC is icing on Wichita cookie lover’s cake“. Kim Burton (who I’ve met at work before) got a free trip to New York and was asked to help ring in the Stock Exchange today. 

All because she loves Hydrox cookies.

Seriously.

Kellogg’s is reintroducing Hydrox cookies, in part due to her website, spacefem.com/hydrox , professing her love for the cookies.

Bizarre…

If you’re a fan, go check out the official website www.hydroxcookies.com.

Interestingly, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a Hydrox before…   Personally, I like Nutter Butters and Chewy Chips Ahoy.

What’s your favorite cookie?  Add a comment and share.  I’ll bring the milk!

Some of you may recall that I got booted off an overbooked flight back in June, and received a free ticket voucher for my trouble.

Well yesterday, it was time to redeem the voucher.  I’m going to Long Beach CA next month for work, and I wanted to get Andrea a ticket to tag along.

I was all excited about saving $400, but then I started thinking about the trouble I had to go through.

There were no redemption instructions on the voucher, so I had to check out United.com for help. I did find instructions in the customer service section (call the reservations phone #),but I couldn’t figure out if I could transfer the ticket to Andrea.

So I called and talked to a very friendly and helpful native-English-speaking lady who made the reservation.  However, I had to actually go to the ticket counter at the airport last night to redeem the voucher and “pay” for the reservation. 

The free ticket cost me 45 minutes of my time and a little gas.  Still a pretty good deal.

But there was also an extra night away from family.  There was getting up at 3:00 a.m. to catch the 4:00 a.m. hotel shuttle to catch the 6:00 a.m. flight home.

Probably still a good deal.

But not completely free either…

Either time heals all wounds, or the fact that I alway bring an extra pair of clothes on one-night trips (just in case…) makes it more palatable.

The good news is we’re both going to California for the first time next month.  In fact, Andrea has never seen the Pacific Ocean.  I went to Oregon last fall, so I beat her by a year.

I recently heard Brad Anderson, Best Buy CEO, speak at the Leadership Summit.  One of the subjects he mentioned briefly was the Geek Squad.  Brad told how impressed Best Buy had been with the Geek Squad when they were a seperate company in Minneapolis, and how they persued them for quite a while as an acquistion because they thought the culture of the Geek Squad matched Best Buy’s so well.

So obviously this post titled “A Geek’s Guide to Great Service“ from the Mavericks at Work blog caught my attention. It’s well worth reading.

I didn’t realize that there was such a rich culture behind the company.  They are fanatical about their culture and fanatical about customer service.

One of the parts of the pledge that they have to take reads:

“Assume every problem is my fault, unless proven otherwise.”

I think customer service everywhere would improve if every company took this to heart.  Instead we get defensive immediately, and start arguing or blaming someone else…

Go read the article.  It’s five minutes well spent.

Watching the Olympics has reminded me of something that came up at the Leadership Summit recently.  One of the speakers (I don’t remember which and I’m too lazy to go grab my notes) talked about finding your “sweet spot”.

I believe that all of us were born to do something better than anyone else.  The trick, however, is getting in tune with your sweet spot.

My definition of “sweet spot” - the strange intersection of skills, giftings, and calling. Here is where we find people doing things that are extraordinary.

Examples:

Michael Phelps - This man was definitely born to swim.  Eight gold medals in Beijing.  Who can argue with that? Michael is an incredible athlete and would likely excel at whatever he does.  But swimming is definitely his sweet spot.

Usain Bolt - Did you see the 100m finals Saturday night?  Usain was born to run fast.  He let up well before the finish line, checked his rivals, played to the crowd, and started celebrating.  Oh yeah… And he set a new world record.  He made it look so easy.  Interestingly, he just started competing in the 100m this year.  Everyone thought he was too tall to be fast at that short of a distance…

Dara Torres - Also born to swim.  At age 41, she nearly won the gold medal in the 50m freestyle.

Tiger Woods - I think TIger was literally born playing golf.  He’s an animal.  It’s not just the athleticism, but the drive, the heart, the mind, the skill, and the name.

Michael Jordan - Born to play basketball.  No explanation needed.

Switching gears a bit…

Tommy Luckner - Tommy plays lead guitar in our band at church.  He was born to play electric guitar, as some of you can attest to. Rare combination of a lot of natural talent, perfectionism, and OCD to practice one part for hours at a time until he nails it.

Rod Nance - Rod also plays in the band.  He’s the guy you see with the six keyboards and the occasional keytar.  Also freakish ability.  Definitely born to play the keys.

Bill Gates - Born to take over the world one computer at a time.

Warren Buffet - Born to make money from investments.

Mother Teresa - Born to minister to the poor.

So all of this has got me thinking…  What is my sweet spot?

I’m decent at a lot of things, but can’t really say I’m extraordinary at any one thing.

Maybe God hasn’t shown me yet.  Maybe I haven’t listened.  Maybe I was born to be a dabbler… dabble in this, dabble in that.

How about you?

What were you born to do?  What “event” can you win the gold medal in? Feel free to share.