Warriors & Weasels Blog

Whine - Or Capitalize On A Warrior Opportunity

If you have read much of this blog, you know I am an unabashed critic of all things concerning air travel.  But today I am not going to specifically whine about the complete incompetence and blatant silliness of airport security, the incredibly dangerous management of our skies, or the sorry anti-customer state of most American airlines.  We’ll certainly cover that ad nauseum some other time – most likely when I crawl off a flight that arrives home twelve hours late.  I tend to get testy when I am forced to sit on a tarmac for half a day because the airline booked ten flights to arrive at a gate at the same time - stewing in the same air 200 people breath - while angry flight attendants keep me strapped in an uncomfortable filthy seat and stuff salty peanuts down my throat as if they were processing veal.

However, when checking in at the Delta counter at JFK on my last trip I encountered a prime example of a either a Worker making a quick transition into Whiner world – and/or someone missing a prime opportunity to shine.  When my wife and I arrived at the Delta counter it was pure pandemonium.  There were no signs telling people what to do, and some misguided Delta employee was apparently sending people to the wrong counter.  Passengers were confused, milling around, looking for direction.  Instead of helping their valued customers, one of the Delta employees behind the counter began rudely screaming at people, “this is first class only, you need to go to another counter if you are not first class”.  She started to admonish me when I approached her – until I explained I was in first class and at the right counter. “Why don’t you either post a sign right there so people know what to do, or better yet post someone there to help people.  It would be a lot nice than just screaming at people”, I suggested. “Hey, I don’t run this place.  I have no power around here.  Why don’t you take it up with the manager”, she rudely replied.

Which is actually something I would have done if I wasn’t in a hurry, but since I was running for a flight I suggested she should perhaps take it up with her manager.  “Your customers would really appreciate it”, I commented.  “You can see the problem.  Make some suggestions as to how to fix it.”

“Nobody listens to me around here”, she complained.  “I don’t have any power here.  They could care less what I say.”

Now, perhaps the JFK Delta first class counter is run by the worst manager in the aviation world, but I doubt it.  People that blame their managers for their own poor work performance are deluded Whiners, and they miss the potential opportunity to advance. A company may not give you the tools, or manage the operation in a way that allows you to do the best job possible, but companies don’t force you to be rude to customers or act with personal incompetence.  That is your choice.  If your workplace is so awful that it turns you into an angry screaming maniac, then perhaps it is either time to find a new job, or take the Warrior’s mentality and try to improve the workplace by taking over.  Having a bad manager is frustrating, but it also might signal opportunity for you.  After managing people for twenty five years, I can tell you that I appreciate well-thought out solutions to business problems, and I notice employees that take the time and effort to think through how the company might be improved.  And when I promote people – those are the first employees I look at.

Warrior Of The Month

The Warrior of the Month award must certainly go to Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus (though he might actually feel the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded last week is an even bigger honor). Yunus developed the concept of "microcredit" and founded the Grameen Bank. Thanks to him and the bank, over the last thirty years more than 100 million people have been given an opportunity to take the first steps out of poverty. The concept is simple. People in remote poverty-stricken parts of the world that otherwise could not get credit are awarded small loans. The money might buy a dairy cow, a few egg laying hens, or even a cell phone that allows them to conduct business. With a little bit of capital, people are given the opportunity to start small businesses that change their and their family's lives, and when they repay the loans the money is loaned to others that make similar progress. Yunus gives people the tools and minimal resources to lift themselves out of powerty. Instead of fixing the symptom of a problem, he has found a way to make profound permanent changes.

A Weasel By Another Name

Unfortunately every culture has to endure the antics of the Weasel - even the southern Oregon Indian tribe, the Klamaths. According to the Dictionary of Klamath Language, the Klamath name for Weasel, or more specifically the Weasle, is Tchashkai. The Tchashkai's curious pranks and tricks are often alluded to by Native Americans, and in fact the Klamaths even named a minor deity after the Tchashkai, and there is a section on the Southside of Crater Lake named in honor of the Weasel God. Of course this small amount of nearly useless information probably leads to a couple big questions. First and foremost, why am I reading the Dictionary of Klamath Language? Well, it came recommended on Amazon when I bought Funny Sioux Sayings. Also, I am considering developing a Klamath version of the book, Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Tshashkais. It would be the only new Klamath language book introduced in a hundred years, and I have a feeling the language is due for a renaissance. Anything to sell a few more books.

One might also wonder why a culture would name anything after a Weasel. I'm certainly not familiar enough with Klamath Indian culture to comment specifically on the Tshashkai, but in our world there is a Nixon library, and the Nobel Peace Prize is named after the man that invented dynamite.

Working For A Cause

Many 1970s music fans will remember folksinger Harry Chapin for hits like “Taxi” and “Cats in the Cradle.” During a tremendous career cut short by his death in an auto accident, Chapin released ten albums and toured throughout the world.

But shortly after releasing his first hit album, Chapin decided to use his musical gift and fame to combat world hunger. In 1974, he founded WHY (World Hunger Year), an organization that still exists almost twenty years after his death. He set out to educate people on the issues of world hunger and to raise money to help solve the problem.

Throughout the remainder of his career, Chapin donated much of the proceeds from his tours and record and merchandise sales to this and other charities aimed at fighting hunger. He helped found and fund other hunger charities, including Hungerthon and Long Island Cares.

In 1986, Chapin was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for his tremendous work. A memorial fund started at his death to continue his work has raised more than $5 million for a variety of social causes that were close to his heart.

Negotiating With Confidence

I have personally found that negotiating with confidence is one of my most useful tools as a Warrior, and I consequently tend to negotiate almost everything in business and my day-to-day life. For instance, I always negotiate when a vendor’s delivery falls below reasonable expectations. Most people would be amazed to discover that if you have the confidence to negotiate, almost everything is negotiable. Because I travel a lot and because I spend a lot of money in the process, I especially negotiate with travel vendors. I am a believer in the axiom that “you get what you pay for,” and I don’t mind paying the appropriate premium price for premium service, but I also find that given my continual travel budgets and the frequency of travel vendors to fall below promised standards, it is an area of constant negotiations. In the past few months, I have negotiated several free round-trip airline tickets from major airlines, several first-class upgrades, thousands of free frequent-flyer miles, and a $1,000 flight credit—all negotiated settlements when their service was far below expectations. I constantly negotiate and receive car rental free days and upgrades, free hotel nights and upgrades to suites, free meals or sometimes wine or cocktails with dinner . . . the list goes on and on.

The Warrior realizes that almost everything in life is negotiable (even in scenarios that you would not assume negotiation was possible), and that having the Warrior’s confidence to negotiate opens doors, saves money, makes money, and allows the Warrior to generally live a better life than the non-Warrior.

Warriors In History

Of the many Warrior stories to emerge from the horrors of World War II and the Nazi concentration camps, Maximillian Kolbe’s is one of the most heroic. Father Kolbe was a Polish priest imprisoned in Auschwitz in 1941. When one of the men in Kolbe’s bunker disappeared and presumably escaped, the Nazis decided to take ten men from the bunker and starve them to death as an example to the others. (Tragically, the missing man was later found drowned in a camp latrine.) When one of the men selected to die cried out in despair that he would never get to see his wife and children again, Father Kolbe stepped forward and asked to take his place. The Nazis complied.

After two weeks of starvation, four of the ten men, including Father Kolbe, were still alive. The Nazis needed their cells for more inmates, so the four were finished off with an injection of carbolic acid.

Father Kolbe was reportedly the last to die, sacrificing his life for a man he barely knew.

Warriors Of A Different Kind.

Warriors take shape in all walks of life. The particular warrior I would like to reference has 29 lives (literally), never started his own business, does not drive a Porsche and has never been to Ruth’s Chris Steak house.

In their article Stubborn Man Tried To Govern Iraq, the NY Times featured an Iraqi governor named Mamoon Sami Rashid. Mr. Rashid play’s such an integral role in bringing peace and justice to Iraq that rebels have made 29+ attempts to take his life. For years Mr. Rashid (with the help of US soldiers) has dodged bullets, bombs and suicide missions to continue his quest.

Don’t Set Goals Based Purely on Financial Remuneration

I also consistently meet people unhappy with their careers because they choose a profession based solely on financial potential. Although they might have the accouterments of success, they are unhappy in their lives. This seems especially true in professions normally thought of as “big-money jobs.” For instance, a sizable percentage of the attorneys I have had contact with express dissatisfaction with their lives, often saying they were lured into the profession by the image of big money and fancy offices, but that they have no love for the work. But the good news is that there is always redemption available—even late in life—for those who have gone down the wrong career or life path. It just involves making choices that might seem hard at first but that offer a lifetime of satisfaction.

Do What You Love to Do

Johnny Carson’s and Dianne’s stories share another similarity. They all ultimately found success doing what they loved to do. Though “do what you love, and the money will follow” is an old adage, I found that most happy and well-rounded successful Warriors and Workers truly do love their work and swear by the axiom. I have certainly found it to be an absolute truth in my own life. Early in my career, I worked in the family business for a few years. Although I had a few talents that brought me a few successes in the industry, I had no passion or love for what I was doing, and I ultimately sought to artificially change my job, which led to near disaster. Transforming a business to better suit your personality, as opposed to finding a business you are suited for, is always a bad idea. Finding business environments I enjoyed immediately made me much more successful. This seems to be a constant theme in family-owned businesses. I encounter many unhappy second- and third-generation business owners who went into the family enterprise out of a sense of obligation, or to take advantage of the easy advancement, only to find they are miserable in their jobs. They often then become Whiners, or they unwittingly bring down the organization because their heart is in the wrong place. In the end, this serves no one, because miserable people do not make good business leaders. Businesses and employees deserve happy and energized people at the helm. Often, those who are unhappy with their careers and situations will subconsciously make bad decisions that they know will ultimately force them to make a change. In the meantime, these decisions can lead to the unnecessary destruction of companies and environments.

Rebuild Your Personal Brand

Dianne also embarked on the painful process of rebuilding her personal brand, first by doing extensive amounts of volunteer work for industry trade organizations and by speaking at different industry functions. To assist with the dreaded detail work, she found a partner for her business who in many ways was her direct opposite. He countered her flamboyance and big-picture perspective with a more reserved and detail-oriented nature. And she used her aggressive and outgoing personality to build relationships throughout her business. Although Dianne will certainly always enjoy a bit of juicy gossip, she stopped the Whiner and Weasel ways that had hampered her reputation in the past. In just a few short years, Dianne completely turned her life around. Her consulting business now flourishes, and she is one of the most respected and powerful people in her industry.