Above all else, give me performance

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One of the most nerve wracking things I recall in the business world was job interviews. Of course, I was the one looking for a job so the stress was on me, not the faceless HR person grilling me about... actually, they never grilled me and they always had a face- I just had a hard time seeing it through my shaky nerves.

I began the process feeling completely inadequate. When you try to check what's making noise in the attic and accidentally miss a rafter and fall through the ceiling... twice, you question your ability to tie your own shoes, much less hold a job. My nerves were always tied to what I felt I could deliver and, trust me, I always underestimated myself even though I'm highly competent.

What I learned is that one can put pretty much anything they like on paper and talk a good game but there was no real telling what the other side of the table had on their mind or were looking for. Now I sit on the other side of the table, so now I know what they're looking for; in a word: performance.


At present, I'm building a lean, mean (well, maybe more friendly than mean) designing machine and that doesn't happen overnight. But what does happen is I see lots of design work. I can tell in about five seconds or less if that work meets my standards and aesthetics.

The most interesting aspect of that is that good work stands out. Someone may have worked for some of the largest brands in the world in charge of an army of designers, but that doesn't mean their work... works. At the end of the day, performance trumps everything. Fortunately, design performance can be assessed pretty quickly.

The saddest aspect might be that sometimes an artist has great work but it just doesn't fit with our aesthetic. 


If you're looking for a job somewhere, consider all that the way I never did as I did my searches way back when. Sometimes your work is great but you're just not the right fit for the company's vision, but at the end of the day all that matters is performance and if you perform... well, that's all that matters.



-Chris
www.delacroixleather.com

Peace among mutts (Happy 4th)

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I am a mutt, no doubt. That is, I have ancestry among Italians, English, Scottish, Choctaw Indian, Cherokee Indian and who knows what else. I am an American mutt, born during the easy Seventies.

We, Three Dog Night, implore you: take it easy. Really, grab a cold one.

I grew up lucky enough to see the country's bicentenial:

Groovy

Patriotic

Jeff is cool, even numbers are fun... why not have a two dollar bill?

Keep on drumming in the free world.

It really was a pretty cool time. The country even tried to go metric... well, we tried.

I can't describe how 'united' the country felt, but I was little so that was just a youthful perception. I think this country has always had it's divisions and tensions, it's just easier not to notice when you're five and don't know much about the world.

Somewhere along the lines, though, I noticed. Maybe it was punk vs. new wave or Pepsi vs. Coke, but I saw divisions. The older I got, the more I saw. And then I noticed violent divisions; People spewing out absolute hate and vitriol against one another over things like skin color, political parties, economic classes and even shoe colors. It's weird.

So, today's the fourth. We celebrate our independence, but what are we really celebrating?

Some say we're celebrating our freedom- though really, was England all that bad? Did we get out of taxes when we split with them? Did we get to make laws everyone truly agrees with? 

Some say it's about fighting for freedom- you know... 'freedom isn't free'. I was in the Army during the first Iraq conflict. I'm sure the government spent a lot of money on me, so, no, that kind of freedom wasn't free, though I can't say Saddam was suppressing my freedom.

Is it about fireworks? I know I love those.

What about the founding fathers? Well, see the above regarding taxes.

Here's what I think this freedom and independence stuff is all about...

Delacroix Leather designs bands for all kinds of people, though our designs are samples. The point of the bracelet is to put your design on it. Still, as I design representative samples I can't help notice how very different groups are. One minute I'm designing a very conservative, but beautiful religious band for a Christian group, the next I'm designing a hard rocking band for a death metal event. Bracelets aren't people, so they get along, though they might look completely crazy aside one another. And there it is.

Our country is this mix of things that look crazy aside from one another. The goal of this experiment we call American Democracy, is to keep aside one another peacefully and respectfully. We must find a place for all without the violence between. 

As for freedom, we have to respect that too while keeping in mind that freedom can not exist without some level of responsibility. Feel free to shoot your guns on the range or protect yourself from a mountain lion, but don't point it at me. Feel free to rock out to your stereo, just not next to my house at 3AM. Feel free to do a cannonball into the pool, just not beside my little daughter during her swim lessons.

Freedom doesn't require a gun to enforce; it requires respect, restraint and consideration of those around us. I believe there is a place for all of us mutts- here, in America. Perhaps belief is the first requirement of democracy.

And, to lighten things up a little, here's a clip of my favorite speech on what it means to be an American as told by Bill Murray in the movie, Stripes:

-Chris
www.delacroixleather.com

Delacroix Leather to Google: hey, we're over here!

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I did a search on my own company, Delacroix Leather, and found... this blog site. Yes, my company keeps a blog but the blog only matters if you know about the company website... where you can actually see our products.


What to do, what to do?


I know! Mortgage the farm, hire an SEO optimization consultant and keep my fingers crossed that when someone searches for the company, they'll find it.

Hahahahahaha. What, you think I was born yesterday? Consultants (rolls eyes).



I'm certain, given enough time, Google will get things straight. We're new and it'll just take a while before our company ranks above, well, you don't want to know some of the crazy stuff that comes up when you type in our business name.


I guess the reason I'm typing this post is because how peculiar it feels being tied to one search engine when a big part of existing, through a customer's eyes, is being found in a search- through one search engine. I like google, but I'll be honest, the monopoly aspect they have at this point is a little troubling.

I don't know if anyone recalls the Microsoft monopoly problem from a few years back. Microsoft wanted to ship all MS OS machines with Internet Explorer on them- not a bad thing when you're the makers of Internet Explorer, but could be damaging if you provide another web browser competing with them. Personally, I miss Netscape.

Anyway, while that might have affected the businesses involved in the dispute, it really didn't affect the user so the issue kind of fell off the radar with the public. But let's look at something that does affect users: Adobe.

Adobe makes great stuff. If you've ever opened a document with Acrobat, thank Adobe. Adobe's big contribution to the web (well, they have many, but this one stands out) is 'Flash'. Flash allowed video content like no other. The only problem is, one company owned it and every bit of software related to it. Apple didn't like this, hence my iPad doesn't play flash videos. At the time Jobs made the decision to exclude Flash from iPads, I thought, 'aren't we being a little paranoid?'

And then, one day, I needed vector design software. Have you ever used any? If you do, you quickly find there are a handful of software companies that make it but one that just dominates the market: Adobe.

Adobe Photoshop: same thing.

Photoshop and InDesign aren't cheap, but they're good products. Normally, that's about as far as a monopoly takes their product- they control the price and stick it to you. 

But imagine this. Imagine a world where everyone in an industry uses only one brand and the company decides they no longer wish to sell you their product? What if they decide they will now lease their product to you and anything you've created using that product can't be opened unless you stick to the lease?

What I've described is present-day Adobe. Perhaps Jobs wasn't to paranoid after all.


I'm starting to feel this way about Google. They're a terrific company now. What they've done and continue to do is absolutely amazing. But, they're the only game in town. Sorry Bing, it's true.

Just as a pleasant side, if you've ever wondered where the phrase 'the only game in town' comes from:

 A guy with a gambling addiction loses his shirt every night in a poker game. Somebody tells him that the game is crooked, rigged to send him to the poorhouse. And he says, haggardly, ''I know, I know. But it’s the only game in town.''


So, hopefully people will be able to find my site. I guess for now they'll have to type in the full name in the web address. I'd like to find a better way for them to reach me but Google doesn't rank the company site above the blog site. I'd find another search engine to help with this, but I use Google because... well, it's the only game in town.


-Chris
www.delacroixleather.com

Bracelet Design Tips

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We can help you make your design. We offer design consulting at no charge.


Really, it's simple. If we've contacted you, odds are you already have vector-ready logos and graphics on hand that look outstanding, or a design team ready to create whatever you might need. If you don't, we will be happy to consult and quickly get you up and running with a design your customers will love.

In our trial and error, we've found that getting any graphic idea to a bracelet requires a little prior planning.

One of the biggest things I can't stress enough is to consider the 'sweet spot'. On a bracelet, it would be the middle third, because that's what rests on the top of the wrist. Tailor your main message, logo or artwork to that spot and half the battle is done.

Another tip is using panoramic images. Our bracelets have a very long rectangular ratio. Square pictures can be made to work, but panoramics always do better. Think in rectangles when designing.

And last, we are Delacroix Leather, but the real strength of our product is its ability to use photographic quality images. I'm telling you, I've looked everywhere and nothing comes close. Our bracelets really stand out when you've put a great photo of some kind on them- the higher quality, the better. One of my favorite samples I made was able to capture a very detailed city skyline and rendered it as you would see it- no blurriness, no fuzzy lines; crisp photo detail.

We can put anything on our bracelets for you, but great photos stand out and make it an accessory without equal.


As always, if you need help, contact us. If we can help you get the bracelet of your dreams to your customers, then we're living our dream.


-Chris
www.delacroixleather.com

Normandy Beach 101

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I was in an MBA program at a fine school, but there were a couple of small problems.

1. It was an hour drive from my house.
2. I wasn't making any income; I was just learning... something.

Number one was a nuisance, number two was unsettling. I had a business degree but I knew that corporate America demands more, these days. They want pedigree before they see your feet walking into the interview door. Doesn't matter how capable you are, either. It's hard to get get much of a chance to prove your capability when you aren't qualified.

If my undergrad experience taught me anything (and, of course, yours may differ), it's that real learning wasn't the point; the point was passing the exams. If real learning were the point, there would be no exams- there would just be milestones and no one would question whether you were ready to reach for the next.

Think of it this way- do we teach people to swim or to diffuse bombs the way we teach people social studies? When the matter is life or death, learning matters. 

Returning to business school...

I studied quantitative management, operations and all these other wonderful books, but a question nagged at me: What can we control? Even better, what can we predict?

If you've ever day-traded, raise your hand. Mine is up. 

Day trading is not Warren Buffet's forte', rich as he is. If anyone is into predicting the future, it's Warren Buffet. He looks at a company inside and out, sums up their capabilities and management, then makes a guess.

'Yes, people will still want Coca-Cola in the year 2020- buy it up!'

His tolerance for risk isn't that great if he's betting on what I consider blue-chips.

When I day-traded, I looked everywhere for potential money- small and big. I traded big names and unknowns. What I found is that there are no real long-term predictions that hold out. The way the market moves is really anyone's guess. I also learned, the tide generally raises and lowers all ships (see the S&P 500 for further details).

This element, predictability, is the core thread in business school.

'Can we get our shippers to deliver product JIT like our Japanese competitors?'

'Can you deliver 15% returns every four quarters?'

'What kind of sales do you predict this year?'

That last question is a good one. It drives many businesses. 'How much can we expect to sell?'

Can you imagine asking your child that when they set up a lemonade stand?

'I'd like to set up a stand. Can you buy me some lemonade mix?'

'Well, I'd like to, but how much do you realistically expect to sell in the next four hours? Because if you're not hitting 10% increases, well then, the risk just isn't worth the loan.'

Banks.

Wait, weren't we supposed to be in a lecture back in business school? Why are we daydreaming about lemonade stands?

Let's go back in time to DOS- the operating system that essentially launched Microsoft.

How much did Gates expect to sell? How much Apple product did Wozniak and Jobs expect to sell? Would their outcomes have been different if they had to make a guess and base their productive output on that guess?

I enjoyed the strategic courses in business school. I also enjoyed taking my research to the next level by interviewing CEO's. I wanted to hear from the source what it was really like to build and run a successful company, because deep inside, I wanted to start my own some day. But statistics... hmm... interesting, no doubt, but what did they do for the business manager? More specifically, what could they tell an entrepreneur like Gates, Wozniak or even Sam Walton?

One day I asked my statistics professor a question that would change my life, for better or worse. It wasn't so much a question as confirming what I intuitively felt quite certain of.

'Over a long enough time line, the predictability of any endeavor reduces to zero... right?'

'Yes,' he said.

And there it is. It's no mystery: the greatest mathematical minds in a hedge fund couldn't predict the future any better than Nostradamus given a long enough time scale. That's not to stop people from trying. Look up any company and you'll see charts, statistics, and other methods to try and do what Nostradamus looked silly attempting.

But there's a caveat. If your business is static, not really growing, old.. then yes, a lot of it is predictable. Our nation's auto-manufacturer's come to mind. Did business school expect me to move into that kind of corporation?

Business school isn't totally worthless, but by the same token, those who appreciate risk (risk tolerant is the term, I believe) and are adventurous may not fit well within that kind of structure. They know the world is unpredictable, but they storm the Normandy beach of business anyway, because they believe. They may not be able to control the outside world, but they can put their soul into their work, buckle down against the barrage of obstacles and keep their fingers crossed that luck might be on their side. How many people go to work on Monday and feel that way in a static business environment?



-Chris
www.delacroixleather.com