Post from my Treo

Seeing what a post looks like from the Treo 650.

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Two weeks and making progress

Ok, it's been two weeks and the fact I haven't posted for those many days should be some indication how my schedule has been. Getting up to speed in a new environment takes time. It can be very frustrating. I want things to move at a faster pace but I know it will come. I'm also noticing habits I had as a programmer are hindrances in my new job. I'm used to technology being my means of communication, email, voice mail, cell phone. Now it's just the opposite. I need to be in front of people, face to face. When the people you are working with aren't sitting in front of a PC all day it doesn't make sense their main form of communication will be email.

I would have to say over the past few weeks that's been my biggest struggle. Trying to figure out how each person communicates. On line applications like Gmail and Gcalendar used to be my best friends, but are now more of a bottle neck than its worth.

I now have a Treo 650, and I have to say it's nice having email, appointments, tasks and phone all in my hand. I never knew how mobile I could be with this really cool tool. I think I will update my post on "must have gadgets" to include a device like this.

Now that I'm starting to pick up steam, getting to know my way around, people are starting to know me and what my role is, I can start focusing on more specific projects and goals.

[Oh, I posted a new Jazz Show podcast, check it out here]

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Career change: first 90 days

I remember when I was little, I used to walk around telling people I was going to grow up and be this, or that, but never really knew what any of those things were except maybe a Police Officer or Fireman. When I was 12 or 13 my father bought me a Commodor VIC20. It came with all the cool stuff, tape storage, a basic compiler, and other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

I spent the better part of a summer typing every line of code I could find from the manuals, computer magazines and books. It was awesome. I knew right then I wanted to be a programmer. I didn't know how or what that meant but I was hooked.

I suppose many young men who grew up in the late 70's early 80's were hooked on computers. It opened doors, and heck, even let us create doors, which lead to long time careers in the computer field. Aside from the old iron and many of the headless computers of the 70's I've pretty much seen it all and been part of it all.

Lately, I've been involved with a company who sells a software program that has given companies the ability to control security and use of mobile computers. It's amazing the things I've seen and been a part of. The amount of intelligence required to come up with and build computer software these days is amazing. I've worked with some of the best minds to bang out code. I wish I had half their ability.

As changes are an everyday occurrence in the computer industry, it's time a made a change of my own. I'm heading down a new path that isn't directly related to anything computers. Yes, I will be able to use my skill set to help past clients and even help new clients, but that isn't what I will be doing on a daily basis any more. I've learned a lot more about business over the past 20 years than just how to write code. So that's where I am focusing my attention; building and improving business.

I'll continue to have my finger on the pulse of the computer world, stay in touch with my network, and build new relationships that will help me succeed in this new world. I have every confidence this is the right thing and is what will take me to the next level.

So I'll try and document my ramp up in this new position over the next 90 days and beyond. I was told that you have 90 days to get your stuff together in a new position or it will be an uphill battle the entire time. So I know how important it is to make an impact as quickly as possible. And that's what I intend to do.

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St. George Triathlon - SGTRI

My wife was courages enough to train for an finish her first Triathlon. I spent several months training with her, and although I didn't participate, it was very fun and I had a blast. My effort in this whole endeavor was the support person. I helped make sure all the gear arrived, the bike was in good shape, and she had all the food and drink she needed.

Everything was going good, until the morning of the race. I figured I would get up, run across the street from our Hotel room and pick up some scrambled eggs and oatmeal from the Village Inn. Where we live, Village Inn is open 24/7, so I didn't count on walking out the front door at 4AM to see all the lights off. Crap, now what do I do? So I started walking up and down the main road to see if there was anything open. And as luck would have it, there wasn't. So I was faced with getting something from the corner gas-n-mart.

After picking up some power bars, water and gum, I run back to the room and made her eat and drink. Hydration was the key since it was going to be near 100 degrees F. during the race.

For Her, all went well. She took her time with the goal to just finish. And that she did. Time from start to finish was 2:59:56. She wanted to finish under 3 hours and she did. Awesome job honey.

Here are some pics from the race:

Just out of the water one and two.
One the run.
General race pictures during the race.


Even though everything turned out well for us, there was a problem with another athlete, who ended up dying after the swim portion of the race. You can read more about there here.

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Realtors: Do your peers trust you?

There are very few professions where you character and integrity are called into question on a daily basis. A Realtor is one of them. Its funny almost. You have this love hate relationship with the general public. Your very existence relies on people trusting you enough that you will help them get what they want. Your every action, words and decisions are scrutinized. It can be uncomfortable. Most of this stems from the average person not knowing the real estate process. That's your job, to educate customers so they know exactly what to expect and reduce your risk.

There is risk you understand. Selling real estate, negotiating contracts, puts us in a very liable position. If we screw up, it can cost us a lot of money. If the customer screws up, it can still cost us a lot of money in lost fees. But the one thing that you can always control is you. How you come across, what you say, how you treat people. All of this is under your control. In most cases, we can earn a customers trust very quickly and never have a problem, and the customer will come back over and over again.

But I am seeing a trend in the real estate business. Realtors deliberately causing problems for other Realtors. I don't know about you, but there are enough things in this business to worry about and having to watch my back isn't one I care to endure. Sure, this is a competitive business, but it's also one that occasionally calls for us to be friends and help each other out. I can't even count how many times I've helped a fellow Realtor out. As long as it doesn't put my client in a bad position, then why wouldn't we want to help each other.

Another thing to remember is reputations precede us all. Think about the agents in your area. Are there ones you enjoy working with and ones you don't? Why don't you want to work with these people? Were they verbally abusive? Did they try and undercut or undermine you? Were they incompetent? There could be many reasons, but the simple fact is you can't stand to work with them. Don't be this person. Be the one we all want to work with.

Take my advice, we all have to get along. We all need to help each other to get what we want. And karma is always in play. You will reap what you sew, and always get whats coming to you.

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