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Are_There_Moose_Here.mp3 (2018 KB)

I believe that New Hampshire aspires to be the Moose State. I had thought this “honor” such as it is belonged to Maine but apparently this is not so. In addition to the presence of this less than noble beast on our license plates – an additional fee option for those who wish to help advertise our status I might add – legions of entrepreneurial vendors in our North Country purvey “Moose Tours”, promising an opportunity to view a Moose somewhere along the side of the road. Road signs dot our highways warning of Moose crossing areas and the frequent (and often fatal) dangers of collisions with them. I am not convinced, however.

I have noted in my personal Moose research that at no time are more than two Moose ever seen together and they appear strikingly similar in appearance. This has caused me to develop a generally unfounded hypothesis that there are only two Moose in all of New Hampshire, they being owned by the Department of Tourism or some such. Under cover of the dark of night, said Moose are being secretly transported by van from place to place, erecting “Moose Crossing” signs where they are led across highways, and then are rapidly positioned and repositioned for the viewing public.

A moose is not an especially fine animal, being noted for nothing more than its general largeness and miserable temper. It is a wonder then why we should not have selected another animal, especially one existing in recognized quantities, the bear or even fisher cat being far more appealing.

I would not wish to create a new scandal in these litigious times, especially one of such potential magnitude, so I shall respectfully withdraw my observation. I should like to be proven wrong, however … I think that would be entertaining in itself

– TM

The good news is that there are products that “aggregate” all your social media postings in one place – create a single post and automatically have it go everywhere you want with a single click. These same “aggregators” will also do all the “watching” for you. Selecting and using a good social media marketing aggregator tool really is one of the keys to success with these new technologies. The BizCATS favorite and “best pick” is HOOTSUITE (www.hootsuite.com).

Hootsuite is free (of course) in the basic edition with a low-cost enterprise edition available for larger companies. Using it is as simple as putting in your social media accounts and preferences a single time. When you write a post Hootsuite asks you where you want to send it – your Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, or somewhere else. Select all, some, or just one and you’re done. And a quick look at the Hootsuite screen is all you need to see what folks are saying about you. Hootsuite is a cloud application quickly accessed thru your internet browser.

We’ve watched Hootsuite for some time as well as being an active user. One thing that’s impressive is that in their ultracompetitive product space, the company consistently brings out improvements and enhancements – even to the free version! Their latest announcement brings some great new features in the Social CRM arena that will be of real interest and value to many of us. Here’s a comment from their recent product release info …

Social CRM

The line between customer relationship management, technical support and promotional messaging is blurring as customers seek and expect interactions across multiple channels. HootSuite’s newest update adds tools to help learn about your audience and engage them with the information they desire.

There’s lots of choices out there but our best pick for Social Media Aggregator is HOOTSUITE. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

– Tim

If you have a small business the carries out projects for your customers – like consulting or training or such – this CRM system was built for you. If you use Google Apps then you’ll fall in love with it. Simple, easy, and free, it even sets up contacts associated with accounts automatically. What’s best, tho, is that “opportunities” (when they’re won) automatically convert to Projects with milestones, tasks, history, and everything else you really need to manage them efficiently. Even your Gmail is integrated so it’s easy to associate emails with contacts, accounts, opportunities, and projects.

Insight.ly is 100% in the cloud so can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

We recommend you take a look at www.insight.ly OR, for Google Apps users, go to the Google Apps Marketplace at http://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace for this and a whole lot more!

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For_A_Bit_More_Summer.mp3 (1320 KB)

I find it a difficult time when Summer must inevitably and all too soon come to an end. Here on the northern coast of Maine the air has now grown brisker and the waters colder. The September sun sets lower in the sky and the shadows grow longer as the day comes to a close all that much quicker …

So I find myself once again unable to decide if I am a Summer person or a Winter person. All Winter I dream of days spent in the warm sun … and in the heat of Summer I long for the chill beauty of deep New England snows. I give this great thought each year and am sure in each season that I know the answer.

I admit, however, that I am never happy to see the end of Summer and never unhappy to see the end of Winter, so perhaps this is telling. Whichever it is, I do not think that I would want to find myself in a place where the seasons never change, where I would never have a new season to look forward to … or to complain about with my neighbors … or even to mark and so remember the progress of time.

Still in all, I would not mind turning back the clock a just a month or so to enjoy a bit more Summer.

– TM

About this photo: “Summer’s End – Boothbay Harbor, Maine” – tim mcmahon

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Laughing_Guru.mp3 (2516 KB)

I have yet to think of or observe anything funny today. It is fortunate that the day is not yet over so I have not completely given up hope. I think that no one should go through an entire day without at least being somewhat amused by the human comedy that surrounds us, although I have a concern that real humor is becoming a rarity in today’s world.

I read an article in The New Yorker about the Indian gentleman above, Madan Kataria, who is known as “The Laughing Guru” or “The Guru of Giggling”, questionable sobriquets at best I think. According to the guru, “people should laugh more than they do so, not by relying on humor but by coming together … and faking laughter”. Yes it is now true that there are thousands of “laughter groups” where people gather and pretend to laugh. Apparently this makes them feel better…

Is our modern day world so terribly serious and unfunny that we now have to resort to pretending to laugh? Of course to really laugh requires one to be happy, at least briefly, so perhaps this is the root of the problem … we have forgotten how to be happy.

Fortunately all is not lost and humor does exist all around us, if we but bother to pay attention. Why I find the very act of existence itself to be quite humorous, whether you believe that this is all one Big Bang accident (which should be a real sidesplitter!) or that God would flub up enough to create something that would give him as much aggravation and frustration as we do. Both, I think, are pretty damn funny.

I suspect God watches us and laughs just to keep His sanity.

I would continue but I must leave for a new sighing group which I am starting.(sigh) We sit in a circle and take turns sighing for an hour … and then go home. We don’t feel any better, but then we don’t feel any worse either. Oh wait, now that I think of it, that’s pretty damn funny!

n TM

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Junior_the_Noble.mp3 (2282 KB)

One day wife took our overweight but lovable Lab, Mazie, to the veterinarian for her annual checkup and calls me to say that there is a dog up for adoption at the vet’s office who would be a perfect companion to the Lab. We had actually discussed this idea, so it was no real surprise when she called. Now being the agreeable sort that I am, I responded positively asking no questions, trusting blindly and perhaps unwisely in her good judgment and sense. And that is how I became the proud parent of ”Junior”, the St. Bernard — a most gentle giant and inveterate furball.

I do not know a great deal about Junior’s past. I have endeavored to talk with him about it on several occasions but I find him reluctant to do so, although he appears attentive to my every word. Junior has, however, become my dog in every way, the Lab being primarily my daughter’s pet. I am reliably informed that Junior waits at the front door whenever I leave, and often remains there, inconsolate, until I return. I am followed faithfully from room to room throughout the day, although I have attempted to draw the line at the toilet, often unsuccessfully. I find his determined watching to be most disconcerting.

Well, it is now time to take Junior on his daily constitutional around the neighborhood. Young children will run up to hug him, cars will stop and look, and someone will invariably yell either “Is he walking you or are you walking him?” or “How much does he eat?” Personally I liked the little boy who wanted to know how big his poops were. Through it all I remain the proud parent.

It is perhaps fortunate that I am neither young nor single since I can reliably report that a white St. Bernard is a guaranteed attention getter, conversation starter, and bona fide “chick magnet”.

n — TM

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The_Beetle.mp3 (2066 KB)

During a trip to Cozumel I found this line of vintage, multi-hued VW Beetles parked sedately along the main street (not to be confused with the current incarnation). I am not sure what one calls a group like this. A herd or gaggle or pod or … infestation perhaps? More likely no one has ever bothered to describe a gathering of beetles be they of the automotive or insect varieties; but it is still a sight rarely seen these days, if only memorable to those of us past a certain age.

My own red Beetle was in no way a fine car. Parts fell off regularly, the heater was stuck on high year round, and driving in inclement weather most resembled the piloting of an out of control sled powered by an aged sewing machine, but in no way was it less beloved for all of that. Designed I believe for no more than four passengers, standard loading was seven or eight, tight packing being the alternative of the day to seat belts. My good friend Vic’s Beetle had one headlight that pointed straight up and the second sideways due to an unrepaired mishap with a misplaced tree and later with the rear end of a tractor-trailer — but we found flashlights on dark roads were sufficient for driving, batteries being cheaper than body work.

Ask anyone who owned one and you will hear a story – perhaps about the car itself or more likely about some remembered funny event in which an aging Beetle played a role.

I think it a sad thing that the Beetle has no real modern day equivalent. In a world of charmless and virtually identical cars, I doubt that anyone will be moved to write about their beloved Sentra or Corolla in future years and certainly not as part of the stories of their lives … but it was a part, for me, of This Funny Life.

What’s your story?

– TM

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Toilet_Seat_Positioning.mp3 (3272 KB)

I do not believe that any writer should necessarily resort to “potty humor” but I feel compelled to comment on a toilet-related issue which has been on my mind for some years. I have tried without success to comprehend the rules of “toilet seat positioning”. I refer specifically to the Great Toilet Rule that “the seat must at all times be left in the down position”, a rule which I am apparently unable to understand or remember with any regularity.

In recent years my spouse has informed me that toilet seats must always be left in the “down” position when one departs the bathroom. Apparently should a female visitor enter this room and find the seat in the “up” position, she should be horrified beyond words and be left with the impression that her host maintains a generally disorderly and unsanitary home. Apparently it is unnecessary that the toilet lid be down, only the seat, but more on this in a moment. Why this should be the rule is beyond me but I have been repeatedly assured that it is, often six or seven times each day. Initially I assumed this to be a small quirk of my spouse but I have come to find that it is a common belief among all women.

Even assuming an “up” toilet seat is a serious social gaffe – and I remain unconvinced of it – it is clearly not a fair and equitable division of labor. The female always finds and leaves the seat in her ready position; the male, on the other hand, is tasked with all the work of continuously repositioning the seat and suffering the resulting criticism from his repeated failures. If the seat were, however, to be always left in whatever position it was last placed – let’s call it its natural position – then both parties would take equal responsibility and effort for the necessary repositioning to their needs. While this logic is unassailable and far fairer it continues to meet with deaf ears with any woman to whom I have tried to explain it.

If I am to be forced to abide by the “down seat” rules then let us add that the toilet lid should be included and be closed at all times. To do so would create at least a minimum level of equal labor for both sexes.

I know that my spouse will not understand the fairness of the “mutual labor” lid argument. Instead I will complain constantly about having the view the disgusting and grossly unsanitary inside of the toilet bowl whenever I enter the bathroom, and ask her to keep the lid down at all times. Sadly she will immediately see through this as I have never been especially concerned or bothered by gross and disgusting things and am usually responsible for creating them. Nonetheless it’s all I have left if I am ever able to hope for any level of toilet seat equity.

I do not hold out much hope …

– TM

There is a lesson for business here as well. Six Eras, each a “C-Change” in it’s own right and each a building block for the next. Each is also a tool which has changed the fabric and competitive nature of business. We may choose to use or not use any piece of technology but it’s vital that we do so from an educated and informed standpoint, for neither will it go away or wait patiently for us to catch up.

Tim McMahon has had an exciting career holding senior sales and management positions with IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Sales Technologies, Inc. before launching a successful global management consulting practice in 1995. He is an in-demand keynote speaker for conferences and corporate events around the world. Tim was initially trained as a Systems Engineer and Systems Analyst and maintains a “tech savvy” status.

What I do find somewhat disturbing, however, is that I seem to want to know. Pre-Twit and FB I never had this urge. In fact, I rarely asked anyone “what’s going on in your life?” (probably due to the fear they would actually tell me). Now I find myself adding comments online like “it sounds like you had a great time at the beach!” or “what a good looking dog you have there!”.  God, now I’m telling people they have attractive pets…

A few years ago the current era started to be called the “Information Age” – computers and the internet bringing us unimaginable amounts of data accessible with just the click of a mouse. I wonder, tho, if we are already entering a newer era called “The Conversation Age” where we access not just information but also the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of those around us. Or maybe it’s all a natural in inevitable progression.

The philosopher Voltaire (The Age of Reason) would have been pleased to see a wealth of information spawning a greater wealth of thought.

Any thoughts?

– Tim

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About Today’s Pix: Narragansett Beach, Rhode Island – an early morning fog rolls in as beach grass and flowers add color to an otherwise gray summer morning.