Tag Archives: Business and Economy

who is your mirror?

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looking in the mirror

I am your mirror

In essence, we all want the same things; comfort, food and attention. We relish seeing ourselves reflected from within our surroundings. Whether it is found in the clothes we wear, level of education, chosen profession, where we live or method of transportation (i.e. do you drive a Mercedes or a Hyundai?), we are revealing part of ourselves to the world. All of this and more is known, understood and accepted throughout society.

What I don’t comprehend is how people seem to dissociate from their mirror images when it comes to behavior. They act a certain way, then take no responsibility for their actions. Do these people think we no longer notice their reflections as they rant about things that should remain within their control?

SWI (shopping while intoxicated)

Recently, I read an article in Retail Wire about the perils of drinking while taking to computers for retail therapy. SWI is certainly safer than driving an automobile while intoxicated. By itself, the practice seems harmless as more consumers make online purchases.

It becomes a problem when the shopper habitually purchases online only to regret it the next day when the buzz has worn off, promptly returning all merchandise to the online retailer or worse yet a brick and mortar counterpart. Maybe there should be a public service announcement where the message is, “don’t let friends shop drunk.”

time to take another peek in the mirror

Understandably, people buy things and then suffer from remorse. Sometimes they return product while others simply hoard it (another topic altogether). The fit may be wrong if it is apparel or perhaps the item may not be as it appears online. I really don’t have issues with consumers who don’t wish to keep everything they purchase. Things happen/change, no big whoop.

The behavior I can’t stand is when a customer tries to deflect accountability for his/her poor judgment by blaming the e-retailer for a shopping addiction. In many years of retail management, I have seen customers become abusive when a return cannot be processed because of a thrown out or misplaced invoice or cannot return special orders once shipped.  With a thunderous shout, he expects everyone to bend to his will and disregard all policy and procedure.

I am not sure there is anyone to blame for SWI. Is it really necessary to accuse either party for irresponsible spending? Rampant accountability avoidance can be found everywhere. The economy is still slow and people continue losing jobs and homes. Companies as well as individuals who can afford it the most, sit on mounds of cash, failing to help boost the flow of money. Is there any wonder that some choose to escape for a little while by shopping online with money they cannot afford to spend?

Share your thoughts about SWI or shopping in general. What do you do to elude depression?

Related articles

Service vs Product: which is more important?

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Back to school shopping can be exasperating for anyone. We are all looking for the same things (i.e. school uniform khakis, notebooks, dividers, shoes) and the closer we get to the finish line, the more likely stores will be out of what we need.

Added challenge: meet Sasquatch

My 13 year old Sam has always had big feet. I remember when he was born, the doctor, nurses, and my husband all gasped, “look at those tootsies!” As he now wears a size 14, it has become more difficult to find him shoes. Continue reading →

Do you trust your fellow leaders enough to share food off your plate?

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Crazy good sandwich served at Carnegie Deli in NYC

Just a little prework

I just had one of the greatest experiences so far as a grad student at UNR. I participated in a management class tying leadership to the humanities; all while sightseeing in New York City. The three weeks leading up to the trip were grueling in that I read and wrote papers on 11 different books, plays, case studies, and watched two movies as well. All of this prework prepared me to open my mind as to the connection between two seemingly different arts (business and art).

The visit to New York was challenging on many fronts. Not only did a reside in a dorm room at NYU for one week (I haven’t slept in a dorm since I was 18 yrs old), but more importantly I had to learn to trust in other people’s leadership skills.

Being that I have now been part of the MBA program for over two years, I recognized many classmates before the trip, although most of them were only acquaintances. There were a few students who were complete strangers as well. A commonality that united us all was a desire to learn.

MOMA Mia

By the end of the first day, I knew everyone’s name. The following day, we were already sharing stories about past experiences and future hopes. We became comrades in the field as we toured the city by route of museums such as MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) and MAD (Museum of Art and Design). We shared an architectural walking tour through lower Manhattan and began to understand how leadership helped shape this great city.

Lesson learned: open wide and order enough for everyone!

On the third day, we were sharing food off of each others plates. This seemingly small gesture signified a transformation from mere acquaintances to friendships. A trust had been built to share in our experiences with food. A lesson that we all learned is that leadership can be a collaborative effort, that enriches all who partake.

Is art self-evident: a leader’s perspective

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Does art and the humanities hold a place for today’s leaders? This is a question posed to me during the past couple of weeks as I participated in a management class taught in New York this summer. We tend to think in terms of bottom-lines and metrics when it comes to management in many venues; performance is key. Instead of inquiring as to how we can enhance the experience , we want to know what is the  ROI of a proposal, what is the story from test/survey scores, and what’s in it for me?

Who decides what art is?

The reality is that we have plenty to learn from the world around us. While exploring at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) earlier in the week. The Docent guiding our tour said something profound in her introductory comment, “Art is not self-evident.” Whether you consider something art or crap, it is up to you as the beholder to determine its value.

We were shown a piece of found art that consisted of a bicycle wheel pushed through a chair. My immediate reaction was, “what the heck is this garbage?” I saw nothing in it and considered it a joke, especially when the Docent told us that this was actually not even the original piece, as it was thrown out years earlier.

When she asked what I thought of it, I did not hold back (its that whole internal monologue thing). She simply smiled and said that my visceral reaction was exactly what she was looking for. Whether or not I liked it, the piece demanded a reaction from me. The Docent then showed me how the piece could also be interpreted by looking at its shadow, which resembled a wheelchair. Suddenly, this piece of refuse had become something important.

One of the authors I studied during the management class was Ayn Rand; specifically The Fountainhead.  Ayn Rand would have disagreed with the concept of art not being self-evident. Her philosophy of objectivism was such that everything is discoverable. A painting is simply a depiction of a moment in time that is not up to interpretation by others.

Groupthink tank

The same can be said for leaders who only seek opinions that match their own. Open up the possibilities through continued knowledge and understanding. By surrounding yourself with people who think the same as you, growth stagnates. Innovation and creativity is destroyed under these circumstances. Dissenting opinions are crucial to understand why the bicycle wheel is art rather than garbage.