This week the focus has been on details and seemingly small things. Because they can make all the difference. - Let's end this week with a focus on speed. Especially the speed with which we can make small adjustments. -

I grew up in retailing, which is closely related to the hospitality business. Little things matter. "The devil is in the details." - This is why small percentages of improvement can garner big differences in performance.

Be different. - We mean, "Be different in a good way." - One of the very first marketing and advertising lessons I learned was the power of zigging when everybody else was zagging. The point was simple, but not easy.

I watch just enough baseball to be dangerous. When Pudge Rodriguez was catching for the Texas Rangers I remember going to a few games. His arm at throwing out runners attempting to steal a base was spectacular. Much more so in person than on TV. -

"Failure is not an option." - Another platitude that sounds good, but is colossally wrong. Failure is possible in everything. And probable, too. That's just the truth. Fact. - Does that mean you should fear it? Not necessarily. - More importantly,

Oklahoma Sooner's head football coach Lincoln Riley has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer. His two previous QB's are Heisman Trophy winners. Part of his claim to fame is the ability to simplify the position.

"The central economic imperative of the network economy is to amplify relationships." That's what Kevin Kelly wrote in New Rules For The New Economy. - Self-awareness is hard. VERY hard. - Schools don't help. I know better than to do what I did,

No, it's not a secret. There are no secrets to success. It requires hard work, preparation, skill, talent, timing, serendipity, and good luck. I'm probably leaving something out, but you get the idea. - I live in Tornado Alley.

Small business owners often struggle to recruit, hire, train and retain people. For good reason, most don't have a formal HR department headed with a professional equipped to navigate the modern personnel landscape. -

A few years ago I stumbled onto a group - a non-profit based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It wasn't because I qualified to join their ranks. But it was because I read some heartbreaking story of a father whose daughter was murdered.