Episode 41 – Leftovers, Obvious Problems, and Frustrations.

About the Podcast

Topic: Business Owners get the leftovers and – unrelated – how it sucks to get old and looking for a job.

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The issue has been settled.  The Outliers Inn will no longer take reservations, but rely solely on walk-ins.  From this day forth, we will rely on the eccentricity of our audience and their eclectic interests, ideas, and opinions.

Antlerboy and RedQuadrant reached a milestone – 10yrs in business.  Congratulations are in order indeed.  We talk about the joys and fears of owning a business and how business owners get the “leftovers”.  We get the leftover money after everyone is paid, leftover time.  As Elon Musk said, we “dream of a vacation that is more than eMail with a view.”

Our first guest, Denis, shares how he has decided to leave his long tenure in the corporate world to start-off on his own (don’t do it!).  We discuss how most problems are obvious – all we have to do is capture the moments when we exclaim; “There must be a better way!”  We further debate the branding of programs; lean, six sigma, continuous improvement, and so on.  JP suggests that it’s the people not the tools and that we call them these programs “Purple” – but then there would be light purple, dark purple, plum, and even mauve.

Joe shares his experience in joining the United States Army and eventually settling in Germany.  He shares his frustrations with getting large organizations to change, with the root-cause mostly being a culture of fear; a fear of making a mistake, a fear of rocking the boat, the fear of just having to endure nonsense that shouldn’t have to be endured.  He also shares his frustration with seeking a job when you are older 50 years old.  That companies do not demonstrate the common courtesy to return calls or even acknowledge the inquiry (and resume) being received.  His best question is; “How in the world can someone who is 25 years old be a ‘life coach’?”  Indeed…

JP’s advice is; “If your CV goes to HR, you’re dead.  HR’s job is to be the first line of defense and to eliminate all those candidates who are not perfect.  Instead, you will find your next opportunity because of your network.

Denis shares that, according to a UK study the source of your job will be from; 70% Referred, 20% Applied, 10% other.

Some really good stuff in this episode…  Enjoy.