Injury

If you read my blog, you know I had a bicycle accident.  Due to the graphic nature of the fall, I will not go into detail. A brief summary, I skinned my nose and chin pretty severely.  I skinned one knee. And I had seven stitches sewn on my forehead.  Oddly enough, I did not hurt my hands, the scrapes were minor. 

I think I hit a hole in the pavement.  Key lesson – ride on bike paths, not on sidewalks.  Most importantly, I was not riding fast.

When I fell, several people showed up out of nowhere and immediately started to help.  One gave me a cloth. Two would not let me stand up, even though I thought I could.  The ambulance and fire truck were on the scene in a matter of minutes.  The fire truck stopped traffic and took my bike to the station.  It was my first time in an ambulance and I wanted to sit up front with the driver.  I could remember the home phone number, but no cell numbers (thanks speed dialing).  The medic in the ambulance was very patient and kind. He also had a very light touch.  He stayed with me throughout as I was rolled into a hospital room and then helped me clean up before my wife saw me.  I do not think it helped and after I saw myself in the mirror, nothing made a difference.

The medic asked me to retrace my steps.  I could not recall every minute. His conclusion was I must have been unconscious for a few minutes. Funny, I do not recall that.

I have a slightly crushed elbow, but did not require a cast. However, my arm is in a sling for at least three weeks.  My shoulder and elbow are stiff.  My biggest regret is I cannot bicycle or run.  Both of those are great stress relievers for me.  My plan was to run on weekdays and ride my bicycle on weekends.  I just started that regiment. 

For a long time, I did not enjoy exercising.  Over the past couple of years I enjoyed running on trails. Bicycling was a nice change.  As I wrote in an earlier post, the bike paths here are numerous and outstanding. 

I will get back to running and bicycling.  Just counting the days. 

Something Old is New Again - For Me it is Bicycling

I owned a bicycling for years.  As a Boy Scout, I proudly earned the Cycling Merit Badge.  However, I did not use it much in my later years.  Even when I did spinning at the gym, I did not bike. 

Before I begin, I should thank the employees of Bike World (http://www.bikeworldky.com/). Especially Hutch, Martha and Landon.  They and other employees of Bike World were so helpful to my family when they had biking questions.  Based on Hutch’s recommendation, we bought a sturdy and easy to mount bike rack. We can also open the trunk. You may not think that means much, but it really does make a difference.

Since living in Virginia I biked around the neighborhood and quickly realized a few (or many) of the muscles I use when running are not the same ones when biking.  In fact, I think alternating between running and biking may be a very good exercise routine.

Recently I went for my first longer run on a bike path.  It was windy and I saw several other bikers and runners on the path.  Most of the bikers were far more serious about the sport than me. They had gloves, special clothes and several water bottles.  Before you ask, yes I do wear a helmet (more on that later).

Now, I am again enjoying biking. It is an excellent alternative to running.  Shifting gears is fun. But, I think one reason I have a renewed interest is the sheer number of bike trails and paths I have access to.  And a really good bike rack.  The counties in the region promote biking and have numerous and long bike paths. It is in the hundreds of miles. For those who like more of a challenge, you can hit the trails.  Even the U.S. parks in the area have several easy and difficult bike paths.

But most importantly, it is like running. I can just think or let my mind float and see what pops in (or does not).  At least to me biking and running both offer a different form of meditation.  No distractions, no interruptions, no noise.  Most importantly, I always feel better after a ride.

Postscript:  Since I wrote this I had a bicycle accident.  I was very lucky, only slightly fracturing my elbow.  No cast was required but I do have my arm in a sling.  Unfortunately I cannot recall how it happen. 

Before I started bicycling again, I briefly thought about not getting a helmet.  Now, I think it helped me minimize the injury. Now, I will wear a helmet all the time and never ride without one.  My family and I are very appreciative for Landon Beans with Bike World for convincing me to buy a very good and sturdy helmet. 

And yes, I am looking forward to bicycling (and running) again. Just as soon as my doctor clears me.  I miss running and bicycling.

Why I Like Chick-fil-A

And no, not for the reasons recently noted in the media lately.

I recently went for an early morning bike ride.  Unfortunately I needed to stop at the bike store for a part.  The bike store did not open for 45 minutes.  So I went to Chick-fil-A for a light breakfast. 

Before I go into this, Chick-fil-A is one of the favored restaurants by my fellow employees.  Face it, the chicken sandwiches are good and who does not enjoy waffle fries.  The price is very reasonable.

No doubt you have experienced the same circumstances I have at a fast food restaurant.  You are in somewhat of a hurry, you are with friends talking, you do not really pay much attention to your surroundings.  And if you are alone, you are on the phone or reading or Tweeting or checking your email accounts or on Facebook or any combination of these.

When I went to Chick-fil-A before my bike ride, I did not have anything to read or my phone.  Unlike so many others, when I run or ride my bike I prefer to listen to the sounds around me, not music.  So, for over 40 minutes I just observed the restaurant and the employees. First, the facility is very clean.  It is kid friendly.

The employees are exceeding polite and well dressed. And they smile a lot.  The males wear ties, but it is not a uniform. So you can show some level of individuality.  The employees bring you your food and ask you if you want anything else.  Perhaps most interesting, any employee who walks by and thinks you are finished will ask if they can take the tray and garbage.  This company has an excellent hiring program.  It occurred to me as I was sitting at the restaurant that every time I have been to a Chick-fil-A, it is the same.

But most importantly, the iced tea is so good. And they offer sweet and regular tea. Since you will ask, yes, I am a Southerner, and no, I do not drink sweet tea.

Good Advice From Reid Hoffman - Founder of LinkedIn

This is the transcript of an interview I watched on Sunday. The show was Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. He interviewed LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.  I found this interview to be thought-provoking. Note the answers from Hoffman that are highlighted.  His basic thoughts are you must take charge, you must adapt, you must always learn and be curious.  You and I are permanent betas. (You will understand as you read on).

One of my most valuable and useful business social networks is LinkedIn, so an interview with the founder is certainly worth taking time to watch or in this care read.  I hope you agree.

ZAKARIA: My next guest has made his name by being ahead of the curve. Reid Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of LinkedIn and a founding team member of PayPal. He is invested in some Silicon Valley 's most famous startups, Facebook, Zynga and others. Before anyone had heard of them. Fittingly his new book is titled "The Start Up of You." Welcome, Reid.

HOFFMAN: Great to be here.

ZAKARIA: Now, you talk about in this book the idea that really you think of yourself as an entrepreneur. What are you seeing that's different?

HOFFMAN: Yes. Well, I think this kind of two things. The first thing is, that everyone should think about themselves as the interpreter of their own life, is the CEO of their own career. And all the things that apply to business you should think about applying to yourself, not just brand, but also how do you invest in yourself, how do you have competitive differentiation, how do you use business intelligence in order to navigate.

Now what that means is in terms of technology is you should be deploying technologies as -- like using the Internet, using LinkedIn to figure out how to invest yourself and how to essentially build your skills, build the connections with people, learn what is going on in industries, and be able to kind of navigate the new world of work.

Because it's changing. Globalization, technology disrupts industries, how do you navigate that both to protect the downside, not get laid off in a bad industry, and also how to get upside in terms of how to find the right kinds of breakout opportunities. And I think since technology is the driving force, both behind globalization and behind industry disruption, attuning yourself to what -- technology change means for you is I think very important.

ZAKARIA: So you found in your life a sort of these constantly meeting new people and learning new things, this was crucial?

HOFFMAN: Yes. I think it's critical for everyone. For example, one of the things we advocate in the book is think about who you're going out to lunch with and occasionally go out to lunch with someone who is, you know, presumably smart, accomplished, maybe two degrees away from you, I think how we first met, and then have a conversation with them where you're learning from each other. Like what's going to change in the world? Where is the world going? How is technology changing? Because then that helps you have the skill set and the knowledge to be adaptable and to be inventive in what you're doing.

ZAKARIA: When you look at the competition that Silicon Valley faces, do you think that the United States can retain its edge in technology?

HOFFMAN: Generally speaking the answer is yes. I think that Silicon Valley continues to be a global leader in the kinds of technology it does. Now I think there's a number of policies we need to be more intelligent about, like high immigration, is one of the ones that every Silicon Valley person beats that drum. Because it's really important. You're either going to import the talent or export the job.

You know, it's very simple. And if you keep the job here, that person then employs restaurants, dry cleaners, accountants, you know, auto mechanics, the whole thing. And that creates a whole wealth of ecosystem. Now, I do think that one of the things is we need to work a little bit more on some technologies, like manufacturing technologies and other kinds of areas because I think we're world class at software but I think we still have a ways to go -- like I think we may be competitively not at the absolute leading edge, I don't know, I'm not a deep expert there, but I think there's a set of technologies we should also be investing in.

ZAKARIA: Do you think that when you look at the young people who come out today, are they, in terms of, you know, science, technology, energy, dynamism, still world class?

HOFFMAN: I think there is a group that is world class which is really good. I think we could -- we could quite happily can accept that number and still be really under where we would need to be. And you know --

ZAKARIA: So you feel there's a shortage of people with the kind of skills we needed?

HOFFMAN: Absolutely. Critically so. I mean, and in fact, actually, given the technology as part of what sets the drumbeat for the future, I think many more people with their hands on, I know, how to participate in building and understanding deploying technology. I mean like one of the things that I've come to realize is, every organization should have a technology strategy.

Technology is disrupting industry. So it's not just, oh, what am I doing to IT, and which system do I use, it's how is technology changing the game that gets played in my industry, changing the nature of products, changing the nature of how we can deploy a service. If we use data, how do we use data to be a good business? And so part of that is coding but part of that is understanding well, how does that fit into a business strategy, how does fit into marketing, how does that fit into product design? It's all aspects of it in terms of being competent in the modern world.

ZAKARIA: Do you think that all these new changes are moving so fast from the mobile to big data and cloud computing, that it's conceivable that 10 years from now the top technology companies in America and the world would be a totally different set of companies?

HOFFMAN: I think that the transformational speed, right, for example, I think in the '20s and '30s the average 10 years and the S&P 500 was 65 years and the '90s was 10 years. The transformational speed you have to invest in the future. I think that applies to organization as it applies to individuals. And given that accelerating rate, I think it's perfectly possible that that the transition happens even at an accelerating rate.

Now what that means for individuals and organization is you need to keep investing and reinvesting in yourself. In the book we refer to that as permanent beta. Which is never think of yourself as a complete product. By the way that should be a company as well as an individual and always be thinking how do I invest in the future, how do I invest in the next generation, next wave?

ZAKARIA: So when you apply the lessons in the book to yourself, do you -- I mean at some level you're, you know, incredibly successful, fabulously rich. Are you done or do you think of yourself as very much still a work in progress --

HOFFMAN: I still think of myself as a work in progress in a permanent beta because --

ZAKARIA: So what happens next?

HOFFMAN: I think being a part of the modern world is being curious. So I always ask, what do I -- what should I -- no. What should -- what question should I be asking because that's part of how you then adapt to the future.

ZAKARIA: Reid Hoffman, pleasure to have you on.

HOFFMAN: Thank you

Running on One of My Favorite Trails

Several of my posts have been about the joy of running.  I took it up last year after a several year hiatus.  One unanticipated benefit of living in Prince William County, VA is the numerous hiking and running trails within a 15 minute drive. 


Running is good for me in so many ways, several outlined in previous posts.  So I will not elaborate in this post.  Today I walked part of my favorite trail and took pics. You read my posts, I thought you might like to see the trail. It is the blue trail at the Manassas Battlefield Park.  Now keep in mind it is not at its most stunning, that will happen in a couple of months.  Frequently I can hear squirrels running close by, often I have seen deer, heard numerous birds and woodpeckers.  As you know, I do not listen to music, the sounds of nature are more entertaining. The pics follow.

What We Take for Granted

Today I took the DC Metro into the downtown to see the Cherry Blossoms on the Mall and around the Tidal Basin.  


About half way I stopped to enjoy the scenery and read my Kindle. I was reading Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The article was titled "China May Finally Let Its People Move More Freely."  The article reviews how hard it is for Chinese families to leave the cities or towns where they are registered.  You see if a family does, it loses education and health care benefits.  I may have known that, but I did not remember.  I do not do the article justice, the Chinese leadership had valid reasons for imposing these rules.  Often I must remember that the Chinese way is different and it works on so many levels. It is up to me to see how they are different and why.  Understanding and appreciating the uniqueness is key, at least to me.  Link to the article:


http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-15/china-may-finally-let-its-people-move-more-freely


It did make me think.  That is so contrary to the U.S. We live where ever we want to, we do not carry any papers to move from one city or state to another.  The U.S. is a mobile society.  Frankly, I am not sure U.S. citizens would tolerate any action for a government entity that dictates where we live and connects it to benefits we pay for through taxes.  


My first paragraph was about going into DC and seeing the Cherry Blossoms. I took over 60 pictures. These are a couple of my favorites.  

By the way, no one asked me for any identification as I traveled from Prince William County, VA to Washington, DC. 

Garmin and Technology

My first experience with a Garmin was in New York City 10 years ago. I was calling on site location consultants and building relationships.  


I was solo on this trip. My boss, Wayne Sterling, suggested I get a Garmin. It is almost impossible to drive in New York/New Jersey and read a map.  It cost an additional $15 per day for the Garmin, but I decided to get one. It was amazing.  It was really big compared to the ones today.  You put it on the dashboard of the car.  


A simple story will explain how valuable it is to me.  For those who know me recall that I can be direction ally challenged.  Sometimes when my family takes trips my wife will navigate in big cities.  Often she will sweetly and kindly say "No George, right, go right." And proceed to point right as I veer left. 


She asked me what is it like to use a Garmin. I said it was like having you in the car providing navigation help. But, when I turned the wrong direction the Garmin did not call me stupid or roll her eyes.  The Garmin said "recalculating" and it was courteous. 


My family gave me a Garmin as a gift and I used it during my business travels.  I still take maps and I mapped out my trip, but I found myself using maps less and less. 


Take a look at the article linked below.  Now I read Garmin is struggling.  An amazing technology rapidly moving to obsolescence. The main reason? Mobile phones.  This article is interesting because it shows how technology can rapidly change people's use of products and Garmin's effort to remain relevant. 


Link:  http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/03/08/garmin-gps-dashboards/?iid=SF_F_River


I still use the Garmin, mainly because if I am lost or late, I can call on my cell.  You cannot do that if your phone is in essence your Garmin.  For as long as possible, I will keep my Garmin.  I know I will miss the British lady kindly helping me navigate strange cities and towns. Her voice reassuring and never a raised voice when I make a wrong turn.