We are getting closer to Election Day and I think we are in for the longest 28 days ever. If you are like me you want real answers to real issues and I fear we will get caught up in the peripheral items that don't really matter. The next President is going to need solutions to financial issues not seen for many years. There are a lot of people responsible for the mess we are in....yes both Democrats and Republicans have their hands in this debacle.
I have serious concerns with the money that Freddie Mac CEO Raines made ($50 million plus) as they were losing money and hiding the fact that they were in financial distress. It is the same thing with Lehman Bros. CEO and key execs making big dollars as the company was failing and looking for a government bailout.
Bottom line is most Americans aren't happy with the state of our representation not just in the White House but in Congress. I think we need to consider looking to the average American and find about 350 of them that are level headed that should serve in congress. That would be enough of a shift to thwart the current lobbyist influenced group that resides in DC. A group that more often is concerned with re-election and pork for their district than doing what's right for the American people.
Do you think the current leadership in congress is looking out for you? Do you think the bailout was an effective use of tax dollars? Think again!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Back in the saddle again!!
I have been getting thousands of emails asking why I haven't had a blog in so long. Many important people are devasted by the lack of posting on Cognitive Coniglio. Okay, full disclosure not true. I have had a few ask what has been going on and the honest answer is I think a blog is alot like a New Years resolution. You start off great but before you know it your commitment falls or you make an excuse as to why today isn't a convenient day to do this. I have been very busy but my goal is to get back to a more consistent post. With all the amazing things happening in the world today - elections, failing banks, etc. I think now is a good time to get back to giving my thoughts.
So those of you who still check to see if I have a new post, please leave a comment that you know I am back and expect to see unique commentaries and common sense thoughts.
Two quick questions/thoughts as I close:
1) Is it possible that someone can get a $120 million package as you leave a bankrupt company?
2) How much experience do you need to be President of the United States?
So those of you who still check to see if I have a new post, please leave a comment that you know I am back and expect to see unique commentaries and common sense thoughts.
Two quick questions/thoughts as I close:
1) Is it possible that someone can get a $120 million package as you leave a bankrupt company?
2) How much experience do you need to be President of the United States?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
How's the weather out there?
I have been traveling this past week and have had some interesting run- ins with some incredible weather. On Tuesday afternoon I was in Cincinnati at the airport (techincally it's in northern KY but they don't really make too much hype about that!). The weather took a nasty turn and before you knew it they were on the loudspeaker issuing a weather emergency. A tornado warning had been issued and all people in the airport were to go to the southeast corner of the building and stay away from windows. That was followed by a trip to the basement where a couple of hundred of us were shuttled to wait out the storm.
When I woke up on Thursday morning in my hotel at 4:45 am in Madison, WI the rain was coming down like crazy. There was incredible thunder and lightning. I thought I may in store for part duex of the tornado show but I was fortunate that the violent weather stayed east of Madison.
So what do these weather stories have to do with a blog about business and marketing? The reality is we have control over a lot in our lives, work, and businesses. However, in our industry, the weather plays a critical role in the life of so many farmers. All the preparation, planning, and proper execution is done on the growers side only to have weather conditions alter all the hard work. Keep you eyes on the Mid West over the next few weeks as that will tell the story of how high corn and soybean prices will go. It has been cool and wet out there and planting was done late. There are concerns about yields and that will dictate commodity prices. We could see record highs in the weeks to come.
One last thought....be thankful for each beautiful day in your part of the world and remember how it affects food production
When I woke up on Thursday morning in my hotel at 4:45 am in Madison, WI the rain was coming down like crazy. There was incredible thunder and lightning. I thought I may in store for part duex of the tornado show but I was fortunate that the violent weather stayed east of Madison.
So what do these weather stories have to do with a blog about business and marketing? The reality is we have control over a lot in our lives, work, and businesses. However, in our industry, the weather plays a critical role in the life of so many farmers. All the preparation, planning, and proper execution is done on the growers side only to have weather conditions alter all the hard work. Keep you eyes on the Mid West over the next few weeks as that will tell the story of how high corn and soybean prices will go. It has been cool and wet out there and planting was done late. There are concerns about yields and that will dictate commodity prices. We could see record highs in the weeks to come.
One last thought....be thankful for each beautiful day in your part of the world and remember how it affects food production
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Ag Internet.....The New Frontier
I saw a story the other day regarding the media world and their panic over the pull back in online advertising. As many companies get nervous about where the general economy is headed they have pulled back not only in print advertising but also web advertising on popular sites like Yahoo, Google, etc. I believe this is a real concern for "mainstream America" but I am not convinced this applies to the agricultural industry.
Farmers & Ranchers have been challenged with connectivity issues over the years. That gap is slowly but surely catching up and is allowing them to get online with a reasonable speed. I have spoken to many farmers at trade shows who state they would use the web more often as soon as they have high speed. Couple this with the fact that our industry is experiencing a strong economy and I think this is an incredible time to reach this "new audience" via the web. Now, as a guy who works for a print publication you may think I am crazy to say," use the web!" But the good news is at Fastline is we have been preparing for this shift for many years. We are weeks away from a new website re-design for fastline.com and we have been working with a Search Engine Optimization company to help us be on the front lines of those in need of ag products and equipment. Our web numbers have been growing at an average 40% increase year over year and we are close to reaching the 4 million page view mark per month.
So the bottom line is that ag online advertising is the new frontier for those in our industry who want another touch to reach prospective customers. We have had our site up since 1998 and we are the leader with the largest searchable database of equipment in the world.....but the last year tells me that we are just hitting our stride and that the best is yet to come.
Farmers & Ranchers have been challenged with connectivity issues over the years. That gap is slowly but surely catching up and is allowing them to get online with a reasonable speed. I have spoken to many farmers at trade shows who state they would use the web more often as soon as they have high speed. Couple this with the fact that our industry is experiencing a strong economy and I think this is an incredible time to reach this "new audience" via the web. Now, as a guy who works for a print publication you may think I am crazy to say," use the web!" But the good news is at Fastline is we have been preparing for this shift for many years. We are weeks away from a new website re-design for fastline.com and we have been working with a Search Engine Optimization company to help us be on the front lines of those in need of ag products and equipment. Our web numbers have been growing at an average 40% increase year over year and we are close to reaching the 4 million page view mark per month.
So the bottom line is that ag online advertising is the new frontier for those in our industry who want another touch to reach prospective customers. We have had our site up since 1998 and we are the leader with the largest searchable database of equipment in the world.....but the last year tells me that we are just hitting our stride and that the best is yet to come.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Touching Them All
I know I am bit late in posting a blog on this story but there may be some who are not yet familiar with it. I think it is worth repeating for all our benefit. It's an uplifting moment from which we all can learn a lesson.
Sarah Tucholsky had never hit a home run in college softball. As a member of the the Div II Western Oregon State team, fate would have it that in a scoreless game she would hit her first home run with two runners on giving her team a 3-0 lead in a crucial playoff game. The only problem with this storybook scenario is that when rounding first and heading to second she realized in her excitement she had missed touching first and turned to go back and touch first base. That's when her knee gave out and she tore her ACL. She crawled back to first, hugged the base, and everyone watched in disbelief at the unfolding drama.
The umpire stated that the rules would allow a pinch runner but that Sarah's home run would be recorded as a 2 run single instead of a 3 run home run. Any assistance from her teammates would result in her being called out. That's when a player from the opposing team asked, "Can we carry her?". This wasn't any player. This was Mallory Holtman, who owns almost every major offensive record they have for Western Washington State. She thought it was the right thing to do....to help someone who had earned the right to have her first home run count. So she and a team mate picked up Sarah and carried her around the bases "touching them all" with her left foot and allowing Sarah to enjoy the thrill she deserved.
So why post a sports story on a business blog? I think there are a tremendous amount of lessons to be learned here that can be applied to so many aspects of sales, marketing, and business. Who do we have on our business team? How do we use the rules and regulations in our industry to our advantage? But the overwhelming thought I had here was about competition. We all face tough competition in business and it is important to win in the business game. But the reality is, we as marketers and sales people, need to "do the right thing" not only for our customers & clients but for ourselves. The ultimate victory is in knowing you won by "touching them all"...whether by yourself or with the help of others.
By the way, the assistance given to Sarah by Mallory ended up having a major impact to the game. Western Washington did rally for 2 runs on the bottom of the 2nd....runs that would have tied the game had it not been for their gesture. The final score was 4-2. But the final score was not why this game will be remembered for years to come.
Sarah Tucholsky had never hit a home run in college softball. As a member of the the Div II Western Oregon State team, fate would have it that in a scoreless game she would hit her first home run with two runners on giving her team a 3-0 lead in a crucial playoff game. The only problem with this storybook scenario is that when rounding first and heading to second she realized in her excitement she had missed touching first and turned to go back and touch first base. That's when her knee gave out and she tore her ACL. She crawled back to first, hugged the base, and everyone watched in disbelief at the unfolding drama.
The umpire stated that the rules would allow a pinch runner but that Sarah's home run would be recorded as a 2 run single instead of a 3 run home run. Any assistance from her teammates would result in her being called out. That's when a player from the opposing team asked, "Can we carry her?". This wasn't any player. This was Mallory Holtman, who owns almost every major offensive record they have for Western Washington State. She thought it was the right thing to do....to help someone who had earned the right to have her first home run count. So she and a team mate picked up Sarah and carried her around the bases "touching them all" with her left foot and allowing Sarah to enjoy the thrill she deserved.
So why post a sports story on a business blog? I think there are a tremendous amount of lessons to be learned here that can be applied to so many aspects of sales, marketing, and business. Who do we have on our business team? How do we use the rules and regulations in our industry to our advantage? But the overwhelming thought I had here was about competition. We all face tough competition in business and it is important to win in the business game. But the reality is, we as marketers and sales people, need to "do the right thing" not only for our customers & clients but for ourselves. The ultimate victory is in knowing you won by "touching them all"...whether by yourself or with the help of others.By the way, the assistance given to Sarah by Mallory ended up having a major impact to the game. Western Washington did rally for 2 runs on the bottom of the 2nd....runs that would have tied the game had it not been for their gesture. The final score was 4-2. But the final score was not why this game will be remembered for years to come.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
How do you Rank?
Is it just me, or does it seem like every two days there is someone coming out with "Best Places in America to Live" or "Worst Traffic Commutes in America" list? Add in the occasional "Best Colleges in America", "Best Cities to Work In", yada, yada, yada, and it could really make you feel pretty good or pretty crappy about where you live, work or went to school. My thought to all of this is this: Forget these surveys! Be content with your current community or work commute.
This is kind of running joke between me and my sister-in-law who lives in upstate NY. We have often joked about who lives in the better community and I have even on occasion taken one of these surveys and used it to my advantage! Did you know my community ranks #3 in the U.S. for playground equipment? Take that Fairport, NY! Your kids are never going to amount to anything!(Just kidding...I think they are # 2 in Nuclear Physicist Graduates) The reality is, these are all quite subjective and I would venture to say that when a list comes out with the greatest places we expect our town's to be on it. We look in disbelief to find out we didn't make the "Prettiest Landscaped Towns" list. We also look with fear that we may be on the "Worst Sewer Smelling Cities in the U.S." list.
I wonder if you were able to take the data from all of the "lists" if you would really find Utopia. I actually think that Utopia exists in many areas of the U.S. Most of us care about our communities and are happy to be a part of them. We all have many things to be proud of in our towns. So let's stop reading the "Best of...", "Worst of..." Lists!
This did get me to thinking though, about the "Best Agricultural Publications in America" list and guess who is # 1 on that one?!
This is kind of running joke between me and my sister-in-law who lives in upstate NY. We have often joked about who lives in the better community and I have even on occasion taken one of these surveys and used it to my advantage! Did you know my community ranks #3 in the U.S. for playground equipment? Take that Fairport, NY! Your kids are never going to amount to anything!(Just kidding...I think they are # 2 in Nuclear Physicist Graduates) The reality is, these are all quite subjective and I would venture to say that when a list comes out with the greatest places we expect our town's to be on it. We look in disbelief to find out we didn't make the "Prettiest Landscaped Towns" list. We also look with fear that we may be on the "Worst Sewer Smelling Cities in the U.S." list.
I wonder if you were able to take the data from all of the "lists" if you would really find Utopia. I actually think that Utopia exists in many areas of the U.S. Most of us care about our communities and are happy to be a part of them. We all have many things to be proud of in our towns. So let's stop reading the "Best of...", "Worst of..." Lists!
This did get me to thinking though, about the "Best Agricultural Publications in America" list and guess who is # 1 on that one?!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
On the road again...
I have been doing quite a bit of traveling lately and thought it would be neat to give you some stories from the road. These are just some random thoughts and events that I have experienced over the last week.
I sat next to Sgt. Moeller of the 32nd Infantry Division on a flight from Cincinnati to Harrisburg. He was on his way to Ft. Indiantown Gap, an Army Base in central Pennsylvania. He was in Iraq just a few days ago, then went directly to his training assignment in PA. He'll then be home for eight months with his family in Wisconsin. We had a good discussion about things over there and no matter what your thoughts are on the war, those who serve in the military deserve our gratitude and thanks for the sacrifices they make. The stories he told me make me realize how thankful we need to be that even though we have our challenges here with politics, our economy, and day to day events we are truly blessed to be in a free society.
Okay, I hate to bash the airline industry but they really need to get their act together. I spent four hours on Sunday in Charlotte waiting for a plane coming from Raleigh (only 35 minutes air time from Charlotte). Our delay was due to a thunderstorm in Raleigh. There has to be a better system that deals with issues like this. Can a thunderstorm really have the impact to delay so many people? No, the answer is that their systems are so fragile that something as simple as a thunderstorm throws off the entire system. When you ask what the deal is they tell you that their systems work this way and they can not do anything else. Hard to take excuses from people who run businesses constantly in bankruptcy and in an environment where they have more paying customers than ever! Way to go US Air. (oops, wasn't going to mention their name)
Spent time with co-workers in Kansas City at the National Agrimarketing Association Conference. We heard some great speakers and the truth is the ag economy is doing very well and looks to be strong for a significant time going forward. There are many factors that contribute to this but the reality is the world is growing and we (the U.S) are key in helping to feed not only ourselves but the world. Remember, we still pay the lowest percentage of our income on food than anywhere in the world. It's hard to keep that in mind as we shop these days but our selection and pricing are second to none out there.
I spent time with two great companies in Georgia yesterday. I really enjoyed learning more about their businesses and look forward to working with them in the future. There is nothing better than trying to find solutions for companies to help them attain the goals they have set for themselves. It's really about focusing on their goals and challenges and knowing where you can help and where you can not.
I sat next to Sgt. Moeller of the 32nd Infantry Division on a flight from Cincinnati to Harrisburg. He was on his way to Ft. Indiantown Gap, an Army Base in central Pennsylvania. He was in Iraq just a few days ago, then went directly to his training assignment in PA. He'll then be home for eight months with his family in Wisconsin. We had a good discussion about things over there and no matter what your thoughts are on the war, those who serve in the military deserve our gratitude and thanks for the sacrifices they make. The stories he told me make me realize how thankful we need to be that even though we have our challenges here with politics, our economy, and day to day events we are truly blessed to be in a free society.
Okay, I hate to bash the airline industry but they really need to get their act together. I spent four hours on Sunday in Charlotte waiting for a plane coming from Raleigh (only 35 minutes air time from Charlotte). Our delay was due to a thunderstorm in Raleigh. There has to be a better system that deals with issues like this. Can a thunderstorm really have the impact to delay so many people? No, the answer is that their systems are so fragile that something as simple as a thunderstorm throws off the entire system. When you ask what the deal is they tell you that their systems work this way and they can not do anything else. Hard to take excuses from people who run businesses constantly in bankruptcy and in an environment where they have more paying customers than ever! Way to go US Air. (oops, wasn't going to mention their name)
Spent time with co-workers in Kansas City at the National Agrimarketing Association Conference. We heard some great speakers and the truth is the ag economy is doing very well and looks to be strong for a significant time going forward. There are many factors that contribute to this but the reality is the world is growing and we (the U.S) are key in helping to feed not only ourselves but the world. Remember, we still pay the lowest percentage of our income on food than anywhere in the world. It's hard to keep that in mind as we shop these days but our selection and pricing are second to none out there.
I spent time with two great companies in Georgia yesterday. I really enjoyed learning more about their businesses and look forward to working with them in the future. There is nothing better than trying to find solutions for companies to help them attain the goals they have set for themselves. It's really about focusing on their goals and challenges and knowing where you can help and where you can not.
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