In the morning, do you wake up to "pursue shareholder value or

In the morning, do you wake up to "pursue shareholder value or exceed customer expectations..."? And is that (or something similar) your reasons for getting up?

If you say Yes, then something might not be right. I don't know of anyone that has that kind of attitude or purpose. Those that do might just be kidding themselves. Anne Deering puts it best when she wrote, and as well as mentioned in the book Be-Know-Do, "Our personal identity and purpose cannot reside in this type of objective...We need to dig deeper to find what truly drives us--our calling in life--and then translate this calling back to into our work context."

So what does all this mean? It means that if you have priorities that are about the job and not inclusive of yourself or your family then there is fundamentally something wrong. Now I am not pointing fingers nor am I passing judgment but what I am doing is stating a fact. A fact that declares that in order to be good to anyone or anything else you have to be good to yourself.

Let me clarify, many years ago I along with a few other people were asked to make a list of those people and things that were important to me. Each of the other people, at the top of their list, placed their Family and their God or vice-versa. Then it was my turn to announce my list. I started off with, that while I do agree that family and faith should be at the top of any list, I have someone different in my top spot: Me.

I got the most puzzling looks, but as I continued with my reasoning their looks of puzzlement turned to looks of understanding. I said that in order to provide my family with the best that I can and also to be a good [[enter religion here]] I have to make sure that I take care of myself otherwise if I fail to provide for myself first then I will fail to provide for anyone. So as conceded as it may sound I must take care of myself first. This is where Self-Discipline comes into play.

After all it is Self-Discipline that set people apart from one another. Self-discipline is "the training that one gives one's self to accomplish a certain task or to adopt a particular pattern of behaviour, even though one would really rather be doing something else."

Going back to my military days, self-discipline was what kept us going when we were cold, wet, and tired. While others would have given up because it was too cold or too wet or too late in the evening, we dug deep inside ourselves and pressed on, not because we were the only ones who could do the job. It was because we took the initiative and had the self-discipline to continue when all others would have quit.

So what is your reason for getting up in the morning?

Something for you: Check out this vid on Discipline/Self-Discipline. Though the video has plenty of Football references, it's brief enough to define the need for discipline and even though it has Coach Bill Parcells and Irving Fryar, don't let that distract you from the message. As for the Cat's In The Cradle song reference at the end, well there is nothing I can do about that ;)


tags: Dave Guerra, Anne Deering, self discipline, Be Know Do, Leadership

Fix my car?

You probably have heard this before and I know I tell people this everyday so let's do it one more time.

Let's say you are an automobile mechanic and one day I take my car to your shop, tossing you the keys I say "Fix It!"

You give me a puzzled look and ask, "Fix what?"

Then I know this is the last thing you want to hear but I say, "You are the mechanic, fix my car" and I leave.

Is this anyway for people to communicate? NO. Absolutely not, yet it happens thousands (if not millions) of times every single day. Too much telling and not enough leading.

So what does one do to reverse that fact? Well, for starters one has to ensure that what you want to happen is 100% understood by those that will do it.

Basically, what I am eluding that you must ensure that you completely understand what you want. If you can't do that then having anyone else understand you will be a moot.

Take moment to make certain that those that you want to accomplish something, on your behalf, can do so without hesitation or question. If you are not able to get your message across, try a different approach. Keep trying until you are understood. Keep trying until you understand you.

tags: Dave Guerra, understand, getting things done, be understood, keep trying, Be Tenacious

I have a question (or two)

What's this two posts in todays??? I told you I was under the weather. Seriously, I have a question but before I ask let me set the stage.

Setting the stage:
I have been on Twitter and Pownce for the past several months and there have been a great number of posts that I have read over that time. Some have been about nothing in general and others have stirred the emotions and some have made me a bit more curious than I otherwise would normally have been. It's all good that is until today. Well, this afternoon to be specific. Someone actually wrote "Who do you follow on Digg? Top 3 users I watch for the most are"

The question:
This is NOT a shot at Digg but at the people that believe that if you are not one of the top tier Digg peeps then why bother.

Now the question:
Do you really believe that this is what Digg is all about?

I completely understand what Digg and the other services like it stand for, it should however, not be anyone's be all or end all.

FYI, If and when I follow someone that happens to be listed on Digg it is because I choose to and not because someone's popularity list told me I must.

It certainly is nice that I am starting to feel better.

tags here: Dave Guerra, Digg, Pownce, Twitter, Be Cool or be cast out

Running Like A Fox to Keep Up with Me

Yes, another Duran Duran reference (the blog title that is). It is also another attempt to mask the fact that this post is an overdue New Year's resolution update. So with full disclosure out of the way, thanks for stopping by and taking a few minutes of your day, to see how things are going here.

So as to not take more time away from you than need be here it is....
1. Went to Austin & San Antonio for some meetings and interviews and came home with a terrible sinus infection that, naturally, turned into a bad two week cold...long story short: lots of water, little exercise, little wanting to eat, lots of sleep=no reading.

2. Finally got some strength to write my long overdue review of a book that I will be posting here. (hopefully this weekend and hopefully before the end of the 10th Budweiser commercial during "name withheld for some crazy reason, that we would have been saying this time last year")

3. First class towards M.B.A. is well underway.

That's it. Talk to you soon, but before I go I do have one question for you to talk amongst yourselves with: Does the Writers Strike really affect original programming on TV? What I mean is TV stopped being original so long ago, so what if anything is affected?

tags:
Dave Guerra, update, New Years, travel, cold, MBA, book review

A word or two about Revenge

In my last post, Trump Traits, I included a list of traits as defined by CNBC on their series The Millionaire Inside about Donald Trump's Traits to Success. One of the traits listed, REVENGE, seems to be one that needs a little more defining.

In the TMI episode, Donald Trump said this of Revenge:
"There are a lot of bad people out there..if you have a problem with someone you have to go after them. And it's not necessarily to teach that person a lesson, it's to teach all of the people that are watching a lesson, that you don't take crap. And if you take crap you're just not gonna do well. So Be sharp, Be Smart. It's all about this (points to his head/brain) you have to have this to start off with. But you can't take a lot of nonsense from people. You have to go after them. I have always believed it."

My definition of Revenge goes a little like this:
There will always be people that will say you can't do it. That you don't have the pedigree, education, or the connections to do what others have done. I say that it is up to you to reach deep down inside and say to yourself that you are better than what others say about you. Always remember that every morning you wake up with yourself and the only person you have to impress is yourself. You be a better person today than you were yesterday and everything is good. By being better than yesterday you will soon find yourself doing much better than anyone expected or believed.

After all, isn't doing it your own way and humbling people along the way the best revenge?

tags: Dave Guerra, Donald Trump, Revenge , Trump Traits, CNBC, Millionaire Inside

Trump Traits

A couple of months ago a blog post titled "Rhythm is the Power" was about what Joseph Jaffe, Duran Duran and Donald Trump have in common. This week I was cleaning out the TIVO and ran across an episode of the CNBC's The Millionaire Inside with Donald Trump as the only guest. In the episode he mentioned key points that were critical to what he saw as success.

Now we can all sit here and say "Well, he can afford to follow the traits because he has millions to fall back on should something go wrong." While that may be true, you and I cannot let that kind of thinking hold us back. If we cannot totally wrap ourselves around these "Trump Traits" then we are doomed to "working for the man" until we retire believing that spending more hours in office will define our legacy. I personally do not see my legacy as a plaque on a desk that reads "Dave sat here for 20 years, did his job, and never asked for a new chair."

I see my legacy as one that my children and their children will pass on to their kids. So as I watched that episode of Millionaire Inside nee Billionaire Inside, the things that he talked about were concepts and ideas that are rooted in common sense. Just like Tom Peters, Dr. Stephen Covey, and others like them, teach the use of common sense is the prime factor for success. No need to get fancy and paint a pretty "touchy, feely" picture of success because they don't work unless of course, the picture is painted on a canvas based on common sense. So as the show progressed it was interesting to see that as The Donald got into talking about the path to his success he kept underscoring (albeit covertly) the role common sense played in his success. While I am not saying anything new, I am saying what others, to include Trump, have said over and over again.

Therefore, for many of us, we now have to ask; How long will it take to ensure that these "Trump Traits" sink into our thick noggins? How often do we have to be told these things? Then how long before we make that change? The answer my friends is real simple: AS LONG AND AS OFTEN AS IT TAKES.

Here are the Trump Traits as mentioned in the CNBC series: The Millionaire Inside

• Find Your Passion
• Be Tenacious
• Don't Fear Risk
• Revenge Can Be Good (don't take crap from people)
  
• Know Your Subject
• Negotiate Face to Face
• Build Your Brand (by being persistent)
  
• Get in the game (Real Estate...hmmmm)
  
• Think Globally (the world is truly flat)
• Negotiate a new deal
• Have a killer idea
• Implement your idea well
• Have Confidence
• Never Lose Focus

Each one of these traits has had volumes written about them. So I will not get too much into them now but I will revisit them from time to time. However, between now and then I invite you to think about this list and see how they apply to you and your situation. Also, figure out how by applying the traits you can create a legacy that can be passed along to future generations.

tags:
Dave Guerra, Donald Trump, Leadership, Legacy, Success, Entrepreneurship, Common Sense, Trump, CNBC

A Word Or Two

This post is a follow-up to the last post (Does Everyone Really Get A Vote?). The follow-up is more for those that did not get it.

The post was about YOU. It was about you going out and getting informed about ALL the candidates and what they stand for.

It was NOT about who I will be voting for or the party they belong to.

Like I wrote, the last post was about YOU doing your own HOMEWORK. Please note that I did not steer you in any specific direction except in one that leads you to self-acquired knowledge.

SIDEBAR: I truly believe there are 3 things not to talk about: Politics, Medicine, and Religion. The moment people start talking about specific politicians or political issues consider me closing the door on those people. Why? Because I guarantee you in my opinion those people are WRONG. So by me voluntarily closing the door, I would rather lose a friend than to create a new enemy.

Does Everyone Really Get A Vote?

As of this writing, the first Tuesday of November 2008 is a mere 319 days away. You can't tell that from the way the media is handling the Caucuses (isn't that a mountain range in the former Soviet Union) and the Primaries. One would think that with all this coverage the deal is done. So what are we as the voting public to do?

The media are so influencing our decisions that the candidates need not spend a single dollar more on advertising. The media has taken the lead by spinning the candidates the way they want to spin them. The candidates have done their job and now the media has taken it upon themselves to tell us who the cool kids are and who should be crowned Prom King or Queen.

This being the case, the media has for all intents and purposes has given us the final four to the big dance. This push from the media will continue with such fervor as we start getting closer and closer to the Conventions (Republicans September 1-4 & Democrats August 25-28), they will do what they can to continue to dictate as to who the party nominees will be. So what are we as the voting public to do?

Very simple...with 227 days to go before the first convention, you...no...WE have plenty of time to DO YOUR/OUR HOMEWORK. Know the issues (ALL OF THEM). Know the candidates (ALL OF THEM). Above all KNOW YOURSELF and WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU.

Doing this will guarantee one thing, when it comes time to cast your vote; YOU WILL VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE YOU DECIDED TO VOTE FOR!!! not someone the media thinks you should vote for.

you bet I used tags here: Dave Guerra, 2008 Elections, Presidency, Candidates, Republicans, Democrats, Do your homework, Be Informed

Resolution Update #01-01

Here it is the first update to the resolutions of 2008. Here is how I am proposing to update on the progress of my resolutions. I will list the resolutions and I will make notes where something has happened with regards to achieving that goal.

Since 01/04/08:

1. Run in a 10K race: Ran 2 miles
2. Lower BP without the need for medicine: Ran 2 miles, 3 of the six meals since Friday were healthy oriented eating. Nobody said this was going to be easy.
3. Finish 2nd Draft of New Book by end of March: nothing
4. Drink less coffee: Drank only 5 cups in two days
5. Drink more H20: Drank 64 ounces a day for the past two days
6. Volunteer: Starting the search for ONLINE VOLUNTEER Programs.
7. Read one new book a month: Be Know Do: Leadership the Army Way, Adapted from the Official Army Leadership Manual to be delivered on 01/07/08.
   ON DECK: Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes by Mark Penn, E. Kinney Zalesne, E. Kinney Zalesne

tags:Dave Guerra, running, Microtrend, coffee, water, FM 22-100, Leadership, US Army

Update to the Resolutions

A couple of days ago I posted my resolutions for 2008 and discovered that there were two things seriously missing from my resolutions:

6. Volunteer (any suggestions would be appreciated)
7. Read one book a month

There we go, seven resolutions sounds like a lot but it can be done. So if I can do it, we all can do it. All it takes is one step.

At first, that is until the ball is really rolling I will post one update a week on how the resolutions are going. Then I will drop it down to once every other week.

So here they are in order:

1. Run in a 10K race
2. Lower BP without the need for medicine
3. Finish 2nd Draft of New Book by end of March
4. Drink less coffee (I know it's blasphemy but I gotta do what I gotta do)
5. Drink more H20
6. Volunteer
7. Read one new book a month
   

tags: Dave Guerra, Resolutions, Plan, Change, 10K race, blood pressure, book writing, coffee, water, Volunteer,
Read a Book

Now for something completely fresh

Earlier I wrote a few lines of advice on how to set a goal and what it takes to get to achieving it. So now I will take a dose of my own medicine. I present you my goals for the first half of 2008:

1. Run in a 10K race
2. Lower BP without the need for medicine
3. Finish 2nd Draft of New Book by end of March
4. Drink less coffee (I know it's blasphemy but I gotta do what I gotta do)
5. Drink more H20
   

This is a simple set of goals, think about it though. Doing all of this will create some collateral benefits such as weight loss, increased stamina, focus, and an overall sense of well being. In any situation have increased stamina, focus, and an overall sense of well being helps create a great counter to stressors. Anything that helps reduce stress makes you a much better person.

On that note, I leave you with my first 5 goals for the first part of 2008. What are your goals?

Tags: Dave Guerra, Plan, Change, Goals

It's 2008 & a new opportunity for something fresh

By now, January 2, you have probably been inundated with talk about the new year being an opportunity for change. Change your image, change your appearance, change your attitude, change you.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. This time of the year we all tend to fall into that trap (those hot, tight, ripped bods are all over our television screens) because we see something that appeals to us and we want a piece of that action. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look like them, however there is a point where reality sets in.

What does that last sentence mean? It means that if you don't already look like those hot bods, then rest assured that after one workout you won't as well. So no matter what you are wanting to do whether its getting a raise, start your own company, get published, or lose a few pounds from all that holiday partying, you are going to have to take a common sense approach. So here are few things to keep in mind.

1. Know what you want to accomplish
2. Set a realistic goals
3. Develop a plan to meet your goals
   
4. Collect your resources
5. Refine your plan
6. Solicit support from others
7. Refine your plan
8. Put your plan into Action
9. Make adjustments to you plan

See a trend in this list...it is important to keep your plan fluid, dynamic, always changing. This is the dose of reality that I mentioned. Say for instance, in my case I like to jog in the mornings. However, I do not run in the rain nor do I run when temp is below 45F so on those days I have alternate, I don't like doing it but it does keep the body moving. So if you goal is to start a new business but you don't have the revenue to open a storefront, this should not derail your plan but build into a plan a way to generate that revenue.

So take some time today and get the ball rolling, just remember that it may take sometime to get to full speed. Just remember it will take some time, remember the farmer can't grow a crop of wheat overnight, he has to be patient and keep at it until the wheat is ready to be cut.


Dave Guerra, Happy New Year, Plan, change

Christmas Eve 2007

Last year, I asked everyone this question: "What are you doing reading a blog on Christmas Eve?"

Then I asked myself: "What sort of idiot would write a blog posting on Christmas Eve?"

The obvious answer then is the same one tonight: "Only you, Dave!"

Then I was reminded of these famous words:
"A week ago I'd have kicked your butt out of here. But you are absolutely right.

I'm not crazy. It's Christmas Eve. It's the one night when we all act a little nicer. We...we smile a little easier. We...we...share a little more. For a couple of hours we are the people we always hoped we would be. It's really a miracle because it happens every Christmas Eve. And if you waste that miracle, you're gonna burn for it. I know. You have to do something. You have to take a chance and get involved. There are people that don't have enough to eat and who are cold. You can go and greet these people. Take an old blanket out to them or make a sandwich and say, "Here."

"I get it now."

And if you give, then it can happen, the miracle can happen to you. Not just the poor and hungry, Everybody's gotta have this miracle! It can happen tonight for you all! If you believe in this pure thing, the miracle will happen and you'll want it again tomorrow! You won't say, "Christmas is once a year and it's a fraud." It's not! It can happen every day! You've just got to want that feeling! You'll want it every day! It can happen to you!
I believe in it now.
I believe it's gonna happen to me, now. I'm ready for it!
And it's great. It's a good feeling.
It's better than I've felt in a long time.
I'm ready."

Sound familiar? These are the greatest lines about what the true meaning of Christmas is, since Linus spoke those famous words on the stage of the Christmas show in Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown.

These words come from one of my top three Christmas Movies of All Time, SCROOGED starring Bill Murray as Frank Cross. I like to revisit that movie every year and those words at the end sum up how we feel and how we should be. So, dear readers....

Have a Merry Christmas, Everybody!

tags used here:Merry Christmas

Gift Giving (Tom Peters Style)

This morning, while sipping on some coffee, I started my daily rounds of the Blogs that I like. Always at the top of my list is the Tom Peters blog, it sets the pace for the rest of my day. This morning was no exception, in his blog post titled Christmas Giving: Not Too Late to Do Good Tom gives us an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and who doesn't like that? Giving those last minute gifts, if you are one of those procrastinators, or just to give for the sake of giving.

Tom talks about Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child program. There has been an ongoing program at OLPC where buying one gets you one. Not a bad deal, you buy one for a child in a developing nation (the original intent) and you get one for your child, thus impacting the lives of two children forever. Now that is a great gift.

Next Peters offers the BOGO Powerlight. It is a solar powered flashlight invented by Mark Bent (and happens to be a Texan). The BOGO (which stands for Buy One, Get One) Solar Powerlight is a great idea: a solar rechargeable flashlight, thus eliminating the need for changing batteries. The BOGO site has a deal going now: Buy a $25 BOGO Powerlight (for yourself) and the good people over at BOGO will send one Powerlight to an organization of your choice, such as:

• The Humanitarian Mission of Saboba's Hope is to support the Saboba Medical Centre, of Northern Ghana.
• Africa Island Mission - Pearl River, New York
• Direct Relief International - Santa Barbara, California
• Evangel Bible Translators - Rockwall, Texas
• Feed The Children - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Global Resource Alliance - Ojai, CA
• US Troops - Afghanistan - , Afghanistan
• US Troops - Iraq - , Iraq

So as you can see, not only are you getting an opportunity to get some really cool and cutting edge gear but you also get an opportunity to directly impact the lives of total strangers. Isn't that what the holiday season is all about?

Thanks again TOM PETERS for giving us a little something to do this season.

tags: Dave Guerra • Tom Peters • OLPC • One Laptop Per Child • BoGo Light • Nicholas Negroponte • Mark Bent • Solar Power •

Failing to Prepare (Part 3)

This is becoming a very disturbing trend. Tonight, I along with several million other people got to witness another shiny example of someone that failed to prepare. Before anyone says anything this is another NFL related story.

Yep, it was on Monday Night Football and the one who failed to prepare was Chicago 3rd String Quarterback Kyle Orton. At one point in the second half of the game, the announcers basically asked everyone to cut Orton some slack as it has been two years since his last start in the NFL. This guy is the 3rd String QB, if there is anybody that should be prepared to start in the NFL is this guy. If any team has to call on its 3rd String QB then he should know that something has gone horribly wrong and now the team is counting on him to be their saving grace. He, and all other 3rd String Quarterbacks in the NFL, should be prepared all the time, every time.

Yet, a professional football team took to the field and "expected" to win with a Quarterback that looked exactly like he has not played in over two years. What was this guy doing all this time? Sitting back, taking it easy, sipping Banana Daiquiris, while his teammates worked hard to take to the field and play a professional sport. Now don't get me wrong, any NFL Team worth its salt would not let just any schmuck onto the playing field, however, in this case I really think the Chicago Bears did. This guy was an embarrassment to the team and to himself.

I guess what I fail to understand is that this guy just flat out did not prepare to play, yet he went onto that field in Minnesota. For the record, Orton's stats were 22 completions out of 38 attempts, which comes out to a 58% success rate. That's right for almost every 3 attempts he got one right...hmmm, let's see in school 22 out of 38 is 58% and that was an "F" and I bet it still is.

However, in the business world, there are plenty of times that getting an "F" is like getting an "A". While it is true that it is the times that completions are made that matters. Unfortunately, what really matters is when you win, then you can miss 99% if all it takes is that 1% to win.

So this then begs the question: Can you afford to miss 99% of the time and hope that you can make it that 1%? or is it better to prepare now for when the time comes you can make 100% or real close to all your attempts being completions?

tags: Dave Guerra Kyle Orton Chicago Bears NFL MNF Failure to prepare lack of preparation Jeers Preparation observations

'Tis the season

Here we are RUNNING head first into the holiday season. By now you have been bombarded with holiday advertisement after holiday advertisement. Have you noticed that each ad claims that it is offering the biggest discounts of the season?

Tonight, for no less than four different times in an hour I saw the same TV ad for KOHLS declaring that this weekend's sales have the biggest discounts of the season. I can only imagine how much bigger next weekend's discounts will be, "bigger than the biggest discounts of the season" maybe?

Remember back on my Black Friday post when I mentioned that retail merchants will always make a profit, so this then begs the question: "How deep can those discounts go?"

I guess we'll find out next weekend.

tags used here: Dave Guerra, holidays, ads, commercials, observations

Time to Pull The Plug (on CompUSA)

CNN.com, last night (12/07/07), reported that CompUSA will be closing ALL its stores. It seems that the company has been struggling to stay afloat for almost the past 10 years, so this comes as no surprise. The report stated that CompUSA has already closed "more than half its stores this spring and got a cash infusion of $440 million to restructure" obviously this was not enough.

I take it that the company realized that the $440 million for restructuring was not enough. It is good that the company realized that things were not going the way they were expected and decided to bring things to a halt as opposed to dragging it out until it would eventually die off, all the while the internal stakeholders would start to get apathetic and it would create greater customer service problems, which would make the fall even that much more uglier.

While it might be more valiant to stick it out and fight through the problem and "hopefully" come out a big winner. However, at close to 10 years of trying, I would say bringing this to a close and declaring CompUSA "DOA" is a good thing for all concerned.

tags used here: Dave Guerra, CompUSA, store closure, Stakeholders, Customer Service

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah (the third night)

Sunday Nights (cramming a weekend into a few hours)

Lately, Sundays around here have been brutal. By this I mean, that I have been trying to cram the last of the projects that I had planned for the weekend into those few precious hours after Sunday dinner and bed time.

Does this mean that I am not properly executing my plans or failing to plan properly? Yes and no. Yes in that I am not finishing projects earlier in the weekend and No, in that some projects are bigger than I think when I agree to begin them. Then there are those family commitments that have no choice but to get done. So where does that put me?

This is not a pity party. This is just an observation with a realization that I need to start saying NO to people and projects. While it is always difficult to pass up on paying projects just as it is difficult to pass up on those Pro Bono projects. Still they all have one thing in common, they take time.

While GTD may come into play here. I might just have to reconsider the fact that GTD on the weekends might sound like a plan, is just not for me. By this I mean that I really should not have to prioritize what is happening, especially when I like to reserve the weekends as spontaneous time with the kids. So what's a guy to do?

Throw GTD out the window, at least between 5:00pm Friday and 8:00am Monday. We'll continue this tomorrow. Right now I have a couple more things to do before hitting the hay

tags used: Dave Guerra, GTD, weekend

Failing to Prepare (Part 2)

It seems that people that fail to prepare are coming out of the woodwork. I guess they have always been there and I am just starting to see the trees in the forest. As we know the credit problems are affecting all parts of the country and my area is no exception. As a matter of fact, my next door neighbor recently turned his home of two years over to the bank as the ARM adjustment kept going up and up. Well, since he vacated the house, one of these "flippers" acquired the note and spent about two weeks of contractors making the house ready for sale.

Here is where the lack of preparation comes in. This "flipper" contracted with a two man house painting crew to paint the interior walls and the exterior trim and a guy to mow the yard. The lawn man comes over to the house and asks to borrow a broom to sweep the mess he made. I gave him one, after a couple of minutes he returns it. So I go out to the drive way to see his work, BAM!!! talk about an eye opener. This idiot did a great job of sweeping...he swept the stuff from the vacant house side an onto my driveway. I was livid...good thing for him, he was gone. Well, not five minutes pass and the jokers hired to paint show up and then knock on my door. The guy proceeds to tell me that he was hired to paint the house next door and would like to use some water and electricity while they are working. I asked him to repeat himself, I know he did not just ask me that. He did and I said no.

I found out who the new owner/"flipper" is and gave him a call. I identified myself and told him what happened. I told him that he is to tell the contractors not to ask for anything from anyone. Flipper starts to get mad at me and that I should tell the contractors and why am I bothering him. I fired back "Because you hired them to mow and paint, you did not hire me to provide water, electricity, or to sweep up the mess the lawn guy made" I had him at that point, he started to apologize, I told him that I was very interested in acquiring the house next door as a rental property but seeing how the new owner is so unprepared that I will have to look someplace else. This guy's tune change on a dime. He became Mr. Nice. He knew that in this market if you have a lead you don't lose it. To make a long story short this afternoon he came by and offered to give me a personal tour of the house so that I can see the modifications and upgrades he made. So as I walked over, I was impressed with not just the work on the house but what was in the back of his pickup truck; ice chest full of nothing but water and a portable electric generator. I think he learned a lesson, ensure that you hire the people that can do 100% of the job without collateral damage.

tags used: Dave Guerra, for sale, house, flipping, Contractor, Be Prepared