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Junkyard Management

Book Reviews, Junkyard Management, Sabbatical, So you think you're a writer?,

So you think you’re a writer?

Four years ago I took a month-long sabbatical to consider where to invest future energies. Great friends offered advice, shared their ideas, and asked me tough questions.

One of the questions often asked was, “Why not write a book?” I chuckled at the suggestion and pushed it aside.

But the idea wouldn’t go away. Three years ago a friend again asked, “You love to write. Why don’t you write a book?” This time the idea wasn’t pushed aside as quickly. But to write a book — a good one — you need an idea worth sharing. A unique idea or …

Junkyard Management,

Recycling Junkyard

It’s hard to believe Junkyard Wisdom has now been online for five years! Over 500 posts, 300 pages, too many comments to track, and tens of thousands of visitors …. wow, never expected all that. It’s been great fun!

But the overall look was not aging gracefully. The homepage was cluttered, the graphics were sloppy, and even the WordPress theme was no longer supported. Time for an update.

With the help of Alan at Immersus Media, the Junkyard Wisdom site has a new look! Or perhaps I should say the site has been recycled into something even nicer. It …

Family, Goble Properties, Junkyard Management, Random Thoughts,

Ember

My son has always been a tinkerer. We still laugh about his childhood dream of wanting to build an airplane in our backyard. I pointed out we had no tires for the plane to land with and he said, “They sell tires at Costco.” I pointed out we had no engine, which stumped him for a little while, and then he said, “We have one in Mom’s car.”

Stubborn, focused, no problem was too large to solve … he had the perfect internal hard wiring to be an inventor. And tinker he did, from Legos to woodshop to photography to …

Junkyard Management,

The Tension of Wealth and Poverty

One of the great things I’ve discovered about a blog is discovering the themes in my heart and mind. Different patterns become evident after four years of Junkyard Wisdom updates. Maybe patterns isn’t the right word; seeing the long threads that weave through a tapestry and build upon each other might be a better way to understand it.

One of the key discoveries is my interest in the tensions of life — the opposite pulls that are both equally good but heading in opposite directions. And perhaps my biggest tension of all has been the value of creating wealth and …

Book Reviews, Junkyard Management,

Junkyard Planet

Despite the title of this blog, I did not grow up in an actual junkyard. It’s might be splitting hairs, but my family owned automotive dismantling centers (or simply wrecking yards). To most folks it amounts to the same thing. But there is a difference. A junkyard takes any kind of junk that can be resold (copper wire, aluminum cans, even Christmas tree lights). But an auto dismantler focuses strictly on cars and trucks.

Here’s another way to view it. Junkyards are recycling centers that take stuff nobody can use and then recycle it into useful products. Think scrap iron …

Junkyard Management, Random Thoughts,

Support the Boring this Holiday Season

“….in this age of elites who delight in such phrases as “out of the box” and “killer app”, arguably the most coveted status symbol isn’t a yacht, a racehorse, or a knighthood; it’s a philanthropic foundation — and, more than that, one actively managed in ways that show its sponsor has big ideas for reshaping the world.”
Chrystia Freeland, Plutocrats

I remember reading that line in Plutocrats and laughing out loud. It’s so true, especially here in the Silicon Valley region. And it’s why I’m not keen on engaging with a lot of foundations.

This came to light recently as …

Junkyard Management,

More is Less

Here’s a classic example of how Junkyard Wisdom precedes academic insight.

A few years ago I read a marketing book that cited a Stanford University study. The Stanford researcher had gone to a high end grocery store and set up a small table with 24 jams to sample. A huge number of shoppers stopped to taste the jams, but there were few buyers.

Then the researchers returned to the same store and only offered six jams to sample. Fewer people stopped to sample. But sales skyrocketed!

The obvious conclusion is that too many choices will overwhelm a buyer. Being overwhelmed, …

Junkyard Management, Random Thoughts,

Best Looking Cars Ever?

A blog titled Junkyard Wisdom should post something about cars every now and then, don’t you think? I came across this article from Popular Mechanics and found it amusing. It’s a list of the top 100 hottest looking cars of all time. A good way to waste a few minutes daydreaming.

Get a few car lovers together, have plenty of your favorite adult beverage available, and this list of 100 Hottest Cars of All Time will create all kinds of arguments and laughter. I admire Popular Mechanics for even giving it a try; it wouldn’t be easy to pull such …