Rush to be Inducted in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Finally correcting an injustice over a decade in the making, the Rock and Roll Hall of fame will induct Rush into their 2013 class in April of the coming year.

Rush deserves to be in the Hall, and it is nice that the voters finally got it right.

When the inductees were announced, I made predictions on who would get in.  Let's see how I did:

• Albert King - 2:1 An influential blues guitarist is the type of guy the Hall loves CORRECT
• Chic - 10,000:1  Le Freak is French for I don't think so CORRECT
• Deep Purple - 8:1 They wrote the 12 notes that are arguably one of the finest riffs in rock and roll history.  That alone gives them consideration  NOT IN, CORRECT
• Donna Summer - 25:1 I just don't see the need for the Hall to recognize disco SHOCKED SHE'S IN - INCORRECT (and I don't get it at all)
• Heart - 50:1 Heart should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.  They won't be  INCORRECT, AND COULD NOT BE MORE HAPPY TO BE WRONG
• Joan Jett - 10:1 If there were no Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, there would likely be no Joan Jett.  Think about that, and then consider how the Hall will treat these two acts CORRECT
• Kraftwerk - 15:1 Massively influential, but given the Hall's hatred of prog rock and the more cerebral approach to music, I don't think this act gets in CORRECT
• The Marvellettes 100:1 Mr. Postman won't have their invitation to the hall CORRECT
• The Meters 100:1 Funk founders won't make it CORRECT
• NWA 1:1 They'll get in.  And that makes me sick INCORRECT, BUT SEE BELOW
• Paul Butterfield 1,000:1 The dude played Woodstock.  That will have to be enough CORRECT
• Procol Harum 1,000:1 As stated earlier, the Hall hates prog rock CORRECT
• Public Enemy 2:1 If NWA goes, Public Enemy might not go so as not to appear to be too rap heavy.  But it is only a matter of time before they make the Hall TAKES NWA'S PLACE - CORRECT
• Randy Newman 1:5 Big lefty artist with a wide resume.  Slam dunk CORRECT
• Rush 8:1 I'm betting the Hall does them wrong, as they have so many times before - INCORRECT

Overall, I went 11 for 15 on my predictions - not bad.  And on two that I got wrong, I'm pleased with the outcome.

I can't wait for the induction concert - rock on!

Vikings Playoff Picture

I was hopeful that with a strong win against the Bears yesterday that the Vikings may have propelled themselves into a strong playoff position.  However, after doing some research, I'm clearly wrong.  

I found a really robust site, www.playoffstatus.com, which shows the following (click for a larger image):

The site gives a very strong breakdown of each team, and their potential future fortunes.  And for my beloved Vikes, things are tough.  They're going to basically need to run the table (very tough to do with Houston still on the schedule) and even then they're going to need help.

It was a great season of improvement.  AP put up not only a Comeback Player of the Year effort, but is poised to be the league MVP as well.  Kalil is turning out just as he was projected as a #1 pick - as a steadfast lineman and outstanding athlete.  Chad Greenway is having a Pro Bowl season.  Harrison Smith has turned out to be the best Vikings Safety since Joey Browner.  However, Ponder's erratic play and Harvin's time lost to injury conspired to keep the guys from making the next step.  

This team is not that far away, and with another draft and perhaps a free agent move or two, they might finally be playoff-bound.

Unfortunately, as the data shows, this year is looking like it is not the year.

3 Reasons Why Te'o Losing Heisman Shouldn't Matter

SEC fans and ESPN have been beating the drum for "Johnny Football" for weeks now, and I predict their campaign will result in the Texas A&M quarterback winning the Heisman Trophy.  And while I admit I have a bias, I think that's a wrong decision, although the case for Manziel can be made to be quite compelling.

Even if he loses the Heisman, while a shame, at the end of the day it should not matter to Manti Te'o for the following reasons:

1. Te'o has already won five major awards for his accomplishments this year.  As the football community drills into his season of work, it is obvious that Te'o was a dominant force and is already being recognized as such.  The Heisman, with its hype and politics, has less objectivity to it, so things like an anti-Notre Dame bias can creep in.  Those are things Te'o can't control.  He's already been recognized as the best player on the field this year.  One more piece of hardware should not tip things one way or the other.
2. Te'o is about as blue of a chip for a long and storied NFL career as they come.  While I recognize that the Heisman is not awarded based on the player most likely to be a stud in the NFL, Te'o has places to go.  His work ethic, demeanor, leadership, and athleticism will take him places well beyond where the Heisman will.  Te'o has a fantastic future, regardless if the trophy case is full or not.
3. Te'o is about to embark on the grand conclusion of a storybook season.  He set aside financial gain and personal reward to come back to Notre Dame for his senior year, and he has been rewarded with an undefeated team and a chance to win the National Championship.  If Te'o were to win the Heisman, there would always be debate that politics, campaigning, or worse was the real reason behind it.  Folks would attempt to diminish the accomplishment for years and years.  However, a defeat of Alabama on college football's biggest stage and a resulting National Championship is something that cannot be tarnished or taken away.  It is as objective of a result as they come.  It would be the final cherry on top of a dreamy senior-season-sundae for Te'o, and ultimately more important to him

I hope Te'o wins.  I feel he deserves it.  But if he doesn't, it shouldn't matter to him.  His body of work speaks for itself, and he has places to go.  He should content with that, and should look forward at what is to come, because it is going to be awesome.

Speaking as a Manti Te'o fan, I can't wait to see what's next.

Retail Is a Bitch. But It's My Bitch

Sorry for the vulgarity.  There's no other way to put it.

The sprint that is the close to the 2012 retail year is coming to an end.  National Free Shipping day will be Monday, December 17 and after that point, the big stuff that is our year is basically over and the team can breathe again.

But it has been a hard haul.  Incredibly long days.  Incredibly difficult circumstances.  Incredibly intense competitive and economic pressures.  And the constant, constant pull to do clean out just a couple more emails, check financials and site metrics, and otherwise be "on."

The net result is I'm exhausted, and I'm not the only one - I'm confident that my entire team feels the same way.  A couple of impending non-pressure days are clearly marked on everybody's calendar.

Please don't misinterpret: I do love my job, my company, and most of all, my team.  I know that in this environment I'm damn lucky to have them.  However, in my sleep deprived state, being appropriately clear-minded enough to recognize how good I have it can be tough.

Retail is not for everyone.  It is long hours, missed friends and family, high stress, no free time and a never ending grind (we've already begun work on Black Friday 2013). 

And like a guy stuck in a really sick, dysfunctional relationship, I love it and I can't do much about it.  

Meyers Leonard Reunites with Brother

We like to think of our athletes as tough guys.  Sometimes, they're a lot more simple than that.  Sometimes, they're just little brothers:

Elevator Ghost Hoax is Cruel

The most popular video floating around on the interwebs right now, by a landslide, is this:




Most people think it is hilarious as the ghost scares the living wits out of folks riding in the elevator.  

Personally, I think it is cruel.

Is scaring people really that funny?  

The producers also got very lucky in pulling off the stunt without incident.  Think about it: what if one of the passengers had a heart attack?  Or decided the "ghost" presented a threat and attacked her?  

I'm likely just getting old, but I tire of us being crappy to each other.  Especially when we're videotaping it and sharing it for the sake of entertainment.

What are You Most Proud Of?

In my position in the organization, I sit on a committee that interviews college students for entry into our advance training program.  The program is a robust year-long retail training experience, and participants come out the other side as merchandise or inventory managers; setting them on the path to a long and prosperous retail career.  

Since it is intensive and our expectations of graduates high, we want to select only the best of the best.  Hence our selection system is designed to weed out "B" players and below, and our interviewing criteria boils down to just one question: Would you fight to have this candidate on your team?

I meet a lot of students through this process, and am amazed, even after a very stringent weeding out process before they get to me, at what a wide spectrum there are in candidates.  Many (the majority!) have not taken the time to research our company.  There is a lot of talk on their end of what the candidate would  get from the job, as opposed to what we would get from the candidate.  There is a surprising, almost shocking amount of talk about what mom and dad think about the opportunity.  Thus, the interview process is pretty enlightening.

We have a script of questions that we ask our candidates so that we can get comparisons on an apples-to-apples basis, but we also have about half of our interview time dedicated to asking our own questions.  I have a full battery of these, and by and large they've served me well throughout my career at peeling away the layers and trying to get an understanding of how a candidate ticks.  

But my favorite question of all time: What are you most proud of?

I ask this because it's atypical and I want to see their reaction.  I purposefully leave it open ended - work or personal life - because that offers insights.  I also ask this because I want to see their motivations and their capability for introspection.  The answer to this question (or a total lack of an answer - I've had that) gives me perspective to how they're wired.

By and large, how this question gets answered serves as a harbinger to their overall performance.  Candidates that give good answers on this one tend to get my recommendation, and candidates that stumble don't.  Not because I put that much weight on one question, it just seems to fall that way. 

In a recent interview, I asked this question to a candidate.  Without a beat she looked me in the eye, lowered her voice, and said, "That's easy.  I'm first generation American.  My parents came here from Vietnam to provide me with an opportunity for a better life than they had.  They worked hard to put me through college, and my end of the bargain was to work hard and represent my entire family as the first person in it to ever go to college.  That came with a lot of responsibility, and I'm proud of how I handled that responsibility."

It is easy to get mired in the day to day, to lose perspective, and to take things for granted.  An answer like that puts one's feet back on the ground, and serves as a big double-shot of humility.  How much do we take for granted living here?  How often do we come up with excuses for not doing something, when there are so many people in the world just dying to get a shot?  How often do we complain over our daily irritations, when such irritations would be blessings to a majority people on the planet?

At the end, we did extend the candidate an offer, but she turned us down for a better offer.  And good for her.  She'll be going places, and if she has a path that gets her there more quickly, she's smart to take it.

Now, with that anecdote behind us, here's the $64,000 question: What are you most proud of?  Post up

Dog Update

The Yellow Dog made it though her night at the vet uneventfully.  Since her return home yesterday morning, she appears just fine.  

It appears that she has developed either some kind of epilepsy or perhaps a brain tumor.  Neither are very treatable at the cause level - the only thing we can treat are the seizures.  The cut off for starting treatment is two seizure episodes within six weeks.

We'll keep watch, but in the meantime it was really scary.  I worry now about duck hunting - if she had a seizure while swimming it would kill her - but I guess that is way down the line.

Ugh.  There's nothing better than a yellow dog.  And nothing worse than when they get sick.