Money Reasons

Smart Reasons to Save, Use and Invest Money

Archive for June, 2010

It's Not Always The Sharpest Tool in the Shed That Gets Ahead!

June 10th, 2010

Often at work, I hear the analogy “so and so” isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. But sometimes, that isn’t necessary to get ahead in the company rat race…

For example, the guy that sits in the cube next to me is one of the smartest technology individuals in the building. I admit, he’s smarter and more crafty that I am… He has plenty of awards for the incredible things that he has done at the company…

And yet, he is at the same level in the hierarchy as I am and probably makes less money. It doesn’t make sense huh!

So why is this the case?

He lacks a certain ability to distinguish morally correct behaviour vs deviant behaviour. Actually, he’s the kind of person that I would describe as a malicious hacker, and I wouldn’t even keep him onboard if I owned the company.

My boss know that he’s not trustworthy and does some questionable activities, but also recognizes that he has a certain value and genius about him. Sometimes, he has gotten caught and reprimanded, but never disciplined to a high degree. Typically he blows the entire punishment off.

I feel sorry for him in some ways… If he would control the way he behaves (even if he had to fake it), I’m sure he could become a director or VP.

Below is a quick list of the activites that I find questionable?

Remotes into his home servers and works on family activities (facebook, make family videos, etc) while on company time.
Makes and takes Personal calls during work for hours at a time, at least until his boss comes over.
Plays practical jokes on people, taking way to long to create some of the uncomfortable jokes he plays. He’s kind of creepy this way…
Run untested code, sometimes communicating to external clients by accident (this was embarrassing).
Occasionally he takes 3+ hour lunches.

This list is just scratching the surface, but I won’t go beyond this list…

Sometimes the Sharpest Tool in the Shed is too sharp and dangerous and should be used with care or not used at all

Have you ever encountered someone that was so clever and also so bored that they go outside of the comfort range acceptable in the workplace?

-MR

8 comments »

Posted in Employment

Tags: bad employee bad genius

The Rich Employee at McDonalds

June 9th, 2010

Some employees at McDonalds are wealthier than you think!

Okay, Alice, who just graduated from high school isn’t the wealth employee that I’m talking about. Nor is Nancy, who drives to work with her husband (both are in their 60s and both are avid smokers). I know they both smoke because right before they get the doors at McDonalds, they both toss there cigarettes on to the sidewalk (yes, I hate that). Nancy who delivers the food at the Drive-Thru window, does her job quietly. No friendly recognition from her!

No, my point of reference for this post is Clark Kent (not his real name), the extra friendly employee at the McDonalds Drive-Thru.

Before I tell of Clark Kent’s background, let me explain his current accomplishments that I know of (and just from McDonalds)!

First, Clark Kent looks different. He displays 4 of the gold excellence in service awards that he has earned (he has more, but he said 4 is enough to wear). These gold stars pins are something special where after so many people call in to McDonalds complimenting the employee’s work, that McDonalds gives these gold pins out (at least at the McDonalds in my area)… Kind of like an job excellence award?
Clark Kent travels often, He talks of his trips to Florida often.
Clark was flown (all expenses paid dining and hotel) to speak with my company’s CEO. During one of our mandatory company exercises, enough people used him as a reference as an superb example of customer service on the questionaire, that our CEO flew him out to Cali just to have lunch or dinner with him. I believe Clark Kent and his wife got a mini-vacation out of this.
Clark Kent is a great communicator! He talks clearly but quickly, and is always smiling and asking how you are today. He repeats what you ordered before you get to the Drive-in window to eliminate errors. For certain customers, he make it a point to learn there names (including me of course…). I’m sure he know hundreds of name of customers.

Okay, so Clark is an expert at his job and receives benefits and perks by doing such a great job that most people anywhere would have to be impressed.

So what is his background:

Clark is a retired manager from a very large manufacturing company. His area of expertise was engineering.
Clark is at least 60+, but moves like someone 20 years younger.
He has a large house and some of the nicer tools and toys in life.
He loves his job! He is the supreme example of “Lemons to Lemonade” that is one of my categories.
He works for the social benefits and for extra money to travel on vacations.

So what have I noticed that makes Clark special?

Clark is and expert at communication! I’m sure this translated well in his pre-retirement position as a manager.
He does special extra activities the perform his job better! Repeating what you ordered back is a great feedback tool that will reduce ordering errors.
He is very positive and friendly.
He doesn’t really need this job to survive! This takes the edge off!
He is very aware of the performance requirement of the job. He once told me how quickly the McDonalds queue is suppose to move. I’m sure he is like this with any job.

I think it is amazing that my company CEO flew Clark Kent out just to meet him! It just shows you, when you try hard and remain upbeat, positive things can happen as a consequence!

Do you know of any stories of rewards for doing a great job, like what happened to Clark?

-MR

10 comments »

Posted in Inspirational

Tags: McDonalds employee McDonalds Millionaire rich employee

Problems With Late Night Blogging

June 8th, 2010

Here I sit, the red glowing numbers in my clock on the night stand in the guest bedroom/office beams 12:11am.

You could be thinking “ahhh, he must not get up early for work“, but if you did, you would be incorrect. I get up at 6:00am.

You could be thinking “he must be one of the lucky ones that doesn’t need much sleep, since he’ll only have 5 hours of sleep” (I only had 3 hours yesterday), but again you would be incorrect! I feel it the next day as I fight to stay awake in cubiclelville.

You are probably now wondering, “Why does this fool blog so late at night?”. Well, it’s partially it’s the only time when it’s completely quiet (kids, wife & dog are all asleep), but mainly because this is the time that I like to do work. I was the same way in college too.

Do I think it’s healthy? No, in fact in my case, it’s very unhealthy! Often times, I walk around looking like a zombie.

Do I think I create better work at night? No, I actually believe that I’m so tired that the thoughts are not as coherent as they could be if I were writing a bit earlier before I start to fight weariness.

How long have I been blogging this way? At least 4 months!

Sometimes, it helps to work through your flaws, like I just have as I’ve been typing. I know it’s silly of me to try and type so late at night! Next I need to create an action item to address/remedy this problem!

Originally, I was going to vow to start blogging at 10:00pm, but instead I think I will start to blog more during lunch time when I am at the library for lunch. Of course, I will use the 10:00pm option for emergencies!

Thanks for reading as I work through this small issue! :)

If you blog, what is you best time for blogging? If you don’t blog, do you find that the late hours of the night are your most creative?

-MR

18 comments »

Posted in Problems

Red Box Review

June 7th, 2010

Okay, the Blockbuster stores have closed in my city (and also the surrounding cities). While we didn’t use Blockbuster much, it was nice to walk through it every now and then looking for family videos that my wife and I watched growing up and that we thought our kids would enjoy.

So there are now three options That I will list below, and then tell what I think of newest option, RedBox.

Three Replacement Options for BlockBuster:

Library – This is what we usually use, they are a little slow on getting new videos, but free! Always a big plus for frugal folk like my wife and I!!!
Netflix – Great service! I subscribed to this a few years ago, and enjoyed it. We cancelled because we didn’t watch that many movies.
RedBox – Another great service that only costs a $1 per day to rent a video.

RedBox Review:

RedBox is a very competitive option among the three listed above. It’s a great deal deal at $1.00 per day. They also have a great selection of newer videos. Another plus is that the machine is very easy and straight forward to use. Think of a candy or pop vending machine except with a broad selection of newer popular movies in a DVD format.

So do I see any problem(s) with their model?

Yes, first, to return a movie, you have to stand in the same line that you need to stand in to purchase a video. This is a real turn off, and an excellent reason that we are considering going back to Netflix again. I think the RedBox company should consider having 2 interfaces per box. One for purchases, and another for returns. This would make a big different, and might make me reconsider using them more in the future. After all, as their model gets more popular, the wait time in line will also increase. This inconvenience factor will eventually cap RedBox’s growth.

RedBox only has limited selections. This is not a huge negative though, because the majority of people only rent the new of videos anyway. But if you have kids like me, this make Netflix a bit more attractive than Redbox.

So it’s obvious that RedBox is really aimed at a certain niche, and I’m sure they will realize that having only one entry point to the box for both purchases and returns will limit their grow as they grow more popular. I think in the short term, their popularity will continue to grow to a point, but then tapper off and perhaps decrease. As we all get better with technology, Netflix will prove to be the real winner in the decline of Blockbustor videos!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that you can return a redbox video to any Redbox machine!!! Not just the one you got the video from! That’s a nice feature! I’ve haven’t try it from an outside state, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that flies too!

Honestly, we actually are still only using 2 of the 3 options above! Since we have a Redbox literally less than 1 mile away from use, we find that we go to than when we are in the mood for a family night video.

If you have any experience with RedBox, please voice your opinion!

-MR

18 comments »

Posted in Entertainment

Tags: Blockbuster gone Netflix rules Red Box Review RedBox RedBox Netflix RedBox review return redbox dvds to any redbox Return Redbox videos to any redbox

Money Reasons Weekly Cache 2010, June 6

June 6th, 2010

Money Reasons Weekly Cache 2010, June 6

Weekly Thoughts:

Life isn’t all about money. Sometimes it’s good just to hang with your kids and learn where they are at developmentally. Almost every time I have a father-daughter night out, I’m hanging with a different girl. It’s amazing how fast kids change and the incredible person they can develop to become.

This leads me into my blogger’s list this week, Instead of the typical list of bloggers and articles, I’m going to list bloggers that impress me as bloggers that blog because they are selfishlessly trying to help people, and doing so without an alternate agenda.

My 3 “Eye Opening” PF Blogger Site:

Financial Samurai- Sam isn’t obvious, at first glance, you might think that Sam just likes to take a contrarian view and stir up dialogue (and this might be partially true). But after reading his site for these past few months, I now understand that some of his message is question the statistics and media. I can honestly say that he has switched my views on some statistics that I took as gospel. And as for the Samaritan element, say has contributed to charity already and plans on continuing to do so. And on a more personal level, I can honestly say that Sam has helped me continue with blogging at times when I was feeling like it was more effort than it was worth!

Everyday Tips & Thoughts - Kris is one of the few bloggers that I know of that actually has a link on her site called “Ask Kris”. All bloggers will field questions, but most often the reader has to submit it via an email process. Her approach is more direct and easier. While at first, I didn’t think much of the link, after reading her site, I now realize that she’s an incredible smart lady. So clicking the link now has value to me and I would definitely recommend doing so if you want a very intelligent and easy to understand answer. Needless to say, I’m very impress with her quality!

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff - Crystal’s site is full of great information, after reading her blog for the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that she has a gift for identifying very interesting topics that mandate that you come back the next day for more! Based on her post: Fit in a Fun Friday – Volunteering, I realize that she truly is a great person and although I didn’t think it was possible, I now respect her even more!!!

There are other sites that are worth looking at too. Check out some of the other great bloggers on my list of Yakezie members

My Favorite Post from Money Reasons This Week:

A Perfect Frugal Drive, Maximizing Your Driving Return! - with a little work, it’s possible to save money by reducing the amount of gas used by consolidating your trips into 1 trip!

Carnivals That I was in:

http://www.beatingbroke.com/yakezie-carnival/

Closing Thoughts:

I’m just scratching the surface with the incredible bloggers that I mention above. Like my kids, I think I will find it interesting to watch these three bloggers grow. Heck, Budgeting in the Fun Stuff just migrated her site from blogger to wordpress this weekend, a perfect example of growth!!!

Hope you had a great weekend!

-MR

7 comments »

Posted in Weekly Review