Assessing what you know is a good exercise. Of course, you might not know what you don’t know, but you can usually make an accurate judgement through a gut feeling when thinking about your peers. Some of your peers seem to know a little bit about every wine. Snippets, sound bites, info-bits. They can pull Read More…

Here’s something to think about: Email is a system built to pass the burden of response onto others. I send you an email. I expect a response. No response might mean (to me, the sender) that you don’t care about me, you’re lazy, you’re overworked and not doing anything to change that, that I’m a Read More…

When we talk about wine, we are often talking about place. When you talk about place, a map comes in handy. And when you need a map for your website, shelftalkers, or staff training take a look at Maphill.com. Satellite 3D Map of Napa County, physical outside Maphill is totally free service that allows you to make Read More…

Sales figures. Growth rates. Return on investment. All of these are interesting, all are relevant, but they are not the whole picture. A disengaged, frustrated, unenergized, unmotivated, unloved employee can easily, at the same time, be a top sales person with double digit growth year to date and one who brings you a large return on Read More…

My wife and I attended a large public wine and food event last night. The type where fancy people donate good money to the cause, and the best restaurants in the state have their tents set up. It was beautiful and wonderful, and almost a perfect night. For reasons I don’t need to go into here, Read More…

Young, new, and fresh art students who have not gone through the process of constructive criticism often have something approximating a nervous breakdown when entering it for the first time. Opening yourself up makes you vulnerable, and hearing people critique something personal is too much for many. The young students often focus on the criticism Read More…

A hard decision involves loss: by deciding to do one thing, something else falls. If a manager or owner is simply asking people to do more, produce more, sell more, leave no stone unturned, take on more responsibility, slice their time into smaller bits, organize even more data, track relationships with even more people, drive Read More…

… is pretty much impossible. The Right Thing involves too many variables, too many definitions, too many opinions. It is impossible to do a litmus test on, and impossible to quantify. Sadly, it’s what many mangers ask of their employees. But the Right Thing is a worthy goal, just misguided. Maybe there is a better Read More…

Today marks the start of an annual ritual for me, my summer break for ten days of mental and physical relaxation, plus several periods of Deep Work. Deep Work is capitalized for it’s the name of a new favorite book, and the name of what I’ve done during this week for the last twenty five Read More…

Sometimes it’s to examine the terroir.  Sometimes it’s to pair perfectly with a particular dish.  Sometimes it’s because it was suggested to them by a friend, reviewer, or server.  Sometimes it’s to celebrate a special occasion.  But it’s always with the intention of having a good time.  Don’t confuse the sometimes with the always. Wine Read More…

To be above average only means you’re above the 51% threshold. To have a goal to be above average only means you understand how sad it would be to be below average. And often, when people use the term “above average” it’s referring to things that are either measured too simply, or things that can’t Read More…

Let’s not forget something simple: wine gets delivered into one door, then magically gets more valuable, then goes back out the door (for retail, in the hand of the customer; for restaurants, in the stomach of the customer). How does this happen? What determines how much more valuable that wine becomes? It’s not simply math Read More…