Hector A. Ruiz

MBA, Project Manager, Tennis Player, Musician, and Author of "How to Destroy a Country"

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Three Key Factors in Successful Teams

By

On October 3, 2014

In General

Last week I had a full day five-day intensive management workshop where I was tossed in with five other people, four of them I had never seen in my life. It was a rewarding and entertaining experience, as knowledge and lessons came from many perspectives, ways and forms. Our team was one of eight competing for the launch of a major product. We were fortunate to build great success from what we were asked to deliver. We took the lead from day one and never looked back. In today’s entry, I will share the three factors that led us to win.

1. Decisions are a dish best serve cold.

Your daily routine is filled with crossroads and moments where you have to pick a path among various -sometimes a few, sometimes several- choices. While some of these decisions are easy and quite straight forward, others are filled with huge responsibility, implications and a weight that can be compared to a ton of bricks. So how does one make the best out of making a decision? Be Cold.

As unbelievable as it may sound, one of the most interesting things I read as a teenager was the Driver’s License study book. I was particularly impressed of learning that “driving under influence of external factors”, did not necessarily meaning drugs, alcohol or cigars. A simple fight with your boy/girlfriend, a job demotion, or any situation that could affect you emotionally and upset you, can set you in the mood to drive under the influence. The text read:

“When driving, you have to be concentrated. If you have been upset for any reason, DO NOT drive your car. Instead, take a 30 minute walk, preferably by yourself, and let yourself blow the steam away until you feel more calm.“

This piece of advise has stuck with me through the years. Moreover, I have been able to extrapolate it to managerial decisions.

Information to make an educated decision normally arrives after a period of waiting. Before committing to anything, take your time to analyze and interpret the data / factors / variables you have, along with the alternatives and options available to you. Sometimes you have to bring colleagues, or people who report to you, or even your own managers, each one with an opinion of his own that will either enforce or weaken your resources on hand. However, even with all of this information, you still need to make sure that you are making the right call. The bottom line is: if the responsibility of making the decision is yours, then your mind must be clear and able to think straight.

During one of the shifts in my workshop, we found ourselves at a crossroads and were faced with a dilemma: our company had been focusing on an exclusive target market and our products were performing very well and bringing higher revenue than that brought by the other teams’ products. Three of the other teams who were more oriented on mass-production, began running deals between them to try to catch-up to us, so our team decided to develop and launch a new product into the market. At this point we were faced with two choices:

  • Option 1: launch the new product aimed for a large target market with minimal profit betting on mass production (which meant diversifying our business and sailing into new uncharted waters).
  • Option 2: launch the new product aimed for an exclusive target market with huge profit (which meant staying true to our core business).

The team split into both options and the initial healthy discussion was going on fine, until a arguments to reinforce option 1 ensued. After about forty minutes of a heated discussion, I had enough. I got up and did exactly what I remember reading on that driving test book. I told my teammates: “I’m going for a 30-minute walk and you should do the same. Let’s go out and clear our heads. When we get back, we’ll make a decision”.

And so we did. The end result: our revenue increased.

2. Make sure you put the right people on the right seat

I will paraphrase some of the Jim Collins’ Good to Great. A team in a work environment is like people riding on a bus on a very very long trip. You want everyone to be comfortable sitting on their seats. Moreover, you want them sitting in the right seat.

Assuming you already went over the “building the team” stage and you have your players, what comes next is most important part of building your team: placing a player in the position where he will perform at their best, and where they will perform best for the team. This means:

  • The player is good at the job.
  • The player likes his job.
  • The job brings the best out of the player.

I address being past the “building the team” stage first, because it allows me to justify that if you haven’t built a team yet, then you have to remove the stigma that you exclusively need the best player at its position in order to succeed. While it’s definetily a plus to have someone who excells at a specific job, sometimes you’ll won’t be able to find this person as handy as you would like. That is why it’s more important that the player is good at the job, likes his job and performs as well if not better than what is expected from him.

Take a look at your team and ask yourself if your HR, your S&M, your Operations and your Finance VPs are giving it the best they can and with the passion that is comparable to the quality of their work.

This is why there are ocassions in sports in which the so called “underdog” teams are able to win championships:

The 2002 Anaheim Angels (MLB)
The 2004 Detroit Pistons (NBA)
The 2003-04 Porto UEFA Champions League run and eventual championship defeating heavily favorite teams.

Those teams had players who were not on par to some of the top stars of their leagues. but they performed best individually and even performed better within the team. Which brings me to the third crucial key factor.

3. Synergy

The easiest way to explain synergy is the tale of two short guys who wanted to reach an apple, but weren’t tall enough to do it on their own. So they decided to team up: one hopped on the shoulders of the other one, and then they were tall enough to grab it.

I have had the privilege of working with a lot of accomplished people, and one thing that has always struck me is the question of whether there has been an ideal perfect team among the many people I have worked with. Let’s assume the answer is yes. If this is the case you reached a utopia. However, this isn’t always the case.

When you first meet your team, you are facing a bunch of strangers. Therefore the one of your first steps is to determine if they are connecting with each other. This is why one has to work on developing synergy among the group. Finding something to relate to your teammates will break the ice, and start to bring more smile and laughs that are necessary to initially feed the atmosphere with positive attitude, and create that initial synergy. Of course this is only the beginning. Next comes the process of growing synergy and solidifying it.

After transmitting that bond to the person who is next to you, make sure that they do the same to the person next to them, so that each member in the team is able to create a bond. Once this goal is met, then comes the icing on the cake, which is that special moment when one team member asks the other one: “How can your performance be enhanced by mine, and more importantly how can his/her (referring to a third team member) performance be improved by ours.”

The best example I can think of perfect synergy applied in practice is Germany’s crushing demolition of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup. If you analyze how each German goal was conceived, you will agree that their team effort they displayed is arguably the one of the top performances seen in soccer history.

A commentator summed it all up in four smart sentences:

“Brazil has Neymar
Argentina has Messi
Germany… has a team.”

That’s where success is. That is how we won our workshop.

HR

Ten key factors to a successful negotiation

By

On May 29, 2014

In General

In my professional career, I have had the privilege of being involved in many situations where two or more parties meet and undergo hours of conversation with the objective of seeking an agreement, resolve differences, obtain a mutual benefit or satisfy interests at stake. These situations as you may have inferred, are referred to as Negotiations.

In my career I have been able to successfully reach achievements in negotiations, driven by unexpected results, dealing with conflict and working with unimaginable challenges. I have also had my fair share of failed results. Still in each and every one of those cases, my end goal consists of compiling the lessons I learned and use them to improve my skills as a negotiator, and exceed the expectations my clients and employers place on me. Some have dealt with money, others with contracts, labor, materials, and each one of them has left a valuable experience.

It’s not easy to close a good deal, however I have learned that as long as certain factors are considered, you may have a better chance of being able to achieve it. The more prepared you are on these factors, the easier or harder your negotiation will be.

1. Document yourself.

Countless times I have seen negotiations fail because the people dealing came to the table without being well-documented on the issue they dealing with. On the other hand, I have won dozens of successful negotiations only by having done my homework, and by being informed on all the variables I needed.

A typical deal in the business world is made up of four elements: business, operations, legal and sales / marketing. Any negotiator must document themselves on each one of these elements, due to the possibility of gaining a competitive advantage by properly understanding one or many of them. Compiling as most information as you can, and filtering what is useful is the first step towards a good deal. For instance: if my company is providing a service to a customer, and the customer is looking to take advantage of a specific clause in their contract, but I know service has been provided and my client has delayed payments, right there I have discovered an opening I can use in my favor. Therefore, I must be able to identify any potential weakness on the client’s end, and exploit it. He may do the same on my end, and that is where they key difference is: whoever is better prepared, will be the one determining the outcome of the battle.

2. Be respectful and mark your territory.

Some time ago, I was assigned a very complicated case in my company. It was a client who had two open lawsuits against us, and on paper, it seemed like the client had everything to win. My mission was to convince the client to settle out of court and reach a satisfactory agreement on how to compensate them. Thanks to a little research I conducted and from past history, I learned from my coworkers who had unsuccessfully dealt with them that this client had a very difficult personality and it was very hard to avoid having meetings with them without reaching the personal level of disrespecting and insulting us.

In this case the key element is to mark your territory through respect. First, have a strong and confident handshake: send the message right from the start, and let them know that: 1) There will be differences, however mutual respect must be kept at all times; and 2) Both parties oversee the interest of their respective stakeholders. While this is not a war, it must be treated with the strategic protocol of war.

Even after mediation is done, ugly faces are shown, and a few threats are issued, close your meeting by once again shaking hands with your counterpart. Again, this sends the message that you are leaving the door open for a future opportunity in which both interests may share common ground.

3. Break the ice

This may sound cliché and more geared towards a personal affair -like a date- than an actual professional negotiation, however in my experiences I have observed that breaking the ice carries a significant weight that can make a difference in a negotiation. Only on very punctual occasions (primarily due to time restrictions, or the gravity of the situation), you should not start a negotiation by going straight to the point.

Depending on the case, there are times where the stakes are high. There is tension, expectations and nerves around the table. There may be a key account or a big contract in jeopardy. The important thing here is understanding that outside what is being discussed, there are common interests that the people sitting on the table can share. There even may be a hobby or an outside of work activity we may have in common.

As a tennis player, I can make the analogy of how I play during the warm-up before starting a match. My goal is to keep the ball in play, not hitting it very hard, going as far as to try to read the ball’s label. It’s a relaxation ritual that precedes the real deal of a match. Before beginning your negotiation, take five minutes to talk about other topics with your client, with the sole goal of easing up the atmosphere.

4. Plan, organize, differentiate and lead

You must never get to a meeting without a plan or an order of what is it you are about to negotiate.

Suppose you have a client interested in negotiating financial terms, legal affairs and operational issues. Where do I start and how do I board it? What typically tends to happen is that negotiators mix everything up. For instance: “I won’t pay until you can guarantee this task is done.” If you accept this, you have fallen to a classical error where the client probably does not have any strong arguments, and is using anything as a support for their claims. The correct approach to respond to this is: “As long as we have a service contract, you have to pay for our service, regardless of what is happening from an operational standpoint.” Every item must be dealt with its own separate agenda.

Of course there are ways to avoid this, like starting with negotiating the issue you have a greater probability of winning. Deals that start on the right foot, most likely end-up well, therefore it is good to have a positive feeling from the get-go. In case a compromise is needed, then the correct approach should be: “I guarantee my operational service, and I will make sure you receive it”, and then proceed to the next point in the agenda -for instance, the financial aspect.

5. Keep focused and read the table

There have been several articles written about body language and tells. I have become familiar with a lot of them, and used many of their theories to my benefit.

As soon as the clock starts ticking, your main focuse should be about controlling everything that is happening with everyone involved. The three main aspects you should set your attention to are:

  • Eyes: these are the first reflex humans use to respond to any given situation. Make eye-contact at all times, especially when speaking affirmative sentences. Avoid blinking in excess or looking away in key moments.
  • Head: tilting your head, fixing yourself around, moving in an odd manner, are common evidences of distraction, uncomfortable feelings, anger, and disappointment. Keep a straight pose, but do not tense your muscles.
  • Voice tone and expression: similar to the above. Your voice determines how good or bad the conversation is flowing. Unless you are dealing with a very unique and special situation, there is no need to raise your voice. A confident tone is more than enough.

All these aspects must be managed collectively.

6. Express your ideas in a coherent and logical way. If you need to, amend and make revisions to your statements to be clearer.

Back when I was taking my MBA, on the first day of Mathematical Finance class, a classmate who was sitting next to me kindly asked me: “Hector, where does the number e come from?” She had a degree in psychology, and this was her first time seeing an alphabetical letter used as a symbol to represent a number.“

Since I majored in Math, I thought of hundreds of ways to respond to her. But since she was a psychologist, I needed something quick, concise and precise so that she could understand. My answer was: “It’s the base of the natural logarithm.” I could see the look on her face turning more confused than how it had been moments before she posed the question (notice how I used tip #5 listed above, and I was able to read the situation).

I apologized to her and grabbed pen and a piece of paper. I proceeded to explain the origins of the number using the problem raised by Jakob Bernoulli and compounded interest. At that point her body language completely changed for the better, because while not being able to understand the mathematical implications, she clearly understood the core reasoning behind the foundation of the number. Then I jumped to Euler’s identity, convergence of series, and finally the main reason why e is the base of natural logarithms. At this point her body language showed relief and satisfaction, and she was even able to recite the explanation I just gave her, while at the same time completely understanding it.

While this was not a negotiation per sè, the key element to highlight here was that I was able to immediately recognize that I had made a mistake, and that I was able to reassess and revise myself in order to reach the desired objective.

Sometimes in negotiations, people assume things or take things for granted, believeing that affirmations are implicit or given when in reality they are not. Therefore, being able to express yourself in a coherent way will make you earn several positive points, because this will show that you have deep understanding of what is being discussed.. Being able to rectify, is even better received, because you will be seen as someone open to improve. However do not revise too much, as this will be seen as a sign of weakness or poor preparation on your end.

7. Act when you perceive weakness, listen when you see strength.

It has been said that sharks go for their preys when they smell blood. The same happens in business. If you have followed all of the above steps, eventually you will reach a point where the other person will show a sign of weakness. This is the moment where you have to take the offensive and attack. Everyone has a weakness, you just have to find it. This is because on every negotiation, everyone sits down to win something and to lose something, and you need strengths and weaknesses, otherwise it wouldn’t be a negotiation. Special attention must be given when I mention act. Sometimes negotiators freeze and do not react in time, or react when it’s too late.

When the other party is on the offensive and feels strong, then regroup yourself, let him lead, let him talk and ventilate. Look at them, pay attention to what they say and be aware of any tell or hint they may give away. Normally this tends to allow me to have the opportunity of gaining the initiative. Be an active listener and follow their lead, until you can take it from them

8. Keep an Ace under your sleeve

Another cliché, but it is never bad to refresh it. Personally I like to say “Keep an Ace, or a King, a Queen or a Jack under your sleeve”, as in “keep something”, or “use one, but keep the rest for future occasions.”

A little subtle tip to keep in mind is to keep your best card for the final hand, the hand the client was not expecting to lose. This brings excellent results when everything seems lost, and the other party feels they have won.

On one occasion, I was meeting with a very important client who had all his portfolio serviced by out company. He was extremely upset with our company, with the previous manager who had preceded me, with our workers’ performance, and overall he was a few seconds away from pulling a bat and start swinging it at us. He wanted to cancel our contract and sign a new one with our competitor. I tried everything I could to try to convince him not to do so, but everything seemed to be futile. Then I had an idea. I asked him to give us a last chance with an interesting kicker. I said to him: “Don’t give my company a last chance. Give ME a last chance to prove that our company will serve your needs. Sign all your portfolio to our competitor, except for 10% of the accounts which will remain in contract with our company, under my direct supervision and attention.” The kicker was that the 10% of the accounts I wanted to keep were his VIP Key Accounts. I continued: “We will do a small competition to determine who provides you with a better service: either our competitor with 90% of all your non-VIP portfolio, or us to your VIP clients.” The client did not expect that. After a long pause, he agreed to my proposition. Two years later, he signed the 90% of his accounts back to us and he became one of our best clients, and a very good friend.

9. Only promise something you can fulfill

If you have reached this stage of the negotiation, don’t party just yet. There is still work to be done, and your word is on the line. There are agreements, objectives and goals that must be met. The question is: will you be able to deliver?

Nobody likes being disappointed. This is something that is imbedded in our DNA. No kid like it when Santa Claus forgets their present. False expectations are fatal in negotiations, and no client likes it when their expectations are not fulfilled.

This is why you must have a firm grasp on reality, on the current situation and the desired state, as well as the resources you have available to arrive to the desired state. Your client will value much more your sincerity in being able to tell them that you will not be able to meet their goals, rather than any illusions you paint on their minds.

10. Show yourself as a confident leader and trust yourself

One of the most interesting anecdotes I read from Steve Jobs’ biography, was when he announced the sales launch of Apple’s first personal computer. He had zero computers manufactured at that point. Steve sold a product he didn’t even have ready in his hands. How did he achieve this? He was confident his team could do it, and he trusted himself that he could lead them to do it.

Steve convinced investors, journalists, and everyone in attendance that Apple’s personal computer was the best invention of the century. Years later, Steve used this exact same approach to launch the iPhone in 2007.

Wrapping it all up:

In short – trust yourself on being a good negotiator. Show what you have learned. Feel that you can achieve anything you set your mind into.

HR

Nine useful tips to follow when you fly

By

On October 19, 2012

In General

I have been travelling a lot recently, which to many is a wonderful experience while to others it is almost painful. During my voyages I see a lot of situations -some usual, some unusual- which brings me to the topic I want to write about today: I wanted to provide some insight about the whole travelling experience of flying.

The first thing I would like to share are the three rules I use when flying:

1. Prepare yourself for anything.

There are dozens of unexpected events that can happen to you when flying: lost luggage, late luggage, being searched by customs, missing items in your bags, broken locks, delayed flights and so on. The list is so big that almost every time I fly I add a new unexpected event. On one of my most recent flights, there was a woman sitting two rows behind me who had probably never flown before. As the plane started to taxi its way to take-off, she had a panic attack: she started yelling, coughing, and eventually threw up in the isle. When assistance came over her, she started asking questions about the noises the plane was making -setting up the flaps, turning up the engines-. In order to calm her, a stewardess had to sit down with her through the rest of the trip.

2. Be patient, extremely patient.

Flying from town to town means going through a lot of experiences, beginning with all the queues. Although some airports are quicker than others, queues can be demanding both physically and mentally. That is why if you breathe and be patient, you can turn them into a relaxing and easy going experience. I believe that with a bit of common sense and travelling education, there would be a lot of improvement in interacting with all these tough assignments.

3. Travel light on carry on, heavy on checked bags.

The more comfortable you are with your carry on, the smoother your day will go. Keep in mind you have to walk long distances in the airport to catch your plane, to go to the bathroom, go eat, catch the new gate of your flight after there was a gate change, and so on. Also, it is quicker to pass the security checkpoints, not only for you but for the people behind you. Place everything you can in the bags you intend to check, and leave only light items on your carry on. By the way, try to have just one carry on.

4. Buy smart bags.

Ahh… the existential question of determining if your bag meets the 50 pound limit. The trick here lies in the bag, not the shopping. Years ago I bought myself one of these extra large tennis bags, which I consider the best investment I have done when we talk about flying. It’s a huge bag that has lots of room, but more importantly the bag itself weighs less than three pounds. The problem with excess weight is that people buy bags that are heavy as a standalone. Any regular sized bag can weigh around ten or fifteen pounds, meaning that it takes close to 30% of the weight limit. So next time you plan to buy something, do yourself a favor and buy a huge and light large bag.

5. Pack wisely.

The #1 mistake people make when travelling is buying (or bringing) inappropriate stuff, not because of their nature but because how dysfunctional their packing is. Try as not to bring heavy items: jeans, lotions, creams, metal objects, books, and overall any combination of high density low volume. Instead, pack more efficient items for your trip.

6. Do not underestimate being organized.

What does that mean? Fold! Don’t just throw in you clothes. Take your time and fold them nicely and properly. The reward will be breathtaking. You will have lots of free space for those extra items you didn’t believe were possible you could fit, and this will enable you to take full advantage of your bag’s size. If you are carrying something delicate, then use your clothes to protect it from the corners and borders.

7. Take your time to exit the plane.

People like to get up, get their carry-on, and push to exit as soon as the plane arrives at its gate. Sometimes they even do it as soon as the plane touches the runway. Unless you are sitting on first class or have some sort of express exiting arrangement, the most likely scenario is that you will leave the plane only to find yourself on a queue to pick up your luggage -which can come randomly-. If you are flying international, you have to go through immigration -another line-. I have lost count how many times I have seen people rush their way out of the plane, with me being one of the last passengers to exit, only to run into them later when I see them waiting for their bags or their clearance or anything. One time, a lady sitting next to me asked if I could help her get her carry on because she was late for an appointment. I helped her, but as I had seen countless times before, she exited the plane first, and left the airport last.

8. Light shoes, sweatpants and sweaters.

Unless you are under a formal protocol, like your company’s VP is picking you up at the airport, or if you yourself are in a position that requires a certain protocol, you should dress in loose, light clothing. Wearing expensive shoes, belts or cufflinks, earrings, can become a hassle during the security checkpoints. Besides, it’s so comfortable to travel in a nice warm sweater that even serves as a pajamas in case you want to take a nap.

9.  Be nice and have empathy.

Flying is stressful for a lot of people. Some people enjoy it, some people don’t. Regardless of the background, you don’t normally know what’s in the mind of the person next to you (or behind or in-front of you). I always approach flying with a very relaxed and loose mindset, and I try to make the best out of it on any occasion. Of course as I mentioned earlier, every now and then something unexpected can happen: one time I was making my way towards my seat. I placed my carry on, confirmed it was the right seat, jumped in, and buckled my seat belt. I took off my shoes, I placed my headphones on my ears, turned on my playlist and closed my eyes. I fell asleep for about fifteen minutes when all of a sudden I felt someone grabbing my shoulder. As I opened my eyes, I saw a woman signaling to me if I wanted to switch seats with her because she wanted to sit next to her daughter, who was sitting next to me. Under normal circumstances I would have accepted, but on that particular day I had just came from an 11-hour connecting flight, with no sleep at all. I was exhausted to the point of being unable to summon any energy to move. I politely declined, explaining to her that I was tired. To say that she went berserk and got mad at me would be an understatement. She probably assumed that I was supposed to accept her request with no questions asked. I felt like I was nice to her, but she didn’t have empathy for me. And again, I normally do not mind giving my seat to people who want to sit next to someone, but on that particular occasion my little seat felt like heaven to me and I did not feel like giving it away.

Wrapping it all up!

These useful tips make up for a very pleasant travelling day every time I fly. I hope you liked my suggestions and let me know if you have more to add to my list.

HR

Dumb and Dumber

By

On September 10, 2012

In Movies and TV/Steaming Series

Up until 1994, the name Jim Carrey was virtually unknown to the world. He had starred in a couple of sitcoms that had mixed reviews and had a few appearances on the Letterman show. Jeff Daniels on the other hand was a relatively household name, mostly due to his wonderful performance perceived from Woody Allen’s “The Purple Rose of Cairo” and other roles in Arachnophobia, Checking out and Love hurts. Suddenly, Jim Carrey scored big with back-to-back comedy hits Ace Ventura and The Mask, and Jeff Daniels also scored big in the action thriller Speed. Shortly after, both of them found themselves reuinted under the firstt Farrelly Brother’s movie Dumb and Dumber, a comedy that tells the adventures of two friends travelling cross-country America.

With the exception of one scene which foresees Jim Carrey’s talents venturing into drama, there is not a single serious moment in Dumb and Dumber. Right from the get go you can tell you are on for a product of marvolous creativity. The first scene features Jim Carrey’s character “Lloyd Christmas”, confusing a woman’s Austrian accent with an Australian accent. After she dumps him, we get to see the initial credits: “New Line Cinema PREZENTS”, “In ASSOCIASHUN with Motion Picture Corporacion of America”.

The movie follows Lloyd travelling across the country from Rhode Island to Aspen, “California” with his friend Harry, in order to return a briefcase left at Rhode Island’s airport that belongs to Mary Swanson -a one time passenger of Lloyd’s limo driver part time job-. The rest of the movie is a series of hillarious situations that feature the selling of a dead parakeet, picking up of peruvian hitchhikers, freezing your tongue against a ski-cart, an accidental murder of a mob hitman, killing an owl with a champagne corch, borrowing thousands of Dollars in exchange of “I OWE YOU” notes and let’s not forget “the most annoying sound in the world.”

It his hard to pick who is the Dumb and who is the Dumber, and it is even harder to pick who is the brain in this entire operation -if you can call it that way-. Although there are brief flashes of clever actions, the overall common sense and rationality the two characters have is just way below any known psycological standards. My three favorite moments are:

  1. Lloyd exiting one of these 24 hour gas station quick stores and saluting a couple of bystanders with the expression “Hey guys! Whoa… BIG GULPS HUH??! Well, see you later!”
  2. Lloyd mentioning to Harry (referring about Mary) that: “If I know her well as I think I do, she’ll invite us right in for tea and strumpets.” I was a kid when I watched the movie and I remember thinking something like “Did he just say tea and trumpets?” I consider this one of the the most overlooked, subtle, and underestimated jokes in the entire film, along with…
  3. Harry’s: “She gave me a John Deere letter.”

After D&D, the Farrelly Brothers kept making successful movies, gaining a huge fanbase world wide, however in my opinion, none of the movies were able to surpass Dumb and Dumber. A sequel has been announced in the next years, with Carrey and Daniel reprising their roles, which makes me wonder: what kind of dead animal will Lloyd end up selling this time?

HR

Vertigo named Greatest Film of All Time

By

On August 3, 2012

In Movies and TV/Steaming Series

Sight and Sound Magazine just finished compiling votes from movie critics and directors, with results showing that experts selected Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo as the Greatest Film of All time, surpassing Citizen Kane, which was chosen in the same poll the last time it was taken ten years ago.

Here is the top 10 finalists with a brief description of the film and my opinion about it:

1. Vertigo

(1958, Alfred Hitchcock). A very complex film that wasn’t appreciated in its own time, but ever since has built its reputation as the greatest movie ever done. Hitchcock tells the story of Scotty, a retired detective who falls in love and becomes obsessed with the wife of one of his friends, who has asked him to follow her. Vertigo deserves to be in a top 10 list, and it certainly is in mine.

2. Citizen Kane 

(1939, Orson Wells). An almost perfect film about the media, manipulation, individual achievements and an unexplained death with a confusing hidden message. Like Vertigo, Kane also received mixed reviews and was not well understood when it was released. Today, it is a mandatory lesson in film school, and also holds up to the title of greatest film of all time if you would want to rate it over Vertigo.

3.Tokyo Story

(1953, Ozu Yasujiru). I have this film in my library but I haven’t seen it yet.

4.La Regle du jeu

(1938, Jean Renoir). A great film based prior World War II that explores the bourgeois life in France. The film is directed by Jean Renoir -son of the famous painter Auguste Renoir- and it’s by no means short of the quality of art his father produced.

5. Sunrise: A song for two humans

(1927, F.W. Murnau). I have this film in my library but I haven’t seen it yet.

6. 2001: A space oddysey

(1968, Stanley Kubrick). Arguably the most complex film in any “Greatest movies” list. An exploration of our past, present and future, using the most basic feelings of human nature portrayed by Kubrick’s vision.

7. The Searchers

(1955, John Ford). I may offend someone by saying this, but I differ on The Searchers being on the list. Although thematically different -but in the same genre- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is the better movie. The Searchers is strong and is definitely the best western ever made, but The Good, The Bad and The Ugly transcends in being much more than just a western.

8. Man with a movie camera

(1939, Dziga Vertov). I may offend even more people by saying this, but up until today I had never heard anything about this film. I will do whatever it takes to obtain it and watch it.

9. The Passion of Joan of Arc

(1927, Carl Dreyer). A true masterpiece of cinema. Its value has greatly increased after it was believed to be lost forever after a fire destroyed the master negative. Even after several attempts of reassembling it using outtakes, its director -Carl Dreyer- passed away believing it could never be recovered. Renee Falconetti gives the performance of a lifetime portraying the heroic french in her final days, being imprisoned, tortured and executed.

10. 8 1/2

(1963, Federico Fellini). Fellini’s masterpiece. A very emotional and capturing film, with amazing performances by Marcelo Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale. Visually stunning, compelling and philosophical, 8 1/2 stands on top of as a unique film. There is no waste of ink every time it is included in a top two list of greatest films ever made.

Sight and Sound also released a subset of the top 10, which was generated from votes casted only by directors:

1. Tokyo Story: mentioned above.

2 (tie) 2001: A space oddysey and Citizen Kane: mentioned above.

4. 8 1/2: mentioned above.

5. Taxi Driver

(1976, Martin Scorsese). There is so much to say about Taxi Driver, it is unfair to summarize it in a simple paragraph, so I will just say that it does deserve to be in a top 10 list, even if there are eleven films.

6. Apocalypse Now

(1979, Francis Ford Coppola). Apocalypse belongs to the quartet of elite Vietnam films: Full Metal Jacket (Kubrick), Platoon and The Deer Hunter. I honestly believe that Apocalypse and FMJ are in the same level, therefore choosing one over the other is unfair.

7 (tie) Vertigo and The Godfather

(1972, Francis Ford Coppola). I do not quite understand how can one have a top 10 list and not include (or vote for) The Godfather.

9. Mirror

(1975, Andrei Takorskiy). A stunning film that will stick in your mind forever. Expressive, artful, meaningful, tearful, personal: perhaps the most emotional film ever done.

10. Bicycle Thieves

(1948, Vittorio di Sica). I have this film in my library but I haven’t seen it yet. I intended to watch it with my Italian ex-girlfriend, but we broke up.

For those of you wondering, this is my list:

  • 8 1/2
  • 2001
  • Airplane!
  • Citizen Kane
  • Das Boot
  • Fantasia
  • Mirror
  • Persona
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Taxi Driver
  • The Godfather
  • The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
  • The Passion of Joan de Arc
  • Vertigo

You will notice two things: the first one is my addition of Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940, Walt Disney), which is a movie that tells the story of our lives in such a subtle way, it has yet to be fully appreciated and treated the way it deserves. The second one is that my top 10 list is does not contain 10 films. I purposely do this, because I don’t really believe in 5’s, 10’s or 25’s lists. I just rate films in levels and those are the films I believe have the highest rank and are positioned in the highest league of film making and cinema.

Here is the source of the original poll:

So, what are your top 10 films?

HR

The future of the Euro

By

On July 9, 2012

In General

Ever since I was a little kid, currency exchange has always fascinated me. I was lucky enough to work in banking for a while, and despite me leaving the industry, I still maintain that same level of attraction I had as a kid.

Last week was one of those rare occasions in which a lot of eyes in the financial world turned to a specific currency and wondered whether if “This is it”, as in: is this the beginning of the end? The case I am referring to is the Euro, as for the second time in the last couple of years found itself trading at the rate of $1.22, a value that hadn’t been seen since July 2010.

For several years, $1.22 has been a value informally known as the equilibrium point that signals either strength or weakness. Recent trends in European economics are putting a lot of pressure on those who own the currency, given the fact that they have several elements to worry about in their hands: the faulty Greece bailout, the current issue of Spain’s bailout, Ireland’s and Portugal’s not so great macroeconomic situation, all of this reflecting in a lot of skepticism by investors, banks, and even countries who are beginning to lose faith in the Eurozone.

As always, economists are divided between reasons why the Euro will survive, or the imminent failure of the currency. Also as always, the only one who has the answer is our friend time and no one else. While there has been a lot of pressure in the past days to get answers about the future, personally I do not really see this moment as a crucial moment in the Euro’s history.

If you want to know my reasons, all you have to do is buy me dinner… for a whole year 😉

HR

Strengths in the business world and personal life

By

On June 21, 2012

In General

I was having a conversation today with three of my former college professors, and the topic on hand was how do each employee’s strengths and weaknesses play into the work environment in an organization. The conversation centered on how to get the best out of your strengths. You may ask: but what about my weaknesses, do I ignore them? Their answer was Yes.

I remembered last month I was watching the Australian Open, and the sixteen Grand Slam title holder Roger Federer -who also happens to be one of the best players in the history of the sport-, was being interviewed by ESPN’s commentators. They asked him about his training methodology and how do his practice sessions look like nowadays to fix his weaknesses, especially since he is perceived as a veteran in the tour, which means that he may not be focused on improving a certain aspect of his game like his backhand, which has always been considered his weakness. Roger’s answer was an eye opener:

“I don’t really focus on my backhand. I don’t practice much of it in my sessions. I kind of concentrate more on my forehand.” -which many consider not only Roger’s greatest strength, but one of the greatest shots in tennis history-. Roger also added: “I want to practice my forehand because it is my strength, so I want to work on it because it is my greatest weapon. The backhand, I just deal with it during a match.” I found interesting that one of the greatest tennis players of all time had such a surprising approach to his training.

I guess it makes sense when thinking you can exploit your talents when you develop them, and dedicate all your efforts to make yourself a better professional and a better person. Whether if it’s that you are a terrific competitor, you are a relator, an analytical, communicative, responsible, or any other characteristic, the bottom line is that you have a talent inside which is your strength. It is a quality that can make you become a difference in your organization, and can make you achieve that progress and professional growth you have always been looking for. Regarding Roger’s answer about his weakness, I am not sure if I completely agree with dealing with your weaknesses, although I can understand his reasoning.

In the meantime, take your time and get yourself an appointment for an assessment test, so you can find out what strengths do you possess and how can you take advantage of them.

HR

How word of mouth helps your business (and you)

By

On May 9, 2012

In General

Waking through a mall in the city today had me wondering about the different degrees of success stores have -some of them being empty, some others a bit packed-. The question is: what does it take to attract more customers than your competitor?

In the current era where we live in, where information spreads in a matter of seconds across thousands of people, word of mouth has become a very integral part of the marketing process, and while not recognized as a textbook advertising method, the implications it has carries a great importance when talking about the promotional mix. So how exactly does word of mouth work?

Body Language

Let’s say you own a mini store that cells gadgets for cellular phones. You (or your salesman) are sitting at the store doing whatever activity that comes out, like checking your text messages or your email -even though you had just done it an hour ago-. Clients walk by and they notice your demeanor, and while not everyone is a body language expert, one could say there is a fair chance that a random potential customer may feel discouraged of entering your store. People like to be treated nicely, and customers in particular like it when you show an engagement behavior hinting that they will be helped and treated nicely.

Good morning!

Greet everyone you meet with a kind and sincere smile. You don’t want to sound like an alarm clock, but you definitely want to demonstrate a little bit of proactive attitude. I know this is very hard because it is a task that requires endurance and stamina. Out of a hundred people, perhaps less than 30% will respond positively to your gesture, and let’s say only eight will actually engage in business with you. This means that your focus has to be placed on leaving a great impression on those eight people, but who knows how many turns the roads of the others who didn’t enter your store have. They may not have answered you, but seeing how friendly you were to them, they may come back in the future.

Active listening

Now let’s say that someone dropped by your store, responded positively to your greeting and is requesting either information about a product/service or shows interest to buy something. What is taking place at that moment is the beauty of the “Decision Making Process applied to Purchases.” The customer has an unfulfilled need and they are scanning the available options. It can be something as simple as a pin, a new cell phone, a brand new dress, or even professional services. If they do not like what they see on you (or your store), they will walk away. Regardless of whether if you can help them or not, you want them to leave with a positive impression, because eventually they may have the need to come back to you, and after having scanned you before, they will know whether if you are a possible option or not in the near by future.

Be nice, look nice

Another important ingredient is the visual aspect. You want to look good, which means dress nicely, wash your face, smell good, comb your hair, and do everything necessary so that the people you interact with see in you an image or professionalism. People always take kindly to appeal and there is greater chance of attracting customers if you are visually appealing. You don’t have to be Brad Pitt or Salma Hayek; just make sure look nice and bring in that “wow factor.” Combine that with a friendly attitude and a positive body language, and you have a very good combination!

Closing Thoughts

These little details will add up for a positive reaction from your leads, customers an clients. Sooner than later, you will see how more people will want to do business with you. And remember: the more satisfied your customers are with your attention, the more likely they will return the favor with positive recommendations. Word of mouth at work.

Treat your customers just as you would like to be treated.

HR

Are you a workaholic?

By

On April 23, 2012

In General

I was driving from work to home yesterday with the radio on. A couple of hosts were discussing that they had just did in some serious overtime at the station and that led them to think they were becoming “workaholics”, so I wanted to blog a little about this interesting subject.

A workaholic by definition, is someone who is “addicted to work”, in a similar way an alcoholic is addicted to drinking. It is a mental state in which the individual feels he or she must be doing something work related, regardless of the surrounding circumstances or people that are in his or her environment. Now, here I want to state something that is very key, which is: there are people who like their work, but are able to differenciate themselves from workaholics. There is a difference between loving what you do for living, and living your life for what you do. The latter is a typical behavior of a workaholic.

In order to figure out whether if you’re a workaholic or not, you should ask yourself the following questions:

Do you find yourself working over the weekend… every weekend?

It is ok to put in some extra hours every now and then, just to impress your boss and/or colleagues, or just because you may want to have a head start in your upcoming week. However if you are doing this every Saturday and Sunday, then something is definitely wrong. Either you are running short on your week day hours or your workload is not being properly managed, which leads you to become a workaholic.

To solve this you have to do two things: first, ask yourself what does your day work look like. If you are working for 8 hours, then you should be fine with the amount of tasks you have to do. Next, find out what tasks are you doing on the weekend. Checking email? Reviewing briefs? Preparing budgets? Is it something that is absolutely necessary, or is it something that can perfectly be done on Monday?

Do you pass on family and/or social invitations because you have to work?

Life has to have a certain balance and ventilating through other activities helps you clean your mind from the day to day work responsibilities. What good is it to live in an luxury apartment with swimming pool if you use it twice a year -on Christmas and on Independence Day, and only because everything else in town is closed.

The more you begin to get involved in non-work related activities, such as interacting with your social circle, the more you will appreciate the value of your spare time and the value of doing something different other than work.

Do you find yourself finishing your work and immediately going to bed and waking up and going straight to work?

Sleeping is one of the greatest pleasures in life, so why deprive yourself from it? Research has determined that over a third of the Earth’s population does not have a healthy sleep routine, for a variety of reasons -one of them being stress from work-. The human brain works exactly like any engine: after running at cruise control for most part of the day, you should cool it down before switching it off, just like in the mornings you should to warm it up before going at full speed.

The healthier your sleep is, the more efficient you will become in your work, which will likely lead to better management of hours and increased productivity during those hours. Also, make a note of how many times have you fallen asleep with nothing in your mind, and compare those times to the occasions you fell into bed thinking about tomorrow’s meeting.

Do you keep in touch with your co-workers after work hours?

It’s ok to have co-workers friends, but chances are that if you hang out too much with your co-workers, you will inevitably find yourself talking about work. You must be able to draw the line and separate your spaces. If you like your coworkers and want to become friends with them, then do something where there is little to zero chance of you having any work related interaction. This will develop a friendship between you and them, and you will be able to add them to your social circle without affecting your work relationship.

Another option you may have is to hang out with your friends or family. Having a nice night out with someone who you like to be with only to enjoy the pleasure of their company is a wonderful feeling. Next time someone from work calls or emails you after work hours or the weekend, just be polite and say “I’m currently with my family (or friends), I’ll talk to you on Monday at the office.”

————-

This is of course a very brief discussion about an interesting topic. In the end, some people just like to work and do nothing else. If you are one of those, then simply enjoy what you are doing, but keep in mind there is a universe of fun things available to do out there. If you are one of those who feel they are putting too many hours in to the job, try to follow a few of my ideas, give them a try and hopefully you will feel a lot better in no time.

HR

Unbelievable coincidence or Sample plagiarism?

By

On April 4, 2012

In Music

Last weekend my girlfriend stayed over with me at my place. We stayed up late playing cards (a game that may be called strip poker), and talking about everything and nothing. We always like to come up with new creative ideas to have fun, and eventually started playing this game in which we would both be blindfolded, and would have to guess the name of a song playing on a YouTube playlist (a game that may be called strip YouTube). At one point we both wrongly guessed the name of one and we were left startled and in disbelief that we had missed it considering our knowledge of music. It was an instrumental song that shared a remarkable similarity with a very popular and well-known rock song from the 1990s.

After removing our blindfolds, we were surprised that the name of the song was “The Last Time” by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, with the writing credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. I thought to myself the same thing you are probably thinking as you read these words: “I don’t remember The Rolling Stones having an instrumental song.“

It turns out that in 1965, Andrew Oldham being the Stones’ manager -and a musician himself- embarked in a series of sampling projects of some songs of this clients, one of them being an early song of theirs called “The Last Time.” He adapted into an orchestra version resulting in the product that you just listened to. Now, which famous song of the 1990s sounds exactly like this? That’s right: thirty years later, The Last Time is now known as the “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve. The only noticable difference between the two pieces are Richard Ashcroft’s lyrics.

A few months after Bitter Sweet Symphony’s release and eventual success, Andrew Oldham and Allen Klein -the owner of the company that owns copyrights of all The Rolling Stones’ early songs-, noticed the coincidence and filed a suit against The Verve. Ashcroft and company alleged that they had requested permission to use a four-bar sample of the song. Needless to say, the court ruled in favor to the Stones, hence today the songwritting credits of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” read Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Richard Ashcroft. A few years later, Keith Richards was asked to give his opinion on the matter, to which he said: “I’m out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money.”

There was another similar case that occurred in the 1990s -1997 to be more precise-, when the band Nerf Herder was questioned for writing a very famous theme song…

…that contained a very similar melody as the one heard in “Codo” a Austrian pop song from the 1980s that was very popular in Europe, written and performed by a band called D.O.F.

…is quite similar to this song.

Nerf Herder denied having heard of D.O.F. before. This means one begs to ask: what are the chances of a band of 1990s California teenagers being familiar with an Austrian pop bands from the 1980s? Is it an unbelievable coincidence or sample plagiarism?

I’ll let you decide.

HR

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