The Magic of a Mac? Time IS Money.

Here’s something interesting. If I had Tweeted a few days ago that I recently bought a brand new Dell laptop, how many comments do you think that would have generated in Facebook? I’d say “zero.” And in fact, for anyone who cared to read the Tweet, they’d probably mutter to themselves, “Who gives a xxxx? Get a life, Diamond.”

Yet the other day, when I tweeted that I purchased a new MacBook Pro laptop and that it cost 350%  more than my first used car, I got 14 comments in Facebook–all of them incredibly positive. Now THAT is brand affinity! Or you can call it ‘customer advocacy.’

Regardless, how does a company with single digit PC market share gain such a zealous fan base, while the lords of the PC market typically create enmity, thanks to Microsoft? Well, I’m about to find out. Admittedly I’m a late adopter. Former co-workers like Troy T. back at Inktomi were carrying around Macs seven-plus years ago.

But what drove me to spend $1,500 more than what I probably would have had to, if I had purchased a Windows laptop, was the following. And it’s not that Apple is cool, or that I want to look cool, or that I want to “think different.” So why why why?

1) I equate an hour of my time with a dollar value. Heck, my employer does, so why shouldn’t I? To that end, a few weeks ago I spent 12 hours trying to create a 30 second video with output from my Flip HD camera on my 2 1/2 year old work laptop. And I couldn’t do it. 12 hours. Wasted. I then thought, “If I had a Mac, I probably would have been able to do this in two hours max.” Now of course I could also do this with a current generation Windows laptop. But I’m the one who has to install the video editing software. I’m the one who has to learn how to use it, etc., etc. And no, Windows Movie Maker does not cut it. With a Mac, iMovie is included. I don’t have to deal with virus crap, as many re-boots, “Are you sure you want to INSTALL this software and RUN this software” prompts, etc.?

2) Did I mention that I equate an hour of my time with a dollar value? Well, I also equate an hour of someone ELSE’S time with a dollar value, and that’s the dollar I have to pay THEM to provide ME with value. At the time of purchase, Apple offers this nifty service package called “One to One.” For $99 you get a year of unlimited access to pre-recorded video training sessions. Or you can block an hour of one-on-one time with an Apple trainer each week at an Apple Store. Or you can block a longer period of time if you’re OK with working with other folks in a small group setting. So I’m going to modestly assume that I’ll avail myself of 20 one-on-one sessions in the next year. And oh, I will! I’ll conservatively estimate that it would cost me $80 to PAY for each of these training sessions. That would be $1,600. Subtract out my initial investment and I’ve just paid for the price difference between a Mac and a Windows laptop. Oh, and a year from now I’ll be a master of Final Cut Express, etc., etc. Not bad. BTW, the folks at the Apple Hillsdale store (San Mateo, California) are on notice. I haven’t received my Mac yet but I’m doing a ‘drive-by’ this weekend. A highly caffeinated drive-by. Yippee!

3) I’ve been told by many people that Apple’s latest OS requires much lower overhead than its Windows equivalent. Thus an equivalent Intel processor and 4 MB of RAM on a Mac screams compared to its Windows sibling. I’d like me some of that.

So there you go. Now, if you look at this post and conclude, “This guy is simply trying to rationalize spending a bucket load of money on a depreciating asset,” I won’t correct you. But I hope to have some fun along the way. And save a LOT of time.

A Little Bit of Revolution and a Lot of Passion

In the “Don’t tell Me It Can’t Be done!” camp comes Revolution Foods, which is aiming to bring healthy wholesome, whole foods lunches to school kids for less than $3 per meal. I’m sure you’ve heard murmurings from companies like these before. But you may not have seen companies with both the street cred and passion this management team appears to bring. The fact they recently garnered some primo “ink” in USA Today doesn’t hurt either.

Girl Scout cookies OUT. Revolution Foods IN.

Great Quotes

I’m a sucker for great quotes. Sure, Twitter is turning into a giant inspirational quote machine thanks to a growing quadron of automated tweeters. Yet there is still some good stuff out there.

But for anyone who regularly works out at LA Fitness (I do not–there are none in my area), they’ll likely run into this large wall poster, which I love.

A Day to be Thankful

Today is a day to be thankful, to be grateful for all the wonderful things in your life.

This morning I woke up very early, went to the gym, got a fantastic workout, took a few very deep post-workout breaths, and then, as I was arriving back at my mother’s house in South Florida, I had a very profound thought of gratitude that I’d like to share with you now.

I said, “Today, I am very thankful that I am not a turkey.”

So to speak….Happy Thanksgiving!

Great Leadership Lessons, Including Fewer Rules

Because I am most definitely into personal development, I’m absolutely more impressionable than the average bear. Be that as it may, this Q&A with William D. Green, Chairman and CEO of Accenture, is outstanding–a true keeper.

Here a few great quotes:

“It isn’t how many degrees you have. It’s what you can do…What that says is, it doesn’t matter what you look like, what you talk like, where you went to school, where you came from, any of that stuff. What matters is what you’re capable of.”

“…there are three things that matter. The first is competence — just being good at what you do, whatever it is, and focusing on the job you have, not on the job you think you want to have. The second one is confidence. People want to know what you think. So you have to have enough desirable self-confidence to articulate a point of view. The third thing is caring. Nothing today is about one individual. This is all about the team, and in the end, this is about giving a damn about your customers, your company, the people around you, and recognizing that the people around you are the ones who make you look good.”

“What critical behavior interviewing does is get at people’s character, and you get to see where work fits in their value system, where pride fits in their value system, where making hard decisions or sacrificing fits in their value system. I mean, you sacrifice and you’re a victim, or you sacrifice because it’s the right thing to do and you have pride in it. Huge difference. Simple thing. Huge difference.”

Great stuff! (Have I written the word “great” enough in this post?) Read the whole interview here.

What Do I Like? Learning Stuff I Didn’t Know

Personal Development Lessons from Sarah Palin

I’m strictly adhering to a politics-free discourse on this blog. So what the heck am I doing talking about Sarah Palin? It’s as simple as this.

In life, we can learn lessons from people we admire, and from people we do not. Among the latter category, we have the opportunity to observe them closely, and then do the exact opposite of what they do. Think about George Costanza in that infamous Seinfeld episode, “The Opposite.” By going against his own natural instincts and doing the opposite, George gets an attractive new girlfriend, who in turn gets him a job with the New York Yankees. Boom. He is no longer unemployed or living with his parents and life is beautiful, baby!

Back to reality, we have Sarah Palin who at times plays the role of the victim, castigates her many villains, and who constantly seems offended. It’s odd that with the publishing of her new book, “Going Rogue,” she is attacking the Associated Press for a critical review of the book. It’s also odd she gives such undue attention to Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson. And it’s odd she is having such a continued war of words with the McCain team. So here’s the score: AP–Palin is the victim and they are the villain; McCain Team–Ditto; David Letterman–she is offended and demands an apology. And the list goes on and on.

Bill Clinton took a lot of crap during his presidency — even before his ultimate screw-up. Did he play the victim, call out villains, and get so easily offended? No. George Bush took a lot of crap during his presidency. Did he play the victim, call out villains, and get so easily offended? OK, Bush could have done better on the villain part, but two out of three ain’t bad, and you get my point.

The reason I’m going on this diatribe is that I’m reminded of a work offsite I went to a couple of years ago, facilitated by a Chicago company. The leader of the session basically said what I just have: in business and in life, you can play the role of a victim or a villain, you can be offended and criticize others for being villains, or you can take 100% responsibility for what happens in your life, step up, and be a dignified leader.

We all have lapses and none of us are perfect. But in the case of Sarah Palin, she is leaving a lot of behavioral breadcrumbs — ones that indicate doing the opposite of what she does would be most appropriate. To me, that is the “teachable moment” we’re witnessing right now. And with that, my observation of Sarah Palin is officially complete. On to the next!

The Family Man Is One of My Favorite Movies of All Time

OK, so I don’t listen to much commercial radio. And I hardly watch any TV these days. But like you, I’m beginning to hear that jingling sound in ads that indicates…WE’RE IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

Well, you can watch one of my favorite holiday movies at any time of year. Heck, I watched it last July and still wept like a baby, yet laughed and smiled in far more parts. It’s The Family Man with Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni and Don Cheadle. It uses the classic Dickens “A Christmas Carol” contrast technique, but with a great twist. And that’s all I’ll say.

Plus, did I mention that Tea Leoni is in this movie?

Well, I just checked Amazon and can’t believe they’re selling this DVD for $6.49.

You know, I don’t watch a lot of movies either. But I have no problem looking at The Family Man again and again. It’s time well spent.

Really Really REALLY Clean Hot Tubs

Creating Your Own Reality