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re: “Top Down” or “Bottom’s Up” July 2, 2008

Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , Comments

Hillel at Jackson Street Fish Market has an interesting post, "Are you a “Top Down” or “Bottoms Up” kind of person?"

It's a good read, and shares some points with Tom Peter's posts on the topic of who the most important people are for your business: The Employees.

That said, have you been in Whole Foods lately? Have you watched their staff? Now, maybe it's just the team at the Bellevue, WA store, but I see far too much lack of attention to the customer, and way too much talking amongst the staff about non-work stuff.

I'm sure there's a balance to be struck between these two methods, as one can be too extreme in either case. Plus, there are a fair number of studies that articulate which leadership styles work in various environments. And, not every leader (or follower) can easily switch gears between these styles. So, this 'choice' is not so clear-cut as one would think.

Food for thought, nonetheless. Especially when you're considering building a team, or joining a team!

Working on weightlifting movements July 2, 2008

Posted by hardly Sit-ups, Kettlebell, Bar, Medicine Ball, Row, Pullups, Dips, Lunges, Jump Rope Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

Today was a fun workout. Aside from the usual stuff, we did some ‘learning’ - working on some of the classic weightlifting movements.

It’s funny - two years ago, if you had told me I’d be doing Clean & Presses, I’d tell you that you were out of your mind. I had too much fear built up around possibly injuring my back if I did free-weight exercises where the bar went above my head. And, like most things in life, successfully negotiating this point is all about starting small and building up slowly.

Thing is, I would not go back to my previous workouts having gotten into the swing of things with free weights. The added benefits are simply too good to ignore. For example, in doing a Clean & Press, it’s amazing how much your core muscles get activated!

Warmup:

Workout: