Election Hangover - and survival of the yeast

Wow; it has been a while.  I hope everyone has a good brew in hand because I hate to break it to you all.  The world is not over for the old U.S of A..  It has only changed.  Good or bad, it is the readers perspective.  The question you should ask yourself is how you, your loved ones can evolve and survive.

Now, like our friends the yeast, they are productive, no matter how different their individual environment are.  They create many different delicious beers as long as the key ingredients remain true.  So must we as business owners must be like the yeast and determine that what ingredients we need to survive in our keg (world).

Let's visit the basic list:

• Yeast - that's you bub.
• Water - this is our personal environment that we work in our sanctuary.
• Hops - Consider this your specific skill or talent.
• Grain - Our clients we serve.

Simple enough right?  Not so fast. Any brewer knows that without a sterile environment, and the right balance of ingredients is needed.  Let's start with the hops.  This defines your services as a business Columbus, Cascade, Citra all can create different varieties of different beer and knowing what the end result of your batch will be (Stout, IPA, Pilsner)  Next, with enough quality grain you (and your employees), can work off what you do best as happy little yeast.  The right clients are the ones you market to within the niche of your services. You are the yeast, of course, magically working to create a wonderful concoction. The water, and what it is stored in (keg, bottle, etc) is the final, yet most misunderstood piece.  The quality of the water and cleanliness of the vessel must be pristine.  Soap, chemicals, other types of bacteria, temperatures too hot or cold all are detrimental to the productivity in your beer.  Know the source of your water folks, and the vessel you have it in.

What is tainting your business' water?  Bad Clients? Bad Employees?  Lack of Leadership?  Political policy? Poor skill set? Negativity? Fear?

When diving into your wort is everything ready for you to do your best work?

Look before you leap folks,  that's what makes a great brew.

Cheers folks!

* Note,  like yeast at times we hibernate. I am happy to say that I am finally out of hibernation, back consulting clients about their technical problems they have with their business lowering costs and creating systems to increase profit margins.

The Perfect Environment to Succeed

Last week I recently had the opportunity to brew my own beer.  Steve, the owner of Station U-Brew in Puyallup, WA was kind enough to help me through the process.  Brewing has an interesting procedure with many set rules.  From the right water temperature, grinding of the grains, boiling the mash adding the malt and hops; all steps had to be completed at a certain points and certain temperatures. The whole purpose is to create a specific environment for the yeast to do its magic and create beer.  Each ingredient gives its own variable on affecting the taste of the beer.  From the different types of malts and grains to the different hop varieties all has a place on how it specifically affects the taste.  Then the yeast is added.  A brewer creates the wonderful environment for these microbes to thrive in and do their magic.

So that made me wonder... How do we create the perfect environment for us to succeed?

Do you have the right team?  Are the people in your business team motivated in helping you succeed?  The right working environment.  A clean de-cluttered working area.   Do things like music, an inspiring view, or photographs inspire you to work?  The proper tools.  A comfortable chair, keyboard, lighting, etc.  Have you created the best area environment that can help you to achieve that specific "flow state"?  I have found that with the proper working environment (comfortable chair, classical music, and large screen)  I find it easier to create documents, write blogs or do any other computer work at a faster rate.  Thus, I have created an environment that will allow me to get into that flow state.

So, I suggest give it a try.  Create that perfect environment that you would need to work efficiently, comfortable, and relaxed; so that you can achieve a better work-space for yourself.

Like the yeast, a perfect environment can create amazing results!

More on the beer in a later article.  Cheers!