I was in the market for some exercise equipment recently, and I figured I'd buy some of it secondhand from eBay or Craigslist since lots of people make fitness goals and quickly abandon them.  I assumed there'd be a pretty big market of lightly-used low-priced exercise equipment.  I was wrong, but for a different reason.  It turns out there's a modest market for used equipment, but the better market is for brand-new equipment from giant companies with small margins or loss leaders.  A loss leader is a product sold at a loss with the intention of attracting additional business.  Amazon and Walmart can sell a product for little to no profit because they know you'll buy a bunch of other stuff from them.  That works out great for customers who want to pay low prices, which is pretty much all customers.  It doesn't work out great for the secondhand marketplace.  With the advent of free shipping, the secondhand marketplace is essentially obsolete.  I was able to order a piece of equipment, brand new, from a big reputable company, shipped for free in three days, for less than I could've bought the same piece of equipment, used, either shipped across the country (at a significant cost), or picked up from someone that lives near me.  Loss leaders have killed the secondhand marketplace. #business

One of my coworkers announced that she's taking a "temporary" one-year assignment overseas, which I believe she'll turn into a permanent departure because she hates her job.  That's fine and all -- except it's not because she's just piling her work responsibilities onto other people, just like she did when she got pregnant, twice -- but as soon as she announced it, she was dead to me.  It was like a breakup.  We each have to move on; go our separate ways.  Except that something got messed up with her paperwork, so she's currently in limbo.  Now it's worse than a breakup.  It's like being broken up, but still living with a person.  You see each other in the kitchen.  You chat in the hallway -- "How are things?  You look well."  But really all I want is for this shitty limbo process to be over.  Either stay or go.  But since you've burned me before, just go.  Make up your mind, get your paperwork together, and just go.  You're dead to me but you're still here.  You're like a corpse. #business

Like most American males, I was in Home Depot this past weekend buying random household things to replace old or broken existing household things.  And like most times I go to a do-it-yourself store, I was accosted by several different people trying to sell me home services like backup generators and solar panels.  I get that these are viable products that would be expensive or difficult to do yourself, but it just feels like the absolute worst way to sell something like that is to annoy people who are literally doing it themselves.  I don't go to a DIY store to pay someone to do it for me. #business

I've been scoping out a few different home renovations recently, and I'm surprised how difficult it is to find a reliable human being who'll take my money in exchange for a service performed.  Just getting someone to pick up the phone or call back can be a pain in the ass.  One contractor answered his cell phone with a loud, "HELLO?", and I assumed I had the wrong number.  Even he seemed a little unsure about why I was calling him.  You're a contractor, right?  "Oh yeah, what do you need?"  *eyeroll*

Then there's the issue of getting a person to show up for an estimate.  Look, I get it.  Estimating a job is easily the worst part of the whole deal.  You're essentially planning out your livelihood and work schedule, with the very real possibility of the customer going with a different contractor.  But hey here's an idea:  Show up to my house at the desired time on the desired day, or let me know if you need to reschedule.  I'm not a slave driver, and I'm not in a rush.  But when your "truck breaks down" and you happen to "lose my number" (this was an actual excuse), you've just wasted my entire fucking Friday afternoon, asshole. 

Finally there's the estimate, which "you'll get in a day or two."  No problem; I'm not in a rush.  A week goes by; where's the estimate?  "Oh I emailed it to; it's probably in your spam folder."  Do we really need to play this game?  It's not in my spam folder; you didn't send it.  Don't be a shithead. 

I just don't get why this needs to be so difficult.  I'm trying to give you money.  Take my money!  I have money!  Take it from me in exchange for doing a job!  Why contractors are so shitty when it comes to customer relations is beyond me.  Look, I get that your job is construction and demolition and not sales, but if you had put in a fucking ounce of effort in this, you'd have about $7000 extra in your pocket right now. #business

The "10000 hours rule" is the idea that people who are great at something tend to spend roughly 10000 hours getting there.  I was thinking recently, in light of my post about trusting experts, and I realized I passed the 10000-hour mark at work quite a while ago.  If there are 52 weeks in a year and you work maybe 48, and you work 40 hours per week, that's 1920 hours per year.  That means it would take 5.2 years to surpass the 10000-hour mark.  Of course not all those hours are spent productively performing the core duties of one's job.  But probably sometime between 5 and 10 years at a job, a person essentially becomes an expert. #business

I've had a couple customer service experiences lately that I wished included more of a "human" feel to them.  One was when I ordered something online and was told when to be at my house to receive delivery.  I was notified and reminded several times of the timeframe, as well as the new timeframe due to a delay.  When that time window came and went, I called the company to see what was up.  They said essentially, "Whoops, how about tomorrow?"  Tomorrow's time window came and went, so I called the company again.  They said essentially, "The truck is on its way, albeit 28 hours later than originally intended." 

Twenty-eight fucking hours.  We live in a ridiculously technologically modern age.  Everyone can be contacted at all times in a variety of ways.  How did you not get around to delivering my stuff on the right day, and how did you not figure out how to contact me to tell me before it didn't happen?  How did you still miss the time window on the second day, not contact me to tell me about it, and then proceed to send me a survey asking about my purchasing experience?  "How satisfied were you with the timing of the delivery?"  Not very satisfied, asshole. 

A few days later, the electric got shut off at my new house.  It was probably a simple mix-up, or that's what I'd like to believe.  A simple call to the electric company should solve that.  But no, the electric company says we have to call back the following business day (since it was after hours), and service will be restored the day after that.  So that's two days without power, all because I didn't transfer utilities in the 4 days since I signed the fucking closing papers.  I talked to a customer service idiot on the service restoration day to ask what time the technician would be there.  Her answer:  Sometime between 8 am and 6 pm.  I asked her in the event that she lost power at her house, if that would be a good answer.  She said no. 

I just wish companies weren't so stupidly rigid.  I understand that nobody has time to address each and every circumstance like it's a beautiful unique experience to enrich a person's life, but how about some wiggle room?  Yes, the "policy" is a two-day turnaround, but how about a fucking favor for a new homeowner who can't take a fucking shower or flush his piss-filled toilet?  How about a phone call or a letter or a knock on my fucking door to tell me you're gonna take away my electricity?  How about an email or a text message to let me know my vacation day was essentially useless and you can't even come up with a reasonable explanation for why you couldn't deliver a $2000 tractor to a waiting customer.  I realize it's not "standard operating procedure", but could you maybe try to act like a human being? #business

I'd like to record a story from work for the sake of posterity. 

My job offers the option of teleworking, i.e. working from home, 2-4 days per month.  If your role is suitable for teleworking and you can be trusted to work alone without supervision, you can sit around in your sweatpants on your couch while doing official work.  I made the cut.  It's a good gig. 

But there's one caveat:  If the workplace is closed due to weather, normal workers are dismissed with pay, while teleworkers are expected to telework.  So in other words, teleworkers are expected to work while everyone else is getting paid to not work.  It's unfair, but it's the rule.  The original idea was to have the entire workforce telework so that normal business could continue even during a weather emergency.  That didn't work out, but we're left with some of the remnants of a good idea.  So whenever a snow storm is headed our way, the bosses remind all the teleworkers to bring home their laptops and whatnot in case the office is closed. 

A few weeks ago I left work early on a Thursday afternoon.  I had off on Friday.  I didn't bring my laptop or notepad home (i.e. teleworking materials) because I planned to return to work on Monday like normal.  I didn't check the weather report for Monday because it was four days away and the weather forecasters had just predicted a major snowpocalypse that didn't end up happening.  Fast forward to Monday, and the office is closed due to weather.  I didn't have my telework equipment at home with me, so I didn't do anything that day and used the administrative leave that was offered to all the non-teleworkers. 

Later that week I was approached by my boss who said that since I was a teleworker, I should've been prepared to telework four days in advance over a long weekend.  And since I didn't telework, I would be charged vacation time, because that's essentially what it was.  I presented my side of the story, which I felt was completely reasonable, and I hoped he would see my side of things and grant me an exemption.  He was reluctant, so I pointed out that whether I teleworked or used administrative leave, it would've cost the organization the exact same amount of money, and there was really no benefit to punishing me for an accidental oversight. 

His reply was the following, paraphrased:  There are rules.  I (the boss) must follow these rules.  If I don't follow these rules, I'll hear about it from my boss, and he'll hear about it from his boss, etc.  Request denied. 

I asked him what the actual consequences would be for him if he stood up for me.  We work for a pretty lenient organization, so there's almost no way for people to get fired.  His reply was that it could affect his annual performance review, which might affect his potential annual bonus.  I confirmed with a coworker later that bonuses top out at around $2500, which is not nothing, but also not life-changing. 

In the end, my request for a one time exemption from the rule was denied.  My immediate supervisor (under my boss) said he would've gone to bat for me if he was in charge, and that in the future it's often easier to lie about things like this.  He didn't technically say that, but I completed his sentences for him, and he gave me a wink-wink nudge-nudge. 

I was under the impression that bosses are there to look out for their employees, to advocate for them.  What I experienced was a completely robotic, selfish interpretation of outdated, arbitrary rules.  I almost can't fault my boss because I would've probably done the same thing if I were in his position.  But that's why I'm not in his position.  I'm not a people person; I'm a worker.  If I could transform myself into a boss, I'd rather treat my employees like responsible though flawed adults, instead of lying cheating children.  People tend to act the way you treat them, so expect lying and cheating from me in the future. #business

I liked this part of a recent Freakonomics episode interviewing the head of the World Bank: 

Well, I think market forces are critical here. And sometimes people say, "Well, you know, the private sector does everything better." And I don't know that that's really the case so much as the private-sector entities that did it poorly no longer exist, right? Because they go out of business. And public-sector entities can stay in business for a very long time no matter how poor their performance is.

Good take on both points.  Bad businesses can and do fail.  Bad government isn't allowed to fail.  Maybe it should be. #business

I work with a bunch of people who are highly knowledgeable about a lot of different things.  If I ask someone a question about work, I might get an answer, but chances are I'll get a story about how someone once had that answer, and how that person has since moved to a different company or died.  I find myself giving the same kinds of answers largely because some things can't be answered with a simple word or sentence.  Complicated topics require explanations, diagrams, questioning the original question, and so on. 

I traveled for work last week, and I got the chance to work with a bunch of people who were highly knowledgeable about the one specific thing they worked on.  I could go up to them with seemingly complicated questions and get completely simple answers in seconds.  It was incredibly refreshing to work with people who, while maybe not as versatile as my regular co-workers, still knew the ins and outs of their work better than anyone else possibly could.  There's value in good workers. #business

I wonder when the first corporation will declare war?  It's not that inconceivable.  Guns and ammunition are already made by private companies.  And the U.S. has used private military contractors in the recent past.  So the equipment and skill is there. 

There's certainly a question about legality, but I feel like that's not all that hard to circumvent.  It probably won't be much longer before the first company establishes their corporate headquarters on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean.  It's kind of already happening.  It's not that much of a stretch for a "service economy" company like Google to simply build a few floating platforms in the world's oceans and continue to rake in cash while also continuing to avoid paying taxes.  I'd say the incentive is right there. 

The final thing would be motive, and I think a perfect example of that is the recent Sony hack.  A giant corporation has little or nothing to gain from a legal investigation and subsequent trial.  But they have everything to gain by preventing hacks from happening in the first place, both by increasing their network security and by personally attacking offending parties.  Plus, it wouldn't take a D-Day invasion to take down a group of computer hackers.  It would take a Seal Team 6 type of group, but without the legal niceties and Geneva Conventions that sovereign nations have to follow.  Businesses are already considering this. 

In short, the next major development in warfare will be Company X vs. Nation Y. 

Update:  Scott Adams wrote the same exact thing a few days after me. #business