If Chicago was a truck…

Last weekend we were having breakfast with Darlene (of banana fame) and Bob. Bob was telling me about the problems his brother has had with his new pickup truck.

Turns out it wasn’t just Ron, it was that year and model of truck.

In the course of the conversation, Bob said, “Looks like there might be a pretty big recall on that vehicle.”

I said that was too bad, and then I thought: If Chicago was a truck, would it be recalled?

Sometimes my mind just works like that, putting things together that don’t really go together. Although maybe, at least in some cases, they should go together.

So this week I am changing up the format and sharing some of those thoughts with you. I’ll add a little commentary, and you can add your own in the comments. Who knows, maybe they’ll make a future edition of Random Questions With a Point.

If Chicago was a truck, would it be recalled?

The list of things I love about Chicago is long. I grew up in Illinois, went to college there, and had a roommate from Chicago. He was the first Chicagoan I knew, and he set a good standard for “The Second City.”

Much later my brother moved to the burbs of Chicago — my beautiful niece and her handsome sons still live there — and did a lot of his work downtown. Several years after that, we moved to a different suburb of The Windy City, and went downtown for everything from pizza (the best!) to the White Sox (not always the best) to local theater. Back then, Taste of Chicago was sooooo good, and the Christmas decorations could not be beat.

The list goes on, but here is the point I want to make: today there are parts (only parts) of Chicago that seem to be broken. Can they be fixed in a local garage? Does it require the dealership? Or does it really need the manufacturer to step in and say, “Time for a recall?”

If a commercial van sped by you on the road or drove (even a little bit) recklessly, would you put them on a list of companies you’d never hire?

I’m assuming, of course, that the name of the company is plastered all over the van and that there is enough daylight for you to read it. Why do I think about this? Because it happens to me frequently.

One day this week, for instance, there were two different white vans on the same route I was on. Each of them was “wrapped” and self-identified as part of a company. As it happened, both of them were Heating, Air Conditioning, and Plumbing companies. (A fairly common combination around Phoenix.)

One of them was apparently quite late for an appointment. The driver didn’t seem to care what any other driver might think of him or his company. He was going to get where he was going as quickly as possible. If not as safely as possible.

My point is, people see these things, and it makes a difference. At least it does for me. Does it for you?

A good news side-note: We use a company called Arizona Dukes of Air. I happened to see three of their vehicles on the road this week, and they were all doing good with their driving. It made me smile.

Why do we get more done when we take time off?

This is one of those counterintuitive things most of us finally figure out. But not everyone.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about the “new” Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and their work hours.

The “number” is some variation of a 9-9-6 schedule — work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week. Then maybe a half day on the other day. One startup founder interviewed for the article said she might work as many as 120 hours a week.

But does that automatically mean more productivity? Of course not. In fact rest is essential if you want to be at your best. Even elite athletes plan rest days into their schedules, and elite entrepreneurs should do the same.

It was God who first said, “Take a day of rest.” Many thought that was just to honor God and worship, but Jesus cleared it up when he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, man wasn’t made for the Sabbath.” In other words, God did it for our good. He loves us, after all, but rest is one of his gifts we often ignore.

I sometimes have days that include 15 hours or more of work. That is just plain silly, and I know it. I might as well spread that over two days, because the next day I’m still tired and not very productive.

Psychologists and doctors will confirm this: rest (especially sleep) is a very good thing. To get more done, take more time off. Now if I could just remember that….

Why do so many people make “normal” their standard?

Do you want to know how to take an idea that is contrary to social norms and get people to accept it? Make it seem normal.

I was reading a comic novel that was written in the 1920s. One of the characters had, in a fit of good-heartedness, told a young woman he would marry her. He then confided to a friend that he didn’t really want to get married, but he didn’t know how to back out. Why? He was concerned that if he called it off, she would sue him for breach of promise!

My, how things have changed.

Today we accept (or tolerate) all kinds of relationships that are not in sync with how we were created or what is best for us. But we all love “normal” and want to be thought of as normal. And it is fairly easy to get bad — even evil — to seem normal.

Before I jump onto a soap box, let me just say that moral is superior to normal, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Normal is a very low bar as standards go. Choose your standards better than that! In fact here is a standard that will serve you well:

Do good.

It’s already in you.