Company Blog

Songs for Slim Dunlap

by Adam Zack — December 23, 2024

So here it is, 2 days before Christmas and I’m filled with love and appreciation for what I have…

Hello, and Merry Christmas, 2024! Just when I thought I was running out of new ideas to write about, my wife Linda prodded me to think of something and I received an email from my great friend Mark Lindsey. He emailed to inform me that Slim Dunlap had died. Now Slim Dunlap is far, far from a household name. He was was the replacement guitarist for my favorite band, the Replacements. They joked that he was a replacement Replacement. He was an immensely talented and self-effacing guitarist that was admired and praised by the likes of Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, Slim suffered a massive stroke in 2012 that robbed him of his ability to play guitar.Mark wrote to me:“We lost Slim. I remember the album “Songs for Slim”. He was Keith Richards without Mick, but with Bo Diddley on meth. [I don’t really know what the Bo Diddly part means!]And as Keith Richards said; “I never had a problem with drugs, I had a problem with the police”His songs remind me that the music business is as much luck, timing, perseverance as it is talent. A metapho...
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Are you fixing or serving?

by Adam Zack — December 18, 2024

Service is about humility.

Helping feels good, right? You swoop in, save the day, and get that warm glow when someone says, “Thank you, how can I ever repay your kindness?” Of course, we brush it off with a modest, “Oh, no, it was my pleasure!” But let’s be honest—somewhere, deep on the chalkboard of our subconscious, we tally a little mark. They now owe us a favor, even if we never plan to cash it in.When I first heard this analogy, it hit me like a rogue shopping cart in a parking lot. Was my helping always as selfless as I thought? Sure, I enjoyed it. But did it make them feel good? Or did I leave them with that awkward “IOU” aftertaste? Something to think about.And then there’s the term “The Help.” Think about how that sounds: The Help. It doesn’t conjure images of empowerment or partnership—it brings to mind maids, butlers, and drivers. Roles of subservience, not collaboration. No one wants to feel like that. Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen captures this beautifully in her work, “Helping, Fixing, or Serving”.Now, let’s talk about fix...
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Tipping Point

by Adam Zack — December 11, 2024

“…it’s about making someone’s day a little better.”

As I’ve said before, pretty much everything we do revolves around money. How much did you save? What kind of deal can I get? That’s too expensive. There’s a big sale coming up. Sales are up. Sales are down. Inflation is up. Honestly, I hate thinking about it. I hate even saying it. But no matter how much I wish I could avoid balancing budgets, deciding what to spend, and planning for Christmas, it’s just a fact of life.One of my earliest money-related memories was from when I was about 10 years old. We were in San Francisco with my biological father, having lunch at a very nice restaurant called Scoma’s. There were six of us, I think. When the bill came, my dad prepared to leave a $4 tip. Yes, four dollars. Now, this was about 50 years ago, so while inflation wasn’t what it is today, even then, $4 was borderline insulting.I remember begging him to leave more. I couldn’t stand the idea of walking out of that restaurant branded as “Son of Cheapass” by the staff. To his credit—or maybe just to get me to stop—he did leave a little more, albeit grudgingly. But his reasoning stuck with me: “It’s the same service you’d get at Denny’s.”That idea never sat...
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The List We Check Twice (and the Lesson We Learn Once)

by Adam Zack — December 4, 2024

…remember that unchecked boxes don’t define your success, and they certainly don’t define you.

Christmas time is loaded with lists. What gifts to get who. Who’s coming for dinner. What do you need to shop for. What’s the menu. Who to send cards to. Who not to send cards to. Who’s naughty. Who’s nice.As a kid, my brothers and I always made lists of what we wanted Santa—or, around age nine or so, our parents—to get us for Christmas. The process started early, usually with the Sears catalog landing in September. Pages got marked, items were ranked, and the list evolved over time. We didn’t ask for anything too unrealistic—no motorcycles or ponys—but we kept the goals lofty enough to stay exciting.Grandparents were all about seeing those lists, and with three sets of them, my odds of crossing items off were pretty high. Christmas morning usually delivered. Thanks to great parents and family, my list was often close to being fulfilled. And since my birthday is a week after Christmas, any stragglers from the list typically made their way to me then. December was basically my personal festival of fulfillment.But there were moments when I didn’t get what I wanted, and, well… I wasn’t exactly gracious about it. There was one year...
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Big and Little Thanks

by Adam Zack — November 27, 2024

“…it’s the dozens of little things that contribute (some imperceptibly) to our happiness, that if taken away would leave us with a big hole in our lives.”

While “Bigger” is better with a lot of things (pay raise, glass of great wine, piece of pie, parade honoring you, discount on your cable bill, muscles from working out, and family), “Bigger” can really be the opposite of better with a lot of things (pay cut, hairy mole on your nose, headache from too many big glasses of wine, pant size needed due to the big piece of pie, and family). At Thanksgiving, especially during this 2024 year that flew by faster than any I can remember, it’s important to remember and recognize that it’s not the big things that deserve all the attention. There are some big things that bring happiness and fulfillment to our lives, but it’s the dozens of little things that contribute (some imperceptibly) to our happiness, that if taken away would leave us with a big hole in our lives. It takes some reflection to realize what the little things are because they are the most easily taken for granted.10 Little Things That I Appreciate Most 2024
The way my wife Linda does so many mundane but necessary chores in our household without complainin
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Diary of a Late Hater

by Adam Zack — November 20, 2024

Show me someone who’s always on time, and I’ll show you someone who gets respect without even trying.

Man, I hate being late. As I type this, I’m late writing this week’s blog, which feels like breaking my own moral code. DW’s gentle-but-pointed inquiry, “How’s the old blog coming?” was the nudge I needed to get going, but still—late is late. And late is not cool. It’s not fashionable. It’s not even that “I’m so quirky” kind of charming. It’s just rude.Let’s be honest: people who are consistently late are disrespecting your time, your patience, and possibly even your ancestors (too far? Maybe). When you’re late, it says, “I know your life is busy, but mine is obviously busier, so you can just wait.” Seriously, it’s like saying, “I was supposed to meet you at 7:00, but I think 7:25 sounds cooler.” Spoiler: it doesn’t.Now, not everyone’s a tardy monster. I used to carpool every Tuesday with a guy who’s punctual to the point of sainthood. Except for that one time he forgot me. He left so early he was halfway to San Diego by the time I texted, “Hey, are you… coming?” But that’s an anomaly! Usually, he’s rock solid. People like him make the world feel a...
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Don’t use that tone with me

by Adam Zack — November 13, 2024

As you move up in management, tone becomes even more powerful. Show up at work without a warm greeting, and people might think business is tanking, or that jobs could be on the line.

Nonverbal communication always outshines words. Every. Single. Time. You might say the right thing, but your tone and body language can totally flip the message for the person listening. Take this: someone asks you for help, and you respond with, “Sure, what can I help you with?” Sounds helpful, right? But add an eye roll and a sigh, and it’s clear you’re anything but thrilled to help.Or picture this: “Your hair looks great today.” That’s a solid compliment—unless you say it with a smirk and heavy emphasis on “Your.” Now it’s pure sarcasm. Flip it around, though, and say something blunt, like “You’ve put on a couple pounds, haven’t you?” with a friendly smile and a handshake, and suddenly the other person’s thinking, “Wait, is he serious?”Most of us learn tone the hard way as kids, when our moms say, “Don’t you use that tone with me!” And we try to argue, “What?? I said ‘Excuse me,’” not admitting that we said, “Excuuuuuse meeee” with the attitude of an 11-year-old.And tone’s even trickier now, thanks to texting. Does...
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Never work a day in your life?

by Adam Zack — November 7, 2024

You need to like who you work with and feel appreciated and have a sense of satisfaction with your work output.

I came across the quote last week “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Now I don’t know who said it, but at first I thought “What a crock of $#*!” Loving (or at least strongly liking) what you do is probably the most important thing in your work life. You need to like who you work with (but not all of them) and feel appreciated and have a sense of satisfaction with your work output. You need to look forward to coming to work, but sometimes you dread it. And that’s just fine. It’s normal. That’s why we have vacations and days off. But loving what you do so much that you “never work a day in your life”? I don’t know. Maybe if you were a professional billionaire. Or a rock star. But even rock stars have to really work to become what they are, and there are dozens of days of frustration and times when the “work” becomes too much. Not that I have personal experience being a rock star, but I’ve read plenty of books and articles about the lifestyle, and I know that they all don’t love it every single day. What I think is a more appropriate and realistic quote is: “Love what you do, and you’ll achieve ...
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Weapons and Words

by Adam Zack — October 30, 2024

Make sure your language game is on point, and you’ll see people motivated, customers engaged, and maybe even a few grudges dissolved.

Knives, swords, and guns—yeah, those things are serious business. History’s got a lot of stories where someone showed up with the sharpest or loudest weapon and declared, “I win.” But let’s get real: the most underrated heavy hitters in any showdown? Words and gestures. They’re the stealth ninjas of power moves, capable of starting or ending a conflict before the first cannon even gets polished.An insult, delivered with the precision of a well-aimed arrow, can start a war. And a well-placed compliment can make someone forget why they were mad in the first place. So, when it comes to influencing people—whether it’s guiding customers to your door or keeping your team fired up—it all starts with the words you choose and how you throw them around.Picture this: you’re trying to get customers to shop at your store. Spell things wrong, write like you’re still recovering from autocorrect disasters, or use phrases so dry they need a hydration plan, and suddenly your marketing message has all the appeal of yesterday’s sandwich. But drop the right words with the right vibe, and people won�...
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Hard Truths

by Adam Zack — October 23, 2024

“Hard lessons are not welcomed, but suffered.”

All of us in our lives have seen hard times. There’s been times when we just want to give up. Raise the white flag. Surrender and retreat to happiness and safety. Rainbows, bon bons, puppies and lollipops. We want the smiley face and the star on our homework. The pat on the back and the “well done, old boy!”. I recently read a quote: “Hard lessons are not welcomed, but suffered.” I think hard times, adversity, stress, mistakes, sorrow and most everything that scares us and that would be classified as negative is not necessarily a failure, but a lesson. It’s a lesson that life brings us that eventually (or maybe sooner) makes us stronger and better. Suffering the hard lessons takes courage and persistence, and when a similar hard lesson presents itself, we are ready for it, and quickly get back to those rainbows and bon bons.
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