Vacation, Part II

June 28, 2006
Fishing
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Okay, okay…I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been real diligent about blogging these days. At least not so on a daily basis. Somehow the lawn doesn’t get mowed with me on the computer. Nor do the weeds get sprayed…the new landscaping watered…and all the other little farm touch-up projects get completed with me sitting in the house. Summer is also too damn busy running kids to hockey camp, plus all the other demanding commitments. I know…excuses, excuses!

When did life get so busy? Well, some might say it all began for me when I got married about 16 months ago. And they may be right.

Today, however, I wanted to finish up talking about my stepson, Luke and his recent fishing experiences up in Bemidji, MN. As I mentioned in the last post, this 9–year old was pretty excited when he caught his first “real” fish. Now mind you, panfish are certainly nothing to scoff at, but catching a big northern…especially when it’s your first “official” game fish, is a definite milestone achievement in any youngster’s life.

Originally I was invited to take part in a muskie fishing league that meets weekly on one of four lakes near the Bemidji area. My boat partner, Mark, owns and operates Bluewater Bait in Bemidji, MN and is actually the person who organizes the league through his local bait shop. If you’re ever up in the area…stop in and check it out. And if you’re chasing muskie on Cass Lake or any of the other well-known waters in this region…be sure to talk to Mark and pick his brain about fishing. The guy doesn’t flaunt it, but he has a master’s degree in fisheries biology and up until about four years ago worked for the Minnesota DNR as a research biologist studying…of all things, muskie. Now, Mark focuses his full-time attention on his growing bait shop and sporting goods business…but he’s a great resource for information. Besides that, he’s a nice guy most of the time.

Well, when we started out the evening I was a little apprehensive about introducing Luke to the sport of muskie fishing. After all, the night before was when he had caught his first northern pike and began learning how to cast small spinners. Is he ready for the ultimate challenge and the grueling workout associated with casting heavy lures and plugs for muskie? My better judgment said…NO, but Mark’s patience and willingness to pass on the fun of fishing encouraged him to give it a try. For nearly 3 1/2 hours that night Luke not only learned how to cast the big, heavy muskie lures…but he never tired and kept his concentration level high.

I was impressed…not only that, Luke did such a fine job casting the big muskie lures and this young fisherman never got bored with the lack of action. After all, with muskie fishing I’ve learned there’s a lot more casting than catching. The moniker known as “the fish of 10,000 casts” is certainly an aptly named description. Heck, I’ll be the first to admit that there are days spent muskie fishing when the non-stop casting lulls me into a trance and when the moment of truth finally comes I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t always been completely ready. Mark will even attest to that fact.

But Luke kept a positive attitude, for the most part, and when any fisherman remains patient eventually good things will happen. And happen they did. Toward dusk, Mark felt a strike and set the hook on a muskie. Immediately he told Luke to grab Mark’s rod and reel and “see if I have a fish on.” Well, of course he did, and although Luke did not get the full experience of actually catching a muskie…on this particular night he did get many invaluable first-hand lessons on reeling one in.

Unfortunately, the muskie was not hooked well and it got away without being landed. Perhaps that was for the best, anyway. Mark estimated the muskie to be about 24 inches or so…certainly not a legal fish that would have qualified an angler to win the nightly prize. Even so, a muskie is a muskie and no matter what the size…coming close to catching one is yet another experience this young angler won’t soon forget.

As things turned out…with about 30 muskie anglers on the lake taking part in the league…only one 44 1/2 incher was caught…and the only other boat to have one “on line” was our boat. Pretty darned successful, if you ask me. Hearing this news sure put a smile on Luke’s face.

I learned an important lesson on this night. Just when I thought my young stepson was probably not quite ready to take on the new challenge of fishing for real trophy caliber fish…he proved to both Mark and me that his tenacity to learn and to excel as a fisherman are extraordinary. In time, even old step-dad overcame the fear of having large treble hooks whizzing by his ear being cast by a rookie muskie hunter. It was at that very moment the realization finally sunk in…not only did I recently get married and gain a new stepson…but I also found myself a lifetime muskie fishing partner. I know this because I could see it in his eyes. Discovering this important fact about my stepson was almost as much fun as actually catching a muskie itself.

Smiles & Life-long Memories Created By Fishing Success

June 22, 2006
Fishing
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This recipe is quite simple. Take one kid with a limited amount of fishing experience…place a fishing pole in his hand…and take him to a northern Minnesota lake. What you’re likely to get is a budding sportsman with a smile nearly a mile wide.

That’s what happened when I took my new stepson, Luke, with me fishing this past weekend. Like many kids his age, fishing is a big fascination because the experience is always so new and exciting. In the past, Luke has been bobber fishing with his dad for panfish, but never anything beyond catching a few crappies or sunnies. So, when I gave him a closed-faced spinning real and told him to learn to start casting…the challenge was immediately exciting for both of us to watch his skills mature.

I placed a Mepps spinner on his line and told him to keep throwing it and eventually he would catch a fish. About 35 minutes later, he proved me correct. This small Northern Pike moved into the shallows in front of the dock where we were sitting as dusk started to set in. Why was this fish so significant? Well, it was the first fish young Luke actually caught with no assistance from anyone. He casted…he retrieved…and he landed a nice fish that was nearly as excited as the fisherman on the other end of the line.

It was a special moment for me as a new stepfather, too. First, it is important to me that my stepson gets to experience as much as he can in the outdoors. But it also brought back a flood of memories of my first fish, which also happened to be a pike.

Now that I’m in my 40’s I must admit that I don’t have a lot of recollection of my early youth days. But there is one memory I’m quite sure I will never forget. I can tell you the location…the type of lure I was using…almost every detail of the experience. My only regret is there was no picture of my first fish. I imagine that my smile was quite similar to Luke’s…but I will never know. All I can remember is that on that particular day it was one of the most proud moments in my entire life…so I would be surprised if my face didn’t show the same enthusiasm.

In a way I was living vicariously through Luke’s 9–year old eyes last Saturday as we shared a special moment together sitting on a dock. Just 100 yards away there was a loon serenading us with the mystical sounds of the north-country…there were boats that moved a bit closer so they could get a better look at what would excite a kid so much to make him scream. I’m sure they were focused on getting a better look at the catch…but they should have looked closer at the kid, instead.

Oh, time will tell…but I have a hunch catching this fish cemented a life-long fascination with the sport this past weekend for this particular youth. Fishing has the power to captivate those who care to embrace the challenge…and a youngster who experiences a smile like this doesn’t soon forget that sort of sheer excitement…and neither will his stepfather.

Stay tuned…in tomorrow’s blog I’ll explain how we were able to top this special experience a few days later.

Integrity & Professionalism Escapes Many In Business

Just last week I visited my local Cabela’s store with the main purpose in mind to check out a new Nikon scope I’d been hearing and reading a lot about. As with most new products that I eventually anticipate purchasing, I tend to do a lot of research on the product to make sure the purchase is a good one that fits my needs. With this particular scope I had read several favorable reviews as well as I thoroughly digested the information on Nikon’s web site. The only thing missing was to touch and view the scope first-hand…and of course, that’s where a store like Cabela’s comes in.

As I perused the various items in the department a clerk approached me to see if I needed any assistance. Normally I say no, but this time for some odd reason I engaged the employee in some chit-chat that eventually led to a discussion on my future scope. Quickly I discovered that this young store clerk had an ego the size of Texas and took a certain pride in having all the answers. That’s when the fatal question came. I asked, do you have this scope in silver (thinking I would match my stainless gun)? “Nope,” the clerk replied…“the scope is not manufactured in silver.” I countered, “well…I don’t believe that statement to be true. Even the Nikon web site shows the scope in matte (black), camo or silver.” Moreover, what I didn’t tell the clerk was that I had a buddy, who owns a gun shop, already order the scope for me in silver…so I definitely knew that option existed and is currently available.

This certain store employee continued on with such fervor bent on proving he was the expert…but what he didn’t realize was he had already lost it with me. That’s right, when he miserably failed my little confidence test it made all the other information he had explained to me virtually worthless. How could I distinguish what was rhetoric and what was legitimate? When this particular employee positioned himself so that he could not possibly accept he could be wrong…his professionalism waned and his integrity as a customer service resource all but disappeared.

Hey, from time to time we all make mistakes. I remember a mistake I made several years back that cost me about $5,000 in lost revenue for my business. I took a customer order in writing, but forgot to make some critical changes to the order that were subsequently made verbally by the customer. Technically, I could have easily dismissed the fact that there was no evidence of verbal orders changing the written order, but I didn’t. I owned up to my mistake. I accepted the fact that I messed up and ultimately suffered the consequences. In so doing, my customer who received the wrong product was relieved to know he was not going to be stuck with something he hadn’t ordered.

Lately I’ve learned that when you do business with a person you need to take a close look at whether it’s a one-time sale or if you are to be a repeat customer. Hey, there’s a big difference. A few weeks ago a friend of mine who was trying to be helpful put me in touch with a lawn care expert who came over to my house to offer up some free advice on establishing new grass on part of my lawn. In the process of our discussion…he asked me if I wanted to purchase the lawn care materials (seed, fertilizer, etc.) through him. I figured…why not if he can get me a good deal. I asked him how much he figured the materials would cost…and his response was “around $200.”

I assented to his offer and the materials were procured. Before getting the materials I asked him what the exact total was for the supplies. At that time his response was…well, they cost a bit more than I expected. “Somewhere in the range of $250 to $300.” Several hours later when my friend dropped off the supplies…a bill that had originally been estimated at “around $200” had now increased to just shy of $500. What a crock of crap! Obviously this guy figured I was a one-time sales opportunity so he was going to stick it to me. He knew his behavior in business was not dependent on earning back my respect or confidence resulting in continuity of sales both now and in the future.

Same goes with many of the folks who worked on building my house last summer. It was a one-time business opportunity for most of them so I’ve subsequently learned that performing their various crafts in the construction trade were not done in a manner to earn my respect over and over again. They shook the proverbial money tree as best they could, and in any manner they felt they could get away with, and then they moved on to other income sources.

Yea, you probably guessed it, I am a little bitter how many folks seemingly carry on their miserable business practices. Problem is, you often don’t have the luxury of giving folks a simple test, like I did to the store clerk who could not accept he was wrong. The arrogance by which some business professionals act utterly astounds me. When a person simply can’t conceive that they might possibly be wrong…you can never expect to receive quality customer service. Moreover, when good judgment eludes a person because integrity and professionalism gets clouded by arrogance…it will never be a good deal for the consumer.

You’ve probably heard it said that the vast majority of businesses fail within the first 5 years…and I can perfectly understand why. I would venture to guess that’s also why many building contractors and lawn care experts who fail to demonstrate competency in their fields eventually either fold up shop or move their services to a new locale to get away from negative reputations “dogging” them. I also suspect that “know-it-all” store clerks either must mature in their ways…or suffer the risk that eventually nobody will care to deal with them because of these unforgiving character flaws.