How to Replace a Baseboard Heating Cover in an Hour or Less

Posted on July 20, 2019 by flybrand1976

The number one hit for ‘replacing baseboard heating covers’ is a This Old House Episode that looks pretty daunting.  My son and I just knocked this out in less than an hour.  Here’s what we did:

  1. Measure
    1. We had 3 baseboard heeaters.
    2. 1 was 5 feet
    3. 1 was 10 feet = 2 * 5 feet.
    4. 1 was 12 feet = 2 * 6 feet.
  2. Order from Baseboarders.com.  Our order arrived in less than 2 days.
  3. Remove the ends – some were already done from measuring in Step 1.  Be safe!
  4. Vacuum, clean and de-dust.  Be safe!
  5. Install new covers.  End caps on first.  Connectors on last.
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Carnegie 21.3.12: How to Win Friends and Influence People -PRINCIPLE 12 Throw down a challenge.

Posted on July 20, 2019 by flybrand1976

Carnegie 21.3.12: How to Win Friends and Influence People -PRINCIPLE 12 Throw down a challenge.

Pages 228 – 231

Appeal to people’s nobler vision (as called out in Principle 10), and then enlist them in the challenge of achieving it.  This great goal is possible.  Can you get there first?  Can you get their faster than their competition?

  1. Appeal to society’s better self.
  2. Ensure that there are metrics and milestones so progress can be tracked.
  3. Then appeal society’s better self to hit the target first.

Best Quote(s)

“That is what every successful person loves: the game. The chance for self-expression. The chance to prove his or her worth, to excel, to win. … The desire to excel. The desire for a feeling of importance.”

Page by Page

Page 228

““He asked us how many heats we made, and we told him six. He chalked it down on the floor.”

229

“Let Charles Schwab say it in his own words: “The way to get things done,” says Schwab, “is to stimulate competition. I do not mean in a sordid, money-getting way, but in the desire to excel.” The desire to excel! The challenge! Throwing down the gauntlet! An infallible way of appealing to people of spirit.”

Another mention of Roosevelt.

230

Carnegie tells of the persuasion of someone to take on the warren role at Sing Sing, a famous American prison. “Young fellow,” he said, “I don’t blame you for being scared. It’s a tough spot. It’ll take a big person to go up there and stay.”

“I have never found,” said Harvey S. Firestone, founder of the great Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, “that pay and pay alone would either bring together or hold good people. I think it was the game itself.”

231

“That is what every successful person loves: the game. The chance for self-expression. The chance to prove his or her worth, to excel, to win. That is what makes footraces and hog-calling and pie-eating contests. The desire to excel. The desire for a feeling of importance.”

From earlier – we are channeling their need to be important into a real outcome.

PRINCIPLE 12 Throw down a challenge.

Posted in Books, Carnegie, Theory, Trust | 3 Comments

Carnegie 20.3.11: How to Win Friends and Influence People – PRINCIPLE 11 Dramatize your ideas.

Posted on July 19, 2019 by flybrand1976

Carnegie 20.3.11: How to Win Friends and Influence People – PRINCIPLE 11 Dramatize your ideas.

Pages 223 – 227

With Twitter, Instagram and Youtube – we live today in an age of showmanship and promotion.  Carnegie’s guidance from 100 years ago still rings true today.  His words speak to us, like a ghost from the past telling us our own future.

People like a show.  Invite them to one.  Use it to prove your point. You are competing with other shows, so win the one you put on.

Hap Klopp once told me, “You can invite people to a ballet or a rock show – and they’ll have a good time at either.  But you can’t invite them to one and give them the other.”  People like a show – but tell them what show you’re inviting them to.

Best Quote(s)

“This is the day of dramatization. Merely stating a truth isn’t enough. The truth has to be made vivid, interesting, dramatic. You have to use showmanship. The movies do it. Television does it. And you will have to do it if you want attention.” Page 223

Page by Page

Page 223

“This is the day of dramatization. Merely stating a truth isn’t enough. The truth has to be made vivid, interesting, dramatic. You have to use showmanship. The movies do it. Television does it. And you will have to do it if you want attention.”

224

“With that I threw a handful of pennies on the floor.”

225

“What I finally did was this. I wrote him a formal letter. I indicated in the letter that I fully understood how extremely busy he was all week, but it was important that I speak with him.”

226

“He argued and I argued. He told me I was wrong, and I tried to prove that I was right.”

Not following earlier rules leads to bad performance.  Carnegie has already told us that “You can’t win an argument.”

227

PRINCIPLE 11 Dramatize your ideas.

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Global Water: How Big Was Barry?

Posted on July 18, 2019 by flybrand1976

GlobalFluids

In the 30 days since the first post regarding global fluids and volumes, several stories around the economic impact of liquids have emerged – but the dominant one right now in the US is around the impact of Hurricane Barry on the Mississippi river basin.

How big was Barry_ (1)In 2017 the Washington Post estimated that Hurricane Harvey deposited over 125 cubic kilometers of rainfall in the US on to four states (TX, LA, TN, KY) that receive a total of over 20,600 km^3 of rain per year (less than 1% of their annual rainfall total).  Based on the path of the hurricane and very rough estimates based on US government data – I estimate that Barry was twice the size, making it 250 km^3 of water.  In comparison – the annual discharge of the Mississippi is 151 km^3.  As always original data is available here in Google Sheets.

These metrics pail in comparison to the stocks of fresh water held frozen in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets – 26.5 and 2.8 million km^3 respectively.  Estimates about these volumes and rates of change continue to fill the news.

At the beginning of the month, the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (“PES”) refinery – with 300,000 barrels per day, was shut down after an explosion.  This came on the night of a heavy rainstorm, depositing 3″ of rain in the city – for a total of 180 million barrels, more than the 110 million produced at PES.  As part of that same storm, an inch of rain fell on Massachusetts – nearly 4.4 billion barrels.

Third party analysis of US Military spending showed that it consumed nearly 270,000 barrels per day of fuel, which would make it a larger user than most countries.

How big was Barry_

 

 

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Carnegie 19.3.10: How to Win Friends and Influence People – PRINCIPLE 10 Appeal to the nobler motives.

Posted on July 18, 2019 by flybrand1976

Carnegie 19.3.10: How to Win Friends and Influence People – PRINCIPLE 10 Appeal to the nobler motives.

Pages 217 – 222

Insults that start with, “You *just* want to…” are vicious.  In them, the aggressor calls out that the other person’s rationale is based on a personal weakness.  Carnegie identifies our inner desire to be part of something greater.

To know the nobler motive, we must know our counterpart.  Listen.  Then identify the common nobler motive and use that as the reason to move ahead.

Help the other person meet their nobler goal.

Best Quote(s)

“J. Pierpont Morgan observed, in one of his analytical interludes, that a person usually has two reasons for doing a thing: one that sounds good and a real one.”

Carnegie’s guidance here is simple – building off the previous Principle 8 – we should know both of their reasons for ‘doing a thing’ – and appeal to the nobler ones.

Page by Page

217

“J. Pierpont Morgan observed, in one of his analytical interludes, that a person usually has two reasons for doing a thing: one that sounds good and a real one.”

So, in order to change people, appeal to the nobler motives.

218

“They had concluded that the only honorable thing to do was to live up to their lease.”

219

“Rockefeller, “And you know it’s not good for youngsters to get too much publicity.””

220

“Something was wrong here—something was drastically wrong about the method of collection.”

221

Call back to earlier technique with Principle 8 – Try to Understand the Other Person’s Point of View.

“4. I let him talk, and I listened to him with all the interest and sympathy that he wanted—and had expected.”

222

“To put it differently and perhaps more clearly, people are honest and want to discharge their obligations.”

Posted in Books, Carnegie, Trust | 3 Comments

Carnegie 18.3.09: How to Win Friends and Influence People -PRINCIPLE 9 Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires – What Everybody Wants

Posted on July 17, 2019 by flybrand1976

Pages 208 – 216

Carnegie here builds off of earlier points – those around us have needs, and we must recognize those needs.  Sometimes, as with Principle 3, the need is for us to admit we are wrong.  For us to know the need – we first must listen!  Now that the need, idea or desire is known – we should recognize it explicitly.

Dwell on their needs.  Focus on them.  Doing so builds off the earlier Principle 6 – make them feel important in a sincere way.

Best Quote(s)

“Three-fourths of the people you will ever meet are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them, and they will love you.” Page 208

Page by Page

208

“Three-fourths of the people you will ever meet are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them, and they will love you.”

209

“It was a stupid blunder, and I want to apologize for it. It was so nice of you to take the time to write me.

SHE: I am sorry, Mr. Carnegie, that I wrote as I did. I lost my temper. I must apologize.

ME: No! No! You are not the one to apologize; I am.”

210

“SHE: You know, I really like very much the way you have accepted my criticism. You must be a very nice person. I should like to know you better.”

211

“Then if you are wise, you will put the letter in a drawer and lock the drawer.”

212

“That mollified her and she wrote me a note saying she was sorry she had written as she had.”

Carnegie’s note was written, but then left in the desk drawer.

213

“I know you would not want to inconvenience your guests for several days.”

Depends on knowledge.

214

“‘Oh, I had nothing to do with it. Babette decided to do it on her own, and this is the first time she has ever trimmed her nails for anyone.’”

215

“What a pity,” he would mourn. “What a pity! My poor fellow. Of course, you cannot sing. I will cancel the engagement at once. It will only cost you a couple of thousand dollars, but that is nothing in comparison to your reputation.”

216

PRINCIPLE 9 Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.

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Carnegie 17.3.08: How to Win Friends and Influence People – Pt 3, PRINCIPLE 8 Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view – A Formula That Will Work Wonders for You

Posted on July 16, 2019 by flybrand1976

Carnegie 17.3.08: How to Win Friends and Influence People – Pt 3, PRINCIPLE 8 Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.- A Formula That Will Work Wonders for You

Pages 202 – 208

To have a productive conversation, we must have cooperation from the other party.  To create cooperation, we must have trust and a mutual understanding – focus on what the other party wants.  If we can approach things from the other party’s point of view, which is Carnegie’s main point with this chapter, then we improve our performance.

Develop empathy.  Be an active listener.  Repeat back to the other party what you think they want.  These can feel like risky moves and may be counter intuitive in a complex negotiation, but it is crucial to have this mutual perspective.

Why bother building a shared vision with someone if you can’t confirm that your initial assumptions are right?  State your beliefs.  Repeat your assumptions about their beliefs to them – remove the uncertainty.

Best Quote(s)

Dr. Gerald S. Nirenberg commented: “Cooperativeness in conversation is achieved when you show that you consider the other person’s ideas and feelings as important as your own.” Page 203

Page by Page

202

“Goode, “…success in dealing with people depends on a sympathetic grasp of the other person’s viewpoint.””

203

“In his book Getting Through to People, Dr. Gerald S. Nirenberg commented: “Cooperativeness in conversation is achieved when you show that you consider the other person’s ideas and feelings as important as your own.””

204

Wild fires?

“I was merely unloading my feelings without thinking of their point of view.”

205

“They felt better and I felt better because I had handled the situation with consideration for their point of view.”

206

“Ask yourself: “Why should he or she want to do it?””

207

“If, as a result of reading this book, you get only one thing—an increased tendency to think always in terms of the other person’s point of view, and see things from that person’s angle as well as your own—if you get only that one thing from this book, it may easily prove to be one of the stepping-stones of your career.”

PRINCIPLE 8 Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.

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Carnegie 16.3.07: PRINCIPLE 7 Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers – How to Get Cooperation

Posted on July 15, 2019 by flybrand1976

Pages 196 – 201.

If you’re working with a customer or business partner, it is always helpful if they personally support the new idea you’re pursuing.  If they are the initiator of the idea, if the idea is truly theirs – then this support is implicit.

Carnegie’s writings focus on 1-on-1 interactions.  There is a proper product to sell or a direct interaction leading to a result.  In a modern consensus based format, building a team vision is a big part of being an effective leader.  Teams support an idea if the process by which it was created was valid and if they had a voice.

Carnegie’s focus here – and it feels dated – is that the other person will advocate more for an idea if they come to it on their own.  The insinuation is that they are led to the idea, rather than really asked in a participatory fashion.

Best Quote(s)

“The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them.” Lao-tse

Page by Page

196

“Isn’t it wiser to make suggestions—and let the other person think out the conclusion?”

“The people had made a sort of moral bargain with me,” said Mr. Seltz, “and as long as I lived up to my part in it, they were determined to live up to theirs. Consulting them about their wishes and desires was just the shot in the arm they needed.”

“We like to be consulted about our wishes, our wants, our thoughts.”

197

“Won’t you please tell me how we could finish them up in such a way that you could use them?”

198

Carnegie tells a story about a man from Oklahoma (my home state) who is scheduling some trips and trying to create a plan that accommodates his family’s diverse desires.  He does so by letting them talk.

199

“The more I studied it, the more I discovered for myself how much I liked it.” – here the purchasing agent for a hospital is struggling with which  X ray equipment to buy.  He is assisted by the open process that one of the seller’s runs, allowing him to peruse the equipment ahead of time.

“Did House interrupt him and say, “That’s not your idea. That’s mine”?”

200

“I was bewildered. I didn’t know which to choose.”

201

“The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them.” Lao-tse

PRINCIPLE 7 Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

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Carnegie 15.3.06: PRINCIPLE 6 Let the other person do a great deal of the talking – The Safety Valve in Handling Complaints

Posted on July 14, 2019 by flybrand1976

Pages 190 – 195.

Carnegie builds off Principle 5 – once the other party is saying “yes” – encourage them to talk.  Use your conversational skills to keep them going, and rather than lecture them about some topic important to you – keep them talking about what matters to them.

I wouldn’t dream of correcting Carnegie’s advice – but this technique builds on the assumption that both you and the other person have a shared goal or topic.  In Carnegie’s examples the sales people are advancing the cause of a transaction or scenario already known to both parties.  Interestingly, Goldratt states clearly that in a scenario where you want people to do something new – then the onus is on you to introduce and frame the topic.

Carnegie’s guidance here under Principle 6 works best when there is already a shared vision of the future between the people in the conversation.  Here, let them talk.  Many times people don’t give themselves time to think until the meeting happens.  This time, talking out loud, bouncing ideas off of you – can often be their first formal thinking time on the subject.  Help them think through it by keeping the ball in their court.

Best Quote(s)

“I know I would have lost the contract if I hadn’t lost my voice, because I had the wrong idea about the whole proposition. I discovered, quite by accident, how richly it sometimes pays to let the other person do the talking.”

Page by Page

190

“Encourage them to express their ideas fully.”

191

“I know I would have lost the contract if I hadn’t lost my voice, because I had the wrong idea about the whole proposition. I discovered, quite by accident, how richly it sometimes pays to let the other person do the talking.”

192

“He showed an interest in the other person and his problems. He encouraged the other person to do most of the talking—and made a favorable impression.”

193

““As he talked about these advantages to me, he talked himself out of each negative thought he had when he came in for the interview.”

194

La Rochefoucauld, the French philosopher, said: “If you want enemies, excel your friends; but if you want friends, let your friends excel you.”

195

“Now, when we have some time to chat, I ask them to share their joys with me, and I only mention my achievements when they ask.”

PRINCIPLE 6 Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.

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Carnegie 14.3.05: PRINCIPLE 5 Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately – The Secret of Socrates

Posted on July 13, 2019 by flybrand1976

Pages 182 – 189.

From a book chapter standpoint, Principle 5 flows logically after Principle 4.  We’re taught to begin in a friendly way, and now that guidance is further tightened.  Don’t just begin friendly – begin with a goal of getting some form of verbal agreement, even if it is unrelated to the end goal.  With one agreement, more will follow.

Best Quote(s)

“Begin by emphasizing—and keep on emphasizing—the things on which you agree.”

“Get the other person saying “Yes, yes” at the outset.”

“The skillful speaker gets, at the outset, a number of “Yes” responses.”

Page by Page

183

Page 183 had three great and very clear quotes about how to create agreement.

“Begin by emphasizing—and keep on emphasizing—the things on which you agree.”

“Get the other person saying “Yes, yes” at the outset.”

“The skillful speaker gets, at the outset, a number of “Yes” responses.”

184

“‘However,’ I said, ‘suppose you have money in this bank at your death.”

185

“I found that by getting him to say ‘yes, yes’ from the outset, he forgot the issue at stake and was happy to do all the things I suggested.”

186

“‘ Well,’ I suggested, ‘wouldn’t it be a good idea to keep your hands off those motors?’”

187

“It took me years and cost me countless thousands of dollars in lost business before I finally learned that it doesn’t pay to argue, that it is much more profitable and much more interesting to look at things from the other person’s viewpoint and try to get that person saying ‘yes, yes.’”

188

“The Chinese have a proverb pregnant with the age-old wisdom of the Orient: “He who treads softly goes far.””

Carnegie uses quotes wherever he can to persuade.

189

PRINCIPLE 5 Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately.

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