Reading a biography about Richard Branson last week. Think he is an interesting dude. Bit strange but essentially someone who has made his own way following his own rules.
Incredibly - for a person worth a few billion bucks did you know that Richard Branson did not know (until a few short years ago) the difference between Gross Profit and Net Profit. Think about it....owns 300 companies, worth a few billion, revered for his business acumen and yet didnt understand one of accountings most basic concepts.
Whats the moral here? I dont know exactly but sometimes I think the keys to success have little to do with knowing what everyone else does. Maybe its more about understanding systems. I think the greatest asset that someone like Richard Branson has is his ability to make decisions. That in itself is a great skill. Most of us sit around thinking about how life could be and yet very few of us make proactive decisions to make anything come true. Branson likes a business - he starts it (or buys it these days)
Someone once said that the sum of ones life can be seen by the decisions they make (or the decisions they never make) be that about business, type of job, money, relationships, study or what you do in your spare time.
On another note I should tell you about an interesting encounter I had recently. On holidays with my wife and children I had the distinction of meeting none other than 'The Wolf of Wall st" Mr Jordan Belfort.
I was taking a walk, buying some ice cream for the kids and who should I see walking the other way but the Wolf Himself (and his Blond Partner). Both groups stopped (my troupe and his) to watch some kids busking (they were pretty good). I could not help myself and decided to mosey on over and introduce myself. I had just read his latest "catching the Wolf of Wall St" and was therefore primed for a bit of celeb chit chat.
Nice guy these days - reformed but not so reformed that he doesnt still have a glint in his eye. We chatted for 20 minutes and he even met my wife and my mother - who went into shock when she realised who she was confronted with.
His story in 'wolf of wall st' although extreme is not overly dissimilar to some aspects of shipping culture. I jest not. We had a bit of a chat about this aswell...hehe all good fun...most of the time anyway!
Keep Rock'n
VS
Hey VS,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog - its like crack for me...i can't wait for my daily fix.
I'm a shipping agent on the USWC. Part of my job is providing port costs to our principals. These requests come in waves - One week everyone and their mom will be asking about costs/restrictions for logs ex Kodiak, whereas the next week it will be grain ex Grays Harbour, and then wood chips ex tacoma....etc..etc..etc.
As an agent, communication is the name of the game. If I could get a heads up on what cargoes are hitting the market, it would help me better prep information for our principals. When these cargos become available what venue are they being broadcast/advertised?
Cheers and let me know if you ever find yourself in Seattle.