We just recently bought a Dyson V6 Animal cordless stick vacuum cleaner, which matches very nicely with our Dyson DC07, which is around 9 years old. I can remember how old it is because I lost my 4-year-old son Liam, temporarily thank heavens, at a Best Buy while trying to make up my mind if I should shell out the fairly hefty amount to buy the vacuum. By the way, we found him in about 5 minutes climbing up and jumping off a beautiful new stove in the appliance section. I was scared to death; he however, was perfectly content on his own playing “Super Mario,” jumping from appliance to appliance using his agility to avoid Gumbas and Dry Bones.” Here is Liam in the middle of his Super Mario phase, which, sadly, he outgrew.
Wistful look, memories and…I’m back. Sorry. The point of this blog is the vacuum cleaner. I am kind of a hard sell. I am skeptical and curmudgeoney and certainly not an early adopter. We did, however, buy the Dyson early, before they became massively popular, especially here in the heartland of the United States. I have no regrets buying either vacuum. The old DC07 will still suck the chrome off a bumper and the new stick vacuum makes quick work of the kitchen, dining area and the stairs (and wherever Moby the dog decides to sprawl out). Here are photos of our beloved vacuums. Beloved is probably too strong of a word. Bruce Williams, a pioneer of talk radio once said, “Never love something that cannot love you back.” I really try to live by that credo, but these are REALLY good vacuum cleaners.
I swore this was going to be a mostly Moby the dog free blog, but while attempting to take a photo of the V6 Animal, this occurred:
BOOM! The photo bomb. Good boy…That’ll do dog, that’ll do…
The product was great, but why did I choose to adopt it early, rather than wait? I look back and I remember the catch phrase that James Dyson, the inventor and founder of the company was using in his commercials. The commercial itself was very informative, but at the end, Mr. Dyson looks at the camera, and in a very proper British accent said “I just think things should work properly.” Holy cow! What a unique idea, stuff that actually works the way it is supposed to while making your life easier. All of the other facts about the product did not inspire me; the cyclonic, bagless system, the built in attachments, the cool futuristic design. None of those stuck with me, but what got me was Sir James Dyson looking at me and telling me not to settle for something that kind of works. Things should not only work, but they should work correctly and make lives easier. Brilliant!
Sir James also looked at the commercial hand dryers that you find at nearly every restaurant and convenience store in the country. Talk about a product that is kind of a piece of junk (if this wasn’t a family friendly blog, I would probably use a different four letter word that better describes the uselessness of this device). We all know what happens; you dry your hands under the dryer for a moment, while it blows a weak stream of tepid air. If you are like me, you normally put your hands in the air stream for a few seconds, get frustrated, and wipe your wet hands on your trousers. You have to be especially careful if you are wearing khaki pants…
My buddy, Tony: ”Uhm… did you ??? “…(looking down, grinning)
Me: Slightly red-faced… “What, oh, no way, crappy hand dryer in the bathroom. Had to wipe my hands on my pants”…
Tony: ”Yeah, sure you did.” Then Tony just laughs and laughs.
No matter what angle you view that from, the stupid hand-dryer could never be described as working properly.
Maybe Mr. Dyson had to wipe his wet hands on his pants one too many times or maybe he had a buddy like Tony, but he puzzled out how to make the hand dryer better. He developed a device called the AirBlade that works like a squeegee on your hands. Put your hands in the device and a thin but powerful layer of air (over 400 mph’s of bad#$% power) rushes over the front and back of your hands. As you pull your hands out of the AirBlade, the air “wipes” the water off your hands. Once again, bloody brilliant! Here is a cool picture of the AirBlade.
The product was great, but why did I choose to adopt it early, rather than wait? I look back and I remember the catch phrase that James Dyson, the inventor and founder of the company was using in his commercials. The commercial itself was very informative, but at the end, Mr. Dyson looks at the camera, and in a very proper British accent said “I just think things should work properly.” Holy cow! What a unique idea, stuff that actually works the way it is supposed to while making your life easier. All of the other facts about the product did not inspire me; the cyclonic, bagless system, the built in attachments, the cool futuristic design. None of those stuck with me, but what got me was Sir James Dyson looking at me and telling me not to settle for something that kind of works. Things should not only work, but they should work correctly and make lives easier. Brilliant!
Sir James also looked at the commercial hand dryers that you find at nearly every restaurant and convenience store in the country. Talk about a product that is kind of a piece of junk (if this wasn’t a family friendly blog, I would probably use a different four letter word that better describes the uselessness of this device). We all know what happens; you dry your hands under the dryer for a moment, while it blows a weak stream of tepid air. If you are like me, you normally put your hands in the air stream for a few seconds, get frustrated, and wipe your wet hands on your trousers. You have to be especially careful if you are wearing khaki pants…
My buddy, Tony: ”Uhm… did you ??? “…(looking down, grinning)
Me: Slightly red-faced… “What, oh, no way, crappy hand dryer in the bathroom. Had to wipe my hands on my pants”…
Tony: ”Yeah, sure you did.” Then Tony just laughs and laughs.
No matter what angle you view that from, the stupid hand-dryer could never be described as working properly.
Maybe Mr. Dyson had to wipe his wet hands on his pants one too many times or maybe he had a buddy like Tony, but he puzzled out how to make the hand dryer better. He developed a device called the AirBlade that works like a squeegee on your hands. Put your hands in the device and a thin but powerful layer of air (over 400 mph’s of bad#$% power) rushes over the front and back of your hands. As you pull your hands out of the AirBlade, the air “wipes” the water off your hands. Once again, bloody brilliant! Here is a cool picture of the AirBlade.
Sorry, feeling a little British today. “More bangers and mash and a little black pudding today, please.”
By the way, the thing on the right is not a chocolate dessert, it is literally a “pudding” sausage made from pig’s blood. The plucky Brits always make do…Yikes….
Sir James has invented a number of other products that work the way they are intended. Shocking.
So, why all the talk about James Dyson and his cool inventions? Because they do work properly and it made me think, “everything we do should work properly and if it doesn’t, we should fix it.”
I spent part of February redoing the Enterprise Development website. It was pretty good before, but the navigation was a little wonky and there were some other issues that spoiled the customer experience. I was part of building the other website, and when these issues were first identified, I became a little defensive. Once I checked my ego, however, I realized that it was not working properly. It needed to be “Dysonized.” We have also worked at “Dysonizing” a number of our other processes as well to make them more efficient and easier for the customer. We have worked so hard to make the application and approval process for the 504 loan easier and more client friendly. We have upgraded software to help us better manage our loan portfolio. Executive Director Donna Hamilton even went to the SBA Loan Processing Center in Sacramento, CA to get a better understanding of how they work and what they are looking for in a loan application. When she returned, we updated our processes to improve our product. We are not there yet, but we are diligently moving toward “working properly.”
I wonder how many of our customers, clients and stakeholders are doing everything they can to ensure they are “working properly?” Try “Dysonizing” your business to continue growing and improving over the coming year.
Sir James has invented a number of other products that work the way they are intended. Shocking.
So, why all the talk about James Dyson and his cool inventions? Because they do work properly and it made me think, “everything we do should work properly and if it doesn’t, we should fix it.”
I spent part of February redoing the Enterprise Development website. It was pretty good before, but the navigation was a little wonky and there were some other issues that spoiled the customer experience. I was part of building the other website, and when these issues were first identified, I became a little defensive. Once I checked my ego, however, I realized that it was not working properly. It needed to be “Dysonized.” We have also worked at “Dysonizing” a number of our other processes as well to make them more efficient and easier for the customer. We have worked so hard to make the application and approval process for the 504 loan easier and more client friendly. We have upgraded software to help us better manage our loan portfolio. Executive Director Donna Hamilton even went to the SBA Loan Processing Center in Sacramento, CA to get a better understanding of how they work and what they are looking for in a loan application. When she returned, we updated our processes to improve our product. We are not there yet, but we are diligently moving toward “working properly.”
I wonder how many of our customers, clients and stakeholders are doing everything they can to ensure they are “working properly?” Try “Dysonizing” your business to continue growing and improving over the coming year.
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