Nice Little Boat
Last week, Larry Ellison, #5 on Forbes richest people in the world list just bought the local airline, Island Air. A few months ago he bought the island of Lanai. During those negotiations his yacht was docked at Aloha Tower in Honolulu. Rumor has it that he actually owns two of these. Money will buy a lot of things, but it won’t buy customer loyalty.

“They Could Have (at least) Called Me!!!”
I arrived at the Island Air terminal at the Honolulu Airport at 2 PM; giving me plenty of time to go through security and board my 2:45 PM flight to Kapalua, West Maui. I had already checked in on line and had my boarding Pass. I just needed to verify the gate number.

The counter agents were clowning around with each other, and exchanging candy bars as I stood waiting, unable to get so much as eye contact with one of them. When finally called over by the agent, she looked at my boarding pass and in a very matter of fact tone said, “We are putting you on a Hawaiian Air flight to Kahului.” That’s on the opposite side of the island! She handed me two documents as she said, “Give this one to the Hawaiian Air ticket agent, and this one is a taxi voucher to get you where you are going.” I asked her to explain this to me and she coldly said, “Aircraft Maintainance.” I said, “No, that won’t work for me, just put me on a later flight.” She said, “They have all been cancelled.”

As much as I felt like complaining, I knew it wouldn’t do any good, so I picked up my bags and began walking to the other terminal thinking, “That’s it for these guys. As convenient as flying into Kapalua is, I can fly Hawaiian the morning of my meeting and spare the expense of a night at The Westin and dinner at Roy’s. I can also count on the plane to leave when scheduled.” This is the second time in three weeks that “airplane maintenance” has delayed my flight.

Unless the attitudes and recent behavior patterns I  have observed at Island Air are improved, Mr. Ellison will be in for a rude awakening. I  am certain he won’t even know he missed my business, however I understand that Hawaiian Air is already gearing up to fly into Kapalua.

In the 31 years that I have lived in Hawaii I have seen several airlines go bust, including the long time #2 carrier, Aloha Airlines which was driven out by recent rival Go Airlines, who shares the terminal with Island Air.

“Mahalo”
Upon arriving at Hawaiian Air I was able to convince the agent to get me on an earlier flight with a First Class upgrade for $50. I spent the flight roughing out this rant on my iPad. When we landed in Kahului I told the taxi driver that I was going to Kapalua and he flashed a big grin and couldn’t hold back a little, “Yeah!” I waited until we were well on the way before telling him that I have a voucher from Island Air. He was far from thrilled to find that out, and he asked to see it. He called his boss to get approval and then went into a funk.  My guess is that inconvenienced, sometimes even angry people aren’t the best of tippers, especially when they aren’t paying for the ride. I asked the driver if the voucher includes a tip, and he laughed. I took that as a, “No Way!”

The Ride
The fare to Kapalua was $91, and he wasn’t expecting anything but I gave him a $20 tip. He was thrilled. Island Air’s poor performance wasn’t his fault. Riding around the Pali and watching whales frolic offshore calmed me down. It’s rare that I have the luxury of taking in the scenery as a passenger. There’s always a bright side to every little inconvenience.

Room with a View
To complete the mellowing out experience I checked into my ocean front suite at the Westin Maui…

And strolled over to Roy’s for a huge slab of seared tofu.
Life is Good

Go There!
I attended a seminar recently where we were all asked to close our eyes and visualize being at our favorite place. When we opened our eyes the moderator asked some of us to tell about our “favorite place.” One guy said, “Out on the ocean looking back at Diamond Head, Downtown Honolulu and Waikiki.”Another said, (with great emotion) “The bleachers at a UH football game, cheering and sharing high fives with the stranger sitting next to me.

At My Desk
I was hoping that I wouldn’t be asked about mine. Maybe I thought I would have been ridiculed or disbelieved, but the place I “went to” was my desk. This exercise caused me to take a good look at myself and ask, “What happened?” There was a time that I had six California Angels season tickets and at that time I would called being at “the game” my favorite place. At another time in my life I would have quickly said, “Catching waves at Queens Surf Break.” Others were, “Pruning in my garden” and “Going to a concert” and “Walking on the beach.”
Since that seminar I have thought about many past “favorite places” and asked myself if I would really rather be at my desk than any of those other places, and the answer is, “Yes.”
The reason is simple; it’s because that’s where I can reach the most people in the shortest amount of time.
What’s Your Favorite Place?

It’s Here!
Like it or not, the cyber revolution is upon us.

Embrace It!
You cannot outrun technology; it’s too big, it’s moving too fast.

Big, expensive and Cool
I had computers like this in the 60’s and 70’s, but the technology was so complicated that I didn’t even try to touch them.

Early Geeks
We hired people much different than us to move those big discs around. They were very smart; what they did was a mystery, and they intimidated the rest of us with their knowledge. As I look back on it, those computers didn’t do near as much as your cell phone does today.

Mo Betta!
In the 80’s I hung it up for a simpler life, surfing in Hawaii. All I had to think about every day was if to surf at Queens or Canoes; both in Waikiki. I was determined to never touch a computer. After all, I didn’t even know how to type.

My Phobia
The truth was that I was afraid of the fast moving technolgy. As I ventured into the business world in Hawaii I continued to shy away from what was “the future.”

Mobile To Da Max
The first time an emplyee brought a PC to work I accused him of playing games in his office. Soon we won’t even have brick and mortar offices. Today you can work from anywhere, all because of technology. So, if you are not “with it” yet, get with it NOW!

Big Bump
While flying from Maui to Oahu on Monday we hit a huge air pocket. For the first time I really appreciated having a seat belt on. Everything not tied down went airborne, including my precious MacBook Air. It did a flip and landed on my lap.  All seemed to be okay, so I just kept on working.
When I got to my office I noticed this damaged hinge and I felt sick to my stomach. I sent the photo above to Rolf (Da MacMan) at MacMouse.com. Rolf e-mailed back saying that they can fix it, and it may take a week or so.
Coincidentally I had just received an announcement from Apple that there was an all new MacBook Air just released.

Do It Now!
Not being one known for patience I went to the Apple Store and bought a brand new MacBook Air; lighter, faster, sharper screen, more ports and about $700 less than the one I bought two years ago.

Data Migration
Next was getting all of the data into the new computer. This part is way over my head; actually a bit scary in fact, so I went straight to MacMouse.com to see Rolf.

Early Christmas
As Rolf unpacked my new computer it felt like Christmas morning.

MacMouse Staff
As Rolf did his magic, the staff at MacMouse.com watched on as though this was something they had seen before.

Migration
It was amazing to see the data flowing from the damaged MacBook Air into the new one while we watched the World Series.

DONE!
By the time the game was over the migration was complete and everything looked and worked exactly as it did on the “old” computer.

Should I, or Shouldn’t I?
Next is deciding what to do with this $2,400 computer which works perfectly, but has a deformed hinge. My temptation was to trash it, but instead Rolf and company are going to repair it and Masae will get another hand-me-down electronic goodie to go along with the iPhone 3G she inherited when I got the iPhone 4. All is well.
If you ever need anything done with your Mac, or are just ready to go Mac; call Rolf at MacMouse.com. He’s the best.

20 Years Later and Still Going Strong
At my Success Rally at Whalers Village on Maui this morning I asked the question, “How many of you remember Mel Kitagawa?” One hand went up. Mel was the general manager for Whalers Village who engaged me to do monthly Success Rallies for their merchants.
At our first rallies we had about 15 people show up. Over the years the attendance has steadily grown, and this morning we had about 200.
Mahalo to Whalers Village, their management staff and the retail merchants for keeping this ball rolling through two wars, two hurricanes and what some have called a recession. In each of these cases I appealled to the people at the rallies to NOT PARTICIPATE in the negative.

Pretty Geeky
I once claimed that I would never use a computer personally. I realized how much that goal has  changed this morning when I was “caught” doing three different “computer things” at once; checking e-mail on my desk top, tweeting on my iPhone4 and watching Steve Jobs give a press  conference on my MacBook Air.

“We Have Come a Long Way Baby”
While it was my intention to never “personally” use a computer, I have owned them since the 60’s. We had a computer room that looked much like the photo above. My iPhone4 does more in the palm of my hand than all of those computers (and a few employees) could.
What a World! What’s Next?

Here We Go Again
I often joke that I get the pleasure of addressing groups of people every day of my life that are assembled against their will. I never know what to expect.

“Uh-Oh!”
I have been doing consistent Success Rallies for the merchants at Whaler’s Village on Maui for 19 years now. I always arrive a bit early and usually find Lelani’s to be empty. Fear rushes through my body, thinking, “Will they show up this month?” or “Did they get the memo?” or “Do they still like me?”

“Whew!”
In a short time my fears are washed away with the adrenaline created by the arriving crowd. There is a buzz of excitement in the room as they all get their coffee and sugar rush. I always head for the airport with my head already in the clouds.

“Oh No!”
The very next day I get to do it again, in this case for the merchants from the Outrigger Hotels on Oahu. Once again I show up early and get the “Uh-Oh” feeling in my gut.

Yeah!
But then as usual they begin arriving and my spirits soar again. My mission is to always say something that they can all take away from the rally and add to their selling routine that will make more money for everyone and create a lasting memory for their customers. Look for the “Yeah’s” in your job. Life is an exciting adventure.

Kaneohe Facility
The beautiful Pohai Nani facility in Kaneohe was the site for my talk this morning to the Kaneohe Businesses Association.

Laurie Rodriguez
Long time friend and owner of Today’s Little People, Laurie Rodriquez engaged me to be the luncheon speaker at the monthly Kaneohe Businesses Association luncheon.

Networking
There was a lot of networking going on between association members and their guests. The energy was good as today’s agenda included thanking the local Naval and Marine Servicepeople for all that they do.

Success Message
My message was all about success and I pleaded with everyone to take responsibility for his and her own economy and not buy into the negative spin spewed by the mainstream media.

My Pleasure
I was happy to sell a lot of books today, but most pleased with the opportunity to sign them for the US Marine and Navy personell.

So Proud
I was then honored with the opportunity to pose with these fine young men and women who are making major sacrifices on our behalf. This was a great priveledge.

Mahalo to Cindi Williams
I had a great time at the WHFA Conference on Maui the past three days. This is a First Class organization. Cindi Williams and the entire WHFA staff made something very complicated look very easy.

Congratulations to Naturwood Home Furnishings
The awards dinner on the final night was quite an event and everyone was happy to congratulate Naturwood Home Furnishings on being named Retailer of the Year. This is quite an honor.

Speaking of Honored…
I had the priveledge of addressing this fine group of furniture store owners from all over the country in two sessions; one on managing people and the other on dealing with the media and their negative spin on the economy; a favorite topic of mine these days.

Brad Huisken and Me
I especially enjoyed the time I was able to spend with fellow speaker Brad Huiskin of IAS Training. We were able to swap some great tales from our mutual experiences helping people be all that they can be.
This was my second opportunity to participate in a WHFA Conference and I am already looking forward to the next one.

Mahalo to all. 

Are You Twittering Yet?
When I got e-mail (Friday) suggesting that I get a Twitter account, my reply was rather sarcastic. I said something like, “First there was MySpace, then Facebook, then LinkedIn. I did them all; why I don’t know. In addition I have my website, my calendar, my Blog and my Daily Motivator to stay on top of. And then there’s the business to run.” Well, being the curious person that I am, I checked it out, and now I have a Twitter account with a rapidly growing list of people finding and “following” me.
This one is different, and as I spend more and more time understanding how to use it I am seeing some real benefits. First is that you do not have to post anything at all, you can just “follow people” that you have interest in. My favorite one already is the Honolulu Advertiser. Any time that anything happens they “Twitter it” long before it appears anywhere else. Restaurants can post menu specials, artists post art shows, retailers release new products, movie theatres movie times, all in real time. The list is endless. My current Twitter update says simply, “Working on new Blog post.” Maybe someone will tune in to read this before getting my Daily Motivator in the morning. In a few moments it will say, “Blog finished, working on Monday Motivator.” That one you will have to wait to see. C’mon; follow me!