Randomly Thinking

Back to the blog after a busy summer. It shouldn't be too hard to update a blog on a regular basis, but I've been a slacker when it comes to posting. I'm going to try to post on a regular basis now that football season is here and the baseball playoffs are approaching (the Astros won't make it).

For starters and speaking of slackers, here's a new website that I love: Slacker Manager. This dude writes about business issues and more.

I'm also a big fan of Richard Justice in the Houston Chronicle. For an old dude, he's pretty hip and knows how to entertain and inform. He's fantastic on Sportsradio 610 on Wednesdays with his behind the scenes info and the stories that don't get printed on the newsprint or posted on a reputable website.

This morning, I went to Wal-Mart down the road from my house. I needed chlorine for the pool. I searched the Wal-Mart for the chemical and couldn't find it. I asked the overweight teenager who was wearing a Wal-Mart smock and hovered near an endcap. I asked where the chemicals for a pool were located. He said they were a seasonal item and had been removed in favor of Halloween candy. Halloween is still 65 days away. In Houston, the temperature is going to be in the 90s for the next three weeks - at least. Pool maintenance is going to be required through November.

Now, this story is not meant to bash Wal-Mart, but to illustrate a point. Wal-Mart's distribution system is renowned in the world of supply-chain management. But, while moving almost all operations to a central location (Arkansas), they've taken the regionality out of their stores. In southern Missouri, pool season is almost over. Give it another month. In Houston, I'll need chlorine in November. The local manager didn't make this decision. He or she was told to stock this product and make sure the floors are swept. No local decisions.

If Wal-Mart wanted to shed it's big, bad image, it should embrace the local community. Pool supplies in Houston shouldn't be a seasonal item. But, since the buyer and merchandiser are in Bentonville, Arkansas, the decision is made beyond the store and regional level. Hell, even soda is purchased through Bentonville. I'd have to do the research, but I bet more Dr. Pepper is stocked in Texas than in Montana. So, pool chemicals could fall into that category.

Wal-Mart is still an American success story and not the big bad monster. Yes, it forced traditional retailers out of the game. That's the way the business world works. A better business model will win. The market always prevails - unless you're in Cuba. Eventually the market will prevail there too and then they'll be some fantastic diving.

Enough for today. The real reason the postings were few and far between - I was editing the novel. Look for publication in late November. It'll be a great book and self-published.

Now, back to complete coverage of the Little League World Series on the ESPN family of networks. Is it me or is a little creepy that this event gets more play than the Tour de France? These are 12-year-olds. Too bad for ESPN that Michael Jackson isn't a Nielsen household. Coming this week - football chatter.


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