Today was a bit surreal for me.  Not only did we have a crazy day on the financial markets as well as in the US Congress, but this all came together for me as I was in an airplane. 

Kind of a weird collision of CSPAN and CNBC occurring as I watched the events of the day live via Direct TV on the screen in the seat in front of me while listening to the audio with my iPod earphones.  I believe it is a historic moment when the floor of the NYSE is focused on the outcome of a US House of Representatives' vote and CNBC is bringing both to me via split screen.  I did a bit of digging to see if I could find a screen shot of this around and whether this was the first time the vote feed was featured on the business network, but was unsuccessful in my search however I did come up with this:

I'm not sure where things are headed from here other than that we all need to calm down a bit and understand that this is a serious time but not the end of times. 

The drama of the day was enough to leave your head spinning but as I sat there being shuttled to my destination watching the markets mostly fall…and fall a bit further as the vote tally was totaled, I couldn't help but think how absurd it was that Wall Street had pinned its hopes on Congress and how counter this is to who we are as a country.

I found myself using this phrase today and thought it was a good point to share.  Simply put "knowing how to win" is an essential character trait of the people you should surround yourself with regardless of what you are working on – start up, product launch, neighborhood picnic, etc. 

People can make or break a venture and surrounding yourself with those that either don't know how to win or are unable to do what it takes to win is the death knell.  Playing to tie or having people that just want to stand on the sidelines and tell you why things won't work can kill your company or project and they should be shown the door quickly. 

Read this today via Valleywag and it struck me as both sad and absurd at the same time.  Google is finding out that providing free food has become a source of abuse, excessive cost, and distraction.  What a surprise.  Here's a dandy quote from the post:

Company provided meals/snacks/beverages are a courtesy not an entitlement.  I am a fan of providing food for meetings, launches, peak work periods or other special occasions but it is not the company's responsibility to feed you, your family, your friends, or anyone else that suits your whim.