John Madigan's Blog

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

If you don't know who I am, I have a brief bio here. If you're interested in connecting via social media, you can find me on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

I hope you enjoy reading.

Warm regards,

John Madigan

NYC Marathon

This past weekend I ran the NYC Marathon. It was my 4th marathon and favorite marathon to date. 

The course

What's great about the course is that it feels like a well planned sightseeing tour. Starting in Staten Island offers the opportunity to take the Staten Island ferry and experience nice views of the Statue of Liberty. Shuttles whisk runners from the dock in Staten Island to the starting line.

Experiencing Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan (1st Ave and Central Park) by foot is absolutely ideal. What better way to get to know a city than to run it? 

As far as the elevation goes, the course is mostly flat with the exception of a few inclines over the bridges and at the end in Central Park. The inclines on the bridges are somewhat unnoticeable because most people are focused on the views from the bridge itself (at least I was). But careful not to try and go to fast and waste much needed energy.  

The fans/supporters

Except for the bridges, the course is completely lined with enthusiasic fans/supporters cheering the runners on.

Some of the best signs I saw people carrying:

"Hurry up! It's cold as hell out here."

"Worst parade ever!" 

The organization

The team behind the marathon did an excellent job. Everything from the communications, the expo, transportation, lodging suggestions, and the race itself were coordinated beautifully. 

There was only one part of the marathon experience that needs to be reexamined. The end of the marathon after the finish line was a logistical disaster. At the end of the marathon, all the finishers are pushed into a narrow corral that is lined with the UPS trucks carrying runner gear from the start line. There isn't an opportunity to leave this corral because it's fenced in. Thousands of runners are literally stuck in a corral, standing up, after 26.2 miles of running. Not fun. People were getting sick next to me because we were packed so tightly together with no chance at getting some space.

That being said, it was a small price to pay for the positive aspects of the race itself.

Overall

The NYC Marathon was a fantastic experience. Highly recommended.  

Warren Buffett on Business

Here is a great video of Warren Buffett answering questions from a group of MBA students. He uses Coca-Cola as an example throughout the presentation as a great business with the characteristics he looks for in an investment.

Interestingly, he says that people don't get cola fatigue. Meaning that it is natural to get tired of eating and drinking foods and liquids with the same taste. While people may get tired of drinking root beer or other flavored drinks, they do not with cola. This phenomenon is what enables people to drink five cokes a day and then do the same the next day. I'd be curious to know if that's actually true.

The video is about 128 minutes, but well worth watching in its entirety. Here it is:

In Honor of Steve Jobs

Here is Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement address. 

And here is a clip of Steve Jobs with Bill Gates (highlights):

On Running

I'm not a big fan of books about exercising. Or running. But I stumbled on one recently that was both insightful and endearing. 

It's called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Mrakami and it loosely follows his preparation for the NYC Marathon. Since I'm currently training for the NYC Marathon, the book holds a special significance for me.

Here are a few passages I thought were particularly good.

On running and thinking:

"I'm often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue."

On why to run:

"Running has a lot of advantages. First of all, you don't need anybody else to do it, and no need for special equipment...As long as you have running shoes and a good road you can run to your heart's content."

On priorities:

"I'm struck by how, except when you're young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don't get that sort of system set by a certain age, you'll lack focus and your life will be out of balance."

These were just a few of the quotes that resonated with me. If you are a runner, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy.

A kinder, gentler philosophy of success

Alain de Botton is one of my favorite thinkers/authors. Here he is giving a TED talk examining our ideas of success and failure. Well worth the 15 or so minutes. Enjoy!

29 things I've learned in 29 years

I'm turning 29 this year. It's been a good ride thus far. Here are a few things from both observation and experience I've learned in my ripe old age of 29:

(1) Good sleep, food, exercise, water are vital to a productive day.

(2) Everything in moderation is a good philosophy - especially with respect to food/drinks.

(3) Exercise has more than just physical benefits. Exercise influences your emotional health, happiness, and overall sense of well being.

(4) Not worrying about what others think is the best way to live. It's also incredibly difficult in your teens and 20's to not be influenced by your peers.

(5) Surrounding yourself with people you admire/respect is much more important than whoever will go out and party/drink with you.

(6) Buying someone lunch is one of the most powerful networking tactics you can use. Do it often. 

(7) To get to know someone, take a long car ride or travel with them. You'll get to know a completely different side of them and develop a much more intense connection.

(8) Meeting someone of quality in a bar/club is unlikely. Although quality people go to bars/clubs, they aren't looking for their mate. Rather, meeting someone through a friend is a much wiser strategy.

(9) Find a means of creating passive income for yourself. Whether this is via investing, an online biz, or some other means, it's crucial to find a way to get paid even when you're not there.

(10) Read, read and read.

(11) It takes time to really get to know yourself.

(12) Don't get married until you're ready. There's no reason to do it too soon.

(13) Being in a relationship because you are lonely is almost always the wrong reason.

(14) Friendship before romance can increase the likelihood of a relationship's success.

(15) Experts write. Start writing.

(16) Public speaking isn't as scary as you may think. We are conditioned to think there is something frightening about communicating to a group of people. There isn't. 

(17) Treat others how you want to be treated. Be nice.

(18) Laugh - life is too short not to laugh.

(19) Push yourself. Try things you wouldn't normally do. Go outside your own comfort zone.

(20) Invest as early as possible. Save and invest. Save and invest.

(21) Spend less than you earn. 

(22) Avoid debt, including student loan debt (if you can).

(23) Higher education is useful, but comes at a great cost (unless someone else is paying for it for you). If your parents or family will pay for it, do it. If you are paying for it yourself, realize that you will be forced to pay back huge tuition costs for probably years to come.

(24) Do something you enjoy. Working in a place/job/environment that doesn't fit who you are will do strange things to you physically and emotionally. The sooner you recognize when something isn't the right fit and make a change, the better.

(25) Give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone burns you, learn from it. But don't become jaded because of one bad apple.

(26) Find a way to create more quietness (some call it "consciousness") in your life - whether you are spiritual or not, finding quiet time is imperative. 

(27) Family and friends are what makes life great. Tell them so.

(28) Money is a tool you can use, not the other way around.

(29) There is always more to learn. Anyone who claims to know it all doesn't know how little they actually know.

And the Winner is...

Thank you to everyone who supported me in running the LA Marathon. Because of the rain, it was by far the most difficult marathon I have ever run. But I finished!

Here is the list of rockstars that donated to Meals on Wheels (the nonprofit I was raising money on behalf of):

1. Shelly Locks
2. Erin Deviny
3. Sara LaBree
4. Laurel Rosen
5. Michael Madigan
6. Jenna, Brian and Baron Linnekens
7. Kelly Craven
8. Debbie Lee
9. Marguerite Hanley
10. Kiran Bedi
11. Jeremy Davis-Turak
12. John Ebel-Davis
13. Etan Basseri
14. Ana Fass
15. Sol Chum
16. Cindy Young
17. Lynne Thomas
18. Nicole Campbell
19. Gianna Assereto

In total, we raised $368 (more than $100 above my initial goal). THANK YOU!!

As I mentioned in my first email, I am giving away five $20 Starbucks cards to people chosen at random who donated to the cause.

To pick the winners, each person was assigned with the number next to their name above. My coworker picked 5 numbers out of a basket corresponding to the numbers. The 5 chosen winners are:

1. Cindy Young
2. Sol Chum
3. Nicole Campbell
4. Erin Deviny
5. John Ebel-Davies

Congrats and thank you so much!!!

Disruption

Does your product or service compel other businesses to change their process?

I use Mint.com to manage my financial life online. The service is free and quite good. By entering your login credentials for all your accounts (bank, brokerage, loans, etc.) you can manage all your accounts in one place.

For one of my accounts in particular, I used to have to verify my credentials with a series of questions. No longer. Now I verify my account with a PIN number. Why the change? According to their website, it's so that they can be compatible with services like Mint.com. 

Now that's powerful.

If your product/service is pushing other companies to become compatible with you - you're clearly doing something right.

 

"Reactionary Work Flow"

In Making Ideas Happen, Scott Belsky coins the term "reactionary work flow." He writes, 

"The state of reactionary work flow occurs when you get stuck simply reacting to whatever flows into the top of an in-box. Instead of focusing on what is most important and actionable, you spend too much time just trying to stay afloat. Reactionary work flow prevents you from being more proactive with your energy."

This is especially true in any frontline, customer/consumer focused position. If you aren't careful, the messages that show up in your inbox, voicemail, twitter, facebook and/or physical office could eat up your entire day.   

Conclusion: reacting to stuff is a big part of work. But so is being proactive. You have to remember not to neglect the latter.

Evil Plans by Hugh MacLeod

Along with Seth Godin, Hugh MacLeod is one of my favorite authors. His style is markedly different from Seth, but he shares the ability/talent to challenge your thinking.

I would highly recommend his new book, Evil Plans to anyone who's ever dreamed of starting their own side project, whether that be a writing, a business, a nonprofit project, or a work of art.

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As a side note, TED2011 is this week. They are already posting some of the videos online. Very cool stuff.