The pastor at a church I attended several years ago would look at his watch before he would start his sermon and check it again when he was done. He would then announce how many minutes he preached, especially when the sermon was short. He took pride in being able to deliver his message quickly and effectively. This pastor knew that less was often more, and, as you may guess, he was quite popular with the patrons of the church.
One shouldn’t judge a pastor by the length of his or her sermons — and one should not be in a hurry to get out of church — but those things happen. The same could be said for meetings. I really don’t like meetings, but I do agree with the need to hold everyone accountable — including myself — and face-to-face meetings seem to be the most effective way to do that. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been quoted as saying, “The longer the meeting, the less is accomplished.” I agree.
I read that having a written agenda for a meeting makes it go faster, so I do that, and it works. A written agenda provides structure to keep things moving along in a specific order. I have also read that posting a starting time and ending time on the written agenda keeps everyone on track, too. I try to do that as well.
Michael Gartner told me that, when he was the president of NBC News, he would have “standing meetings.” This not only meant the meetings were held at a regular time and at a regular place, but it also indicated that everyone stood in the meeting. No chairs. “Meetings go faster without chairs,” he told me. Makes sense.
I was also once told if you can send information out in a report, you don’t need to have a meeting. I don’t agree with this one. Sending out information is one thing; having people read it is quite another. The post-COVID work-from-home scenarios uncovered the problem of employees not reading reports, or at least not reading them until 30 seconds before the meeting.
We have a staff wrap-up meeting every Friday afternoon. In this 5-minute meeting, each person quickly shares what went right during the week. It is meant to be short so everyone can get out and enjoy the start to their weekend. As such, it teaches our staff members to be brief and to get to the point. Much like my former pastor, I check my watch at the beginning of the meeting and at the end. It is amazing how many great things our staff members can share about what went right when they know what to expect, are prepared and can make their points quickly. So, if our staff members and my former pastor can do this, why can’t politicians?
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com
See Shane Goodman's other columns here. |
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Clear Mortgage meteorology
Windy and warm again today. Rain chances come Wednesday, followed by cooler temperatures. More rain chances are ahead for the weekend.
For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage. |
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| Pick up your October CITYVIEW magazine, available on racks across the metro. | | | Your View
• Poll Position
• Letters to the Editor
• Facebook Comments
• ReTWEETS | | | READ MORE |
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Tuesday Touts
• Amruth ("gods' nectar" in Sanskrit) Indian Grill (9974 Swanson Blvd., Clive) is the real deal for fans of southern Indian cuisine. Dosas (rice and gram flour crepes) star and even have a special night — Thursdays — when there is a dosa buffet. Dosas are crepes on steroids, invented in Tamil Nadu when it was a French colony called Madras and Pondicherry, among many things. Thalis are featured weekdays at lunch time. Those are Indian plate lunches, invented by Indian Railways, that give one the opportunity to sample a lot of dishes for a good price. Tandoori meats and breads sizzle. Idlis (rice and lentil sponge cakes), chutneys, curries and dum biryanis (India's most famous culinary invention and Hyderabad's argument with Valencia and Lombardy about the world's most decadent rice dish) are all as good as we have ever had in Des Moines. We love this place! And that is the first time we have used an exclamation point in this column.
• Chicago pitmaster Dominique Leach of the black-women-queer-owned and award-winning Lexington Betty’s Smokehouse (plus 2023 winner of the Food Network’s BBQ Brawl), is making it her mission to further define Chicago style Q. Dominique discusses the origins of Chicago-style BBQ, its variations, and its future. Trust us, she's going to make you want to drive to Chicago for Q. Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Available via Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86984485833?pwd=2BWlu6GZBXjWLiwbvaxKTQtf4oOdIu.1#success Meeting ID: 869 8448 5833…Passcode: 541337
Deals today
• CABCO (309 Court Ave., Des Moines) has steak night on Tuesdays.
• Irina's Steak and Seafood (650 S. Prairie View Drive, West Des Moines) offers a 1.25 pound live lobster dinner with Iowa sweet corn for $25 today and tomorrow only.
• Chelsie’s Courtyard (400 MLK, Des Moines) has a $6 tenderloin basket with fries from 4-9 p.m. on Tuesdays.
• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $7 burgers including a side on Tuesdays.
• Sprockets (2314 University Ave., Des Moines) has a $9.99 tenderloin and tequila sunrise deal on Tuesdays.
• Tuesday brings $5.95 gyros to Opa! (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines).
• Kids meals are half price all day Tuesday at Machine Shed (11151 Hickman Road, Urbandale).
• Tuesday means $12 hot beef sandwiches at Paula's (524 Elm St., Valley Junction).
• All day happy hour prices, such as half-price oysters, are in effect Tuesdays at Django (1420 Locust St., Des Moines).
• Kelly’s Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers really good tenderloins with a side and drink for $11.50 on Tuesdays.
• Taco Tuesday brings serious discounts to Mariscos El Pirata (6050 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines), La Familia (1610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines), all Taco John's, The Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave., Des Moines), all Abelardo's, all Fernando’s, Malo (900 Mulberry St., Des Moines), Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines), Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) and Faustino’s (4944 Franklin Ave., Des Moines).
• Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) offers a personal-size pizza with a salad for $10 Tuesdays.
• Fareway has bread and butter roasts on sale for $7.99/pound this week.
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com |
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The 2024 results ...
CITYVIEW's Best Of Des Moines® | | | Best Local Spa
1. Coachlight Clinic & Spa
2. East Village Spa
3. Lotus Skincare Studio
Cast your votes in the 2025 Best Of Des Moines Poll now! Open until Nov. 22. Results to be published in the February 2025 issue of CITYVIEW. |
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| Featured home for sale | | |
$269,900 3904 Beaver Ave., Des Moines, IA 50310
Welcome to this beautifully updated story-and-a-half home nestled on a spacious half-acre-plus lot in the Lower Beaverdale neighborhood. Two cozy bedrooms are located on the main level, with two additional bedrooms and a versatile office/playroom upstairs. Look out over the extra deep lot from the primary bedroom deck.
See the listing here.
| | | See More Homes For Sale |
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| SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction | | | 1058 22ND ST., DES MOINES
SALE DATE: 2024-07-22
SALE PRICE: $117,753
SELLER: NEW LIFE CENTER
BUYER: INVEST DSM INC
ACRES: 0.388
SQUARE FEET: 4,155 |
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| Featured in the current issue of Waukee Living magazine | | | The race is on: Father and son racing
By Jackie Wilson
When Ian Logan, 17, came home from school two weeks before he turned 16, he was stopped by the police and ticketed for speeding. As he arrived home to tell his parents, he admitted he liked driving fast.
“I told my parents I wanted to go fast — but in a legal environment,” he recalls, adding that he suggested he try racing.
His dad, Brian agreed, recalling his own youth. Brian used to race motorcycles and bicycles at about the same age as his son. | | | READ MORE |
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FROM KCCI: Why Iowans won't receive wind chill warnings this winter. A new set of cold weather alerts will debut this season. ....READ MORE
FROM WHO-TV: Des Moines police release raw videos of September shooting of suspect. DES MOINES, Iowa — The Des Moines Police Department has released videos from a shooting last month that injured two officers and resulted in a suspect’s death. ...READ MORE
FROM WOI-DT Local 5: Ames police: Man arrested after threatening multiple people with handgun. The suspect allegedly threatened to shoot multiple people in an apartment, leading some victims to jump out the window from the third floor. ...READ MORE |
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MLB World Series: LAD 4. NYY 2 - Dodgers lead series 3-0
NFL Monday Night Football: NYG 18 PIT 26
ESPN: Source: Packers QB Jordan Love's MRI shows no significant damage ... READ MORE
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: NBA Hands Joel Embiid Postgame Technical Foul for Bench Antics During Pacers Free Throws ... READ MORE
CBS Sports: Justin Thomas finding his putter crucial to regaining form with 2025 PGA Tour season around corner ...READ MORE |
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1998: John Glenn returns to space. Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Herschel Glenn Jr. is launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery on October 29, 1998. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging. ... READ MORE
1971: Guitarist Duane Allman dies in motorcycle accident. Duane Allman, a slide guitarist and the leader of the Allman Brothers Band, is killed on October 29, 1971 when he loses control of his motorcycle and drives into the side of a flatbed truck in Macon, Georgia. He was 24 years old. After Allman’s death, his band continued to tour and record. In 2004, Rolling Stone declared that the Allman Brothers were the 52nd-greatest rock band of all time. ... READ MORE
1901: President William McKinley’s assassin is executed. On October 29, 1901, President William McKinley’s assassin, Leon Czolgosz, is executed in the electric chair at Auburn Prison in New York. Czolgosz had shot McKinley on September 6, 1901; the president succumbed to his wounds eight days later. ... READ MORE
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| Birthdays and notables | | | Correction: Happy Birthday TODAY, Stephanie Toot!
These celebrities were born on this date: Winona Ryder, Gabrielle Union, Randy Jackson, Ruel, Tove Lo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jacqueline Jossa
SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
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The answer to yesterday's riddle:
Yesterday's riddle:Why did the policeman ticket the ghost on Halloween? HE DIDN'T HAVE A HAUNTING LICENSE! - Gail Tomlinson. Or, He committed a traffic "boo-boo."- Carolyn Rogers Other answers: Rex Post
Today's riddle:
What's a vampire's favorite fruit?
Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
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To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or CITYVIEW, contact:
Mary Fowler
Account Executive
515-953-4822 x311
c: 641-485-0555
mary@dmcityview.com
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www.biggreenumbrellamedia.com. Add webmaster@dmcityview.com to your address book to ensure delivery. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Click here to get it delivered to your inbox for FREE! |
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