Intention and the Aftermath

Aug 3, 2026

What’s the frequency, Kenneth?!

That’s the title of a song by the rock band R.E.M., and, oddly enough, it had pop-culture influence beyond music. It originated from the 1986 assault and battery on CBS news anchor Dan Rather in New York City, during which the two assailants repeatedly screamed this question. “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” The incident baffled police and the public for years (it was later learned one of the attackers was delusional), and the question immediately became a catchphrase for being confused, out of one’s depth, or out of the loop.

Things can be confusing.

Not just in retail, everything around us can seem confusing or chaotic. So many balls being juggled, never-ending expectations and fire drills, and the constant reflection of inputs and outputs. Figuring out intention and creating intention when it’s busy can be challenging. It can be equally challenging, if not more so, when we assess our outcomes as being won or lost or a complete success or utter failure. It leaves us questioning intention and the aftermath of everything that has happened as good or bad.

When I started as a manager, I quickly realized “I did not know what I didn’t know.” In fact, I wasn’t sure I didn’t know it until it was required. With time and experience, as well as a lot of good, bad, won, lost, and all success and failure, there was one piece of wisdom that revealed itself. It is something I currently share with all those young leaders.

“Our outcomes represent neither absolute success nor absolute failure. They are a sum total of varying degrees of both.”

Which begs the question, can two seemingly diametrically opposed truths be held by the same person about the same situation and outcome, and at the same time? Yes.

Life doesn’t happen to us; it happens for us.

I believe good and bad can co-exist. That one thing can be both. Take social media. Kaylor Betts, a Canadian podcaster offered two perspectives. He posed “Is it toxic and can it act like a poison? Absolutely.” If it’s being viewed unconsciously in some kind of death scroll, then yes. Then he captured my complete interest when he said,

“If people use it with intention and calculation, it can be a powerful tool.”

That phrase, “with intention and calculation,” resonated in me. To say it another way, with purpose and a plan. I started thinking about how this could impact how I see and set up my day. After a little contemplation, I took Betts’s statement and added a third. Each element supports the other like a three-legged stool.

Intention, Calculation, and Action

Intention gives us a clear purpose. It’s our “why.” It answers the question: What do I want to start/stop/continue and why? Calculation gives us a clear path. It’s our “how.” It answers the question: What specific steps and behaviors do I need to get there? Action gives us perspective. It’s our “what now?” While in the midst of our action, what things do we need to flex, adapt, improvise, or change in our engagement to fulfill the intention? The challenge won’t be the intention or calculation. It will most certainly be the change that will be required in the action.

You see, the intention doesn’t really change. Calculation will probably only indicate change is needed. Action in the pursuit of achieving our desired outcome almost always changes. The Why and How gives us the plan. Does that mean everything goes to plan? Heck no. The plan only gives us a lane to start in. That’s it. Life is unscripted. It’s full of variables – good and bad. Action reveals our response.

We aim with intention, assess with calculation, and then act with determination and self-efficacy. What happens in the aftermath and how do we see the quantity and quality of our efforts? This takes us back to our original question…was the outcome “good” or “bad” and what was the influence?

We’ll See

There is an old parable about a Chinese farmer. Goes like this…

Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.

One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically, “you must be so sad.”

“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses.

“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed!  “Not only did your horse return, but you received two more.  What great fortune you have!”

“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.  “Now your son cannot help you with your farming,” they said.  “What terrible luck you have!”

“We’ll see,” replied the old farmer.

The following week, military officials came to the village to conscript young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “Such great news. You must be so happy!”

The man smiled to himself and said once again.

“We’ll see.”

Our Take-Away

Creating intention and processing calculation are both formulaic and relatively easy to manufacture. The harder part comes in the aftermath. When action shapes a new context and we respond to the circumstance in hopes of maintaining our purpose and objective.

The Chinese farmer parable teaches us that it is problematic to judge a circumstance as strictly good or bad when it happens. Rather than trying to control every outcome, it encourages patience and the understanding that “good luck” and “bad luck” are both part of our journey.

A “We’ll see” intentionality is not passive. It’s not resignation. It’s a controlled response from a disciplined mindset. It’s the ability to live without overreacting to every swing of the pendulum. To stay grounded when things go well. To stay open when things fall apart. To resist the urge to declare the final meaning of a moment we are given too soon. To be careful what we call “good” or “bad.” It depends, because we are standing inside a story that isn’t finished yet. That’s the frequency, Kenneth.

Read more great leadership perspectives in the RC blog.

Life is Math

Jul 1, 2026

The Happiness Formula

When this came across my feeds, it struck me as a moment to ponder. A story from an Inc.com article by Ben Sherry. The story goes that while speaking at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s 2024 commencement ceremony, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak emphasized the importance of approaching problems with a constructive mindset. In true Woz fashion, he did it in the form of a math equation.

“There’s a formula for creating happiness,” Wozniak said. “And it couldn’t be simpler. H = S – F, which means Happiness equals Smiles minus Frowns.” Woz acknowledged that in life and business, you can’t prevent things from going wrong, but his formula suggests that you do get to decide how to react.

So, is life a series of equations?

Like happiness, most things that make up our physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual realities result from s some simple math equation. Addition and subtraction. Yes, simple in design, although not necessarily easy to calculate, because some of us may feel like the moment, day, week, month, year, and so on, is more like multiplication and long-form division. Maybe even fractions and percentages. The thing is, I like the simplicity of adding and subtracting. Simple math – things that bring me joy and fulfillment get added and the things that leave me put off and unsettled get subtracted. I look at my behavior and outcome, then I adjust accordingly. It makes sense.

Diving a little deeper into this topic, I came across a book by Neil Pasricha, The Happiness Equation. Rather than giving you a synopsis or key elements from the book, I share only this.

“According to recent research, only 10% of our happiness is based on our external world.
The other 90% is based on how we see the world.”

When I read this, what stands out is that the formula is less important than the interpretation and, specifically, how we apply meaning to the data. The discernment, extrapolation, and estimation process – that’s what makes it complex, complicated, and subjectively tricky.

Math is Objective.

Or is it? Here’s something to consider. Think about relationships. Being the research geek that I am, I was curious about relationship data. I saw this unbelievable amount of data on divorce, with every possible way to look at percentages and rates: age, occupation, states, and so on. Now, for the sake of our conversation, let’s simplify and say it’s 50/50.

Here’s my question: which 50% gets your attention? Where does your head go first? To the 50% who get divorced or the 50% who stay married?

One might say, “It’s going to be tough for people in relationships when they see this. They have a high probability of breaking up.” Another reaction, “OK, but what about the ones who are great with one another – what if they’re the 50% that stay together?”

This is the whole ‘glass half full, half empty’ metaphor.

Retail is definitely math.

When I first cut my teeth in retail, I remember my very first boss telling me the importance of conversion rate, saying it was THE most important metric in retail. To look at the number of total opportunities in a given time period, and measure that against the total number of transactions; thus, providing an indicator of selling effectiveness, or closing ratio. Let’s say it’s 20%.

Obviously, whether it is good or bad, is pretty much relative to what it’s been (trend) and the desired outcome (target).

I want to know trends and targets, for sure. If I want to get really good, I’m going deeper. I can look at 20%, celebrate the outcome, and explore why they bought. OR I can look at 80%, embrace the opportunity, and try to figure out why they didn’t. Which side typically gets our focus? Maybe both.

To be fair, there are other factors we could chat about. Very rarely are things like this cut and dry. My point is this: when we consider anything, what gets our attention and focus? Why? What are our motives? Who benefits the most from our analysis, and how will we approach them with the data? Half full or half empty?

A + Variables = Customized Approach

This math equation is the one I live and lead by. When I started out as a leader, I wanted an equation to fit everything, one that I could easily apply to all that I did. I quickly found that the reality is there is no “easy way” and definitely no one-size-fits-all equation. A + B = C doesn’t exist.

I changed my approach. A + Variables = Customized Approach. “A” represents the thing I must do. This doesn’t change. It’s the task, goal, target, expectation, and standard. “Variables” are exactly what the word implies. It’s all the stuff that can and does happen that we don’t expect or can’t control, such as the circumstances, people involved, and uncertain factors. “Customized Approach” is my response to both task and circumstance. It’s about choice. I get to choose my actions, reactions, plans, and responses.

In essence, my day-to-day reality may very well be a series of mathematical equations wherein success or failure is the sum of all choices I’ve made. In other words, I calculate all the stuff in my day, factoring in probability, estimation, and uncertainty, and then come up with a sum. My choice represents that equation.

Bottom line: how do you see the world? How do you calculate its meaning? How do you see the day you are given and moments where you get to choose a response? Is your response a smile or frown? Are you contemplating a little math – adding something in or subtracting something out or away? Today, you get to respond. What will make up your equation? Half full, half empty, or realizing neither matters if the glass is refillable.

#RussellCellular #LeadershipMatters #CareerHere #Perspective

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Everything’s Expensive

Jun 1, 2026

Things are expensive these days.

If anyone would like to create an immediate and deeply visceral response in a conversation, talk about money. In fact, it makes up one of the four ubiquitous, off-limits conversation topics: politics, religion, sex, and money. If that wasn’t enough, not only is our financial situation one of the most personally sensitive points of view, but it’s also a leading catalyst for divorce and overall relational conflict.

Therefore, money, specifically what we have, how we spend it and where, will always be a thing we hold close to our chest as we make our choices in our fixed and discretionary spending.

When it comes to things being “expensive”, well, that is relative. I contend everything is expensive until value has been established. Then it becomes a balancing act of to what extent our value meets our capacity to pay for the thing or things we want, need, or desire.

“During these economic times…”

Ok, first off, let me temper everything that follows with acknowledging the realities of the cost of living. I am not immune to this very real thing each day, week, month, and so on. Here’s the thing, I am not sold on the idea that these current times are unique. Every generational group has had an economy with which they have had to navigate their spending realities.

Times with market crashes, world wars, pandemics, and a variety of local, national, and global events of all categories have challenged our ability to buy, sell, transact, save, invest, and so on. If we have a little or a lot, the zeitgeist, or the spirit of the times, influences our wallets.

Context is everything.

I am going to challenge “During these economic times” through the lens of retail, and specifically what we do as retailers, which is to sell lots of stuff. Let’s start right there. When one works in retail, the job, regardless of whether it is customer facing or not, is 100% about selling what it has or supporting those who do the selling within some respective organizational role.

You see, I started in an era of retail where it seemed the three most important KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) were CR, AS, and IPS. That is to say…Conversion Rate or how many sales vs. opportunities. Average Sale or the total dollar amount of each transaction. And Items Per Sale or…well, that one seems obvious. The key thing uniting all three, the more the better.

My first legit retail job was selling clothes. I learned early on that it was unconscionable to sell just one thing. For example, we never let a suit go out without two dress shirts, three ties, a belt, and maybe some shoes. Why that much? Because a suit was an investment, and the goal was to ensure the customer could make the most of their purchase.

Now pivot over to wireless. The same is true, and even more so. Here’s why. It wasn’t that long ago at a wireless convention, maybe 16 years ago, where the idea of someone spending the money to buy a smart phone was a question mark. The price point seemed too high. And now, we cannot even imagine not having a smart phone. We went from about a 25% take rate then to being well over 100%. In fact, our saturation rate is way over 100%.

Which challenges the question, especially to someone who is new to retail, “during these economic times”, will people buy more than just the phone? And I say resoundingly, “heck yeah”. Just like the suit, it’s an investment. We go everywhere and do everything with our handheld, minicomputer. It links us to almost every aspect of our life. It requires protection, power, and performance to maximize overall value and usage. As well as all the connectivity with family, lifestyle, and business opportunities.

In fact, wherever we are and whatever we do, we will never give up our phones…even in and especially during these economic times. We probably depend on them more now. And we need more than just the phone. Each item offered adds value to our customers’ lives, and we get to help with that.

‘Value’ and ‘Service’ Prevail Over ‘Expensive’ and ‘Economy’ 

Let’s be real, price does matter, even when value is being established. What makes a distinct difference is when we help the customer align what they want and what they need with the most reasonable and cost-effective solution. Where the selling focus is not to blindly get the customer to buy more, but to intentionally help them buy right.

The key to making that happen is the quality of service before, during, and after. Beyond the disclosed features and benefits that align with the customer’s buying decision. It’s the relationship created and the behaviors demonstrated to each customer. It’s in the crafting of the relationship through…asking the questions, getting to know the customer and their wants, needs, and desires, making the recommendation for the total solution, working through setting them up properly, and then ending with a transaction AND establishing a relationship that lasts.

Bottom line, expensive, economy, price, value…it’s all relative. Keep that in perspective. The focus is making the most out of the investment. At Russell Cellular, maximizing value is the common denominator in all that we do. Caring for every person is how we do it.

#Verizon #5G #LTE #Fiber #RussellCellular #BetterTogether #LeadershipMatters

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