Steve Fernlund and The Long Way Home

Back in the day, “Uncle” Kay was famous in my circles for a particularly salient quote he regularly uttered to end phone calls with me. This quote, 'Nothing stays the same except rocks,' was his way of acknowledging the inevitability of change —a philosophy that he applied to every shift in company policy and market fluctuations. We aren’t blood relatives. Kay was one of my direct reports, opening and managing a successful office in Sioux Falls for many years as we built a world-class (in our opinion) logistics company. The honorific "Uncle" was a sign of my respect for him, both because he was my senior in age and he was a management genius. He was never afraid to challenge me, and often did, asking hard questions until he understood the decision and accepted it with a sigh, saying, “Nothing stays the same except rocks.” Those questions made me a better manager. In our lives, significant changes are a constant.  The Bohunk and I are experiencing some changes right no...

July the Fourth is a day for celebration and some serious reflection. Independence Day. For the Bohunk and me, blessed to be baby boomers, independence meant hard work. It was hard to find a job in late 60s suburbia for a couple of mid-teeners. You had to know someone, and once a job found you, it was best to put your heart and soul into it — even for minimum wage. My next-door neighbor worked in the kitchen at a nearby Mr. Steak restaurant. At 15, through his introduction, the manager hired me as a busboy. In that job, I learned a lesson that has been at the front of my mind ever since. “If you got time to lean, you got time to clean.”  Impressed by my work ethic, Dennis moved me onto the grill once I hit 16 and could work longer hours. I learned how to gauge the doneness of a steak, plan to get several dinners to the floor at the right time, and do a nightly cleaning of the grill and flattop. It was hard work, but the income allowed me to buy a 1967 Mustang and treat the future M...

Just over a year ago, I finally understood what a podcast could be. Having participated in a few, I learned that a podcast could be just audio or include video, consumed at one's leisure. This simple understanding of a digital medium was a revelation that prepared me for another, far more impactful, digital trend. Lately, I’ve happened upon a new word for an ancient practice that is stirring the thoughts and fears of old folks like me. That word is influencer.  Influencers, typically young, tech-savvy, and good-looking, began sharing their lives and perspectives directly with the world in the social media universe that has enveloped and consumed much of our time and thoughts. Little, if any, regulation or curating goes into what is presented. The main goal is to get “followers” and “likes,” which gets the attention of marketers, business people, and politicians, who might pay outrageous sums of money for endorsements or promotional campaigns. Perhaps surprisingly, between 30% and 5...

Last Saturday, around 7:30 am, as my car crept onto Highway 61 heading west, I heard a report on Minnesota Public Radio about a shelter-in-place order in a three-mile radius around the Edinburgh Golf Course in Brooklyn Park, MN. They reported that a shooter, who had injured at least four people in the early hours of the 14th, was still at large, dressed as a police officer. The search was ongoing, and no other details were available. Every time I hear about one of these incidents, I assume the shootings are somehow related to gang activity or domestic violence. A jealous husband kills his wife and her boyfriend, and will soon give up the chase. In gang-related incidents, the shooter seems to vanish without a trace. I shook my head, sighed, "Here we go again," and proceeded to my customer service job at the Cook County Home Center, which opened at 8.  Three of us were on the job, focusing on turning on the computers and the lights. As the morning routine continued, I tackled m...