New Business Heretics Weekly Radio Ballyhoo thing posted wherein Tom and I talk about quality, real and perceived, tough ethical decisions, and finding a diverse brainstorming group.

So, how's this working for you? High enough signal-to-noise ratio? Anything we should be talking about, but aren't? Wanna join us?

Look; there's a comments section down there! Maybe you should say something.

Ever notice how a nearby sound is louder than something farther away? I was in the bedroom, with the radio on in another room. It was loud; loud enough, anyway.

The Little One came in and sat on the bed with a bag of chips and started crunching away. And completely drowned out the radio. Now, there's no way her crunching is louder than my music (trust me) but proximity created greater apparent volume.

Closer equals louder—but it's not real.

Who sounds loud, just because they're close to you? Are your newest clients making suggestions or demands that wouldn't make sense to your old loyal cadre? Are your peers offering advice that doesn't fit? Is your mom or your brother or your neighbor telling you what you should or shouldn't do for a living?

It's a good idea to hear a wide variety of input. Hear it, but know what's loud, and what's close, and the difference between the two.

Inspirational speaker and author Hal Elrod posted a question on Facebook recently: if you had a magic wand and could instantly change one thing in your life, what would it be?

Now, I usually ignore stuff like that (the random questions on Facebook) but Hal is smart and generous, and the question caught me at a time when I was missing my four older kids, so I responded.

Here's something that floored me: more than one person responded, "Nothing." (One even went so far as to claim that God controlled everything in their life, to explain why they wouldn't change anything. They thus deny the divine gift of free will, but that's another post for a different blog.)

Nothing. Really?

No vision or dental problems you'd like to eliminate? You're obviously much younger than I.

You wouldn't choose to work fewer hours, or have more money or time to give to charity?

How about the fact that, without divine intervention, you're gonna die someday? You wouldn't change that?

When you reject even the thought of change, that's not contentment, that's complacency.

This is what I've got, so that's what I should settle for.

Not me. If you're a business heretic, not you, either.

So, tell me: if you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change about your business?

And, before you say 'nothing' know that I'm going to absolutely hammer you with questions about why you wouldn't choose to work fewer hours, earn more in the same time so you had more to give to your favorite charity, or one of a million ways your business and your life could be better.

Of course, Hal is asking the question to find out what's on people's minds so he has a chance of helping them.

Me too. Sure, there's no magic wand. But your greatest challenge can still be addressed with that real-world solution they call 'hard work'.