January 18, 2007
I'm reading a book Kathy bought me, called "Good to Great," and it has some very insightful comments about running a great company. Among them:

"Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights."

After reading the above, I drove into The Beast this morning to meet with our art diretor Dan Harshberger about the problems we're having with the Royal Wade Kimes cover. As is often the case we have too many shots of one idea and not enough of another. And the one good shot we both agreed on, doesn't have enough road on the right to move over and get type in. Plus, virtually everyone in the office dislikes the seven layouts Dan has produced so far. So, trying to build on the above comments, I told Dan all the criticisms of the previous covers, but at the same time assuring him that I believe we have the right elements for a great cover, but we just haven't put them together yet. Dan assured me he can "marry" elements from other images to make the right design, and we got a good patina going on the color (which is a huge challenge with the sepia tinted covers we have been doing for the past year). The question became, "How do we stay true to the course we're on, but make this cover splashy enough for our Fifth Annual Travel Issue?" Not an easy task, but I feel confident in Dan's talent to pull it off. And together I think we landed at a possible consensus. I'm hopeful and we'll soon find out.

Left there at about 10:45 and drove out, admiring some of the new billboards along the Dreamy Draw. KNIX radio has a great one, showing Toby Keith's big head, the KNIX logo and this copy: "Toby, or not to be." Simple, clean, direct and dynamite. I noticed that more than half the new billboards up the draw are for dot.coms.

Onion Headline de Jour
Waitstaff Tired of Sleeping With Each Other

Still up to my ears in outhouses. Fred Nolan sent me a good photo of one in White Oaks, New Mexico which we may use. I'll post some outhouse sketches this afternoon.,

"Happiness is wanting what you get."
—Old Vaquero Saying