From KW re my article about “Growers and Tenders” in last week’s issue: 

“Growers and Tenders… interesting concept. I have always considered myself an efficiency guy (Tender). I realized early on in my corporate career that I am not the visionary type. However, if you want to turn around your unprofitable company/division, I am your guy. That’s the way I always thought of this concept. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!”

My Response: I agree. If you are an “efficiency guy,” I’d say you are a Tender. And as you say, as someone who thinks (and prioritizes your work) as a Tender, you can contribute to the business by paying attention to how all the many parts of your business are running – repairing broken parts; streamlining protocols, processes, and procedures that are no longer running as well as they once did; eliminating processes, protocols, and procedures and firing or establishing different objectives for employees who are no longer contributing positively to the bottom line.

Growers can sometimes get obsessed with growing revenues. And when they do, they need a Tender around to take care of the bottom line, which is ultimately more important to the future of the company.

A Question from KJ, a fellow BJJ enthusiast:

“What made you start your martial arts journey in 1998 in BJJ? Was it UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie? For me, it was the podcasters ex-Navy Seal Jocko Willink and Joe Rogan.”

My Response: My father, who was a literature professor and had no interest in sports, once told me that a good grappler will beat a good boxer. That stuck with me. When my boys were old enough to wrestle, I began looking for places they could do that. (Their school didn’t have a wrestling team.) One day I was driving down Federal Highway in Boca Raton and noticed a new storefront business: “Reylson Gracie Jiu Jitsu.” I knew that Jiu Jitsu was largely a grappling art and that the Gracie family had somehow brought it to a new level down in Brazil.

I enrolled my three boys, and the owner, Reylson Gracie, persuaded me to take lessons, too. I did. And I fell in love with it. My boys eventually dropped it, but I’m still practicing nearly 30 years later.

I agree with you about UFC 1. Nobody outside of the BJJ and UFC world today knows who Royce Gracie is. The name Jocko Willink is known to at least a million people. Joe Rogan? Half a billion?