Quick Hits

A couple of recent newspaper articles caught my attention, so I thought I would pass them along this morning.

In yesterday's New York Times, Thomas Friedman of the World is Flat fame, published an op-ed and the future of the US economy. Friedman makes some great points and they actually tie in quite nicely to an interesting book by John Kao entitled Innovation Nation about innovation that I am in the process of reading. Bottom line for Friedman and Kao is that for the United States to retain its position it needs to focus on continuous innovation within all sectors of the economy.

The other article that is worth a read is this one by Rob Weisman that appeared in yesterday's Boston Globe. The article targets the question of what is more important for leadership - youth and exuberance or age and experience. While it should be no surprise that Weisman's article didn't choose one or the other, I thought the article was interesting because it tied into a couple of the key points we made in our last post regarding criteria for choosing a successor.

I hope you enjoy the articles and have a good week.

The Question of Succession

Welcome back from the summer! I hope everyone out there enjoyed their vacations. In as much as the summer was fun, its great that its past because its time to get back to work! The fall is my favorite time of year to focus on business I find the season revitalizing - the crispness of the air seems to create a sense of urgency and a renewed focus on business and moving life forward.

As much as I enjoy the energy that fall provides, it also helps highlight the need to prepare for the "autumn of our lives". This means that succession planning should, if it is not already, be a topic to tackle in the coming months as it is too critical to leave to chance. Coincidentally, this fall is also our country's opportunity to do its own succession planning. As the polls seem to indicate, our country is equally undecided on who should be the next president. I have been torn between the two candidates - the maverick and independent nature of McCain is appealing as is the message of hope and confidence that Obama exudes.

I've long stopped worrying about what political candidates positions on the campaign trail as they are always negotiable soundbites (see moderate Republican candidate George W. Bush in 2000). The only way then to choose a political candidate is by measuring their actions while a candidate. From a business perspective, the most critical decision we make is the selection and development of our management teams which by extension implies our eventual successer. As the Commander-in-Chief, the most critical action a presidential candidate takes during the campaign is the selection of his Vice President - his/her own succession plan for the country.

Accordingly, with both picks announced, I thought it would be appropriate to apply what I consider the three primary tenants of succession planning to the picks to see how the candidates have done in their first decision as an executive. In considering a successor within a succession planning exercise, we ask these three questions:

1. Does the potential successor have enough of the necessary skill set and experience to inspire confidence within the organization in the event they need to immediately step into the leadership position?
2. Does the potential successor have a long enough runway to be a true successor; i.e. do they have the ability to be positioned to lead for a period of time that ensures organizational stability and establishes continuity of values/strategy?
3. Will the potential successor have the support of the organization? Will the organization rally around the successor or is this person a lightning rod, one that will create divisive fissures within the organization that will distract and ultimately undermine it.

Before I begin assessing the two VP picks, let me state that it is not my intent to make a political statement or to politicize this blog; the views I am expressing here are only mine and not those of my firm. My purpose here is to utilize a timely topic to shed some insight into the importance of succession planning and ensuring smart decisions. With that being said, I'll start by looking at Joe Biden:

1. In as much as you can question the experience of any lifetime politician, by the nature of the experience required in the job description, its safe to say that Biden is a yes when it comes to the first question.
2. At 65 years old and a two time Democratic primary loser, Biden does not provide a long-term succession for the Obama vision or for the democratic party. An Obama loss likely makes the 2012 Democrats look like the 2008 Republican field.
   
3. Biden is on the edge here, but ultimately his baggage is typical of those of a politician. He's got the plagarism thing and a history of foot-in-mouth disease but there doesn't seem to be any true vitrol towards him or his views. He is what you expect of a career politician.

Next up is Sarah Polin:

1. I don't care how much you want to spin her time as governor and mayor, she does not have the experience on the national and global stage to warrant being the Vice President. Given the circus of the past couple of days regarding her selection and experience, it appears that her selection does not inspire confidence amongst the masses.
2. With this metric, she does measure up as she has the runway to become a big time player in national politics. Furthermore, her views are certainly aligned with those of the current administration and the base of the party, indicating that she will be able to provide the continuity of leadership that the party wants.
3. With Palin the Republicans think they found thier "Obama"; what they haven't realized yet is that they have likely found their "Hillary". She is opinionated, has controversial views and as her speech last night demonstrated, she is not afraid to be aggressive and take shots at her opponents - much like Hillary. The confluence of those traits typically mean people will like her or hate her; their is no middle ground. Bottom line - she is a lightning rod.

These picks are the polar opposites which makes them great examples when discussing the question of succession. As these gentlemen will surely attest, finding the right successor is never easy but a critical decision for a leader and a key barometer to measure a leader. Based on the basic tenants of choosing a succeser its clear that both could have done a better job with their selection.

In closing, when making your own succession decisions, carefully consider how your choices will fit into the three tenants I laid out. And, for comparative sake, consider them in the context of our Presidential candidates VP selections.

Summer Reading

Before I get into my picks and pans for summer reading, I wanted to comment on a couple of items. First of all, many thanks to all of you who attended my recent presentation for the RTC covering "Strategic Planning in a Downmarket". We had almost forty people on a Friday in July - great turnout and I greatly appreciate all of you attending and the fantastic questions I got.

No need to belabor the point, but what a sad fall for Fannie Mae. From one of only 11 companies identified as a Good to Great Company, to the subject of legislation providing a bailout. Just goes to show you how hard it is to sustain greatness. For an excellent breakdown on the recent bailout legislation, check out this post from Dealbreaker. No comments necessary on this, but as a fiscally responsible taxpayer, I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in this legislation.

For more on the impact of the implosion of the housing market, check out this article from the New York Times on the challenges businesses are facing in getting bank loans. No surprise and I hate to say it, but I think secretly there are many banks happy about this about face. Many will tell you that for too long the easy money that was available was screwing up the balance of power between borrower and lender.

With those out of the way, on to the summer reading list. In providing this list, I'm only going to comment briefly on a couple of books - there are enough sources of reviews out there.

Buying In by Rob Walker. I've just about finished this and I'll be candid - I'm going to need to read it again to fully grasp all the key points about the concept of murketing. Fascinating read and I'm convinced that it will take a place of cocktail conversation starter for the Blink/Freakonomics/Tipping Point crowd.

Outsmart! How to Do What Your Competitors Can't by Jim Champy. This is a nice quick read that profiles a number of different companies, including Smith & Wesson on how they were able to think a little outside the box to gain a competitive advantage. At the end of each chapter the author provides a number of probing questions that I found interesting for assessment purposes.

The Breakthrough Company by Keith McFarland. Can't say that this one wasn't a disappointment as it was hyped as being in the family of Good to Great because of the extensive research that the author and his team undertook. Decent read but doesn't provide the "it moment" that you look for in a business classic. Still, if you got time to kill on the beach its worth giving a read.

In addition to these three, I would also recommend a classic to read. If you haven't read it yet, you must readThe Godfather by Mario Puzo, a classic business book that I refer to a on a constant basis. I'm bringing it with me to the beach this week for another read. In addition to these, I've put togehter an aggressive list for my week away. This includes:

• The Age of Speed by Vince Poscente - sent to me complimentary by the Entrepreneurs Organization. Somebody there thinks enough of it, so I thought I should give it a go.
• The E-Myth Revisted by Michael Gerber - I read this years and years ago when I didn't think it applied to me. Going to try it again now.
• Making Innovation Work by Tony Davila. With all apologies to Clayton Christenson, I'm still searching for a book on innovation that grabs me.
• The Granularity of Growth by Patrick Vigurie - it looked kind of interesting sitting on the bookshelf, so Ithought why not.

And, lest anyone think that all I'm going to do is read about business on my vacation, I am also going to pick up The Guns of August which covers the start of World War I. Enjoy your reading.

Fixing the Republican (and your local newspaper)

This past week I had the opportunity to spend a lot of unwanted quality time in airports and planes. It’s never good when a three-hour trip turns into eight. Needless to say, I had more time than I desired to read and think than I cared to have. Fortunately, it turned out to be a productive use of time as I came across an interesting article in the most recent issue of Business Week. The article, “Writing on the Wall (and the Web)” provides a commentary on the current state of the newspaper industry. Let’s just say it’s appropriate that they publish obituaries!

I’m normally not a sentimentalist about industries that have found themselves irrelevant or altogether extinct as there is usually a reason for it. After all, I don’t miss MS-DOS any more than I would miss buggy whips or freeze dried ice cream. That being said, as fan of the medium and a former newsboy I am disappointed that future generations will likely not have the opportunity to enjoy the full depth of the newspaper experience. I’ve always loved reading the paper and have since I was old enough to read. I would often ride my bicycle up to the nearest corner store and buy two or three newspapers to read; usually over breakfast at a diner by myself. There has always been a great joy in spreading the paper over the table and consuming its knowledge more voraciously than my eggs and bacon. I don’t get to do it much anymore, but reading the Boston Globe is a Sunday ritual for Amanda and I, regardless of where we are.

Note that I said the Boston Globe and not my hometown paper the Sunday Republican. We subscribe to the Globe because of the depth and content. A Sunday paper should take a least two hours to read and that hasn't been the case with the Republican in a long time. To be fair, up until recently we subscribed to the Republican but that was only because Amanda liked to have access to the local coupons. The subscription lapsed months ago, but for some reason we still receive the paper. I can only assume that circulation counts matter in setting ad rates and giving us a paper for free makes sense financially.

This past Sunday I happened to briefly read through the Republican as I hadn’t had the opportunity to get on Masslive to check out the local news. I was saddened by what I came across or rather what I didn’t read in the paper. There was essentially no business section, the editorial page was lacking, the local section was bland and much of the overall content seemed to be AP wire stories. This was not the paper I proudly delivered when I was growing up. Neither was it something that I would pay to have come to my house or I would buy in a store.

So as I sat in the Louisville airport and then the Charlotte airport reading my magazine I thought about what could be done to make our hometown paper relevant again; something that I would want to read as I eat my Top Pot Donut and drink my Grande Pike’s Peak coffee (Starbucks needs to pay me for this plug!). While brainstorming it I came up with three basic concepts that I think could help the Republican and other newspapers, particularly the smaller community types survive and transition into the digital age as viable business entities.

Partner with Local Publications
Do you know that the business section of the Republican essentially consists of a two-sided rehash of the past weeks Wall St. Journal articles? Do the publishers realize that there is a good chance that most of the people who read the business section actually read those articles during the week? Also, what does it communicate to the region and to companies considering locating their businesses here that we don’t have a business section that covers the local business scene? Wouldn’t it make sense to partner with someone that has a pulse on the region, has the reporting capacity and the advertiser network to generate ad revenue?

My suggestion to this challenge would be to have a branded Business West business section on Sundays. They can provide stories on local business topics and leverage their advertisers to sell more ads. The Republican can provide the print and distribution and they can split the revenue. It would be a win/win for both parties – Business West could expand its reach and the Republican could provide value content and ideally both would make money.

Beyond Business West, the same could be done with the Valley Advocate for the entertainment/living section and the Western Massachusetts Sports Journal could do the same with the sports section. Getting out the content side of the business would allow the Republican to focus its content generation on in-depth local stories and distribution.

Publish User Content
There is a reason why Blogs and other sources of individual created media are popular. User created content is unique in that it provides insight and perspective that one cannot find with traditional media. The Republican should embrace this concept and publish a section that is user generated content. I’m not talking letters to the editor, but insightful writings and artwork. Masslive has a whole blog section, why not take the best posts each week and print them in the paper? Taking that a step further, why not have the Masslive users choose what will get printed?

A Blended Approach
As more and more people get their news from online sources, newspapers need to find a way to attract these readers to the paper. Leveraging the strengths of each medium to create a blended news experience can do this. As an example you could have a review of a new music artist online and in the paper but within the newspaper provide a password for a free download of a song. The only way to get the song is to buy the paper.

Another potential way to blend the two would be to follow WRNX’s Save 30 model and provide discounts on gift certificates and other items to print subscribers. They would need a code that would be found in the paper to go online and buy the item. Or, you can have your advertisers provide specific codes for their ads leading them to online coupons and shopping. In the long-term shotcodes will allow this to happen with the snap of a cell phone camera, but until then it would be an easy way to blend the offline with the online.

Whether my ideas make sense or not, the newspaper industry needs some creative thinking if its going to remain a viable business. Clearly there are many minds working on the issue as this other article in Business Week attests to. As always, we are willing to contribute our two cents to a business challenge, so if you own or run a newspaper, send us an email or post a comment - we'll be happy to help!

Its been a while.....

So this blogging thing is not as easy as I figured it would be. Finding inspiration for a particular topic takes a while and then it can be rather time consuming to get it all down. Since I last posted I have probably started half a dozen posts and have discarded them all because I didn't like the flow, there wasn't enough to the idea or the concept turned out to be really lame!

I've got a pretty good one that I've been formulating and will probably publish it soon but in the meantime, I thought I would take a bit of a Larry King approach and ramble off some thoughts that I have had recently. Here they are!

I can't decide if I like what Starbucks is doing strategically but I do like the fact that they seem to have a strong sense of urgency. Right or wrong they are being aggressive in their decision making and trying new things. Often times you are better off making a bad decision than no decision at all and it appears that Howard Schultz agrees with that thinking. As a regular customer I can tell you the difference is noticeable in customer service. The launch of the Pike's Place coffee was brilliant as is the loyalty card. I'm not sure about the extensive marketing campaign and I don't like the fact they are giving product away, but at least they are trying.

Good news on the economic front. The Fed just recently announced that inflation in March eased to .2% from .3% in February. This drop occurred despite the largest increase in food prices in 18 years. Fortunately, the increase in food prices was offset by reductions in energy costs. Huh? Based on the government accounting process they were able to determine that energy costs were flat an gasoline actually decreased by 2 percent! It appears that the government learned a thing or two from the Enron accountants.

One other Starbucks note. As mentioned, I am in the Chicopee Starbucks on a daily basis, having my Pikes Place and my Top Pot Donut (alas I'm beginning to feel like a donut). On my visits I often talk to the partners about the products and I also like to listen in and hear what people are ordering. What I've noticed is that Starbucks appears to be busier than ever. I've also noticed that the orders are for regular drip coffee or the Cafe Americano which is a lot cheaper than their other caffeine crack-like drinks. What that tells me is that Starbucks is still driving traffic but the sale per customer visit is dropping. They need to find a way to increase that -and no the answer is not by selling CD's!

I've got a brilliant idea. Let's grow food so we can add it to gas. Yes, it will probably have adverse environmental impacts and make both food and gas more expensive, but so what - inflation is down! By the way, don't forget to send that government check to the farmers so they won't farm - we gotta make sure the farmer can make money. This message was brought to you by the Farm Caucus.

In my opinion there is no better shopping or customer service experience than an Apple store. The staff is exceptionally knowledgeable, the products are presented in a great layout and the genius bar is pure brilliance. A couple of weeks ago my Macbook was having some technical issues. I brought it in and they determined that it needed some surgery to replace some parts. Within two and a half hours I had my machine back better than ever. Can you imagine that with any other store? Then, when it comes time to check out, you don't even need to bother standing in line as each staff person is equipped with a credit card unit to ring up your purchases. They will also email the receipt to you so you don't lose it. Everyone who has customers should go to an Apple store to see what they can learn about their business.

Here it is: Washington's response to the energy crisis. John McCain and Hillary Clinton think we should suspend the federal gas tax of 3.4 cents per gallon. George Bush thinks we should expand drilling in the Arctic. Good to see those neurons firing on all cylinders in Washington.

I read this morning in the Globe that the Zoots dry cleaning chain has folded. I used to be a customer of Zoots because I thought it had a great concept for a fragmented industry - 24/7 pickup, onsite tailoring, online monitoring, great locations, etc. Unfortunately, they did an absolutely horrible job in cleaning garments. I never lost anything but it just seemed that nothing ever really got cleaned. I can remember the last time I patronized them I brought in a suit with a stain; watched them mark the stain; the stain was still there when I picked it up. Amanda ended up getting it out. It once again proves that a great strategy doesn't mean a thing if you can't execute.

I've become addicted to the Huffington Post. I'm an information junkie and its constantly got new posts on everything from politics to business to entertainment. I've been particularly enthralled with the Democratic primary (better than anything Hollywood could come up with; oh wait Hollywood has created this). If your a blog junkie like me, here are a couple of my other favorites: Noah Wasserman's Founder Frustrations blog; Verne Harnish's the Growth Guy blog; VC/Angel?Private Equity gossip board The Funded; business help site Small Biz Trends; and brand insight from the Branding Strategy Insider.

Lastly, as I've stated before I'm by no means an expert on the economy, but I'm convinced that this is going to be a long-term recession that will have some serious impacts on the way the American economy functions in the future. My basic belief is that the financial industry disregarded the fundamental rules of lending an did so with the worst possible people - the American consumer. This is like feeding a gremlin after midnight and the impact has been just as destructive. Washington's response has been to get the consumer to spend even more which is how previous recessions were overcome. Unfortunately, consumer spending will only make the problem worse. To get the economy corrected the financial industry, Washington and the American consumer are going to have to get religion about leverage and property values. It could be ugly as I don't think we've seen anything yet.

So there are my thoughts on the world today. Look for another post shortly.

The Genius of Apple

As a break from my daily routine I often like to think strategically about other companies. I particularly like to look at some of the bigger companies that impact our daily lives. Starbucks is one that I like to watch as is Dell. One that has caught my eye lately and that I find intriguing is Apple. Apple was recently named the most admired company in the world by Fortune Magazine. It's a good article as is the follow on piece about Steve Jobs. What makes Apple particularly interesting to me is their BHAG - "to democratize technology by providing products everyone will want to use". Apple pursues their BHAG relentlessly and utilizes this passion in their product development process which consists of three questions: : 1) what do we hate; 2) what do we have the technology to make; and 3) what would we like to own?

This is classic Blue Ocean Strategy. By focusing on democratizing technology Apple has transformed the digital market from one that focused on owning technical standards to creating products that people wanted to have. That is why today, I'm writing this blog on a Mac; its current sales growth is double the next competitor. As I type, I'm listening to music on iTunes; now the second largest music retailer in the world. Later, I'll go to the gym and will listen to those tunes on my iPod; that has 70% of the market for digital music players. And, the iPhone has been such a rage that people stood in line to buy one and Apple expects to ship 10 million this year.

Yesterday was an interesting news day for Apple watchers as word leaked that Apple is strongly considering some type of subscription model for music. As is typical of news about Apple moves, details of the plan are sketchy at the best so its virtually impossible to comment on the merits of the model. Rather, what is interesting about this "news" is that it appears to the pundits and followers of Apple that this is a significant change in Apple's strategic thinking. Steve Jobs is on the record as being against a subscription model as he believes that consumers want to own their music. If Apple does in fact come out with this type of model it would appear to signal a strategic change. Personally, I'm not sure that this really isn't just a long planned strategic move that gets Apple closer to its BHAG.

From a historical perspective I'm inclined to agree with Jobs about music ownership. As much as I use iTunes I have historically only bought singles, not albums online. There is something I like about having that CD in hand and know that my ownership is not limited. Given the success of the iTunes model and the lack of success for subscription models like Napster and Rhapsody, it seems that the market concurs.

However, as time has gone by I have gotten comfortable with online music and I have begun buying whole albums. I'm now buying all my music online. Because its all online, I don't necessarily feel like I own my music - that attachment is gone. To be honest, I don't miss the experience of having a CD in hand because I like the ease and depth of iTunes. Three years ago when I got my first iPod I did so because I didn't like the subscription model. Today I would be comfortable with a subscription model because the music ownership no longer has a personal connection for me. Rather, the idea of unlimited music at a fixed cost is hugely appealing.

Consider my conversion within this context. Apple indicates that it has sold 140 million iPods and over 4 billion songs on iTunes! It stands to reason that if a user like myself can get comfortable with buying all their music online and lose that attachment to the ownership aspect of music that the other 140 million users could as well. Assuming so, perhaps Jobs has determined that a tipping point has been reached in the need for music ownership.

The question then becomes is a subscription model a dramatic change in strategic thinking for Apple or a predetermined recognition that the need to own the music would disappear? If I didn't understand Apple's BHAG and approach I would concur with the pundits that this is a strategic change. However, knowing what we know about Apple its pretty clear that this strategic move has long been a foregone conclusion. Why do I say that? Well, think about the BHAG - "democratize technology". What is more democratic - ownership or unlimited access? Obviously unlimited access is as the ability to own is limited by the amount of capital you have to acquire. Also, unlimited access implies freedom of choice - I can listen to whatever I want whenever I want. The only constraints are my imagination and music tastes. In Apple's BHAG subscription based music becomes the ultimate demonstration of the democratization of technology!

Many will argue that Apple has been less than democratic with iTunes. After all, you can't play it on any other player besides the iPod. Also, Apple has been adamant about its pricing model when dealing with the music companies. All true, but if Apple determined long ago that the market was not ready for subscription music why would it bother pursuing that model? Additionally, by waiting for the tipping point to arrive Apple has been able to build a dominant market position in the music business. When subscription music finally arrives all those iPod owners will signing up for Apple's offering. And, as anyone in the banking, cable and telephone industry can tell you, its very expensive to convert customers. That's because people only change those services if the case for doing so is extremely compelling because its a pain to do so. Assuming Apple can continue to meet their customers expectations defections to other services will be limited.

The bottom line for me is that I think a subscription model done right could be pure genius for Apple. The reoccurring revenue they will generate will be mind boggling - do the math at any subscription number. If Apple can truly democratize technology with a subscription model, they will have happy customers and very happy shareholders.

So there you have it.

Recommended Cool Stuff

Being the inquisitive mind that I am, I am always on the lookout for cool stuff that can actually help our businesses run more efficiently and effectively. Since the theme of our week has been riding the recession, I thought I would further contribute to your cost saving efforts with some recommendations and links to tools that I have found. Many of these tools are free and can actually help you cut costs if you decide to use them. In no particular order, here are some of the ones that I have come across and that I am using.

On the telecommunications front we have a couple of different technologies that I have been using as of late. The first is Skype. Skype allows you to call anybody on Skype free of charge. You can also buy time and call a regular phone for a very reasonable price or for something crazy like $3 a month you can get unlimited calling. They also have video capabilities so you can see who you are talking to as well. I use Skype through my computer but you can also buy a standard handset to use it. We've been doing international conference calls with it for free and the quality is good.

Another telecommunications offering we use is Free Conference. With Free Conference you can either set up a 800 number for 10 cents a minute or get a general number and local rates apply. With Free Conference there are no more thousand dollar conference calls. I believe there are a couple of other competitors in this space, so Google "free conference calls" to find the others.

We are also beginning to use YuuGuu. This is a free web conferencing technology that allows unlimited participants on a web conference. For those of you spending a fortune on Web X, this is a great alternative. You can also use this to collaborate with others through the web. You can share documents and your photos and all sorts of other stuff on your computer.

For those of you who are not fortunate enough to use a Mac and the new Time Machine for backing up data, a great and economical solution is Mozy. Pricing is as cheap as $3.95 per month for online back up. A lot cheaper than having a server and certainly better than having everything lost when your Windows machine inevitably crashes!

Boot strapping your business and maxed out on the credit cards or don't want to pay the "market rate" of 22%? Or, got some extra cash lying around and want to get better rates than what you can get from your bank? Then check out some of the peer-to-peer lending sites out there that let you borrow up to $25K. The biggest is Prosper. But a couple others are coming on strong and have different structures. Also check out Zopa and Lending Club.

Does your son/daughter/wife or best friend want to borrow money from you? Formalize the process with Virgin Money USA. Formerly Circle Lending it provides all the documentation necessary to formalize the loan and they will even do the collections for you at a reasonable price.

Those of us in the service business know what a pain in the ass it is to track our time and do our billing. Check out Fresh Books which is an online invoicing and time tracking software. I'm just beginning to play around with this, but its pretty affordable and from what I've seen it does a pretty good job.

On the personal money management side there are a number of financial manager websites out there that warrant taking a look. A couple to check out include Mint, Wesabe and Smart Hippo. I can't provide recommendations on them yet, but each looks pretty cool and given that the recession is going to make us all watch our spending a little more closely they are definitely worth exploring to see which one works best for you.

If your like me and don't necessarily think in a straight line, it might be time to look into Mind Mapping software which allows you to actually connect those random thoughts together. I use Mind Jet, which I believe is the best software out there. I particularly like it because I have handwriting that even I can't read, so when I'm in a meeting I just Mind Map the meeting and save it. You can then export it to a Word document or a Powerpoint. Reasonably priced at something like $79.95.

Lastly, we can't be all work and no play, so check out GameTap. They have close to 1,000 games that you can play online. This includes some classic arcade games like Pac Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and Burger Time. They have free games or you can join the service for $9.99 a month. Amanda, if your reading this, I never ever have time to play!

That is all I have for today, if your like me and in the office on this snowy day, take some time to explore these sites. It will be worthwhile.