There’s always something to howl about.

Raking and blowing

I was raking leaves at my mother’s house last weekend, lamenting the dichotomy of the beauty of oak trees and work to clean up what they produce. As I am wont to do, I thought of how that exercise could be tied to real estate – a difficult task when also trying to corral a little one intent on diffusing my collections.

My aha! moment was this – It is crucial to be able to discern which tool is appropriate for the task at hand. I tried the blower – it was fun and good for gathering the strays, but I needed to move piles and piles of leaves. This year, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pownce, Seesmic, et cetara have all gained popularity and have all served to add value to the interwebs as well as further fragment audiences.

It’s important to be proficient at many tasks – core tasks above all. Recognizing which tool is best for which task is crucial. Figuring out which one of the above (and of the myriad others unmentioned and those yet-to-be-created) is becoming more and more challenging.

What do you think will be next year’s rake or blower? I chose the wide, sturdy rake.

Of course, maybe I just needed a bigger blower, or a team with bigger blowers.