Benton Crane

Earlier this week Ford Motor Co. flew me to their headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan to be interviewed for a position as a financial analyst. In total they brought in 150 potential recruits and called it the Ford Talent Management Conference. We were put through an array of different interviews: group, case, technical, and behavioral. Between the interviews we were given two awesome experiences:

1. First, we toured Ford’s proving grounds where we saw an array of future vehicles still clad in their camouflage coverings. We were then allowed a quick test drive in a Ford Fusion around one of the many test tracks. Finally, the proving ground experience reached its pinnacle as I was sitting next to a professional driver in a Shelby Mustang GT500 sliding sideways through turns–what MotorTrend reader hasn’t dreamed of day like this?

2. The other rewarding experience was a tour of the Rouge Factory. This is the factory where the F150 is built today, but its heritage goes all the way back to the Model T. The scale of this factory was enough to boggle my mind. It is huge!

Henry built the first Model T in 1901. In 1903 he started Ford Motor Company (he had already failed with two other companies). By 1913 he was producing the Model T on an assembly line that brought production time down to 98 minutes per car and lowered costs to the point where he could sell the cars at a price most Americans could afford. In 1916 the price of a new Model T was $360 (down from $850 in 1908). These accomplishments alone made him legend–he was the head of a wildly successful company that employed thousands and changed the way the world looked at manufacturing.

Henry wasn’t done. Frustrated by the company’s reliance on outside suppliers for things like steel, rubber, and glass; he envisioned a factory where nothing but raw materials came in, and finished cars went out. In 1918 he started construction on the Rouge plant. When it was finished in 1928, it had it’s own shipyard, steel mill, glass plant, and electric plant. It employed over 100,000 people! The Rouge had become the world’s largest factory.

At the conference’s end I was not offered a job, but I didn’t leave feeling empty handed. My mind was and is full of new inspiration–I was reminded that changing the world is possible.

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BYUi has a tackle football program with eight different teams that all play each other nine on nine. Because I’m married to a BYUi student, they are allowing me to play. It has been fun to fulfill the childhood dream of suiting up in full pads and getting out in the middle of the action. At the same time it has also been quite humbling. I am by far the smallest guy on my team and one of the smallest in the league. None of my gear fits. My shoulder pads hang three inches off of each shoulder and don’t allow me to lift my hands above my face. My jersey is an extra large (better suited for a lineman). My pants are a size too big and sag off my butt like a child’s soiled diaper. My cleats are hand-me-downs from my younger, and much larger brother (they are a full size too large).

Because of my quickness (most of which is negated by my gear) my team put me at corner-back. I have the simple job of guarding the other team’s best athletes one on one in the open field. To this point, I have played in three games. During which, I’ve had two touchdowns scored on me, been beat on a host of different deep plays, missed a couple of key tackles in the open field, and been benched twice.

It hasn’t been all negative of course. I have made a couple of nice tackles and broken up a few passes. I’ve had a couple of shots at getting an interception, but both situations required me to catch the ball above my head. When I couldn’t get both hands up because of my shoulder pads, I had to reach up with just one hand and bat the ball down (still a nice defensive play).

So what’s the lesson I’m learning? This is the first time that I can ever remember being a part of an organization where I’m looked at as a liability instead of an asset. I hate it! I want to make sure that I’m an asset to every team I involve myself with.

There are three games left in the season. I’m trying to find some shoulder pads and cleats that fit. I’m going to play my heart out and do everything I can to be an asset.

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Right after we got engaged.

Originally uploaded by crane.brittany

I have photos on multiple different computers. I have them on DVDs. I have a bunch on facebook as well as pyxlin (my private online journal). It’s time to consolidate. I know there are lots of different photo sites, but I’m choosing flickr because I can post photos directly to my blog, my journal, and facebook (these seem to be the places I need photos most).

This test post is for me to figure out how to blog using a flickr photo (this particular photo is of my wife and me right after I proposed).

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Keith Ferrazzi is a super networker who has the ability to keep in touch with thousands of people. Even when he was young, and before he made a name for himself, Keith had a knack for meeting and befriending individuals who most people would consider “untouchable.”

In the book Never Eat Alone, Keith shares many of the principles and tactics he uses to make and keep these contacts. One I really liked, is inviting people to your home for a dinner party. My wife and I frequently invite other couples over for dinner, and it has proved to be great way to build friendships. Keith helped me realize, however, that we should be inviting a more diverse group to our home (most of the couples we have over are students just like us).

Although I enjoyed Never Eat Alone and I gained a handful of insights, the overall principle that I took from the book is exactly what I got from Love is the Killer App: Relationships are based on giving. Except with Love is the Killer App, I gained some other principles to supplement that relationship building. So if you are pressed for time and have to choose between the two, go with Love is the Killer App (It’s a bit shorter too).

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My Grandma Crane lost her mother when she was six-years old. Her mother hadn’t written anything down about her relationship with her daughter. Grandma grew up wishing for some memories of her mother, but unfortunately they just weren’t there.

When Grandma started her own family, she was determined to keep a good record for her children. She kept a detailed baby memory book for each of her seven sons. She noted their milestones: first smile, first tooth, first steps, etc. She recorded their first sayings. My dad claims his first words were swearwords, but I’m sure his baby book would attest otherwise. Grandma kept a copy of the boys’ birth certificates as well as a foot and hand print. She even wrote down father’s blessings and little letters from mother for each of the boys. Grandma felt closer to her babies as she compiled these books, but she never imagined the long term effect they would one day have.

My Uncle Bobby, the youngest of the seven boys, was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was just six-years old. His oldest brother Curtis became his best friend as he fought through the excruciating sickness and the associated treatments. Curtis comforted, loved, and protected Bobby in every way he could.

During a family outing to the carnival, Curtis and some of the other brothers took Bobby to the carnival funhouse where inside a padded room the boys would hang from “monkey bars” on the ceiling. They would have “king of the hill” style wars where the last boy still hanging from the bars was the winner. Curtis and the other brothers decided to make sure Bobby was victorious. They swung from bar to bar knocking the other boys down while telling Bobby he was winning.

Amidst their fun, a young man was able to slip past their defense and was headed straight for Bobby. Curtis saw it happening. “Don’t you dare knock him down!” he shouted. The young man continued toward Bobby. “If you knock him down, I’ll punch your lights out!” called Curtis.

With a swift kick, the young man knocked Bobby to the ground. I’m sure the youth was oblivious to what he had done; what a surprise it must have been to turn and face Curtis and five other ornery brothers.

Within the next year, Curtis was called over seas. Bobby passed away shortly after Curtis’ departure. His passing was difficult for the entire family, but particularly hard for Curtis who was far from home. Curtis and Bobby had become so close, and how Curtis wished he could see him again.

Forty years have passed since Bobby’s death. Last year Grandma handed Bobby’s baby memory book to Curtis. After reliving his memories with Bobby, and sharing them with his family, he decided that he had never before received such a meaningful gift. The faded memories of Bobby were revived as he read them with his family. The relationship between the two brothers, separated by death, still lives on.

To create your baby memory book, visit http://www.imemorybook.com

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I spent two years in Portugal where I took hundreds of photos and filled two handwritten journals. I’ve been wanting, for a long time, to put my photos and journals into a memory book from iMemoryBook.com. I’ve been procrastinating the task because uploading photos and images has always been such a slow and tedious process. You used to have to upload in small increments of five photos at a time.

Fortunately, however, iMemoryBook.com released the best photo uploader I have ever seen. It is 100% web based, which means you don’t have to download any software. You can select loads of photos at one time. The uploader then begins to transfer the images seamlessly from your computer to the internet. As each image loads, you will see a thumbnail size version of it. Next to each thumbnail, you have the option to enter a photo caption while the other photos are still loading! I love it!

Finally! This Christmas break I will turn my photos and memories into a beautiful memory book.

If you want to know more about the technical side of this uploader, it’s called SWFUpload. Read Duane’s blog post on it. He is an iMemoryBook programmer and as far as I can tell, a super-genius. You can also check out the deconcept blog.

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Last Friday left me scrambling for a date idea.  When I thought it had come down to carving pumpkins or rollerskating, Jeff Harmon gave me the idea to build a pumpkin parachute.

After picking up my date, I took her to the grocery store where we bought garbage bags, string, duct-tape, and pumpkins.  After about 45 min. of cutting, taping, and tying; we had a parachute with about a 9 foot diameter.  It’s 16 cords used all 100 feet of the sting we had purchased.  I was surprised by how much my date seemed to enjoy building a parachute.

We took the chute and the pumpkins to Rock Canyon in Provo.  We went to a popular repelling cliff called “The Green Monster.”  It’s a 175 ft. vertical wall.  We hiked in the dark to the top of the cliff.  It’s not a dangerous hike, but I think it took my date out of her comfort zone.  She laid on her belly and held the flashlight over the edge while I lobbed the pumpkin and parachute into thin air.

It took about 50 ft. of free fall before the chute fully opened, but once it did, the pumpkin floated down gently.  Our screams and yells echoed off the canyon walls as we congratulated ourselves.  Later inspection of the pumpkin showed that it suffered a minor crack on the landing, but otherwise escaped intact.

I’ve seen a few lists of dating ideas posted on the web, but most are pretty cliche.  Jeff and I are compiling a list of more orginal, adventerous dates.  Jeff is creating a wiki where he will post them.  I will link to it ASAP.

For now, coupons4dates.com has a decent list.  It’s more directed towards marrieds, but I like some of their “get to know each other on a deeper level” dates.  For example, go to a bagel shop and talk about how to fix world hunger.  If you succeed in developing a real conversation even though the topic is very idealistic, you’ll probably find a lot out about your date.

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