Striving to be unique rather than "the best"

Here's a fascinating story about a book with a radical business notion, namely that it's more important for you or your business to be unique than it is to be "The Best."

At Camp Merrowvista, where I went every summer when I was a kid, the motto was: "My own self at my very best." It came from William Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina and a great philanthropist in his day. The idea of being your best is radically different from being top dog. In this profit-driven age I think it bears repeating, if only for the people would might benefit from it.

Who was the best baseball player, Pete Rose or Reggie Jackson? If you were looking at home runs you'd say Reggie; if you were looking at base hits, you'd say Pete. But no manager in his right mind would say, "Great game, Pete, but why aren't you hitting more home runs?"

What about pop music? Is Rod Stewart the best singer of all time? There are people who say he can't sing at all. Yet if you heard three notes from him over the telephone you'd know who it was right away, and he has sold millions of records.

Here's the link: Aim to be unique, not the best - truths about competition from michael porter.

Broker receives award from Edward Jones

Kevin King

Kevin King of Edward Jones in Idaho Falls recently won the firm's Ed Armstrong Award for "exceptional achievement in building client relationships," according to a news release.

King was one of Edward Jones' 1,618 financial advisers to receive the award. The St. Louis-based firm has 12,000 financial advisers serving nearly 7 million clients in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1922, the firm focuses solely on individual investors and small business owners. Edward Jones is a limited partnership owned only by its employees and retired employees and is not publicly traded.

For information, call King at 524-5296, email kevin.king@edwardjones.com or go online to www.edwardjones.com.

Wasabi moving to Snow Eagle Brewing; Whitewater to reopen under new management

The sign in the window Tuesday at Wasabi 

If you're hoping to get a sushi fix at Wasabi Japanese Restaurant down by the greenbelt, you're going to have to wait until Thursday.

Until Monday night, Wasabi was under the same roof as the Whitewater Grill. But restaurant owner Jerry Mitchell has sold the Whitewater side of the business and is moving Wasabi over to the Snow Eagle Brewing and Grill, which he also owns. Wasabi will reopen there Thursday.

Mitchell said he made a deal with Dane Watkins, landlord of Eagle Rock Station, where Whitewater, Wasabi and Snow Eagle are located, and that Watkins has found a new person Joel Henry, to run the Whitewater. Efforts to reach Watkins this afternoon were unsuccessful.

Tradition, location the key to the sales of square ice cream in Swan Valley

Jayda Jorgensen, a sophomore this year at Ririe High School, hands over a waffle cone loaded with Huckleberries and Cream, the top-selling flavor at the Rainey Creek Country Store in Swan Valley. 

It wouldn't be summer in eastern Idaho without a stop at the Rainey Creek Country Store in Swan Valley, "Home of the Square Ice Cream."

The board behind the counter

Passing through Monday to check out an auction site in Irwin, it seemed like the natural thing to do.

The store is having its biggest summer since the economic downturn of 2008, said manager Judy Moore, who has been in charge for 12 years. "People are driving and getting out more," she said. Between day-trippers, tour buses filled with Europeans making the loop through Yellowstone and Jackson Hole and campers from the local scout camps, "It's been crazy," she said. "Every weekend has been crazy."

Numbers on a board behind the counter show sales from this year and last. While sales were up nearly 17 percent Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July was up only 2 percent. "That's because it was in the middle of the week," said Jayda Jorgensen, one of the servers behind the counter.

"A lot of people come in and look at the numbers and they think it's the square ice cream, but there are other places that have tried square ice crea," Moore said. "The main thing is we've been here since 1946 and we're in a location where people drive by us anyway. We're 45 minutes out of Idaho Falls, so people are ready to take a break. There's a tradition. You don't stop in Swan Valley with stopping by and getting a square."

Word of mouth also helps. Someone at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport routinely recommends the store to tourists. "I don't know who that person is, but I love them," Moore said.

An artful take on new construction

Enough with boring broad daylight construction pictures. This is Building L at Snake River Landing, where MacKenzie River Pizza is planning to move in by November. In addition to the restaurant, there are three 1,400-square-foot retail suites available. The builder is Morgan Construction of Idaho Falls. The photo was taken close to sunset Sunday night with an iPhone, during a bike ride around the river.