So, I’m trudging down the hall of “Acme Hotel” at 11pm on Thanksgiving night with my family and our luggage. I drove five hours to get to Thanksgiving dinner, I ate and drank quite a bit (driver was sober- not to worry), and all of us just wanted to go to bed. I noticed some […]
When I was growing in the ‘70s, it was common to throw trash out the window on the highway. I have vivid memories of eating McDonald’s in the car and heaving it out of the car at high speeds… Hard to believe, isn’t it? Over time, people in the US gradually got rid of that […]
Authors’ note: Explaining personal finance can be pretty dull. That’s a problem, if you need to learn personal finance On a plane from St. Louis to Seattle, I decided to try and fix the problem. What if I could wrap some personal finance concepts inside of a quirky (funny?) short story? My goal here is […]
I smiled. “Yes- I think that number is reasonable, given my skill set and what you need.” The next one who speaks loses- and I didn’t say a word. Andy, the CEO thought for a minute. He had asked me three times if I was willing to come off (come down) on my salary demand, […]
Setback and disappointments frequently lead to a better outcome than you expected- or imagined Oh, come on- people just say that to make themselves feel better after a setback or disappointment. You don’t really mean that. Yes I do. And, as time goes on, I’m even more convinced that it’s true. Have a question about […]
Huge success requires risk-taking, a well-conceived plan, and the guts to ask for something that may seem outrageous. Here are my best business deals ever, and three great business decisions that led to three of the most successful companies ever. Have a question about personal finance or entrepreneurship? Join the Ask Me Anything live chats […]
Product launches are tough- and even the most successful companies can fail every now and then. Here are some massive product failures, and what we can learn from them. Sony Betamax: Make the tent bigger I was fortunate to experience the huge changes in media and entertainment products over the past 45 years or so. […]
Is accumulating massive wealth still possible in business? Yes- the answer to this question proves it. Interested in video discussion? See link at the bottom of the article. Dyson It’s difficult to pin down the largest company owned entirely by one person, but Sir James Dyson may be at the top of the list. Joe […]
THIS LOUSY CUSTOMER SERVICE IS WHY YOUR AIRLINE IS GOING BANKRUPT! It was fall of ’97, and I was yelling at a gate attendant for TWA in St. Louis, one of the airline’s hubs. At this point, the airline had declared bankruptcy several times, and was finally purchased by American Airlines in 2001. I had […]
Cash is more important than profit. Even a profitable company can struggle without generating sufficient cash flow. I worked with a highly successful residential plumbing company for several years- who doesn’t need plumbing? Clients must be falling out of the sky, right? But there was a problem: the firm had taken on a huge commercial […]