Articles

A Survey With Good News?

Art Butcher — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:38:00 GMT

The following was posted in a newsleter distributed by John Doucette of Liquid Capital of Northeast Ohio http://www.lcneo.com/.

There is evidence that others feel the same way and have chosen to move forward. Every month Discover Card conducts a survey of small business owners. The December survey, while still fairly gloomy overall, showed signs of increased confidence after hitting the lowest point in the history of the survey in November. Some of the key findings include:

Twelve percent of respondents feel the economy is getting better, which is the highest rating since August 2008.
A significant majority (77%) of owners anticipate that economic recovery will take 24 months or less, and 23 percent think that the recovery will take less than 12 months.
Twenty-four percent of owners say they plan to increase spending on business development over the next six months, an increase from 20 percent who said the same in November.
Cash flow issues decreased slightly in December as compared to November.
However, fewer small business owners are extending credit to their customers and those that do report an increase in the number of customers who have delayed a payment or asked if they could delay a payment.

I’m getting worried about Nike.

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:32:01 GMT

I’m getting worried about Nike. A little holiday shopping led to this observation: There’s too much Nike at Nordstrom’s (hey I don’t spend all my time at Walmart). While Julie tried on shoes it occurred to me that Nike is proving that it is possible to...(read more)

Cool hunting in a recession

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:21:43 GMT

In my last post I left off as I sped on my way to Walmart with a short, but important shopping list. Well, sped isn’t the right word. I kind of puttered around a bit and eventually got around to it. The problem was the list. There wasn’t a sexy thing...(read more)

Diapers are recession-proof

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:09:33 GMT

Diapers are recession-proof. Even cat diapers. Yes I’m a cat person. It may not be macho, but there it is. I could blame the girlfriend, but it would be a fib. I’m a bona fide cat person, and these days, I’m afraid to say, I am cat-with-diapers person...(read more)

Twitter goes mainstream - will it survive?

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:28:16 GMT

Just an observation: Twitter is in the the process of “crossing the chasm”. Once accused of being the playground of narcissists and navel-gazers, the popular micro-blogging service is now going mainstream. How do I know? Well a few months...(read more)

DavidCohen.com and being a small business

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:01:55 GMT

I confess that I do occasionally like to indulge in the old-fashioned habit of nestling deep into the sofa with a magazine and a cat. I enjoy the tactile quality of riffling through the printed pages, and the cat seems to enjoy sitting on my chest. It...(read more)

What is Real Profit?

Art Butcher — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:02:00 GMT

I like to use quotations to highlight and build a case. Also to make us think and reflect.

While looking for quotations for the word connect, I found that sometimes we in the business world look at connecting, not in a wrong way, but incompletely.

"I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies."
Christa McAuliffe

The word connect is highlighted. It is the action which is taking place. But let us not miss what is being connected...

Abilities
Interests
Dreams (Fantasies)

In the business world we focus on the value of connecting in economic terms. How many new customers we get... How many new sales... How much money we make.

But I'm here to say that none of that happens unless: Abilities, Interests, and Dreams are involved.

Please don't misinterpret what I am saying. There is nothing wrong with economic gain. But to profit for the long term, economic gain can not be the root purpose.

If I want to make something happen and have not all the Abilities to make it happen, I need connections to fill in the gaps.

To want to make something happen and have not a real interest in it, I will soon abandon the project. But, if I have an Interest in it, and I find others with similar Interests... together, working in unison, the project moves forward.

To want to make something happen and have not a Dream to see it through, I may complete the task, but it may not be my best effort. But if I have a Dream and find others who feel the passion of my Dream, what successes we enjoy.

"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men."
Herman Melville

Let us realize our need for connecting is basic - we're not in it alone. There is no reason one should feel the need to go it alone. I've heard people say they can't afford help. Actually they can't afford to refuse help. Clearly, people working together intensifies the result and the experience.

Connecting what we do with what is within us, our Abilities, Interests and Dreams is what drives us. Connecting with others in common cause boosts everyone to higher levels of achievement.

Now there is one twist that makes connecting really worth while...

"It makes no difference whether you are a mailman, a hairdresser, an insurance salesman, a housewife - whatever. As long as you feel you are serving others, you do the job well. When you are concerned only with helping yourself, you do it less well - a law as inexorable as gravity."
Arthur Gordon from his story "The Turn of the Tide"

Doing what we do for the sake of serving others is a foundation for achieving success.

We can't be totally fulfilled with only economic returns. We need to know, deep within us, that we make a difference in peoples lives.

Isn't this the real profit?

Let us use our Abilities, Interests and Dreams, in conjunction with others, for the purpose of making a difference in peoples lives. This is how connections produce growth and real profits.

Norman Perlmutter Learns the Power of Writing a Book

Get Slightly Famous - Get Slightly Famous — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:45:14 GMT

The economic downturn has brought to light the growing debt load shouldered by many Americans. Norman Perlmutter wants to change that grim reality. After years working on the other side , assisting creditors as the owner of a collection agency and financial...(read more)

Strategic Partnerships: The Potential for Profitable Relationships Abound

Get Slightly Famous - Get Slightly Famous — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:47:18 GMT

Helene Solomon , a principal in the Boston-based strategic communications firm Solomon McCown & Company embraces strategic alliances to establish her firm in prime industries. Solomon organizes an educational panel discussion series titled SM&...(read more)

“The Turn of the Tide” by Arthur Gordon

Art Butcher — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:18:00 GMT

I came across this story when reading Stephan Covey's 7 Habits and thought everyone might enjoy it.

******************************

Arthur Gordon tells of a time in his life when he began to feel that everything was stale and flat. His enthusiasm had all but disappeared; his writing efforts were fruitless, and the situation was getting worse day by day.

Finally, he decided to get help from a medical doctor. Observing nothing physically wrong, the doctor asked him if he would be able to follow his instructions for one day.

When Gordon replied that he could, the doctor told him to spend the following day in a place where he was the happiest as a child. He could take food, but he was not to talk to anyone or to read or write or listen to the radio. He then wrote out four prescriptions and told him to open one at nine, twelve, three, and six o’clock.

“Are you serious?” Gordon asked him.

“You won’t think I’m joking when you get my bill!” was the reply.

So the next morning, Gordon went to the beach. As he opened the first prescription, he read, “Listen carefully.” He thought the doctor was insane! How could he listen for three hours? Nevertheless, he had agreed to follow the doctor’s order, so he listened. He heard the usual sounds of the sea and the birds. After a while, he could hear the other sounds that weren’t so apparent at first. As he listened, he began to think of lessons the sea had taught him as a child—patience, respect, and an awareness of the interdependence of things. He began to listen to the sounds—and the silence—and to feel a growing peace deep within.

At noon, he opened the second slip of paper and read, “Try reaching back.” “Reaching back to what?” he wondered. Perhaps to childhood, perhaps to memories of joy. He tried to remember them with exactness, and in remembering, he found a growing warmth inside.

At three o’clock, he opened the third piece of paper. Until now, the prescriptions had been easy to take, but this one was different; it said, “Examine your motives.” At first he was defensive. He thought about what he wanted—success, security, recognition—and he justified them all. Yet then the thought occurred to him that those motives weren’t good enough. That perhaps therein was the answer to his stagnant situation.

He considered his motives deeply and thought about past happiness, and at last, the answer came to him. In a flash of certainty, he wrote, “I saw that if one’s motives are wrong, nothing can be right. It makes no difference whether you are a mail carrier, a hairdresser, an insurance salesperson, a home-maker—whatever. As long as you feel you are serving others, you do the job well. When you are concerned only with helping yourself, you do it less well—a law as unrelenting as gravity.”

When six o’clock came, the fourth prescription didn’t take long to fill. “Write your worries on the sand,” it said. He knelt and wrote several words with a piece of broken shell; then he turned and walked away. He didn’t look back: he knew the tide would come in!

Ron Clark Students Musical Political Debate Reaches Ellen and You Tube

Kathleen Smart — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:11:00 GMT

7th Graders Debate Obama vs. McCain

View You Tube Video Above!

Seventh graders from the Ron Clark Academy perform "You Can Vote However You Like," a parody to TI's "Whatever You Like ... Seventh graders from the Ron Clark Academy perform "You Can Vote However You Like," a parody to TI's "Whatever You Like," at the Coca-Cola Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ellen DeGeneres show requested the students perform the musical debate on the Ellen show.

If you are not registered for the October 29th Circle of Excellence Event please email info@ibalnet.com to request seat! The students will be performing for us and we will also view Ron's class in action.

TAG Enterprise 2.0 to host AWS Tech Evangelist - Jinesh Varia

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:13:53 GMT

This one might be of interest to some of you barcampers: The Technology Association of Georgia’s Enterprise 2.0 Society will be hosting a talk by Amazon Web Services’ Technology Evangelist Jinesh Varia. The talk will be held at the GTRI Conference...(read more)

A word about my Barcamp posts

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:29:48 GMT

If you know me, then you know that I have both a math and art background. I used to be a webmaster, and I was a co-founder of a company that did java development for telephony companies and one that built middleware for mobile applications. So even though...(read more)

Barcamp 2 - Day 2 - Glen Gordon discusses ASP.net MVC

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:19:32 GMT

It’s beta. Michael Ivey says it is cool, and when a merb guy says a msft thing is worth looking at I figure I should check it out. I’m definitely feeling tired though. My typings is particularly clumsy today, so you probably have noticed that...(read more)

Barcamp 2 - Day 2 - Lance on Twitter

David S. Cohen - Left Brain, Right Brain — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:28:37 GMT

Lance Weatherby of ATDC fame is presenting on Twitter. And he made his presentation using it. He is putting up tweets on why people use twitter. Once again, I should apologize to my usual readers who may not know what I’m talking about. I’m...(read more)