Personal

John Seiffer speaks to Business Owners and CEOs in keynotes and breakout groups.

Here are some things to consider about our situation on a less tactical level. Getting up out of the weeds might be a relief to some. Scott Galloway ponders how we want to be remembered, years after the crisis, shares…

I have no idea how many parts this will have but I wanted to get this out quickly so I didn't take time to think up a better title. Part 1 is here. . Read this before 11 am EDT…

I wrote this a post about this yesterday and deleted it last night. It seemed too normal. Nothing about these times is normal. . Just like you, I’ve never been in this situation before. But here are some thoughts. Change…

I visited Zuccotti park on Sunday (Oct 16, 2011) and it brought back memories of marching against the Vietnam war in the 60’s – and yes, despite the fact that I remember the 60’s I really was there. In once…

Living in Connecticut with some big trees in the yard, we stocked up on water, food we could eat without cooking, propane and then slept in the finished basement. We spent the entire time with running water (hot AND cold).…

Bill Bryson says it was done in large part by utilizing innovations and technologies that were invented in Europe. These were then scaled and perfected in America and the products sold back to the Europeans. Does that remind anyone else…

UPDATE: Tom Cooper has pointed me to this TED TALK by Eric Dishman. One of the most innovative ideas in health care that I've heard about. Spend 17 minutes and watch it. If you run an American business, check out…

Here are two followups to two (unrelated) posts. Update to What Really Happened To The Economy? Michale Lewis, who wrote Liar's Poker has an article on Conde Nast Portfolio.com with an inside story about what went wrong and why. You'll…

My apologies to non-US readers. We sometimes do things a little strangely here. Did you US readers know that in Australia there's a fine for not voting? or that in Canada the government just sends you a voter registration card…

And is the bailout bill a boondoggle? Spend an hour with Warren Buffett. Yes, he talks in a few cutsey sound bites, but he also talks so you can understand (at least I could) what really caused the problem and…

What a dumb question. If you're a parent, I doubt you've ever gotten an answer that comes anywhere near what you'd call satisfactory. And if you've ever had a parent, I doubt you've given such an answer. Because it's the…

"Never Give Up" I'm always a big fan of Inc Magazine, but when they had this advice on the cover I had to say something. It's not that you should give up - it's that saying "Never Give Up" makes…

I usually keep politics out of this blog, but I'm writing this piece not to change your political views as much as challenge how you think about the relationship between business and politics. Many years ago I was a member…

Lots of things. Mostly they put too much emphasis on the outcome and not enough on the process. I'm not a big fan. Yes, I know you need them if you're going to ask for money. And yes planning is…

200,000 deliveries a day. 5,000 employees (many barely literate) and an enviable error rate without depending on electronic technology. And such dedication that when Royalty visits, Prince Charles (yes, THAT Prince Charles) adjusts his schedule to fit theirs, because they…

Among the many tasks of a CEO probably the hardest and most beneficial is to obliterate SHEEPWALKING. The term comes from this post by Seth Godin who defines it as what happens when you hire "people who have been raised…

Jessica Hagy's stuff is funny, clean, and shows you new ways of looking at the world. What more could you ask for?

Maybe. Ben Stein worries. (Yes - the Ben Stein from Ferris Beuller's Day Off - he's a legitimate economist). Check out this article.

The biggest mistake is often thinking you know something. This is a bit paradoxical because you can't be successful in business without an over abundance of confidence. So you have to be confident and questioning at the same time. This…

I don't usually write about big companies because the stuff is not applicable to us small-frys. But, as you may have heard, Bill Gates is leaving the day to day work at Microsoft to devote more time to philantrhopy. It…

I'm barely a third of the way through this book and already want to recommend it. Don't wait for me to finish - get reading. Porportedly based on habits that Harnish learned from reading about John D. Rockefeller (say what…

The Real Question is "Why?". I was talking to Cory Long recently. He's been around small business since he was seven. As an adult, he took over the family firm (selling industrial paint) and tripled it in four years. Then…

One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that you can indulge your personal peccadilloes and (if you don't take them too far) justify them for business reasons. If they involve flying first class or an upgraded car,…