July 1st, 2009
As you read this posting, the year is half over. You have heard over and over how difficult and challenging the economy is and how that has affected all of our businesses.
- So how do you feel about things?
- How is the morale of your team?
- Is your strategy working?
- Are you ahead of budget?
- Are things getting better for you?
For us, we have had a pretty good year. For some reason the economy hit our company hard in August and September of 2008. Since then we have responded nicely, picked up some new clients and are really focusing everyone on delivering more insight to our current clients to ensure they truly see us as a partner.
I truly believe that companies that made the necessary moves and decisions in the past year will pay huge dividends in the years to come.
I feel much better about the economy and what is going on than I did six months ago. I am hearing from many clients and prospects that budgets are starting to loosen up and the second half of the year will be better than the first half.
- Are you hearing the same thing?
- What are you hearing?
I believe that by second quarter of 2010, things will be in a much different and better place and what we went through will be in the history books.
Do you agree with my timeline?
I look forward to hearing from you.
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June 29th, 2009
With free agency and large contracts, loyalty with athletes and teams in some ways is a thing of the past. I grew up watching Carl Yastrzemski, Larry Bird, George Brett and Brooks Robinson.
What did they have in common?
Yes they were all great players, but they also all played for one team. Yes one team–something that current great players like AROD, Shaq, Manny Ramirez and many others can’t say.
The question is, what athletes wearing what uniforms make you feel a little uneasy–make you feel very uncomfortable? As I write this posting, there is a chance that Brett Favre–a mainstay in Green Bay and in my opinion is Green Bay–might be playing for their arch rival the Minnesota Vikings. Ouch! That one hurts.
For me to think about Walter Payton playing for anyone other than the Chicago Bears just wouldn’t have been right!
Here are some other players that would leave a bad taste in my mouth if they played for these teams:
- David "Big Papi" Ortiz playing for the NY Yankees
- Paul Pierce playing for the Los Angeles Lakers
- Peyton Manning playing for the New England Patriots
- Mickey Mantle playing for anyone but the NY Yankees
- Tim Duncan playing for the Dallas Mavericks
Okay. Now your turn:
- What do you think of my choices?
- Who are some of the players that you couldn’t see playing for another team?
- What moves happened in the past that made you scratch your head?
I look forward to your comments.
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June 22nd, 2009
David Ortiz is 33 years old? False. No chance. For the record I love Big Papi and he has been the face of the Boston Redsox for a bunch of years. Yes his bat speed has slowed down and yes it has something to do with his age.
Roy Halladay wins 24 games? True. He is the most dominating pitcher in the American league and is unhittable most nights!
Manny Ramirez’ current suspension will keep him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame? False. This is what I read according to the L.A. Times: no trace of hCG was found in Manny Ramirez’s urine, but a prescription for the drug is what led to his suspension. HCG is typically taken by steroid users at the end of a cycle. As the Times reports, "MLB officials had begun the process of disciplining Ramirez for a positive drug test when they obtained his medical records that contained a prescription for hCG. At that point he was suspended for ‘just cause’ based on ‘non-analytical evidence’ and for which a ‘therapeutic use’ exemption was available but never requested." "Manny being Manny." And this will not keep him out of the hall of fame. All it does is continue to strengthen his nickname, "Manny being Manny."
Tampa Bay finishes higher than fourth in the AL East? False. Everything went right for them last year and although they have some good players they will falter and end up behind the Yankees, Redsox and Blue Jays.
The Boston Redsox will meet the NY Mets in the fall classic. True. Exactly 23 years after their 1986 face-off, Redsox will win the World Series in a classic 7 game series.
Now your turn:
- Do you agree with me?
- What do you think?
- Do you have a baseball prediction you would like to share?
I look forward to hearing from you.
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June 17th, 2009
So there I am in a somewhat quiet house on Memorial Day, Monday May 25th. I am lying on the couch, drinking a bottled water and changing stations quickly, as if I was preparing for an event in the Olympics. As I change the channels I noticed that there was a ton of war movies on. I pause for a minute. Of course there would be, since it was Memorial Day.
I must pause for a minute and take you back to my childhood when it seemed that every Saturday I would watch a war movie with my dad. Because of that when I watch one for a few minutes it brings back some great memories, and I still watch them to not only watch the movie but to see if I can pick out all of the stars that were in the movie.
So on this day here were some of the war movies that were on:
I am sure there were many more but those are just the ones I saw. The question is what is the best war movie?
For me I can’t get to a number one, but can get to a top three. They are: The Longest Day, Patton and the Battle of The Bulge.
Each of those movies was a classic, had a great story, had good battle scenes, was star studded and kept my interest from start to finish.
- Do you like war movies?
- Did you watch them as a kid?
- What is your favorite?
I look forward to reading your comments.
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June 15th, 2009
In the past week I have been walking around a little bit more than normal and noticed a few things. I saw a dog that only had three legs. He was hopping around a little bit but actually was moving pretty well considering. I also noticed a man in a wheelchair who appeared to have a broken leg. The third thing I noticed was a young man who was using a walker to get around.
You are probably saying "Okay, what’s the connection?" and "What does it all mean?"
The real interesting thing for me is the dog’s tail was wagging a million times a minute and the other two people had huge smiles on their faces.
I believe there is a huge life lesson there. No matter what, you have to have the right attitude — always positive for me. The glass has to be half full.
I realize that there are a lot of bad things that are going on with the economy but no matter what, if you have the right attitude, I believe it can help you not only get through the week or month but can make a difference.
- The question is, do you have the right attitude?
- Do you focus on the positive?
- Do you try and make things better each and every day at home or at work?
- Do you believe that most people have the right attitude?
I look forward to reading your comments.
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June 10th, 2009
Everyone has heard of July 4, Memorial Day, Christmas, New Year, but have you heard of Brag Day? Well, maybe not because I just invented it. Since this blog now regularly gets over 1,000 visitors per week, I thought I would give people a chance to explain what they do, what services they provide and who is a perfect client. All for the low, low cost of nothing! Use this as a nice and easy way to network. If you do this right it should lead to a few opportunities.
So today is BRAG Day. The only thing I ask is that you try and be a little to the point and not too wordy. Feel free to include:
- Cool projects that you may have completed
- Where you are located
- Something that you offer that no one else does
- Links to your site
- What separates you from your competition
- Associations that you belong to
- Things that you are proud of
I look forward to reading your comments and seeing if there is an opportunity for us to work together.
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Okay. I Am Ordering. What Am I Getting For You?
June 26th, 2009So I probably have your attention with the title of this post. You probably are thinking I am buying you something but have no idea what that is. Well here goes.
Yes I am ordering. We are in a restaurant or a bar and having a fun time with friends. What are you drinking?
If you were taking my order, it would most likely be a beer and almost always I like a local beer. For an after dinner drink I do like sambuca on the rocks. But I have found that most people don’t like that and frankly can’t stand the smell.
I look forward to reading your comments
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