THE ENTERPRISE--TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE
WHETHER IT IS OUR PARISH PRIEST OR OUR PRESIDENT, PRIORITIES MATTER A LOT
The toughest job in business and in life is setting priorities. We only have three resources to allocate, whether it is to business opportunities and problems or to our personal life and its problems and opportunities. These resources are time, talent and treasure (money). And, as my parish priest reminded us last week, these are all on loan from God. We are just the "temporary" keepers (stewards) of them, and it is our task in life to make the most of them. So, as you go about your daily life, your work, and your recreation in the coming weeks, ask yourself how well you are making use of these three wonderful resources. How you use them will matter a lot--both in your work and in your life. Set your priorities carefully.
THE "BIG-CALL" THIS WEEK--WHERE I WAS THE "EXPERT COMMENTATOR."
Someone once told me a "ex" was a "has been" and a "spurt" was a drip under pressure. Thus the claim to be an "expert" is a dubious one at best. However, the BIG call is a great feature presented by BIGresearch, the Worthington, OH firm which does very large and insightful consumer surveys. The link below will let you "see" the Webinar (slides, not me!) and hear what we have to say about the results of July's survey (results from the end of June). I won't tell you what is says, except that I think you will find it very interesting and useful. Go see it here: http://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/22157
(If you do not wish to sign up for it, I will get a version in a week or so that requires no sign up.)
This is a great information resource (the data--see more info at http://www.bigresearch.com ) on which I merely add a few bullet points in observations and some verbal commentary.
SLOWLY, EVER SO SLOWLY THINGS SEEM TO BE RECOVERING
On the BIG call I noted the concern about the FUD Syndrome--Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt which keep job seekers worried, consumers reluctant to spend except on necessities or an occasional splurge and companies hesitant to hire--which then leads back to the start again with fearful job seekers. There are still 5-6 people seeking jobs for every job available, thus when one person gets a job, 4-5 fail and become even more discouraged. Many of these job seekers are highly qualified people too. Then why do I say a recovery is showing a little? One of my favorite benchmarks is UPS, whose domestic volume is up 3%. Union Pacific railroad is showing a glimmer of growth. Caterpillar, a global benchmark is also showing signs of strength, as is bell-wether 3M. It's not time to celebrate yet, as housing is still in the dumper, and it is an essential part of any recovery. But at least there are a few lights at the end of the tunnel--and if one of them is a truck or a train, it is at least carrying more freight than before.
THIS MAY BLOW YOUR MIND--OR NOT
Fill in the name of the country these quotes refer to:
--"Wage increases...have helped fuel speculation that companies could increasingly shift manufacturing operations ...to other countries."
--[the] "Chairman... played down the impact of the wage increases and said the company was accelerating automation to reduce its reliance on labor."
--"...it would conclude price negotiations with clients in the third quarter to mitigate the impact of the wage increases."
--"Labor costs this year have have increased 20% to 25%...
--"...workers ...went on strike Wednesday demanding higher salaries.. An undetermined number of workers at the factory...staged a walkout to pressure the company to raise their monthly salaries [by 40%]
--"...reviewed a draft of the ...first law covering labor disputes and wage negotiation amid efforts to ease labor tensions in the country..."
What country are all of these phrases referring to? You may have guessed it--CHINA! As countries develop economically they follow many of the same paths. Labor and wage disputes have hit suppliers to Honda, Toyota, Yum Brands, and Foxconn, maker of Apple's iPhone and iPad and of Nokia mobile phones.
JUST ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE FINDING THAT EAST ANGLIA WASN'T REALLY LYING ABOUT CLIMATE-GATE
If there was nothing to hide, then why the blizzard of emails advising colleagues to delete email records? Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. The safest way to come out clean on such an investigation is to have your own investigators make the determination, which is exactly what was done. The truth, like the science is still part of the distortion.
THE TWO FACES OF BARACK OBAMA (& TRANSPARENCY--NOT!)
What he says, and what he does. Who he appoints to key positions shows that while he vocally attacks racism, he practices it in his appointments via reverse discrimination. Blacks, Hispanics and Muslims are being appointed to key jobs in huge disparity to their proportion in the population. Isn't that what the whole "quota" argument about race covered? A few of his appointees also remain with the mark of tax evader on their record---one of which is responsible for the IRS. A Justice Department that dictates looking the other way on some offenses and prosecuting lawsuits to stop states from passing laws to enforce the laws that exist. And "no one in America earning less than $250,000 will pay one cent more taxes..." We'll see how that goes when the Bush tax cuts are either allowed to expire or renewed.
A GREAT EDITORIAL ENTITLED "FINALLY, SOME TRUTH"
From the Columbus Dispatch Sat. July 24, 2010...reveals a lot about truth and distortion by our President and Democratic leadership.
Two of the leaders in engineering and construction plan to join forces to develop smaller, safer, more affordable and more efficient nuclear power plants. These plants will not be "budget busters" for utilities, and can be modularly added as needs grow, replacing older, dirtier coal fired plants. Of course utilities are very interested. The bad news: 1) It will take until 2015 to get them on stream assuming The Nuclear Regulatory Commission continues to support this kind of nuclear plant development. 2) Environmentalist have to become realistic in their shrill cries about the dangers of nuclear plants. 3) Harry Reid (either gets defeated or) has to back down and let Yucca Mountain's billions of invested Federal money lead to a place to dispose of spent waste--as planned for decades. (Of course there's no such problem with coal, because the byproducts just go up into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases and particulates---but wait--isn't that bad for us too?)
JUST ONE FINAL POLITICAL NOTE--AND IT IS PATRIOTIC--NOT PARTISAN:
No matter whether you love or hate Newt Gingrich, IF you love America, you NEED to listen to this. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qtjfMjjce2Y
LET ME CLOSE WITH THE WAY DR. SEUSS WOULD PUT IT:..
-----------------------------------------------------------
The government is supposed to work for the people, not vice versa!
-----------------------------------------------------------
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
------------------------------------------------------------
WHETHER IT IS OUR PARISH PRIEST OR OUR PRESIDENT, PRIORITIES MATTER A LOT
The toughest job in business and in life is setting priorities. We only have three resources to allocate, whether it is to business opportunities and problems or to our personal life and its problems and opportunities. These resources are time, talent and treasure (money). And, as my parish priest reminded us last week, these are all on loan from God. We are just the "temporary" keepers (stewards) of them, and it is our task in life to make the most of them. So, as you go about your daily life, your work, and your recreation in the coming weeks, ask yourself how well you are making use of these three wonderful resources. How you use them will matter a lot--both in your work and in your life. Set your priorities carefully.
THE "BIG-CALL" THIS WEEK--WHERE I WAS THE "EXPERT COMMENTATOR."
Someone once told me a "ex" was a "has been" and a "spurt" was a drip under pressure. Thus the claim to be an "expert" is a dubious one at best. However, the BIG call is a great feature presented by BIGresearch, the Worthington, OH firm which does very large and insightful consumer surveys. The link below will let you "see" the Webinar (slides, not me!) and hear what we have to say about the results of July's survey (results from the end of June). I won't tell you what is says, except that I think you will find it very interesting and useful. Go see it here: http://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/22157
(If you do not wish to sign up for it, I will get a version in a week or so that requires no sign up.)
This is a great information resource (the data--see more info at http://www.bigresearch.com ) on which I merely add a few bullet points in observations and some verbal commentary.
SLOWLY, EVER SO SLOWLY THINGS SEEM TO BE RECOVERING
On the BIG call I noted the concern about the FUD Syndrome--Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt which keep job seekers worried, consumers reluctant to spend except on necessities or an occasional splurge and companies hesitant to hire--which then leads back to the start again with fearful job seekers. There are still 5-6 people seeking jobs for every job available, thus when one person gets a job, 4-5 fail and become even more discouraged. Many of these job seekers are highly qualified people too. Then why do I say a recovery is showing a little? One of my favorite benchmarks is UPS, whose domestic volume is up 3%. Union Pacific railroad is showing a glimmer of growth. Caterpillar, a global benchmark is also showing signs of strength, as is bell-wether 3M. It's not time to celebrate yet, as housing is still in the dumper, and it is an essential part of any recovery. But at least there are a few lights at the end of the tunnel--and if one of them is a truck or a train, it is at least carrying more freight than before.
THIS MAY BLOW YOUR MIND--OR NOT
Fill in the name of the country these quotes refer to:
--"Wage increases...have helped fuel speculation that companies could increasingly shift manufacturing operations ...to other countries."
--[the] "Chairman... played down the impact of the wage increases and said the company was accelerating automation to reduce its reliance on labor."
--"...it would conclude price negotiations with clients in the third quarter to mitigate the impact of the wage increases."
--"Labor costs this year have have increased 20% to 25%...
--"...workers ...went on strike Wednesday demanding higher salaries.. An undetermined number of workers at the factory...staged a walkout to pressure the company to raise their monthly salaries [by 40%]
--"...reviewed a draft of the ...first law covering labor disputes and wage negotiation amid efforts to ease labor tensions in the country..."
What country are all of these phrases referring to? You may have guessed it--CHINA! As countries develop economically they follow many of the same paths. Labor and wage disputes have hit suppliers to Honda, Toyota, Yum Brands, and Foxconn, maker of Apple's iPhone and iPad and of Nokia mobile phones.
JUST ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE FINDING THAT EAST ANGLIA WASN'T REALLY LYING ABOUT CLIMATE-GATE
If there was nothing to hide, then why the blizzard of emails advising colleagues to delete email records? Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. The safest way to come out clean on such an investigation is to have your own investigators make the determination, which is exactly what was done. The truth, like the science is still part of the distortion.
THE TWO FACES OF BARACK OBAMA (& TRANSPARENCY--NOT!)
What he says, and what he does. Who he appoints to key positions shows that while he vocally attacks racism, he practices it in his appointments via reverse discrimination. Blacks, Hispanics and Muslims are being appointed to key jobs in huge disparity to their proportion in the population. Isn't that what the whole "quota" argument about race covered? A few of his appointees also remain with the mark of tax evader on their record---one of which is responsible for the IRS. A Justice Department that dictates looking the other way on some offenses and prosecuting lawsuits to stop states from passing laws to enforce the laws that exist. And "no one in America earning less than $250,000 will pay one cent more taxes..." We'll see how that goes when the Bush tax cuts are either allowed to expire or renewed.
A GREAT EDITORIAL ENTITLED "FINALLY, SOME TRUTH"
From the Columbus Dispatch Sat. July 24, 2010...reveals a lot about truth and distortion by our President and Democratic leadership.
Download Editorial_ Finally, some truth | The Columbus Dispatch
BECHTEL JOINS BABCOCK & WILCOX IN NUCLEAR JOINT VENTURETwo of the leaders in engineering and construction plan to join forces to develop smaller, safer, more affordable and more efficient nuclear power plants. These plants will not be "budget busters" for utilities, and can be modularly added as needs grow, replacing older, dirtier coal fired plants. Of course utilities are very interested. The bad news: 1) It will take until 2015 to get them on stream assuming The Nuclear Regulatory Commission continues to support this kind of nuclear plant development. 2) Environmentalist have to become realistic in their shrill cries about the dangers of nuclear plants. 3) Harry Reid (either gets defeated or) has to back down and let Yucca Mountain's billions of invested Federal money lead to a place to dispose of spent waste--as planned for decades. (Of course there's no such problem with coal, because the byproducts just go up into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases and particulates---but wait--isn't that bad for us too?)
JUST ONE FINAL POLITICAL NOTE--AND IT IS PATRIOTIC--NOT PARTISAN:
No matter whether you love or hate Newt Gingrich, IF you love America, you NEED to listen to this. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qtjfMjjce2Y
LET ME CLOSE WITH THE WAY DR. SEUSS WOULD PUT IT:..
A new, updated, Dr. Seuss poem:
I do not like this Uncle Sam,
I do not like his health care scam.
I do not like these dirty crooks,
or how they lie and cook the books.
I do not like when Congress steals,
I do not like their secret deals.
I do not like this speaker, Nan ,
I do not like this 'YES WE CAN.'
I do not like this spending spree,
I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.
I do not like your smug replies,
when I complain about your lies.
I do not like this kind of hope.
I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!
-----------------------------------------------------------
The government is supposed to work for the people, not vice versa!
-----------------------------------------------------------
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
------------------------------------------------------------
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