The Land of Second Chances

...We have proven time after time that this optimism is grounded in reality, that people who believe in liberty, self-governance and collective problem solving can overcome great obstacles. It was optimists who fought for civil rights. It was optimists who build roads and schools and bridges during the Great Depression. It was optimists who fought against fascism in Europe and the Pacific.

Today, it is audacious optimists creating the LincVolt electric car, bringing food and medicine to the needy, and continuing the eternal struggle for peace and justice.

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Categories: Leadership | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 4:01 PM

A Wish For Your Success

Financially, 2009 will be a difficult year for many of us. I hope that we remember to count our blessings nevertheless. Yes, that's a cliché, but clichés become clichés because they express truths so profound we cannot stop repeating them.

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1 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 2:14 PM

Efficiency is a False Idol

...the conversation reminded me that understanding people from different cultures is a nearly insurmountable obstacle. For example, business people who still cling to the command/control style of management cannot imagine why one would go to the trouble of measuring something and NOT use the results for punitive purposes. Herewith begins the rant:

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Categories: Corporate Culture | Customer Service | Management Skills | Leadership

2 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 9:41 AM

Austere Couture

Garishness may finally be going out of style. The bling phenomenon of recent years always struck me as blatantly insulting. For one thing, it represents misplaced priorities, particularly for an entrepreneur. If you can afford flashy cars, jewelry and clothes, you can afford to invest more into the long-term viability of your company and your coworkers. Young fashionistas driving leased BMWs should think about what means more to their future - an awesome borrowed car or a growing bank account.

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Categories: Finance

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 3:59 PM

Job Security is a Myth

People often cite security as the primary reason for choosing employment over the stresses of business ownership, but I believe their sense of security is misplaced. Job security is a myth, and always has been a myth. Businesses fail, economies falter, tastes and trends change. Jobs move to where labor is cheap. Capital goes where it can find profits. So why not take your capital - in the form of talent - where it profits you most?

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Categories: Entrepreneurialism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 2:40 PM

How Much are Bad Cars Worth?

CEOs of GM and Ford drove fuel-efficient vehicles to their latest round of DC panhandling, recognizing the public relations blunder of flying private jets for their previous beg-fest. Watching GM CEO Waggoner and his cohorts emerging from a hybrid vehicle, I looked for big shoes and a never-ending entourage because I could only think one thing: clown car.

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Categories: Corporate Culture | Management Skills | Leadership

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 2:31 PM

Punditry for Dummies

As a dyslexic who struggled for many years to master the written word, I appreciate the value of literacy but also feel empathy for those who cannot read. Most of humanity has been illiterate throughout history, and I for one am grateful that technology and research have made it easier to communicate with people who cannot read, from the standardization of pictographic warning symbols to the educational programming of The Discovery Channel and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s not the same as reading Emile Zola, but it’s enriching.

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Categories: Education | Disabilities | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 3:21 PM