Jim Blasingame's Blog, page 10
December 10, 2015
POLL RESULTS: How concerned are you that the U.S. might experience an attack like the one in Paris?
How concerned are you that the U.S. might experience an attack like the one in Paris?
67% -I’m very worried that it’s just a matter of time. 29% - I’m concerned but not overly worried. 2%- Not worried - our security organizations are very good. 2%- Not worried - if it happens, we can handle it. Jim’s Comments: As we contemplate recent attacks by radical Islamic murderers in Europe, we’ve come to terms with the fact that these sub-humans aren’t mad at the...
December 7, 2015
Revealing the dangerous disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street
Decades ago I worked my way through college selling big-ticket merchandise on commission for Sears.
In those days — when a salesperson’s technology was a ballpoint pen and carbon paper — if I had a prospect on a $500 out-of-stock item, management permission was required to make a $1.23 long-distance call to check availability at a regional warehouse.
Approval had to come from one of two types of managers, each with a different philosophy about the impact of my request:
An Operator — hard-wir...Why the decline in startups helps mature small businesses
In my last column I revealed four reasons why the economic recovery since 2008 has produced fewer startups than those in the past, and the implications of that decline on economic growth. This week I’ll explain why companies that survived since 2008 are better off than before, including how the decline in startups may have helped them.
As great as startups can be for macro-economic growth, they can also be messy for a couple of reasons.
1. The risk for startups is extreme and the total cost c...
December 2, 2015
Revealing the dangerous disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street
Main Street expert, Jim Blasingame says, “There’s a reckoning coming.”
An essay by Jim Blasingame
“Are Operators still dispensing essential management medicine, or can a portion of the not-so-great recovery be attributed to being over-medicated by their parsimonious prescriptions?”
Click here to return to the full essay at BizJournals.com.
Please feel free to comment below.
November 30, 2015
Four factors that stopped the American startup
As the financial crisis was being resolved in December 2008 I heard someone say, “Wait ’til the startups get going – they’ll end this recession and crank up the economy again.” Of course, this maxim had caught on previously because when you start a business, you create at least one job.
But as I thought about how that entrepreneurial expectation had been true in past recoveries, I considered the environment we were entering and concluded that this recovery was going to be different. Indeed, i...
November 25, 2015
POLL RESULTS:I’ve been in business more than 26 years, but this week we’re celebrating the 18th anniversary of my radio program. How long have you been in business?
I’ve been in business more than 26 years, but this week we’re celebrating the 18th anniversary of my radio program. How long have you been in business?
0% - We’ve been in business less than two years. 8% - We’ve been in business 2 to 5 years. 5%- We’ve been in business 5 to 10 years. 87%- We’ve been in business more than 10 years. Jim’s Comments: Early in 2009, as the 2008 financial crisis was being resolved and the Great Recession was coming to an end, I h...
November 24, 2015
Be thankful
Americans punctuate each year with the Thanksgiving holiday as a way of perpetuating a 390-year-old tradition begun by a rag-tag group of our forebears. That first time, in 1621, thanksgiving day wasn’t the proper noun it became. It was just a day set aside by a few dozen humans who risked everything, actually lost most of it, were hard-by to any number of dangers that could cost them the rest, but still felt compelled to be thankful for what they had.
Regardless of where you live on planet...
November 23, 2015
Cause and effect meets humanity & the world changed
This is Jim’s traditional Thanksgiving column.
As the 17th century dawned, cause-and-effect was merging parallel universes.
In the Old World, a decision by a group of Leiden Separatists put them on a circuitous journey. Meanwhile, in the New World, a manchild named Tisquantum was born to the Wampanoag Indians.
Both the Separatists and Tisquantum became very important to our future, but not before their lives would change and intertwine in ways not to be imagined by either.
Seeking religious...
November 18, 2015
POLL RESULTS: Veteran’s Day is this week. Please let us know where you fall on this list.
Veteran’s Day is this week. Please let us know where you fall on this list.
24% - I am a Veteran with active duty experience. 12% - I’m a Veteran with Guard/Reserve experience. 49% - I’m not a Veteran, but a close member of my family is. 15% - I’m not a Veteran and don’t have any in my close family. Jim’s Comments: As you can see, a little more than one-third of our respondents have military experience. This number will drop over time as the Baby Boomer gene...
