Category: Commentary

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Money Isn’t the Answer

Continuing counting down the Top 10 things I learned in 2009:

#3

Hold That Tiger – Dan Jenkins, the legendary former SI writer and author of many humorous sports novels, once described the “10 Stages of Drunkenness.” Number one is ‘Witty and Charming.’ Four is ‘Clairvoyant.’ Six is ‘Patriotic.’ Nine and Ten: ‘Invisible’ and ‘Bulletproof.’ In the last three weeks, we learned the invincible Tiger Woods was drunk on power and wealth. The meteoric fall from grace of another high-profile celebrity is a reminder that happiness does not come from money and fame. If it did, then so many blessed with so much wouldn’t act so little.

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Seek Professional Advice

Another of the Top 10 things I learned this year:

#4

Target 2027 – Up and down. Up and down. The rollercoaster ride of the stock market the past decade is enough to make you woozy. With my Big 5-0 arriving in 179 days, we recently entrusted our retirement savings to a money management firm. Aligning with professionals who take a ‘preserve capital first’ approach and understand the intricacies of blending the stock market with fixed investments to create a diversified portfolio seems like a better approach than dollar-cost averaging and being ‘all in’ all the time.

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Find a Way to Surprise

One more of the Top 10 things I learned in 2009:

#5

A Big Bow Wow – We put down our 16-year-old Golden Retriever in July. Those who have experienced that passage know it’s tough. As we worked through detachment the next several days, our vet surprised us in two ways. First, a nice sympathy card arrived, signed by her entire staff. Then, she gave us a hand-painted casting of Genevieve’s paw print. Those wonderful gestures touched our family. Regardless of the business you’re in, look for opportunities to connect with your customers’ hearts. They’ll remember.

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It’s All About Connections

Up next in the Top 10 Things I learned in 2009:

#6

Social Disruption – My generation is known as technology ‘Immigrants’… as opposed to our ‘Native’ kids. We’re learners; they’re naturals. In April, I started Tweeting. In July, I began blogging. Toss in Facebook, Linked In and a few others and – whew –  there are many things to learn and track. Social Marketing is here to stay; the world wants to connect, and all of us need to determine the strategy behind our efforts and the best way to balance everything.

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In Search of the Guru

Continuing the countdown of the Top 10 things I learned this year:

#7

Go For It – A few months ago I read where Seth Godin wanted to invite a select group of 10 small business owners to spend a day brainstorming. The cost would be travel to and lodging in New York City and a $3,500 charitable donation. I decided to apply and wrote a compelling business case about why the marketing guru should pick Success Handler. He replied immediately with a personal e-mail. A week later, he sent another… notifying us we weren’t among the chosen few. While that was disappointing, it convinced me that I’m one click away from anyone on the planet. In 2010, my biggest Rock is to reach out to a lot more smart people and see what happens.

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