The Money Game

The post The Adventures of Koufax and Buddy Beagle appeared first on Alan's Blog . The Adventures of Koufax and Buddy Beagle posted first on taxreliefprosorg.wordpress.com/

I visit every four months. I haven’t had a cavity in ten years, my gums are in good shape, and thanks to the wonders of cosmetic dentistry, I have very straight, white teeth, which my parents couldn’t afford to provide way back when. Yet, there apparently is no business input into dental office management or experiences.   The receptionist doesn’t greet you kindly, simply says, “Okay, take a seat.” The appointment starts slightly late, no one apologizes or acknowledges it. There is no music in the room. The hygienist berates you about your dental regimen. In fact, I’ve never met a hygienist who wasn’t a zealot. They are unhappy with you if you’re not devoting 90 percent of your waking hours to examining your teeth, cleaning your teeth, and then thinking about your teeth. You don’t get to see the dentist. It’s the cleaning and that’s that. You feel like a horse, really. Speaking of which, in a high tech age, the hygienist noisily and manually scrapes gunk off of teeth with ...

I advised a coaching client to go see the editor of a major newspaper personally to pitch a story. He did, and his article was printed. I then told him to suggest a column. He did, and he now has a twice-a-month column in the business section of the most prestigious paper in the city. That will lead to speaking engagements which will lead to consulting assignments. If you try this, is it guaranteed to work? No. But if you never try it, it’s guaranteed not to work. The post Swinging the Bat appeared first on Alan's Blog . Swinging the Bat posted first on taxreliefprosorg.wordpress.com/

The people who succeed most aren’t those seeking perfection, but rather those who seek excellence and are confident they can correct errors and rebound from setbacks along the way. The post Alan’s Thought for the Day appeared first on Alan's Blog . Alan’s Thought for the Day posted first on taxreliefprosorg.wordpress.com/

Community member for many years, Amy Showalter, has tried to make a case for me running for office in these strange times: Alan, Oh, I have it all figured out! Indulge me for 2 minutes. 1. You communicate concisely. Candidates (should) talk in sound bites. You would not have to be someone else to run for office. 2. With Trump’s “tell it like it is” style resonating (it changes by the day as we know), the time is right for your style. We need more elected representatives  who have accomplished something outside of politics and therefore don’t care what people think about their every thought and move. That describes you. 3. Authenticity is hot right now (not the unicorns and rainbow crap). We find it is even a buffer for a disliked strategy. Explains a lot about the last election (See Sanders, Bernie, and Trump, Donald.) 4. You would be running in a small state where the campaigning is less arduous than larger states. So easy!  ( I am thinking U.S. Senate, the Hou...

“Why we make ostriches’ behavior in the face of threat seem reasonable.” Transcript: “Hey, that wasn’t me. I should have won it. It was luck. It was a bad call. Somebody cheated. Come on, not me.” I’m Alan Weiss with The Uncomfortable Truth, and today I’m talking about denial. Denial occurs when we refuse to accept truths not consistent with our beliefs. “She was lucky to win the race. I’m a better athlete.” Yeah, but she won, didn’t she? “He only won because the voters were too ill-informed to vote intelligently.” Yeah, but he won, didn’t he? Denial is preservation, but only for a brief time, because the truth being ignored will win out in the end. Ignoring the truth, “I wasn’t prepared. I have to improve my skills. I didn’t show up,” only prolongs our disadvantage. Intense rationalization creates denial, and denial requires intense rationalization. At a recent Democratic high-end fund raiser I attended, because I support the congressman who is running in that particul...

I received this today in response to the June 12 Monday Morning Memo, which can also find here on the blog: Dear Alan Each day the American people exist, civilization thrives. So, please, go forward! And boldly. Thank you for your insights. Roberto Lopes Photoghrapher and Writer Light Pilgrim  –  Creativity and Photography for Prosperity and Peace Curitiba – Brazil The post appeared first on Alan's Blog . posted first on taxreliefprosorg.wordpress.com/

“Trigger warning!” I’m about to voice an opinion, so someone is going to get upset! It’s a sad state of affairs when we have to be warned when we’re exposed to great literature or political opinions. When we’re insulated from life, we’re insulated from living. I’m a strong believer in social justice. People’s health, education, legal representation, enjoyment of aesthetics, and safety shouldn’t be dictated by how much wealth they’ve amassed. However, I also don’t believe that someone is entitled to something just because someone else has it and they do not. Societies and businesses move forward based on recognizing and rewarding talent and contribution, not by “giving everyone a chance.” Too many non-profits are ruined because they want everyone to have a chance (as chair people, program managers, and so on). Businesses focused on paying back investors should want their best people in their toughest jobs. This is why I shocked clients when I told them they were investing far too mu...

The benefits of bringing on a summer intern can be vast – from the money you save on compensation to an eager intern’s willingness to help in any way possible. So often, managers enter the summer hopeful and excited about the time their intern will free up for them. But in reality, this is rarely the case. As intern supervisors, we often feel relieved at the end of the summer when we’re no longer charged with managing an intern’s day to day or disappointed by the lack of impact said intern had on our workload. However, with a little extra thought, preparation and planning, you can reap all of the benefits that a hardworking, diligent intern has to offer. Here are a few simple things you can do in order to ensure that both you AND your intern get the most out of your short time together. BEFORE you start interviewing interns 1. Draft a list of areas/projects where you’re hoping this person will be able to help. Be realistic here! Chances are that an undergrad isn’t going to be abl...

For a young company, the focus is typically on raising capital and acquiring customers. And for a while, that is absolutely the path to follow. However, as your company transitions to high-growth mode, you will need to develop the capability to effectively support your existing customers. Why? Well, intuitively, the idea of happy customers certainly sounds like a good one. But beyond the warm fuzzies, there’s plenty of hard data backing up the need to keep your customers satisfied through effective customer support. Consider these points: Acquiring customers is expensive, particularly versus retaining them. In fact, studies show that acquiring a customer costs 5 to 10x more than retaining one. Some studies place that multiple even higher – as high as 25% – in part because of differences in industries and business types. The most effective way to retain customers is to provide great customer support : an Accenture study shows that 66%  of customers switch companies due to poo...

As a freemium startup, you live and die by your ability to convert free users into paying customers. But thanks to higher customer expectations and intense competition, freemium conversion rates have been slowly declining. One reason for this is the widespread use of Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) to qualify and score leads. This is a concept that works for conventional products, but doesn’t fit the freemium business model. Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) are an antidote to this problem. By separating lead qualification from marketing behavior and aligning it with product behavior, PQLs promise to greatly increase your conversion rates. In this article, I’ll help you understand this revolutionary concept and how you can use it in your freemium startup. What Are Product Qualified Leads? In a nutshell, PQLs are qualified leads based on product-level data such as app usage frequency, engagement metrics, etc. The best way to understand PQLs is to see them in opposition to conventi...

True leadership springs from a deep understanding of simple but profound tenets that can be successfully applied to any team scenario, whether the team in question is setting league records or building a company. Earlier this year, at OpenView’s CEO Forum , I had the chance to speak with one of the great leaders in sports today – Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors . Kerr’s NBA career highlights reel features an impressive series of accomplishments. As a player, he was a five-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls (three rings) and the San Antonio Spurs (two rings). To date, his record for the highest career three-point percentage (45.4%) remains unbroken. Kerr’s winning streak continued when he transitioned into coaching. In his first season as head coach he led the Warriors to win the 2015 NBA Championship, in 2016 he was named NBA Coach of the Year as the Warriors set an NBA record 73-win season, and as of this article’s publication, the Warriors won another NBA C...

Many of us now have jobs that probably didn’t exist when we were kids, or at least, the way we work has changed dramatically due to technology and other factors. The booming market for sales enablement  professionals is one of those growing professions. According to LinkedIn, hundreds of job openings are available in this emerging field, but what exactly does this role entail? And how does adding this role make companies more successful? The research firm Forrester, defines sales enablement as “ A strategic, ongoing process that equips all client-facing employees with the ability to consistently and systematically have a valuable conversation with the right set of customer stakeholders at each stage of the customer’s problem-solving life cycle to optimize the return of investment of the selling system.” The sales enablement function is becoming more defined and includes a variety of solutions. CSO Insights has found that an increasing number of companies are implementing a d...

“Tax audits are in the news more than usual, perhaps because Donald Trump said that he can’t release his tax returns to the public while he is being audited by the IRS. But now that he has been elected President, the odds of his tax return being audited just went up (way up).  Why?  Because if you are living in the White House, your odds are 100%.  The President (and the Vice-President) have their tax returns audited every year, as required by Section 4.2.1.11 of the Internal Revenue Manual. The Internal Revenue Manual spells out strict rules under which these returns are audited. They require expeditious processing, and unusual security precautions.  For example, the returns “should be kept in an orange folder at all times.” Those audits, it adds, must be completed at the Baltimore Technical Services office of the IRS. They must be kept out of view of other IRS employees and locked “in a secure drawer or cabinet when the examiner is away from the work area.”...

“Tax audits are in the news more than usual, perhaps because Donald Trump said that he can’t release his tax returns to the public while he is being audited by the IRS. But now that he has been elected President, the odds of his tax return being audited just went up (way up).  Why?  Because if you are living in the White House, your odds are 100%.  The President (and the Vice-President) have their tax returns audited every year, as required by Section 4.2.1.11 of the Internal Revenue Manual. The Internal Revenue Manual spells out strict rules under which these returns are audited. They require expeditious processing, and unusual security precautions.  For example, the returns “should be kept in an orange folder at all times.” Those audits, it adds, must be completed at the Baltimore Technical Services office of the IRS. They must be kept out of view of other IRS employees and locked “in a secure drawer or cabinet when the examiner is away from the work area.”...

The 1980s were a battle between what eventually became New Labour, and what is often referred to as the Hard Left. 1983 to 1997 was a long period where the Hard Left gradually lost influence within both the party (then the membership and trade unions) and among the parliamentary party (the PLP). But this didn’t mollify the distaste New Labour had for the Hard Left. This period meant that those opposing the left adopted two propositions which became almost hard-wired into their decisions. The left within Labour were more concerned with controlling the party than winning elections. That has often been said about Jeremy Corbyn over the last two years. That the Left, and their ideas and policies, were toxic to most voters. The right wing press assisted in this by talking about the loony left. In short, it was best to act as if Labour’s Left were a political pariah. As a result of these ideas the left minority within the PLP was tolerated (Labour needed to be a broad church), ...