Don’t consistently work at night or on weekends.

You’ll never get it all done.  Don’t try.

It’s about working smarter, not longer. It’s about outsourcing and off shoring, not working harder.  It’s about being focused, not working 17-hour days.

Trust me, I’ve tried both.

Working too much and sparing little time for your loved ones has an unhappy ending.

Thanks SO much to everyone who helped make Double Double happen.

The first hard cover versions arrived today – they’re being shipped to bookstores online & offline today – pretty exciting…

These are the folks I need to thank…

Everything can be explained using beer:

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.  If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.  The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball.  “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.”  Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.  So the first four men were unaffected.  They would still drink for free.  But what about the other six men?  How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?  They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.  But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before.  And the first four continued to drink for free.  But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man.  He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man.  “I only saved a dollar, too.  It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man.  “Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2?  The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all.  This new tax system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him.  But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important – they didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works.  The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction.  Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.  In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

How many employees do you need? When do you want them? Do you need to hire them all at once, or spread out over time? Perhaps you’ll want a few extra. What happens if someone quits? What about temporary staff? What if your employees leave for another company?

These kinds of thoughts and questions will arise with anyone who hires people.

Regardless of what you’re thinking, remember one thing above all else: If you scramble to hire, it’s game over. You lose.

To hire one truly remarkable person, I like to interview at least five to eight people. However I often interviewed many more to find truly stellar folk. On average, I’ve had 250 resumes and conducted 16 interviews to hire just one person.

But those numbers are only for top performing companies…

This is the best news about turning around the economy & job creation that I’ve heard in decades. Keep it up USA. Other countries should follow suit.

For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.

Last year while I was at a Global YPO event, I met THE go-to guy that YPO members use to help them sell their companies.

Over the year I started to learn a little more about why & when to sell…

Why Owners Sell Their Company

The Owner May Be Looking For:

• More time
• More liquidity
• Diversification of risk
• More stimulating (i.e. international?) work environment
• Access to ‘C’ suite
• Retirement/semi-retirement
• More capital (i.e. lead industry roll-up)
• Technology/Intellectual Property (IP) to gain efficiencies
• Pure old fashioned boredom

When owners start answering yes to these, then selling or mergers may be an option to consider.

Sometimes it’s even clearer and they KNOW it is time to sell

• A compelling event/reason to sell that has occurred?
• Could be a succession issue
• One of the “five D’s”:

o   Death

o   Divorce

o   Disability/disease

o   Debt

o   Disenchantment/deciding to do more with their life
How to Get the Business Ready For Sale Strategically?

• Identify strategic investors and understand how they could value the business to their shareholders at a level much higher than you value your business at
• Get your vision clarified for what a strategic transaction would mean to all shareholders
• Required vs. preferred outcomes identified (i.e. What do you NEED, and what would you LIKE) in order to sell

Why This Is A Good Economy to Sell the Company?

• Cash and corporate reserves are at the highest they have been at in the history of the world
• Private Equity firms, that have identified expertise areas/that can be strategic, are coming to a point where they need to deploy their funds, or return them (use it or lose it)
• As the world gets smaller, more international buyers emerge; leverage the international environment and how your products, intellectual property (IP), geographic location, cost advantages, technology, management skill sets bring value to international buyers
• And my opinion (and I’m an optimist) but I see a double dip coming soon, which means values drop fast…

What are you thinking of doing with your business?