Below are excerpts of what I have written for various clients and sites. I hope you will find them interesting.
Being Spiritual In Investing and Innovation
Some of the worlds’ greatest achievements’ became possible because someone was willing to listen and take a chance. Being able to find that someone who truly believes in something and is willing to lend their support is not easy, especially these days.
Someone who has followed her instincts is Marcia Radosevich, she is in the healthcare and information fields where she has been very successful. She grew up in a rural farm town in Iowa with her family and her brothers and sisters. She developed an appreciation for helping others, for example, when they were finished mowing their lawn, they went to neighbors who were unable to do it for themselves and mowed their lawn as well.
Her dedication to charities and giving back started when she would donate her old toys and clothes on a weekly basis as well as helping children with their reading and school assignments. To her, there was nothing better than helping those who needed it the most.
Marcia was the curious type always wanting to know how and why things worked the way they did. She loved reading and was consumed with education, learning about anything and everything. She received a scholarship award at a young age, she knew that learning was one of life’s greatest luxuries. She has dedicated a good portion of her life to education, she graduated from Cornell University with a BA in sociology, she then went to the University of Iowa where received a Ph.D. in sociology.
From there she spent two years at Yale University as Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. Upon completion of that, she earned a Certificate of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Why Is Choosing The Right Robot Integrator Important?
One of the most important decisions a business makes today is whether or not to automate which leads to the next question of why using an RIA Certified Robot Integrator is important. Once the decision is made to automate the next crucial step is not only finding the right Robot Integrator to work with but one that is RIA Certified.
What does that mean? It means after going through extensive training they must pass an exam to be certified and every two years they must be re-certified. Now, if you were going to use robotics for your business, wouldn’t you rather trust someone who is certified and has gone through intense training?
When choosing a robot integrator here are just some of the things to consider:
- Communications – It is extremely important that everything is spelled out clearly, understanding what each side wants, what can and can’t be done and how much the cost will be. A project of this magnitude must have clear communications from both sides to avoid costly mistakes.
- Experience – Having an integrator involved in the early stages of the design process is very important, the integrator must know what is expected and how they can improve and enhance the design process. You will need to know how long they have been in the business and if they are familiar with your platform. They also must be knowledgeable and be able to offer solutions to any problems or questions that may arise.
The Wait:
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way”, Griffin said as he started pacing back and forth in his bedroom. Walking towards the living room he picked up his cell phone looking for messages, “nothing, nothing” he yelled. This wasn’t his first, but it seemed like Griffin was waiting for something important and hated the fact that he had no control over it.
Griffin looked around the room with his eyes gazing at the floor, mumbling words as he continued to pace. He walked over to the window looking down the street watching people going about their business.
Griffin was anxious as well as being nervous, feeling a bit helpless at times. “What could I have done differently “he blurted out? He walked over to the bathroom turned on the water to wash the dirt from his face and hands. As he was drying his hands, his cell phone started to ring, dropping the towel to the floor he rushed over to answer the phone…
The Power Of a New Year
My question is why wait? Why must we wait for a New Year, to do all these things that we want to do? If it’s so important to better ourselves, why do we need a New Year to start? I don’t know about you but I just hate when people come up to me and ask “what my resolutions are for the New Year”? When I am asked that question I just say “I want the New Year to be better than the last year”. After all don’t we all want to be better off than before?
I am not an expert or a psychologist, but I think now more than ever we need to hold on to hope because life has become more difficult to handle. We all have concerns we have such as healthcare, jobs, money, our homes, bills, etc… So holding on to the concept of better times ahead makes us feel hopeful and there is nothing wrong with that.
I wonder how many resolutions are repeated year after year. How many of us can say yeah “I actually followed through with my resolutions? How many resolutions have you kept?
Zaden Is
It was another day in the life of Zaden. The curtains were drawn, the room was dark except for the little ray of sunshine creeping in from the side of the window. He wakes up, goes to the bathroom, makes coffee and as usual, he burns his toast. He turns on the TV and channel surf’s for a bit and then turns it off, “There’s nothing, nothing to watch” he would scream towards the TV. He gets up, makes room in the crowded sink and tosses the dishes inside and with his coffee cup in hand, he walks towards the window facing the street.
He glances out the window looking at the cars trying to get around double-parked cars, while people were rushing and running into each other going to where they had to go. Zaden takes a pause and remembers a different time, when he too was just like the people down on the street, but not anymore. Most of the time you will find him sitting on his couch reading the paper that is delivered to him every day. He prefers it that way as he doesn’t go outside much these days.
Flipping through the pages one by one, he sees nothing that interests him, “Damn, why is there never any good news, kidnappings, murders, higher prices for food and gas! what happened to the good times we were supposed to look forward to?”, he blurts out.
Carrying The Family Legacy
It happens all the time when a family business is passed down from one generation to another hoping for continued success and growth. The benefits can sometimes surpass expectations while other times the business may flounder and eventually burn out. For some young adults going into the family business is a burden because they may have other things they would rather do to achieve success on their own merits without any pressure from the family.
There are also others who may be afraid to join and eventually take control of the family business. For some, the pressure is too great not to disappoint and possibly fail. On the other hand, there are some people who become complacent in life where they don’t care much anything except for having a good time. They are not focused but instead, they go out partying, or being just lazy because they know they have the family business to count on if things got too tough for them.
One person who rose to the challenge is Warren Stephens from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Stephens Inc., a private investment bank. The business was started by his uncle W.R. Witt in 1933, from there, his uncle and his father Jackson T. Stephens bought Arkansas-Oklahoma Gas for $5.4 million in 1954 and turned that into a natural gas driller, named Stephens Production, which today has become one of the country’s largest independent gas producers.
While growing up Warren never knew what Stephens Inc. was all about, his father didn’t want to discuss anything related to work at home, instead, they watched Razorbacks football, play golf and go hunting. It wasn’t until he was a sophomore in college that one of his friends handed him a copy of Forbes where they had an article about their company.