06/4/19

A Letter to England

Our President is wrapping things up in England on the heels of a state visit. He was invited by the Queen when the Parliament could not find the manners to do so after we had the Prime Minister over for a nice visit.

Queen Elizabeth honored him with a formal reception at her palace, a trooping of the line, a lunch, tea, and a state dinner. Got to exchange ideas with Prince Charles. What a treat!

That is the royal treatment. Thank you, Queen Elizabeth.

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The political establishment was not so appreciative or civil. They insulted our President, a kid from Queens (get it, the Queen, the kid from Queens), who returned the fire.

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06/3/19

Have We Earned It?

In three days, we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Allied landings at Normandy, D-Day. In those landings, the Allies drove the first nails in Hitler’s coffin. Good began to triumph over evil. A year later, the war would be over in Europe and shortly thereafter in the Pacific.

It was a complex undertaking with the Americans, British, and the Canadians landing on the beaches and the Americans and British dropping paratroopers behind the landing beaches with American Rangers scaling the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc.

The Americans fought the toughest battle at Bloody Omaha whereat the US 1st Div and the 29th Div landed and almost were thrown back into the sea until American courage overcame the German opposition. It was a very close call and evacuating the Omaha landing force was considered.

All told there were 10,000 casualties that day — KIA, WIA, MIA, POW. Of that number, 2,500 were from the American 82nd and 101st Airborne units who jumped before dawn.

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06/2/19

CEO Shoptalk — Mistake Amnesia

One of the first things I do when I take on a new CEO client is to ask, “What percentage of your decisions are good?”

I get two answers: forty-five percent or ninety percent. [True.]

I ask the same question of the same CEOs some time after we’ve been working together.

I get two answers:

 1. The former 90%-ers now say, “Forty-five percent.”

 2. The former 45%-ers now say, “About the same, maybe 50%, but now I know why.”

In making decisions, CEOs are going to make a lot of bad ones. If you follow the math above, more bad decisions than good decisions.

How do you get rid of the overhang of bad decisions? Mistake Amnesia!

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05/31/19

Mexican Tariffs

We woke up today to find out that Free Range, Free Trading, Fair Trading President Trump had imposed a 5% tariff on Mexican goods imported into the United States that will grow to 25%. We imported almost $400,000,000,000 of Mexican goods into the US in 2018.

Do the math — 5% equals $20,000,000,000 while 25% equals $100,000,000,000 in tariff revenue.

I have one thing to say — “What took you so damn long?”

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I will spare you the factual basis for why the US should punish Mexico other than to say that Mexico is the launching pad for illegal immigration into the United States.

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05/31/19

Toasts

Oh, my God, please learn how to give a toast.

So, I’m with a few pals in a festive mood — summer in Texas is a festive occasion. Why not?

I offer a toast and somebody looks at me and says, “I’ve never given a toast. How do you do that?”

When I stop laughing, I ask, “You’re serious?”

He says, “Yes. Deadly.”

“You’re an idiot.”

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05/30/19

Dollar General Revisited

As you know I am enamored with Dollar General — America’s neighborhood store. I wrote about them about nine months ago when their stock was at $107.84/share.

Dollar General, A Love Affair

Now, it is at $127.10 and they have announced an additional 900 stores to be opened in the 44 states in which they operate. This is an example of simple execution. Nothing more.

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Simple plan. Steady execution. Recognition and reward from Wall Street.

Dollar General’s chart looks excellent and it is likely to continue to grow in the same direction. Bravo!

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05/30/19

The New Legal Concepts Post Mueller

Robert Swan Mueller III wrote a book. It was a longish book at 441 pages. Not War & Peace long, but still long enough that nobody has read it.

You have not read it. The talking heads have not read it. The Speaker of the House of the US House of Representatives admits she has not read it. It is the most unread book in America.

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You can buy an eBook ($1.99) or an audiobook on Amazon. Sales have been slow. The author is Robert S Mueller III, a Princeton undergrad and a Virginia Law grad.

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05/29/19

Patriotism 2019 Version

In response to a posting about Memorial Day, bright guy calls me and says,

“Different world when you were in your twenties. The draft exerted discipline on how you served the country. The Army was much bigger. We were engaged in a big war. Not the same today. How does a young person harness their patriotic fervor? What does individual patriotism look like in 2019?”

Memorial Day — The View From Another Direction

Good question.

What does an American citizen do today to pick up the patriotic tendencies of a Founding Father?

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