05/16/23

Dupes v Brand Slavery/Loyalty

Imagine you are a woman in the market for a new set of leggings/yoga pants.

You look at the Lululemon line of products because they are a highly recognizable luxury brand, your butt looks great in them, you can wear them everywhere except church, and decide you are going to buy a pair of Align leggings/yoga pants.

You are a careful shopper, so you check prices and end up on Amazon where the price is $124.

You are about to invoke One Click purchasing when your frugal husband whispers, “They look great and you will look great in anything, darling, but what about a dupe?” Continue reading →

05/12/23

Virginia Military Institute — the BEST Mentoring System in the World

Mentoring is/was a fashionable topic amongst the venture capital and startup Illuminati for years. I have written about it for a long time. A good mentor can make a mediocre founder into a winner.

Full disclosure: I run a CEO coaching/mentoring business called The Wisdom of the Campfire and have for a dozen years. I take clients only by referral and personal introduction. I do zero marketing and do not even have a website.

Everybody in startup world had to have a celebrity CEO coach. This was caused by two specific conditions:

 1. Venture capitalists know next to nothing about actually running a business. More than 75% of their investments fail, so what does that tell you?

 2. Young startup founders/CEOs have had zero training in leadership the lingua franca of building even a lemonade stand. Continue reading →

05/6/23

US Navy Cultural Narcissism and Recruiting

The US Navy has had a tough time meeting its recruiting goals. Putting that into numbers, it had a FY 2023 goal of adding 37,700 enlisted sailors and is projecting a shortfall of 6,000. They also failed to hit the numbers in FY 2022.

I think the problem is “cultural narcissism.” Read on and learn why.

The work place of the most powerful naval force afloat. Go Navy!

Continue reading →

05/4/23

Putin Miraculously Survives Horrific Assassination Attempt and Cancels Immortal Regiment Parade

Yawn. Come on, man.

The media — starting with the lapdog, captive Russian media — breathlessly reported that Putin survived a vicious attempt to assassinate him a couple of nights ago at 2:00 AM local time.

First of two Putin-seeking attack drones explodes on roof of building across the street.

Get a grip, man. Are you really this stupid? Continue reading →

05/3/23

You, sir, are a bloody fascist!

The other day I had an amiable chat until the chap says, “You’re a bloody fascist!”

“Truly?” asks your Big Red Car.

“Yes. You’re a bloody fascist.” No exclamation point this time.

“What exactly is a fascist in this context?” asks your BRC.

The chap could not really enlighten me. Deer in the linguistic headlights sort of dumbfounded look.

I then conduct an experiment and ask pals of mine from both sides of the aisle, “What is a fascist?”

Blank stares and one good overview of Benito Mussolini’s bio. Continue reading →

05/2/23

CEO Shoptalk: Pace

Everybody is working 24/7 and fast as Hell — right?

Is that the most effective way to successfully run a business — startup or otherwise?

The answer is: it depends. It depends on a lot of things, but generally the answer is a resounding NO!

In Chinese dragon boat racing, pace separates the winners v the losers.

Continue reading →

04/29/23

Joe Biden @ 86? Really?

President Joe Biden announced last week his run for re-election in 2024. It did not entail a personal appearance, a public event, any presentation on his part, or any questions and answers. It was a bloody video.

Why?

Joe and Jill Biden in the Pleistocene Age when it all began. Jill was in middle school.

Today, Joe Biden is 80 and none too sharp.

On Election Day, Joe Biden will be 82 and none too sharp.

Joe Biden is seeking a job at which he will be 86 when he finishes and, dear God, none too sharp. Continue reading →