« August 2005 | Main | October 2005 »
September 30, 2005
Start-Ups Need Management Help more than Capital
IndustryWeek offers an illuminating profile and interview of Thomas Tyrrell, a founder and principal of Glengary Management, a Cleveland-based venture catalyst. That’s Tyrrell’s term, reflecting the fact that Glengary not only provides capital for its rust-belt start-ups, but active management guidance and nurturing.
Such guidance is not optional, says Tyrrell, it is mandatory:
The under-appreciated characteristic of start-ups is that they usually need help in running a business more than they need money. And if money is their primary problem, is it being made worse by an inadequate management strategy? Our mission is to change that. We believe that the introduction of intellectual capital is every bit as important -- and in some cases more so than seed money.
That’s certainly been our experience, too—-in spades.
Start-up management teams come believing that capital is all that’s required for their plan to be executed. In truth, starting a company is similar to parenting: it exposures weaknesses ruthlessly quickly. Whether they understand it or not, start-ups have management inadequacies, sometimes quite significant, just waiting to be exposed.
We recently had an entrepreneur come to us looking for funding who said, essentially, I not only need capital, but here’s the management inadequacies I have that I will need you to either supply or help me find. Quite simply, he was practicing a very important "unwritten rule" that we’ve highlighted.
Given our experience, I respect that approach tremendously.
Posted by John at 6:21 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBackAbove-Average Rates of Entrepreneurship for Immigrants and Hispanics
The Ewing Kauffman Foundation, which does some excellent work in promoting entrepreneurship, released a new study (pdf) on entrepreneurial activity across the country.
The level of entrepreneurial activity over the eight years ended in 2004 has been fairly constant at an average of 0.36 percent of the adult population creating a new business each month. This rate translates into about 550,000 new businesses each month.
The study also examined rates of immigrant entrepreneurship, and the results for Hispanics are notable:
Two especially surprising findings from the study are: (a) that the Latino rate of entrepreneurship increased from 0.38 percent in 1996 to 0.48 percent in 2004, which was higher than the white, non-Latino rate of 0.39 percent; and (b) that immigrants have substantially higher rates of entrepreneurship than native-born individuals. The average rate of entrepreneurship for immigrants was 0.46 percent compared to 0.35 percent for the native-born.
As you might infer from our previous commentary on the Hispanic market on Tidbits, such as this recent post, we are not surprised by these findings in the least.
For example, it is not coincidence, in our view, that the areas of the country in which entrepreneurial activity has increased the most in recent years has been the South and West, according to the Kauffman study. As we pointed out just yesterday, Southern and Western states have received an steadily increasing share of immigrants in recent years.
Posted by John at 5:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Friday, September 30, 2005
Today's quote is from the Sufi poet Jalâluddîn Rumi, born on this date in 1207: "You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?"
September 29, 2005
Pick a Southeastern State at Random--You’ll Find Rapid Growth in Immigrants
In the report (pdf) on immigration released a few days ago by the Pew Hispanic Center I referenced previously, researchers Jeffrey S. Passel and Roberto Suro reported that "new growth" states have gradually increased their share of new immigrants. This increase in share has come at the expense of traditional landing states such as California and New York.
In Passel and Suro’s terminology, "new growth" states are those other than the six largest immigration states (CA, NY, TX, FL, IL, NJ) where the foreign-born population grew faster during 1990-2000 than in the fastest growing large state, Texas.
Better than one-third of the "new growth" states are Southeastern. In fact, the only state in the Southeast (ex Florida) not designated a "new growth" state in the report was Virginia. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas are represented.
Most of the remaining "new growth" states are either Midwestern or Mountain/West. Interestingly, with the exception of Delaware, none of the "new growth" states in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern regions.
Posted by John at 9:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Thursday, September 29, 2005
Today's quote is from Miguel de Unamuno, born on this date in 1864: "A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 28, 2005
The U.S. Economy: ‘Driven by the Energies of People Who Can Still Dream’
Joel Kotkin, author of The City: A Global History, penned an noteworthy article for The American Enterprise on the increase in European immigration to the United States over the past ten to fifteen years. (Thanks to Arnold Kling at EconLog for the pointer.) Such immigration, Kotkin observes, is driven by economic opportunity:
European immigration to the United States jumped by some 16 percent during the 1990s. Europe’s percentage of total immigrants to the U.S. rose crisply between 1998 and 2001. Visa applications dropped after 9/11, but then increased last year by 10 percent. The total number of European-born Americans increased by roughly 700,000 during the last three years, with a heavy inflow from the former Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia, Romania, and France. These new immigrants have dispersed across many parts of the country, but have been especially drawn to New York, California, and Florida. . . .
St. Louis . . . has benefited enormously from European immigration—in its case, the growth of a Bosnian community now estimated at well over 10,000. Since the Bosnians’ appearance on the city’s south side, they have transformed their neighborhoods. South Grand Avenue, once a dying thoroughfare, has been turned by entrepreneurial-minded newcomers into a major center of Bosnian commerce. In typical American style, the community is gradually spreading to the city’s sprawling suburbs.
"When we got here, South St. Louis was a city of ghosts. But we were survivors," notes Bosnian immigrant and entrepreneur Amir Holtic. "You drop a Bosnian on the moon and he’ll survive. We are the people who help give the city a future."
As Holtic would be quick to point out, an economy is driven, more than anything else, by the energies of people who can still dream. Although many American intellectuals and urbanites hold European cities in higher regard than our own, many young everyday Europeans have discovered that American metropolises are often more exciting, more liveable, and, most important of all, better places to find opportunities for upward mobility. . . .
What a beautifully articulated reminder of the source of a nation’s economic vitality: "the energies of people who can still dream."
The future of the United States ultimately rests not in musty trust funds build by the efforts of entrepreneurs long dead, nor in past scientific and economic achievements, and not in reputation. Education alone means nothing.
If these factors alone determined economic vitality, Europe wouldn’t be in the doldrums today. Europe has all of these things piled high.
For their special advantages to be utilized, capital, ideas, technical breakthroughs, and institutions require a special elixir: the magical brew of entrepreneurial visions and the drive to make such dreams a reality. Only when this special mixture seeps throughout a nation will genuine economic verve be ignited.
China is a notable example of this principle. When you go to China (as I will again in the next two weeks) and visit a cross-section of the country, you see dreams of greatness driven by the desire and seemingly tireless effort to achieve those ambitions. That’s what makes China’s potential so bright, in my opinion.
Immigrants alone, by the way, aren’t needed to provide such spark, and such fire needn’t arise out of the latest hot technological breakthroughs.
Our friends Guy Millner and Bud Stumbaugh, at a time in life when many of their peers are waking up to a daily tee time, have poured their entrepreneurial energy and focus into remaking their own corner of the auto insurance sector through AssuranceAmerica. Even mighty General Electric, which could easily calcify resting on its laurels, is busily remaking and repurposing itself to match its vision of the future.
This desire to recast and revitalize established businesses and industries is crucial for the national interest.
Immigrants are adding fuel to our economy base, however, and we should encourage the energy they bring.
Today’s immigrants to the United States are arriving here not to escape religious or political persecution, as was predominately the case in past generations. They are landing here with the magic brew of dreams and drive bubbling inside.
Such a circumstance is extraordinarily bullish for the future of this country.
Full disclosure: An affiliate of Heritage Capital Advisors is a filing shareholder in AssuranceAmerica and two of its partners are members of the board of directors. Our comments should not be construed as a recommendation for any securities.
A Spanish Language Television Station in...Nashville?
Absolutely, the Hispanic demographic in Nashville is growing rapidly enough that a local over the air television station, Solo Nashville, has commenced operations, as reported by the Nashville City Paper. The station, which airs on Channel 42, is an affiliate of Univision's Telefutura network.
Nashville's Hispanic population is an estimated 35,000 or so, according to the Census bureau, but the entrepreneur who's backing this station wouldn't have gotten involved with such a venture (in our view) based on such numbers.
Nashville's Hispanic population, along with that of the rest of Tennessee in general, is not only undercounted but growing rapidly, as this recent article from the Nashville Tennessean reports.
Posted by John at 8:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Today's quote is from the great Jerry Clower, born on this date in 1926: "You can grow as much corn on a crooked row as on a straight one."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 27, 2005
U.S. Immigration Ebbs and Flows with the National Economy
The Pew Hispanic Center has just released a study (pdf) of recent immigration patterns, "Rise, Peak, and Decline: Trends in U.S. Immigration, 1992-2004." This report measured both legal and illegal immigration.
Contrary to popular perception of steadily rising immigration patterns, particularly from Mexico, in-flow into the U.S. has varied significantly over the past dozen years. U.S. immigration rose in the 1990s, jumped substantially in 1999 and 2000, and fell dramatically after 2001. Even with a rise in 2004 over 2003, the annual in-flow of foreign nationals was down 24% in 2004 from the peak in 2000.
"This basic pattern of increase, peak and decline," reports authors Jeffrey S. Passel and Roberto Suro, "is evident for the foreign-born from every region of the world and for both legal and unauthorized migrants."
Not surprisingly for anyone with a basic understanding of economics, these patterns of immigration follow the health of the national economy:
Both the run-up to the peak and the drop-off in immigration coincide with a variety of conditions known to influence such flows, most notably the performance of the U.S. economy. Immigration grew sharply during the rapid economic and job expansion of the 1990s and then declined as the economy went into a downturn after 2001. Measures of the change in the Mexican labor force—the largest single source of U.S. immigrants by far—follow trends closely related to the pattern of changes in U.S. immigration. . .
Quite plainly, an increasing supply of jobs at attractive wages attracts immigrants. When that supply diminishes, so does in-flow of foreign nationals.
It’s the law of supply and demand, pure and simple.
Posted by John at 11:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackO'Hurley's Golf Victory for Cancer will be Televised
I forgot to mention in my post on John O'Hurley's victory on the links that this match will be televised. It was taped to be aired on Saturday, October 22, from 1-3 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports.
As we mentioned, John won $300,000 to benefit Golfers Against Cancer.
You may already know the winner, but how he did it was pretty exciting, so watch it if you can!
Posted by John at 5:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Today's quote is from Henri-Frédéric Amiel, born on this date in 1821: "Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the ploughshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring."
September 26, 2005
Stirring Thoughts on the Search for a Cure from Christopher Reeve
The late Christopher Reeve awed us by the inspiring life he lived and the rousing words whose echo resounds today. Picking a quote of the day for Sunday, which would have been Reeve’s 53rd birthday, was difficult.
I ran across a longer quote from Reeve which was tremendously encouraging to me, given how much the mission of Golfers Against Cancer has been on my mind this past week. In testimony before Congress in 1999, Reeve urged us to action with these words:
We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer a part of the scientific community's vocabulary. Each day we move closer to trials that will not just minimize the symptoms of disease and injury but eliminate them. You have heard from the Directors of the NIH [National Institute of Health] over the past few weeks of new medical interventions that will end epilepsy, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, the devastating effects of stroke, chronic pain, organ rejection after transplantation. You have listened as the directors have outlined the details of an HIV vaccine, dramatic improvements in the effective treatment of drug addiction, mouse models that accurately reproduce human cancers in order to permit early detection and interventions, and of course, the miraculous mapping and sequencing of the human genome which is already changing the world of medicine and medical research. The rapid pace of these advances is occurring because you, the Congress of the United States and our President had the vision in 1998 to increase funding for the NIH by 15%. This momentum must not be slowed.
Though our government may operate on a budget that is decided from year to year, our scientists cannot. New scientific initiatives, experiments, and laboratories across the United States, once nurtured and financed, operate on 2 and 3 and 4 year plans. We must not fund our scientists who have the potential to alleviate enormous suffering without giving them the assurance that we will not put on the brakes and stop the flow of dollars that will make their progress possible.
We’re not content to wait for governmental bodies. The mission of Golfers Against Cancer and similar organizations is to speed the search for a cure, through direct contributions to renowned cancer research institutions such as the Winship Cancer Institute. GAC, in fact, has helped fund studies similar to what Reeve referred to in his testimony.
Moreover, there is no thick administrative sieve which snags a tidy portion of contributed dollars. GAC is just a committed band of volunteers who hate cancer. More dollars, consequently, get applied directly to targeted research projects.
When you read, therefore, that John O’Hurley has won $300,000 for GAC in a charity golf tournament, this sum goes a long way in effort to fund groundbreaking cancer-fighting research.
Moreover, because of our low costs and targeted projects, even much smaller sums go a long way. It’s a good thing, because I’ll never beat Anika Sörenstam in a charity golf tournament.
Please consider the offer I made a week ago, one which several generous friends have taken us up on. If you’ll send a check for $250 or more for GAC, I’ll send you your choice of one of my recommended books in "Tidbits," which you can find on the main page, or John O’Hurley’s new CD. True to our commitment to keeping administrative costs down, I’ll have your choice sent to you; GAC won’t have anything to do with it.
We’ve already received generous and gratifying support, which heartens us deeply and leaves us profoundly grateful. Thanks are also due to those of you considering supporting this cause.
With your help, the time will come when cancer will be only a bitter memory, and Christopher Reeve’s prophetic words will be fully realized. That day, my friends, is closer than you may realize.
Posted by John at 11:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackWhat Does a Slice of Corporate America and Developing Countries Have in Common?
In his first address to the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, new World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz identified the need for better leadership and greater accountability as the top priority in developing countries.
Funny, I could name several large companies in corporate America with exactly the same need.
Posted by John at 10:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackO’Hurley Wins Again for Cancer Research, This Time on the Links
My hat is off to any man that can win a dance contest on national television and then a few days later win in a charity golf tournament which includes Annika Sörenstam. That’s exactly the feat John O’Hurley has accomplished.
In The Cliffs Challenge, John battled Sörenstam, Branford Marsalis, and Kurt Russell in a four person charity tournament. As with "Dancing with the Stars," John came from behind to win at the end, and cancer research was the big winner.
John won $300,000 for Golfers Against Cancer, while the rest of his competitors won $50,000 for their favorite charities. You can read more by following this link.
Thanks to John’s skills and his generosity, Golfers Against Cancer has had a tremendous week! Thanks, John, for your continued support in the fight against cancer.
Posted by John at 4:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Monday, September 26, 2005
Today's quote is from George Gershwin, born on this date in 1898: "Life is a lot like jazz . . .it's best when you improvise."
September 25, 2005
Celebrating Atlanta Life’s Notable Achievement: Longevity
Atlanta Life Financial Group’s founding is one of the most remarkable stories in American business history. The company was established by Alonzo Franklin Herndon, a man born into slavery in 1858. At age seven Herndon and his family began their freedom homeless and impoverished; his father, who’d been the family’s slave master, sent them away.
After helping the family sharecrop during his youth, Herndon left home in 1878 with $11 in savings and a year of schooling. He went on to establish a series of barber shops, each more successful than the other. His savings went into real estate investments, and by his death in 1927 Herndon was one of the most influential African-American businessmen in the United States.
The founding of what became Atlanta Life is a particularly interesting chapter of Herndon’s extraordinary life. Herndon saw a need for a stable, well-run life insurance company to serve the African-American community. In those days, surviving families were often cheated by companies who used loopholes to avoid paying claims, or by fraudulent or poorly run companies. Moreover, a backdrop of racial animosity and segregation was quite challenging for any black entrepreneur, even one as successful as Herndon.
Herndon’s original investment was $140, but through additional contributed capital and reinvested profits, the company’s capitalization was increased to $100,000 by 1922. By 1925, only two decades after its founding, the company had $19 of insurance in force and was a multi-state operation.
A lot of businesses have been initiated, of course, only to founder at the first ill wind which comes along. Atlanta Life has not only survived the death of its organizer in 1927, but weathered the Great Depression, which nearly brought the company down, as well at numerous other business challenges over the years.
This record of longevity is truly remarkable. Very few American companies have survived a century intact, without failure or a merger into a more successful company.
To fully appreciate the achievement of Atlanta Life’s centennial celebration represents, consider the context of its beginnings.
Atlanta’s population in 1900 was less than 90,000. Georgia Normal School, later to be Georgia State University, had not been founded yet. Emory University hadn’t yet moved to Atlanta, and wouldn’t do so for another decade after 1905. The Coca-Cola Company was barely a decade old.
Booker T. Washington high school, the city’s first black public high school, was opened almost two decades after Atlanta Life’s founding. The newspaper Atlanta Black World came 21 years later.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1905 had only twelve companies (compared to 30 today). Most of the Dow components in 1905 have been merged or have gone out of business, including Amalgamated Copper, American Smelting & Refining, National Lead, and Tennessee Coal & Iron.
A couple of years before Atlanta Life began, the Texas Company’s third oil well was a gusher, saving what became Texaco from bankruptcy. IBM was yet to be formed. General Motors was organized in 1908.
Speaking of automobiles, the United States produced about 25,000 cars in 1905. Henry Ford had yet to introduce the Model T. The country’s first stolen car was reported in St. Louis, and the country’s first car paid for by installment payments was sold. The windshield wiper was patented—by a woman, Mary Anderson.
On the national front, Theodore Roosevelt was President of the United States in 1905. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt were married that year. Tex Ritter, Christian Dior, Henry Fonda, and Joan Crawford were born.
The first jukebox appeared (with 24 songs). The first Yellow Pages was invented and distributed. Marconi was found years away from getting his patent for radio. Music buyers could choose between a rubber disc (record) format and Edison phonograph cylinders. Talking movies were still two decades away.
Both the International Rotary Club and what became the Chamber of Commerce were founded in 1905. In the Nevada desert, about 110 acres was auctioned off and a tent city appeared within a week, featuring a post office, a bank, a saloon, and a gambling hall. That tent city is called Las Vegas today.
This look back in history to the events and times of a century past is a reminder of not just the transience of business, but of human existence itself. In business you have to have some luck, but survival over a century is a testament to long-term management prudence and devotion to customers. Such a story deserves to be celebrated.
Congratulations and happy 100th birthday, Atlanta Life!
Posted by John at 10:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackChina’s Elderly Population Would Make it the World’s Ninth Largest Country
People’s Daily reports that China’s elderly population has reached 130 million, or about 10% of the country’s total population.
Taken on its own, China’s elderly population would be the ninth largest country in the world, about the size of Nigeria.
The same People’s Daily article reports on what we’ve discussed previously in "Tidbits": China’s older population continues to grow while its birth rate, thanks both to increased urbanization and a one-child policy, continues to fall. Consequently, China actually has a bulge in the number of workers entering the workforce which will dissipate significantly over time.
Moreover, as increasingly better medical care is introduced in the country, the average life span will naturally rise and the proportionate population over 60 will rise as well.
Indeed, estimates have the Chinese senior citizen population for 2015 exceeding 200 million in 2015, and rising to 280 million by 2025, according to People’s Daily.
Posted by John at 9:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Sunday, September 25, 2005
Today's quote is from Christopher Reeve, born on this date in 1952: "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
September 24, 2005
The Unpredictability of Technological Innovation
Harvard Business School Professor Robert Austin was interviewed by HBS Working Knowledge on a new book he co-edited with fellow HBS professor Stephen Bradley. The book, The Broadband Explosion, explores what a truly interactive world might look like. Wisely, however, Austin notes that the ripple effects from technological innovations like broadband are quite unpredictable:
. . . A lot of the benefits from the broadband explosion will probably arise from non-obvious, second-order effects—things we can't see clearly right now. The human tendency in trying to predict what will happen in the future is to extrapolate in a straight line from today. So we imagine doing more of what we do with communication today when we have more bandwidth. But that's a mistake made clear by the parallel to the '60s and '70s and computer power. Moore's Law was at work making chips more and more powerful at lower and lower prices, but early on people could not see what we would do with all that computing power. At the time they were mostly using computers as big calculators or big transaction-processing machines (for doing accounting or payroll, for example). And they looked around and asked themselves, "How many paychecks are there to process in the world?" Fortunately, there were other visionaries who saw that we'd use a lot of that power to change the way we interacted with computers, by making user interfaces more friendly, for example. Back then, people who said, "What will we use all that computing power for?" were surprised by how useful it was and the ways it turned out to be useful. Today we have some skeptics saying pretty much the same thing: "What will we do with all that bandwidth?" I suspect the answers will be similarly surprising. . .
We invariably underestimate or even fail to consider how technological innovation can transform even the most mundane task or industry, yet such advances drive productivity and economic growth.
Posted by John at 5:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Saturday, September 24, 2005
Today's quote is from Muppeteer Jim Henson, born on this date in 1936: "Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 23, 2005
Quote of the Day for Friday, September 23, 2005
Today's quote is from the great John Coltrane, born on this date in 1926: "You can play a shoestring if you're sincere."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBackSeptember 22, 2005
John O’Hurley—and the Fight against Cancer—are Winners!
John O’Hurley won the "Dancing With the Stars" dance-off! Congratulations to John and his professional dancing partner Charlotte Jorgensen; they had to dance their best to top Kelly Monaco and her professional partner Alec Mazo.
It was all for a great cause. As we’ve highlighted this week, John was dancing to benefit Golfers Against Cancer, and did GAC’s effort to fight cancer ever benefit! John accepted a check for $126,000 for GAC this evening! Given that GAC is an all-volunteer organization funding targeted cancer research projects, these funds will advance the fight against cancer tremendously.
John’s efforts to draw attentin to Golfers Against Cancer and expand its work have been simply tremendous. John, you’re the best, and everyone appreciates your generosity and your support of the cause. You’re a truly an all-around winner!
Posted by John at 9:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackWatch the “Dancing” Results Thursday
On Thursday evening, ABC-TV will air a replay of the "Dancing with the Stars" dance-off between John O’Hurley and Kelly Monaco. The replay will be at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Central time. If you missed the telecast on Tuesday (like those of us attending the Golfers Against Cancer Atlanta Dinner for Cancer Research), please watch tonight.
The "results" show, in which the winner will be announced, will be at 9 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. Central time. Obviously, we're nervously hoping that our pal John will be the winner!
One way or the other, however, John has made sure that Golfers Against Cancer will be a winner! He’s designated Golfers Against Cancer as a beneficiary from the "dance-off," and all of us with GAC are gratified by John’s support.
You should know, by the way, that John’s been a long-time supporter of the organization with both his money and time. He’s our "in-house" M.C. and auctioneer and does a tremendous job at every dinner he lends his talents to.
Please watch tonight!
Posted by John at 3:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Thursday, September 22, 2005
Today's quote is from Tommy Lasorda, born on this date in 1927: "Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you're up in the stands with them."
Posted by John at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 21, 2005
One More Step Taken in the Fight Against Cancer
We had a tremendous night at Tuesday’s Golfers Against Cancer Atlanta Dinner for Cancer Research. We’re tallying the proceeds, which I’ll report when I can.
Everyone seemed to have a great time, and we enjoyed the "fun part" of the evening, catching up with friends, and bidding in the silent and live auctions on some terrific items. Our dancing pal John O'Hurley sent us a taped message, regretting his inability to be with us, but inspiring in its call to action. Importantly, we were all moved by the descriptions of the significant work going on at great research facilities like the Winship Cancer Institute.
As our founder Bobby Jones, whose enthusiasm could turn a donkey into a Derby winner, said in his remarks, "we’re trying to put ourselves out of business." If we work hard enough to back some of the tremendous researchers we’ve identified in Atlanta, Houston, New York, Greensboro, and elsewhere, we can get there. That’s our goal—nothing less.
Posted by John at 11:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack'Without the Hispanic Population Our Economy Would be Flat'
I spent Wednesday in Indianapolis at several meetings, one of which was with an old friend of mine who's been in Indianapolis virtually his whole life.
We were talking about our Hispanic-related ventures, and he said that "without the Hispanic population here, our economy would be flat."
It's not exactly what I expected in Indianapolis. At the same time, however, it shouldn't be totally unexpected, since all the dynamism of this demographic seems to consistently exceed most expectations.
Posted by John at 11:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Today's quote is from writer H.G. Wells, born on this date in 1866: "Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 20, 2005
Georgia’s Hispanic Buying Power Has Reached "Critical Mass"
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on a new study on the Hispanic market being released today by the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. Director Jeff Humphreys, whose work we value and recommend, observes that Georgia’s Hispanic buying power has reached "critical mass.":
--Hispanic buying power in metro Atlanta is now $7.7 billion, and has increased more than nine times in 15 years.
--Georgia is now the third-fastest growing Hispanic market in the country.
--Georgia now ranks tenth in Hispanic buying power nationally.
Posted by John at 5:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Today's quote is from Red Auerbach, born on this date in 1917: "An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 19, 2005
Get Those Fingers Ready: Here's the Number You Need to Vote for John
The phone number to vote for John O'Hurley (and benefit Golfers Against Cancer) has been posted on the "Dancing with the Stars" website.
The number is: 1-866-613-0002, toll-free. There's a limit of five votes per phone line, which means you can vote from your cellphone, home line, and so forth.
Please vote! It's for a great cause.
Posted by John at 7:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackJust a Reminder: Vote for John O’Hurley and Help the Fight Against Cancer
Tomorrow night, on ABC-TV’s "Dancing with the Stars," a vote for John O’Hurley is a vote which will help the fight against cancer. John will be dancing to benefit Golfers Against Cancer, an all-volunteer organization which raises money to fund cancer research. You can get the full details by reading what I posted Saturday or directly at the Golfers Against Cancer website.
Last night, by the way, Golfers Against Cancer rolled into Greensboro for the first time, as our friends their held their first Inaugural Dinner for Cancer Research. They’re still tallying the results, but the initial word is that they raised over $165,000 in one evening. This is a tremendous result and our pals in Greensboro should be proud to have "fought the fight" in this way.
We'll be gathering in Atlanta tomorrow night for our second year. Some of you will be there to lend your support personally. We thank you, in advance, for your tremendous support.
Others of you have and will make donations to this cause apart from these dinners, and your support is accepted and appreciated. One thing's for sure: you don’t have to be a golfer; anybody who’s seen me play knows I’m not! You simply have to want to help find a cure.
If you’re motivated to give $250 or more, I’ll send you a gift of thanks. You can read the details here.
To those of you who’ve already responded, we thank you, especially on behalf of those that will directly benefit because of your generosity.
Posted by John at 6:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackWould You Trust This Man with a Turnaround at Your Troubled Company?
 |
|
Now, he volunteers to help turnaround the same company, according to Reuters. "I have tremendous insight," he says.
His financial genius or insight can be debated. His audacity is beyond question.
Posted by John at 6:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackHealthcare is the Top Concern for Chinese Citizens
The prime worry of Chinese citizens is adequate, fairly-priced healthcare, according to a survey of 150,000 conducted by the Beijing-based International Institute for Urban Development.
Health Minister Gao Qiang said last month that the country's medical reform was basically unsuccessful, as it failed to provide adequate healthcare to most of the people. Ministry of Health statistics show that nearly half of the people who need medical treatment do not visit a doctor, and that 30 per cent of those who should stay in hospital remain at home because of cost concerns.
Other top concerns cited by survey respondents and reported by China Daily include a sound social insurance network, a trusting society, more freedom of movement, a more transparent government, environmental protection and energy conservation.
Posted by John at 5:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Monday, September 19, 2005
Today's quote is from Damon Knight's "The Man in the Tree." Knight was born on this date in 1922: "Driving down the wrong road and knowing it,/The fork years behind, how many have thought/To pull up on the shoulder and leave the car/Empty, strike out across the fields; and how many/Are still mazed among dock and thistle,/Seeking the road they should have taken?"
September 18, 2005
Sam Walton’s Legacy to America Keeps Giving
Per the Chronicle of Philanthropy article I referenced earlier, almost 4% of the total amount of giving from Americans (about $32 million) has been from either Wal-Mart Corporation or foundations controlled by the descendants of Sam Walton, the company’s founder.
Posted by John at 8:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackOnce Again, Americans Reveal Their Generosity
From the Chronicle of Philanthrophy:
Posted by John at 8:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackAmericans have contributed at least $833-million to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The pace of giving is unprecedented in American history. In the two weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Americans donated $558-million to charitable causes, and in the two and a half weeks after the tsunamis hit, major American relief groups raised $406-million.
Still, the contributions do not yet come close to the total amount raised in the wake of those disasters. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, charities raised more than $2.2-billion and U.S. charities have collected nearly $1.3-billion for the tsunamis.
The American Red Cross, in Washington, has raised far more than any other charity, taking in $653.4-million. By comparison, two and a half weeks after the South Asian tsunamis, the Red Cross had raised a little more than $173-million.
"It's overwhelming," says Sarah Marchetti, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. "People are just pouring their hearts out, and making a donation is an expression of that." . . .
Corporations have been significant donors to the charitable efforts, as have numerous celebrities and wealthy Americans. Wal-Mart has contributed the most so far, donating $17-million. The foundation created by the company's founders, the Walton family, also has donated $15-million to groups working on hurricane relief.
More than $312-million has been donated by corporations, foundations, and wealthy individuals, according to a tally by The Chronicle.
The Price of Self-Satisfied Complacency
Thursday’s Wall Street Journal had a thought-provoking editorial from former Clinton U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and one of her former deputies at the USTR, "Revolutionary China, Complacent America." The authors note that China itself offers a sobering lesson in the price of complacency and self-satisfaction:
No country leads the world by divine right. China itself provides a sobering lesson. According to the economic historian Angus Maddison, the emperors of the Qing dynasty ruled almost a third of the world's population and oversaw a third of world GDP. They looked back on a history of innovation, spanning the inventions of paper money, explosives, the printed book and the professional civil service. They considered their status natural and eternal. When Europe's diplomats and merchants began to arrive in the 1790s, the emperors thought them insignificant. It was a devastating mistake. Employing superior technology and military tactics, Europe came to rule Asia in just a few decades. China's leaders were discredited and its vassal states fell away. The ensuing period of demoralization and upheaval lasted almost two centuries.
Angus Maddison’s work is quite interesting. I can’t find the reference to link it (sorry), but I’ve read an interesting observation from Maddison: China’s growth since the reforms started by Deng Xiaoping, quite stellar, have only gotten the country back to the same share of world GDP in 1900.
In other words, that’s how bad the country’s economic state had gotten by the late 1970s. Yet in just under three decades, China made up for almost eight decades of relative decline. Amazing.
Posted by John at 8:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Sunday, September 18, 2005
Today's quote is from basketball coach Rick Pitino, born on this date in 1952: "Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 17, 2005
Help Find a Cure for Cancer: Vote for John O’Hurley Tuesday Night
A few months ago we lamented the loss our pal John O’Hurley sustained in the finals of "Dancing With the Stars," a ballroom dancing competition which aired on ABC-TV. Despite the controversial decision, John, as we noted, held his head high and was a class act.
The controversial ending has provoked a friendly rematch. It’s friendly, because both John and his competitor Kelly Monaco will be dancing for charity. John’s charity of choice is Golfers Against Cancer.
I’m involved with Golfers Against Cancer because of John, who introduced me to the remarkable guy who founded GAC, Bobby Jones (no, not that Bobby Jones). I met Bobby, a senior executive with BISYS Corporation, through John. Bobby, like John, is the kind of guy who, after you’ve known him for five minutes, you feel like you’ve got a lifelong friend.
Early on, John served as master of ceremonies for GAC’s fund raising dinners. When we held the inaugural dinner in Atlanta last year, John also served as our M.C. and auctioneer, and we had a tremendous evening. After matching grants, we raised $350,000 for cancer research from that dinner. The proceeds went to specific research projects we earmarked at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.
Our Second Annual GAC Atlanta Dinner for Cancer Research will be on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, John will not be able to join us, because he’ll be dancing.
The good news, however, is that GAC will receive $62,500 from John’s efforts on the dance floor on Tuesday. To return a show of support for John, I’m asking you for your vote on Tuesday night. Even if you roll your eyes at the thought of voting for a contestant on a reality TV program, suspend your cynicism for a second and vote. Vote for John.
If you think my headline’s a little bold, consider this: Golfers Against Cancer is an all-volunteer organization. We don’t have any administrative bureaucracy. You don’t have to worry if you’re helping fund the executive director’s car allowance; we don’t even have an executive director. We’re just a bunch a volunteers who all have day jobs who raise money for cancer research on the side.
Moreover, we fund specific research projects at local, well-regarded cancer institutes. The GAC group in New York, for example, funded a study at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center which used a process involving genetically instructing human immune cells to recognize and kill cancer cells in mice. This successful project opened the door for clinical trials for patients which certain types of leukemias and lymphomas.
Quite simply, our mission is simple. We fund specific research projects which will speed the search for a solution to cancer, and we minimize administrative cost drag on the funds we raise.
So, if you would, please vote for John during or after his performance on Tuesday, September 20th at 8:30pm (EDT) on ABC. You’ll be given a phone number on the telecast to use, or you can vote online by followig this link. You’ll be able to vote during the show and up to one hour afterwards. If you haven't already registered on the ABC website, please try to do this before Tuesday night so you can logon and vote quickly. Up to 10¢ per call may be paid to GAC as well, so please pass this message on to others. If I get the phone number beforehand, I’ll pass it on here on Tidbits.
Remember: you only have the one hour after the performance to vote. The results will be announced during a September 22nd telecast.
For those of you motivated to do something more, here’s my deal. If you’ll send a check, made out to Golfers Against Cancer, for $250 or more, I’ll send you your choice of books I’ve recommended on Tidbits (see the righthand sidebar on the main page), or I’ll send you a copy of John’s new CD he just released with electric cellist Marston.
Your choice: read a great book, or listen to John’s terrific new CD. You deserve the premium (which I’ll finance; GAC won’t) if you decide to write such a check of support for our efforts to end the scourge of cancer. You can send a check, made out to Golfers Against Cancer, to my attention at our Atlanta office.
Whatever your choice of support might be, I and my volunteer friends at GAC sincerely appreciate it. More important than our appreciation, though, will be your helping hand for those who need a fighting chance to beat cancer.
Posted by John at 8:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Saturday, September 17, 2005
Today's quote is from William Wister Haines, born on this date in 1908: "Don't be afraid to ask dumb questions. They're more easily handled than dumb mistakes."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 16, 2005
Quote of the Day for Friday, September 16, 2005
Today's quote is from entrepreneur James Cash Penney, born on this date in 1875: "Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 15, 2005
Coming to Their Senses on Cement Tariffs?
The L.A. Times reports that the U.S. and Mexico have met to see it their trade dispute can be resolved such that the U.S. can end its tariffs on Mexican cement. We complained bitterly about such tariffs in a recent post, and how such a misguided policy is wholly inappropriate in light of the massive rebuilding effort which will be required in the Gulf Coast region.
The Times goes on to recount, in the same article, on the shortages of cement which already plague the U.S.:
A recent survey by the Associated General Contractors of America showed that 32 states, including California, had been hit by shortages. In August, cement prices were up 12.7% compared with the same month a year ago, according to the Department of Labor's producer price index. That's more than double the increase for the overall basket of so-called "intermediate goods," which includes products such as lumber and paint.
Those increases have added as much as $1,000 to the price of new homes in some regions, according to Michael Carliner, an economist for the National Assn. of Home Builders in Washington.
With their construction industries threatened, some elected officials are pressuring the Bush administration to ease trade restrictions on Mexican imports. Last month, Republican Govs. Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah, Michael Rounds of South Dakota and Kenny Guinn of Nevada, along with Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, urging him to resolve the long-running spat.
Note that this issue is bipartisan. Now let’s see if the Commerce Department will actually come to its senses.
Posted by John at 9:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack“I Don’t Know”: Use It Often and Without Reservation
Not long ago I read an article in Business 2.0 about a little book written by Bill Swanson, Chairman and CEO of the Raytheon Company. The book, Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management, started as a list of important management lessons and advice which Swanson had jotted down over the years.
Swanson used the list in a presentation within his company, and over time it begin an underground hit, being copied and passed around both inside and outside Raytheon. Eventually the "Unwritten Rules" became popular enough that Raytheon printed them in a bound little book, which is available free of charge through the company’s website.
I got a copy of the book and it’s a gem. It’s practical, jargon-free, and tremendously relevant. Those three characterizations don’t apply to many books on management. I urge you to read and enjoy them.
Swanson’s rules don’t seem to be in order of importance, but Rule Number One is as important as they come: "Learn to say, ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be used often."
Have you ever heard a universally respected person, accomplished in their field, say "I don’t know" in response to a question? Moreover, have you heard them say, "I should know, but I don’t"?
What was your reaction? Didn’t your respect for that person grow?
We respect them because admitting ignorance is not a reflexive answer. It often implicitly means admitting that the questioner is raising a point you hadn’t thought of. That’s hard to admit, isn't it?
That’s when reflex takes over for most people, particularly those not secure in their knowledge, or more importantly, their belief system. They’ll either ramble on and never directly answer the question, or worse yet, make up whatever they believe they questioner wants to hear.
For investors, hearing "I don’t know" is fundamentally imperative. As investors we often place too much stock in people seeming to have all the answers; in truth, nobody (or one company, for that matter) has all the answers.
We love the smooth, confident presentation from a CEO who’s "knocked it cold." We believe such a person is really on the ball because they’ve got all the answers.
In truth, they don’t, because nobody does. Smart managers such as Swanson realize that their career is one of development and adaptation. Swanson’s Unwritten Rules, for example, originated, as he writes, because he’s "a believer in life-long learning" and wrote down ideas which would help him improve.
Such a manager can make you a pot of gold.
On the other hand, be wary of the manager who won’t admit ignorance. If they won’t admit it to you, they may be fooling themselves.
This tendency, taken to any extreme at all, is extraordinarily dangerous. Management which misleads on this point won’t hesitate to deceive on anything.
The point applies, by the way, not just to corporate managers. It applies to investment professionals as well. They, in fact, may be the worst offenders of this rule.
Practice Swanson’s First Unwritten Rule, and watch for it in those you’re trusting your money with.
Posted by John at 1:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackQuote of the Day for Thursday, September 15, 2005
Today's quote is from William Howard Taft, born on this date in 1857: "Next to the right of liberty, the right of property is the most important individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and the one which, united with that of personal liberty, has contributed more to the growth of civilization than any other institution established by the human race."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 14, 2005
Quote of the Day for Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Today's quote is from Allan Bloom, born on this date in 1930: "As soon as tradition has come to be recognized as tradition, it is dead."
Posted by John at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 13, 2005
China’s Business Environment Ranks Highest Among Large Emerging Economies
In the World Bank report on business climates I referenced earlier, China ranked highest among the largest emerging economies. Out of 155 countries in the survey, China ranked 91st, Indonesia was 115th, India just behind at 116th and Brazil ranked 119th.
Investors should note that the overall rankings of these countries are evidence of the continued appropriateness of the term "emerging."
Posted by John at 10:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackAn Economic Inhibitor in Africa Which More Aid Won’t Change
The World Bank releases an annual "Doing Business" report which evaluates individual countries by the ease of starting and conducting a business.
In this year's report, African countries dominate the bottom of the rankings. The Financial Times reports:
African countries dominated the lower