Podcasts about General Electric Company

As our series honoring the tragic plane crash that killed John F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and Lauren Bessette continues in the leadup to the 25-year anniversary of the crash on July 16, I'm so happy to welcome William D. Cohan to the show, who wrote a book not just about his friend from Andover, John, but also about three other friends from the prep school that lost their lives far too soon. This is such an interesting concept for a book—in his book Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short, which came out in 2019, William introduces us to four of his friends from boarding school who all died far, far too soon. One of them is John, who we spend the bulk of today's episode talking about, but we also meet Jack Berman, the child of impoverished Holocaust survivors, who achieves the American dream—only to have his life ended in a senseless act of violence. Then we have Will Daniel, the grandson of President Harry Truman and the son of the managing editor of The New York Times, who does everything to escape a family legacy he's ultimately trapped by. He dies tragically, as does Harry Bull, who—like John would as well—takes an inexplicable and devastating risk on a beautiful summer day that ultimately ends his life. Even the story of John—who, of course, we all think we know—is told through a new lens in this book. This book will make you appreciate life and realize how very, very fragile it really is. All of these men met at Andover, the most elite of American boarding schools, and went on to forge lives for themselves, lives that, as William writes, were “ended just as they were getting going.” This book gives us a glimpse into John in his Andover years, specifically, and William writes about what it was like to know a young John, what it was like to meet Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and so much insight into John, who lost his life far too soon as just 38 years old.   William D. Cohan is a journalist perhaps most known for covering Wall Street and high finance; he's written for Vanity Fair as a special correspondent and writes regularly for The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Fortune, and is an on-air contributor for CNBC. He's also written other bestselling books, like The Last Tycoons and House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street, Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World, The Price of Silence (which is about the Duke lacrosse scandal that gripped the nation), and Why Wall Street Matters. Since Four Friends came out in 2019, he has published the 2022 book Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon about the General Electric Company. He was a senior Wall Street M&A investment banker for 17 years and also appears regularly on MSNBC, CNN, BBC, and Bloomberg TV, where he is a contributing editor. I enjoyed my conversation with him so much, and I know you will enjoy it, too.   Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short by William D. Cohan

In the latest episode of the People Solve Problems podcast, host Jamie Flinchbaugh sits down with Art Byrne, the retired CEO of The Wiremold Company. Art's profound influence on the lean community is well-known, having introduced lean principles to over 30 companies from his positions as CEO and author of seminal works such as The Lean Turnaround, The Lean Turnaround Action Guide, and The Lean Turnaround Answer Book. Art's journey with lean management began during his first General Manager role at General Electric Company. He later introduced lean to the Danaher Corporation as a Group Executive. However, his most notable achievement was leading The Wiremold Company through a lean transformation that increased the company's enterprise value by nearly 2,500% over nine years. This conversation covers the principles, challenges, and successes Art experienced throughout his career. Art discusses the purpose and genesis of his latest book, The Lean Turnaround Answer Book, which compiles his insights and solutions to common lean questions accumulated over decades. He explains that the book is structured as a reference guide, addressing both the foundational concepts of lean and the practical, day-to-day challenges companies face during their lean journey. Art emphasizes that lean is not merely a cost-reduction strategy but a comprehensive, strategic approach to running a business better than the competition. One of the key points Art makes is the importance of leadership in lean transformation. He illustrates this with a story from his time at Wiremold, where he challenged the team to reduce the changeover time of a machine from 14 hours to under 10 minutes. Through persistent effort and kaizen events, they achieved a changeover time of just six minutes. This dramatic improvement not only boosted operational efficiency but also significantly enhanced employee morale and engagement. Art highlights that challenging teams to achieve seemingly impossible goals can result in extraordinary outcomes and deep buy-in from employees. Art also addresses the critical role of problem-solving and learning in lean management. He contrasts the traditional approach of lengthy problem analysis and planning with the lean approach of immediate, hands-on experimentation, and iteration. By empowering employees to stop production lines to solve problems on the spot, companies can create a culture of continuous improvement and learning. This approach not only resolves issues more effectively but also fosters a deeper understanding of the processes and a stronger commitment to ongoing improvement. Throughout the episode, Art underscores the necessity for CEOs to be actively involved in leading lean transformations. He believes that only through visible, committed leadership can organizations overcome resistance and achieve lasting change. Art's experiences and insights offer invaluable lessons for any leader looking to implement lean principles and drive their organization towards greater efficiency and competitiveness. To stay updated on the latest episodes of the People Solve Problems podcast, visit the JFlinch Website and follow the podcast on your preferred platform.

Technology innovation involves harnessing knowledge, expertise, and resources to develop innovative solutions that solve problems, improve efficiency, drive progress, and deliver value. Technology innovation can have various impacts, such as improving the quality of life, fostering economic growth and competitiveness, enhancing efficiency and productivity, addressing societal challenges, fueling scientific and technological advancement, and empowering and engaging users. This week, we have the opportunity to discuss how an enterprise organization thinks about and executes on innovation at ServiceNow with their Deputy Chief Innovation Officer, Kevin Barnard. Episode TopicsWhat does a Chief Innovation Officer do? How does ServiceNow drive innovation, and what role does Microsoft have in supporting it?How can ServiceNow and Microsoft partner to drive innovation in the customer relationship management space? About Kevin Barnard Kevin is the Deputy Chief Innovation Officer of ServiceNow.In his role, Kevin drives thought leadership and innovation, communicates ServiceNow's vision and strategy, helps customers and partners see the art of the possible, and shares how ServiceNow can help the world work better for everyone. Kevin prides himself on being a technology innovator and digital transformation catalyst. Prior to joining ServiceNow in 2017, Kevin spent 14 years in various technology leadership roles at General Electric Company. He started his professional life as a journalist before taking his interview and design skills to the IT world right around the time of Y2K. He has worked in startups, e-commerce and other web-based organizations. Kevin enjoys coaching and mentoring developing leaders. He is also a 200-hr. certified yoga instructor. Connect with Kevin - Kevin Barnard | LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Coughlin was born in 1947 and had what most people would say is a somewhat normal childhood. I would agree, but it is relevant to say that Mike was diagnosed in the second grade with youth related Macular Degeneration. While he did not lose all his eyesight, he lost enough that reading, especially out loud in school, was not doable for him. In fact, his eye specialists did not even tell him that he was what we classify today as legally blind. Michael did not learn the true extent of his eye condition until he was in his twenties. He was not given access to what we call today assistive technology. Even so, he survived and flourished. He is an Eagle Scout and has achieved the highest rank in the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow society. Mike secured a college degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Master's degree in Ocean Engineering from the University of Miami. Later he earned a second Master's degree in systems management (MSSM) from the University of Southern California's continuing education program. He worked for General Dynamics for seven years. Then he went with his boss to work for 20 years at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc in acoustics. He then worked, again as an underwater acoustical engineer, for 20 years at Boeing. Michael is clearly unstoppable. He will discuss the various technologies he began to use although somewhat later in life. He also will discuss just how he accomplished so much and, as you will see, it is all about attitude. About the Guest: Until early in my second-grade year at St. John the Baptist Catholic grammar school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, no-one knew my eyes were changing. It was the eye screening they provided that singled me out as having a problem. My wonderful parents, Joseph and Dorothy Coughlin, transplants to Fort Wayne from New York City, started trying to find out what was wrong. Eventually they learned it was Macular Degermation, something rarely found in young people. My earliest years were spent on a farm outside of Fort Wayne as my parents had moved from New York to Fort Wayne due to a transfer by the General Electric Company, where my father was an engineer. The transfer included a move to a rural rental farmhouse on a 40-acre farm and the birth of myself in 1947 and my brother two years later. My mother, with a master's degree in education from Columbia University, was raising my brother and I and teaching English at the local rural high school. During those four years my father took up hunting and growing a large garden, a big step for a kid from New York, and I learned about rural life with the ability to play on farm equipment and see many types of farm animals. Early on I wanted to be a farmer. Once I reached school age, we moved into Fort Wayne for the schools. Fort Wayne is a middle sized Mid-west city of about 250,000 people. It was like so many Mid-western cities of that day. We lived outside the center of the city and my schools, both grammar and high school, were made up of middle-class children. As my sight degraded, I was taken to several ophthalmologists and to the University of Indiana Medical Center, but learned little helpful information other than the details of my situation. My teachers accommodated me by letting me sit in front of class and because my outload reading skills where poor did not call on me to read aloud. Interestingly, I seemed to be able to hold things close to my eyes and comprehend the text I saw silently. Because I passed all written tests and my classes with satisfactory grades, they gave me. OK grades and passed me. My shining moments during my grade school years came in my achievement as a Boy Scout. I attained the rank of Eagle Scout with a Bronze Palm and was selected for all three steps in the Order of the Arrow. I also was the senior patrol leader for our troop. My years at Bishop Luers High School, a co-institutional Catholic school, were another matter. I succeeded from the start, earning high honors grades and selection as president of both the Junior and Senior National Honor Societies. I was a member of the yearbook staff and was given a leading part in the senior play. Although I am sure a number of the girls in my class had the higher grades, due to the non-mixing of most classes, class rankings were separated. So, I was 3rd in my class. of about 150 boys. I was also awarded the Indiana State Catholic Youth Leadership Award by the Knights of Columbus. I still had not been given information on my actual visual status nor information about assistive aides for the blind. Everything I did was by holding written materials close to my face, listening very attentively and not driving. I took the SAT and other tests such as an engineering aptitude test, I wanted to be like my father, an electrical engineer. I scored adequately on the SAT and highly on the aptitude test. I applied to four mid-western colleges and was accepted in all and chose to attend the University of Notre Dame in south Bend, Indiana, which I thought would be fairly near home. The summer after high school, I was an exchange student to France, where I lived with a French family for seven weeks and my counterpart lived with our family for seven. It was a great experience, but while in France, I learned my father had taken a job in Philadelphia. On my return, together with my family and my French counterpart, Francise, we moved to Strafford, PA, outside of Philadelphia. The move took me to a new part of the country and my summers in Philly were full of excitement with the exploration of a big city and learning about the Jersey Shore. During those summers, I worked for General Electric as an engineering aide. College went very well too. Nort Dame was a good experience. It was competitive but their Electrical Engineering Department was staffed with excellent professors who helped me through every step, but not as a person with a visual disability because I rarely mentioned it to anyone. Honestly, I am not sure why, but I tried to be as normal seeming as possible. I learned to take notes from verbal descriptions of what was being written on the blackboard and if a professor did not verbalize the writing, I asked him to do so, and he did. If I missed something, I left a blank in my notebook and obtained the missing information from a friend. I completed all my course work and had a 3.5 grade average at graduation and was selected to the Eta-Kappa-Nu honorary Electrical Engineering Fraternity. ND won the football national championship my sophomore year and that was a real highlight. During my senior year, it became obvious that due to a crash in the space program, jobs would be hard to find. I decided to go to graduate school and took the GRE and GMAT, again with no assistive help. One path I investigated was to get an MBA, and I had also heard from a friend, about Ocean Engineering. My advisor suggested I stay in engineer, because he felt my talents were best suited for it. Although I applied to several MBA programs, I also applied to the University of Miami in Ocean Engineering (OE). In addition to the advice I received to stay in engineering, it is possible the choice of Miami was because my brother was a sophomore there. I was accepted and given money at Miami, and the next year started my graduate studies in OE. Two years flew by during which I was married to my first wife Judi and I left Miami with an MS in OE. One course of suey in OE is underwater sound. It is focused on SONAR and is quite mathematical, just what an electrical engineer likes. During the summer of those two years, I was married to my first wife, Judi. The job market was still tight, but I interviewed and was hired into the Sound and Vibration group at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics (GDEB) due to my studies in underwater sound. Once in Connecticut, I found a very good ophthalmologist, Dr. Kaplan, and for the very first time, was told I was legally blind and what that meant. We had some long discussions after which he voiced some displeasure on how little information I had been given on my situation. He said he had to register me with the state and set me up with a low vision specialist. Those steps led me to getting a Closed-Circuit TV (CCTV) magnifier and access to the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH) and their Talking Book program. Both the CCTV and Talking Books opened my world to general reading and technical literature which I generally avoided due to the increasing strain of both the MD and the onset of myopia or age reeled eye changes. During seven years at GDEB I moved from engineer to supervisor and had the opportunity to earn a second master's degree in systems management (MSSM) from the University of Southern California's continuing education program offered at many military installations. For me it was at the submarine base in Groton CT. My wife and I bought a house and had our daughter, Laura. In 1978, my boss at EB opened an opportunity for me by interacting with associates at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. (bbn), at the time, the foremost acoustics firm in the world. He opened a local, New London, CT, office of the firm and hired three of us to staff it. We continued working for the Navy, but as consultants. I stayed with bbn for twenty years and participated in many projects around the world. For the last ten years I was manager of a group of about 40 engineers and scientists, many ay of whom had Ph.D. or master's degrees. bbn provided me with several CCTVs and a Xerox/Kurz well scanner-reader. bbn was an early adopter of Ap-le Macintosh computers. One of my associates immediately found that all Mac's had magnification and text to speech features. This opened the computing world to me. (I had been able to deal with punch cards, but the computer screen with small letter left me out.) During these years, I was able to travel to Hawaii, Japan, and many cities in the US. My LBPH recorded books were constant companions. During this time, my daughter Laura was married and gave us a grandchild, Chloe. Throughout my working life, I have had the opportunity to give something back to several communities. I was on the advisory board for the Connecticut Stat Library for the Blind, on the Board of directors for CHRIS Radio, and on the Board of Directors for the Waterford Education Foundation I was president of a a Macular Support Group in Waterford, CT and am now on the Board of Directors for the Southeastern Connecticut Center of the Blind, where I conduct a support group for those with Macular on how to use digital technology. Shifts in the Department of Defense (DOD) business world produced some big layoffs at bbn. Thus, in 2000, I was searching for a job and with the help of a friend, connected with a group at the Boeing Company that worked in the undersea world, as opposed to most of the company which did airborne things. They were looking for someone who lived on the east coast who had a background like their work. The group was in Anaheim, CA, and then in Huntington Beach, CA. I fit the profile and after an interview was offered a. job as an off-site Technical Representative. Since I had no other solid offers, I accepted feeling the job would last at least a few years. The relationship lasted over 20 and provided a very rewarding end to my career. Boeing, like bbn was totally accommodating to my assistive needs. Although they computer usage was based on Windows PC's s, they provided me with special software which was now available on those platforms and with CCTV equipment as I needed. Someone was always available to assist in getting special software up and running. By the time I started with Boeing, LBPH cassette readers were small and made traveling with them quite easy. I also had a laptop with screen magnifier'/reader software and internet connectivity anywhere I needed ii. While at Boeing, family matters took some good and bad turns. My daughter and her husband had my second grandchild, Evan. The bad part is my long-time wife and partner, Judi, died of cancer. After the grieving time, where things seemed s unsteady. it all turned around, when I met and married my current wife, Karen. I am again on firm footing and life has not been better. As I grew nearer retirement and brought up the subject with my supervisor, she had other ideas. She wanted me to keep working, however, I was able to reduce my work week to four and then three days. Finally, when I found a good replacement, she agreed to let me go. I had to stay in a two day a week consulting role for a year or so. I worked for Triad Systems Inc., a firm that provided part time support to aerospace firms on the west coast. On the home front , life proceeded without mishap. I am now fully retired and working as a volunteer for the southeastern Connecticut Center of the Blind. God things have again arrived as Karen's daughter, Kate, and her husband brought us another grandchild, Esme. Although most of the events above were very good, I am now happy in retirement and ready to do what I can to support others and to enjoy my family. Ways to connect with Mike: mjcoughl@aol.com About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes **Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. **Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello, once again. I'm Mike Hingson. Your host Welcome to unstoppable mindset. And today we get to interview Michael Coughlin. Who's Michael Coghlan? Well, that's what we're going to find out in the course of the day. But I'm going to start a little bit different Lee than I have in the past. Let me tell you how I met Michael. He wrote me an email a few months ago, and talked about the fact that he read my book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man's guide dog in the triumphant trust. And we had discussions about that Michael happens to be a person who was blind. And he talked about his engineering background and other such things. And me being a person with a physics background and also in sales, but also doing a lot of engineering and tech stuff. It just seemed like the thing to do was to have Michael come on to the podcast. So we can find out all the scandalous and non scandalous things that we want to know about him. And just give us a chance to dialogue. And I thought it'd be kind of fun if all of you get to hear it. And that's how we, we discovered each other, we finally were able to get a time where we could get together and chat. So here we are. And Michael, welcome to unstoppable mindset. **Michael Coughlin ** 02:34 Thank you. I'm glad to be here. **Michael Hingson ** 02:37 Well, we'll really appreciate you being here. Why don't we start by you may be talking about the the younger early, Michael and tell us a little bit about you. And we'll go from there. Sure. **Michael Coughlin ** 02:48 And as you said, I had emailed you because of reading the book, which was powerful. There were in addition to my low vision blindness, were a few other parallels that caught my eye and maybe we'll cover those as we go through this feel free start. I was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, another midwesterner and I was born on a farm, as was my brother. My mother and father were New Yorkers at birth, and in their early years, they moved to Indiana, because my father was an engineer working for General Electric, and he was transferred to Fort Wayne. When they arrived in Fort Wayne, they decided to look at the Midwest, there's different sets of eyes and they rented a farmhouse on a 40 acre farm. And my father even became a hunter and raised a large garden and it was something pretty adventurous for a New York kid. But they were loving it. And I grew up for the first five years of my life on that farm, exposed a farm animals farm equipment. And I think at that time, I had been wanting to be a farmer. But quickly, they moved me into the city because of the school system. My mother had been a was a school teacher by trade and that taught in a rural schools and they felt the city schools would just be stronger. So at five years old, we moved in to Fort Wayne, and I started school at St. John the Baptist Catholic school and began my early years. In second grade. When they were doing I skipped screening for students. They immediately picked up on the fact that I couldn't see very well. And it was a bit of a shock to everybody I was getting by okay, but my parents were told that I had high problems and they immediately contacted a friend who was not the mala just to look at me, sent me to quote the best ophthalmologist in the city and I started going to him, he examined me and examined me and sent me to the University of Indiana Medical Center. And they all pretty quickly decided that I had macular degeneration. As a juvenile, um, it's very unusual in those days to come up with juvenile macular degeneration. **Michael Hingson ** 05:21 So What year was this? This would **Michael Coughlin ** 05:24 have been about 1953 or 54. Yeah. So, I mean, I was in second grade. And I was obviously starting to have visual difficulties. One of the things I didn't do very well was read aloud, because I was having trouble seeing the print even though I held it close I, I just never could read things out loud. But the school accommodated that well enough. They sat me in front of the class, when the work was going around, and each kid was asked to read a paragraph, they just skipped me. However, I was able to hold things close, read silently, figure out what was on the page, do my homework, pass my tests, and get reasonably good grades, I was probably an average to a little better than average student. So as I progressed, through grammar school, I was just given a little leeway on reading out loud, and everything else seemed to work fine. So they said average student, but if I had something to brag about in those years, it was my Boy Scout work. We had a wonderful Troop at my school. And in the years that I was a boy scout, I earned the rank of Eagle Scout with a bronze POM. I was awarded all three steps in the Order of the Arrow. And by eighth grade, was the senior patrol leader for our troop. Though I had managed through scouting, to excel in something, and then I moved on to high school. At this point, of course, I'd gone through all through grammar school, I'd been seeing ophthalmologists, I knew I had macular degeneration. But I had not been given one piece of information regarding assistive technology, such as talking books, large print, learning Braille, or anything else. I can only attribute that to the fact that I kind of saw things. I didn't run into anything, because I did have a low vision, but I could see. And so they just treated me like everybody else. And just acted like everybody else as best I could. When I got in high school. And I went yeah, go ahead. No, go ahead. Alright, went to Bishop lures High School, called institutional Catholic High School where the boys were sort of separated from the girls in most classes, because that's what was done in those days. I really got it, my grades markedly improved. I made high honors or honors at every grade point, every grade session all the way through high school. I was elected president of the Junior National Honor Society and the senior national honor society. I was in senior play with the lead one of the lead roles. I was on a yearbook staff. I just participated in everything I could, and the only thing I could not do was drive. And I had a lot of friends. And back then, at 16, not only could you drive, you could drive with a friend. So I was always able to get rides, and I just went right through high school. Still not using anything in the way of assistive technology, assistive technology. But I prospered. And at the end of my senior year, I was awarded the Catholic, the Catholic Leadership Award for the state of Indiana by the Knights of Columbus. And I decided that it was time to think about college. So there I was, and I was starting to fill that application. And so I took the graduate or the SATs test, it took another test in engineering aptitude. I scored reasonably well on the LSAT, again, with no help, no large print, no extra time holding it close. But I got through it did pretty well on that engineering aptitude test applied to four colleges in the Midwest and were accepted to all of them. I think a lot because my high school teachers liked me and gave me good recommendations. Anyway I have the four selected the University of Notre Dame, which was a good school, good Catholic school, had electrical engineering, which was where I had applied to get in and was ready to head off to college. My senior year at the end of my senior year, in high school, my parents, I was an exchange student in France, where I went there for seven weeks and lived to the French family. The correspondent, French student, Francis came back in the US for seven weeks. And right in the middle of that, my father took a job in Philadelphia, and we moved to Philadelphia. So I was transplanted into the east coast into a big city, and had a whole nother set of experiences that were great. I enjoyed it, I explored that city for the four years I was in college, even though I went back to Notre Dame, went to the Jersey Shore and saw what that was about. And went off to college, where they put me on an airplane in Philadelphia, I flew out and began my career at Notre Dame in electrical engineering, again, doing everything everybody else did, I didn't go out of my way to tell people that I couldn't see very well, I just played the role of a student. And for four years, managed to get by with pretty good grades, I had a 3.5 GPA at the end of my four years. And I had a degree in electrical engineering, and was ready to move on again to the next stage in life when the space program collapsed, and engineering jobs virtually disappeared. And so I said, Well, maybe grad school would be something one might think about for a little while longer. And I started looking into MBA programs, which I don't know we're getting popular. But my one of my engineering advisors suggests that I might want to stay in engineering because he thought I was a good engineer. I had done well in all my classes, all my labs, working with computers. So I thought about it. And somebody mentioned that there was a kind of a new field opening up called Ocean Engineering. And at the University of Miami had a program. While at the time my brother is a sophomore at Miami. And it seemed like wow, wouldn't it be kind of interesting to put out there and maybe room with my brother and, and whatever. And so I applied in ocean engineering, as well as a few MBA programs. I was accepted to Miami, they gave me money to go to school, paid my tuition gave me a stipend. And so I went, I went off to the University of Miami for a to attain that graduate degree, which I did in two years. In the middle of those two years, married my first wife, Judy, we moved she moved down to Florida. And there we were, for a couple years earning a graduate degree in ocean engineering. One of the curricula within ocean engineering is underwater acoustics. And that was very interesting to me because it was pretty mathematical. And guy double E's love math. And so I spent my courses in acoustics. And when some job interviews on campus came around, one of the companies looking for people with odd degrees were was electric boat Division of General Dynamics, because noise and submarines go together, or at least the lack of noise. They want you to be quiet. Yeah. So they gave me a job offer. And I took it, and we moved to Connecticut. And the came up here and one of the things I did during that first year, besides getting started with my job was to find an ophthalmologist because since I didn't see very well and I didn't want it to get too much worse. It was probably a good idea. And I found a fella Dr. Kaplan in Mystic and got an appointment and walked in and for the first time in my life had been I was told I was legally blind. I had no idea what that meant. And I was surprised because up until that point, I was getting by. I was enjoying what I was doing. I wasn't failing in anything, and like seem good. But anyway, he gave me a good overview on it. He said yeah, he was pretty disappointed. At the fact that I had been involved in everything to that point and never been told I was legally blind, nor had been told that there was any assistive technologies available to make it easier for me. So wait, you're mistaken. That would have been 1971. **Michael Coughlin ** 15:19 Okay. He did a few things, he registered me with the state of Connecticut. They actually have people in the state that come out and try to help you with things. He, they then sign me up for the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. They stay State Library. And, lo and behold, they provided me with a talking book reader and talking books. For the first time ever, I was able to listen to books. All the ones I wanted, anything I wanted, was there available to me. And it was eye opening at that point. i From that time on, even though the device they had for as a player was pretty bulky. I carried that around everywhere. I went and was always listening to books, in addition, **Michael Hingson ** 16:11 is that records or cassettes? That **Michael Coughlin ** 16:15 at that point, they were both that's and I got records. Okay. They gave me a record player. Mostly those were the periodicals on what were then throwaway discs and, and the cassette, but I had to carry a second briefcase anywhere I went to bring that recorder because it was pretty big beast. Yes, **Michael Hingson ** 16:36 I remember those ranking was a General Electric manufacturing machine might **Michael Coughlin ** 16:42 have been but it was a great believe me went from nothing to that it **Michael Hingson ** 16:46 was large, but still Yeah. **Michael Coughlin ** 16:50 In addition, through Kaplan, I met another low vision specialist. And what he showed me was a closed circuit TV magnifier. And at that time, that beast was bigger than the tape recorder, believe me, oh, yes, full size, black and white television with a separate camera. But all of a sudden, I could see things I couldn't see because there were magnified. And so instantly, on arrival in Connecticut or close to it. I had two pieces of technology that just opened up the world. And it allowed me through that CCTV to get a second master's degree in systems management from University of Southern California. They ran that program on military bases. And they gave it I went to the submarine base in Groton and took that for two years and earned a master's second master's, I had access to closed circuit television for that I had my library books on or talking books on tape, and I was pretty happy in my career at General Dynamics was going well. I went, I went from an engineer, through senior to specialist and was an engineering supervisor in about seven years. And anyway, so we were good, but my boss at the time was struggling a bit with his advancement in life. And we had been doing a lot of work underwater acoustics on submarines with with a consulting firm that worked for the Navy called Bolt Beranek and Newman while the BBN was a diverse company, because not only were they the leading acoustics company in the world, but they also had some people that were working on something through DARPA called the ARPANET. So here we go, he gets an offer to start a local, then in New London, which is across the river from Groton, a local office of BBN recruits myself and a couple of other engineers and I am now a consultant working for the Navy Department. At that point in time, BBN was extremely interested in helping me out. So they provided me with a closed circuit was actually a portable closed circuit TV magnifier as well as the desktop version. And a few years later, I Xerox kurz wild text to speech reader. So now I had a little more technology that I could use to get printed books into text format, or speech format. And soon thereafter, one of my good friends who I still play golf with Doug Hannah, came across the fact that a Macintosh computer could magnify the screen and had text to speech. And that was from the all Most of the beginning of the Mac, those features were built into their operating system. Did **Michael Hingson ** 20:06 you ever get to spend much time up at BBN in Cambridge? **Michael Coughlin ** 20:10 Oh, yes. Lots of time at BBN in Cambridge. **Michael Hingson ** 20:14 Did you ever get to meet a guy up there named Dick Durbin sign? **Michael Coughlin ** 20:19 No, but I'll bet he was in a speech synthesis group. **Michael Hingson ** 20:24 I don't know that. He was there. He, he and I went to UC Irvine together. And I actually saw him. I actually saw him at BBN later, and we worked on some projects together, but I suppose there's a large place. So it **Michael Coughlin ** 20:41 was it was large and, and for the most part, my work was done with the acoustic side of things. Although as the internet grew, the computer side of BBN, when I started was about 5050 grew huge and dominated the company and, and all. I mean, they were very early adopters in, in speech recognition, right? They had a voice recognition or a voice sort of dialer feature in their phones from years before they were they were very much into that sort of thing. I **Michael Hingson ** 21:20 remember once when I visited BBN, he Dick told me about a transducer they had that actually would simulate the sound of a jet engine. I believe that yes, he said it was like the size of an ashtray that like the typical floor ashtray in a hotel but he said you didn't want to be anywhere near it when they fired it up because it really was just like a jet engine and it had all the the audio capabilities and all the features. So it really sounded like a jet engine. So you didn't want to be anywhere near Munich fire to an **Michael Coughlin ** 21:57 an aircraft acoustics was a huge part of the work that was done there. And air airport acoustics and they were just in a lot of acoustics but our little group was in submarine acoustics and, and kept us busy. Working at BBN was great in that they were a Mac House, everybody used maps. They put a Macintosh on my desk. It had the ability to magnify what I wanted to see and do text to speech. Even though it's a bit cumbersome, in that you had to copy things paste and whatever. But But I got good at that. I was able to use that computer to do word I could do Excel spreadsheets. I could do graph view graphs. I could do program planning, you name it. All of a sudden the world of the PC was opened to me, thanks to the Mac. And my career at BBN span 20 years. It was it was a great place. They were very early adopters in a lot of technology exposed to a lot of it early emails. They were one of the first companies to to use email. In fact, the fella that put the at sign in email name worked at BBN Ray Tomlinson, so that that was the place but after 20 years, because they were a true consulting firm and fairly expensive rates. And the government was competing on a cost basis. And so eventually I was in a situation where I was looking for a job. And friend of mine at BBN suggested a fella he knew at Boeing might want to buy mica job. And that led to a situation where they their group who was doing work and underwater vehicles, were located on the west coast, wanted somebody on the East Coast who did similar work. And so I was hired as a tech rep, where I would represent the group on the west coast, but I would interact with their Prime customers on the East Coast, one of whom was General Dynamics electric boat, and so my location in Groton was, was great. So what I thought would be about a four three or four year experiment with Boeing ended up as a 20 plus year career with Boeing. And I, they too, were a great employer. They provided me with up to date, closed circuit TVs, they made sure that I my laptop had the best software it turned out by that time. In the PC world. There were software there were things like Jaws and zoom texts. And so I they had Zoom Text on my machine. I was stopped into the internet anywhere I went. And I had closed circuit TVs, both at their facility in California and at my house. And by that time, you could put the library of the blind cassettes into Walkman size machines. So it was easy to carry that along on my travels. And for what was what 20 plus years I had a great career with them as as a tech rep. I was no longer now you had mentioned sales. My father and brother are sales people he was a sales engineer, my brother was a salesman and so is light all his career. My case not so much being in Myers Brigg ISTJ, which stands for introvert a bit. Sales was always a pressure job to me. And as a manager, by that time at BBN have have managed managed the Department of 40 engineers and scientists, the whole job was get more work sales. That was a pressure position for me, when I switched to BBN and I was nothing but a an engineer in the field with no sales pressure and work at all times. I loved it just lower pay less pressure, but I prospered. i I'm sure I was a huge help to them. Because every year my contract or the thought of me coming on for another year came up. Different supervisors wanted me and I just stayed in I was there for over 20 years. And it was it was kind of career where I was traveling a lot. And I enjoyed traveling. And I could get by in airports with little monoculars and asking questions and remembering the Airport layout. So I didn't get lost. And I just got by. Great. And as that careers continued through 20 plus years, and I was getting older, the subject of retirement began to crop in. I talked to my supervisor, you know, I'm at an age where retirement is something I might want to think about. Nope, nope. Well, I went from five day weeks to 40 weeks to three day weeks always saying I want to get out now. And finally they said, Well, if you can find a replacement, then we'll talk about it. So I was fortunate and able to find somebody I thought was good at it as today. And so then they put me on as a consultant for another year and a half on Tuesday weeks. And finally I was able to retire. What year was that? He retired? Yes. And that's where I am today. **Michael Hingson ** 27:42 But what year did you retire? **Michael Coughlin ** 27:45 Okay. During my time at Boeing, which I thought the career itself was fantastic. There were some times good and bad. I, my, my daughter and her husband gave us two grandchildren, Chloe and Evan. However, after many, many years, my first wife Judy succumbed to cancer. And that was tough. And when you are seeing some of that now, I'm sure, but in any case, after that, there's some low points and whatever I met Karen, my current wife, we, we went out for a few years and eventually we're married and, and everything has just turned back around the way it was. I'm happy. I'm retired. Her daughter has given us a grandchild ESMI who's now two and a half, almost three. And we are enjoying life. **Michael Hingson ** 28:42 So how long have you guys been married? **Michael Coughlin ** 28:45 This will be it was just 10 years we were we were married in 2012. Newlyweds? **Michael Hingson ** 28:50 Almost. Yeah. Well, I'm curious. What. So you, you clearly had a rich life you'd have the life that you enjoyed. But what do you think about the fact that early on? They did not that that no one the ophthalmologists and others didn't give you any access to assistive technology didn't give you more access to understanding about blindness and so on. And I don't ask that to say what a horrible thing but rather just what do you think about it? Now looking back on hindsight is always a wonderful thing. Looking back, **Michael Coughlin ** 29:34 I almost angry. At the time, I thought everything was fine. But when you look back, I believe. Number one, I think a lot of eye doctors are great if they can help you but if they can't help you, they tend to push you off to the side. And I think that was a little of it. And it maybe was just the fact that in the URL The days even though I had macular and I couldn't see printed and everything I saw well enough to get by. And I'm just thinking they figured, well, he's doing okay, whatever they should have done way more. And maybe even my parents should have done more. But But I don't I even looking back feel that in some sense the fact that I had to hold things up here to read was almost embarrassing to them, they they didn't grasp the concept of a young person not saying well, it just didn't grasp it. And unfortunately, since we were in the middle of Indiana, and there really weren't Apparently, people with very much knowledge of the subject. It just happened. And I just hope today, that way more attention is paid to people, the few juveniles that are limited sight, because I'm sure I could have had a fuller experience in life, if I at least had been exposed to talking books at a younger age. **Michael Hingson ** 31:14 Here are a lot of us who believe that it is so unfortunate that more of us also did not get the opportunity to learn braille, because right is outcomes, the basic means of reading and writing. **Michael Coughlin ** 31:30 I understand I agree completely. And so here I am having to sit here with my closed circuit TV, off to the right with about 40 power magnification in order to be able to see my notes, hey, I have a fellow in our, at the center of the blind Kevin, who is a braille reader and, and he's totally blind, but he has the Braille and he can sit at a meeting and read what he needs by reading it in Braille, when I'm at those meetings, I can't read anything. You can't, I cannot see any print, I just always have to rely on what I hear or ask questions. **Michael Hingson ** 32:13 So you're seeing reality, the advantage that we had was being blind people than if we do read braille, and so on, for not the advantages that we can look at meetings from a different perspective, which I love to talk about which, namely, is, if people are doing meetings truly the right way, they would provide everyone the information in advance of the meeting, so that people could read this stuff with the idea, then you can prepare and then you go to the meeting, and you can discuss it rather than spending half the meeting reading the information. Yep, well, they **Michael Coughlin ** 32:50 do that fortunately, times. Case of the center, I gather all of the information they're going to pass out as Word documents earlier, and I do go through them. **Michael Hingson ** 33:02 But what I'm saying is they should really do that for everyone, rather than passing out information at the meeting. People should get it in advance so that nobody has to read it at the meeting, rather use the meeting to be more efficient. So that's a lesson we could teach them which, which a lot of people really haven't caught on to yet understood. It does make life a little bit of a challenge. But I'm glad that that your your work at the Center will tell me a little bit about your work at the center and how you got involved in what the center is all about. **Michael Coughlin ** 33:34 Right? Well, it's my second time involved being involved with the center of the Blind in New London. First, the first interaction came about in in probably the late mid mid to late 90s, when we had a macular degeneration support group in Waterford, that that was started by a fellow's a friend Duncan Smith since passed. And, and I ended up as president of the group. And it was it was a pretty active group for about 10 years. And we brought people in that had macular and tried to provide him with information. And as part of that the center of the blind was one of the participants and their lead person helped us get speakers and so there's sort of a three to four person group as the lead and and that center lead person was one of those. I can tell you what her name was, but I forgotten it is too many years ago. So when I retired and I'm trying to think of giving back and doing things that what what can I do also I should have mentioned that not only they work with a senator I also at one point in time was a reader On the advisory group for the State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, where I'd attend meetings and from a reader point of view, try to help them with their services. And I was on the board of directors for Chris radio, which is a radio service that reads newspapers and periodicals to people. So I've done a few of those kinds of things as well. But now I'm retired, I say, I want to be able to give back to some degree and, and so I thought of the Senator and gave them a call. They looked up their webpage, and there's a phone number I gave a call, talk to the Executive Director, Wendy Lusk. And she said, we'd love to have you come down and talk so. So I did, Karen and I went down. And we sat and talked to Wendy and, and Tammy, the assistant and said, well, might I be able to do. And after a little discussion, the concept of a support group for macular degeneration came up. And they didn't have such a thing. And they thought that would be a worthwhile project that they should put into their calendar. And that's what we've done. So I, every first Wednesday of the month, get together with others who are interested in. And the primary focus is learning how to use cell phones, because the new cell phones or smartphones and iPhones and also that others are pretty hard for people who are beginning to lose their sight. And they don't have an understanding of some of the assistive aids that are in the phone. So that's what we do. We spend a couple hours just answering questions and presenting information that I pick up over the web on things their smartphone can do for them. And as as that went and started gaining traction, Wendy asked me if I wanted to be on the board. And I said I'd be glad to do that and was elected to the board a couple of months back. So I'm on the board of directors as well as running that support group. **Michael Hingson ** 37:17 Do you think that let's deal with the pathological world? Do you think that attitudes have changed very much in terms of how I doctors handled blindness and blind people today over, say 40 years ago? **Michael Coughlin ** 37:35 Well, a little better. I mean, I have a fella now Dr. Parker I've been seeing for when, when Kaplan sold his practice, Dr. Parker took it over, I go to see him. He, he tries to keep me appraised of any new emerging things in the way of AI specialists, and what they may be doing for people with low vision. But, but they're more on the scientific side, and he really doesn't have any, any of the low vision aids, you have to go to a separate guy for that. And I've gone through those things so many times. That? I don't know, right? I would say better, but not great. Yeah, **Michael Hingson ** 38:29 what, what I have found and having significant conversations with people is that still all too often, if you go to an ophthalmologist, and it's discovered that for whatever reason, you're losing eyesight, and they can't do anything about it. They consider it a failure. And they just walk out sorry, there's nothing we can do and that we haven't seen enough of an awareness raising in the eye care world, where people recognize that just because you can't see it's not the end of the world and you can still be just as productive as you otherwise might have been accepted when you use different techniques. And, and a lot of state rehabilitation agencies are somewhat in the same sort of boat, they don't really ultimately do the things that they could do to better prepare people for having a positive attitude about blindness when they're losing their son. **Michael Coughlin ** 39:31 Yeah, I think that's true, although Connecticut, their agency is called WSB. The Bureau for the education of the blind and and they're pretty good. I just actually had a SB fella come to my house to give me a how do you use a cane training? I've never used a cane. And it's part part of our macular sport group. Discussion. One of the fellas in They're mentioned the, what he called his ID cane. And that was a term I'd never heard him. And what do you mean by that? And he said, Well, he said, because he has macular like me, said, I still see well enough to get around. But I'm tired of explaining to people they don't see very well. And so I got an I A cane, white cane, which you're legally able to use. And he said, the one I have is a little shorter, because I don't really need it as two more people with less vision. And it helps people understand that I don't see very well **Michael Hingson ** 40:37 in the answers. And the answer is even with an ID cane, that works until it doesn't. I know, I know, a guy who lived in I think it was Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and will take the train to Philadelphia every day, when he was losing his eyesight and the New Jersey Commission gave him a cane. But they also continued to emphasize eyesight a lot. And they didn't really convey to him the true importance of learning to use a cane as he's losing his eyesight. So one day, he was walking along the side of the New Jersey Transit train to go into the car to find a seat and involved process to Philadelphia. And key he turned in where the where he saw the openings for the car, and promptly fell between two cars. And then the train started to move and they got stopped and got him out. If he had been using his cane that would never have happened. And he became an avid cane user after that. Right. **Michael Coughlin ** 41:48 Great. And I completely understand that. And and I'm using it more and more. No doubt. **Michael Hingson ** 41:56 Yeah, there's and the problem is that people just all too often think it's a horrible thing and makes you look weird. Well, you know, there are a lot of things that all sorts of people use that make them look different than other people, that doesn't mean that they're less people. **Michael Coughlin ** 42:12 I actually had an experience a while back, which made the use of the cane even more, it highlighted it a little more is a number we were going back and forth to the Caribbean for a few years at on vacation at the Sandals Resort, and we got to the airport in Antigua getting ready to fly home. And since I don't see very well, I always will go up to the attendant at the ticket counter and say, you know, I'm visually disabled, can't see I really need early boarding we could cause legs, feet and other things trip me and I I'd like to get into a seat before the crowd arrives. And the first thing she did is looked at me and said, You're not blind, you know. And, and I was stunned. But but said yes, I am I cannot see. And they let me show. All right. All right. So after that in airports, I started at least wearing dark glasses. That helped a little bit with a cane. It's even at least then you have a claim to your claim, having to pull out the piece of paper from the state that says I'm legally blind. I have one of those, but that's kind of going a little too far. So I do find it a little bit more helpful. **Michael Hingson ** 43:39 Well, of course, what you discovered, the more you use a cane is the better traveler you are. And that helps you get around. Yes. Now as you know, I happen to use a guide dog. In fact, I didn't use either a cane or a guide. Well Mark cane or guide until I was 14 when I got the guideline. I never learned to use a cane until I was 18. But I discovered that I could teach anyone to use a cane in five minutes, but teaching people to have the competence to use a cane takes months because one is just a technique which you can learn easily the other is developing an attitude and developing the true awareness of that you know where you are and what's around you and how to recover from getting lost and and other such things like that along the way. That's a whole different animal entirely. Absolutely. But nevertheless, it's it's doable. So I still mostly use guide dog but there are some times that I'll leave the puppy dog at home or if I'm just stepping out a little bit leave the dog tied down and I'll use a cane but that doesn't happen very often. And certainly when I travel Alamo who is not a current guide dog comes with ready to go so We just returned from a weekend Israel doing work and all that, and he needed fine. And even on the long airplane flight to and from Israel, He did really well. Excellent. You know, it's, it is a matter of learning to use the skills that that we have. That **Michael Coughlin ** 45:19 is That is true. And in my case technology has been my savior. Sure, closer to TVs, the books on tape, and the fact that computers now have text to speech and magnification. Without it without those. I would not have had an engineering career I don't believe. So **Michael Hingson ** 45:44 what do you use to read books today? **Michael Coughlin ** 45:48 I do. I use my iPad. I have the bard application, which is the current app that's put out by the library. handicapper, I think they changed their name recently, but it's the same thing. And so I download books through them, and use the iPad, to read the books to me, I don't have to use a recorder anymore. It's and I can do the same thing on my iPhone. So. **Michael Hingson ** 46:23 So now of course, you have the ability to navigate through those books a whole lot more than you used to. **Michael Coughlin ** 46:28 Yes, because the again, I'm an apple person, but on my iPad, I can magnify the screen very easily. So downloading books is a little cumbersome, but not bad. And then I can pick whatever book I want to listen to and with Bluetooth headphones, or what I air pods or whatever they call them and listen to those without bothering anybody else. **Michael Hingson ** 46:53 Yeah. And again, the other neat thing is that you can skip around in a book, which is something that you couldn't do before, right now with the advantage of the DAISY format and so on you can which is a format, which is kind of an ePub environment. But you can literally skip around the book by chapter or any number of levels. Yep. **Michael Coughlin ** 47:15 And, and not only do I use that app, but I also have downloaded books on audible. Occasionally, if I can't find where I wanted, or, or iBooks it's now called something else. But and so some of the books he can't get it the library right away, you can you can go on and pay for him. And but mostly, it's through the the Library for the Blind. Certainly, that's where I found the underdog. So **Michael Hingson ** 47:45 what do you think overall has been the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome? **Michael Coughlin ** 47:49 If you go back and look, to me, the biggest obstacle was the invent the advent of the PC, and getting to use a PC. When, when I was moving along in my career, and early on, I did a lot of software engineering. But I was back in the earliest days, it was key punches. And all of that I got by then as they started using terminals, but simple terminals, I could have the software printed out, I could use the CCTV to see it, I could make changes to the software and have others enter it. It was everything was slow back then. But when the PC came along, it became an individual tool that everybody used, you had to be able to use it and and as I said it was Doug, Hannah and my good golfing buddy now who, who figured out how to use that with text to speech and magnification. And that just opened up the whole world of the personal computer, which which is today I mean MATLAB and other pieces of software you have to use. It made it available to me, had I not been able to make that jump into the PC world, I think I would have really been hampered on my ability to continue as an engineer or an engineering manager. **Michael Hingson ** 49:20 So you're not too bothered by the fact that there was a time that Bill Gates said that 640 K is all you'd ever need. And we have Emory. **Michael Coughlin ** 49:29 Well, you know, I remember using before Yeah. And I remember when the very first Mac's came out, they only had two floppy drives and no hard drives. So I had **Michael Hingson ** 49:45 a my first computer that I really use it all was Xerox sigma seven. We also had an OS born from my wife even before that, but it had the Xerox had two eight inch floppies no hard drive 64k and What was it? Yeah, you know, but amazing. I **Michael Coughlin ** 50:03 mean, the technology has just moved so fast. And, and the fast moving technology is great. And it's frustrating. Because a lot of the people that develop it's because now they can write software that does everything. The concept and of course you work for a company that that's very attuned to that fact, is that much of the stuff they throw out there now is very hard to use. If you're visually disabled, **Michael Hingson ** 50:34 you'd have visual issues there. The awareness has not grown like it needs to to make sure that all that stuff is inclusive. Absolutely. **Michael Coughlin ** 50:42 And it as fast as the technology is moving it. The accessibility features of software, to me are falling further and further behind. Even though there's more and more people that seemed to work in the field of accessibility. I think they're still not moving fast enough. And it is frustrating I had, I mentioned that one of the other obstacles that are countered, over the years when I was working at Boeing. Computer Training was becoming easy. And everybody had to take seven or eight computers, courses through the year and be qualified in things like obstacle don't leave obstacles and jet engines in called FOD and foreign object detection and on and on. And, and those courses were originally written by the various divisions and by people who got told make a course. And so they might dig up a course making pieces of software, whatever. And when they would finish it and put it out to everybody. Many of them wouldn't work with screen readers. And not only Weren't they work with screen readers, and they didn't redo the text, they'd have little tests you had to pass. And those certainly didn't work for the screen reader. And they were very, very frustrating. And I ran across to fellow at Boeing corporate, who became a friend and his father who had macular and he was really sensitive to that fact. And between the two of us we, we fought tooth and nail to get a standard a corporate standard on for courses put in place that included the fact that you had to be able to access the course with a screen reader took about five years for for that standard to finally be propagated throughout Boeing. And even when they did, I ran across the fire protection course where it wasn't in place. And I couldn't do that test and this. So you have to fight for that stuff. There's no doubt about it. **Michael Hingson ** 52:55 There are times that you do things to draw the line and say, look, you've got to make this inclusive. **Michael Coughlin ** 53:01 Great. Absolutely. It's getting better. I mean, I mean, at least if you stand up and squawk about it, there are people who will listen more than they used to. **Michael Hingson ** 53:13 Yeah, well and I think we're slowly raising awareness and it's a it's a challenge. consumer organizations are helping and we're we're we're now getting people to recognize it more much less that it really is part of the law the Americans with Disabilities Act really is more comprehensive than people want it sometimes to get credit for. And sometimes we have sites where it is still happening. **Michael Coughlin ** 53:40 Oh yeah. And and sometimes it just happens when you don't think about it we had when I was at the Boeing facility in California and they had been California it's always beautiful as you know. And and so stairways for buildings are often outside and inside stairways and we had a nice building and an out big, big wide outside stairway and they came in and put in new a new surface on the top step of the third floor landing so you wouldn't slip and a just as they did it, they covered up that yellow stripe that marked the top step and that next day I almost stepped right off into an clobbered down a flight of stairs, got my supervisor and said hey, help me an appointment and we she took me right over to the safety people within this was in Huntington Beach and today a day later they had a yellow stripe on the top **Michael Hingson ** 54:40 of that step car alternative that is which you didn't really have access to at the time was 30 Days came back. Which is another story of course I agree. But at **Michael Coughlin ** 54:51 that time, I was not. Right. Right. Look for yellow stripes, because I could see that much But anyhow. **Michael Hingson ** 55:02 So what what do you do for extra curricular activities in such out of work like sports and so on? Yeah, **Michael Coughlin ** 55:09 I, I love sports. When I was younger, I could play other few others like I never could be a baseball player with a little ball moving real fast, or a tennis player. But But I did like to play football because I was big enough to be a blocker and part of that team. And I played basketball, because basketball is pretty big. I played that least through college but but I was very fortunate in that my father, as an engineer had a medium kind of income and belonged to we belong to a country club in Fort Wayne. And the golf pro, there was a big advocate of teaching young kids how to play golf. So I started learning golf when I was about eight years old, and have always played golf. It got harder when I couldn't see the golf ball very well. I became eventually became a member of the US blind Golfers Association. I still am a member, they have a well, it was at the time a DVD. Now I think it's an online thing. It's a course for coaches of blind golfers. And they adopted the term coach, but I don't know helper to whatever the sighted person is about the blind golfer. And I show my friends that and, and pretty quickly, they figured out well, let's see, we've got to help him line the ball up in the middle of his clubface and point out where the hole is. And, and then there's these new range finders, the one I have talked. And so I push a button, it says your 180 yards. And so between a friend Nirn learning how to be a coach, and that I'm still an avid golfer, I play that a couple times a week. And if I have a good round, and I play from the senior tees, because I'm definitely senior, I still can once in a while break at which is a very, I think a very good score. And then I love to swim. And we had a swim team at that club and I from about age eight to 15 or something I was into competitive swimming. And now we have a pool and I swim every day in the summer. So **Michael Hingson ** 57:23 So is is Karen a golfer? **Michael Coughlin ** 57:27 No. It was the last week. We thought about that once but it didn't go over too. **Michael Hingson ** 57:33 Well. You try Yeah. Now you have, **Michael Coughlin ** 57:36 of course also love sports on television where I have a big TV and sit close my my passion of course is Notre Dame football. And for the people that see a video, the back screen of my my video is a picture I took of the Notre Dame Stadium football field when I was back at my 50th college reunion. **Michael Hingson ** 58:01 So Oh, go ahead. **Michael Coughlin ** 58:04 Well, I was gonna say they improve the stadium immensely since I was there. And there's a big area up at the top where you they have banquets and and you entertain and and so our class that was where we had our 50th anniversary dinner. And so he couldn't be looking over the stadium and I took a picture and put it in my Zoom background. So so they **Michael Hingson ** 58:28 still talk to you. They still talk to you even though you've got some advanced degree work from USC, and Miami and Miami, USC even more than Miami. But yeah, **Michael Coughlin ** 58:40 well there was a time Miami and Notre Dame went like that. Now it's not but USC Of course. And I tell people that but I I have never had bad vibes over the fact I have advanced degrees from **Michael Hingson ** 58:55 C See, I love to tell the story that when my wife and I got married, the church didn't fill up until 12 minutes after the wedding was supposed to start, I suppose started for and and for 12 crowds came in and Only later did we learned that everyone was still sitting out in your pliers waiting for the end of the USC Notre Dame game. Of course. Again, I want to point out that my wife, of course, is an SE grad she did her master's work there. And of course I have to point out that we won, which proves that God was really on our side that day. Just say sometimes, **Michael Coughlin ** 59:30 you know the story of one of the Notre Dame Miami games where they had the great dinner or breakfast before the game and and when they the University of Miami Chaplain got up and said that well, you all know that God is not doesn't take sides in football. And so we'll both pray and see who the better team wins and Lou Holtz, then the coach Scott up and said, Yeah, you're completely right. God is not involved. But his mother is. **Michael Hingson ** 1:00:08 Good answer. Yeah, only Luke could do that. That's the neat thing about good college football rivalries. Absolutely. Always find that. That's **Michael Coughlin ** 1:00:19 kind of my sports, fat, passion for, for television, and then golf and swimming or my dad, **Michael Hingson ** 1:00:26 I grew up listening to the Dodgers. And of course, we're spoiled. We have been Skelly who I still know them. Yes, yes. The best announcer that ever is when was and probably will be in. So I learned baseball from him. There's a lot of fun listening to him. And **Michael Coughlin ** 1:00:43 posters where Claire and I are now. I've been converted. She's from Boston. So we're Red Sox fans. So this weekend, they're playing each other. Well, **Michael Hingson ** 1:00:53 and then in days gone by in basketball. We had Chick Hearn, and of course, Boston had Johnny most. **Michael Coughlin ** 1:00:59 Oh, yes. Oh, yes. **Michael Hingson ** 1:01:03 Johnny is, Johnny was certainly a character. Well, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this today. It was was fun to do. I'm glad that we got a chance to really chat and do

It's always fun, informative, and educational to have such experienced people like Richard on the podcast. He also brings his incredible energy and positive attitude with him, not only to the podcast, but wherever he goes. With an incredible 60 years in the business, he's got a lot of knowledge to pass on. This podcast is one of our favorites this year. Richard has devoted his entire career to the lighting industry that has spanned some 60 years. Starting in the UK with the General Electric Company, in London, then on assignment for this company in Toronto and then Chicago. Declining to return to the UK, Richard elected to stay in America and went on to work for such companies as Halo Lighting, Devine Lighting, Steiner Electric and others. Richard claims to have no retirement skills and so continues to work full time, working for Louvers International as their Director of Business Development. Richard has many accomplishments but is most proud of his 55 years of continuous service with the IES. 

Environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, has been in the news a lot lately—particularly the “E” when it comes to new and evolving regulations. There's been a greater push in the United States for transparency and disclosure of data regarding businesses' environmental impact, driven largely by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau. In fact, California is expected to soon be the first US state to require company reporting related to environmental impact. So, what does this all mean for companies that are working to become more sustainable? How do you even begin to report on emissions and environmental impact? In this episode of LRN's Principled Podcast host Eric Morehead explores how transparency plays a crucial role in corporate sustainability with Andrea Peters, the senior counsel of Interface.  For a full transcript of this podcast, visit the episode page at LRN.com.  Guest: Andrea Peters Andrea Peters is senior counsel for Interface, Inc., a global commercial flooring company (NASDAQ: TILE).  In her role, she provides legal support for the company's global operations, including Research & Development, Sales, Marketing, Procurement, Tax and Human Resources, and she also manages Interface's global compliance program. Andrea has over 26 years of legal experience, over two-thirds of which comes from working in-house at companies such as Interface, CAN Capital, The Weather Channel, the General Electric Company and GAMBRO Healthcare.    Andrea earned her J.D. from the Vanderbilt University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from the Pennsylvania State University, where she was the student marshall (valedictorian) for the College of Communications.  Andrea resides in Atlanta with her 10-year-old daughter.  She has gone sky diving twice, bungee jumping once, and ziplining once. She enjoys cooking, wine and travel. When she retires, Andrea plans to go back to college to audit all of the hard but interesting classes without worrying about writing papers or taking exams.  Host: Eric Morehead Eric Morehead is a member of LRN's Advisory Services team and has over 20 years of experience working with organizations seeking to address compliance issues and build effective compliance and ethics programs. Eric conducts program assessments and examines specific compliance risks, he drafts compliance policies and codes of conduct, works with organizations to build and improve their compliance processes and tools, and provides live training for Boards of Directors, executives, managers, and employees. Eric ran his own consultancy for six years where he advised clients on compliance program enhancements and assisted in creating effective compliance solutions. Eric was formally the Head of Advisory Services for NYSE Governance Services, a leading compliance training organization, where he was responsible for all aspects of NYSE Governance Services' compliance consulting arm. Prior to joining NYSE, Eric was an Assistant General Counsel of the United States Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC. Eric served as the chair of the policy team that amended the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines in 2010. Eric also spent nearly a decade as a litigation attorney in Houston, Texas where he focused on white-collar and regulatory cases and represented clients at trial and before various agencies including SEC, OSHA and CFTC.

0:00 -- Intro. *reference to our episodes reviewing Succession Season 1: E98 of this podcast (May 22, 2023) and Season 2: E102 (June 26, 2023).2:00 -- Start of interview. 3:50 -- About Sean Berkowitz and the Enron Case: prosecuting Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling (2006).7:05 -- On whistleblowers and avoiding retaliation. "Whistleblowers are one of the trickiest things you can deal with as counsel representing a corporation."11:05 --  Kendall's whistleblower scenario. Conducting internal investigations.15:02 -- On government relations and political interference with federal investigations. "It essentially doesn't work." "The discretion and judgment of a line prosecutor is always going to rule the day."17:22 -- Cooperating with Federal investigations. 21:12 -- The role of the board of a public company under federal investigation.22:52 -- On "shifting to legals", internal investigations by outside counsel, and creating a special committee of the board to remove conflicts of interest.29:16 -- Explaining joint defense agreements. The Archer-Daniels-Midland case (reference to movie The Informant).33:34 -- On the link between good governance and how shareholders value the company, including activists (Josh Aronson scene) and the proxy battle.43:36 -- On sexual harassment complaints (situation between Roman and Gerri involving explicit pictures). The factor of CEO succession and how the board should conduct their selection.50:30 -- On potential GoJo red flags and need for due diligence, including leadership assessment and kicking the tires on their numbers. What could/should board be doing in this situation?55:33 -- Dealing with moguls and founders like Lukas Matsson. "I think that one of the elements at the heart of corporate governance is personal integrity and character... and Matsson is not a good guy."59:49 -- Family governance within public companies. "Ultimately it all comes down to the documents: who can vote what, who has control, who has the ability in a tie break, etc." The problem with "rubber stamping boards." Question: "would any of us invest in a company run by Kendall or Roman?"01:06:11 -- Kendall's Unreliable Testimony to the DOJ ("Queen for a day" opportunity) and Preparation Failure.Kate O'Leary is the Global Executive Litigation Counsel at General Electric Company.Sean Berkowitz is a Partner at Latham & Watkins and the Global Chair of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice. He represents clients in complex litigation and regulatory investigations.__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

In this episode, we talked with Dr. Deborah Boehm-Davis, University Professor Emeritus of Psychology and former Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University. Dr. Boehm-Davis talks about her experience working in the human factors industry for over 30 years at organizations including NASA, General Electric Company, George Mason University, and Meta (formerly Oculus Research). She speaks about the applications of human factors in areas including aviation, telecommunications, administrative contexts, and everyday life. Dr. Boehm-Davis also discusses some of the fascinating projects she's worked on relating to workplace ergonomics, workload, human-computer interaction and interfaces, training, and interruption and quality of work. She also shares about working with the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society from her perspective as a former President and provides advice for students and young professionals interested in starting their careers in human factors. Episode music: The Happiest Side Of Science by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6905-the-happiest-side-of-science License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

0:00 -- Intro. *Note: you can check out our analysis of Succession's first season in E98 of this podcast (published on May 22nd, 2023).1:43 -- Start of interview.4:03 -- Governance challenges to family-owned companies.5:50 -- On Kendall's car accident and legal implications. Issues of corporate wellness, mental issues and drug-use. *Story on Tyson Foods' CFO.10:55 -- Waystar's response to “bear hug” offer from Maysberry. “I saw their plan, but my father's was better.” On disclosure process and vetting of public statements.17:34-- Impact of explosion of Waystar rocket in Japan (after Roman rushed the launch).18:45-- On Shiv's prospects as CEO of Waystar.20:13 -- On the role of the board in the "bear hug," conflicts of interests, and lack of an independent committee of the board.21:25 -- The Pierce acquisition to block Sandy and Stewy. On the role of third-party advisors (investment banks) and the Jamie Laird character.27:46 -- On sovereign wealth funds looking to control the news through ATN. On the character of Mark Ravenhead.33:10 -- The Vaulter shutdown and question on unions.41:04 -- Revelation of cruise line issues (press report) lead to loss of business opportunities (Pierce, etc.) and loss of key employees (Rhea's departure). The accounting whistleblower. Rhea, worrying that she's agreed to be CEO of a “dumpster fire pirate death ship” says, “Either they did know, which is terrible, or they didn't know, which is an unconscionable lack of control.” (Caremark standard) 47:17 -- The Congressional hearing. How should CEOs and/or management prepare for congressional hearings? "This is not a court house, it's a stage." "Testifying in Congress is much more similar to being on a Sunday morning news show." "The clock is your friend here." "In circumstances like that, sometimes the best answers are yes, no, or I don't recall - as opposed to speechifying about something."54:35 --  The questionable decision of having a general counsel testify in Congress. On waivers of attorney-client privilege.1:00:26 --  The "blood sacrifice" offered by Waystar Royco after the Congressional hearing. Caremark standard and the fallacy of "what you don't know can't hurt you" (willful blindness). The NRPI ("No Real Person Involved") notations in shadow logs.1:09:26 --  Cultural and reputational issues and the way the show connects them to shareholder value. Culture of fear and bullying. Sexual harassment and improper behavior.Kate O'Leary is the Global Executive Litigation Counsel at General Electric Company.__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

0:00 -- Intro.1:38 -- Start of interview.3:23 -- Kate's origin story and her professional background.4:54 -- About the ESG & Law Institute led by David Curran from Paul Weiss (Kate serves as an advisory board member).7:08 -- Premise of HBO's Succession show. "It's a show about power dynamics. But it's also a show about governance, and how power is or not constrained in the corporate world, the political world and within a family." "It is also a show about governance, which should operate as a constraint on abuse of power, if it's working effectively." "The show does a very good job in linking governance with shareholder value."10:30 -- The role of the board in CEO succession.  Two issues: 1) Who should take over, 2) What's the proper timing. Also, how to handle health matters of current CEOs.15:24-- The role of the family (Trust) in governance matters of Roystar RoyCo.20:43-- The “Death Pit”. How should employees and officers react when they learn about serious misconduct? What internal controls are missing at Waystar Royco that would have potentially led to a different outcome? What are potential consequences of covering up past serious misconduct? The role of compliance and reporting channels in corporations. Caremark doctrine in Delaware ("once you know something, you have to act"). "The sin cake eater" advice. The SEC whistleblower program.27:51 -- On proper disclosure controls, and open reporting. Internal investigations. Ineffective training.30:56 -- On "disclosure committees" of material non-public information (link to the board's Audit Committee). Multi-functional committees (legal, finance, communications, IR, etc.) Theme throughout Succession (the show): "How do you make responsible decisions in the face of imperfect information?" "This show is like a giant final exam on governance."36:25 -- On the interaction between Legal, Finance, Communications, IR and PR. "Effective governance comes down to people, processes and policies: you need to have the right people in the room, an appropriate process for them to come together and make a decision, and policies that guide that decision making."39:18 -- On the role of the general counsel (played by character Gerri Kellman in the show). "Gerri is secret keeper for Logan, rather than gatekeeper as expected by SEC/DOJ. She helps to cover secret loan not authorized by Board, as well as “death pit” issues on cruise ships – counsels Tom to keep quiet." "She's such a compromised character. She's not effective at all."45:41 -- The deal with private equity (activist?) “friend” of Kendall, Stewy Hosseini (including board seats). "Kendall's big downfall is that he tries to be the same type of leader as his father [and he's also just not as good, he's not Logan]." The conflict of interests.50:31 -- The Vaulter acquisition (and Lawrence joining the board of Roystar RoyCo.). "There was no process around it." "The board would traditionally look at the deal strategically and in terms of price (ie. is this the right acquisition target; what are some of the other companies in this space; is this the right strategy; why this now, does it fit with where the company is going; what is the company like, etc.)54:31 --   Board vote on no-confidence motion against Chairman & CEO Logan Roy. What is appropriate process for this type of Board action against a CEO? "The corporate governance aspect that really stands out here is the lack of appropriate board process." How should the Board and GC have reacted Kendall's request for a delay and Logan's refusal to recuse himself? How else could/should situation have been handled? What special procedures might be appropriate given impact of family relationships on governance issues? How are these family relationships analogous to other kinds of relationships in corporations? What does this suggest to in terms of importance of robust procedures and controls?   1:01:00-- Other thoughts for directors from Season 1 of Succession:Litigation risks from M&A. Leadership.Company Culture.Government and Regulatory matters. Corporate Purpose and ESG (and political interplay).Kate O'Leary is the Global Executive Litigation Counsel at General Electric Company.__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Episode 165 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Dark Stat” and the career of the Grateful Dead. This is a long one, even longer than the previous episode, but don't worry, that won't be the norm. There's a reason these two were much longer than average. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode available, on "Codine" by the Charlatans. Errata I mispronounce Brent Mydland's name as Myland a couple of times, and in the introduction I say "Touch of Grey" came out in 1988 -- I later, correctly, say 1987. (I seem to have had a real problem with dates in the intro -- I also originally talked about "Blue Suede Shoes" being in 1954 before fixing it in the edit to be 1956) Resources No Mixcloud this week, as there are too many songs by the Grateful Dead, and Grayfolded runs to two hours. I referred to a lot of books for this episode, partly because almost everything about the Grateful Dead is written from a fannish perspective that already assumes background knowledge, rather than to provide that background knowledge. Of the various books I used, Dennis McNally's biography of the band and This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead by Blair Jackson and David Gans are probably most useful for the casually interested. Other books on the Dead I used included McNally's Jerry on Jerry, a collection of interviews with Garcia; Deal, Bill Kreutzmann's autobiography; The Grateful Dead FAQ by Tony Sclafani; So Many Roads by David Browne; Deadology by Howard F. Weiner; Fare Thee Well by Joel Selvin and Pamela Turley; and Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads by David Shenk and Steve Silberman. Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is the classic account of the Pranksters, though not always reliable. I reference Slaughterhouse Five a lot. As well as the novel itself, which everyone should read, I also read this rather excellent graphic novel adaptation, and The Writer's Crusade, a book about the writing of the novel. I also reference Ted Sturgeon's More Than Human. For background on the scene around Astounding Science Fiction which included Sturgeon, John W. Campbell, L. Ron Hubbard, and many other science fiction writers, I recommend Alec Nevala-Lee's Astounding. 1,000 True Fans can be read online, as can the essay on the Californian ideology, and John Perry Barlow's "Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace". The best collection of Grateful Dead material is the box set The Golden Road, which contains all the albums released in Pigpen's lifetime along with a lot of bonus material, but which appears currently out of print. Live/Dead contains both the live version of "Dark Star" which made it well known and, as a CD bonus track, the original single version. And archive.org has more live recordings of the group than you can possibly ever listen to. Grayfolded can be bought from John Oswald's Bandcamp Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript [Excerpt: Tuning from "Grayfolded", under the warnings Before we begin -- as we're tuning up, as it were, I should mention that this episode contains discussions of alcoholism, drug addiction, racism, nonconsensual drugging of other people, and deaths from drug abuse, suicide, and car accidents. As always, I try to deal with these subjects as carefully as possible, but if you find any of those things upsetting you may wish to read the transcript rather than listen to this episode, or skip it altogether. Also, I should note that the members of the Grateful Dead were much freer with their use of swearing in interviews than any other band we've covered so far, and that makes using quotes from them rather more difficult than with other bands, given the limitations of the rules imposed to stop the podcast being marked as adult. If I quote anything with a word I can't use here, I'll give a brief pause in the audio, and in the transcript I'll have the word in square brackets. [tuning ends] All this happened, more or less. In 1910, T. S. Eliot started work on "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", which at the time was deemed barely poetry, with one reviewer imagining Eliot saying "I'll just put down the first thing that comes into my head, and call it 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.'" It is now considered one of the great classics of modernist literature. In 1969, Kurt Vonnegut wrote "Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death", a book in which the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, comes unstuck in time, and starts living a nonlinear life, hopping around between times reliving his experiences in the Second World War, and future experiences up to 1976 after being kidnapped by beings from the planet Tralfamadore. Or perhaps he has flashbacks and hallucinations after having a breakdown from PTSD. It is now considered one of the great classics of modernist literature or of science fiction, depending on how you look at it. In 1953, Theodore Sturgeon wrote More Than Human. It is now considered one of the great classics of science fiction. In 1950, L. Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. It is now considered either a bad piece of science fiction or one of the great revelatory works of religious history, depending on how you look at it. In 1994, 1995, and 1996 the composer John Oswald released, first as two individual CDs and then as a double-CD, an album called Grayfolded, which the composer says in the liner notes he thinks of as existing in Tralfamadorian time. The Tralfamadorians in Vonnegut's novels don't see time as a linear thing with a beginning and end, but as a continuum that they can move between at will. When someone dies, they just think that at this particular point in time they're not doing so good, but at other points in time they're fine, so why focus on the bad time? In the book, when told of someone dying, the Tralfamadorians just say "so it goes". In between the first CD's release and the release of the double-CD version, Jerry Garcia died. From August 1942 through August 1995, Jerry Garcia was alive. So it goes. Shall we go, you and I? [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, "Dark Star (Omni 3/30/94)"] "One principle has become clear. Since motives are so frequently found in combination, it is essential that the complex types be analyzed and arranged, with an eye kept single nevertheless to the master-theme under discussion. Collectors, both primary and subsidiary, have done such valiant service that the treasures at our command are amply sufficient for such studies, so extensive, indeed, that the task of going through them thoroughly has become too great for the unassisted student. It cannot be too strongly urged that a single theme in its various types and compounds must be made predominant in any useful comparative study. This is true when the sources and analogues of any literary work are treated; it is even truer when the bare motive is discussed. The Grateful Dead furnishes an apt illustration of the necessity of such handling. It appears in a variety of different combinations, almost never alone. Indeed, it is so widespread a tale, and its combinations are so various, that there is the utmost difficulty in determining just what may properly be regarded the original kernel of it, the simple theme to which other motives were joined. Various opinions, as we shall see, have been held with reference to this matter, most of them justified perhaps by the materials in the hands of the scholars holding them, but none quite adequate in view of later evidence." That's a quote from The Grateful Dead: The History of a Folk Story, by Gordon Hall Gerould, published in 1908. Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five opens with a chapter about the process of writing the novel itself, and how difficult it was. He says "I would hate to tell you what this lousy little book cost me in money and anxiety and time. When I got home from the Second World War twenty-three years ago, I thought it would be easy for me to write about the destruction of Dresden, since all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen. And I thought, too, that it would be a masterpiece or at least make me a lot of money, since the subject was so big." This is an episode several of my listeners have been looking forward to, but it's one I've been dreading writing, because this is an episode -- I think the only one in the series -- where the format of the podcast simply *will not* work. Were the Grateful Dead not such an important band, I would skip this episode altogether, but they're a band that simply can't be ignored, and that's a real problem here. Because my intent, always, with this podcast, is to present the recordings of the artists in question, put them in context, and explain why they were important, what their music meant to its listeners. To put, as far as is possible, the positive case for why the music mattered *in the context of its time*. Not why it matters now, or why it matters to me, but why it matters *in its historical context*. Whether I like the music or not isn't the point. Whether it stands up now isn't the point. I play the music, explain what it was they were doing, why they were doing it, what people saw in it. If I do my job well, you come away listening to "Blue Suede Shoes" the way people heard it in 1956, or "Good Vibrations" the way people heard it in 1966, and understanding why people were so impressed by those records. That is simply *not possible* for the Grateful Dead. I can present a case for them as musicians, and hope to do so. I can explain the appeal as best I understand it, and talk about things I like in their music, and things I've noticed. But what I can't do is present their recordings the way they were received in the sixties and explain why they were popular. Because every other act I have covered or will cover in this podcast has been a *recording* act, and their success was based on records. They may also have been exceptional live performers, but James Brown or Ike and Tina Turner are remembered for great *records*, like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" or "River Deep, Mountain High". Their great moments were captured on vinyl, to be listened back to, and susceptible of analysis. That is not the case for the Grateful Dead, and what is worse *they explicitly said, publicly, on multiple occasions* that it is not possible for me to understand their art, and thus that it is not possible for me to explain it. The Grateful Dead did make studio records, some of them very good. But they always said, consistently, over a thirty year period, that their records didn't capture what they did, and that the only way -- the *only* way, they were very clear about this -- that one could actually understand and appreciate their music, was to see them live, and furthermore to see them live while on psychedelic drugs. [Excerpt: Grateful Dead crowd noise] I never saw the Grateful Dead live -- their last UK performance was a couple of years before I went to my first ever gig -- and I have never taken a psychedelic substance. So by the Grateful Dead's own criteria, it is literally impossible for me to understand or explain their music the way that it should be understood or explained. In a way I'm in a similar position to the one I was in with La Monte Young in the last episode, whose music it's mostly impossible to experience without being in his presence. This is one reason of several why I placed these two episodes back to back. Of course, there is a difference between Young and the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead allowed -- even encouraged -- the recording of their live performances. There are literally thousands of concert recordings in circulation, many of them of professional quality. I have listened to many of those, and I can hear what they were doing. I can tell you what *I* think is interesting about their music, and about their musicianship. And I think I can build up a good case for why they were important, and why they're interesting, and why those recordings are worth listening to. And I can certainly explain the cultural phenomenon that was the Grateful Dead. But just know that while I may have found *a* point, *an* explanation for why the Grateful Dead were important, by the band's own lights and those of their fans, no matter how good a job I do in this episode, I *cannot* get it right. And that is, in itself, enough of a reason for this episode to exist, and for me to try, even harder than I normally do, to get it right *anyway*. Because no matter how well I do my job this episode will stand as an example of why this series is called "*A* History", not *the* history. Because parts of the past are ephemeral. There are things about which it's true to say "You had to be there". I cannot know what it was like to have been an American the day Kennedy was shot, I cannot know what it was like to be alive when a man walked on the Moon. Those are things nobody my age or younger can ever experience. And since August the ninth, 1995, the experience of hearing the Grateful Dead's music the way they wanted it heard has been in that category. And that is by design. Jerry Garcia once said "if you work really hard as an artist, you may be able to build something they can't tear down, you know, after you're gone... What I want to do is I want it here. I want it now, in this lifetime. I want what I enjoy to last as long as I do and not last any longer. You know, I don't want something that ends up being as much a nuisance as it is a work of art, you know?" And there's another difficulty. There are only two points in time where it makes sense to do a podcast episode on the Grateful Dead -- late 1967 and early 1968, when the San Francisco scene they were part of was at its most culturally relevant, and 1988 when they had their only top ten hit and gained their largest audience. I can't realistically leave them out of the story until 1988, so it has to be 1968. But the songs they are most remembered for are those they wrote between 1970 and 1972, and those songs are influenced by artists and events we haven't yet covered in the podcast, who will be getting their own episodes in the future. I can't explain those things in this episode, because they need whole episodes of their own. I can't not explain them without leaving out important context for the Grateful Dead. So the best I can do is treat the story I'm telling as if it were in Tralfamadorian time. All of it's happening all at once, and some of it is happening in different episodes that haven't been recorded yet. The podcast as a whole travels linearly from 1938 through to 1999, but this episode is happening in 1968 and 1972 and 1988 and 1995 and other times, all at once. Sometimes I'll talk about things as if you're already familiar with them, but they haven't happened yet in the story. Feel free to come unstuck in time and revisit this time after episode 167, and 172, and 176, and 192, and experience it again. So this has to be an experimental episode. It may well be an experiment that you think fails. If so, the next episode is likely to be far more to your taste, and much shorter than this or the last episode, two episodes that between them have to create a scaffolding on which will hang much of the rest of this podcast's narrative. I've finished my Grateful Dead script now. The next one I write is going to be fun: [Excerpt: Grateful Dead, "Dark Star"] Infrastructure means everything. How we get from place to place, how we transport goods, information, and ourselves, makes a big difference in how society is structured, and in the music we hear. For many centuries, the prime means of long-distance transport was by water -- sailing ships on the ocean, canal boats and steamboats for inland navigation -- and so folk songs talked about the ship as both means of escape, means of making a living, and in some senses as a trap. You'd go out to sea for adventure, or to escape your problems, but you'd find that the sea itself brought its own problems. Because of this we have a long, long tradition of sea shanties which are known throughout the world: [Excerpt: A. L. Lloyd, "Off to Sea Once More"] But in the nineteenth century, the railway was invented and, at least as far as travel within a landmass goes, it replaced the steamboat in the popular imaginary. Now the railway was how you got from place to place, and how you moved freight from one place to another. The railway brought freedom, and was an opportunity for outlaws, whether train robbers or a romanticised version of the hobo hopping onto a freight train and making his way to new lands and new opportunity. It was the train that brought soldiers home from wars, and the train that allowed the Great Migration of Black people from the South to the industrial North. There would still be songs about the riverboats, about how ol' man river keeps rolling along and about the big river Johnny Cash sang about, but increasingly they would be songs of the past, not the present. The train quickly replaced the steamboat in the iconography of what we now think of as roots music -- blues, country, folk, and early jazz music. Sometimes this was very literal. Furry Lewis' "Kassie Jones" -- about a legendary train driver who would break the rules to make sure his train made the station on time, but who ended up sacrificing his own life to save his passengers in a train crash -- is based on "Alabamy Bound", which as we heard in the episode on "Stagger Lee", was about steamboats: [Excerpt: Furry Lewis, "Kassie Jones"] In the early episodes of this podcast we heard many, many, songs about the railway. Louis Jordan saying "take me right back to the track, Jack", Rosetta Tharpe singing about how "this train don't carry no gamblers", the trickster freight train driver driving on the "Rock Island Line", the mystery train sixteen coaches long, the train that kept-a-rollin' all night long, the Midnight Special which the prisoners wished would shine its ever-loving light on them, and the train coming past Folsom Prison whose whistle makes Johnny Cash hang his head and cry. But by the 1960s, that kind of song had started to dry up. It would happen on occasion -- "People Get Ready" by the Impressions is the most obvious example of the train metaphor in an important sixties record -- but by the late sixties the train was no longer a symbol of freedom but of the past. In 1969 Harry Nilsson sang about how "Nobody Cares About the Railroads Any More", and in 1968 the Kinks sang about "The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains". When in 1968 Merle Haggard sang about a freight train, it was as a memory, of a child with hopes that ended up thwarted by reality and his own nature: [Excerpt: Merle Haggard, "Mama Tried"] And the reason for this was that there had been another shift, a shift that had started in the forties and accelerated in the late fifties but had taken a little time to ripple through the culture. Now the train had been replaced in the popular imaginary by motorised transport. Instead of hopping on a train without paying, if you had no money in your pocket you'd have to hitch-hike all the way. Freedom now meant individuality. The ultimate in freedom was the biker -- the Hell's Angels who could go anywhere, unburdened by anything -- and instead of goods being moved by freight train, increasingly they were being moved by truck drivers. By the mid-seventies, truck drivers took a central place in American life, and the most romantic way to live life was to live it on the road. On The Road was also the title of a 1957 novel by Jack Kerouac, which was one of the first major signs of this cultural shift in America. Kerouac was writing about events in the late forties and early fifties, but his book was also a precursor of the sixties counterculture. He wrote the book on one continuous sheet of paper, as a stream of consciousness. Kerouac died in 1969 of an internal haemmorage brought on by too much alcohol consumption. So it goes. But the big key to this cultural shift was caused by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, a massive infrastructure spending bill that led to the construction of the modern American Interstate Highway system. This accelerated a program that had already started, of building much bigger, safer, faster roads. It also, as anyone who has read Robert Caro's The Power Broker knows, reinforced segregation and white flight. It did this both by making commuting into major cities from the suburbs easier -- thus allowing white people with more money to move further away from the cities and still work there -- and by bulldozing community spaces where Black people lived. More than a million people lost their homes and were forcibly moved, and orders of magnitude more lost their communities' parks and green spaces. And both as a result of deliberate actions and unconscious bigotry, the bulk of those affected were Black people -- who often found themselves, if they weren't forced to move, on one side of a ten-lane highway where the park used to be, with white people on the other side of the highway. The Federal-Aid Highway Act gave even more power to the unaccountable central planners like Robert Moses, the urban planner in New York who managed to become arguably the most powerful man in the city without ever getting elected, partly by slowly compromising away his early progressive ideals in the service of gaining more power. Of course, not every new highway was built through areas where poor Black people lived. Some were planned to go through richer areas for white people, just because you can't completely do away with geographical realities. For example one was planned to be built through part of San Francisco, a rich, white part. But the people who owned properties in that area had enough political power and clout to fight the development, and after nearly a decade of fighting it, the development was called off in late 1966. But over that time, many of the owners of the impressive buildings in the area had moved out, and they had no incentive to improve or maintain their properties while they were under threat of demolition, so many of them were rented out very cheaply. And when the beat community that Kerouac wrote about, many of whom had settled in San Francisco, grew too large and notorious for the area of the city they were in, North Beach, many of them moved to these cheap homes in a previously-exclusive area. The area known as Haight-Ashbury. [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, "Grayfolded"] Stories all have their starts, even stories told in Tralfamadorian time, although sometimes those starts are shrouded in legend. For example, the story of Scientology's start has been told many times, with different people claiming to have heard L. Ron Hubbard talk about how writing was a mug's game, and if you wanted to make real money, you needed to get followers, start a religion. Either he said this over and over and over again, to many different science fiction writers, or most science fiction writers of his generation were liars. Of course, the definition of a writer is someone who tells lies for money, so who knows? One of the more plausible accounts of him saying that is given by Theodore Sturgeon. Sturgeon's account is more believable than most, because Sturgeon went on to be a supporter of Dianetics, the "new science" that Hubbard turned into his religion, for decades, even while telling the story. The story of the Grateful Dead probably starts as it ends, with Jerry Garcia. There are three things that everyone writing about the Dead says about Garcia's childhood, so we might as well say them here too. The first is that he was named by a music-loving father after Jerome Kern, the songwriter responsible for songs like "Ol' Man River" (though as Oscar Hammerstein's widow liked to point out, "Jerome Kern wrote dum-dum-dum-dum, *my husband* wrote 'Ol' Man River'" -- an important distinction we need to bear in mind when talking about songwriters who write music but not lyrics). The second is that when he was five years old that music-loving father drowned -- and Garcia would always say he had seen his father dying, though some sources claim this was a false memory. So it goes. And the third fact, which for some reason is always told after the second even though it comes before it chronologically, is that when he was four he lost two joints from his right middle finger. Garcia grew up a troubled teen, and in turn caused trouble for other people, but he also developed a few interests that would follow him through his life. He loved the fantastical, especially the fantastical macabre, and became an avid fan of horror and science fiction -- and through his love of old monster films he became enamoured with cinema more generally. Indeed, in 1983 he bought the film rights to Kurt Vonnegut's science fiction novel The Sirens of Titan, the first story in which the Tralfamadorians appear, and wrote a script based on it. He wanted to produce the film himself, with Francis Ford Coppola directing and Bill Murray starring, but most importantly for him he wanted to prevent anyone who didn't care about it from doing it badly. And in that he succeeded. As of 2023 there is no film of The Sirens of Titan. He loved to paint, and would continue that for the rest of his life, with one of his favourite subjects being Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein monster. And when he was eleven or twelve, he heard for the first time a record that was hugely influential to a whole generation of Californian musicians, even though it was a New York record -- "Gee" by the Crows: [Excerpt: The Crows, "Gee"] Garcia would say later "That was an important song. That was the first kind of, like where the voices had that kind of not-trained-singer voices, but tough-guy-on-the-street voice." That record introduced him to R&B, and soon he was listening to Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, to Ray Charles, and to a record we've not talked about in the podcast but which was one of the great early doo-wop records, "WPLJ" by the Four Deuces: [Excerpt: The Four Deuces, "WPLJ"] Garcia said of that record "That was one of my anthem songs when I was in junior high school and high school and around there. That was one of those songs everybody knew. And that everybody sang. Everybody sang that street-corner favorite." Garcia moved around a lot as a child, and didn't have much time for school by his own account, but one of the few teachers he did respect was an art teacher when he was in North Beach, Walter Hedrick. Hedrick was also one of the earliest of the conceptual artists, and one of the most important figures in the San Francisco arts scene that would become known as the Beat Generation (or the Beatniks, which was originally a disparaging term). Hedrick was a painter and sculptor, but also organised happenings, and he had also been one of the prime movers in starting a series of poetry readings in San Francisco, the first one of which had involved Allen Ginsberg giving the first ever reading of "Howl" -- one of a small number of poems, along with Eliot's "Prufrock" and "The Waste Land" and possibly Pound's Cantos, which can be said to have changed twentieth-century literature. Garcia was fifteen when he got to know Hedrick, in 1957, and by then the Beat scene had already become almost a parody of itself, having become known to the public because of the publication of works like On the Road, and the major artists in the scene were already rejecting the label. By this point tourists were flocking to North Beach to see these beatniks they'd heard about on TV, and Hedrick was actually employed by one cafe to sit in the window wearing a beret, turtleneck, sandals, and beard, and draw and paint, to attract the tourists who flocked by the busload because they could see that there was a "genuine beatnik" in the cafe. Hedrick was, as well as a visual artist, a guitarist and banjo player who played in traditional jazz bands, and he would bring records in to class for his students to listen to, and Garcia particularly remembered him bringing in records by Big Bill Broonzy: [Excerpt: Big Bill Broonzy, "When Things Go Wrong (It Hurts Me Too)"] Garcia was already an avid fan of rock and roll music, but it was being inspired by Hedrick that led him to get his first guitar. Like his contemporary Paul McCartney around the same time, he was initially given the wrong instrument as a birthday present -- in Garcia's case his mother gave him an accordion -- but he soon persuaded her to swap it for an electric guitar he saw in a pawn shop. And like his other contemporary, John Lennon, Garcia initially tuned his instrument incorrectly. He said later "When I started playing the guitar, believe me, I didn't know anybody that played. I mean, I didn't know anybody that played the guitar. Nobody. They weren't around. There were no guitar teachers. You couldn't take lessons. There was nothing like that, you know? When I was a kid and I had my first electric guitar, I had it tuned wrong and learned how to play on it with it tuned wrong for about a year. And I was getting somewhere on it, you know… Finally, I met a guy that knew how to tune it right and showed me three chords, and it was like a revelation. You know what I mean? It was like somebody gave me the key to heaven." He joined a band, the Chords, which mostly played big band music, and his friend Gary Foster taught him some of the rudiments of playing the guitar -- things like how to use a capo to change keys. But he was always a rebellious kid, and soon found himself faced with a choice between joining the military or going to prison. He chose the former, and it was during his time in the Army that a friend, Ron Stevenson, introduced him to the music of Merle Travis, and to Travis-style guitar picking: [Excerpt: Merle Travis, "Nine-Pound Hammer"] Garcia had never encountered playing like that before, but he instantly recognised that Travis, and Chet Atkins who Stevenson also played for him, had been an influence on Scotty Moore. He started to realise that the music he'd listened to as a teenager was influenced by music that went further back. But Stevenson, as well as teaching Garcia some of the rudiments of Travis-picking, also indirectly led to Garcia getting discharged from the Army. Stevenson was not a well man, and became suicidal. Garcia decided it was more important to keep his friend company and make sure he didn't kill himself than it was to turn up for roll call, and as a result he got discharged himself on psychiatric grounds -- according to Garcia he told the Army psychiatrist "I was involved in stuff that was more important to me in the moment than the army was and that was the reason I was late" and the psychiatrist thought it was neurotic of Garcia to have his own set of values separate from that of the Army. After discharge, Garcia did various jobs, including working as a transcriptionist for Lenny Bruce, the comedian who was a huge influence on the counterculture. In one of the various attacks over the years by authoritarians on language, Bruce was repeatedly arrested for obscenity, and in 1961 he was arrested at a jazz club in North Beach. Sixty years ago, the parts of speech that were being criminalised weren't pronouns, but prepositions and verbs: [Excerpt: Lenny Bruce, "To is a Preposition, Come is a Verb"] That piece, indeed, was so controversial that when Frank Zappa quoted part of it in a song in 1968, the record label insisted on the relevant passage being played backwards so people couldn't hear such disgusting filth: [Excerpt: The Mothers of Invention, "Harry You're a Beast"] (Anyone familiar with that song will understand that the censored portion is possibly the least offensive part of the whole thing). Bruce was facing trial, and he needed transcripts of what he had said in his recordings to present in court. Incidentally, there seems to be some confusion over exactly which of Bruce's many obscenity trials Garcia became a transcriptionist for. Dennis McNally says in his biography of the band, published in 2002, that it was the most famous of them, in autumn 1964, but in a later book, Jerry on Jerry, a book of interviews of Garcia edited by McNally, McNally talks about it being when Garcia was nineteen, which would mean it was Bruce's first trial, in 1961. We can put this down to the fact that many of the people involved, not least Garcia, lived in Tralfamadorian time, and were rather hazy on dates, but I'm placing the story here rather than in 1964 because it seems to make more sense that Garcia would be involved in a trial based on an incident in San Francisco than one in New York. Garcia got the job, even though he couldn't type, because by this point he'd spent so long listening to recordings of old folk and country music that he was used to transcribing indecipherable accents, and often, as Garcia would tell it, Bruce would mumble very fast and condense multiple syllables into one. Garcia was particularly impressed by Bruce's ability to improvise but talk in entire paragraphs, and he compared his use of language to bebop. Another thing that was starting to impress Garcia, and which he also compared to bebop, was bluegrass: [Excerpt: Bill Monroe, "Fire on the Mountain"] Bluegrass is a music that is often considered very traditional, because it's based on traditional songs and uses acoustic instruments, but in fact it was a terribly *modern* music, and largely a postwar creation of a single band -- Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. And Garcia was right when he said it was "white bebop" -- though he did say "The only thing it doesn't have is the harmonic richness of bebop. You know what I mean? That's what it's missing, but it has everything else." Both bebop and bluegrass evolved after the second world war, though they were informed by music from before it, and both prized the ability to improvise, and technical excellence. Both are musics that involved playing *fast*, in an ensemble, and being able to respond quickly to the other musicians. Both musics were also intensely rhythmic, a response to a faster paced, more stressful world. They were both part of the general change in the arts towards immediacy that we looked at in the last episode with the creation first of expressionism and then of pop art. Bluegrass didn't go into the harmonic explorations that modern jazz did, but it was absolutely as modern as anything Charlie Parker was doing, and came from the same impulses. It was tradition and innovation, the past and the future simultaneously. Bill Monroe, Jackson Pollock, Charlie Parker, Jack Kerouac, and Lenny Bruce were all in their own ways responding to the same cultural moment, and it was that which Garcia was responding to. But he didn't become able to play bluegrass until after a tragedy which shaped his life even more than his father's death had. Garcia had been to a party and was in a car with his friends Lee Adams, Paul Speegle, and Alan Trist. Adams was driving at ninety miles an hour when they hit a tight curve and crashed. Garcia, Adams, and Trist were all severely injured but survived. Speegle died. So it goes. This tragedy changed Garcia's attitudes totally. Of all his friends, Speegle was the one who was most serious about his art, and who treated it as something to work on. Garcia had always been someone who fundamentally didn't want to work or take any responsibility for anything. And he remained that way -- except for his music. Speegle's death changed Garcia's attitude to that, totally. If his friend wasn't going to be able to practice his own art any more, Garcia would practice his, in tribute to him. He resolved to become a virtuoso on guitar and banjo. His girlfriend of the time later said “I don't know if you've spent time with someone rehearsing ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown' on a banjo for eight hours, but Jerry practiced endlessly. He really wanted to excel and be the best. He had tremendous personal ambition in the musical arena, and he wanted to master whatever he set out to explore. Then he would set another sight for himself. And practice another eight hours a day of new licks.” But of course, you can't make ensemble music on your own: [Excerpt: Jerry Garcia and Bob Hunter, "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" (including end)] "Evelyn said, “What is it called when a person needs a … person … when you want to be touched and the … two are like one thing and there isn't anything else at all anywhere?” Alicia, who had read books, thought about it. “Love,” she said at length." That's from More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon, a book I'll be quoting a few more times as the story goes on. Robert Hunter, like Garcia, was just out of the military -- in his case, the National Guard -- and he came into Garcia's life just after Paul Speegle had left it. Garcia and Alan Trist met Hunter ten days after the accident, and the three men started hanging out together, Trist and Hunter writing while Garcia played music. Garcia and Hunter both bonded over their shared love for the beats, and for traditional music, and the two formed a duo, Bob and Jerry, which performed together a handful of times. They started playing together, in fact, after Hunter picked up a guitar and started playing a song and halfway through Garcia took it off him and finished the song himself. The two of them learned songs from the Harry Smith Anthology -- Garcia was completely apolitical, and only once voted in his life, for Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to keep Goldwater out, and regretted even doing that, and so he didn't learn any of the more political material people like Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan were doing at the time -- but their duo only lasted a short time because Hunter wasn't an especially good guitarist. Hunter would, though, continue to jam with Garcia and other friends, sometimes playing mandolin, while Garcia played solo gigs and with other musicians as well, playing and moving round the Bay Area and performing with whoever he could: [Excerpt: Jerry Garcia, "Railroad Bill"] "Bleshing, that was Janie's word. She said Baby told it to her. She said it meant everyone all together being something, even if they all did different things. Two arms, two legs, one body, one head, all working together, although a head can't walk and arms can't think. Lone said maybe it was a mixture of “blending” and “meshing,” but I don't think he believed that himself. It was a lot more than that." That's from More Than Human In 1961, Garcia and Hunter met another young musician, but one who was interested in a very different type of music. Phil Lesh was a serious student of modern classical music, a classically-trained violinist and trumpeter whose interest was solidly in the experimental and whose attitude can be summed up by a story that's always told about him meeting his close friend Tom Constanten for the first time. Lesh had been talking with someone about serialism, and Constanten had interrupted, saying "Music stopped being created in 1750 but it started again in 1950". Lesh just stuck out his hand, recognising a kindred spirit. Lesh and Constanten were both students of Luciano Berio, the experimental composer who created compositions for magnetic tape: [Excerpt: Luciano Berio, "Momenti"] Berio had been one of the founders of the Studio di fonologia musicale di Radio Milano, a studio for producing contemporary electronic music where John Cage had worked for a time, and he had also worked with the electronic music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Lesh would later remember being very impressed when Berio brought a tape into the classroom -- the actual multitrack tape for Stockhausen's revolutionary piece Gesang Der Juenglinge: [Excerpt: Karlheinz Stockhausen, "Gesang Der Juenglinge"] Lesh at first had been distrustful of Garcia -- Garcia was charismatic and had followers, and Lesh never liked people like that. But he was impressed by Garcia's playing, and soon realised that the two men, despite their very different musical interests, had a lot in common. Lesh was interested in the technology of music as well as in performing and composing it, and so when he wasn't studying he helped out by engineering at the university's radio station. Lesh was impressed by Garcia's playing, and suggested to the presenter of the station's folk show, the Midnight Special, that Garcia be a guest. Garcia was so good that he ended up getting an entire solo show to himself, where normally the show would feature multiple acts. Lesh and Constanten soon moved away from the Bay Area to Las Vegas, but both would be back -- in Constanten's case he would form an experimental group in San Francisco with their fellow student Steve Reich, and that group (though not with Constanten performing) would later premiere Terry Riley's In C, a piece influenced by La Monte Young and often considered one of the great masterpieces of minimalist music. By early 1962 Garcia and Hunter had formed a bluegrass band, with Garcia on guitar and banjo and Hunter on mandolin, and a rotating cast of other musicians including Ken Frankel, who played banjo and fiddle. They performed under different names, including the Tub Thumpers, the Hart Valley Drifters, and the Sleepy Valley Hog Stompers, and played a mixture of bluegrass and old-time music -- and were very careful about the distinction: [Excerpt: The Hart Valley Drifters, "Cripple Creek"] In 1993, the Republican political activist John Perry Barlow was invited to talk to the CIA about the possibilities open to them with what was then called the Information Superhighway. He later wrote, in part "They told me they'd brought Steve Jobs in a few weeks before to indoctrinate them in modern information management. And they were delighted when I returned later, bringing with me a platoon of Internet gurus, including Esther Dyson, Mitch Kapor, Tony Rutkowski, and Vint Cerf. They sealed us into an electronically impenetrable room to discuss the radical possibility that a good first step in lifting their blackout would be for the CIA to put up a Web site... We told them that information exchange was a barter system, and that to receive, one must also be willing to share. This was an alien notion to them. They weren't even willing to share information among themselves, much less the world." 1962 brought a new experience for Robert Hunter. Hunter had been recruited into taking part in psychological tests at Stanford University, which in the sixties and seventies was one of the preeminent universities for psychological experiments. As part of this, Hunter was given $140 to attend the VA hospital (where a janitor named Ken Kesey, who had himself taken part in a similar set of experiments a couple of years earlier, worked a day job while he was working on his first novel) for four weeks on the run, and take different psychedelic drugs each time, starting with LSD, so his reactions could be observed. (It was later revealed that these experiments were part of a CIA project called MKUltra, designed to investigate the possibility of using psychedelic drugs for mind control, blackmail, and torture. Hunter was quite lucky in that he was told what was going to happen to him and paid for his time. Other subjects included the unlucky customers of brothels the CIA set up as fronts -- they dosed the customers' drinks and observed them through two-way mirrors. Some of their experimental subjects died by suicide as a result of their experiences. So it goes. ) Hunter was interested in taking LSD after reading Aldous Huxley's writings about psychedelic substances, and he brought his typewriter along to the experiment. During the first test, he wrote a six-page text, a short excerpt from which is now widely quoted, reading in part "Sit back picture yourself swooping up a shell of purple with foam crests of crystal drops soft nigh they fall unto the sea of morning creep-very-softly mist ... and then sort of cascade tinkley-bell-like (must I take you by the hand, ever so slowly type) and then conglomerate suddenly into a peal of silver vibrant uncomprehendingly, blood singingly, joyously resounding bells" Hunter's experience led to everyone in their social circle wanting to try LSD, and soon they'd all come to the same conclusion -- this was something special. But Garcia needed money -- he'd got his girlfriend pregnant, and they'd married (this would be the first of several marriages in Garcia's life, and I won't be covering them all -- at Garcia's funeral, his second wife, Carolyn, said Garcia always called her the love of his life, and his first wife and his early-sixties girlfriend who he proposed to again in the nineties both simultaneously said "He said that to me!"). So he started teaching guitar at a music shop in Palo Alto. Hunter had no time for Garcia's incipient domesticity and thought that his wife was trying to make him live a conventional life, and the two drifted apart somewhat, though they'd still play together occasionally. Through working at the music store, Garcia got to know the manager, Troy Weidenheimer, who had a rock and roll band called the Zodiacs. Garcia joined the band on bass, despite that not being his instrument. He later said "Troy was a lot of fun, but I wasn't good enough a musician then to have been able to deal with it. I was out of my idiom, really, 'cause when I played with Troy I was playing electric bass, you know. I never was a good bass player. Sometimes I was playing in the wrong key and didn't even [fuckin'] know it. I couldn't hear that low, after playing banjo, you know, and going to electric...But Troy taught me the principle of, hey, you know, just stomp your foot and get on it. He was great. A great one for the instant arrangement, you know. And he was also fearless for that thing of get your friends to do it." Garcia's tenure in the Zodiacs didn't last long, nor did this experiment with rock and roll, but two other members of the Zodiacs will be notable later in the story -- the harmonica player, an old friend of Garcia's named Ron McKernan, who would soon gain the nickname Pig Pen after the Peanuts character, and the drummer, Bill Kreutzmann: [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, "Drums/Space (Skull & Bones version)"] Kreutzmann said of the Zodiacs "Jerry was the hired bass player and I was the hired drummer. I only remember playing that one gig with them, but I was in way over my head. I always did that. I always played things that were really hard and it didn't matter. I just went for it." Garcia and Kreutzmann didn't really get to know each other then, but Garcia did get to know someone else who would soon be very important in his life. Bob Weir was from a very different background than Garcia, though both had the shared experience of long bouts of chronic illness as children. He had grown up in a very wealthy family, and had always been well-liked, but he was what we would now call neurodivergent -- reading books about the band he talks about being dyslexic but clearly has other undiagnosed neurodivergences, which often go along with dyslexia -- and as a result he was deemed to have behavioural problems which led to him getting expelled from pre-school and kicked out of the cub scouts. He was never academically gifted, thanks to his dyslexia, but he was always enthusiastic about music -- to a fault. He learned to play boogie piano but played so loudly and so often his parents sold the piano. He had a trumpet, but the neighbours complained about him playing it outside. Finally he switched to the guitar, an instrument with which it is of course impossible to make too loud a noise. The first song he learned was the Kingston Trio's version of an old sea shanty, "The Wreck of the John B": [Excerpt: The Kingston Trio, "The Wreck of the John B"] He was sent off to a private school in Colorado for teenagers with behavioural issues, and there he met the boy who would become his lifelong friend, John Perry Barlow. Unfortunately the two troublemakers got on with each other *so* well that after their first year they were told that it was too disruptive having both of them at the school, and only one could stay there the next year. Barlow stayed and Weir moved back to the Bay Area. By this point, Weir was getting more interested in folk music that went beyond the commercial folk of the Kingston Trio. As he said later "There was something in there that was ringing my bells. What I had grown up thinking of as hillbilly music, it started to have some depth for me, and I could start to hear the music in it. Suddenly, it wasn't just a bunch of ignorant hillbillies playing what they could. There was some depth and expertise and stuff like that to aspire to.” He moved from school to school but one thing that stayed with him was his love of playing guitar, and he started taking lessons from Troy Weidenheimer, but he got most of his education going to folk clubs and hootenannies. He regularly went to the Tangent, a club where Garcia played, but Garcia's bluegrass banjo playing was far too rigorous for a free spirit like Weir to emulate, and instead he started trying to copy one of the guitarists who was a regular there, Jorma Kaukonnen. On New Year's Eve 1963 Weir was out walking with his friends Bob Matthews and Rich Macauley, and they passed the music shop where Garcia was a teacher, and heard him playing his banjo. They knocked and asked if they could come in -- they all knew Garcia a little, and Bob Matthews was one of his students, having become interested in playing banjo after hearing the theme tune to the Beverly Hillbillies, played by the bluegrass greats Flatt and Scruggs: [Excerpt: Flatt and Scruggs, "The Beverly Hillbillies"] Garcia at first told these kids, several years younger than him, that they couldn't come in -- he was waiting for his students to show up. But Weir said “Jerry, listen, it's seven-thirty on New Year's Eve, and I don't think you're going to be seeing your students tonight.” Garcia realised the wisdom of this, and invited the teenagers in to jam with him. At the time, there was a bit of a renaissance in jug bands, as we talked about back in the episode on the Lovin' Spoonful. This was a form of music that had grown up in the 1920s, and was similar and related to skiffle and coffee-pot bands -- jug bands would tend to have a mixture of portable string instruments like guitars and banjos, harmonicas, and people using improvised instruments, particularly blowing into a jug. The most popular of these bands had been Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, led by banjo player Gus Cannon and with harmonica player Noah Lewis: [Excerpt: Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, "Viola Lee Blues"] With the folk revival, Cannon's work had become well-known again. The Rooftop Singers, a Kingston Trio style folk group, had had a hit with his song "Walk Right In" in 1963, and as a result of that success Cannon had even signed a record contract with Stax -- Stax's first album ever, a month before Booker T and the MGs' first album, was in fact the eighty-year-old Cannon playing his banjo and singing his old songs. The rediscovery of Cannon had started a craze for jug bands, and the most popular of the new jug bands was Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, which did a mixture of old songs like "You're a Viper" and more recent material redone in the old style. Weir, Matthews, and Macauley had been to see the Kweskin band the night before, and had been very impressed, especially by their singer Maria D'Amato -- who would later marry her bandmate Geoff Muldaur and take his name -- and her performance of Leiber and Stoller's "I'm a Woman": [Excerpt: Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, "I'm a Woman"] Matthews suggested that they form their own jug band, and Garcia eagerly agreed -- though Matthews found himself rapidly moving from banjo to washboard to kazoo to second kazoo before realising he was surplus to requirements. Robert Hunter was similarly an early member but claimed he "didn't have the embouchure" to play the jug, and was soon also out. He moved to LA and started studying Scientology -- later claiming that he wanted science-fictional magic powers, which L. Ron Hubbard's new religion certainly offered. The group took the name Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions -- apparently they varied the spelling every time they played -- and had a rotating membership that at one time or another included about twenty different people, but tended always to have Garcia on banjo, Weir on jug and later guitar, and Garcia's friend Pig Pen on harmonica: [Excerpt: Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions, "On the Road Again"] The group played quite regularly in early 1964, but Garcia's first love was still bluegrass, and he was trying to build an audience with his bluegrass band, The Black Mountain Boys. But bluegrass was very unpopular in the Bay Area, where it was simultaneously thought of as unsophisticated -- as "hillbilly music" -- and as elitist, because it required actual instrumental ability, which wasn't in any great supply in the amateur folk scene. But instrumental ability was something Garcia definitely had, as at this point he was still practising eight hours a day, every day, and it shows on the recordings of the Black Mountain Boys: [Excerpt: The Black Mountain Boys, "Rosa Lee McFall"] By the summer, Bob Weir was also working at the music shop, and so Garcia let Weir take over his students while he and the Black Mountain Boys' guitarist Sandy Rothman went on a road trip to see as many bluegrass musicians as they could and to audition for Bill Monroe himself. As it happened, Garcia found himself too shy to audition for Monroe, but Rothman later ended up playing with Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. On his return to the Bay Area, Garcia resumed playing with the Uptown Jug Champions, but Pig Pen started pestering him to do something different. While both men had overlapping tastes in music and a love for the blues, Garcia's tastes had always been towards the country end of the spectrum while Pig Pen's were towards R&B. And while the Uptown Jug Champions were all a bit disdainful of the Beatles at first -- apart from Bob Weir, the youngest of the group, who thought they were interesting -- Pig Pen had become enamoured of another British band who were just starting to make it big: [Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, "Not Fade Away"] 29) Garcia liked the first Rolling Stones album too, and he eventually took Pig Pen's point -- the stuff that the Rolling Stones were doing, covers of Slim Harpo and Buddy Holly, was not a million miles away from the material they were doing as Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions. Pig Pen could play a little electric organ, Bob had been fooling around with the electric guitars in the music shop. Why not give it a go? The stuff bands like the Rolling Stones were doing wasn't that different from the electric blues that Pig Pen liked, and they'd all seen A Hard Day's Night -- they could carry on playing with banjos, jugs, and kazoos and have the respect of a handful of folkies, or they could get electric instruments and potentially have screaming girls and millions of dollars, while playing the same songs. This was a convincing argument, especially when Dana Morgan Jr, the son of the owner of the music shop, told them they could have free electric instruments if they let him join on bass. Morgan wasn't that great on bass, but what the hell, free instruments. Pig Pen had the best voice and stage presence, so he became the frontman of the new group, singing most of the leads, though Jerry and Bob would both sing a few songs, and playing harmonica and organ. Weir was on rhythm guitar, and Garcia was the lead guitarist and obvious leader of the group. They just needed a drummer, and handily Bill Kreutzmann, who had played with Garcia and Pig Pen in the Zodiacs, was also now teaching music at the music shop. Not only that, but about three weeks before they decided to go electric, Kreutzmann had seen the Uptown Jug Champions performing and been astonished by Garcia's musicianship and charisma, and said to himself "Man, I'm gonna follow that guy forever!" The new group named themselves the Warlocks, and started rehearsing in earnest. Around this time, Garcia also finally managed to get some of the LSD that his friend Robert Hunter had been so enthusiastic about three years earlier, and it was a life-changing experience for him. In particular, he credited LSD with making him comfortable being a less disciplined player -- as a bluegrass player he'd had to be frighteningly precise, but now he was playing rock and needed to loosen up. A few days after taking LSD for the first time, Garcia also heard some of Bob Dylan's new material, and realised that the folk singer he'd had little time for with his preachy politics was now making electric music that owed a lot more to the Beat culture Garcia considered himself part of: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Subterranean Homesick Blues"] Another person who was hugely affected by hearing that was Phil Lesh, who later said "I couldn't believe that was Bob Dylan on AM radio, with an electric band. It changed my whole consciousness: if something like that could happen, the sky was the limit." Up to that point, Lesh had been focused entirely on his avant-garde music, working with friends like Steve Reich to push music forward, inspired by people like John Cage and La Monte Young, but now he realised there was music of value in the rock world. He'd quickly started going to rock gigs, seeing the Rolling Stones and the Byrds, and then he took acid and went to see his friend Garcia's new electric band play their third ever gig. He was blown away, and very quickly it was decided that Lesh would be the group's new bass player -- though everyone involved tells a different story as to who made the decision and how it came about, and accounts also vary as to whether Dana Morgan took his sacking gracefully and let his erstwhile bandmates keep their instruments, or whether they had to scrounge up some new ones. Lesh had never played bass before, but he was a talented multi-instrumentalist with a deep understanding of music and an ability to compose and improvise, and the repertoire the Warlocks were playing in the early days was mostly three-chord material that doesn't take much rehearsal -- though it was apparently beyond the abilities of poor Dana Morgan, who apparently had to be told note-by-note what to play by Garcia, and learn it by rote. Garcia told Lesh what notes the strings of a bass were tuned to, told him to borrow a guitar and practice, and within two weeks he was on stage with the Warlocks: [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, “Grayfolded"] In September 1995, just weeks after Jerry Garcia's death, an article was published in Mute magazine identifying a cultural trend that had shaped the nineties, and would as it turned out shape at least the next thirty years. It's titled "The Californian Ideology", though it may be better titled "The Bay Area Ideology", and it identifies a worldview that had grown up in Silicon Valley, based around the ideas of the hippie movement, of right-wing libertarianism, of science fiction authors, and of Marshall McLuhan. It starts "There is an emerging global orthodoxy concerning the relation between society, technology and politics. We have called this orthodoxy `the Californian Ideology' in honour of the state where it originated. By naturalising and giving a technological proof to a libertarian political philosophy, and therefore foreclosing on alternative futures, the Californian Ideologues are able to assert that social and political debates about the future have now become meaningless. The California Ideology is a mix of cybernetics, free market economics, and counter-culture libertarianism and is promulgated by magazines such as WIRED and MONDO 2000 and preached in the books of Stewart Brand, Kevin Kelly and others. The new faith has been embraced by computer nerds, slacker students, 30-something capitalists, hip academics, futurist bureaucrats and even the President of the USA himself. As usual, Europeans have not been slow to copy the latest fashion from America. While a recent EU report recommended adopting the Californian free enterprise model to build the 'infobahn', cutting-edge artists and academics have been championing the 'post-human' philosophy developed by the West Coast's Extropian cult. With no obvious opponents, the global dominance of the Californian ideology appears to be complete." [Excerpt: Grayfolded] The Warlocks' first gig with Phil Lesh on bass was on June the 18th 1965, at a club called Frenchy's with a teenage clientele. Lesh thought his playing had been wooden and it wasn't a good gig, and apparently the management of Frenchy's agreed -- they were meant to play a second night there, but turned up to be told they'd been replaced by a band with an accordion and clarinet. But by September the group had managed to get themselves a residency at a small bar named the In Room, and playing there every night made them cohere. They were at this point playing the kind of sets that bar bands everywhere play to this day, though at the time the songs they were playing, like "Gloria" by Them and "In the Midnight Hour", were the most contemporary of hits. Another song that they introduced into their repertoire was "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin' Spoonful, another band which had grown up out of former jug band musicians. As well as playing their own sets, they were also the house band at The In Room and as such had to back various touring artists who were the headline acts. The first act they had to back up was Cornell Gunter's version of the Coasters. Gunter had brought his own guitarist along as musical director, and for the first show Weir sat in the audience watching the show and learning the parts, staring intently at this musical director's playing. After seeing that, Weir's playing was changed, because he also picked up how the guitarist was guiding the band while playing, the small cues that a musical director will use to steer the musicians in the right direction. Weir started doing these things himself when he was singing lead -- Pig Pen was the frontman but everyone except Bill sang sometimes -- and the group soon found that rather than Garcia being the sole leader, now whoever was the lead singer for the song was the de facto conductor as well. By this point, the Bay Area was getting almost overrun with people forming electric guitar bands, as every major urban area in America was. Some of the bands were even having hits already -- We Five had had a number three hit with "You Were On My Mind", a song which had originally been performed by the folk duo Ian and Sylvia: [Excerpt: We Five, "You Were On My Mind"] Although the band that was most highly regarded on the scene, the Charlatans, was having problems with the various record companies they tried to get signed to, and didn't end up making a record until 1969. If tracks like "Number One" had been released in 1965 when they were recorded, the history of the San Francisco music scene may have taken a very different turn: [Excerpt: The Charlatans, "Number One"] Bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Great Society, and Big Brother and the Holding Company were also forming, and Autumn Records was having a run of success with records by the Beau Brummels, whose records were produced by Autumn's in-house A&R man, Sly Stone: [Excerpt: The Beau Brummels, "Laugh Laugh"] The Warlocks were somewhat cut off from this, playing in a dive bar whose clientele was mostly depressed alcoholics. But the fact that they were playing every night for an audience that didn't care much gave them freedom, and they used that freedom to improvise. Both Lesh and Garcia were big fans of John Coltrane, and they started to take lessons from his style of playing. When the group played "Gloria" or "Midnight Hour" or whatever, they started to extend the songs and give themselves long instrumental passages for soloing. Garcia's playing wasn't influenced *harmonically* by Coltrane -- in fact Garcia was always a rather harmonically simple player. He'd tend to play lead lines either in Mixolydian mode, which is one of the most standard modes in rock, pop, blues, and jazz, or he'd play the notes of the chord that was being played, so if the band were playing a G chord his lead would emphasise the notes G, B, and D. But what he was influenced by was Coltrane's tendency to improvise in long, complex, phrases that made up a single thought -- Coltrane was thinking musically in paragraphs, rather than sentences, and Garcia started to try the same kind of th

Aaron Luo is co-founder and CEO of Mercado Famous. A serial entrepreneur and co-founder of luxury handbag brand Caraa, he also has more than a decade of global managerial experience across corporate finance and operations with General Electric Company. Born in Shanghai, China and raised in Madrid, Spain, Aaron is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.Laurel Mintz, founder and CEO of award-winning marketing agency Elevate My Brand, explores some of the most exciting new and growing brands in Los Angeles and the US at large. Each week, the Elevate Your Brand podcast features an entrepreneurial special guest to discuss the past, present and future of their brand.

Charli got to have an enlightening conversation with Tim Albers this week. Timothy Albers is the Standards and Lean Product for Nidec Motor Corporation's US Motors division.  His current responsibilities include standards development, complexity reduction, industry thought leadership and new product development support.  He is currently Chair of the NEMA Motor Generator Technical Committee.  He is also a Senior Member of IEEE and serves on many Hydraulic Institute technical committees including the Chair of the Associate Member Council.  His past experience includes various Marketing and product development positions at U.S. Motors/Emerson and other marketing and sales positions in electric motors and drives at General Electric Company.  He also spent 12 years active and reserves as a U. S. Navy officer and was a qualified operating engineering officer.HI's Member of the Year! Connect with Tim on LinkedIn  Read up at EmpweringPumps.com and stay tuned for more news about EPIC in Atlanta this November!Find us @EmpoweringPumps on Facebook, LinkedIn,  Instagram and Twitter and using the hashtag #EmpoweringIndustryPodcast or via email podcast@empoweringpumps.com 

Program Notes: My recent conversation with Nancy Delain offered up a wealth of information for women around protecting our intellectual property. From helping women to pull unrecognized golden nuggets out of their minds to assembling the structures to monetize their inventions, Nancy has mastered all the steps necessary. And if building a franchise is the dream, she is able to apply her skills to help women rise and thrive. A fascinating conversation for any woman ready to launch into a new level of business and industry. Bio: Nancy Baum Delain, Esq. is a solo lawyer who concentrates her practice in intellectual property, business law and bankruptcy matters. She owns and runs Delain Law Office, PLLC as a virtual law practice with a physical presence in Schenectady New York. She is admitted as an attorney in New York and as a patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Before studying law, Nancy was a technical documentation specialist (writer, editor, and manager) for over 20 years, working as an independent consultant or W-2 employee with such companies as 3M, CSC, Rational Software, General Electric Company, NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), and KeyBank. She brings those skills to bear as she works with clients to document invention, protect business goodwill, and negotiate and develop contracts and deals. Nancy is a Mensan. Nancy has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Phoenix, teaching technical writing and first-year writing courses online. She was also an adjunct faculty member at The Sage Colleges for one semester, teaching business law to undergraduates in a classroom setting. When she's not working or volunteering, Nancy enjoys swimming, walking, reading, writing, and playing with her many cats.

Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!In episode 181, The Wall Street Journal discusses Plug Power and the future of the hydrogen economy. I'll go over the article and give you my thoughts on today's hydrogen podcast.Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the podcast. Please feel free to email me at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com with any questions. Also, if you wouldn't mind subscribing to my podcast using your preferred platform... I would greatly appreciate it. Respectfully,Paul RoddenVISIT THE HYDROGEN PODCAST WEBSITEhttps://thehydrogenpodcast.comCHECK OUT OUR BLOGhttps://thehydrogenpodcast.com/blog/WANT TO SPONSOR THE PODCAST? Send us an email to: info@thehydrogenpodcast.comNEW TO HYDROGEN AND NEED A QUICK INTRODUCTION?Start Here: The 6 Main Colors of Hydrogen

When you're nearing the end of the quarter, especially the fourth quarter, do you tend to panic and offer a discount in order to close any deals hanging fire? Oren Klaff, New York Times bestselling author of Pitch Anything and Flip The Script, discusses the downside of this neediness on today's Market Dominance Guys podcast. Our two hosts, Chris Beall and Corey Frank, explore with Oren what happens to the status you have so carefully built with your prospective customer if you blatantly display just how needy and desperate you are to close the deal. Does showing your soft underbelly increase your chance of closing the deal? Or does your neediness kill the deal altogether? Oren's advice is to stick to the sales process — and HOLD, no matter what. Join these three sales analysts as they caution the sales reps of the world about the pitfalls of a needy mindset when a sales deadline is looming on today's Market Dominance Guys' episode, “Hold Everything!” ----more---- More Marketet Dominance Guys episodes with Oren Klaff here: https://marketdominanceguys.com/category/guest-oren-klaff  About Our Guest Oren Klaff is one of the world's leading experts on sales, raising capital, and negotiation. He is the New York Times bestselling author of two sales-related books, Flip The Script and Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal. Employing his securities markets experience in capital-raising advisory leadership, Oren is Managing Director of Capital Markets at the investment bank Intersection Capital, where he manages its capital-raising platform. Since 2005, Oren has grown the firm to approximately $2 billion in aggregate trade volume across a diversified portfolio of companies and transactions.   Full episode transcript below: Announcer (00:05): Welcome to another session with the Market Dominance Guys. A program exploring all the high stake speed bumps and off-ramps of driving to the top of your market with our host Chris Beall from ConnectAndSell and Corey Frank from Branch49. (00:21): When you're nearing the end of the quarter, especially the fourth quarter, you tend to panic and offer a discount in order to close any deals hanging fire or in clap. New York Times bestselling author of Pitch Anything and Flip the Script discusses the downside of this neediness on today's Market Dominance Guys Podcast. Our two hosts, Chris Beal and Corey Frank, explore with Oren what happens to the status you have so carefully built with your prospective customer if you blatantly display just how needy and desperate you are to close the deal. (00:51): Does showing your soft underbelly increase your chance of closing the deal? Or does your neediness kill the deal altogether? Oren's advice is to stick to the sales process and hold no matter what. Join these three sales analysts as they caution the sales reps of the world about the pitfalls of a needy mindset when the sales deadline is looming, on today's Market Dominance Guys episode Hold Everything. Corey Frank (01:20): And here we are. Welcome to another episode of the Market Dominance Guys with Corey Frank and the sage of sales, the prophet of profits, the hawking of Hawking, does that make sense? And we have, Oren, I'm sorry I don't have any nicknames I've rehearsed in my shower for the last few weeks for you, we have Oren Klaff, best-selling author of Pitch Anything, Flip the Script, and Sales Connoisseur. I don't know, that's all I got. So welcome, Chris, we got to a great special guest in the hotseat today and what brings the three of us together? What could possibly top the last podcast we did? Oh I don't know, a short six, eight months ago or so. We probably have something to announce, do we not, Oren, Chris, that we could talk to a little later in the podcast? Chris Beall (02:07): I think we do. For one thing, let me just point out, I recommend some sales books but I don't force any of them down anybody's throat except for Flip the Script. And the reason I do is Flip the Script says, "Don't force this book down somebody's throat," and I just love the delicious irony of utterly failing to apply every single principle in this book while pushing this book on people. I don't know, the dynamic tension in that just works for me. Corey Frank (02:36): It's like don't push this button [inaudible 00:02:39]. Chris Beall (02:39): Yeah, it's like peeps, look, if you have only two books you can read in this coming year and for some of you that is a stretch, read Flip the Script and learn how to do simple things like get a little status alignment going and learn how to flash roll. I'm still trying to teach our people how to flash roll. They tend to want to drift into teaching at that point. Learn how to flash roll. And then when you're done with all that and you realize that you're not going to do all this, that you're a manager and your people are going to do it, pick up Helen Fanucci's Love Your Team and go and read that, and you put those two together, and I don't know, I'm not going to be responsible for you failing, I'm just not going to be responsible. Oren Klaff (03:18): In the military, those super sauced up guys, so calm guys, they have these banana clips they put in the clip, and then they shoot the 28 bullets or where the 30 bullets are that clip, and then they flip it right around, and then they shove the next clip in because it's already attached. I feel like Flip the Script and then Love Your Team, you shove that in, you shoot all those 30 bullets, you're out, then flip it over, and then Love Your Team flips in. Corey Frank (03:42): I love it. That's right. Well, hey, I thought getting you two fine gentlemen together, here we are coming up on the end of another quarter and the end of another year coming up in Q4, and Oren, we always talk about no neediness, right? I think what you've hit me over the head for the years we've known each other. Chris, certainly that's what you talk about on this podcast many, many times. (04:04): But here we are coming up at the end of the year and so I wanted to grab you two gentlemen and talk, certainly maybe about a pending event that we have coming up, but also what do you do so we don't just drop the price and create all these insulting kind of promotions to finish the year strong but still have a little pipeline left going into Q1. So, from a neediness perspective or what are you going to think to that? Oren Klaff (04:28): I like to think in visuals. There was this movie, The Perfect Storm, towards the end they're like going up this wave and however, they shot this wave is like a thousand times bigger than the boat, and they're going straight up it. The captain's telling the kid at the wheel to hold because he wants to turn it, and he's going, "Hold!" And they're climbing up this wave and it's just terrifying. He wants to turn, "Hold, hold, hold." That's what I think is like [inaudible 00:04:52], is you want to turn the boat, you want to turn around, you want to run to safety, and you need Corey, or me, or Chris get saying, "Hold, don't turn the wheel, just hold." Right? And you get yourself in this impossible situation in which there's no possible way to get out. But you have somebody who's been in that situation saying, "Hold, don't be needy, don't turn the wheel." And then it becomes, "Now! Turn the wheel." (05:23): But you have to be able to hold through that period where most other people would cave, collapse, run away scared, start discounting. So, if you could remember, hold your position. If you built the position but then you're afraid of the position you built and back away from it, you haven't done any good. You cannot be needy. I don't care if this is the last account on earth for you, because the other side of being needy is it definitely will not close. You have to hold strong, hold. Get a tattoo on your forearm. I mean, I'm not advocating that you get a tattoo, but go ahead and get a tattoo that says hold, based on this podcast and Corey will sign it for you. I don't want my name on it because I don't know who you're married to, but you know. Corey Frank (06:15): All right. Chris, from your perspective, you have obviously ConnectAndSell. You have a weapon that brings more prospects to your doorstep, more than they can even handle. So, what do you tell your clients, your fellow CEOs, your fellow CROs, CEOs, VPs of sales, when they come to this time of the year that, "Hey, I can bring you the prospects, I can bring the conversations to you, but be careful you don't do x." Chris Beall (06:42): Well, one of the things is there's a mathematical thing, right? It's like driving on a one-lane road. You have a problem. And that is if anybody's slow in front of you, then you got to decide to either be as slow as they are or go off-road. And sometimes you got to go off-road, and sometimes you got to go up the wave, and sometimes you got to hold and hold and hold. A really good idea, and it's getting a little late, but a good idea is to just, if you widen a little, you widen a lot. That is, if your portfolio is a little bit bigger, it's a lot bigger. And that's just the way it is. With risk management, we all think, "Oh, if I add one more opportunity to my one opportunity, I've reduced the risk by something." You don't know what it is. (07:29): You've cut it in half, my friend. But you add a third one and you actually cut it two less than a third. Now, you've cut it to one over three to the third. Ooh, you've cut it to by 26, 27th. Life gets a lot better because you only need one lane to go down. Now, do you need it or not need it? Well, you might need it but you better not act like you need it because it's like Oren drives the best cars. And when Oren shooting a gap between two cars or he's making a decision to pass in someplace that's a little tiny bit marginal or whatever, once he makes that decision, he's got to actually hold that line. He can't kind of half unmake the decision part way into whatever it is that that maneuver is, right? (08:19): There's just a rule in all, I'll call them ballistic acts. A ballistic act is where the performance outcome, the thing you want, depends on what came before, therefore what came before, therefore what came before. It starts somewhere and once you commit to it you're really screwed unless you go through with it. I used to be, Corey, and Oren keeps trying to forget, I used to be a very serious rock climber mountaineer, and there's a word used in climbing and there's a word that's used as an adjective and it's used as a noun. As an adjective, the word committed. That's a really committed route means once you start you better finish it or you're toast. You start that move, you got to finish the move. That's like the same thing. It's like look, once you're here and you're in a committed situation, you have to ignore all outcomes and you simply have to go; that's just a truth of the world. Oren Klaff (09:16): And so I think what happens is ultimately we tell people run the process. And so if they go, "I forgot the process," or, "What process?" Then there's a problem. But if you have a process and you just go, yeah, outcome independent, don't be needy, run the process, trust the process, and then if you don't like still the nervousness that brings with it, then have Chris bring you lots of other pipelines. So, we run that process in a very high stakes, high tension situation where there's a couple of leads, we got to close two out of four. And it's very challenging. (09:54): That's where we learned this never be needy, but if we know Chris is going to bring us another 18, then we're flipping. We come to meetings in T-shirts, we say things we wouldn't, we take risks we otherwise wouldn't take. We come late, we come early, we do what we want because we're like, "Yeah, that didn't work out. Let's not do that again. But still, Hey Chris, bring that wheel barrel over here. Jumps some more leads off." We just figured out a couple of things that are not going to work, so the great thing is if you have a process you can run it, that allows you to hold and stay the course. But if you can run a process and you've got pipeline, there's a name for that. (10:29): I'm not sure how it's pronounced in German, or Swiss, or whatever you speak, Chris, but in English we call it a business. Where you have prospects, you have a process, you've got a technique in which you can close them, and then you also have new leads coming in case something goes wrong, you don't close the lead that you wanted to. That's called a business. Corey Frank (10:51): Oren, talk a little bit about with neediness, we've had a number of conversations about this, you need some status with that neediness. And I think that if you built up a good status in your previous conversations with this prospect, with this company, with this executive team, you're expecting that status is going to hold, right? But as you've always talked and you've written about, it's temporary, and so you need to establish it throughout. And it seems like a lot of sales reps will abandon all that status they've worked to hold and maintain at the last month of the year, the last few weeks of the year to try to get a deal. Oren Klaff (11:29): Yeah, I think there's one way to address this. Okay, yes, we're having an event... Sorry, what was your question? (11:42): Let me try to run this down. So, Chris, Corey, and I said let's have an event and it was in June and it became July and then it became August. Back then in August, August we could've had any event, like Chris and Corey debate politics and crypto, and that would've been a good event. Then it became September, end of the year, busy. We didn't do the event. So finally we got serious. We said it's now. (12:06): All right, December and we're still having an event. And then Corey pointed out, it better be really good if we're going to have an event in December. So yes, we're having a really good event in December. Actually, it's too good because when you hear about it. The event's too good when I don't want to speak at it, I just want to go to it and benefit from the event. Because like hey, my business can use the event, but I'm actually in the event and part of it, but I'm too busy to do what I'm doing at the event for our own business. So, this thing is amazing and I really want to be there. So status. Oren Klaff (13:32): I think what happens is salespeople very carefully and intuitively curate their status going in. And so they appoint themselves well, they give a good presentation, but now you're sort of a move out of your domain into their domain and people come out of nowhere that know more than you. It's like a video game. You're going up higher levels and bigger bosses come out. My favorite analogy, as you know, is you think you're fighting the boss to win the level and this giant foot comes out of nowhere and crushes the boss you're fighting, right? The big boss cares so little about... He just crushes his own team, and what's going on here? And that's where salespeople lose their status is where somebody who has much stronger frame, much more expertise, much more knowledge, and actually controls the contract comes out of nowhere. And that's where status goes to die. (14:29): And I think it's not a status event, but we're definitely covering how to hold your status not at the beginning, because there's like no teaching about status that you need at the beginning, right? Yeah, I dress good. I talk politely. I have a presentation. Everybody can hold it together at the beginning until the stress comes on. And then the things we're talking about, never be needy, hold your status together, make sure you've got pipeline, widen your lane, stuff that Chris and Corey know how to do really come together once you're later in the deal and there's real stressors. (15:05): And if you think about it, last thing then I'll turn back over to you, you're at the beginning of a deal all the time, right? There's a lot more first downs than there are fourth downs, I think. I'm not sure. We'll have to check that. But anyway, you're at the beginning of deals all the time and so you're good at the beginning. Chris and I had a call with Andreson, one of the big venture firms today, which is great, but how often are you on a call with Andreson Horowitz versus on a call with somebody about something? So, you're good at beginnings, but how good are you at controlling those later stages when status falls apart, you fall apart? Chris Beall (15:41): [inaudible 00:15:41]. That remind me of a story by the way. Corey Frank (15:42): Go ahead, Chris. Chris Beall (15:43): There's a story [foreign language 00:15:44]. Oren Klaff (15:44): A story about our event? Chris Beall (15:46): Yeah, this is a story [inaudible 00:15:49]. This is the kind of thing you learn at this event is to do what's in the story. So, first of all, this event is so important, I might actually show up. I might not because I have a very dear family member who's having surgery the day before and might need my care, and I'll be approximately 1400 miles away, but I could be there. The story is sometimes you have to be somewhere else in New York. You find yourself at the end, you don't even know it's going to be the end. So this particular story, I was called by the general counsel of the General Electric Company who told me, "I need to talk to you and I need to talk to you tomorrow." (16:23): And so it was a Sunday. I went and did my usual thing. I was living in Denver, went down to the airport, asked them at the red carpet club where I was going. They told me. I got on an airplane, I got off, I went into a building up there in Connecticut. And the general counsel of General Electric put me in a room, a big boardroom, the one right under the CEO's office, right under Jack Law's office. And he sat down and he dressed like Mr. Rogers, which I think was one of his best tricks. And he literally pounded the table, which I thought was hilarious. (16:54): I almost laughed out loud, but I held it. "You are destroying the General Electric Company." Now, that's a case where you're kind of at the end because this had to do with a huge renewal opportunity for 11 out of the 12 general electric companies. Now, what are you going to do there? You must have something wired into you that allows you to hold your status. And I have a fondness for humor. I just said, "Well, there must be some amount of money you'd like to pay me to get me to stop destroying the General Electric Company." It's an example. Oren Klaff (17:29): That's where he pressed the button underneath this desk, and security came in, escorted you out the building. Chris Beall (17:34): No, no. He started laughing. And you know what? We ended up doing the deal I wanted to do. Oren Klaff (17:39): Oh, I have a great story about the other call that I have to be on right now [inaudible 00:17:48]. The good news, well, so the bad news is it's not a good story. The good news, it's a very short one. Corey, can you run down the dates of the event and a little bit of information for people and then I will call both of you in a while. Corey Frank (18:00): Yes. We are going to do this on December 7th and December 8th coming up here in a very short period of time. And what we're going to do is we're going to put you and your existing sales process through the ringer. We're going to take and rip up your sales script, turn it into a screenplay, and start from scratch building up a brand new December Q4 sales machine for you with a screenplay that's tailored to your business. And Chris's team, Oren's team, our team, the Branch 49 team, we're going to walk you through step by step through this Pitch Anything formula, through the best practices and how we create a screenplay, and apply it to the industry and business. So the best part, Chris, right, Oren, as you know, is we're going to perfect your pitch and you're going to practice it. (18:45): If this is your first time at Fight Club, you will fight. If it's your first time dialing with ConnectAndSell, you will dial and we're going to jump right on the phones right alongside you. And by the end of the event, you're going to have a brand new pitch process. You're going to have a brand new screenplay that drives qualified leads back to you that are ready to buy. And we are going to guarantee that you're going to close enough meetings to at least equal the cost of the event, or Chris's team, orange team, our team, we're going to work with you until you do. That's a pretty good guarantee, would you say, Chris? Chris Beall (19:20): That's crazy. Corey, has anybody ever in the history of, I don't know, life on Earth, have they ever actually done this particular kind of event? This exact thing. Corey Frank (19:32): I recall when you visited our sales team at my previous company, you swooped in with the jump boots and one or two of your cohorts, and you walked us through a mini version of this. I think this was one of the origins, I know you've had others, of the flight school because as soon as we started utilizing the weapon of ConnectAndSell, and I think it was the first monosyllabic construction we put together, you said, "Stop. What are you saying? Stop. Don't ever say that again." (20:00): And you completely deconstructed and then built up our screenplay to an effective breakthrough screenplay that changed the trajectory of our business. And hence, since many thousands of folks in flight school later, many thousands of folks at our Pitch Anything events later, many thousands of events or phone calls that we've made here at Branch 49, I think we're pretty dialed in on how to do cold outreach. Chris Beall (20:27): And it's fascinating to me because some people don't like that word, cold outreach. They think it implies, well, I don't know, it's December and it's cold or something like that. Or maybe you don't like people, you're so cold when you're reaching out. Of course, it's technical. It's a term of art. It means outreach to people you haven't spoken with before. And if you have half a brain in your head, these are people that you would like to speak with. You have a hypothesis and that is a conversation with anybody on that list of people, anybody in that target set has a reasonable shot of moving forward to something better than where you are than talking to a random person. That's not a big hypothesis. That's an important one. What's so interesting to me, and this is what this event is going to be about, is it doesn't have anything specifically to do with what you're selling. (21:15): It has to do with one universal truth, which is you're speaking to a human being and that is bedrock. That's the thing I always come back to and somebody goes, "Well, does it work in this industry? That industry?" We don't want to come to this thing like that because what we do is we sell something so high value, customized, so bespoke, so thought through, that nothing that you guys could teach us or that we could practice in an event like this could possibly fit us. (21:46): But you know what? It's kind of like a pair of gloves. As long as I know you have fingers, even if you're missing one or say, you have an extra one because well, maybe you do. Maybe somebody killed your father and they should prepare to die, but you still have got something that pretty much looks like a hand, it's going to fit pretty much in a glove and you're about to go pretty much out into 20 below and you're better off with gloves than with no gloves. You're going into a world where it's better to have something on your hands. And that's really where we're taking it, that's what's cold, is that world you're going into. I think it's going to be quite a fascinating experience for folks. I dearly do hope I can physically show up. It's extremely inconvenient. Corey Frank (22:32): Well, it's your weapon. It is your weapon and probably a member or two of your team. So, ConnectAndSell will be represented fully in spirit and in practice. And you're mentioning cold outreach, Chris, I think maybe we could finish with this concept because we've talked about it a lot. I know the esteemed Jerry Hale posted something on LinkedIn several months ago about this concept of survivorship bias and particularly how germane that is probably to Q4. Listen, we've always done a discount at the end of Q4. We've always extended our contracts for another month to allow our folks to make it easier to jump on board. So, maybe just talk a little bit about not just cold outreach in the approach, but how survivorship bias really kind of diminishes your opportunity to grow as a sales organization because of that's how we've always done it this way. Chris Beall (23:25): Survivorship bias is funny because everybody I think, I hope they know the story. It was invented as a concept looking at the damage done to bombers that were flying over Germany in World War II. And the ones that came back that where they had the holes in them, what they were doing is basically saying, "Well, this is where they got hit. We should put armor there." And that's incorrect. This is where they got hit and they made it back. So, those places don't need armor. Put more armor in the places where they got hit and didn't make it back. (24:00): Now, it's a little actually more challenging to figure out what that really means, but anything's better than putting armor in a place that you didn't need it, because we know it always adds weight. So, when we come to the end of a quarter or a year and we're looking at last year and we're going, "Well this worked last year." What worked is like a plane coming back, it "worked." (24:26): Do we really know which part of the plane went down? Or the ones that didn't work and are maybe it was one of those that would've made it? Did we even select correctly which deals to focus on and where to put our armor, so to speak? Survivorship bias is the most insidious, I think, of the intellectual failings that we embrace in groups. So, groupthink is bad, but groupthink is amplified by survivorship bias because we can all see the same thing and seeing as believing. We reason in very simple ways about these situations and the simplest way is let's do what we did last year. Corey Frank (25:06): Yeah, absolutely. Well, we've talked about false positive versus false negatives and how most organizations... I think we talked about this with Jeb when we were on the phone, is that how most organizations look at false positives and they should be, similar to survivorship bias, looking at the false negatives, correct? Chris Beall (25:22): Yeah, false negatives kill businesses. False positive, they cost you a little something, you have to do some work that you throw away. Dying is not as attractive, frankly, as doing some work you throw away. Now, the fact of the matter is management of ignorance is what it's all about. And it's really interesting. If you want to hold, you want to do it what Oren said, which is hold, one of the things you oddly have to do to be so committed is you have to embrace your ignorance. You have to admit you don't actually know based on the information you're getting right now, what your reaction should be. (25:58): And since you don't know, your best course action is probably to be proactive, to run your process. P-R-O, as the beginning of both of those words because your lack of knowledge is actually your savior, in this case. It's like, "I don't know, so I may as well do what we decided to do, whatever that happens to be." And it is that change of course. It's like, "well, what if we offer them a discount right now?" I have a couple of them right now. I've got a couple of deals that are... One of them, one of my very best customers will expire at the end of the day. I'm sitting here talking to you. Corey Frank (26:38): That's right. That's right. Well, I'm sure the rep on the deal is... Chris Beall (26:42): I am the rep. Corey Frank (26:43): Oh, you're the rep, too. Even better. Chris Beall (26:44): Well, we have another principle here, and I think a lot of people practice it, but we're pretty hard over here at ConnectAndSell. We all sell from the front lines and we don't sell the special deals. We just sell deals. And in fact, I sell the most experimental deals. The ones that are the weirdest. People turn their nose up at and go, "Why'd you do that?" Because I can endure the most reputational damage without being damaged. Being the CEO, as long as you hold and people make fun of you like, "Oh, that's a stupid deal. That was idiotic." It's like, yeah, well, it's part of my job is to explore the possible on behalf of all of us. Som I get to go to the top of some mountain that turns out there was nothing over on the other side that was worthwhile, but I'm kind of a sunk cost, right? As the CEO, you kind of a sunk cost. (27:30): So, we sell from the front lines, but one of the reasons we do it is that there's a hidden set of signals that go on in a company that cause reps to waiver. And it's this thing that says, "Hey, do the right thing in the deal. Go do the right thing." We all know what that is. Oh, and by the way, make the number no matter what. It's like those are a little bit at odds with you there and that's fine. I mean, dynamic tension is the essence of good stories, but at some point you have to decide what are we going to do as a company? What's our real goal? Was it to make this number? (28:07): It's very rare, by the way, that making a specific number on a specific date makes all the difference. I'll never forget my eldest, and I think I told this story once in a previous episode, we were in a meeting and everybody's talking about it, making this number on this date and all these numbers, numbers, numbers, numbers. And we came out and my eldest kid, Serenity, at the time said, "So, dad, I have a question." I said, "what's the question?" She said, "Well, do they think by talking about the numbers, they're going to change them?" (28:43): And I said, "Yes, they do." And she thought for a while said, "That's really sad," and walked off and led me over to Starbucks for hot chocolate. Talking about the stuff is actually a bad habit. Talking about what's going to close, talking about when it's going to close, talk, talk, talk, talks a bad habit. Go run the process and take your spare time and fill up with other opportunities because they'll make you stronger. Corey Frank (29:09): One of my good friends, our good friends, Robert Vera always talks about you can't out exercise your fork. So, as much as you want to do a lot of activity, you got to make sure that the biggest constraint in your system is tackled and it takes... You're a mathematician and a physician. It takes 3,500 calories to burn every pound of fat. These are the laws of thermodynamics. The same for celestial mathematics and the laws of physics. And those exist in client acquisition and revenue. And you have to eliminate that biggest constraint in your system, as we've said time and again. And for most folks, it's establishing that trust-based conversation game at scale and no conversations, no product-market fit, no conversations, no core Q4 achievement, no ticket, no laundry, right? And so if you're not doing five to six pitches in your tam, as you said many times, guess what? Somebody else is. Chris Beall (30:05): And those are the good ones. Corey Frank (30:05): [inaudible 00:30:07]. Chris Beall (30:07): Most are the good ones. It's prima facie evidence that they're good. They're actually happening. [inaudible 00:30:16]. And it's so fascinating when folks talk about the quality versus quantity thing, and there's all these sort of notions that people have like, "Oh, if I just think harder about the quality, then there'll be better meetings." Embrace your ignorance. Your ignorance is your friend. Freedom is your friend. Just go in knowing nothing and have a conversation. (30:38): I mean, you know one thing. You have a range of capabilities, you have a range of things that you could bring to bear. You're representing your company, that's why you're called a rep. You're representing what your company's capable of doing. Now, you know what that range of capabilities are, but you really don't know where the problems for the other person or the challenges, the gaps where they are. Okay, your ignorance is your friend. That's what enables you to be curious and ask those curiosity-based questions. And when you're needy, you want to see where neediness shows up first. Neediness kills more deals in discovery, then it kills at the end of a year by a lot. Not a little. Corey Frank (31:23): There you go. Absolutely. Well, I think we also need to mention the event one more time since Oren's not on here, right? Chris Beall (31:31): Yeah, when is it? Corey Frank (31:33): December 7th and December 8th at the Top Gun Studios in Carlsbad, California. Chris Beall (31:37): Wow. Corey Frank (31:38): Yes. Sunny, sunny California, right on the beach. You've had many events over the years there, Chris, you've been there many times. We'll try to maybe take a few of the cars out for a spin, maybe a couple of Ducati's since Oren's not on here, we can guarantee that. We'll have a blast. We're limiting it. If you would like some more information, please reach out to me at corey@branch49.com. Go to orenklaff.com, go to chris.beal@connectandsell.com. christ.beall, correct? Chris Beall (32:06): Yeah, chris.beall. Corey Frank (32:09): [inaudible 00:32:09]. Okay, great. And with that, Chris, I think we're going to put together another episode in the can here, since we do have our own Q4. Of course, you're not sitting around, you're waiting for the prospects to come to you. So, if he buys, he buys. It's only your number one client. We'll wait to hear how that story ends in the next episode. So for Chris Beall, this is Corey Frank with the Market Dominance Guys. Until next time. Chris Beall (32:34): All right, thanks, Corey.

No company embodied American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial power more spectacularly and more consistently than the General Electric Company. GE once developed and manufactured many of the inventions we take for granted today, nearly everything from the lightbulb to the jet engine. GE also built a cult of financial and leadership success envied across the globe and became the world's most valuable and most admired company. But even at the height of its prestige and influence, cracks were forming in its formidable foundation. In "Power Failure," Cohan punctures the myth of GE, exploring in how a once-great company wound up broken and in tatters.

Andrew Benedek is the Chairman and CEO of Anaergia. Before founding Anaergia, he was a professor at McMaster University and the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of ZENON, where he developed cost-effective membrane technologies for recycling wastewater. Under his leadership, ZENON invented, developed, and commercialized many of the key membrane technologies used for water and wastewater treatment and became a global leader in this field. In June of 2006, ZENON was sold to General Electric Company for $790 million. Andrew then worked for Scripps Institute of Technology in San Diego where he furthered his interest in climate change.  He received his chemical engineering degree from McGill University in Montreal and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle with a focus in wastewater treatment. In 2008, he was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Prize, a prestigious award for contributions to solving water problems. In this episode… Climate change is no small matter, so how can we focus on net zero when fossil fuels keep increasing? Is it possible for things to change? Advocacy and education are crucial pieces of the environmental puzzle. While advances are being made, 75% of the energy we use comes from fossil fuel. Andrew Benedek focuses on the creation of renewable natural gas. He wants to take the impact that organic waste has on the atmosphere and turn it into fuel. This can help future generations fight climate change and make the earth more sustainable.  In this episode of Access To Anyone, Michael Roderick sits down with Andrew Benedek, Chairman and CEO of Anaergia, to discuss the complexity of fighting and reversing climate change. Andrew talks about how research and education can create an impact, the governmental requirements at home and abroad, and empowering future generations with necessary tools. 

No company embodied American ingenuity, innovation, and industrial power more spectacularly and consistently than the General Electric Company. GE once developed and manufactured many inventions we take for granted today. In this episode, William Cohan, author of The Power Failure: The Rise And Fall Of An American Icon, explores how a once-great company spirals down and wound up, broken in tatters. He also dives deep into GE's management culture, its pioneering doctrine of shareholder value, and its seemingly hidden blind spots, which will reveal that GE was not immune from the hubris and avoidable mistakes suffered by many corporations. If you are on a journey to exit rich, build that success and never allow those cracks to form in your formidable foundation through this episode. Tune in to this fantastic episode and learn from William's cautionary tale for the ages!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.seilertucker.com/podcast

Learn More about Bracken at: (2) Bracken Darrell | LinkedIn  and at Bracken Darrell - Logitech President & CEOUnder Bracken Darrell's 10 years of leadership as president and CEO, Logitech has reinvented itself into an award-winning design company, an industry force pursuing a more sustainable and equal world, and a top performer on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq Global Select Market.As a result, Logitech has been the recipient of numerous awards. These include more than 200 design awards over the past three years from the likes of CES, iF Design, Red Dot, Good Design and IDA, as well as repeated recognition by Fast Company as a leading innovator by design. Logitech has also won numerous sustainability accolades, including first in a 2021 list of climate-conscious Swiss companies and inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Europe. Bracken himself has been named Swiss CEO of the year by Obermatt three times in the past four years, won the P&G Alumni Innovation Award, and the 2022 Edison Achievement Award.Bracken joined Logitech as president in April 2012, and assumed the role of chief executive officer in January 2013. He brings to Logitech nearly thirty years of experience in product, people and brand management through design. Prior to joining Logitech, Bracken was executive vice president of Whirlpool Corporation and president of Whirlpool EMEA, where he guided the company through the economic downturn of 2008. Previously, he was with Procter & Gamble, most recently as the president of Braun, the home appliance business. In addition to a total of twelve years with Procter & Gamble – in executive management positions as well as earlier years in brand management – Bracken served with General Electric Company for five years, most recently as the general manager of Consumer Home Service. He began his career with Arthur Anderson and then PepsiCo.Bracken is on the Board of Dean Advisors of Harvard Business School and serves on the board of directors of Life Biosciences, a longevity company.Bracken holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in English from Hendrix College in Arkansas.

In this episode, Aaron Luo and I discuss: How to break into the Fashion Industry Ways to build brands and businesses, infusing cross-culturalism The benefits of having conversations about race/ethnicity Advice to young and new entrepreneurs Aaron Luo is the Co-Founder & CEO of Caraa, a NY-based sport bag and accessory company founded in 2015 by him and CFDA award-winning designer, Carmen Chen Wu to re-imagine handbags for modern life. With backgrounds in design and global supply chain, Carmen and Aaron merged their respective expertise in form and function to create Car + aa. Aaron has more than 10 years of global managerial experience across corporate finance and operations with General Electric Company and is a serial entrepreneur within the Fashion and Consumer Goods industries. Born in Shanghai, China and raised in Madrid, Spain.  Aaron is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.  His new venture is as the CEO of Mercado Famous, which is a European gourmet food brand, specializing in Spanish delicacies.

In today's episode, Deanna Singh sits with Michael Barber, Retired Chief Diversity Officer of General Electric Company. They take on the topic of Michael's diversity, equity, and inclusion journey as a key member of the GE company. They also dissect how companies, particularly Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officers, can prolong the movement even after retirement. TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE Becoming Chief Diversity Officer in 2020 During the Pandemic and Racial Unrest Continuity of the Diversity and Inclusion Movement  Basic Leadership and Inclusivity  Michael's Diversity Officer Plans Metrics of Organization Representation  Sponsoring Mentees  How to Turn over the Diversity Plan, so the work continues on RESOURCES: Michael's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmikebarber/  Deanna's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannasingh/  Justin Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-ponder-1200b72b/   Uplifting Impact Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/upliftingimpact/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purposefulhustle/?ref=page_internal  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannasingh1/?hl=en  Uplifting Impact YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNs1RS6JqrU7BHeOc5W6SbQ  Uplifting Impact Website: https://www.upliftingimpact.com/?hsLang=en  WHAT'S NEW Uplifting Impact is excited to announce Actions Speak Louder, the latest book by author and DEI expert, our very own, Deanna Singh. This book, available starting May 31st, 2022, is a step-by-step guide on how to create change and inclusivity both in the workplace and beyond. In this book, Deanna seeks to answer questions for organizations and teams of all sizes on how to create more inclusivity. Actions Speak Louder creates a blueprint for those who are ready to read, take action now, and build a better tomorrow. Order Actions Speak Louder NOW: https://www.upliftingimpact.com/actions-speak-louder-book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Curran, Founder & CEO of School the World, shared the story behind her title with us on July 31, 2022.Kate founded School the World, a community-driven nonprofit committed to solving extreme poverty through the power of education, in 2009. Her vision is to fight extreme poverty at its roots by bringing education to the world's poorest children. Before School the World, Kate was an attorney and executive at General Electric Company. She grew up in Bridgeport, CT, and enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her very large extended family.SUE SAYS"In 2007, Kate Curran, an executive with GE at the time, suffered a tremendous loss. She lost both her parents and her brother within a very short period. The grieving led her to make a major change in her life, and she walked away from the financial security of a successful corporate job. What she did next has led to significant impact for children living in impoverished countries abroad."Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/women-to-watch-r/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mack Maloney grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston and was taught to read and write by the nuns at St. Ann's School. His father was a veteran of World War II and he used to read military books all the time. As a child, Mack started reading them too, along with a lot of science fiction. He received a BS in journalism and a graduate degree in filmmaking from Emerson College. He was a sports reporter for two years after college before joining corporate America as a publicist for General Electric Company. Mack started writing books in 1984, and have been doing it full time since 1987, penning over 30 books.

William D. Cohan, a former senior Wall Street M&A investment banker for 17 years at Lazard Frères & Co., Merrill Lynch and JPMorganChase, is the "New York Times" bestselling author of three non-fiction narratives about Wall Street: "Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World," "House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street" and "The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.," the winner of the 2007 FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. His book, "The Price of Silence," about the Duke lacrosse scandal was published in April 2014 and was also a "New York Times" bestseller. His book, "Why Wall Street Matters," was published by Random House in February 2017.  His most recent book, "Four Friends," about four of his friends from high school and what happened to them in their lives, was published in July 2019 by Flatiron Press. His new book, to be published in November 2022, is titled "Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon." It is about the astounding rise and precipitous fall of the General Electric Company, once the world's most valuable and respected company.A former longtime special correspondent at “Vanity Fair,” he is a founding partner of “Puck,” a daily digital news and opinion publication. His focus at “Puck” is on Wall Street and the business world, writ large. He is a former columnist for the DealBook section of the “The New York Times.” He also writes for “The Financial Times,” “The New York Times,” “Air Mail,” “Barron's,” “Bloomberg BusinessWeek,” “The Atlantic,” “Town & Country,” “The Nation,” “Fortune,” “The Hollywood Reporter,” and “Politico,”among other publications. He previously wrote a bi-weekly opinion column for “The New York Times” and an opinion column for “BloombergView.” He also appears regularly on CNN, on CNBC, where is a contributor, on MSNBC and the BBC-TV. He has also appeared three times as a guest on the Daily Show, with Jon Stewart, The NewsHour, The Charlie Rose Show, The Tavis Smiley Show, and CBS This Morning as well as on numerous NPR, BBC and Bloomberg radio programs. He was formerly a contributing editor on Bloomberg TV.He is a graduate of Phillips Academy, Duke University, Columbia University School of Journalism and the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts and now lives in New York City and upstate New York with his wife and, on occasion these days, their two sons.

19 Tháng 1 Là Ngày Gì? Hôm Nay Là Ngày Sinh Của Nhà Thơ Đỗ Trung Quân SỰ KIỆN 2012 – Trang thông tin điện tử chia sẻ dữ liệu Megaupload bị Cục Điều tra Liên bang đóng cửa. 1607 - Nhà thờ San Agustin ở Manila chính thức hoàn thành; nó là nhà thờ lâu đời nhất vẫn còn tồn tại ở Philippines . 1883 - Hệ thống chiếu sáng điện đầu tiên sử dụng dây điện trên không, do Thomas Edison chế tạo , bắt đầu được đưa vào sử dụng tại Roselle, New Jersey . 1915 - Georges Claude cấp bằng sáng chế cho ống phóng điện neon để sử dụng trong quảng cáo. 1999 - British Aerospace đồng ý mua lại công ty con quốc phòng của General Electric Company plc , thành lập BAE Systems vào tháng 11 năm 1999. Sinh 1946 – Dolly Parton, ca sĩ, diễn viên người Mỹ 1736 – James Watt, nhà phát minh người Anh Quốc (m. 1819) 1955 – Đỗ Trung Quân, nhà thơ người Việt Nam 1983 – Utada Hikaru, ca sĩ - nhạc sĩ người Mỹ gốc Nhật 1807 - Robert E. Lee , tướng lĩnh và học giả Hoa Kỳ (mất năm 1870) Mất 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, nữ diễn viên người Áo-Mỹ (s. 1913) 2002 – Điềm Phùng Thị, nhà điêu khắc người Việt Nam (s. 1920) Chương trình "Hôm nay ngày gì" hiện đã có mặt trên Youtube, Facebook và Spotify: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aweektv - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AWeekTV - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6rC4CgZNV6tJpX2RIcbK0J - Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../h%C3%B4m-nay.../id1586073418 #aweektv #19thang1 #Megaupload #DollyParton #JamesWatt Các video đều thuộc quyền sở hữu của Adwell jsc (adwell.vn), mọi hành động sử dụng lại nội dung của chúng tôi đều không được phép. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aweek-tv/message

Today's episode is about a fire in an old building fitted with modern innovations to ensure its workers safety, and although everyone should have survived, it was the old-fashioned attitude towards one particular group of workers, which led to ten unnecessary deaths.This is the story of the fire at the General Electric Company at 67 Queen Victoria Street in London.Murder Mile is researched, written and performed by Michael J Buchanan-Dunne of Murder Mile Walks with the main musical themes written and performed by Erik Stein and Jon Boux of Cult With No Name with additional music, as used under the Creative Commons License 4.0 (Attribution) via Free Music Archive and YouTube Music. A full listing of tracks used and a full transcript for each episode is listed here and a legal disclaimer.FOLLOW US HERE:FacebookTwitterInstagramMurder Mile Discussion GroupYoutubeSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/murdermile. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bond markets remained in a feverish state last week, after inflation data again suggested that central bankers are wrong about the risk of rising inflation. US inflation rose to 6.2% in October, its highest level in 30 years. One has to go back to the inflationary era of the 1970s and early 1980s to find a period when inflation was consistently above its current levels. With the prices of cars, rent, furnishings, hospital services and recreation all rampant, it is likely to be at least several months before US inflation recedes. And that forecast relies on a resolution of the many issues dogging supply chains. All these factors increase the risk that consumers begin to anticipate higher inflation, bringing purchases forwards and demanding higher wages to compensate. Few economic forecasters have this as their most likely scenario yet, but several are highlighting the risk.Stocks featured:General Electric Company, Johnson & Johnson, Marks & Spencer Group, Rivian Automotive Inc, Tencent Holdings and Toshiba CorpTo find out more about the investment management services offered by Walker Crips, please visit our website:https://www.walkercrips.co.uk/This podcast is intended to be Walker Crips Investment Management's own commentary on markets. It is not investment research and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or trade in any of the investments, sectors or asset classes mentioned. The value of any investment and the income arising from it is not guaranteed and can fall as well as rise, so that you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Movements in exchange rates can have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of any non-sterling denominated investment. Nothing in this podcast constitutes advice to undertake a transaction, and if you require professional advice you should contact your financial adviser or your usual contact at Walker Crips. Walker Crips Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Die Ursprünge des Controllings finden sich im angelsächsischen Raum: Bereits im 15. Jahrhundert gab es am englischen Königshof einen "Controllour" mit der Aufgabe, Aufzeichnungen über ein- und ausgehende Gelder und Güter zu führen. 1778 wurde in den USA durch Gesetz das Amt des „Comptrollers“ geschaffen, welcher über das Gleichgewicht zwischen dem Staatsbudget und den vorgenommenen Staatsausgaben zu wachen hatte. Im Jahre 1880 richtete die Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway System erstmals auch in einem Unternehmen die Stelle eines Comptrollers ein. 1892 hat dann die General Electric Company als erstes Unternehmen die Stelle des Controllers eingeführt. Die Römer kannten Ihn und auch im Mittelalter hatte der zukünftige Controller bereits eine Bedeutung. Richtig durchgesetzt hat sich der Beruf jedoch erst im 20. Jahrhundert. Mehr zum Thema in diesem Podcast. Viel Spaß Euer Thomas Montag

Jeremy Cohen, Esq. from Boston Dog Lawyers, returns to "Why Do Pets Matter?" with a powerful conversation about breeder contracts, the questions potential owners must ask before they sign a breeder contract and what breeders should put in their contracts to protect themselves while fostering communication, transparency, and collaboration.   About Jeremy Cohen, Esq.  A lawyer for nearly 20 years, Jeremy Cohen has been handling cases for dog owners since 2008. By opening Boston Dog Lawyers in 2015 he is growing a law practice specializing in representing dog owners and pet owners. Prior to working for animals, Attorney Cohen worked in the insurance industry. He rose from a claims adjuster to manager of global claims on behalf of The General Electric Company. He founded a general practice law firm in 2007 and sold it in 2014 so he could focus on defending companion animals. While he still handles some civil litigation outside of pets, each day his practice becomes more and more about what he loves to do. You can learn more at his website: https://www.bostondoglawyers.com/index.html

We are rapidly moving to a situation where blackouts like those that occurred last winter in Texas will become common across the U.S. leading to the deaths of thousands of people. Dr. Jay Lehr and Tom Harris's guest this week is Donn Dears, a retired General Electric Company engineer, and senior executive...

We are rapidly moving to a situation where blackouts like those that occurred last winter in Texas will become common across the U.S. leading to the deaths of thousands of people. Dr. Jay Lehr and Tom Harris's guest this week is Donn Dears, a retired General Electric Company engineer, and senior executive...

Bill Toon is an expert in sales and marketing. Craig and Bill discuss some of the common traps that business owners face, systems and processes you can use, and how to grow revenue. Action Items: Access our FREE Resources Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Newsletter Follow The Biz Sherpa on LinkedIn Follow The Biz Sherpa on Instagram Follow the Biz Sherpa Facebook Page Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Youtube Channel Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast or Stitcher. Connect with Craig on LinkedIn TRANSCRIPTION: Speaker 1: From his first job flipping burgers at McDonald’s and delivering The Washington Post, Craig Willett counts only one and a half years of his adult life working for someone else. Welcome to The Biz Sherpa podcast with your host, Craig Willett. Founder of several multimillion-dollar businesses and trusted advisor to other business owners, he’s giving back to help business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve fulfillment, enhance their lives, and create enduring wealth. The Biz Sherpa. Craig Willett: This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. Welcome to the Sherpa’s Cave. Today, I’m really excited to have with me, Bill Toon Jr. Bill is a good friend of mine, but he has a lot of experience in sales and marketing. Today, we’re going to be focusing a lot on that. I’m grateful that he’d take the time to be with us and open up the secrets to success that he has experienced in his life. Bill, welcome to the show. Bill Toon Jr.: Craig, thank you for having me. I’m really excited about this. Craig Willett: Glad to have you. So, tell me a little bit about—tell us all about your background, where you started, if you have some education insights you want to give. Because sales and marketing is something I think you can’t learn by a textbook. So, experience is a real teacher, I believe. But— Bill Toon Jr.: I agree with you. I’m a Southwest kid born in New Mexico, raised in Arizona. But in my career of working for Dow Chemical twice, General Electric twice, in different businesses, I’ve lived in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Michigan, Atlanta, Arizona three times, LA. Craig Willett: So, you could say if you’re in sales and marketing, be ready to move around. Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah, be ready to move. Be flexible, if you want to move up the ladder, especially if you’re in Corporate America. Craig Willett: Yeah. Well, speaking of Corporate America, you have a lot of experience, as you mentioned in Corporate America, but recently you made the move to be a business owner, tell me a little bit about that. Bill Toon Jr.: I did. My career spans about 30 years, it’s always been in sales, in some form or fashion of an individual contributor of all the way up to a large P&L as a senior vice president. But in that, it was customer-focused, and it was selling product to them, and then just doing it in a profitable manner. But that 30 years has involved, as I said, Corporate America, but I also worked in a small family business that my father had started and I actually helped an injection molder with his sales and marketing plan and spent about 18 months with that person who happened to be my mentor. Craig Willett: So, you got a little bit of flavor for entrepreneurship and small business in the process. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And now, I’ve started my own which was a—and I’m blessed to be able to have those two small family businesses that I worked in. But there came a choice in my life where I needed to do something different. Did I go back to Corporate America? Did I get back on the road? I was traveling 75,000 to 220,000 air miles a year. Craig Willett: Wow, that’s a lot of time away from family and from home base. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And that took a toll on the life as well as my relationship with kids and my wife. Craig Willett: And so, now, what’s it like to go and blaze your own trail? Bill Toon Jr.: Well, my wife doesn’t ask me anymore like, “Are you going to go on a business trip,” and get me out of the house. So, we’ve normalized that at the house. Craig Willett: That’s good. Bill Toon Jr.: But now, it feels good, because you’re able to finally get into balance in your life. You’re finally able to enjoy. Living in Utah, it’s wonderful, especially with the Jeep that I can go a lot of places and both in the winter as well as the summer. And I’m really enjoying this beautiful state. Craig Willett: I think a lot of business owners might say, “What are you talking about having time on your hands?” When you start knowing a business, it monopolizes your time. How do you view that? Bill Toon Jr.: It’s a forced balance that you have to do. And obviously, there’s a lot of late hours, there’s a lot of time when everybody’s asleep that you sneak into the office and you’ve got to do your QuickBooks, you’ve got to do other things that you probably didn’t have to do in Corporate America. Craig Willett: Oh, okay. So, yeah, you take on a lot of different roles other than your specialty. You have a lot of different hats as a small business owner. Bill Toon Jr.: You do. Craig Willett: Great. Well, I’m glad you’d come today. I really want to know and help our audience know what some of the common traps are in a business owner’s face as they try to grow their businesses. But what do you find as things that typically trip up business owners? Bill Toon Jr.: I found that owners that trip up, the trap is they don’t have a rhythm. They don’t have a cadence that has processes and tools in place. You also find that an owner will try to wear many hats, will try to be the operations person, the CEO, the accountant, the HR person. Craig Willett: By necessity, sometimes. Bill Toon Jr.: By necessity sometimes. Craig Willett: So, that inhibits developing the rhythm or an expertise in sales and marketing, even though they may have skills? Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly, exactly. And there comes a time when they’re going to have to hire somebody, they’re going to have to delegate and allow them. And I call it the “delegate and elevate,” where you can finally work on your business and not be in it. And they probably say that the other thing is not having a clear sales strategy. And a lot of people are like, “What do you mean—” Craig Willett: Yeah, what is that, a clear sales strategy? Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah, exactly that you’re in the sales world and that’s all you believe. But no, it’s the days of Henry Ford, and a black Model T—which color would you like, black or black or over. Having a great service and a great product only goes so far, and then competition is going to come in, and you’re going to have to get aggressive, but you need to have that sales strategy that will further and make your product or service that you’ve got sustainable. Craig Willett: That’s a really good response to have something be sustainable. What can a business owner do to better manage growth and all the other aspects of the business so they can keep a focus on sales and marketing, so that that doesn’t die out? Because if you’re not selling, then you’re dying, right? I mean, everybody has—people say, “Well, I don’t have to sell.” Well, even if you have one contract, and that’s all you work on all the time, you have to renew that contract. So, you have to be selling, finding out the needs to be able to renew a contract, even if you’re just in a service business. So, I don’t think there’s a business owner out there that could dismiss the fact that sales and marketing is a key component. Bill Toon Jr.: Right. Craig Willett: So, what can they do to manage the other aspects and balance personal life, but keep the business growing? Bill Toon Jr.: There has to be a non-negotiable forced balance of life. And there’s four quadrants. It could be your faith, it could be your family, personal life, and then work. And I’d probably say that that ought to be the order, at least in my world, and really try to bring balance to your life. But I also have something I called SAMO, which is strategy, analysis, methodology, and organization. And I’ll talk a little bit more about that, most likely in our conversation, but it’s a matter of having those four pillars in your business and then just executing. But I think that there’s some in it— Craig Willett: So, putting some processes and some systems in place that don’t require you to reinvent the wheel every day and make you spend even more time in the business. Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah, and have a foundation that you’re not building this profitable revenue management on quick sand. That you’ve got this foundation and these pillars, but you know what, and I also find that small business owners really missed the boat when it comes to who they hire. And I’m a strong believer—and it’s probably by necessity—I’ve always hired people smarter than me, which I try to— Craig Willett: You’re trying to imply that wasn’t hard? Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah, exactly. And that they really need to surround themselves with great people, create a vision, and then get out the way, let them do what you’ve hired them to do it and— Craig Willett: But that’s hard. It’s your baby as a small business owner. You want to get in and say, “Hey, wait, let me show you all the things about this. Here’s how I did it.” Bill Toon Jr.: Right. But I have to challenge you to go back to the traps, go back to the balance in the business, that if you aren’t hiring great people and giving them the vision and the right job description and getting out of the way and letting them, there’ll be times you’re going to have to put in controls and pulse measurements of what they’re doing. Craig Willett: Right. Bill Toon Jr.: That’s all just, again, this cadence or this rhythm of running a business. Craig Willett: I like that idea. It takes a little bit of capital to have, to be able to hire people and allow them to do that. What are some of the key tips? I know a lot of business owners want to know, how do you grow revenue? I mean, that seems to be, right, the thing that gets measured most. You go to renew your bank loan, they want to see, did you grow last year? They don’t want to see sales down. And they don’t want to just see units up, they want to see the dollars of sales up too. And so, you can’t lower the price to get the sales, as far as units up to last year, but have the profits be lower. So, what’s the key? You obviously have worked in that your whole life, so you have to know some tips and some tricks you can share today. Bill Toon Jr.: Well, I go back to that phrase, I said SAMO—strategy, analysis, methodology and organization. But my organization that I’m part of, the Sales Xceleration, we’ve been around for many years. And if you look at—we’ve surveyed thousands of small business owners, when we start an engagement with them. And in that time, if you look at strategy, only 12% of small businesses actually develop a written revenue plan that has a knowledge of competitors, has strategies around margin and these other things. And so, only— Craig Willett: So, pricing, profitability, who’s your competition. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Craig Willett: And where is your customer. Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah. Craig Willett: What are their needs? Bill Toon Jr.: And then, he goes on further. You go to analysis—only 11% of our clients when we start actually have sales goals, quotas, KPIs, metrics, compensation, time about that. Craig Willett: What’s a KPI? Bill Toon Jr.: Key Performance Index. And I would say, it’s just the metrics that as you have a cadence and you’re looking at that strategy down the road, and are you going to meet your number for the year, then, yeah, then you should be doing certain actions, like calling X number of customers a week, visiting this many customers, have this many lunches, and all these metrics that you might have that are pre-determined. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: And then, you go down to one step that really blew me away when I started, was that only 7% of our clients when we started actually had any type of CRM or customer relationship management tool, and had it to where they would put sales process into it and use that as a tool. Craig Willett: To follow up and— Bill Toon Jr.: As to how you’re going and as a database for your customers, and allow you to do digital marketing campaigns from that database. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: So, only 7% of thousands of clients that we’ve worked with. Craig Willett: Wow. So, you could say the small business world is ripe for that. I remember, somebody told me you get what you measure one time. And so, if you’re not measuring activity, you’re not measuring sales, you’re not measuring margin, then it’s a wish. So, if you’re measuring, then you have the behaviors or the activities that lead to sales, right? And that’s what you try to get people to do. Bill Toon Jr.: Right. And there’s the old saying, trust but verify, inspect what you expect. But then, the last one on the O, only 12% of our customers or clients or small business owners actually have a job description for their salespeople, onboarding process, continuous training. They don’t do any of that— Craig Willett: Somehow that comes as no surprise. I mean, Corporate America, right, has the ability to do that and has to to standardize things. Small business, it’s hard for the owner to sit down and write the book on it. So, maybe that’s where somebody like you comes in. You can come in and help with whatever that manual is, or have outside training, because it’s hard as a business owner to be balancing the books, negotiating with the bank, hiring the people, negotiating the contract to purchase your product, ship it, and then you’re supposed to have a sales manual and manage the Salesforce? Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Craig Willett: So— Bill Toon Jr.: And you’ve got to juggle it all. But again, I go back to somehow you have to figure out, how do you afford to hire a few people around you that are specialists in this? And it could be a fractional basis. It could be a full-time employee. But there are roles out there that you need to have to be able to run these businesses. Craig Willett: So, I guess you could really say that, quite frankly, there isn’t—you can’t afford not to hire somebody in these areas. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Whether it’s full-time or it’s fractional or part-time or consulting. Craig Willett: Great. If you’re growing revenue, there’s a lot of ways to do it, right? I mentioned one, you just cut prices so much that people are calling you up because you’re giving it away. And that can generate sales as far as unit volume, and potentially dollar volume. But how do you know as a business owner, how do you know as you run a sales organization that you can protect profitability? Because I think that’s one of the concern business owners have is, “Hey, I’ve hired somebody, and I’m afraid they’re going to give it away. And I don’t want them to give it away, because I’m used to this good profit margin.” Bill Toon Jr.: It’s all in the details and the planning. And there has to be a specific plan as to what your revenue is, what your products are, what the profitability is going to be around that. And then, you’ve got to build—once you have your margins and your product and your sales plan built, then you build your compensation to reward your sales people for selling those higher margin products. Craig Willett: Oh, I see. Bill Toon Jr.: And send them down that path that this is what’s important, but then you take a step further is to where you’re actually having regular reviews of what your revenue is, what your margins are, which products you’re positioning. So, that way you can pivot or adjust and if it’s going down that wrong path of profitability. Craig Willett: So, that’s why I have the checks and balances in place and have a system that allows you to maintain that profitability. How much leeway do you give a sales force on pricing? Bill Toon Jr.: Each business in each industry is different. And it really depends on how much margin they have in the first place, how much competition is out there, what the market pricing is giving you. It depends on what you’ve defined as your value proposition in the marketplace and how many people have an illness—companies have an illness, that you’re the only one that can provide that cure. Craig Willett: Oh, okay. So, you have a lot of ability to maintain pricing. Bill Toon Jr.: You have. Craig Willett: When you’re unique. Bill Toon Jr.: But the two additional points on that, I think that are real important is you’ve got to avoid that slippery slope of discounts. Of always meeting them on price, because all that means is you don’t have the right value proposition. Craig Willett: Right, because you’re not valuing your product enough, how is somebody else going to? Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And you’ve got to stand firm on what your value proposition is. You’ve got to do your homework in advance, which is a key component of marketing. And the last point I’d make on this subject, is that you really have to have the courage to be able to walk away from that unprofitable customer. And I know back, when I first started, that customers were King and that you do whatever they said. And that’s because there was always plenty of margin, and there weren’t a lot of competitors. But today, it’s okay to shake hands with a customer and say, I love you, but I don’t have the ability to meet the needs that you have as a company. And maybe we can do business in the future and walk away from it. Craig Willett: That takes a lot of character to do that, not everybody wants the sale. So that takes a lot of leadership to be able to do that. Now, you have a lot of experience in Corporate America that probably gives you a pretty good track record in growing revenues and growing profits in divisions. Tell me a few stories that you might have about those experiences that you’ve had in Corporate America that can translate into something practical that small business owners can use. Bill Toon Jr.: I have two, I have Dow Chemical and General Electric. And the Dow Chemical, I just love Dow. I love the people, their current President CFO was in my training class at a college. Craig Willett: Oh, really? Bill Toon Jr.: And, and he’s a great leader, and he belongs where he’s at. But what I loved about Dow is that you had a lot of high IQ people that you were surrounded with a lot of PhDs and chemical engineering, chemistry scientists. And I was blessed to be part of a group that actually went out and invented products that were needed based upon demand, three years, five years, 10 years out. Bill Toon Jr.: And that was a global job in two different business units within Dow Chemical. And— Craig Willett: So, you learned early on the need to innovate based on future customer needs, so that you are bringing unique product to market. Bill Toon Jr.: You’d have channel partners. You’d have other organizations like IBM, who has a slew of PhDs that are working on intellectual property, and that we would bundle with our intellectual property. And if we could build those together, then we could solve a solution. And we did. The PlayStation 3, five years before it rolled out with those great graphics, it was done because of an invention where we had disruptive technology to replace chemical vapor deposition in the semiconductor manufacturing process with a spin on dielectric, which is completely disruptive. And that was done years in advance and at board level decision-making at Sony, Toshiba, IBM and Dow Chemical. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: So, it was wonderful that you could work with such high IQ people and solve what you knew were going to be the illnesses in the future. Craig Willett: I think that’s great, because I hear time and again as I interview people on this podcast that one of the secrets to business success is knowing what your customer’s problems are, and being able to solve them, sometimes even before they really realize what they are and you provide a better way for them to do that. And so, that uniqueness allows you to build revenue and growth. What are some other experiences you’ve had? Bill Toon Jr.: The customer intimacy that you just described, second to none back in the GE Plastics days, led by Jack Welch. And I was— Craig Willett: What a great business leader he was. Bill Toon Jr.: I was there in the early parts of my career. And you knew certain things that you were going to absolutely work 24/7, but you were also going to play 24/7. And it was to the point where, you would have that experience of playing hard, working hard with not only your peers, but also the customers were involved in that. And you knew, you would never get out hustled on a deal. And that you would throw every bit of resources into that deal to be able to solve that customer’s need. But on the other side of it too, is you knew you would never lose a deal. due to a lack of a relationship and your targeted customer. Craig Willett: Really? Bill Toon Jr.: There was that much determination and resource put behind it, that you would know that customer, and we’re talking about down to who’s sweeping the floors, up to who’s the CEO of that organization. That you had relationships throughout there, and you were aligning your resources at GE, to the resources of the customer at each level, which is a wonderful experience. Craig Willett: I like how you put it because I think that’s really key, it’s the intimate relationship. I think we lose track of that. We think we live in a world where you click to order nowadays, and I think for some commodity-type products, that probably is the best way. But there has to be in the world of small business where you’re offering some unique proposition, whether it’s a service, whether you’re a dentist, or whether you’re a consultant, or you have a new product that you’re manufacturing, you have to intimately understand and know your customer to be able to fulfill their needs. And I like how you put it to know from the person that sweeps the floor to the person that’s sitting in the boardroom. If you know them and develop that relationship, then you’re going to be able to respond, and you’re going to be able to be evolutionary with your company and continue to develop the product to suit the need. Bill Toon Jr.: As an account manager, I was able to change a territory in two-and-a-half years, from 4 million in revenue to 17 million in revenue. Craig Willett: Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Let’s hear about that. Bill Toon Jr.: And then, I— Craig Willett: How did you do that? Bill Toon Jr.: That was a wonderful experience. The first when I walked in there, I called customers and they would hang up on me the minute I told them I work for General Electric. I was so proud to work for them. And I’d call them back and I’d finally get them to say, listen, I’m not the guy that they fired before me, I’m a different person. And then, I found out that they had this productivity selling technique where I could bring other resources throughout the whole General Electric Company to my little plastics customer in Rio Rico, Arizona as an example. And be able to go in there and bring in an expert that could do set up time reduction for the injection molding machines and the presses. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: And if I could help them save money, then all I asked was for equal, and whatever I saved in competitor share, or can I raise your prices half of what I saved you. And obviously it was a win-win for everybody. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: And I started doing that everywhere. And all of a sudden, the value and the relationships at every level in that organization became something that allowed us to generate more revenue and knock out competitors. Craig Willett: I like that thought because people are on new technology, little leery to make a major investment upfront. So, if you offer to partner with them, “Hey, we’ll bring the solution, and if we save you money, we just want to partner then. We’re going to take the risk and we’re going to share in the revenue. So, you didn’t just increase the units of sales or the number of occurrences, you just actually took something evolutionary that was saving them money and were able to grow revenue based on a different way of looking at the revenue model. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And you’d have six sigma black belts that would accompany you and it was all process related. And again, I go back to, if you love your customers, you’ll eventually understand what’s keeping them up at night. And whether it’s in accounting, their books, I even took forklifts off of customer’s books and did a lease—buy-leaseback with them. Craig Willett: Wow. So, you found ways—I like that, because so often I think it’s easy to get stuck in this. Here’s the revenue model. Here’s my revenue proposition to you. But I think it takes more than that. I think it takes being able to look at what is revenue, and why would someone be willing to pay me for this. And sometimes we have to put that model upside down. So, you went from, was it 4 million to 17 million? Bill Toon Jr.: Correct. In about two-and-a-half years, and really set the foundation for my sales career that’s it’s more than features and benefits. It’s a value proposition. It’s a complete package of that relationship between the two of us. Craig Willett: I like that, because I think that’s a key for small business owners to step back and look at, “Am I pricing right for what I do? And am I really delivering a product that is making a difference? And if so, how can I price that best?” Because so often, we think, oh, it’s second nature to us. I’m solving a problem. I know how to do that in my sleep, but to them, they haven’t been able to solve it. So, there’s got to be a way to capture that premium. Now, that leads me, I thought, when you first told me that, and I don’t know who else is watching today would have thought the same thing I was thinking. And that is, “Oh, so you went from 4 million to 17 million.” I thought, “Okay, you went in and hired three more salespeople and trained them.” But that’s not what your answer was. Craig Willett: But I do think it’s important to talk about managing a sales force, because there’s a lot of businesses who have that chance in the first three to five years of being in business to have more than one salesperson. And how do you do that? How do you go through the process of managing a sales team? Bill Toon Jr.: To manage a sales team, trust is number one. There has to be a trusting relationship, no matter what your title is, amongst everybody on that team. And that’s a leader’s responsibility to create that environment of trust. And— Craig Willett: So, you’re talking within the team, or also within the company? Bill Toon Jr.: I’m talking about anybody. As an example, you have a sales leader and you have a sales team. But they’ve got to be able to trust the sales leaders, boss or vice president, they have to be able to trust people that are in support roles. And it just has to build this environment of collaboration, trust, trial and error. It’s okay. And it’s transparent and it’s authentic leadership. Craig Willett: Because we live in a different world today, I don’t think there’s a lot of trust, anywhere. So, how do you engender that from the beginning? I mean, even starting with a sales force of one or two. How do you develop that trust? Bill Toon Jr.: But you know what, it becomes communication, communication, and if I didn’t mention communication, that— Craig Willett: Oh, really? Bill Toon Jr.: It has an open communication. But I also believe—just like I believe that the best salesperson is the one who listens 90% of the time to the customer, and doesn’t sit there and talk. And I think that a leader has that responsibility also, that they talk less than their people. And because they’re hearing, and they’re putting pieces of the puzzle together as to what’s going on in that team or in that individual’s life, both personal and professional, and truly understanding that person, so you can actually give them guidance, coach them, and help them in their journey within their career. Craig Willett: So, taking an authentic interest in the people tends to build the trust. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly, exactly. Craig Willett: If you’re struggling to figure out how to have people gain trust in you, right, they have to trust you, so you have to take an interest in them to where they feel that you care. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And a spinoff of that communication, though, also is you’ve got to have that, that rhythm of communication of feedback, both positive and development feedback. And I know my cadence and my rhythm is to have a weekly conversation with the sales team, and then have a monthly recap, and then have official documented quarterly and annual reviews that are working on their strengths, given the data. That’s not opinion, it’s factual, here’s the data. And then, on the business development or the development needs of that person, the personal development needs, that they can sit in an elevator with the CEO at the end of the year. And within that elevator ride, they can tell that CEO what their strengths are and what their development needs are and what they’re doing to build upon both of those areas. Craig Willett: Wow. That’s pretty good. So build on the strengths, identify where the weaknesses are and development opportunities and identify, and encourage it. Bill Toon Jr.: And many times, those development needs aren’t because the person’s imperfect and has done something wrong. It’s just where they are in their evolution of their career. Craig Willett: And I think that’s a healthy way to look at it, otherwise it could come back to be a little perplexing. Bill Toon Jr.: Probably the last thing I’d say in this would be have fun, make work fun. And I’ve always told my wife that if I’m laughing and if I’m cracking jokes and having a good time, that means that there’s money in the bank. It’s because— Craig Willett: So, she knows to get serious when you’re not. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And she’s given me guidance in my career before, that, “Hey, you haven’t been laughing lately. How’s it going at work?” Craig Willett: That’s interesting. Bill Toon Jr.: It becomes true. Craig Willett: Yeah, and have fun. Sometimes I think—I had a friend, he told me he started a business and in the business he had—it was a sales organization—but he had a slide that people could slide down. I think of that as fun. But I think the fun you’re talking about is really enjoying what you’re doing, enjoying the relationships you’re building, enjoying the people you’re interacting with. Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah. And a great sales leader will actually develop competitive-type scenarios within the team. And we’ll have contests, we’ll have trips that we’ll go on as a team. I was blessed to go to a lot of Masters golf tournaments when I was at GE. Craig Willett: Hey, lucky you. Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah. Been to Toronto Winter Olympics on GE due to a contest. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: I mean, there’s all sorts of things that— Craig Willett: And small business owners probably can’t afford those types of trips, but they can probably do something. Bill Toon Jr.: They can do something. And there’s two things really that drive employee satisfaction. One is just a general recognition, that they’re valued, that they’re loved, that they want them there, and that you appreciate what they’re doing. But there’s also just some sort of reward. And it could just be small. It could be a dinner for you and your wife or something like that, and as an award for hitting a milestone. Craig Willett: Wow, that’s an interesting perspective. Even the small things matter. That little recognition, getting something that maybe others didn’t get, but to you personally recognizing, “Hey, you did it.” I know, I talked to somebody the other day, who was an employee and started out in the factory. And he said that the owner liked him and wanted him around and bought him a whole life insurance policy just to try to show him how much he appreciated him and wanted to keep him there. Something that others weren’t getting, not that he felt he was better than others, but the owner certainly recognized some leadership characteristic. He came to become the president and CEO of the company someday, starting out in probably one of the entry level jobs. But, yeah, you never know what they’re going to become. Craig Willett: And when you trust and believe in someone, that’s a really strong motivation. I like that. Bill Toon Jr.: You do that for your child, why wouldn’t you do it for an employee? That’s putting food on your table. Craig Willett: That’s a great observation. So, I’m wondering, we talked a little bit about sales, I’m wondering about marketing. Marketing is an evasive term, because it’s so all encompassing. And you mentioned some CRM, customer relationship management, tools that are out there. But what role does a marketing plan play in developing or growing your revenue? Bill Toon Jr.: So, I’ve got a marketing degree. And it’s interesting that what I was taught in marketing versus what marketing is today is completely different. Craig Willett: Really? Bill Toon Jr.: Today is more of an IT-type of role, heavy, technical, very digital-driven. And right now, marketing really plays a key role in the top of the sales funnel for the sales team. That they’ve got to bring in qualified leads, they’ve got to be experts in influencing social media, use of AI, use of drip campaigns. I mean, all these different types of digital or electronic marketing that’s involved. But then, marketing also plays a critical role in developing the language that you’re going to communicate to the outside. Craig Willett: So, there’s a message, there’s a brand. Bill Toon Jr.: A lot of that’s branding, and again, developing that value proposition. Because— Craig Willett: So, that takes it a little bit away from the digital. So there is still this creative, come up with what’s going to resonate with your target audience, your target market, but then there’s also the implementation of how do you harvest and identify leads within that target market. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. And so, you really depend on marketing to develop that customer persona, that then becomes a qualified lead that is done through the digital marketing side. And once you’ve defined all of that, and man, it’s about messaging. It’s about creating that communication, both internal and external. Craig Willett: I like that in some respects, because I know I’ve been the—I don’t want to say victim—but I’ve been identified that way by people who’ve been able to get me to see messages often enough to where I respond and buy something. But sometimes you don’t want to be overwhelmed by it either, though. There’s sometimes too much contact can be a little bit annoying. What do you say about that? Bill Toon Jr.: And especially when it’s automatic, it’s AI-driven. I’ve got—when I do some lead generation and mining, I’ve got strict instructions on how we build it, that I want to reach out once like on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn Navigator. I want to reach out once, if they connect with me, there’s many software programs that tell you within a nanosecond, then send them a second message and say thank you for connecting and that. And then, everybody knows that that’s like a bot. And that one that— Craig Willett: That’s doing that right. Bill Toon Jr.: So, I want it to be more human. And I’ll either do it myself, the second reach out, or I’ll have instructions that wait a day or two, and let our connection sink in, and then approach them like a human being would do. Craig Willett: Oh, wow, I think that’s great. That’s interesting that you can make it more personable, because I think that’s one of the dangers. But one of the things I’m walking away today as I sit here, and say, if I were starting a small business today, or I owned one right now, I would definitely try to get to understand artificial intelligence. Start to understand and implement—because there are a lot for small businesses of this customer relationship management, CRM software out there. But make sure you personalize it and make sure you bring it to a personal level so that you’re using it as a reminder and as a motivation, not as an annoyance. Bill Toon Jr.: Right. And truly—versus when I’ve got my marketing degree—today, truly is a global customer base, that you physically can’t do it by yourself and get to everybody or do your messaging. That’s why you have to use social media, which is also a global platform. And also your digital marketing becomes that and you can get overwhelmed if you try to do it all by yourself. Craig Willett: Yeah, that’s a lot for a business owner to undertake unless they really, that’s all they want to do all day long. So, how do you develop—what are some keys to developing a marketing and sales program this cohesive? Bill Toon Jr.: You’ve really got to get down into the weeds and you have to be specific and well-defined about what your products are, who your competitors are, what type of margin you want to have, the KPIs that you’re going to use, your sales processes. Craig Willett: So, these are really the fundamentals of starting a business. Anyway, you have to know what problem your product solves and who is going to be your user. It’s easy to say, “Oh, everybody will want to use my product,” but that’s a fallacy. Bill Toon Jr.: It is. Craig Willett: There’s no way you can be all things to everyone. And so, when you define those, you really—once you have those defined though, how do you implement it? So, you get into the weeds, but sometimes it’s easy to stay in the weeds. So, how do you get out of the weeds then to implement? Bill Toon Jr.: We go back to what I’ve been preaching about the over communication. And that’s communicating within your organization as to what products and services you had, and also educating the outside world that you have specific niche that you solve problems in. But that leads into the value proposition. That there’s, as I stated before, not many companies still today, when I’m talking to companies, I asked about their value proposition and they bluntly throw out something of what they do. Bill Toon Jr.: And then, I’ll go and I’ll ask another person in the organization, I’ll get a different answer there. Ask another person, and you get all these different stories of what they think that the value proposition is. But that’s one of the first things that I like to do with my clients is let’s really define what the value proposition is, so we’re on the same page. So, everybody’s customer facing and everybody has the same message. Craig Willett: That’s interesting. You know what I’ve done successfully in one of my businesses, is I went out and I trademarked the value proposition. And it became what we put on our signs, what we put in all of our messaging, and that is “Own for Less than Rent.” And that was for office buildings. But that was the value proposition and everyone knew it. And so, when a sales call came in, the sales force knew how to orient them to understand and walk them through that process of owning for less than rent, and it made marketing messaging easier. It also made the buying properties easier. It made hiring contractors easier because we all had one common goal. And we knew who our target markets were that we were after. Bill Toon Jr.: So, you knew the segments that you were playing in and who the customers were in that. And then, it sounds to me, like the final point I’d have on this is that everything is actionable. And like an HGE leader and then he went allied to Larry Bossidy when he just made it real simple: plan, execute, and deliver. Craig Willett: Yeah. Bill Toon Jr.: If you had a detailed plan, then it’s a matter of everybody pinning their ears back, going out and executing it. And the natural byproduct of that execution is that you’re delivering whatever your commitments are. Craig Willett: Right. Yeah, you deliver your commitments. You deliver results to the company. You deliver exceptional product to the customer. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Craig Willett: That’s interesting. I like that. So, I think there’s one thing to where it really has to start. And I don’t know if this is hiring your first sales person. But when I think of small businesses that I associate with, one of the challenges is going from somebody who might be charismatic, and a good salesperson, as a business owner or entrepreneur, to being able to delegate that to somebody else. And hiring, basically, your first sales manager, somebody that you’re going to bring in, to not only take over your role in selling, but also being able to then recruit and train and execute with the Salesforce. What are some keys to being able to hire? Because I think that’s a stumbling block a lot of small business owners—it’s easy to get sold by somebody coming in, a sales person. But how do know it’s the right fit? And how do you find—what are the characteristics of a good sales manager? Bill Toon Jr.: That’s a sales leader, as people work for people. And if you keep that in mind, that sales leader has got to be a great recruiter. They’ve got to be great at cultivating and developing relationships. They’ve got to be able to mentor, coach, and have almost like the sports background of a football coach, where you have that mentality that you have a bunch of players. You’re going to have to communicate with them, you’re going to have to cultivate them, you’re going to have to mentor them, you’re going to have to coach them. But you also need to set a vision. So, that sales leader has got to be able to stand at the forefront and say, “This is where we’re going, this is why we’re going there and enjoy that we’re going to be on this journey,” and then set those goals, be able to hold people accountable for those goals. And while they’re holding them accountable, they’re still inspiring them. They’re still leading them. And they’re still making it fun in this whole journey of selling, which really is just another competitive sport event in my mind that it has all those attributes, right? Craig Willett: Right. Bill Toon Jr.: The people that are playing as well as the people that are coaching— Craig Willett: Isn’t that what you help do, though, now with your sales acceleration program? Your ideas to be able to help business owners identify the talent, the direction they need, but it also helps identify talent and bring in, help them hire these types of people, right? Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah. There’s almost not a word for what I’m doing. Because a consultant will come in, ask a bunch of questions, write a report, hand it to the owner and say, “Hey, good luck.” Craig Willett: Right. Bill Toon Jr.: And here’s the bill. Now, with what I do is I go in and ask the same questions. But then I say, “Hey, owner, if they want to stay involved in the business and want to still lead the sales team, let me just spend three or four months here, and work on the infrastructure.” Everything we’ve talked about, the SAMO, right, the strategy, the analysis, the methodology, the organization, which includes the people. Bill Toon Jr.: And I don’t believe anybody wakes up in the morning and kisses their spouse, their dog, their friend, or whatever and says, “Hey, I’m going to go to work today for 12 hours, and I’m going to absolutely be terrible and I’ll see you tonight.” Craig Willett: Right. Bill Toon Jr.: I think people get up in the morning, they want to achieve, it’s the human nature to be successful. And so, they go to work, they want to be in an environment that’s fun, that has great organization, has a great value proposition to their targeted customer base. But then, has a leader that has all these people skills but isn’t afraid to hold people accountable. Because I think that’s the key to this whole thing is that you’ve got to set the processes in place. And then the last two things that really make a key sales leader is in today’s world, you’ve got to be technology-minded. You’ve got to be able to understand the CRM, understand how to gain insights on it on your KPIs, and metrics— Craig Willett: So, I’m taking notes on this. I know now I’ve got some characteristics. They have to have experience in these areas. Bill Toon Jr.: They do. And they have— Craig Willett: And they have to be willing to hold people accountable for activities and actions and results. Bill Toon Jr.: Yup, exactly. And then, the last thing that I’d say is that, that sales leader has got to be somebody that has a thirst for knowledge, for continuing education. And why? Not only to keep up with all the tools and the processes, and the inventions that are happening throughout different industries. It isn’t just a high-tech description I’m giving you. This has happened in the chemical industry, real estate. It’s happening in many locations. But they’ve got to have this thirst for new knowledge and be a sponge, so they can teach and coach it to the people. The sales manager gets into a car, goes on an account call, they’ve got this windshield time that they can educate and coach and teach after they find out that they may be struggling with a certain technology. Craig Willett: Oh, wow. So, they can help identify and help bring them along with the tools that are out there that can help them increase their performance. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. So, I work on the infrastructure three or four months, but then there’s a lot of times it has an owner that says, sales is not my expertise. It isn’t something I enjoy. It’s not sales. And— Craig Willett: Sales, I hate rejection. So, can you find someone who will take it for me, right? Bill Toon Jr.: So, what I’ll do is I’ll stay a total of the year. I’ll work three or four months on the infrastructure, then I’ll run on a fractional basis, part-time. Be there weekly. I’ll work on their sales team, and that’s from hiring salespeople, holding them accountable, making strategy, comp plans, sales processes. Craig Willett: I like this fractional thing, because it seems easier for a business owner to take that on as a, financially, when it’s not looking at making a full-time hiring decision. And then, how do you hire your replacement, though, when you go, because at some point, the company is going to become dependent on you for that leadership. And I’m sure you don’t have time to work for them full time. So, how do you go about bringing somebody along? Bill Toon Jr.: Well, I think that if you’re doing the proper job internally while you’re there as a fractional sales leader, that you can develop talent to be able to take over for you. And then, in the chance that you’ve identified something or someone, then I’ve got a program to where I actually put them through a certified sales leadership program, and start grooming them and giving them these opportunities. And at the tail end of my engagement, I empower them and I’m more sitting back watching them and giving observation as they start going. So, I transition from coaching just to salespeople to it becomes a coaching a sales leader, and then allows me to transition. And on the other end, we may have to go out and hire somebody and bring him in that I would do that with plenty of notice, because it takes a good three months to find the right person and bring him in, onboard them and get that cadence going, that you’ve worked so hard on that infrastructure to get into place. Craig Willett: Right. And if you don’t hire right, then that drops off and you start all over again. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Craig Willett: And that’s the risk, I think, to small business owners is, sometimes one of the keys is to bring in outside expertise on a part time basis to help get there. And it’s like putting the training wheels on. Like you said, get a cadence, get things up and going smoothly, and then try to maintain that and keep it and grow it. Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Craig Willett: Very good. Well, no one can come on the Biz Sherpa podcast without being asked, probably the most embarrassing question that I always ask. And that is, what is your greatest failure? But there’s a follow up to it—what do you learn from it—because I think in their lives, a lot of secrets to success. Bill Toon Jr.: Absolutely. But when you asked me that question, I can come into something that’s near and dear to my heart in the last several years. In 2015, I moved my wife and a couple of kids from New Hampshire to Utah, and thought that it would just be a year. That I’d get transferred out with my company or find another job. And then, all of a sudden, our business exploded, which was positive. Bill Toon Jr.: All the changes that I put into place for three or four years of hard work were now coming to fruition. And we were making a lot of money. My division became one of the top divisions in the company. And our turnover went from 78% on the sales team down to 30%. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: Which was below industry average. And we had all these great things going. And I just kept commuting for another four years. But in that time, my father passes away in 2016 and I had to say goodbye to him on FaceTime, because I couldn’t get back to Arizona in time because it happened so quickly. And then, at the end of 2017, and I share this without shame, I share it so that parents can really pay attention and understand that it could happen anywhere, but at the end of 2017 while I’m in a hotel in Indiana, I get a call from my wife at 2:00 a.m. telling me that my daughter is on life support. My 25-year old daughter. Craig Willett: Oh, wow. Bill Toon Jr.: And she’s dying of a heroin overdose. Craig Willett: Oh, no. Bill Toon Jr.: And it’s not an addict. It’s not somebody that stole. This was a beautiful woman that was going to school and was working and went to a party and just didn’t come home. Craig Willett: Wow. Bill Toon Jr.: So, you ask about a failure, that especially when that happened, knowing that I was commuting, and putting work over my personal life, it causes all these what ifs in your life. What if I would have been there? What if I would have been more intimate with the situation? What if that night, I would have called her from my hotel room? All these things that you ask yourself, when it’s such a tragedy, and I’m telling you that, that took three years to get out of that funk of the death of a daughter, and especially in a manner where you possibly could have really helped out. Craig Willett: Wow. That’s life changing. Bill Toon Jr.: It is. Craig Willett: And sobering. Bill Toon Jr.: It is. Craig Willett: To think about. Bill Toon Jr.: Then you ask the question of what do you learn from that? I’ll go back to what I said about the non-negotiable part of a balance in life, that you’ve got that quadrant of faith, family, personal, and work. I let that get out of balance. And unfortunately, it cost me something pretty, pretty dear to me. And it took me a long time to get out of that mental part of it. My work never suffered. In fact, I jumped into work more than ever to hide from it. Craig Willett: Right. Bill Toon Jr.: Instead of addressing it. And I was blessed to have great leaders at my employer that finally came to me and said, “Hey, you need to go home and here’s a package.” Craig Willett: Wow. That’s a blessing right there. Not many people can be that honest. And I think it’s really great that you’re honest about that. I know, you said almost a forced structure in there to where you get that balance. And I can understand that it’s really easy, especially for business owners having been one. My wife tells me—I spent a lot of time. One time, she said, “You’re going to spend more time with the important people and your children are going to grow up and not know their dad.” And so, I can relate to what you say. I changed. I resigned from a lot of different things and scaled back and changed some of the focus of my life. But it’s real easy to get out of there. And whether it’s forced on us, or whether we view it as an opportunity to bring that balance because things are more important than the business success, more important than the money. And I’m sure as I listen to you, Bill, it’s a heart-wrenching moment to think about a daughter that you wonder, what could I have done? What if? And could I have had a better relationship, would she still be alive? Bill Toon Jr.: Exactly. Craig Willett: I’ve never had to face that. But I think it brings a whole different level of intimacy, a whole different level of engagement with the people you do interact with. That personal level you talked about. That intimate relationship with the customer, with the people you work with. How has that made a difference in the last two or three years? Bill Toon Jr.: Yeah, it’s made a big difference. During those days of GE, where you were working from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and then working really hard but playing really hard and everything, I always had in the back of my mind that if I ever ran a team, I would force balance. And I did do that. When I became a leader, I forced where, when I was traveling, and I traveled a lot to my sales team especially in my last leg of Corporate America with Schwan’s Home Service, that I would travel to all of our remote locations. But I would not let the leader go to dinner with me. I made them go home or go to the gym or go do whatever they want. That I just wanted them during the day. We work really hard, we get everything done. And then, I would go back to the hotel by myself or whatever. I didn’t need them. I wanted them to have balance in their life. Craig Willett: Oh, wow. That’s a great concept. And I think it’s something we can all use. Bill, I’m grateful that you’d take the time today. This has been a wonderful insight into what it takes to be successful in sales and marketing, and how to build that inside of a smaller organization. And I think you’ve offered some great tips. I know it’s taken a lot out of your time and schedule, but I appreciate you doing this. Bill Toon Jr.: And I want to thank you for doing this, for giving back to the community with what you’ve done and taking your experience and allow people to have some platform to share best practices and help others, so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Craig Willett: Well, I appreciate that. You got the gist of the purpose of the Biz Sherpa. It’s to inspire entrepreneurship and business ownership and to do it in a successful manner. Or if you’re a business owner already, sharpen that saw so that you can do an even better job. And I think the experiences of others, I think are the greatest teachers. We could put together a book but I didn’t want to write a book. This is really about real-life people and experiences. And I think as you, as business owners connect with others, you’ll find that. You’ll sense that there’s a human connection that transcends dollars, cents, products and services. And people feel that and people—and you said at the beginning, people want to do business with people. Bill Toon Jr.: That’s right. Craig Willett: And so, I appreciate you being here today, you’re a good friend. And I’m grateful that we had this opportunity. This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. Thanks for joining us for this episode. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.BizSherpa.co. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you, so share your thoughts in the Facebook community @BizSherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @BizSherpa_co and on Instagram @BizSherpa.co.

Sean O’Keefe is University Professor and the Howard and Louise Phanstiel endowed Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Previously, O’Keefe was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Group Inc. Prior to joining Airbus, he was a company officer and Vice President of the General Electric Company following service as Chancellor of the Louisiana State University. On four separate occasions O'Keefe served as a presidential appointee when he led NASA, as Secretary of the Navy, as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Deputy Assistant to the President, and as Comptroller and CFO at the Defense Department. O'Keefe is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Photo:  Hiring troubles prompt some employers to eye automation and machines.  Here:  General Electric Company exhibit including a 3000 horsepower Steam Turbine and 200 kilowatt alternator in the Palace of Machinery at the 1904 World's Fair. CBS Eye on the World with John BatchelorCBS Audio Network@Batchelorshow#SmallBusinessAmerica: Customers knows (masking) best. @GeneMarks @Guardian @PhillyInquirer Restaurant Revitalization Fund faces huge funding shortfallhttps://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2021/may/sba-restaurant-revitalization-fund-faces-huge-funding-shortfall.html Bullish baby boomers help fuel red hot small business M&A markethttps://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/bullish-baby-boomers-help-fuel-red-hot-small-business-ma-market.htmlA little-known provision of the CARES Act helps employees pay their student loans https://www.inquirer.com/business/small-business/student-college-debt-cares-act-companies-pay-off-20210518.htmlWith workers in short supply right now it may pay to sweeten the dealhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/16/worker-shortage-small-business-supply-and-demandMany small businesses say they'll leave decision to de-mask up to customershttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-guidelines-mask-small-business-customers-covid-19/Hiring troubles prompt some employers to eye automation and machineshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hiring-troubles-prompt-some-employers-to-eye-automation-and-machines/ar-BB1gTERH

Can Drones Keep Power Companies Safe From Wildfires? Chris Beaufait serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Sharper Shape -- the market leader in delivering transformative inspection solutions for the utility industry. Chris is a proven business leader with extensive global experience and joined Sharper Shape from his role as Chief Operating Officer of Sarcos Robotics. He led Sarcos’ commercialization and development efforts for powered exoskeletons and teleoperated inspection robots.  Before joining Sarcos, Chris led the Asia Pacific & China business as a Group SVP and President for Vestas, the world’s leading wind power and services company. For 16 years before Vestas, he worked for the General Electric Company in a variety of leadership positions.  Before GE, Chris served for 11 years in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Officer and certified nuclear engineer. He also holds multiple Six Sigma certifications.  In this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Chris talks about Sharper Shape, its utility inspection services and how those services are help utility companies reduce risk of wildfires.

Seth Bodnar currently serves as the 19th president of the University of Montana where he works alongside students, faculty, staff and the community to ensure students from all walks of life and backgrounds have access to a quality education that prepares them for successful careers and lives as engaged, service-minded citizens. Before coming to the University of Montana, President Bodnar was a senior executive at the General Electric Company, serving as its first-ever Chief Digital Officer and leading GE Transportation's Digital Solutions business. Prior to GE, President Bodnar served on faculty at West Point where he taught economics. President Bodnar graduated first in his class from West Point, received both the Rhodes and Truman scholarships, and earned two master's degrees from the University of Oxford. President Bodnar had a distinguished military career, serving in the 101st Airborne Division and the U.S. Army's First Special Forces Group. As a member of the Army's elite Green Berets, he commanded a Special Forces detachment on multiple deployments around the world and later served as a special assistant to the Commanding General in Iraq. President Bodnar is the son of two educators and the husband of a fifth-generation Montanan. He is very proud to be raising three kids in Montana, and he considers it a great honor to be working on behalf of public education in such a special place.  

When it comes to talking about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, you're referring to the marketplace. And while you should be aware of its current state, understanding its history is the only way to predict it.  How do you plan your retirement without forecasting your finances? In this episode, I discuss what the Dow Jones Industrial Average reveals about protecting your portfolio today and preserving finances from an ever-changing marketplace tomorrow. Show Highlights Include: The “Dow Jones Industrial Average” crash course for a portfolio that replicates wins and protects you from economic losses. (1:36) Why your understanding of market history preserves the retirement goals you make today. (4:58) What the General Electric Company reveals about marketplace change and how to protect your finances in any environment. (8:26) What the marketing index is, and how to use it to protectmeans for protecting your investments and diversifying your portfolio. (12:00) To schedule your free retirement tracking meeting, specifically for first responders, head to http://pensionattention.com/ or call us at 805-409-8150.

This week we welcome Lean Legend Art Byrne to the show! Art Byrne is an Operating Partner with J.W. Childs Associates, a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of middle-market growth companies. Art has implemented Lean principles in more than 30 companies (including subsidiaries) and 14 countries during the past 30 years, giving him a matchless knowledge of how to turn around companies using a Lean strategy. Art began his Lean journey as general manager at the General Electric Company. Later, as group executive, he helped introduce Lean to the Danaher Corporation. As CEO of The Wiremold Company he quadrupled the company size and increased its enterprise value by 2,500% in less than 10 years. He's also a 2012 Industry Week Manufacturing Hall fo Fame inductee. Byrne holds a bachelor's in economics from Boston College and an master's from Babson College. He also serves as a board member of the Shingo Prize. In this episode, we talk about the power of Lean; as a Transformational tool, and Engagement tool, and as a business philosophy. Art's career knows no limits; he's seen and done it all, and it was an honor to host him on the show. As always - I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you get something from it! Make it a great week! Art's contact info: "Ask Art" on LEI.org - https://www.lean.org/search/?sc=ask+art "The Lean Turnaround" on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Turnaround-Business-Principles-Transform/dp/0071800670/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=art+byrne&qid=1615140587&sr=8-2 "The Lean Turnaround Action Guide" on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Turnaround-Action-Guide-Implement/dp/0071848908/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=art+byrne&qid=1615140612&sr=8-1 New England Lean Consulting is the Northeast's premier business consulting firm, helping small-to-medium sized businesses with strategic leadership and operational methodologies that help your company lower costs, increase capacity and win more customers. Our industry experienced consultants provide guidance with the latest business solutions that help you to grow your business deliberately and strategically in order to sustain a long-term competitive advantage within the marketplace. Paul W. Critchley, President & Founder of New England Lean Consulting: Company website: https://www.newenglandleanconsulting.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NELeanguyLinkedin Company page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-england-lean-consulting/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2sAIveqtNqE1fpRGXcdbXQ Paul's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-critchley-lean-consultant/ Lean Communicators Website: https://leancommunicators.com/ #LeanCommunicators --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/new-england-lean-podcast/support

Raytheon Technologies Corp. v. General Electric Company

Top green stocks to watch: Waste Management, Enphase Energy, ViVo Power International, SPI Energy, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Fuel Tech, SunValley Solar, Sunworks, United Natural Foods, FuelCell Energy, Ameresco, Covanta Holdings, Vestas Wind Systems, and UPS. Analyst recommends ESG funds to buy that include New Alternatives Fund Class A, Calvert Equity Fund Class A. More… PODCAST: Top Green Stocks to Watch. More… Transcript & Links, Episode 46, December 04, 2020 Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 46 published on December 4, titled “Top Green Stocks to Watch. More…”— and presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources. Remember that you can find a full transcript, links to content – including stock symbols, quotes, and bonus material – at this episode’s podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. And Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Top Green Stocks to Watch. More… So, let’s start with a great list of recommendations from an article titled Top 10 Green Stocks to Watch appearing on onmarketnews.com. Written by Mark Baumer. So I’ll first mention the stock name followed by selective quotes from Mr. Baumer concerning that stock. “1) Waste Management (NYSE: WM) When you think of garbage and waste, it doesn’t exactly sound like green investing. But waste collection companies are also involved in recycling and in some cases turning waste into energy. Waste Management owns landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the U.S. They also collect and distribute recycling materials to transfer stations and manage the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties. 2) Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) Is a solar company. It develops, manufactures, and sells solar solutions for homes. It also develops and sells solar solutions to distributors and installers… The solar sector’s hot. With the recent election, there could be more government funding into green energy solutions. 3) VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ: VVPR) VivoPower International PLC and its subsidiaries operate solar and critical power services in the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. The stock was a big runner recently. With a lot of interest in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, battery and solar stocks have been sympathy plays… the stock still has a relatively low float of just under 14 million shares, so it could still run with the right catalyst. 4) SPI Energy Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: SPI) Is involved in the engineering and construction side of the solar business. It also develops and owns solar projects and sells electricity to power companies. The stock had a huge day on September 23 when the stock went from the $3s to a high of $46.67 — in one day!... it’s volatile and can have huge spikes with the right catalyst. 5) Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, S.A. (OTCPK: GCTAY) Engineers, designs, builds, and sells wind turbines. It also constructs wind farms. It has two segments of the business — wind turbines and operations, and maintenance. This company is one of General Electric Company’s (NYSE: GE) biggest rivals. 6) Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK) Is in the pollution control sub-sector. It has the technology to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from combustion sources like boilers, incinerators, and furnaces… It has a history of failed spikes, so if you’re going long, be careful. 7) Sunvalley Solar, Inc. (OTCPK: SSOL) Sunvalley Solar is a California-based company that offers solar systems and maintenance to builders and homeowners… It could be a breakout play if the sector momentum continues and it breaks above resistance. 8) Sunworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW) Is another California-based solar company that develops and installs solar systems. From small kilowatt systems all the way up to megawatt systems for large projects. This stock is in a hot sector and a former runner, so it’s worth watching. 9) United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) Is in the organics sub-sector. It offers organic foods and products in the U.S and Canada. And it’s not just fruits and veggies. It also offers organic juice, eggs, milk, nutritional supplements, and personal care products. 10) FuelCell Energy, Inc., (NASDAQ: FCEL) Manufactures, operates, and sells stationary power plants and heat sources. It has a number of different products to service clients in education, healthcare, and industrials. Over the last few months, the company has taken advantage of the interest in its stock by doing a number of offerings. The company has raised $177.35 million in gross proceeds from the offerings between June and October 2020… It’s gonna take some big news for this stock to have a big move.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Top Green Stocks to Watch. More… Now we have even more on alternative energy stocks with this article 3 Alternative Energy Stocks Braving Industry Headwinds. Again from a Zacks analyst. It appeared on Yahoo! Finance and is written by Aparajita Dutta. As above, I’ll first mention the company followed by quotes from the author. “1) Ameresco (AMRC) Is a leading independent provider of comprehensive energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for facilities throughout North America and the United Kingdom… The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 68.56% in the last four quarters.  The company currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 2) Covanta Holdings (CVA) Offers waste and energy solution to its customers by processing the waste and generating energy out of it, which is named as Energy-from-Waste. Its modern Waste-to-Energy facilities safely convert approximately 21 million tons of waste from municipalities and businesses into clean, renewable electricity to power one million homes and recycle 500,000 tons of metal… The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 75.05% in the last four quarters.  The company currently holds a Zacks Rank #2. 3) Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.CO) Designs, manufactures, installs and services wind turbines across the globe… Its 2020 sales estimate indicates year-over-year improvement of 19.7%. The company currently holds a Zacks Rank #2.” End quotes ------------------------------------------------------------- Energy is where investors send money 'to die' but there is one stock to like in this space, trader says Now in this article titled Energy is where investors send money ‘to die’ but there is one stock to like in the space, trader says. It’s written by Keris Lahiff and appeared on CNBC. Energy in this context refers to fossil fuel stocks. However, Todd Gordon founder of TradingAnalysis.com is quoted in this article as liking Sunrun (RUN), a solar company. Quote “Its shares have risen 383% this year… Love it. I hold it, I think stick with what works for now,” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Sustainable Funds to Buy as ESG Continues to Gain Prominence In this next article, we again thank Zacks for their insights. Appearing on Nasdaq.com it’s titled 4 Sustainable Funds to Buy as ESG Continues to Gain Prominence. I will say their names and follow each with selected quotes from the article. “1) New Alternatives Fund Class A (NALFX) Seeks long-term capital growth with income as its secondary objective. It primarily invests in common stocks of companies and even in other equity securities such as real estate investment trusts and American Depository Receipts etc. [It] has three and five-year returns of 17.9% and 17%, respectively. New Alternatives Fund Class A has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and an annual expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 1.28%. 2) Calvert Equity Fund Class A (CSIEX) Aims for growth of capital through investment in stocks believed to offer opportunities for potential capital appreciation. The fund invests majority of assets in common stocks of companies that rank among the top 1,000 U.S.-listed companies. [It] has three and five-year returns of 18.2% and 15%, respectively. Calvert Equity Fund Class A has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and an annual expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.04%. 3) Fidelity Select Environment and Alternative Energy Portfolio (FSLEX) fund aims for capital growth. The fund invests majority of assets in securities of companies mostly engaged in activities related to alternative and renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, water infrastructure, waste and recycling technologies or other environmental support services. The non-diversified fund invests in U.S. and non-U.S. issuers alike. Fidelity Select Environment and Alternative Energy Portfolio has a three and five-year returns of 3.4% and 9.5%, respectively. Fidelity Select Environment and Alternative Energy Portfolio has an annual expense ratio of 0.85%, which is below the category average of 1.04%. 4) Parnassus Mid Cap Growth Fund - Investor (PARNX) Aims for capital appreciation. The fund invests majority of assets in mid-sized growth companies. Parnassus Mid Cap Growth Fund - Investor has a three and five-year returns of 9.7% and 10.2%, respectively. Parnassus Mid Cap Growth Fund - Investor has an annual expense ratio of 0.84%, which is below the category average of 1.16%.” End quotes ------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Top Green Stocks to Watch. More… Now many of you are also seeking income. So, before ending this podcast, I want to briefly cover this article: UPS Named A Top Socially Responsible Dividend Stock. It’s by BNK Invest. It appeared on Nasdaq.com. Quote, “United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) has been named a Top Socially Responsible Dividend Stock by Dividend Channel, signifying a stock with above-average ‘DividendRank’ statistics including a strong 2.4% yield, as well as being recognized by prominent asset managers as being a socially responsible investment.” End quote. ------------------------------------------------------------- End Comment Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast: “Top Green Stocks to Watch. More…“ To get all the links, stock symbols, or to read the transcript of this podcast -- and more -- go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode. Also, be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in iTunes/Apple Podcasts or wherever you download or listen to this podcast. And please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Let us promote a better post COVID world through ethical and sustainable investing! Contact me if you have any questions. Stay well and healthy—and conscious about the ethical and sustainable values of your investments! Thank you for listening. Talk to you again on December 18. Bye for now. © 2020 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.

The CEO & President of Logitech, Bracken Darrell, joins us on this monumental episode of Leaders Who Learn. Logitech's market cap is valued at around 14B+ and Bracken Darrell's leadership literally has a Global impact. Logitech provides products and services to over 300 countries across the world. In this episode, Bracken talks about what matters most as a leader today, why being transparent about diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts will be a barometer for future success, and how he is inspired by 'creators'. This is a can't miss episode! Bracken P. Darrell serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director of the Company. Prior to joining Logitech, Mr. Darrell served as President of Whirlpool EMEA and Executive Vice President of Whirlpool Corporation, a home appliance manufacturer and marketing company, from January 2009 to March 2012. Previously, Mr. Darrell had been Senior Vice President, Operations of Whirlpool EMEA from May 2008 to January 2009. From 2002 to May 2008, Mr. Darrell was with the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), a consumer brand company, most recently as the President of its Braun GmbH subsidiary. Prior to rejoining P&G in 2002, Mr. Darrell served in various executive and managerial positions with General Electric Company from 1997 to 2002, with P&G from 1991 to 1997, and with PepsiCo Inc. from 1987 to 1989. Mr. Darrell holds a BA degree from Hendrix College and an MBA from Harvard University. Thanks for listening!

General Electric offers an earnings surprise in Q3. General Electric (NYSE: GE) reported third-quarter 2020 financial results before the opening bell on Wednesday. The industrial giant reported a 17% decline in Q3 revenues to $19.4 billion, which fell short of the Wall Street consensus. Meanwhile, the company surprised the street with a profit of $0.06 per share, even as investors were anticipating a loss. GE shares gained 3.5% immediately following the announcement. The stock has fallen 40% since the beginning of this year. CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. said in a statement, “We are improving our profit and cash performance with organic margin expansion in every segment except Aviation, though orders more broadly remain under pressure.” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/earningspodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/earningspodcast/support

Jeremy Cohen, Esq. "Dedicated To Defending Companion Animals" on Why Do Pets Matter? with Debra Vey Voda-Hamilton, Esq.During this candid conversation, Jeremy talks about how his legal work helps animals, their owners, and their veterinarians, feel valued and understood by talking to one another first -- often eliminating the need for litigation.A lawyer for nearly 20 years, Jeremy Cohen has been handling cases for dog owners since 2008. By opening Boston Dog Lawyers in 2015 he is growing a law practice specializing in representing dog owners and pet owners.Prior to working for animals, Attorney Cohen worked in the insurance industry. He rose from a claims adjuster to manager of global claims on behalf of The General Electric Company. He founded a general practice law firm in 2007 and sold it in 2014 so he could focus on defending companion animals.While he still handles some civil litigation outside of pets, each day his practice becomes more and more about what he loves to do.You can learn more at his website: https://www.bostondoglawyers.com/index.html

The Dow Jones Industrial AverageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index that tracks 30 large, publicly-owned blue chip companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. The Dow Jones is named after Charles Dow, who created the index back in 1896, along with his business partner Edward Jones.The Dow is one of the oldest, single most-watched indices in the world. To investors, the Dow Jones is defined as a collection of blue-chip companies with consistently stable earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the second oldest U.S. market index after the Dow Jones Transportation Average, which contains 20 transport stocks such as railroad and trucking companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was designed to serve as a proxy for the broader U.S. economy.The performance of industrial companies is typically tied to the growth rate in the economy. As a result, the relationship between the Dow's performance and that of the U.S. economy was cemented. Even today, to many investors, a strong Dow, means a strong economy while a weak-performing Dow means a slowing economy.The key point about the DJIA is that it is not a weighted arithmetic average, nor does it represent its component companies' market capitalization as does the S&P 500. Rather, it reflects the sum of the price of one share of stock for all the components, divided by the divisor. Thus, a one-point move in any of the component stocks will move the index by an identical number of points.The most recent large scale change to the Dow took place in 1997 when four of the index's components were replaced. Two years later, in 1999, four more components of the Dow were changed. The most recent change took place on June 26, 2018, when Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. replaced General Electric Company.On March 15, 1933, the Dow experienced its largest one-day percentage gain which happened during the 1930s bear market, totaling 15.34 percent. The Dow gained 8.26 points and closed at 62.10.While in March 2020, the Dow Jones crashes with back-to-back record down days amid the global coronavirus pandemic. It broke below 20,000 points and fell 3,000 points in a single day.

Long time Swampscott Historic Commission member Sylvia Belkin shares her knowledge of one of Swampscott's most illustrious residents, Elihu Thomson, who was a co-founder of the General Electric Company, Acting President of MIT, and holder of almost 700 US patents!

Beth Comstock is the author of Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change. Beth served as NBC Universal’s President for Integrated Media as well as the General Electric Company’s Vice-Chair and Chief Marketing Officer, where she led efforts to promote growth and innovation. In her book, Imagine it Forward, Beth draws lessons … Continue reading "Imagine It Forward with Beth Comstock"

Reema Poddar is a highly successful executive with 26 years of experience in the software Industry. Poddar is a respected thought leader in Technology and authority on Digital and Organizational Transformation. Her successes include accelerating Digital & Organizational transformations enhancing customer experiences, enabling companies to improve automation, developer productivity, and operational excellence. She recently served Teradata Inc, as the Executive Vice President and “Chief Product and Development officer” of the company and was responsible for leading worldwide product, technology, innovation, corporate security, and analytics strategy. Here she was instrumental in helping the company through its ambitious cloud transformation and the transition of multibillion-dollar product line from a perpetual to a subscription-based offering. In 2018 & 2019 under her leadership, Teradata delivered the world’s first Data and Analytics Platform – “Vantage”, and the first SaaS application- “Vantage CX”. These multi-cloud offerings led to acquiring net new enterprise logos & doubling the cloud revenue for the company. Prior to joining Teradata, Poddar held a variety of senior executive positions within General Electric Company, Emerson Electric and Software Start Up - Intellution Inc. She is a passionate leader who empowers teams to take risk, fail fast and learn. She is focused on helping women in all areas of technology to reach their next level of success in life and work and is actively involved in a variety of STEM programs, Women in Technology initiatives and other nonprofits. She holds several business, technology, and CEO leadership awards at GE and the companies she has served. In 2019, Poddar was named one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity. In 2018, Poddar was honored by the San Diego Business Chambers for her business impact and technology leadership, as well as San Diego Magazine recognized her in the top 5 of the city’s powerful female leaders. Poddar is also an honored recipient of the 2015 Edison Awards for New Product Innovation for healthcare industrial internet of things. In 2014, she was honored with the Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology award for the most innovative new product solution. Poddar holds a Master’s in computer science and a Master’s in Physics.

Background: Following the release of his book, ‘Stop The Rot: Reframing Corporate Governance For Directors and Politicians' in 2017, Bob has been speaking with directors and politicians in eight countries and recently presented to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Corporate Governance on 11 March 2020 at Westminster. In this webinar Bob reflected on these experiences and discussed what he believes a 21st century board really looks like. Speaker: Professor Bob Garratt is a ‘pracademic' – a businessman and director who has always kept one foot in academia to ensure that he keeps his clients', and himself, honest. He has consulted at the highest levels in some 40 countries and been chairman of consultancies in Hong Kong, Singapore and London. He has worked with the International Monetary Fund, Washington DC, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, and given evidence to the UK Treasury Select Committee on the Restructuring of the corporate governance of the Bank of England. His background spans architectural and community education at the Architectural Association School, London, Ulster College, Belfast, and then into top management and board review and development through The General Electric Company's action learning-based Developing Senior Managers Programme. He was on the faculties of The Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College, London. Interested in watching our webinars live, or taking part in the production of our research? Join our community at: https://bit.ly/3sXPpb5

US equity markets soared a day after the Federal Reserve cut key lending rates by -50-basis points, with some solid quarterly results and upbeat economic data also driving the rally - Dow surged +1,173-points or +4.53%, reclaiming the 27,000 point level. UnitedHealth Group (up +10.72%) was the best performing Dow constituent. The broader S&P500 +4.22%, with Health Care (up +5.81%) and Utilities (+5.69%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. Energy was the laggard albeit still posting a 2.22% advance. General Electric Company recovered from an earlier fall to close +0.64% higher after providing a 2020 outlook presentation to investors said it estimates that the coronavirus outbreak will negatively impact first-quarter industrial free cash flow (FCF) by US$300M to US$500M and operating income by US $200M to US $300M – setting the company up to undershoot current analysts’ consensus forecasts. GE had 18K employees in China, or ~9% of the total workforce of 200K, with 2K workers in the Hubei province, where the novel coronavirus was first detected in December. GE’s Chief Executive , Larry Culp, said most of the employees went back to work in February, but the sites there are operating at reduced capacity. The NASDAQ gained +3.79% to move back in the black for the year (up +0.46%). All three major indices climbed out of official correction territory, meaning they are now less than 10% down from their 52-week highs.

US equity markets soared a day after the Federal Reserve cut key lending rates by -50-basis points, with some solid quarterly results and upbeat economic data also driving the rally - Dow surged +1,173-points or +4.53%, reclaiming the 27,000 point level. UnitedHealth Group (up +10.72%) was the best performing Dow constituent. The broader S&P500 +4.22%, with Health Care (up +5.81%) and Utilities (+5.69%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. Energy was the laggard albeit still posting a 2.22% advance. General Electric Company recovered from an earlier fall to close +0.64% higher after providing a 2020 outlook presentation to investors said it estimates that the coronavirus outbreak will negatively impact first-quarter industrial free cash flow (FCF) by US$300M to US$500M and operating income by US $200M to US $300M – setting the company up to undershoot current analysts' consensus forecasts. GE had 18K employees in China, or ~9% of the total workforce of 200K, with 2K workers in the Hubei province, where the novel coronavirus was first detected in December. GE's Chief Executive , Larry Culp, said most of the employees went back to work in February, but the sites there are operating at reduced capacity. The NASDAQ gained +3.79% to move back in the black for the year (up +0.46%). All three major indices climbed out of official correction territory, meaning they are now less than 10% down from their 52-week highs.

General Electric Company v. United Technologies Corp.

An Iowa native, George Lunn came to Schenectady in 1904 to become senior pastor at the First Reformed Church in the city's Stockade Neighborhood. He entered politics in 1911 and was elected mayor of Schenectady as a member of the Socialist Party. He worked with General Electric scientist Charles Steinmetz to create Central Park and improve the city's school system, and also initiated free garbage pickup and a health clinic, all while the city's population was rapidly increasing due to immigration. He won the mayoral election four times, twice after switching to the Democratic Party, and also became a U.S. Congressman and Lieutenant Governor under Al Smith. Bill Buell is a life-long Schenectady County resident who spent 41 years - the first 21 as a sportswriter and the last 18 as a news reporter - with the Daily Gazette Newspaper. He graduated from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, Schenectady County Community College and the University at Albany, earning a degree in history. He has written books on Schenectady County and Albany County, and has won numerous writing awards, including a 2018 New York Press Association Award for a series on the history of the General Electric Company. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/steve-richards/support

Retirement Checklist (continued) This week, join Michael J. McNamara, Ph.D., CFP® with his guest Marc L. Collier, CFP®, ChFC, for a continuation of an earlier discussion about making a retirement checklist. Mike McNamara, Ph.D., CFP® is the founder of McNamara Financial Services, a Certified Financial Planner, and the semi-retired, gray haired presence at McNamara Financial. Marc Collier, CFP®, ChFC is a Certified Financial Planner professional and a Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC) and has been in the financial services industry for over 40 years. Before entering the financial service industry, Marc was a corporate financial analyst for General Electric Company. He has taught courses on various financial planning topics and has been featured in articles in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Wall Street Journal, Morningstar Investor magazine and several other financial services publications. Marc currently holds Series 7 and 63 registrations as an Investment Adviser Representative of Commonwealth Financial Network. You can find Marc online at https://www.axialco.com/ McNamara Financial is an Independent, family-owned, fee-only investment management and financial planning firm, serving individuals and families on the South Shore and beyond for over 30 years. COME SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK WITH A FIDUCIARY. http://mcnamarafinancial.com/

Retirement Checklist (continued) This week, join Michael J. McNamara, Ph.D., CFP® with his guest Marc L. Collier, CFP®, ChFC, for a continuation of an earlier discussion about making a retirement checklist. Mike McNamara, Ph.D., CFP® is the founder of McNamara Financial Services, a Certified Financial Planner, and the semi-retired, gray haired presence at McNamara Financial. Marc Collier, CFP®, ChFC is a Certified Financial Planner professional and a Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC) and has been in the financial services industry for over 40 years. Before entering the financial service industry, Marc was a corporate financial analyst for General Electric Company. He has taught courses on various financial planning topics and has been featured in articles in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Wall Street Journal, Morningstar Investor magazine and several other financial services publications. Marc currently holds Series 7 and 63 registrations as an Investment Adviser Representative of Commonwealth Financial Network. You can find Marc online at https://www.axialco.com/ McNamara Financial is an Independent, family-owned, fee-only investment management and financial planning firm, serving individuals and families on the South Shore and beyond for over 30 years. COME SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK WITH A FIDUCIARY. http://mcnamarafinancial.com/

Ever wonder what it’s like to work on antitrust matters as in-house counsel? In this AT/CP podcast from the ABA Section of Antitrust Law, host Natalie Hayes welcomes Stacy Frazier, Saralisa Brau, and Andrew King, who give their thoughts on how antitrust lawyers can be more involved with in-house counsel, the steps they should take if they want to transition, and the differences between working for a corporation and a law firm. They also advise those interested in the position to look for more opportunities to counsel. Stacy Frazier is the executive counsel for competition law and policy at the General Electric Company. Saralisa Brau is the chief antitrust counsel at McKesson Corporation in Washington, D.C. Andrew King serves as the chief counsel and anti-corruption lawyer at the International Paper Company. (Host) Natalie Hayes is an associate in Weil’s Antitrust/Competition practice group.

Art Byrne is an Operating Partner with J.W. Childs Associates, a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of middle-market growth companies, where he leads the implementation of lean management at Childs' portfolio companies. While serving as CEO or an equivalent position, Byrne implemented lean principles in more than 30 companies (including subsidiaries) and 14 countries during the past 30 years, giving him a matchless knowledge of how to turn around companies using a lean strategy. Byrne began his lean journey as general manager at the General Electric Company. Later, as group executive, he helped introduce lean to the Danaher Corporation. As CEO of The Wiremold Company he quadrupled the company size and increased its enterprise value by 2,500% in less than 10 years. Byrne holds a bachelor's in economics from Boston College and an master's from Babson College. He also serves as a board member of the Shingo Prize.

Brackett Denniston, former General Counsel of General Electric, joins Goodwin's Chairman David Hashmall for this month's episode of Perspective. Hear from Brackett on what it was like to work with Jeff Welch, the importance of humility, and why doing pro bono is good for your heart. This and much more on Perspectives. In 2016, Brackett rejoined Goodwin as Senior Counsel from General Electric Company, where he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for more than a decade. In this position, he was responsible for leading a global legal, environmental and safety, and government affairs team of more than 3,000 professionals worldwide in matters involving compliance, corporate governance, IP protection, dispute resolution, government affairs, pro bono and diversity. During his time at GE, it was named best legal department by Corporate Counsel magazine and he was named among the most influential lawyers by the National Law Journal. He joined GE in 1996 as Vice President and Senior Counsel of Litigation and Legal Policy. Prior to his work with GE, Brackett served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor William F. Weld of Massachusetts from 1993-1996. His public sector work also includes service as Chief of the Major Frauds Unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, where he led prosecutions relating to securities and financial fraud, and was awarded the Department of Justice’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance for his role overseeing numerous successful prosecutions. Brackett was a partner at Goodwin from 1986-1993, and also practiced as an associate at the firm from 1974-1982, where he focused on complex civil litigation, securities matters and white collar crime cases.

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."   Today's guest is Yewande O'Neal, a passionate advocate for people to discover who they were created to be. Yewande loves to see people walk in their God given purpose and do it with excellence. She lives to seek God's kingdom first, and doing so has transformed her life in many ways, which you'll hear about today.   Yewande started her career in the corporate world with the General Electric Company. She earned numerous awards and certifications in her 12 years with GE. She climbed the leadership ladder and became Executive General Manager, leading over 200 employees all over the world.   After working in the corporate world for several years, Yewande felt God tug her heart and she founded Women of Kairos in 2015 - Non-profit organization focused on helping women move into and in their purpose. I'm honored to be speaking at this year's Women of Kairos conference on October 13th in Atlanta.  

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”   Today’s guest is Yewande O’Neal, a passionate advocate for people to discover who they were created to be. Yewande loves to see people walk in their God given purpose and do it with excellence. She lives to seek God’s kingdom first, and doing so has transformed her life in many ways, which you’ll hear about today.   Yewande started her career in the corporate world with the General Electric Company. She earned numerous awards and certifications in her 12 years with GE. She climbed the leadership ladder and became Executive General Manager, leading over 200 employees all over the world.   After working in the corporate world for several years, Yewande felt God tug her heart and she founded Women of Kairos in 2015 – Non-profit organization focused on helping women move into and in their purpose. I’m honored to be speaking at this year’s Women of Kairos conference on October 13th in Atlanta.  

A dica de hoje é deste grande CEO: Jack Welch, que iniciou sua carreira na General Electric Company em 1960 e, em 1981, tornou-se o oitavo Chairman e CEO da empresa. Nos seus 20 anos como CEO da General Electric, tirou a empresa de uma grande burocracia e aplicou diversas inovações gerenciais. elevando seu faturamento em 4000%! Veja mais vídeos do Cresça 1% ao dia: youtube.com/fernaobattistoni

This best of Option Block episode was originally posted on July 22nd, 2016 Trading Block: Most major markets off 0.5% or more. VIX cash watch. Earnings today (before) Dunkin Brands,General Motors, Marriott Vacations, Southwest Airlines; (after) AT&T, Chipotle Mexican Grill, E*Trade Financial (ETFC). Apple Watch is a flop! Odd Block: Calls trade in Nobel Corporation (NE), calls trade in Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN), calls and puts trade in Ebay Inc (EBAY), and calls trade in Mattel Corp (MAT). Mail Block: Listener questions and comments....LIVE! Size aside, what are the primary benefits of using SPX instead of SPY. What is going on in the VIX Aug 13 puts? Which names are the most reliable premium writes each quarter? Is there a tradeable pair between VIX and another member of the family of volatility products? What to do with the upcoming UVXY reverse split? Around the Block: Earnings on Friday: American Airlines, General Electric Company, TCF Financial, Whirlpool Corporation.

This best of Option Block episode was originally p>osted on July 22nd, 2016 Trading Block: Most major markets off 0.5% or more. VIX cash watch. Earnings today (before) Dunkin Brands,General Motors, Marriott Vacations, Southwest Airlines; (after) AT&T, Chipotle Mexican Grill, E*Trade Financial (ETFC). Apple Watch is a flop! Odd Block: Calls trade in Nobel Corporation (NE), calls trade in Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN), calls and puts trade in Ebay Inc (EBAY), and calls trade in Mattel Corp (MAT). Mail Block: Listener questions and comments....LIVE! Size aside, what are the primary benefits of using SPX instead of SPY. What is going on in the VIX Aug 13 puts? Which names are the most reliable premium writes each quarter? Is there a tradeable pair between VIX and another member of the family of volatility products? What to do with the upcoming UVXY reverse split? Around the Block: Earnings on Friday: American Airlines, General Electric Company, TCF Financial, Whirlpool Corporation.

  Omar Ishrak has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic since June 2011. Medtronic is the world’s leading medical technology company, with $29 billion in annual revenue, and operations reaching more than 160 countries worldwide. Medtronic offers technologies and solutions to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including cardiac and vascular diseases, respiratory, neurological and spinal conditions, diabetes, and more. The Medtronic Mission is to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life for millions of people around the world. Since joining Medtronic, Omar has focused the company on three core strategies of Therapy Innovation, Economic Value and Globalization. These three strategies form the basis for Medtronic’s efforts to partner with its customers to drive high quality patient outcomes, expand patient access to healthcare, and lower costs in healthcare systems around the world. In 2014, Omar engineered the acquisition of Covidien, a $10 billion global manufacturer of surgical products and supplies. The acquisition of Covidien was the largest medical technology acquisition in the history of the industry. Omar joined Medtronic from General Electric Company, where he spent 16 years, most recently as President and CEO of GE Healthcare Systems, a $12 billion division of GE Healthcare, with a broad portfolio of diagnostic, imaging, patient monitoring and life support systems. Omar also served as an Officer and a Senior Vice President of GE. Earlier in his career, Omar amassed 13 years of technology development and business management experience, holding leadership positions at Diasonics/Vingmed, and various product development and engineering positions at Philips Ultrasound. He grew up in Bangladesh, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of London, King's College. Omar currently serves as co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Health and Healthcare Community, which includes global leaders focused on shaping the future of health and healthcare. Key areas of focus for this community include promoting healthy behaviors, better management of future pandemics/epidemics, increasing global access to care, and increasing value in healthcare systems to advance healthcare delivery and improve patient outcomes. Omar is a member of the Board of Directors of Intel, a global technology company with more than $59 billion in annual revenue. Omar is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society, the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. He is also a member of the Minnesota Public Radio Board of Trustees. 

In 2008, Kate left her high-powered career as an attorney and executive at General Electric Company to educate the world’s poorest children. Her personal call to action followed the sudden death of her brother, father and mother in under two years. Her mother’s last words, “I’ve had a great life,” and her father’s lifelong commitment to public service inspired her to begin a journey to define “a great life” that took her across four continents and today motivates her to volunteer weekly in a first grade classroom. www.schooltheworld.org        

Mack Maloney who grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston and was taught to read and write by the nuns at St. Ann’s School. His father was a veteran of World War II and he used to read military books all the time. As a child, Mack started reading them too, along with a lot of science fiction. He received a BS in journalism and a graduate degree in filmmaking from Emerson College. He was a sports reporter for two years after college before joining corporate America as a publicist for General Electric Company. Mack started writing books in 1984, and have been doing it full time since 1987, penning over 30 books. During the course of researching his novels Mack discovered numerous places all over the world similar to the top secret Area 51 in Nevada. He shared what he’s uncovered about UFOs, and their relationship to these secret bases. Aided in the writing of his book, Beyond Area 51, by an employee of a U.S. intelligence agency he referred to as “Spook,” Maloney learned that there may be as many as two dozen bases all around the world. Historically, one of the first secret bases was in the ancient Israeli city of Meggido, where a fortress was constructed on a mountain to hide their military force, he detailed. Nowadays, secret bases are generally built underground in order to remain out of view of satellites, he noted. There’s a vast underground base in Russia in the Yamantau Mountain built in the 1990s, probably as a place where top government officials would go in the case of a nuclear event, he said. In the United States, Area 51 functions mostly as a place for the Air Force to secretly test new reconnaissance aircraft like the U2, Maloney asserted, adding that he believes Bob Lazar may have been a government disinformation agent, creating an ET story to distract or divert attention away from the real technology at the Nevada base. In another case of disinformation, he concluded that Paul Bennewitz’s tale about aliens and UFOs inside an underground base in Dulce, NM had been fed to him by government agents to throw him off track, after he’d stumbled onto some of their secret experiments. Maloney recounted some of the strange aerial sightings seen in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, as well as the alleged 1974 incident in which President Nixon took Jackie Gleason to view the remains of an alien crew and flying saucer under military guard at a hangar in the Homestead AFB in Florida. He also reviewed WWII era UFO sightings like the foo fighters, and the ‘Battle of Los Angeles.’ One of the intriguing things that Maloney’s friend “Spook” told him was that for really secret technology like a recovered UFO, it would probably be “hidden in plain sight” rather than placed in an underground base. For more, check out this short video clip in which Maloney talks about his series of novels in which ‘Mad Max’ meets WWIII. He’s also a skilled musician, and host of his own radio show “MACK MALONEY’S MILITARY X FILES” which airs every Wednesdays at 7:30pm to 9pm est. You can also follow him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mack.maloney.96 Links: http://mackmaloney.wordpress.com/ http://www.mackmaloney.com/