Happy Presidents Day!

“Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except upon the side of mercy.”

Robert G. Ingersoll

“The true distinction between what is called a fine Regiment and an indifferent one will ever, upon investigation, be found to originate in, and depend upon, the care or the inattention of the Officers belonging to them.”

George Washington

“Exactly the Right Words, Exactly the Right Way”

Speaking of Presidents….It’s hard to believe that it’s been thirty years since the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986 when seven astronauts, including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, died tragically when the space shuttle exploded just over a minute after liftoff.

That evening, then president Ronald Reagan delivered an unforgettable 4 minute message to a shocked and grieving nation. A recent Washington Post article looks at the masterful communication by “The Great Communicator” regarding the event, and the role that a young novice speech writer, Peggy Noonan, now a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, played in crafting  “exactly the right words, exactly the right way.” This short article should be required reading for any C-Level exec (regardless of your politics) who would like to learn from a great communicator, against the day that he or she will be faced with their own disaster.

Washington the Entrepreneur

Not only is Washington our first president, he may have been our ”first entrepreneur.” We know him best as solider and statesman, but now the neglected commercial aspect of Washington’s life has been brought to life in a new book “First Entrepreneur:  How George Washington Built His-and the Nation’s Prosperity” which explores how Washington turned his beloved Mt. Vernon from a Virginia farm into a mini-conglomerate.

Check out this ten minute video interview with the author for a quick overview of the book.

Who Marries Whom?

Valentine’s Day is just passed and no doubt many a marriage proposal was made over the weekend. Some matches seem obvious; many leave us scratching our heads. A recent study shows, for example, that male CEOs are likely to marry subordinates but female CEOs apparently prefer equals. Find out who is likely to marry whom in this interactive offering that lets you pick a profession and immediately see the profession(s) most likely followed by the spouse per the US Census Bureau.

For Your Kids: Interview No-No’s

Before you know it graduation will be upon us and the interview season will be in full force. If your child is getting ready to enter the work force, you might engage in some pre-interview parenting about what NOT to do in the interview, especially if it’s being done via video. Here’s a few examples of what not to do make the case for parental intervention far better than I can. I wonder if any of these people actually got hired?

Econ Recon: A Correction, Correct?…. ”Cheap Date”  from Hell…. Zombies Among Us?

Another tough week in the financial markets and more bad news for oil…. are these markets signaling recession? Not so, says economist Brian Wesbury. If you unpack the rest of the economic suitcase, these are compensating factors that will avert a recession. Find out why he says we’re experiencing a correction, not a recession.

Another article from Bloomberg echoes the same theme and says that this trend of the stock market tracking the price of oil is the cheap date from hell…and has to end.

On the other hand, a Forbes writer worries that the dead and dying energy companies could drag down the banks that lent to them. Will Zombie energy companies take out the banks and create another recession?