Be Realistically Pessimistic! You’ll live longer!………A Buffett Buffet……The Most Successful Organization on the Planet…..Econ Recon: Time to Double Down?

There is no security on this earth.  There is only opportunity.”

 General Douglas MacArthur

Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific during WWII

Be Realistically Pessimistic!…You’ll Live Longer

Remember the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? Recent research suggests that the opposite may be true in at least in one sense. A recent article in the Smithsonian summarizes research suggesting  “Pessimists Live Longer than Optimists.”

A Buffett Buffet

If it’s March, it’s time for Warren Buffett’s annual letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway reviewing the past year and looking ahead. The 2012 letter was released a few weeks and is 23 pages in length. You can access it by clicking here.  If you’re not familiar with the investment philosophy and principles of the “Sage of Omaha”  this letter is a great way to acquire it. If you’re not up for that much Buffett in one sitting,  check out this informative and entertaining  compilation of fifteen quotes from his annual missive over the years.

The Most Successful Organization on The Planet

By almost any measure (size, longevity, customers, international reach) the most successful organization on the planet is the Roman Catholic Church; much in the news recently due to the unprecedented resignation of Pope Benedict XVI  and the impending conclave of the College of Cardinals to select a successor. The Church has its own share of problems and threats as well. The Economist Magazine offers an interesting one page look at the Church from a business perspective and offers some Management Tips for the Catholic Church.  (You may want to check how your own organization is doing against this checklist).

Econ Recon:  Time to Double Down?

Check out the economy of the next five years with this written summary of Alan Beaulieu of  ITR Economics industry keynote to the 2013 Robotics Industry Forum. This excellent summary of Alan’s thoughts on the future economy is accompanied by a five minute video (that I couldn’t get to play all the way through).  For those of you in Vistage Groups in South Carolina, hear Alan’s twin brother Brian Beaulieu at the South Carolina Vistage Summit in Charleston on April 3rd.  If you are qualified for Vistage membership, you can hear Alan and Brian’s associate Dr. Jeff Deitrich speak at our upstate group’s April 24th meeting. (Contact me if you’d like to be considered for the limited number of available spots).  In short…look for a good five years ahead of us, with a little bump in 2014 (nothing like what we’ve been through), but a warning to sell, retire or be liquid by 2019 when things get really rough again.

An optimistic forecast  doesn’t mean that the hot stock market can’t pull back along the way….. check out Brian Beaulieu’s (twin brother of Alan) musings on the on the market as he explores the question: the Stock Market is at a record high but will it last?