NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Tells 60 Minutes the NFL is a Socialist Business Endeavor

If you didn’t catch the CBS news show 60 Minutes on January 29^th, Steve Kroft interviewed NFL commission Roger Goodell and what a whopper it was!

As with all 60 Minutes stories, it began as Kroft made an astonishing (but true) rationalization: “There are only two institutions in this country with the power to create almost limitless amounts of money. One is the Federal Reserve. The other is the National Football League (NFL).”

According to Kroft, last month Goodell signed a $6 billion revenue share deal with TV networks (CBS is included in that deal) and that’s not counting ticket sales, team apparel and other must-have fan elements licensed and distributed by the NFL.

Kroft also pointed out the NFL rules directs teams to “share most of their revenues with each other.” The reason? Apparently there are rich teams and poor teams and the required revenue share ensures all teams have equal opportunities.

This is where Kroft asked Goodell, “I mean that’s socialism isn’t it?”

Goodell’s response? “It is a form of socialism. And, it’s worked quite well for us.” Really dude?

Kroft called the NFL as a whole a “cartel” because it is exempt from all anti-trust laws and has been for the last fifty years.

Goodell rules his roost in an authoritative nature and the 32 team owners pay him a whopping $10 million a year to do so. While he may think of the league as part socialism and part capitalism, when it comes to the decision-making on fines and rules, the buck stops with Goodell and it’s sort of unheard of for any player to appeal a fine—at least successfully.

In reality, if Goodell is the end all of decisions in the NFL and no one else. So, isn’t the NFL also a dictatorship? I think so! At least it’s run that way and how Goodell hands out fines doesn’t seem to be fair.

A helmet to helmet hit will most likely garner a huge fine but off the field conduct that’s not allowed by players’ contracts can also bring a hefty fine. Take defensive player James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers for example—the fines he has received (in excess of $100,000), in my opinion, are over the top and many defensive players say with the rules set for the NFL these days, they may as well be playing flag football and I agree! Even the soft spoken defensive safety Troy Polamalu has criticized Goodell (well inbetween praying).

This great organization we call the NFL does indeed have 32 team owners, but one dictator who leans towards a socialist-run environment but says the NFL is also part capitalism which only he can “dictate.”

I welcome comments about the problem with concussions in the NFL—it’s awful and we do need to do something about the over-aggressive, but and this is a big but—why call out only certain players and fine them—make it fair across the board Goodell.

Let’s look at an example; if rough and tough Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens crushes Pittsburgh Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger, Ray is assured he won’t be fined because Big Ben is not what Goodell looks at as an elite quarterback. On the other hand, if Ray Lewis sort of “shoves” Tom Brady of the New England Patriots—it’s a foul, big fine and a talking to from dictator Goodell—no appeals necessary.

Just be fair about the fines next year Goodell and you know what? It would be nice if you weren’t the end all of each decision in the NFL—ever think about the commissioner office be a three-party team where they can discuss and agree or not agree on decisions? Maybe take a vote for goodness sakes! I bet not—after all, you’d have to share that $10 million buckaroos with two other people. 

Oh well, it's an idea!

Watch or Read the 60 Minutes Interview Here

Should a President’s Religion Matter?

Mitt Romney is a Mormon, Rick Santorum follows the Catholic faith and President Obama says he’s a Christian. Then there’s candidate Newt Gingrich who started as a Lutheran, then became a Baptist and now says he also follows the Roman Catholic faith—candidate Ron Paul is also a Baptist.

Quite the plethora of religious views to choose from in a presidential candidate but should religion matter or should values matter? They are different you know—totally different.

I was raised by a Protestant Mother and a Catholic Father and while I call myself a “fallen Catholic” because I don’t practice the faith as I should, I guess if I were on my death bed, I’d want the last rights offered by a priest—just so I’d skip purgatory and head straight to heaven!

As a “fallen Catholic” I know my values haven’t changed much over the years. You know the ones, respect your elders, the golden rule, help the needy, raise your kids the best you can, be involved in your community and offer a kind word when you can, donate cash to the poor, help out the homeless, etc. Those things are not religious items in my mind, they are my values and how I treat my fellow man (or woman). Heck, I am so dog nutty, I’d say I my religion should be Canineness—a new religion where if I see you abusing a dog, you’ll know it, because I’ll take the dog away from you or report you. Hmm? Canineness? It could catch on right? But again, I digress.

Religion is a choice but every religion is weird and full of mystery, weird rituals and funny clothes and traditions.

I forget where I heard this but what if an Alien came to Earth and your job was to explain your religion—whatever it is—even if you have no religious beliefs and are an Atheist. It would be hard.

Alien: What are you doing?

Me: I’m thinking of some possible sins I could report to the priest in that little box over there with the curtain on it.

Alien: What are sins?

Me: Things you do that are bad and you must be forgiven for your sins and then go say prayers.

Alien: What are prayers?

Me: Words sort of like poems you say over and over again depending on how many sins you have and how bad of a sinner the priest thinks you are.

Alien: What if the priest sins?

Me: Well he too must confess and say prayers in order to be forgiven.

Alien: What about his confessor, what if they sin?

Me: Same deal.

Alien: Why are you eating that little white round disk?

Me: It’s the body of Christ

Alien: Who is Christ?

Me: He was a man, the son of God who died on the cross for all of us sinners. God gave us his son.

Alien: Didn’t he want his son?

Me: Yes—absolutely, his son was a gift to all of us.

Alien: Can a human being be a gift you can give away?

Me: Well, God can do that because he did it with his only son.

Alien:  What about Christ’s mother, didn’t she have a say?

Me: You know what Mr. Alien, let’s skip all this and just do lunch. Thursday okay for you at IHOP?

Alien: What’s IHOP?

Me: Never mind.

No religion can be explained without sounding weird, silly or bizarre. In the example conversation above, nowhere are my “values” mentioned.

If they were, the conversation might be:

Alien: Why did you just spit on the church steps?

Me: Oh, well everyone spits.

Alien: Is this not a house of worship for many?

Me: Yes!

Alien: Then you should respect that and not spit.

Me: Fine Mr. Alien, I’ll clean it up okay? I should not have done that in the first place!

See the difference? If you don’t, I feel sorry for you.

I don’t think the religion of any president should matter—no matter what they practice, even if the religion is not so popular such as being a Buddhist or Muslim and then you throw your hat in the ring as a candidate for President of the USofA!

But people do confuse the two—values and religion and that my friends is just plain stupid. In fact, I dare you to challenge me! Does a President or a Presidential Candidate’s religion really mean they won’t be a good President? You tell me.

Oh and by the by, try having an imaginary conversation with your own Alien about your religion—see how far you get—I’d like to know that too.

General Motors Largest Auto Dealer? President Obama Give Me a Break!

On January 24 2012 President Obama offered up his third State of the Union address to Congress and I listened to it—well sort of. I was working, writing a piece for a client when out of his mouth I heard: “Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number one automaker.”

What was that you said sir? GM number one in the world? Because of your governing? Because of policies set by your change-the-auto-industry-or-else committee? Wow for real?

If you look at the statistics or profits put out for GM, it’s true at the moment, General Motors is numero uno—but what the President failed to talk about was the natural disasters in Japan that made it almost impossible for Toyota to stay atop the list. Does that mean the President’s doings also include natural disasters?

Oh, ye great one—I say Tsunami and nuclear radiation to Japan! Bring them to their knees—slow down their progress so we in the United States can say GM is the largest selling automaker in the world! Wow people, wow.

Toyota is gaining ground and while no nation is prepared for the disasters they had to endure, it’s not fair for a President to sway voters with incorrect or not enough information. Maybe it’s more like only give them what they need to know in his eyes.

“Well Mr. President! I’m so happy GM is number one, but what about Japan’s crisis? Didn’t that slow down sales for them?” Says town hall participant Joe.

“Oh oh Joe! If I told you the whole story, well you know; it’s all you need to know right now! But I’m right Joe! I can tell because it says so right here in my speech!” Says our fearless leader.

“Well Mr. President if it’s in black and white then it must be true!” The now believer believes.

While those who love Obama may look at this piece as a bashing it’s really not bashing just Obama and his need to gain those believers. It’s about all the folks in the big race for the prize at the end—the White House, the big job, the job politicians strive for.

Each and every one of these guys brings up a subject that indeed may appear true, but once you delve deeper, it’s really not.

This is where I hope everyone in American will delve deeper. Don’t believe everything you hear from the mouths of wannabe politicians. You need to look at some facts. Do a Google search on how much Toyota, well Japan for that matter lost as far as big business revenues after the tsunami and all the damage which came after.

I’m also not saying I don’t want an American company to be on top. I do folks, I do. But I want them to be on top because they earned it the old fashioned way, not because another country faced a natural disaster that brought them down. Isn’t that sort of stabbing the poor people who lost so much in Japan? If you’re going to offer facts, offer some true facts.

All of these “I want to be President” guys do the same thing—Obama is not alone in this. And, it’s really not all their fault either. It’s the spin doctors, the lobbyists and big business and Wall Street these guys have to please in the end and yep—they want to hear their names.

Thanks to so and so, we now have this! Or, if it weren’t for so and so, we’d still be here. Followed by those statements are examples—some true, some not so true. Not false exactly but it’s like reading a book about Abraham Lincoln and skipping the part where he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Or, it’s like baking a cake and forgetting to add the eggs if you like that comparison better.

I’ve been writing a lot about politics these days because it’s so important. So, my fellow Americans, don’t believe everything you hear coming out of the mouths of politicians until you’ve researched the data on your own. Read all you can about your favorite and not so favorite candidate. Get to know them. That not so favorite may turn into your favorite once you have a better idea of their governing skills and plans for our future.

As for General Motors I hope they stay on top, but chances are they won’t and you know what, you can look that fact up all on your own—you don’t need a politician to provide this information and take it as gospel.

Remember, be an informed voter in 2012!

Pat Sajak, Vanna White Drunk on the Job? What About Your Employees?

Take your pick of posts on the Internet about the Wheel of Fortune television show stars White and Sajak—they all say the same thing indicating Sajak said during an interview with ESPN that during large breaks in shooting, two or more hours, he and White would drink anywhere from “two to three to six drinks.” After the break, apparently the two went back to shooting and in Sajak’s words they “had trouble recognizing the alphabet.”

A through Z can be tough while intoxicated. A friend of mine (and yes it was a friend) was once given the old alphabet sobriety test after stopped for possible DUI and yes indeed she could not get through them while holding her right foot in the air—well the foot was raised slightly. So, she had a DUI, got shuffled off to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s pink tent-city jail in Maricopa County Arizona where there is always a “vacancy” sign and spent the night. Arizona seems to be tougher on first time offenders because she lost her license for six months and had to go through how to drive training before she could get it back. There was a fine too and while I can’t remember what it was, it was more than $200 buckaroos!

If you’re an employer do you have a policy for drinking on the job? Even if you do and someone reports to work intoxicated do you have any legal avenues? Can you fire the employee? Believe it or not, these days more and more employers are afraid to fire any employee for any reason due to lawsuits and the possibility the fired employee will gain unemployment benefits.

As an HR expert, I would say you can indeed fire an employee for being intoxicated on the job, especially if the employee is engaging in a dangerous activity with workplace equipment. These types of employees know they are breaking the rules and they know the consequences. No three written warnings and you’re out—if you’re drunk on the job, you’re out.

White collar office employees should be treated the same and often their not. If you employ both, your work intoxication policy better be the same for both blue and white collar workers and the way you enforce the rule better be the same for all!

If you only have an office setting, you should still consider a good policy. Whether you decide on a warning and then a termination if it happens again is up to you, but think about what that employee might do while intoxicated. Insult a client? Make a customer angry? Which is more important—your business right?

My advice is to implement a drunk on the job policy and if you don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer, call your local Department of Labor and ask them to aid you in writing the policy so it’s fair. Once it’s written and your employees sign off on the policy, make sure you don’t waive the policy for favorites. It must be utilized the same no matter who the offender is.

As far as Vanna and Pat go when televising Wheel of Fortune, I guess it’s up to the network and producers they work for. I’m not judge or jury here and who even know if maybe Pat Sajak had a “few” before the interview and just made a joke? Fairy tale princess Vanna drinking on the job?

And by the by, I heard an awesome tip from a labor law attorney the other day. Ever have an employee you are offering a written warning or termination form to and they refuse to sign? Instead of just writing “employee refused to sign” and you and a witness signing the form, flip the form over and say, “I totally understand you don’t want to sign the form, but just so we have a record you were allowed to read the form, can you sign on the back right here?” Most will, and signing the back my friends is just the same as signing the front as far as the labor law courts go—they signed, they did indeed read the form.

I think I’ll watch the Wheel tonight and see if Pat and Vanna have any trouble with A to Z. 

What Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns Don’t Reveal: Foul to Media!

Do a Google search on where Romney got his money or a “see a copy of Romney tax return” and the results and subsequent browsing will shock the average American. What this media and political pressure for Romney to produce a copy of his taxes did was only make things more confusing for those not familiar with tax forms or those who are only able to read and understand a 1040EZ.

When any one individual is involved in business or has investments, along with those investments and business profits and losses come K-1s or a statement showing each partner’s share of any profit or loss. It also shows various statements, schedules, and other necessary IRS forms not required in tax returns for the average 9-5 American worker—and this my friends, is not fair.

For example, a story on Reuters, “Romney Returns Show Low Tax Rate; Questions Linger” by Steve Holland and Kim Dixon offers four (let me write that again)—FOUR pages of Romney’s 2010 tax return. Hardly enough pages to make an informed decision on why he only paid 13.9 percent taxes on income earned.  But political haters and the media just won’t quit will they?

Why does this Romney tax return stuff anger me so? What about when John Kerry was running for President. Were his tax returns the darling of the media back then? No! And, those forget his fortune, mostly from being married to a Heinz as in the ketchup, but I guess gaining income from an American institution such as ketchup doesn’t seem as imposing as a man who chose Wall Street to begin his career and also has large trusts from his family—money earned and put in trust by his forefathers, not him and not his wife.

Let me give you an example. I owned three different businesses in New Mexico. Two were Limited Liability Companies and one was a Subchapter S Corporation—with each I received K-1s to file with my personal income tax return as each of these entities are pass through entities. What a pass through entity is for those who don’t know about them, it is where the corporation is not taxed, but the profits (or losses) are passed to all the partners (via a K-1) who in turn, report the profit or loss and pay the appropriate tax. Sounds simple right?

Not when every news reporter seems to be offering inadequate information or what they think the average American wants to hear—Romney only paid 13.9 percent where the average nine to fiver pays more. The percentage Romney paid can’t be determined by the FOUR pages of his tax return shown on Reuters. Why? I’ll tell you why!

It’s those schedules and statements and necessary forms provided in a more detailed return these four pages don’t reveal. The adjusted gross income on the Romney’s returns is shown on those four pages, but it’s a summary number. To find out where the summary number comes from, one MUST review his entire return including how the adjusted gross income was determined. What do his K-1s say? Without all this other data, Reuters and other news websites and TV broadcasters are only fueling the fire of jealousy and anger throughout American voters, but again, I digress—back to my example.

When I owned those three businesses, one was just a land investment, with a very large loan (mortgage) and expenses like architects, engineers, etc.—all deductible and those deductions change my adjusted gross income on my personal return via my K-1 as the company had a huge loss, not a profit! Another business had to have a roof replaced and lost two large pieces of equipment in one year, so again the costs to replace the roof and the equipment were also expenses, which made changes to my adjusted gross income via another K-1. My largest expense by far was the employees I had—and it wasn’t just their pay, it was also their benefits, Social Security and Medicare taxes I matched and paid, workman’s compensation, insurance, retirement plans, company vehicles offered, vacations and bonuses and more I know I’m forgetting here. Payroll expense is always the largest expense any company endures and this also affects a company’s bottom line and changes the adjusted gross income the company made, which is also passed again along to me in my K-1. So, in one year, with the large mortgage and the disaster at the other company—and with only one of my three companies actually making money, the losses I had on the other two offset the profits the companies made as a whole which in turn, reflected in my K-1s.

K-1’s are attached to all individual tax returns and those K-1s and the attached schedules showing how the companies lost money is also required so the IRS knows I’m not trying to cheat or pay less taxes. It’s showing how much I had to spend to keep my companies afloat. Is it fair for any one individual who has interests in any business to pay high taxes on money lost? If you made zero in one year, should you pay tax? I think not, but yet the media and political haters want to make it seem like Romney is cheating.

Instead of being angry about how much Romney earned and paid in taxes, I’d try and get a look at the tax returns for any public companies where Romney has an interest or is a partner. Those tax returns are public and can be reviewed so if one reporter would take the time and effort, they may indeed see why Romney’s adjusted gross income is where it is—not just show me FOUR pages of his return and anger Americans.

Be careful what you read and in this election year, don’t trust only me either. Do some research, ask a CPA, go to your local library, read more about what you don’t know about taxes. Call our friendly government agency the IRS and ask them! Do some or all of these things before you choose who to vote for.

This is not a campaign hurrah for Romney—I like him but I’m still not sure who I will vote for because I still need to learn more—about all the candidates.

When you go into that voting booth, close the curtain and choose a candidate because you read one story and believe that story, it’s a sad day for America.

Be an informed voter, not one led by one or two news stories you read or remember.

Hey Mitt (Romney) - It’s Okay to Make Friends!

As a Republican, I like Mitt Romney, but it’s hard for him to be passionate. There’s no “Yes We Can” or any pep rally feeling during his appearances—even if he has a proven past record of good governing and a good business head.

The magazine Vanity Fair (in their February issue) helped me understand Mitt a little better and while it’s already been pointed out by the press, it’s good to keep writing about Mitt’s personality so it won’t sway voters against what appears to be a frosty connection with the voters.

Authors Michael Kranish and Scott Helman offered an excerpt from their new book, “The Real Romney” in Vanity Fair and the authors used many words to describe Romney like “standoffish, privileged pedigree” and pointed out a fellow Republican (unnamed) said of Romney: “He has that invisible wall between me and you.” Translation: He’s sort of bland but his opaque style is partly religion and part upbringing.

The Mormon faith is different—plain and simple and those who haven’t met dedicated and spiritual Mormon families don’t get it and they never will.

When I lived in Phoenix, my husband worked with a Mormon guy and we had lots of outings with their family; a wife and six kids (compared to us and our one kid). They were fun, loved the outdoors and to participate in any game and were famous for the trampoline they had in their backyard where all the kids jumped off the roof—often garnering some visit-to-the-hospital-injuries. They were fun; they were great to be around. When it came to their religion, however, it was private, necessary, promised, structured, circled in secrecy and to us, that was okay. We were Catholic—what’s more structured or weird than that religion? You tell me!

Romney’s political face comes from that upbringing and faith. Mormons are not what you see on HBO’s Big Love—if you ever watched it, and they don’t all live in dirty sects in the Arizona or Utah mountains. They are extremely charitable, willing to aid in whatever they can to help their community, but above all, family comes first and in my opinion, to Romney, what his family practices has nothing to do with his run for President, even if it appears that way.

Sure he wants voters to get to know the kid’s faces, his wife’s smile—even his smile, but questions posted to him are answered orderly with just enough words to get the answer right—no overkill. Less is more so to speak. Even when Mitt attempts to be more “peppy” he just can’t get it right because it’s not his nature; it’s not his personality—he’s never done it before and has been successful in business and government so why change now?

The authors of the new book revealed in in Vanity Fair were told by one of Mitt’s sons that he’d never seen his mom and dad argue. Unbelievable to the writers, they checked and rechecked that fact and turns out—it’s pretty much true. Their belief is for spouses to bite their tongues if a disagreement arises and “talk” about the issue in privacy. It’s not that a Mormon hubby and wife never argue, they just prefer to discuss problems or tough issues in private—so what? It’s none of my business anyway!

Mormons are also a calm folk—why react ridiculously to something that can be easily fixed or addressed right? For Romney, this comes across as a negative. Instead of appearing to be calm and in control, the public sees him as smug and unable to connect with them on their level.

Before you dismiss Romney as our next President, delve a little deeper into his character before choosing someone who smiles more and gives a better rah rah speech. After all, we’re not voting in a cheerleader, but a President and what’s wrong with the calm, direct approach?

RIP Etta James and Thanks for “At Last”

When I turned on my computer today and browsed Google News, I found out legendary can’t-really-place-her-in-one-category-singer Etta James had passed away yesterday, January 20 2012 at the age of 73. A resident of Riverside California, Ms. James suffered from dementia and leukemia.

One story caught my attention from the New York Times by Peter Keepnews who pointed out that Etta did indeed have a range of sorts and is in “both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame.” 

One thing I didn’t know according the Keepnews report is that “in the late 70s and early 80s, Etta was the opening act for the Rolling Stones.” Quite an accomplishment for a career that began way back in 1954.

Many couples have a favorite song and the one my husband and I shared was Etta James’s rendition of “At Last.” This song topped the charts in 1960 via Etta’s partnership with Chess Records. Many more hits would come from this great vocalist and I for one feel saddened on this day; the day the world lost Etta James.

“At Last” is one of those songs many have copied including Beyoncé. I remember being in my early twenties and a friend had opened a night club act in Pittsburgh and offered up a singer who belted out “At Last.” This was the first time I had heard the song and upon meeting my husband, I was surprised he too counted the song as a favorite—so it became our song so to speak—but only Etta’s version—no one could sing “At Last” like Etta!

Etta also suffered with drugs in the sixties and that doesn’t really surprise me. Many African American female singers who were shuffled via bus tours from one town to another and to venue after venue often were given or encouraged to utilize drugs to keep up the tough road schedule. Their managers or promoters usually the source of the encouragement. Please note I am in no way saying any of Ms. James’ managers or promoters were or are responsible for her drug problems in the sixties, but it did happen to many black female crooners, especially on tour where they were away from families, friends and the familiar.

It’s been rumored Etta’s father was legendary Minnesota Fats—a fact or a wild imagination of her mother Dorothy Hawkins? Etta was placed with foster parents early in life and never met her father, famous or not. At the age of 12, Etta was rejoined with her Mom and moved to San Francisco.

According to Keepnews, “Ms. James’s survivors include her husband of 42 years, Artis Mills; two sons, Donto and Sametto James; and four grandchildren.” What’s sad is her faithful hubby and sons have long been fighting over her estate—well at least since the dementia set in—sad all around.

No one could sing “Crazy” like Patsy Cline and no one could sing “Moondance” like Van Morrison and no one could sing “At Last” like Etta. Some songs are connected with singers and with Etta, she ruled this song.

As far as Etta’s opinion on singing the blues, Keepnews reported Etta once said, “A lot of people think the blues is depressing. But that’s not the blues I’m singing. When I’m singing the blues, I’m singing life. People that can’t stand to listen to the blues, they’ve got to be phonies.”

Well said Etta, well said.

Keepnews Story New York Times

YouTube Video of "At Last" with Lyrics

No President Can Fix the Economy: At Least Not Alone

The 2012 Presidential election is upon us and with each candidate comes question after question and promise after promise in every debate.

There are assurances they will fix the economy, create jobs, stop foreclosures, keep Americans working by building American products and change the education system so our children will be the brightest of the bright. I’m here to tell you this is all bull shit.

I ran across an article on NPR by Alan Greenblatt, “Can a President Really Fix a Bad Economy?” and he offered the answer to the question no debate moderator ever asks. I’m sure the question is on the lips of every attendee at town hall meetings and even sent in via those Twitter forums President Obama holds (well sort of) but the people asking the tough questions are ignored. Why? It’s impossible for any politician to answer them without lying outright!

Below is an excerpt from Mr. Greenblatt’s article on NPR (you can find the entire post here). It’s worth the read as he also offers up samples of what some past presidents promised but could not deliver.

“President Obama's problem is not unusual. Every president gets the blame when times are bad. "If there's one issue over which a president can lose an election, it's the economy," says Stephen Weatherford, a political scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Presidents can influence fiscal policy, if they have the support of Congress — which Obama lacks at this point. But even when presidents can persuade Congress to go along, there are limits to how much they can influence the economy as a whole, Weatherford says. They can't force firms to hire workers or banks to lend money, for instance. Nevertheless, presidents always receive either more credit or blame than they deserve for the way things are going. "Expectations are high for the president — too high and unrealistically high," says George C. Edwards III, a presidential scholar at Texas A&M University. That's a political reality every modern president has understood. "There's such an exaggerated view of what they can do," says presidential historian Robert Dallek. President Taft said that "people think the presidents can make the grass grow and the skies turn to blue. It's simply out of their reach."

So, what’s the solution? The solution is who we vote in. We need some newbies with radical ideas because even if a president wants to do something, he most likely won’t be able to force Congress to agree. These days Democrats and Republicans won’t even talk to each other let alone agreeing on policies that could help this great country. They all remind me of school children: "Stop touching me!" "He said I looked fat!"

While I’m at it, I think it’s funny how every Sunday when I read my Austin American-Statesman newspaper, there is always a story on one civil war or another in some country somewhere. Upheavals and riots. Protests and crowds shouting for a better way.

Why don’t our politicians see these very things could happen here? Sure there’s Occupy Wall Street but many of the cities participating have groups so small it’s easy for law enforcement to close them down or move them along—or else—go to jail, do not pass GO!

What if instead, we all became so disgusted, we rose up in crowds that could not be contained armed with not just words, but our own weapons and leaders that made sense? I suppose our military would come out and push us quietly, and in an orderly fashion back to our homes—or for the homeless, back to the streets and bridge underpasses where they came from. We’d be simply out numbered.

But it’s a thought you know! I still think my laser tag method of electing our leaders would work the best—read about that here.

Every time I write a blog post on our government, I always fear I’ll be placed on some “watch list” and in fact, I probably have been because I really don’t like what’s going on in Washington and there’s nothing I can do to stop it except spew my words on a small blog—but there are those in Washington paid to read stuff like mine—so at least I’m getting some page views. Plus, in the past I have banged President Obama so badly by calling him the Auto Czar for ruining the auto industry, I’ve probably been on the list for quite some time!

“Hey! Did you see this idiot’s post?” A White House citizen tax-paid person would say.

“Heck yeah. Put her on the list right, right now!” The other (also paid via our taxes) would say.

And there I’d be on a list with the names of the famous, not so famous and the infamous.

I don’t know how to fix our economy. One suggestion would be to butt out of every other country’s issues and concentrate on our own problems but alas that won’t happen either.

Washington officials and law makers should worry. We are just about that sick and tired that we can’t take it anymore and you know what? I’m glad I’m on some watch list somewhere. Kudos to me!

Don't forget to vote in your primary!

Need More Sales This Year? Copy Your Competitor

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are in full swing and although my blessed Steelers lost to Denver and were out early, I still enjoy watching during playoff time and hope the Baltimore Ravens win the big one in Indianapolis this February. Poo Poo I say to a dear friend who loves the 49ers!

Watching all these games (and those throughout the season) starting me thinking on how small business owners should take advantage of copying their competitors—much like the Pittsburgh Steeler Terrible Towel.

To the upper right is a picture of Steeler fans waving their Terrible Towels created by legendary Pittsburgh broadcaster Myron Cope way back in 1975 when the Steel Curtain defense ruled the game. This must-have Steeler accessory (if you’re a fan) has been taken to Mount Everest and even made a trip to the international Space Station—in fact, President Obama has even waived one around—he’s a closet Steeler fan even though he hails from Chicago (well at least politically).

The point to all this is while I’ve watched games this season, I see all sorts of towels. Well, some are towel size and some seem to be shaped like wash cloths. The Terrible Towel is being copied by some NFL fans, teams and stadium owners such as the white and red in Phoenix, the orange in Denver and those awful tiny little rags of red in San Francisco. And, it seems to be working. Sales on copycat NFL colored fabric is big bucks and put a team on any old piece of cloth and fans will waive it.

Business owners can learn a lot from this, as long as they don’t mess with patents, trademarks and such. Car dealers do this all the time. If the dealership across the street has big balloons, the competitor will put up even bigger balloons. I don’t think most business owners take advantage of this simple opportunity!

If you own a bookstore where you charge $5 per kid for a Saturday afternoon book reading but at your competitor the afternoon readings are free, yours should also be free. If your gift shop competitor gives away candle samples and you don’t, why aren’t you? If your competitor is offering truly free 30-day trials of their product and you request a credit card before issuing access to the free trial, which business do you think will be the favored one by consumers?

As a Steeler fan it angers me when I see all those green, orange, red and white (put a color and logo on it) towels and rags waving as if they could really drown out the true Terrible Towel because as we all know, the Steeler Nation travels well—we are everywhere. But, on the other hand, if I put my business hat on and I had a store that sold sports items or business logo gadgets, I would definitely be in the “put your team logo here” business and raking in the bucks.

Even the Pittsburgh Business Times wrote a great story on using branding to your advantage in 2012 in a great post you can find here, which uses the Terrible Towel as an example.

With the NFL season almost over but 2012 just in its infancy, this is something for business owners to think about. What can you do to copy your competitor to increase sales? Come up with a few ideas and then get some customer feedback and then implement the sales campaign. Pretty soon, you’ll have a brand or favorite customers will flock to.

This is no marketing mistake by those making and selling these fan accessories. It’s truly brilliant but in my house, you’ll only find those of the yellow variety and yep even a worn and torn original from 1975—but I am still proud to waive that old towel even if I am afraid to put it in the washing machine. It’s been washed enough already with tears from horrible losses!

Steeler Nation,  be mad about this if you must but business owners—take advantage of this idea and run with it in 2012! 

Your Biggest Marketing Mistake in 2012

If you never take a look at the Harvard Business Review Blog Network (HBR), you really should. I came across a post written by Alex Goldfayn on “Six Marketing Mistakes at CES 2012.” For those of you not familiar with CES, it’s the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas Nevada each January. You can check out the blog post in the link provided below, but what fascinated me is Goldfayn’s opinion on the “technical” aspects of pitching to sell a product.

Many businesses who sell electronics, automobiles and even accountants and attorneys will pitch their products or services in a way the average consumer doesn’t understand. Ever go car shopping and have the salesperson tell you all about the horsepower and engine cylinders when what you really want to know is the features, price, gas mileage and cost to own?  Or, ever go to an electronics store looking for a new laptop and the sales staff are only interested in talking about hard drive sizes, storage capabilities and power? Even a first meeting with an accountant or an attorney can leave the layman lost if the right terminology isn’t utilized.

While many of us need vehicles, computers, and the services of professionals, if you aren’t pitching your products in a language your potential buyers can understand, you won’t make the sale. Many salespeople and business owners make this common mistake and wonder why their profits aren’t as good as their competitors.

It’s quite simple really if you think about it. For example, I know nothing about buying an HD television and if I went to buy one and the sales guy starting spitting out words like contrast, 1080p and the input/output opportunities, I’d be lost! Talk to me in with words I can understand!

You can also get yourself in trouble if you sell more than one brand and tell customers, “This brand is tops in the field” because if the customer doesn’t know the field, that’s meaningless. I used to own a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership and I know the Chrysler line of cars includes their luxury line, but many might not know that. Ford’s new Eco-boost power system is great for the environment, but if you don’t explain that and just say the vehicle comes with Ford’s Eco-boost, that also means nothing to the customer. Get the idea?

Glossy brochures full of technical specs are nice, but instead of thinking about making the sale, think about how much more likely you will be able to make that sale if you gain the trust of the customer by speaking their language.

One way to start your journey on your sales pitch is to pick up a book and read the inside jacket cover that describes the book. Book buyers can get a pretty good idea what the book is about and make a decision to buy and read it based on the script written on the jacket.

You can do the same by writing some product scripts using the manufacturer’s brochures—or if it’s your own product or service, write scripts using words anyone can comprehend and “get it” so to speak. Read your scripts to friends or family members, especially those who aren’t familiar with your business or field of service.  If they think you need to tweak your scripts, do so!

Further, as a seasoned expert, you’ll be able to spot those who want the “technical” talk so do use it—for the right customers only!

Everyone knows when it comes to selling, you must sell yourself, but you also need to convey and display your products or services in attractive ways keeping the average person in mind.

Make a determined effort to ensure your scripts and pitches are up to speed to avoid this marketing mistake in 2012!

Harvard Business Review Blog Post

Holy Trinity: Tebow, Tim Tebow and John 3:16, Says Google Trends

As a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, I’m still upset about Sunday’s loss to the Denver Bronco. As with most of us who are part of the Steeler Nation, the 29-23 loss hit us hard and here it is January 11^th and many of us are still reading online article after online article on WTF happened?

I forget who said, “Any team can beat any other team on any given Sunday” and this is relevant here—Denver won and Pittsburgh didn’t. Oh well, it’s time for the crying and hopeless Internet searches for “poor us” stories to stop I suppose but Google won’t let us!

According to a story by Glen Levy of Time News Feed “Tim Tebow’s 316 Passing Yards Evokes Biblical Number,” Google’s top trends the Monday following the game were “John 3:16, Tebow and Tim Tebow.” A Holy Trinity?

In case you’re not as Christian as you’d like to be John 3:16 offers “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Unless of course you’re Catholic, you could live in purgatory for a while until you reach the eternal life status—but that’s another post and it would involve me slamming the Pope and all that so I’ll stop there.

I love following the Steel City Blitz on Twitter—they give me updates and thoughts to ponder before and after every Steeler game. Their latest post is a trio of sorts as well: “Steelers Injury Report: You Get an ACL Injury! And You Get an ACL Injury! And You Get an ACL Injury!” referring to injured players Mendenhall, Starks and Hampton—the trio of ACL pains and possible surgery. This is a funny post—you can read it here. I especially love the term the author Emily Miklasevich used for Brett Keisel, but you have to read it to find out! Kudos Emily! Thanks for cheering the “Nation” up a bit.

Up next for the Mile High Messiah is Tom Bradylicious (Brady) and the Patriots in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro Massachusetts. The weather shouldn’t be a factor for either team—both are used to playing in rain, hail, sleet and snow. The Patriots have the home team advantage and what some sports experts call the greatest coach ever—Bill Bella-Cheat (Belichick).

Sorry Pats fans but I love calling Brady Bradylicious because of his cuteness and as far as Bill Bella-Cheat goes, well he did cheat when he was caught taping another team’s secret moves saying later, he didn’t think that was illegal. Come on man! For real coach? The greatest coach ever didn’t know this was disallowed? Jeez!

Somehow, deep from within, I feel the same thing could happen to the Patriots. What if Tebow throws another 316 yards and the Denver Defense causes an ACL injury or three and the Pats are left hurting too much to win the game? Chances are, however, that masterful Brady will throw for more than 316 and he’s got a lot of weapons including Wes Welker who is having an awesome year (fantasy points!) Brady is great, Tebow is, well, lucky. I guess all that kneel, bow, yield does seem to help those who are believers win the big games.

No I don’t! Just forget I wrote that. There is no way in well, Hell that Tebow and his Broncos can beat the Patriots and Tom Brady. Even if they somehow get lucky again, what about Baltimore? Ray Lewis is a forced to be reckoned with and he will take Tebow down if they meet in the playoffs and will indeed say “Welcome to the NFL” and maybe offer a sign of the cross over the downed Tebow—that would be delicious, but my man Ray, make it a legal hit and don’t hurt the poor boy—you may, however, hurt his spirit!

The funny thing about all of this is when the Bronco/Patriot game is over with a score like 52-17 (Pats win), Tim Tebow will still be Tebowing and thankful for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for allowing the game to even happen. Good for him; many Christians wouldn’t be able to do this, thank their Lord for a loss but Tebow is different.

To end all this, perhaps we can all learn a little something from Tim’s thanks to his Lord and Savior. Ever see him in a pre-game interview? He’s happy, his eyes are sparkling and he truly seems to glow people!

I guess it’s time for me to dust off my bible (even though Catholics never read the bible but instead are told what’s in it by their priests), freshen up my spiritual self, kneel, bow, and yield and go to my local church to get sprinkled by some holy water and get my T-glow back. Oh heck, what’s that old saying, “Dammit, I left my cigarettes at the bar!” I need a drink!

Whatever happens in the Patriot/Bronco game, Tebow will be smiling—win or lose because he’s thankful for sure. So, the point here Steeler Nation is to stop searching for stories on why the Steelers lost to the Broncos. We did, it’s over and pre-season football starts in August.

My Super Bowl prediction? Ravens vs Green Bay – Ravens 31, Green Bay 10 (sorry Aaron Rodgers).

On an end note to my business fan readers, I know I’m ranting, but in actuality, the NFL is a business and to the Steeler Nation, our business has just gone under! At least for this season. Hmm...I wonder if they could entice Troy Polamalu to Dance with the Stars!

Will America Lose Twinkies and Wonder Bread?

If you’re a Baby Boomer and a reader of the Wall Street Journal or any other business newspaper or magazine, you may have heard Hostess, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread is once again filing for bankruptcy protection.

A story in the Wall Street Journal by Mike Spector and Julie Jargon, “Twinkies Maker Preparing for Chapter 11” has an enticing title but the bakery giant can’t file for Chapter 11—because they’ve already filed for bankruptcy protection in the past (2004-2009) so it’s really Chapter 22 they’ll be facing.

Chapter 22 is also a restructuring similar to Chapter 11 but with $860 million in debt and late vendor payments of approximately $50 million, one wonders how Twinkies and Wonder Bread sales can save this company? The Wall Street Journal reporters said Twinkie sales were down some two percent in 2010, but the sales figures didn’t include Wal-Mart stores. Why not? Do they buy their own Twinkies or what? Hmm?

The company also blames consumers saying Wonder Bread sales are also down as folks are leaning more toward whole grains than plain white break we all knew and loved in the sixties. In fact, I still love Wonder Bread—not so much Twinkies—and if it doesn’t survive, I’ll have to find another bread to whet my whistle so to speak.

There are also a lot of union problems with this company. They’ve got more than one union to deal with and none of them would provide any comments to reporters Spector or Jargon. This right here offers up a red flag—unions often make a company go south just by their demands. Unions need to go bye-bye, in my humble opinion.

Then there is the multi-company pension that’s in trouble and that’s never good and in fact, if closely scrutinized by the courts, any money spent by employee contributions could even be illegal—watch out Hostess!

The one thing I found unique about this bankruptcy is how reporters Spector and Jargon mentioned Hostess had secured “$75 million from debtor-in-possession financing.” Also known as DIP, this amazes me. The DIP in any bankruptcy is usually the owners of any company so where is this $75 million coming from? By that I mean I want names of people here. Are Mr. and Mrs. Hostess throwing in a couple mil or what?

Debtors owed money in any bankruptcy are not likely to part with more money when they are owed money unless they receive some sort of stock interest or takeover interest and the Wall Street Journal story didn’t mention this point. The DIP is an important part of any bankruptcy so who is it or who are they and why put in another $75 million?

The jokes about the preservatives in Twinkies have been around for years—yep have a Twinkie in your pantry from 1956? No problem, go head and eat it—it’s still fresh! I’m not sure if I would eat a real, real old Twinkie but I bet looking at in the package, it would still look tasty.

I also find it funny that so many big businesses can file for bankruptcy over and over again—and Hostess is a privately held company. What about the smaller business owner who only gets one chance at a possibleChapter 11 and then ultimately ends up in Chapter 7? What DIP is fighting for them? No one, the DIP is usually the owners and if they’re filing for 11, they don’t have any more money to invest so it does give me pause—where’s the money coming from and will this Hostess Chapter 22 be a success so we don’t lose Twinkies and Wonder Bread forever?

Sad times indeed! In fact, I really do wish I had a Twinkie right now, even if it was really, really old!

Wall Street Journal Story

The Problems With Yahoo! Can It Catch Up to Google?

I came across a story on CNN Money by JP Mangalindan, “5 Moves Yahoo’s New CEO Should Make Now.” The story focused on the recent appointment of new CEO Scott Thompson, a man whose experience comes from eBay and PayPal. If you use the Internet for anything, you know, Google is King of just about everything. Is it possible for Yahoo! to come even close even with the changes Mangalindan suggests?

According to Mangalindan, Yahoo! boasts 700 million users per month worldwide and “employs some 13,700 people.” Google employs a little over 31,000 according to its website information web pages and their ownership of YouTube and the popular email Gmail along with so many other web-based products does indeed put Google at number one. Beyond that, more and more of us are Google+ing. In fact, it would be a feat to overtake or even compete with them one would think right?

For many years I was a faithful Yahoo! user; used their email, browsed the story offerings on their homepage and even used Yahoo! chat. I was like the person who loved Corel’s WordPerfect and swore I’d never use MS Word. In 2009, all that changed, however, when Google really did seem like the better search engine and in fact, my blog posts and other articles relied on where Google put them on the ratings list so to speak. I even used Blogger (a product of Google) to create my blogs.

Any business wants to be better than their competitor and is always looking for that one advantage they can find to sway customers to their side. Google has swayed many Yahoo! and Bing folks and in Mangalindan’s story he points out they need to “stop playing the underdog” and be a force to be reckoned with, sell their Asian assets and focus on other weak or mundane elements of their site in order to succeed. He may indeed be correct but in my opinion (as a former Yahoo! faithful) I don’t think his suggestions are enough for this Google competitor to even come close to the mega giant.

Google is smart and plain—its home page is so plain it reminds one of the Amish compared to what you can find on the pages of Bing or Yahoo! Sure you can customize your own Google page if you don’t like the plain but with Yahoo! or Bing, you sort of get what you get although there are some customization options.

Then there is the professional aspect of Google. Their Gmail is perhaps the most widely used and user@gmail.com seems a little more professional than user@yahoo.com. The whole Yahoo! thing doesn’t work as far as professionalism goes. What are you Yahooing about? Gmail says what it is “Google mail.”

If you go to the homepage of Yahoo! on any particular day it’s a mess of all kinds of stuff. There is entertainment news which apparently is the same thing as “omg!” and I don’t really care about entertainment—most folks I would think would seek out TMZ for this type of news.  On the day I looked at Yahoo! they had Mitt Romney stories alongside Beyoncé’s new baby; not much in common here.

Yahoo! does need to stop pretending it’s the underdog as Mangalindan suggests but beyond that, they need an entire revamp of their homepage. It’s so full of too much information it makes me feel like I’m entering Toys ‘R  Us—a store that gives me a migraine but am forced to enter on occasion to buy a gift for my grandson. I’ll tell you, I’d rather spend a couple more bucks at a smaller toy store than wade through Toys “R Us and to me Yahoo! has the same problems with its homepage.

There’s a lot of revamping to do for new CEO Thompson and one must be the entire design of Yahoo! I like the scroll tab choices Google offers. If I want news, I can go there quickly and their news doesn’t put Beyoncé news alongside Mitt Romney news—they have categories for news.

As we know Google rules and they aren’t making the mistakes some other companies make like Netflix!

I feel a little sorry for Scott Thompson although if he can succeed if (and I’m sorry to say this) he gets rid of the old and finds some new innovative people—maybe steal a few design engineers from Google. He simply can’t save the ship with the same old folks and that my friends, is what’s wrong with Yahoo!

Good luck Scott, but I don’t see myself going back to Yahoo! anytime soon. Go ahead Scott, entice me! Make me change my mind!

CNN Money Yahoo! Story

Business Owners Have a Plethora of New Hire Choices

Unemployment levels will play a big part in the 2012 Presidential election. As of this writing it stands at 8.5 percent and in a story by Ron Scherer in the Christian Science Monitor, approximately 260,000 jobs per month would have to be added to get that 8.5 percentage down to 8 percent.

One economist interviewed by Scherer (Mark Zandi) pointed out a “Labor Department surveys show 2 million more people than in 2007 indicate that they want to work. You would think they would start stepping back into the labor force.” The problem is some aren’t even attempting to get back into the work force even though they have voiced a desire to work.

The reason? Class of jobs, low wages and a large percentage of females are leaving the workforce in favor of higher education Scherer points out.

This is where the small business owner can benefit. If you need an employee or two—even more, the candidates available are massive as long as you don’t dismiss what’s available. By that I mean the overqualified or the 45-60 age group because these people have a lot more to offer than newbies—even if the newbies come at a more desirable salary range.

Let’s think about this for a minute. If you need a customer service manager and your top two choices are a newbie with a fresh education but no real work experience or an experienced customer relationship manager with years of experience, which one is your best choice? Sure you’ll get the newbie for a lower salary and benefits package but along with that newbie comes the two words business owners hate: inexperience and training; both cost money.

Your best bet is to look for the experienced and trained even if that means spending a little more. What is the backbone of your business? Your customers! If you gain the experienced, you’ll not only keep loyal employees but gain new ones and both groups will notice your selection choice. It’s all about how well the consumer is treated these days and if you don’t know that by now, go ahead, hire the newbie and see how far you get.

I’m not saying the newly educated ready to face the workforce are not valuable choices. What I am saying is they may not be the best choice for top management positions—let them work their way up learning from mentors who are experts in their fields.

If you have $50,000 to spend on that customer service manager your choices are vast, especially when it comes to the over 40 and overqualified who are desperately looking for jobs. The young? Well they can always move back in with Mom, Dad or Grandma. So spend the $50K on the experienced and start a summer internship program. You can make these internships paid or unpaid and seek out college career centers for the best applicants. Interns often turn into life-long employees willing to work their way up the ladder the old fashioned way.

The atmosphere of your company also makes a big difference. If your company’s style is young, fresh and well, different, you may want the inexperienced or those of the Y Generation. On the other hand, the experienced can also blend with the young and teach them things they didn’t learn in college.

When making a decision on the best candidate, business owners have the upper hand. Part of that statement is sad because the unemployment rate is so high and weeding through resumes and interviews is tough. On the other hand, if you do take the time, you’ll get what you want and at the right wage.

I’m not saying it’s fair to sell an experience manager short by offering a $50K job when they’re used to make over $100K, but in these tough times you need to be smart about which employee group will offer your company the stronger asset. It’s something to think about before you select your next employee, especially those of in the management level.

Christian Science Monitor Story