Advice at the coffee shop

At a coffee shop, a man is talking with his wife about how he is “repositioning” their finances for the “crazy market we're in right now.” Then he proposed to:

• buy gold because the price is really high and lots of people are talking about it


• liquidate their stock and bond holdings, including retirement accounts, because they've lost so much money over the past few months


• keep cash at home instead of in the banks because "another one could go under at any moment, and who knows if it's ours?  And with inflation about to skyrocket, we have to be ready."

Strangely, he has no issue in using the Starbucks card to make the transaction - after all, when the Starbucks card is used to pay for coffee, you get a free shot of flavor with it.

Strategic Workforce Planning (by any name)

Back in 2007 I described leadership development in a speech as “ensuring we have the right people, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost, now and years into the future.”  When I coined the phrase, it felt like a winner– very easy to explain and understand.  I still use this description in conversation, and even in recent posts! :)

For a year or two I felt original, then found that several others must have been generating similar ideas and thoughts for years.  The U.S. Department of Interior came up with it in 2001 to describe Workforce Planning (WFP).  The County of Fairfax in Virginia presented “Strategic Workforce Planning” in 2003 – noting at the link that “planning begins with the organization’s strategic plan.”  In 2006 NOAA used the phrase in describing “workforce planning,” considered much more strategic than simply “succession planning.”  The effort was called “One NOAA,” an effort to “develop, value, and sustain a world-class workforce.”  In 2009 GFT used the phrase to describe “flexible resourcing.”

Today, Human Capital Institute, highly regarded in Human Resources circles, offers the SWP certification with this quote:  “Strategic Workforce Planning is the most sought after skill in talent management today….”

Proxy voting: owning the firm - a follow up

Speaking of owning the firm, here's a note from Wealth-Bulletin.com, noting that "Investors are more careful with their own money."

You get the gist of the article in the first few sentences, so here's the rest:  firms with family ownership (as defined by Oddo, an investment firm in Paris), perform better than others. :)

Proxy voting: owning the firm

This is a very busy time of year for some, and not just because we’re close to the U.S. federal tax deadline.  Over the past three weeks or so, I’ve received at least 15 information packets through the mail from various firms.  The packets typically include an annual report, a 10-K SEC filing, and a card for voting the shares I hold in the firm.  On top of the mailed packets are the electronic proxies.  Because of the way my investments are structured, some firms send me multiple copies of material – always with a request to complete my proxy.

Compensation considerations: taxes & discretionary effort

During a very interesting exchange at a recent gathering of business professionals, a conversation around compensation and benefits practices of different firms arose.  We were talking about two specific firms that reward employees in different ways.

The first firm believed in cash compensation based on performance:  if you deliver X, then you receive Y.  Cash compensation is very high for this firm, but minimal additional benefits are paid to employees.

The second firm believed in lower cash compensation, but with a significant benefits package that included insurance, development opportunities, community involvement, and a generous retirement package.

Both firms are successful, and we pondered how the compensation philosophy affected the bottom line....

Ceteris paribus and the MBA

“Ceteris paribus.” I still remember my first year in B-school, hearing this phrase being bandied about like everyone in the room knew what it was. I learned later that I wasn't the only one Googling the phrase after class.Ceteris paribus is a Latin phrase that roughly translates to English as “all other things held constant,” or “all things held equal.” It's used in scientific experiments, finance, economics, and complex models of several stripes. Ceteris paribus is a quick way to say that, if nothing else in the world changes at all, then a change in variable X will create a change in variable Y.

Leadership Skills Continuum

Business Finance magazine has an November/December article called "The Leadership Skills Continuum."  Jeffrey Thomson from the Institute of Management Accountants writes that different leadership skills need to be developed along the career life cycle.

Article link

Thomson identifies five specific career points, and the skills to develop at each:

1. entry level


2. young professional


3. seasoned practitioner


4. senior management

He also calls out the three soft skills entry-level associates need to learn:

1. emotional intelligence (see this earlier post)


2. effective communication


3. time management

These three skills can be improved at almost every point in an organization, from the new hires all the way to the executive suite.  It's helpful to remember that these soft skills will go a long way in making you more successful in your career and in life.