November 7, 2011 Happy Veterans Day! If you served our country in the military, thank you for what you did. We are sustained and served as a country by patriots like you and your colleagues who set-aside your personal benefit to make yourself vulnerable to harm on our behalf. You’re a Champion; we …
Author Archives: Bob Shank
In, but not of … Halloween
October 31, 2011 “So, what are you going to do, tonight?” When we were kids, the question had more focus: “What are you going to be?” That was the shorthand way to ask what your costumed self was going to pretend to be, in the annual haunt/hunt for Halloween candy. No one was …
Occupational Phase
October 24, 2011 It’s official: we’ll be leaving Iraq by the end of the year. The war that started with broad support on March 20, 2003 will be officially over. In that time, it has gone from supported to scorned… Wars usually have two distinct periods: an Expeditionary Phase, and an …
Eternal Optimism
October 17, 2011 Maybe it’s time to start a new victims support group. The acrostic would be difficult; no one would be comfortable admitting that they are members of BO. That’s “Billionaires Obvious.” When you’re a Forbes Lister (minimum net worth, today: $1 billion), you give up your anonymity, so “BA” …
The Man Beyond the Headlines
October 10, 2011 It doesn’t happen very often, but it sure did, this week. Since last Wednesday, I’ve received multiple e-mails asking the same question: “Is next week’s Point of View going to be about Steve Jobs?” My commitment to all-things-Apple is pretty well known. I didn’t get on the bus …
The Found Decade
October 3, 2011 You know about “assumptions,” don’t you? The dictionary renders an “assumption” to be “a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.” We live with assumptions. I got on the freeway this morning – at 5:05am – assuming that the people in the …
Trust
September 26, 2011 Who do you trust? Interesting question, isn't it? In America, about 50 years ago, it wasn't a question; it was an afternoon game show, hosted by Johnny Carson (pre-Tonight Show). Three married couples; trivia questions to be answered for a cash prize: each round began with a question posed to …
Fact-checking using the Scriptures
September 19, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, In the event that you’ve been living in the cave vacated some time ago by Osama bin Laden, you may have missed the firestorm that has swirled over the studios of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and the seat on the set occupied by Pat Robertson. …
Looking Back to 9-11
September 12, 2011 It’s been 10 years. I flew into New York’s LaGuardia Airport last night. Today, I’m with our local Master’s group for Session #7, in Mid-Town Manhattan. We’ve all been looking back to The Events; here was my Point of View on 09/17/01, after the horrible attacks on our culture: …
Work for the Underemployed
September 5, 2011 Holidays aren't part of the “universal calendar;" I know you knew that. Granted, Christmas and Easter are pretty common… unless, of course, you're in the middle of some of those 3+ billion Muslims/Hindus/Chinese Communists who don't buy their wall calendars from Hallmark. Even among the billion or so …
End-point or Eternity
August 29, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, It’s pretty innocuous, really; in the right context, it’s even pretty good advice: “You can get anything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want,” (Zig Ziglar). When Zig says that, he has an underlying values filter that assumes …
Moral Storm
August 22, 2011 Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution. ATKINSON, IL: President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he will propose a plan in September to jump-start …
Market Coaster Stress Management Strategy
August 15, 2011 In the old days, at Disneyland, it wasn’t a one-price-at-the-gate experience. They charged for entry, and then sold you ticket books. A, B, C, D and E tickets were in a book to be traded for seats on the rides. The kid-friendly attractions were A’s and B’s; the thrill-a-minute good …
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Unrelenting? You bet!
August 8, 2011 Most people don’t reply. That opportunity is built-in, with e-mail… but most people don’t use it. They read… they consider… they conclude… but, they don’t reply. One did, recently. We’re friends, so it was amicable. I had sent an e-mail asking him to come to an introductory event …
Beyond the Temporary
August 1, 2011 Allow me to make a self-disclosure: I’m a pull-out packrat. Articles that catch my attention – in newspapers and magazines – are routinely ripped from the publication. I don’t have files; I have piles. They don’t congregate in an orderly alphabetized system; instead, they become my personal driftwood. …
Every Life a Legacy
July 25, 2011 Everyone has their rituals, especially on Sunday. Mine are engrained: up at 5:00a; S’bucks by 5:30; Sunday paper, beginning-to-end; run six miles… and be at church 10 minutes before the kick-off. Yesterday, I lingered at the Obituaries. Mortals (my peeps) warrant a brief mention, about the size of …
Leadership Succession
July 18, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, Some who are biblically-challenged could think this is a quote from the Old Testament book of Proverbs: “You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money when you’re …
Reminded at Mount Rushmore
July 11, 2011 I hope your summer is unfolding well! For me, the intensity of fall/winter/spring is unrelenting: I fly 150,000+ miles during those seasons maintaining my contact with the Master’s Program groups I lead across the country. But, summer is different; my work for Master’s is closer to home, and allows me …
A Firm Reliance on Divine Providence
July 5, 2011 While delivered a “day late,” this weekly piece is time-stamped for July 4th, 2011. In America, we’re celebrating the 235th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, which is deemed America’s “birthday.” Wow; we’re 235. It’s an age when we – nationally – are at risk of some historic …
Weighing-in on a headline topic
July 27, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, A selective highlight of reports regarding a topic in the “Top 10 List” of hot-potato political issues. GARDEN OF EDEN – The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him…” So the LORD God caused …
Good Men, Happy Fathers
June 20, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, If you’re a dad, Happy (belated) Father’s Day. If you’re a man – but, not a dad – allow me to talk about something you experienced (your dad), but have not yet passed along (your fathering). Ladies: this week, you’re spectators, not targets… My pastor, …
Cultivating Compassion, in a down market
June 13, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, I’m considering a news fast; the daily headlines are in conflict with my quality of life. The markets are losing steam, and there’s no indication of change-points on the near-term horizon. The ideas in Washington – and, on the early-stage campaign trail – regarding a …
40 Great Years
June 6, 2011 It’s the sixth largest county – measured in people, not acres – in America; in California, it’s #3, behind Los Angeles and San Diego. There is no “big city” anchoring Orange County, but there is a Magic Kingdom. In my travels, the question, “Where’s home, for you?” has always been …
Memorial – To Remember
May 31, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, Memorial: something set up to remind people of a person or an event. Memorial Day may be a convenient start-of-summer holiday, but its purpose is clear: it is a day set-aside to remember the men and women who gave their lives in defense of our national freedom. …
15 Minutes of Fame
Dear Marketplace Friend, I’m sure he meant well. Harold Camping is an elderly gentleman who has built a media platform – dozens of stations, under the banner, “Family Radio” – which has allowed his voice to be heard, by lots of folks. His early work was civil engineering; he had …
Honoring a Choice
May 16, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, Great quotes are memorable synopses of something far larger in scope and substance. I saw the picture of a tombstone recently that said it all:”I Have Nothing Further to Say". If anyone is going to mark the location of my remains someday, I would love …
Become Better at Being
May 9, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, Let’s hear another sustained applause for the moms who enrich our lives! Yesterday was tremendous… but a token, nonetheless. Some mothers devote themselves almost exclusively to the role, making maternal duty their day-in, day-out assignment. Others carry a full load in the career arena, but place the …
A picture of Osama
May 2, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, It took almost 10 years; the hunt has been relentless. It consumed the bulk of the Bush presidency, and it was the legacy handed to the current president: the international hunt for Osama bin Laden is the initiative that has, in part, defined American foreign relations and …
My King was born King
April 25, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, There are some businesses that have staying power (grocery stores, gas stations), and some that are on the way out (Blockbuster). You could put daily newspapers in Category #2. The Sunday morning paper pile that calls itself the Los Angeles Times – April 24, 2011 …
Sleepers, Be Alert!
April 18, 2011 Dear Marketplace Friend, "Only in the federal government would you double up on workers, averaging $161,000 per year in salary and benefits, that aren’t doing their job." That’s according to Rep. John Mica (D-FL), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He’s reacting to the avalanche of reports of …