January 2, 2017 Will 2017 be another crazy year? Albert Einstein is commonly given credit for the quip: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Whoever said it, it rings true: if you approach 2017 the way you just finished 2016, don’t expect any positive improvements. The Great Unwashed …
Author Archives: Bob Shank
Time is Running Out
December 26, 2016 The hourglass of 2016 is running out of sand. It doesn’t get any better than 2016: Christmas and New Years are on Sundays, so folks can do their holiday thing with other people on the weekends, reserving the week between for pure, unadulterated self-interest, for most people. Proof: send the drone you …
Don’t be Late!
December 19, 2016 You’d better leave now. My kids now have kids; they’ve maintained a family value that was embedded in their psyche long before the culture could mess ‘em up. Here’s the Shank approach to life’s commitments: early is on-time; on-time is late; late is unimaginable. The 21st Century app for time management doesn’t …
Have you been called to 5th Avenue?
December 13, 2016 Something is going on. If you’ve ever been to New York City in December – whether for business or pleasure – you have some understanding of that iconic island at this time of year. The magnetic center of Manhattan during the Christmas season is Rockefeller Center. There’s a Christmas tree outside the …
Don’t be caught by surprise
December 5, 2016 “A date which will live in infamy.” Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of the surprise attack on the naval installation at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese navy and the 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft, launched from six aircraft carriers. At 7:48am, the attack began, with two waves of airborne destruction raining down on …
New Holiday Schedule Announced
November 28, 2016 You’re in a veritable vortex; can you feel it? It’s a calendar constellation that has developed its own gravitational forces, putting people into motion in a variety of ways. It started last week, with Thanksgiving. There were 47 million folks traveling more than 50 miles to sit down around a table for …
On Thursday, show ’em how it’s done
November 21, 2016 Get busy; you don’t have much time… Lots to do this week. At the office, you’ve got to pull a rabbit out of the hat. It’s the annual holiday magic: get five days of work done in three, so you can duck-out on Wednesday around noon, to beat the travel rush. At …
Be Careful When You Pick a Fight
November 11, 2016 Life happens; art remembers life. Man is unique among God’s creation. When people experience profound things, their memories are often complemented by creativity, to capture and retain the importance of the moment. Paintings, sculptures and statues, plays and performances, music: the varieties of expression allow the significant exceptions to the daily routine …
Where do you plan to relocate?
November 7, 2016 What will you do about the extinction dilemma? Entrepreneurs are wired differently; there’s no question about that. Most people see problems and feel some level of fear; their instinctive reaction is to move the other direction. Fire? Run the other way. Market uncertainty? Put the money under the mattress. A friend in …
Who’s got time for dead people?
October 31, 2016 Who’s got time for dead people? For various cultures around the world, tomorrow is a holiday. Driven by church traditions – often consolidated with pagan practices – a commemoration was planted on the calendar to focus on the dead. The 1st of November became All Saints Day – or, in the Mexican …
Leaders don’t wait to lead
October 24, 2016 Don’t miss the moment. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt coined the term “the first 100 days” to describe the efforts of the 73rd Congress – at that time, his legislative parallel branch – but the concept leaked across to measure his executive administration, recognizing the potency of performance by a President/CEO at …
You know what; do you know why?
October 17, 2016 Lots of people know; only a few know why. Every generation has been defined by discovery… but our generation has pushed the pursuit to levels never before imagined. In 1965, Gordon Moore – co-founder of both Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel – predicted that the capacity of the microchip would double every two …
Maybe it’s time to pray
October 10, 2016 My Monday readers are a diverse bunch. Most are Americans, but not all. Adults, but with differing generational affiliations. Boomers; Busters; Millennials: we each bring nuances from our particular seasonal tribe into this conversation… Most never saw the name “Ronald Reagan” on a ballot; many were under-aged when he won his bid …
Is there Victory in the Verbiage?
October 3, 2016 Heard any great speeches lately? It happens every four years: the Olympics and the Presidential are quadrennial. The Games have a variety of settings and skills, but The Campaign has only one model: it’s all-about-the-mouth. The gold medal in persuasive rhetoric will go home with someone on November 8th this year. Speak …
It’s a Numbers Game
September 26, 2016 “What do you guys do in there?” It was a private club – in a downtown setting – where we hold our all-day quarterly sessions for The Master’s Program. The young man is part of the club staff who serve us through the day, but is never in the room when we’re …
I used to be Deplorable…
September 19, 2016 Bombs in Manhattan. Stabbings in St. Cloud. A weekend of football… and terrorism. It’s Monday morning; so much for starting the week with some “good news” in the headlines. In the old days, we left our doors unlocked; today, a deadbolt does nothing to provide security. Walking down the street – or, …
Here’s Your Assignment for 9/12
September 12, 2016 Where were you on 9/11? “A date that will live in infamy” is the description given to December 7th, 1941, by then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt to a joint session of Congress the next day. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, and the destruction galvanized the resolve of America to enter World War …
Back to Work!
September 6, 2016 Happy Labor Day! Seems like I’m always saying that, though it’s only once a year. But, Labor Day always falls on a Monday – and, Point of View is always published on Monday (though distributed on Tuesday when Monday is a holiday!), so Labor Day – for us – is Big… Labor …
Something’s Gotta Change
August 29, 2016 “The modern mind is in complete disarray. Knowledge has stretched itself to the point where neither the world nor our intelligence can find any foothold. It is a fact that we are suffering from nihilism.” (Albert Camus) Albert Camus was a French philosopher – he won the Nobel prize for literature in …
Living the Dream
August 22, 2016 It’s 2016; do you know who’s next door? It’s been 20 years since Tom Stanley and Bill Danko co-authored their signature book, The Millionaire Next Door (Longstreet Press). Using sound research, they countered the Thurston Howell III illusion (the rich guy on Gilligan’s Island) with the reality of rich people in America, …
Are you here to watch… or, to win?
August 15, 2016 Don’t bother me right now; somebody’s about to win the gold. Summertime productivity is always tough, but the quadrennial years are beyond reason: presidential mud-wrestling (the campaign) and worldwide competition (the Olympics) make it hard to focus on anything else on today’s schedule. Over 10,000 athletes are in Rio right now, from …
Which is it: Loser, or Leader?
August 8, 2016 Here’s the new approach to increase your business: offer the “no commitment” option. No-Commitment Workout: “Worried about sinking your workout time and money in a gym? Think about these stand-alone classes as a fitness tasting menu.” (Weight Watchers) No-Commitment Pricing: “You may purchase a new phone without a contract at the no-commitment …
No Cross, No Conflict
August 1, 2016 This means war. ISIS is a technologically-savvy iteration of a movement that is anything but clandestine. They publish an online magazine – Dabiq – that targets the world with an insider view of their ultimate objectives and current strategies. They’re reaching a worldwide audience of disenfranchised people with a compelling call to …
When Winners are Losers
July 25, 2016 Run to win. Our family – at least, the next two generations – is at full strength; we’ve filled all of the seats on the family team bus, it seems, with Ben – adopted last year from South Africa as Grandkid #6. He’s only been in-country for 16 months – and, he’ll …
Don’t move… until you answer this question
July 18, 2016 “Where am I?” That question may not come up, for you, as often as it does for me. For the last 20 years, half of my nights are spent in a rent-a-bed. My ministry activities account for a lot of that travel, but my “off-time” isn’t spent in a recliner: for the …
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The Ball is in Your Court
July 11, 2016 Chaos burns bridges… and builds platforms. We’ve had chaos this week, in downtown Dallas. Blocks from the place where John F. Kennedy was shot, 53 years ago, another lone sniper has incited chaos and conflict across a country that is already polarized because of politics and policing. Bridges are burning; people have …
Promoting Freedom to People Demanding Slavery
July 5, 2015 Freedom! “Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies …
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One thing guaranteed to make you better
June 27, 2016 What are you planning to do this summer? The magazine headline was provocative: “The Death of Reading.” Its author – Mitchell Stephens – had a vested interest: he was a journalism professor at New York University. The article appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine – when there was a Los Angeles …
Every day is Father’s Day
June 20, 2016 Happy Father’s Day. I know; I’m a day late. Yesterday was the day to honor fathers. The market for Brookstone nose hair trimmers – and, Costco’s Chateau Kirkland 2015 Burgundy – peaked, the day before Father’s Day. The barbeque tool-set was used immediately after opening; those formalities are passed… Now, it’s the …
Can someone just make a decision?
June 13, 2016 No commitment. You’ve felt it; you might have even said it. People around you – with whom you’re connected, in business and in life – are increasingly flakey. You leave them messages, and they don’t reply. You finally get through – with a solid offer to benefit them in some meaningful way …