Why Bloomberg Is Wrong About Soda

No doubt you have read about Mayor Bloomberg trying to regulate the size of soda in New York City. As emotional as this subject is, I wanted to share some thoughts. This will be short (and sweet for all you soda lovers). Well, maybe.

Richard Branson on Office Ties and the Company Dress Code: Guest Post

You can't help but to love Richard Branson. Few people have made a ding in the Universe as big as Richard. Emerson, Edison, Gates, Jobs come to mind. There are surely others, but Richard has always been the most intriguing in my view. I have read his books and served some of his companies as clients. But the thing that always stands out in my mind is his anti-establishment views, notably never wearing a tie.

America and the Value of 'Earned Success': Guest Post

When I created Nomad Influencer I made the decision to avoid politics as a topic for my blog. My political views just aren't that important and I still believe that today. Having said that, I can't stand listening to the uninformed or ignorant speak their views like its God's truth. Nothing ruffles my feathers more.

Reflections on a Tuesday

Albert Camus once said that our lives are the lump sum of all our choices. Of course sometimes we have no control over the circumstances we find ourselves in, but we always get to choose how we respond. Other times we have complete control over our circumstances. Whether we continue to put up with situations (and relationships) that leave us drained and longing for more. Whether we continue to play safe in our careers because we are afraid we don’t have what it takes to succeed doing what we truly want. Whether we resist change, and stick with a status quo that while it may not be miserable, is a far cry from what we really want.

Playing B-Ball with Obama: 6 Steps to Crossing Anything Off Your Bucket List: Guest Post

This is one of the most inspiring posts I have read in a long time via Tim Ferris' blog. In 2009 a junior at Cornell contacted me to ask about his idea for a non-profit, based on helping people achieve their dreams. Fast forward to today, Everest is no longer a non-profit pipe dream, but a Silicon Valley start-up with a lot of determined people pushing to create a way to help people live their dreams. Check them out and follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Ideas aren't Cheap, They're Free: Guest Post

Twice in my education I had the exam question "Why?" The first was my senior year of high school for Philosophy, the second was for my "Contemporary Philosophy" course my sophomore year of college. Both times I responded with a word or two - the first time "Why Not?" and the second time "Because". Both times I received an A on the essay question. When my fellow students heard about this, they challenged my college Professor and he gave a great response: "Anyone who writes that answer on a final exam is creative, courageous and demonstrated the ability to express themselves in a way few people can."

Your Success Depends On Changing Behavior

A friend of mine recently sent me this quote heard on NPR in an interview with a Venture Capitalist:

"It's a bit like not getting dessert until you've had your vegetables. Maybe this all sounds incredibly simplistic, but venture capitalists say one of the trickiest things about this new world of investing is that their returns, in many cases, hinge on humans changing their behavior. And that's a lot harder than building a robot."

U.S. Competitiveness: What American Business Can and Should Do (In Its Own Interests): Guest Post

I came across this article by Edward Alden, the Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, specializing in U.S. economic competitiveness and Director of the Renewing America Publication Series. And I think he nails it. The media and politicians have made the topic of U.S. Competitiveness a government issue, as well as a broader civic one. This is incorrect and Alden explains why.

What You Need To Understand About The Concept Of Time

In business one of the most frustrating things is the lack of urgency. Corporations are notorious for this. They take a long time to make decisions and executives think nothing of delaying meetings and decisions for weeks or months. In contrast, when you work with start-ups in Silicon Valley they move so fast it can leave your head spinning. The concept of time and urgency are very different depending on which business you are in, how much money you have to burn and the kind of leaders at the helm.

Creating Wealth In Times of Uncertainty: Guest Post

I attend a lot of meetings and networking events as part of the efforts to build our North American business. One of the common topics in this election year is job creation, and government's role in the same. I hear people share their views on this hot topic and its interesting to discern between those who truly have a view based on fact versus those who repeat rhetorical views from the media, politicians and academics.

Super Bowl's Lessons From Mrs. Brady

Another year, another Super Bowl. As the planet knows by now, the New York Giants did it again. They beat the New England Patriots again. They had a late 4th Quarter winning drive again. Their team did just enough to beat an opponent that was every bit their equal. Yet post-game media was focused on the losing Quarterback's wife, super model and business star Gisele Bundschen, and her comments after the loss.

The Fallacy of Social Proof

Herd behavior is an epidemic in our society today. Known as large groups conforming to choices which may be either correct or mistaken as a result of social influence, psychology research goes pretty deep into this phenomenon. One definition I read for social proof is people assuming the actions of others to reflect correct behavior for a given situation. This effect is prominent in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation. Regardless of semantics, social proof is in every part of our world.

New Low For The British

This past week the British government stripped former RBS CEO Fred Goodwin of his knighthood. 

BS Thyself Not

I had a boss early in my career who was one of those philosophical types, always dropping sayings or quotes to make his point. He thought he was quite smart and cool, very pleased with himself when he could drop a Churchill or Emerson quote, two of his favorites. We all thought he was a bore at the time.

The Need For Quantifiable Objectives

2012 is meant to be the year America makes its economic comeback. Since the economy tanked in 2007-8, we have been conditioned to believe that economic power and superiority has passed to China and our era was over. The US has too much debt, not enough prospect for growth, and we have outsourced our way to becoming an irrelevant economy.