The owner of a motel who attended yesterday’s seminar mentioned something that they do on job applications, and I’ve been pondering this one. They ask if applicants would give them permission to run credit checks. They never run them, but rule out applicants who answer no. While it is certainly common and reasonable for companies to run credit checks on people who will be handling money (like it or not, someone who’s about to lose their car or home IS statistically more likely to steal money than someone who’s financially sound), I’m not sure if it should matter that a part time housekeeper has bad credit, or doesn’t want an employer to know about it.
Archive for April, 2008
Dateline Springfield, Missouri
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008Feedback on 4/29/08 Issue of Work Is Not for Sissies
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Scared and Nervous in Oklahoma Again
Monday, April 28th, 2008I blog for two reasons; one professional and the other personal. The professional reason is because it gives customers a chance to get to know me. There are some great people on the Internet, like Zig Ziglar and Dave Ramsey. There are also flakes, wannabes, and pretenders, so it’s important for speakers, authors, and consultants to clearly delineate which category they fall in to.
But my personal reasons are much deeper. I’ve kept a diary or journal of some sort for 24 years, and it’s amazing to look back at what I was thinking, how I looked at life, and what was going on in my life when I read old entries. My ultimate fantasy is time travel, and this is about as close as I guess I’ll ever get. So often when I read old entries, I wish I could send a message to myself back then and let me know when to take a leap of faith, and when to walk away from things.
On May 8, 2007, I was near Tulsa and wrote … “I’m scared and dread doing (this). It’s a form of fear of failure…there are some people out there who think that success requires being fearless, but that’s not true. It requires having the courage to face one’s fears, and being willing to experience the agony of defeat.”
That new venture was my Priority Club, which turned out to be the smartest business move I ever made (Thanks Dave Dee and Dan Kennedy).
Then on October 6, 2007, I wrote… “Despite the 20/20 hindsight, I’m experiencing the same emotions again. On Monday, we’ll be launching yet another new endeavor, and I’m nervous. …A week from now, I’ll be devastated or delirious. It’s so tempting not to try risky things because failure at anything – from business to marriage to a job to losing the Superbowl – hurts. But we can’t experience the thrill of victory without the risk of pain of failing. I wonder if I’ll be reading this blog posting six months from now and laughing at how scared and vulnerable I feel at this exact moment.”
That was the launch of Leadership Essentials, my first e-Learning program. We emulated Nightingale Conant’s marketing model for that rollout and allowed people to test drive the program for free for 30 days. It is now six months later, and I am indeed laughing at how scared I was, because that one also turned out great.
Still, no amount of success will ever completely remove the nervousness we feel when we try something new. On Thursday my next e-Learning program, Performance Breakthroughs, which is being promoted simultaneously by the publisher in Philadelphia this week, will roll out. My marketing team in New England has set up a 60 day free trial for this one, and we’re charging $1 for shipping to weed out the freeloaders.
It’s a brilliant strategy, and I’ve hired the best people money can buy. But I’m still nervous. Ironically, I’ll be speaking this Wednesday in the same building I was speaking in a year ago when I revealed my fear to the world. I hope that history repeats itself. But whether it does or doesn’t, this blog post will memorialize the nervous days and nights leading up to the new product launch. Getting published is not for sissies either. 
Did This Politician Flunk Political Science, Psychology, Economics, or All Three?
Sunday, April 27th, 2008Here’s another example of how Washington doesn’t get it. Congressman Charles Schumer of New York said that “Unless the administration gets OPEC to increase oil supply, American consumers are going to be in for a scorching summer of $4 gasoline with no relief in sight”.
He obviously understands the basics of Supply and Demand Economics. When the supply of a commodity increases but demand remains the same, the price tends to drop. But no one is going to “get” OPEC to increase production. Why would they when it will only drive prices down? This is like “getting” Russia to increase production of Vodka when there is no additional demand, or France to increase production of champagne while demand remains flat.
Consumers can’t affect the supply side of supply and demand, but they can greatly affect demand. The other side of the equation is that if the demand for gas plummeted because the prices are too high, prices would drop again. But look around you and you’ll see that the roads are as clogged with traffic as ever, and more people still want to drive four wheel drive pickup trucks and giant SUVs than tiny hybrids or bicycles.
While there is increased demand for gas because of emerging economies such as India and China, the price of gas is not up because of short supply. It is believed to be because of futures trading and the weak dollar. I don’t know who knows for sure, but I can assure you that neither the Republicans or Democrats can bring the price down. It will probably hit $5 a gallon, and that’s just the way it is. Unless, of course, Americans suddenly fall in love with bicycles and motorcycles.
When Did Drugs Become More Unacceptable Than “GD”?
Saturday, April 26th, 2008Speaking of the media, when did “GD” become acceptable? I remember when Charlie Daniels released The Devil Went Down to Georgia in the seventies and had to re-record the line “I’ve done told you once, you son of a b****, I’m the best there’s ever been” to “…you son of a gun”.
When Nickelback released their hit single “Rockstar” in 2005, there was a line that went “The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap”. Radio stations bleep out the words “drugs” when they play the song.
But I’ve noticed recently that network television now allows “God ****” uncensored. Hmmmmmmmmm. They don’t want God in Christmas, but it’s okay with them to take His name in vain, which happens to be one of the things forbidden in the Ten Commandments. Guess it’s no exaggeration to say that Hollywood really is Godless.
“A Run on Rice”
Friday, April 25th, 2008Here’s another example of why you should question whose interests the media really has in mind when they report stories. Yesterday Dianne Sawyer opened Good Morning America with the headline “A Run on Rice?”. GMA went on to report that they didn’t want to alarm people, but that stores are now “rationing” rice. But the rest of the story was that Sam’s Club will no longer allow individuals to buy more than three twenty pound bags at a time. Now how many people have to buy 60 pounds of rice per visit? The truth is that the price of rice is up, as are the prices of many things. But there’s no shortage. It’s just another case of the media trying to convince people the sky is falling in order to boost their ratings.
Next Thursday’s Announcement
Thursday, April 24th, 2008A selected group of my subscribers received an email this morning about an announcement I’ll be sending out next Thursday. We were caught off guard with some of the responses, most of which were similar to these:
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Smells like a new reality show! Congrats!
Jim Bullock
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I hope he’s running for President !!!
Wanda Autry
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So let me qualify what I wrote by saying that it’s neither. It takes at least six months for a TV show to come together, and we’re just now getting into the grunt work of script ideas, etc. Also, the show would be shot in London, so there’s a ton of logistics we’d have to work out before that can happen. (FYI, FedEx is picking up sample video footage from my office in Nashville tomorrow to deliver to Sarah, the producer in England).
And I’m too straight talking and politically incorrect to run for president, not to mention the fact that my wife has emphatically stated that she would not live in The White House because it looks too cold and drafty (a girl’s gotta have her priorities straight). Besides, they couldn’t pay me enough to take that job. My only tenure in Washington would be as U.S. Secretary of Labor, not Commander in Chief. That job doesn’t pay enough either, but I still believe I’m the best man for the job, after Paul Harvey and Lee Iacocca.
The announcement is the pre- release of my new advanced video training program for experienced managers (sorry if you’re new to management, but this one is not for you), called “Performance Breakthroughs”. It was completed last December, but we held back on the release for marketing reasons.
It’s been driving me nuts, but haste makes waste. I feel like I was pregnant and due in December, but the doctors wanted to wait until May 1 to deliver.
The program will retail for $299, but a select group of beta testers will get to try it for $1. Sorry for any confusion, but thanks for the votes of confidence
Happy TF Day!!!
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008Don’t know what TF Day is? You should, because you paid for it. Turn on your speakers and watch this video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjy8KWsPtDE&hl=en]
Feedback on 4/22/08 Issue of Work Is Not for Sissies
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008To post your comments, scroll down and:
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Are Americans This Gullible?
Monday, April 21st, 2008As I wrote in last week’s issue of Work Is Not for Sissies, politicians do not and can not control the price of gas. But one of the presidential candidates just launched a new commercial promising to bring down the price of gas if elected. This same candidate is promising to “Get Americans back to work” by creating new jobs. Hmmmm. That’s interesting, considering that there are still more jobs than people to fill them. I’m not sure which is scarier – the fact that someone running for president would think that Americans could be this naive, or the fact that it might be true.
FYI, I intentionally did not mention which candidate said this. Vote for whoever you believe will be the best candidate (I admit that I am not enthused about ANY of them. My horse dropped out of the race months ago). But Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEze be informed when you do. The last thing we need is naive, gullible voters electing the next leader of the free world.