HOW TO BECOME A TOTAL FAILURE

My full-time occupation is print broker. I serve my customers printing needs by shopping the best values, arranging for and assisting the proofing process, attending press checks, following up on deliveries, and if needed, interfacing with the mailing house. When I’m busy I barely have time to breathe. Lately I haven’t been so busy–in fact […]

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First let me say that I haven’t had a real problem with Vanguard. The funds have done better than many others. In downturns they haven’t lost as much and in the upswings they do better than the average. Vanguard seems to be one of the good guys, however, you knew this was coming didn’t you? […]

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I spent the weekend in Scottsdale, AZ attending a restaurateur’s convention. That’s an odd place for a printing professional to go, isn’t it? What does printing ink have to do with sauce? Or presses with ovens? So why was I there? I went at the invitation of Kevin Hall whom I’ve written about before (see link). Kevin […]

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Yesterday I wrote an incendiary blog. So far I’m just a little guy and am flying under the radar. Big government, and big corporations could squish me like a bug if they chose, but I’m not even worth that much attention. Sometimes it is good to be irrelevant. I can speak my mind and be […]

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Rule #2 of How to be a Total Failure advises us to not share what we know with others. As with all the rules for failure, this rule appears to be a good tactic to use to gain short-term success, but in the long-run, usually ends up costing us something: a friendship, a job or […]

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I’ve always believed that anyone who desires to serve as the President of the United States has got to have a screw loose, or several loose screws for that matter. We always have such high expectations when we install a new leader. Poor Mr. Obama has been saddled with the highest. For him to succeed […]

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What would you think of a company who created a legal, and very needed product, this  product had customers queued up to buy, and were willing to pay top dollar for it, but instead of selling, the company removed it from the market and destroyed it in such a way that no one could ever […]

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I was thinking about the ten ways to become a total failure, and I wondered if these rules apply to individuals don’t they also apply to organizations like corporations or governments? For example, Rule 1: Resist learning anything new that could lead to more responsibility–the more you learn the more people will expect. I was […]

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I was reading the March 2, 2009 issue of FORTUNE magazine. The feature article is entitled, How Facebook is taking over our lives. My first reaction, “Here’s another attempt by the media to be alarmist and trying to trick us into reading another boring article that won’t live up to its promise.” See how cynical […]

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