meek-investor

We're going to break a little from tradition this week and talk about someone else. Don't worry, Chris is here too. But we're going to start with a man who recently sent out an email actively encouraging people to go to cafes to steal a magazine. That's right. Theft. You have his blessing. Such a person can only be called a misfit. In fact, make that a capital "M". Misfit. Who is this man? His name is AJ Leon . He and his wife Melissa head up Misfit Incorporated , and they've just launched their magazine: Misfit Quarterly . Online, it's free. Go get an e-copy . Want a hard copy? Well, you can sign up to become an honorary misfit (though if you do, AJ and Melissa would probably capitalize you: Honorary Misfit). Or, you can trawl around after them and pick up a free copy wherever they happen to leave one. They're on a 1,080 day journey around the world. They might stop in at your local coffee shop some day. Misfit Quarterly is an example of fresh ...

India is embarking on a major revamp of its social security system - replacing subsidised food, fertiliser, fuel, etc etc with direct cash transfers to the bank accounts of the "poor". Is this good or bad ? The current system involves heavily subsidised foodgrain, fertilisers, fuel, etc being made available to ration card holders through the public distribution system. This suffers from a whole host of problems. Bribery, corruption, pilferage, etc ensure that only a fraction of the stuff ends up in the hands of the targeted people.  In some areas like fuel, cooking gas cylinders are widely misused and the diesel subsidy lands into the pockets of rich car owners. The waste is so incredible that something ought to be done. The solution proposed is to eliminate all subsidies progressively and instead simply transfer cash by electronic transfers to bank accounts of the target population. Initially it will cover various anti poverty schemes, then extend to cooking gas and kerosene...

 Did you shop til you dropped all pretense of human decency and clawed at the eyes or your fellow man to get the last off-brand, 47 million inch TV? Did you laugh all the way to the bank? Did you also cry when you got there and realized you had spent all your money in a tryptophan induced frenzy? If you didn’t shop, did you maintain a vigilant presence on social media so the world knew you were saving it by not shopping? Either way, The Business wants your business! We have a super spectacular list of g uests that are available for lease or purchase. Drennon Davis is back for a limited time only, get him while he’s hot and fresh! From his elaborate characters and sketches, to his provocative songs and animation, Drennon has made a name for himself as one of the most innovative minds in today’s comedy scene. His live performances of the Imaginary Radio Program combine live music and beat-boxing with one-man sketches into a show that the Los Angeles Comedy Bureau...

Come on Argentina. How often do you ask everybody to cry for you ?  On Wednesday, a US District Court Judge detonated an atom bomb (metaphorically, thankfully), in the world of financial markets. As usual, Argentina was at the centre of it. Here is the story, with a little bit of history. In 2001, Argentina defaulted on its sovereign debt - one of the rare instances of a major country doing so. A default essentially means that a country has no money on the due date to repay a loan it had taken and tells the creditors to fly a kite. The consequences of such an action are drastic - the country immediately becomes an international pariah in financial markets and nobody would lend to it anymore. That has been Argentina's lot for the last decade, and the situation Greece is desperately trying to avoid today. When Argentina defaulted, most of its creditors got together and negotiated a "restructuring package" which meant that they would get something back at least - spread over...

    "Think outside the box" "I don't like being placed in a box." "Don't get boxed in." These are common sentiments, often heard. Being in a box is bad. Restrictive. Repressive. Life is better outside the confines of boxes. Really? Chris Brogan begs to differ. He says getting into a box is good. In fact, it can liberate you rather than imprison. Embracing boxes can give you and your ambitions wings. In this week's episode of Business Jazz, we talk about using boxes to your advantage. To hear the podcast, just click on the play button on the embedded player at the top of this post. We're also in iTunes . We'd love it if you subscribed. You can download this week's episode of the podcast directly here: Business Jazz 23rd November 2012 . Invite Chris into your inbox 
If you'd like to subscribe to Chris' emails yourself (the ones we discuss here), you'll find a place to sign up on his website . 
If you're interested in ...

This Holiday season, we are thankful for our Emilys. Two Emilys in particular, and they will both be here on Wednesday so we can give them thanks. Emily Heller is a comedian and writer who likes you very much. You may have seen her on the third season of John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show on Comedy Central, or as one of the New Faces at the 2012 Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. In 2011, She was included in Comedy Central’s Comics to Watch, won Rooftop Comedy’s Silver Nail Award, and was named one of the “Funniest People in Town” by 7x7 Magazine. Praised in San Francisco for what her friends call her “self-deprecating feminist slob poetry,” Emily now lives in New York City and performs stand-up all over the country. Emily Maya Mills is an actor, writer and stand-up comic based in Los Angeles. She's been seen on Parks and Recreation, Ellen, Conan, Childrens’ Hospital, Key and Peele, Downers Grove, Harry's Law and many of television’s weirder commercials. ...

What do people do in bed, other than sleeping ? Should be an easy one, isn't it. Well, it turns out not to be so easy. No, it's not what you thought.  Apparently, the activity that is most often done in bed is working !  This blogger has often moaned about the complete encroachment of the office in to the home. The awful mobile phone started the trend. The tyrannical Blackberry, despite offering the serious affliction of arthritis of the thumb, turned zillions into addicts.  The tablet completed the victorious rout. The office has completely taken over the home. Wife and kids - can you move to the garage please.  You know that working in bed is a reality when you see companies offering products that "improve your productivity" while in bed. I had thought that such a claim would strictly be in the realm of the magazines of a certain slant, but apparently these come with a U certificate. Take the example of this bed (online price $5,999) No, this doesn't rock and sh...

Listen... How good are you at listening? Are you an active listener? Can you listen well by speaking more? Mastering the art of listening can give you a huge competitive advantage. This week, Chris Brogan 's email about listening causes Paul and Roger to not talk at the same time... To hear the regular podcast first, just click on the play button on the embedded player at the top of this post. We're also in iTunes . We'd love it if you subscribed. You can download the podcast directly here: Business Jazz 16th November 2012 . Listen directly to Chris yourself  
If you'd like to subscribe to Chris' emails, you'll find a place to sign up on his website . 
 If you're interested in The Impact Equation, the book he recently published with Julien Smith, you can find it on Amazon US and Amazon UK . 
 Business Jazz Players  This podcast is a collaboration of people dotted around the world. 
If you'd like to read our story so far, you'll find it here: Our S...

A friend of The Business is back in town! We’ve missed him since he moved to New York, but he’s been visiting our living rooms every Thursday night via the excellent show he writes for, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. Come enjoy him live and in the flesh here in SF! We are happy to welcome Nato Green. Nato was named SF Weekly’s Best Comedian of 2010 and got his own cover story in 2011 for getting “smarter and faster” and putting on “legendary” shows that keep audiences “doubled over.” Nato is the creator of Iron Comic, the Iron Chef-spoofing comedy game show that he often co-hosts with Moshe Kasher. Nato's humor commentaries have appeared in Huffington Post, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Rumpus, The Bold Italic, and more. Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, said Nato is, “Righteous and hilarious, bracing and a hoot, Nato Green is like finding a shot of bourbon at your co-worker's stupid vegan potluck.” That’s not all! Also joining us will be th...

I remain confounded as to why Bill Gates is not universally loved in this world. Ask people at random to name the greatest living person  and you'll get a wide variety of names. But I bet, you won't see the name of Bill Gates very much. And yet , to me, he would rank right up alongside with Nelson Mandela for that honour. Why ?;  do you ask ? here's why. There have been many incredibly successful businessmen in the world. Few can deny that Bill Gates is one of them. But he is only one of many; many preceded him, and no doubt many will succeed him. But even in the success, you should laud his lifestyle - never ostentatious, low key, with class and style and the very epitome of what a successful businessman should be. And then he gave virtually all his money to charity. In this, he is rare, but not unique. Others have donated large sums before too. The list of business tycoons, who have been major givers for social causes is an illustrious list. But he is absolutely unique, i...

Journalists pretend they spend their time investigating the intricacies of international affairs, covering the inner workings of the economic system, and exposing abuses of political and economic power. Although many aspire to do so (and occasionally do with great effect), the reality is far from the imagined sense of self. Most journalists spend the majority of their time reporting what a mayor said in a prepared statement, writing stories about how parents can save money for university tuition, covering the release of the latest versions of popular electronic devices, or finding out if a sports figure’s injury will affect performance in the next match. Most cover news in a fairly formulaic way, reformatting information released by others: the agenda for the next town council meeting, the half dozen most interesting items from the daily police reports, what performances will take place this weekend, and the quarterly financial results of a local employer. These standard stories are me...

This week, it's all about serving your customers. Chris Brogan says that everything works better if you consider yourself to be operating in service of others. 
He suggests that you ask yourself five questions: 
1) Is it easy for my buyer to reach me if they have a question? (Define "buyer" how you wish.) 

2) Is my online presence as inviting as a store or office? Will people know what to do first when they connect with me? Do I guide them where they should go next? 

 3) Do I make my product or service clear and understandable so that people feel they understand it? 4) Am I doing what I'm selling to make my buyer the hero? 

 5) Am I ready to commit to full satisfaction from my customer? 
 Paul and Roger discuss each one in turn. They don't agree on the last one - the one that Chris highlights in particular. There is more on that in the follow-up recording below. To hear the regular podcast first, just click on the play button on the embedded player at the to...

We did it everybody! We made it through another election cycle as a docile populace unwilling to topple our overlords! No matter how you feel about the election results, you should come to The Business to celebrate/mourn. We have invited Kevin O’Shea, a friend of The Business and one of our favorite guests to join us. Established in 1984 following the mergers of Steven and Cathy O’Shea, Kevin O’Shea has been one of San Francisco’s leading manufactures of mirth, laughter, hilarity and all around good ti mes! Kevin has been commonly described as clever, absurd, awkward but in a funny way and too smart for his own good. He has been seen on the Independent Film Chanel and ComedyCentral.com. He is a favorite of comedy festivals such as: The SF Sketch Fest and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. Go see him now as his 4th quarter productivity has never been higher! We will miss Bucky Sinister this week, but the rest of your regulars will be there. All defenders of democracy, ...

Ahhh ! If only the world was as simple as 50 years ago. Global companies found it quite simple then to divide the world ; there were only three regions in the world - America, Europe and Rest of the World. If you were an American company, 70 % of your revenues came from America, 27% came from Europe (Oh god; we have to improve there) and 3% came from Rest of the World (where's that ?). If you were an European company, 70% came from Europe, 27% from America (the bloody Yanks) and 3% from Rest of the World (where's that ?) Quite simple.   Alas life has got a bit more complicated for global companies. How to cut the world ? A popular division is to split as America, Europe and Asia Pacific. That threw up a problem - what about Africa (where's that ?). So came EMEA - Europe Middle East and Africa. Right - President Americas, President EMEA and President APAC.   That threw up more problems - does it make sense to group France and Mali in the same group ? And Venezuela and...

Failure. It's a scary word for many of us. For others, it's something to be embraced. They see failures as milestones on the way to success. Failure should be embraced, rather than feared. This week Paul and Roger discuss failure and how to turn it to your advantage, prompted as usual by an email from Chris Brogan . To hear the podcast, just click on the play button on the embedded player at the top of this post. We're also in iTunes . We'd love it if you subscribed. Wow! Many of you will have found us through the plug that both Chris and AJ Leon gave the podcast in their email newsletters last week. It was an incredible experience for us to receive such boosts from these two remarkable people. Chris and AJ, thank you. It means the world to us. Help yourself If you'd like to subscribe to Chris' emails, you'll find a place to sign up on his website . If you're interested in The Impact Equation , the book he recently published with Julien Smith, you c...