• Categories

  • Expansion Strategies
  • Franchising
  • Leadership
  • Random Reviews
  • Uncategorized

• Recently Written

  • Newsletter #6 - The “Right Employees” Issue
  • Newsletter #5 The ROE Issue – Getting More With What You Have
  • Random Review - GTD
  • Time Management Tips for Entrepreneurs
  • Reducing Franchise Selling Costs – Part III
  • Shoot Your iPhone
  • Random Reviews – A Random Walk Down Wall Street
  • 9 Things That Need To Change
  • “Employer of the Month” Parking
  • The Worst of Times, The Best of Times – Part II

• Newsletters

  • August 2008 Newsletter - Sound Strategies

• Search

Do you want to make sense of all the recent turmoil in the financial markets? Check out Burton Malkiel’s A Random Walk Down Wall Street, my favorite book on investing, hands down.

Now in it’s 9th edition, Malkiel does a thorough job explaining past events in the stock market along with some of the behavioral issues that have impacted financial markets throughout history. One of my favorite chapters is on speculative bubbles, ranging from the Dutch Tulip Mania of the 1500’s to the dot-com, dot-bomb of the late 90’s.

Read this book and you’ll gain a stronger understanding and perspective on the stock market than 95% of the so-called “experts” expounding their predictions and commentary in the media.

Ask anyone about air travel, and you’ll likely gain an earful about a most recent debacle.

While I’m no “road warrior”, I do fly about once per month, so I am always searching for ways to make air travel a bit more palatable. I’ve mitigated some of these challenges by flying JetBlue whenever possible and wearing noise canceling headphones.

When I first starting shopping for headphones, I found it difficult to justify the $350 that the Bose Corporation was looking to vacate from my wallet for a fine set of headphones. So, I started with a $50 pair, which seemed to work out just fine.

Then, on one flight, I caught a video from David Pogue, the technology writer for the New York Times, comparing 5 noise canceling headphones against the Bose. The result? David found two competitors that compared very favorably to the Bose at less than half the price, one by Panasonic, the other by Audiotechnica.

Following his recommendation, I purchased the Audiotechnica headphones on Amazon ($106 as of this writing) and found them to be a significant improvement over my previous pair. They worked as advertised, significantly mitigating the dull roar of jet engines and passengers’ conversations.

Unless you’re in the million mile club and absolutely must own the best, the Audiotechnica’s Noise Canceling Headphones represent an excellent value for anyone looking to make their air travel experience a bit more tolerable.

Finishing off our basement last year convinced me that every weekend home renovation warrior needs a powerful circular saw. Unless your needs are light (to slice butter for instance), the $50 cheapie I first purchased won’t cut it. Upgrading to the pro-grade RIDGID 7.25” saw made a tremendous difference in cutting speed, accuracy and even safety.

If only I had waited a few months, when RIDGID introduced the compact and lighter weight 6.5” circular frame saw (model# R3203). Because it spins at a higher RPM, the 6.5” model is more powerful and smoother than its bigger brother, while still capable of cutting through the same size stock lumber. Yet its size and bantamweight makes it more manageable for amateurs. For a high end circular saw, the $119 price is a relative bargain.

If you’re contemplating any home renovations, run down to your local Home Depot and check one out. Maybe the new saw will serve as the impetus to start construction on that shed or pool house you’ve been contemplating for the last few years.