THOUGHTS OF CHAIRMAN MAC

  If You’re Going to Live Forever, You Will be Required to Pay for It. There are some in the “deep state” government who don’t want you to know this, but a recent heavily funded government survey discovered conclusively that during the 21 st century, the vast majority of Americans will grow older rather than younger. (It should be noted that the potential error in this government survey is plus or minus 2.5 years.) The government study also concluded that – so long as the individuals do not die – they will steadily grow older and at a certain age, will want to quit working and retire. Amazingly, while interviewing focus groups the government researchers discovered that even after retirement, the vast majority of individuals will still need a regular income to live on. Even more stunning was the conclusion that the income will be needed for the remainder of their lives.  These groundbreaking government findings led to the realization that as fewer people grow younger, wh...

  At one time or another virtually everyone entertains visions of becoming an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurism is seen as the last frontier of the American Dream, the yellow-brick road to freedom and riches. But more importantly, entrepreneurism offers the potential to control your own destiny. For most, the dream of becoming an entrepreneur remains just that for one reason – the fear of failure. And rightly so. The U.S. Small Business Administration estimates that 50 percent of new businesses fail in the first two years and 95 percent fail within five years. But despite these odds, thousands of individuals overcome their fear (or ignorance) of failure and take the leap into entrepreneurism. Those who (for whatever reason) beat the odds and build a successful company, are able reap all the psychic and financial rewards that comes with becoming a successful entrepreneur. Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. Achieving success as an entrepreneur is actually the easy par...

  Don't Fall For The Life Insurance Industry's Juvenile Trick Would you buy a car for your four-year-old child just because they might need one when they get older? Of course, you wouldn't. But, you know what? Insurance companies want you to do something just as incongruous. Believe it or not, many insurance companies want you to buy life insurance for children, just in case they might need it when they get older. You’ve probably seen the ads on television that artfully target parents and grandparents, encouraging them to buy life insurance for children. Of course, the insurance companies don’t emphasize they are selling life insurance on children. Instead, they cloak the pitch with terms such as a “get started plan,” a “grow up plan” or the favorite, as a “college plan.” No matter how it's couched by the insurance companies, the objective is to make an easy profit by preying on the love of parents or grandparents to sell unneeded life insurance on children. Now, don’...

What is the most difficult challenge you will encounter in retirement? It is the risk of running out of money and not having enough income to live on. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated risk.  After working for decades so you could enjoy decades of not working, what is the first thing that happens the very day you retire? Your income stops. After a career receiving a check every two weeks, you suddenly need to replace that income for your retirement years, no matter how many years that may be.  The truth is you need a plan to meet your income needs in retirement. Fortunately, there is no shortage of banks, investment firms and insurance companies, along with a bevy of financial planners eager and ready to help you create a retirement income plan.   A Dirty Little Secret  Unfortunately, there is a dirty little secret when it comes to retirement planning.  The secret is that even the most forward-looking retirement plans don’t fully protect against the ri...

  The most deleterious inhibitor of the ability of an organization to recognize and take advantage of change is an entrenched bureaucratic culture. Over time  insincere, insecure, incompetent and incoherent bureaucratic management actions create an abhorrence and fear of change, in any form. Bureaucracy suffocates innovation, challenge and change, but that’s its purpose. Bureaucracy is meant to preserve and protect the past. And it does so with vengeance by blinding organizations to the presence, threat and positive potential of change. When a company has achieved success, it is natural to want to preserve that success. The problem is that like fame, success is fleeting. The fallacy of allowing bureaucracy to take hold in a previously entrepreneurial culture is the belief that the environment in which success was achieved can be frozen in time. But, of course, that is not the case. Success is maintained by responding to constantly changing conditions and challenges. The use ...

  Become a Trust Builder   Trust is the most underrated aspect of a business relationship. The presence of trust makes any effort possible. The absence of trust corrodes any relationship and erodes power till nothing is possible.  Trust in a business relationship is different than trust in a marriage or the trust we place in a pilot when we board an airline. I would even differentiate the concept of business trust from the idea of ethics. Not that trust can be built without being ethical, but in the context here trust has a different nuance. Trust in a business relationship is about many things, but mostly it is about being consistent with those with whom we deal with. The secret to building business trust is to be the same today as you were yesterday and will be tomorrow. Trust is built when others can count on what we say as being what we do It does not engender much trust in an organization when management becomes known for saying one thing and then doing another. ...

  Despite complicated theories and innumerable tactics, true leadership comes down to a few simple principles.   Vision – Leaders learn to reminisce about the future the way others reminisce about the past.   Determination – Leaders constantly exhibit the attitude that it is better to fail than to quit.   Openness – One thing a leader understands is that they don’t know it all.   Empowering – Leaders inherently understand that power used absolutely diminishes, while power shared absolutely expands.   Sharing – Leaders acknowledge that success may be the inspiration of one but is the product of the efforts of many.