Is the product worth the money?

I’ll miss you.  It’s not easy to say goodbye to an old friend.  Parting ways is always difficult. What makes it a little less painful is when the emotional attachment has waned or vanished completely.  Alas, that wasn’t to be in my case.  Thinking about all the good times and comfort the relationship brought me makes it difficult to do. But do it I must.  When I’m charged $5.58 for an extra hot, small vanilla latte, I’m left with no choice but to end the relationship.

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This blog may appear to be self-serving but I can assure you that’s not my intention.  Recently it’s become fashionable to debate executive compensation or more specifically the amount of said compensation.  The chatter is everywhere and executives have become the new “whipping boy” by those that are disillusioned with the system.

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“If the protests in Canada are here to draw a direct comparison to our circumstances and that of the U.S., I don’t get that.  The protestors in Canada have right to have their opinions heard.  But there are millions of people around the world who would gladly trade their problems with those protesting in Canada.”

Freedom of assembly and speech is the underpinning of a democracy.  The respect for these principles were instilled in me at an early age.    My parents were born and raised in country where freedom of speech was a theory.  In their country of birth, freedom of speech would only  be tolerated if it supported the governments communist propaganda.  Any opinion to the contrary would lead to reprisals, including imprisonment.

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On some level people view Jobs as an artist first, a businessman second.

“Good artists copy, great artists steal” – Steve Jobs.

Sadly, the passing of Steve Jobs didn’t come a surprise to me.  My blog post dated August, 30th, stated as much.  ”Upon learning that Jack Layton had passed, I was stuck by the fact that so many people stated that they were shocked to hear the news.  If you watched his press conference in July, when he announced that he was stepping aside for health reasons, he looked like a man who has been told he should get his personal affairs in order.  Not to sound morbid but I have to wonder if the same doesn’t hold true for Steve Jobs.   (more…)

It’s day one of the World Business Forum, and it’s been a busy day.  The first session began at 7:30 am, a panel discussion, and it set the tone for the rest of the day.  The panelists were Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks & Chairman of HDNet, Kathleen King, Founder & President Tate’s Bake Shop, and Barbara Corcoran, Founder of Corcoran Group. They talked about their careers and what made them successful.  Three very diverse people with diverse backgrounds. 

Mark Cuban is an interesting man and a lesson not to judge a book by its cover.  He was sitting on the panel wearing jeans, a shirt about two sizes too big , and sneakers.  He looks like a frat boy, a very wealthy frat boy.  (more…)