Wisdom

When I was a commercial lender a young man excitedly began sharing with me that “Steinway Piano” was for sale and he wanted us to loan him the money to buy this well-known company. When I asked how much he needed to borrow I was stunned when he said, “I think they’ll probably want $200 million and I’ll need to ...

In my youth, my peers were very competitive when it came to dating so I felt obligated to find a Valentine’s Day date to avoid their verbal abuse. On occasion, due to time pressures, I would line-up a date with someone with whom I really had little interest. My pursuit of any possible date led me to disrespect others as ...

While attending a funeral, I struck up a conversation with Joe, a guy I hadn’t seen in 20 years. As he learned about what I do here at Integrity Resource Center, Joe was reminded of his uncle. Joe’s uncle started with modest means in a blue-collar trade, but today is worth millions. When Joe asked about his uncle’s success, his ...

As recent “Empty-nesters,” Kathy and I decided to try to sell our house. A potential buyer made an offer subject to the typical inspections. This buyer made me nervous from the beginning. He was going to finance the entire purchase including closing costs. This man had nothing at risk. My instincts proved correct. When the buyer started to get “cold feet” he ...

We have hosted events for years and have grown adept at handling crowds of 300 or so. Recently, however, our model was severely tested when 700 attendees squeezed into a hotel ballroom to hear St. Louis Cardinals manager, Mike Matheny. We discovered a few cracks in our model. We didn’t factor in how much the space and configuration could impact ...

My flight from Charleston to Charlotte was 20 minutes late, but since my connecting flight was on the same airline, I assumed they would hold the flight. After racing through two terminals, I was stunned that the plane was still there, but the attendant was not allowed to let us board! Twenty-five people made it to the gate in time ...

During a business counseling call, Dennis shared with me that he desired to sell his business to some key employees, and use a significant portion of the proceeds for ministry. When I heard Dennis’ generous heart I urged him not to sign any documents until after he met my friends at the National Christian Foundation. Due to NCF’s charitable tax ...

Trade magazines, business journals, and video blogs are just a few sources Matt uses to gain knowledge on latest business trends. These resources, however, should never take the place of the personal relationship Matt has with Kirk, his friend of Knowledge. Kirk is an experienced business leader who has built and sold several successful organizations. Matt often meets with Kirk ...

In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, made an incredible gift of $100 million to the Newark, New Jersey school system. According to a Wall Street Journal article, five years later there is no significant difference noted in the Newark school system! The article concludes that the money would have been better spent on scholarships than to fund the salaries ...

According to History.com, Americans spend over $6 billion a year on Halloween, and $2 billion of that goes to the candy manufacturers. This is a great reminder of the power of marketing and advertising! According to businessinsider.com, Trick-or-Treating was popularized in the early 20th century, but fizzled out when sugar was rationed during World War II, making candy scarce. After ...