The decision

This project has been dormant for a little bit. I've been grappling with the decision of whether to pursue my own MBA or attend a program. To spend my time on these posts or allocate that time to studying for the GMAT.

Which would I rather be doing? Writing here and learning. Which is more fun? This. Is an education supposed to be fun? Maybe.

This will never result in a promotion. It will never result in recognition (which we all crave, some more than others).

It doesn't have the same branding as Harvard or Columbia.

But, this is my idea, my contribution, made real.

I could do both. Attend an MBA while still blogging. But would I really be committed to forging my own path? I think not. It'd be a farce.

It'd be me doing what's expected of me while rationalizing that I was doing something of my own.

So, I am going to give this a trial run. Truly committed. Up to this point it has felt half-hearted. 2 Months. And if I enjoy it, I will continue. If not, I will discontinue.

Can't I learn more by taking the initiative and pursuing my own goals.

Performance measures

From traders too focused on quarterly earnings to bosses too focused on annual reviews, we're induced into sacrificing any long-term potential for short-term rewards.

In Buffet's 2010 letter to shareholders, the first seven or so pages are ripe with insights into performance measures and how the long-term potential always takes precedence.

The short-term should be treated as small steps towards a larger goal. Things won't materialize over night. The worthwhile goals and businesses take time and rigorous pursuit.

Interesting vs. Convention

Convention isn't interesting because we know what to expect.

The unconventional pulls us in because we haven't encountered it before. We're fascinated with a a new view or something completely turns something we take for granted on its head. We can't help but be interested.

So is an unconventional education more interesting? Do we get more out of it? This guy thinks so.

Making something from nothing

Perhaps this is the most valuable skill that can be learned.

When you're starting something (this blog), and all you have in terms of capital and backing is yourself and an idea, buzzwords won't get people to buy in or even a good idea. It's has to be great.

So how do you get people to buy into your ideas and support you with what you need?

Trees vs. a Forest

I've tried to start several blog series delving into various areas of business in an attempt to learn more. But, eventually they just bored me. So, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate that approach.

If I just regurgitate business information, then where is the value? It's time to take a new approach.

One thing about business that intimidates me is understanding finance. Heck, I am an accountant and most of the concepts make my head spin. In the world of finance, it seems like everyone knows more than you. Someone has the edge with the latest information or a reason to buy this stock or sell that one, all with the aim of attaining that short-term profit, unable to focus and see what lies beyond the their short-sighted gaze.

However, we can choose to focus on the long-term where all the present up's and down's of the short-term smooth towards one upward trend of unlimited potential.

So in that spirit we're starting the next course: A Buffet of Warren Buffet's Letters to Shareholders' of Berkshire Hathaway. There's a twist--We'll start with the most recent and work backwards and hopefully use hindsight to our advantage.

The Power of Words: If vs. When

This morning at the gym Bloomberg TV was on while I was pounding away on the treadmill. I realized one thing: the media sure does love to deify certain high profile business people (Jobs, Gates, etc).

But what about the rest of us? Those who do not necessarily run billion-dollar businesses. What does it take for us to acheive that success (success in, and of itself is also a myriad of personal beliefs and goals--let's assume conventional success for simplicity)

Honestly, its hard to see what people at the top and those so young in their careers such as myself may share as a common denominator.

Consequently, I often think in if's. If I were good at this, then.../If I had this skill, then.../If I were more like this person, then...and eventually all those "if's" accumulate into self-defeat.

Perhaps the trick is to stop with "if's"...and focus more on the "when's".

When I get there, I will have done x, y and z to make it.

Accounting is an Accrual Profession

You can't talk about bean without hearing the word accrual. Sorry for the bad pun (couldn't resist).

In accounting, the bean counters try to make information forward-looking and incorporate into the financials all of a company's assets and liabilities.

Often this forward-looking concept is achieved through someone's best guess because they have only past experience or incomplete information. So when you hear the word accrual often the word best guess comes to my mind.

We'll explore this more, but for now, just think accrual = best guess.

An accrual Idea

So accounting is simple--well, or should be simple. Like all things, it is often muddled with overly-complex words and veiled concepts to obscure one thing--the truth. That's another discussion.

But as long as you know the fundamental underpinnings, the rest is just fluff. So what you may ask is that?

Here it is: Accounting helps you know what resources to use in the future (balance sheet), how you've been doing for a certain period of time (income statement), and where all our money has been going/coming from (cash flows).

Simple enough. Let's not be intimidated by all the big words (often a compensating mechanism) and information overload.

We'll explore bean counting and discover it's actually pretty useful (dare I say--cool).

Becoming a Profit

Just need to jot the idea down:

Have you ever wondered how a business moves from costing its owners money to creating value for its owners? Well maybe not, but I have (NERD). So the next installment in the blog series will be Becoming a Profit: The Journey of the Profitable Business.

More to come....

Linchpin - Executive Summary

The Linchpin series was the first Free MBA blog series that focused on overcoming our anxiety and fear caused by own lesser evolved lizard brains to ship our ideas, and give up on following instructions.

The information material of 11 pages was contributed by Seth Godin from his latest book Linchpin, which I used as support/inspiration for this blog series.

In this series, I learned fear often let's us know we are on the right track (outside our comfort zone), anxiety does no good, to ease up on ourselves, and then ship your idea.

Linchpin Capstone

We'll I did it. I shipped an idea. Made it real. It's not perfect (far from) but it made the exodus from my mind into the world.

Seth Godin agreed to let me borrow 15 pages from his book Linchpin.

I only needed 11.

Here is what I learned:

#1 - Give Up Instructions, Give Away Ideas
#2 - Solve Interesting Problems and Lead
#3 - Give ART
#4 - The Lizard Brain
#5 - Playing It Safe Is Risky Business
#6 - Wrong Choices for the Right Reasons
#7 - You are Your Biggest Critic
#8 - Anxiety = Fear^2
#9 - Do Nothing, Be More Productive
#10 - People Only Laugh at Good Ideas
#11 - Anxious Hours = Ulcer
#12 - Ease Up

For this capstone, I had planned for a long-winded post. But then the beauty of a good idea is that it speaks for itself.

Linchpin taught me to confront my lizard brain and resistance. Before this project, I was a guy with ideas who had too much anxiety to share them, too concerned that people would laugh.

But please laugh, it means this idea is good.

I am easing up on myself, and giving up on instructions. Doing less to do more.

This blog/project is the right choice for the wrong reasons.

Stay tuned. I have a lot of ideas, and I am just itching to give them away.

Note to Seth:
Seth thanks again for the contribution of social capital. It really is worth more than money.

Linchpin (Page 11): Ease Up

Have you ever heard the golden rule, "treat others as you would like to be treated"?

There's a part that was left out, which when tacked onto the end of the sentence, makes it much more helpful for the hypercritical lizard brain.

Golden rule + "including yourself"

If we always knock ourselves down we'll burn out long before we've ever had a chance to shine.

Linchpin (Page 10.4): Anxious Hours = Ulcer

The Jedi can exert their mental power on the universe to mold it. But for the rest of us, we only think we can. The last time you were anxious about an event or issue outside of your control, did it change the outcome. More likely, it just ruined the day.

The linchpin recognizes anxious hours only cause one thing: ulcers.

When something is outside the gravity of our influence, no matter how much force (anxiety) we exert nothing is accomplished.

Instead, we can focus on what we can control. Eventually maybe our circle of influence will grow to encompass what we could not formerly control.

Linchpin (Page 9.5): People Only Laugh at Good Ideas

How many times have you enjoyed a movie critics have lambasted? Most films I enjoy are flops according to the critics standards (may be that's why me and film school did not mesh).

When faced with a tough decision, we often reduce often the seemingly complex reasons to avoid a risk (perceived most of the time) to one simple excuse: people will laugh at me.

When we offer our ideas to the world and critics laugh derisively at us, we retract.

We assume our ideas are bad (some are, but not all). The difference between a good and bad idea is that people take the time to laugh at a good idea whereas they disregard a bad one.

People laugh at good ideas because there is nothing comparable--it's unique. So it's only natural to laugh--there's comedy in what we can't conceive.

Next time someone laughs, thank them.

Linchpin (Page 9): Do nothing and Be Productive

Often, in my personal and business lives, I am hard-wired to simply react with anxiety, often needlessly. Once I knew the cause of anxiety (fear^2), then I learned to choose a more productive response--to do nothing at all.

I am guilty of subscribing to the first, more common, reaction to anxiety (below). It takes a lot of energy to keep up with anxiety.

















Sounds familiar, checking and checking again. We all do it (some more than others). It makes you think: what else could I do with all the wasted energy spent on worrying? I think the answer is a lot. A linchpin can harness that energy and redirect it to something worthy of their efforts.







Just sitting with our anxiety allows us to realize how much energy is wasted. We can't always rid ourselves of anxiety, but perhaps we can choose to change our response to it.

Linchpin (Page 7.6): Anxiety = Fear ^2

So I boiled down this Linchpin excerpt into a simple mathematical representation:

Anxiety = Fear ^2

Anxiety takes hold when we fear (the act) fear (the state of being).

It's the unknown we fear. Those seemingly endless possibilities that haunt us. Apparitions of an uncertain future.

We want a map (as Seth put it). We want a free pass.

But once we accept responsibility for the fact that no one but us can knock us down, or build us up then we have the choice.

I choose up over down. After that the anxiety dissipates.

Linchpin (Page 6 5/7): Turning Your Biggest Critic into Your Greatest Proponent (Yourself)

Have you ever noticed there seems to be an inflections point where more effort is actually harmful to whatever you are trying to accomplish?

For instance, in my daily life during meetings, I can prepare with agenda's, detailed notes, the best PowerPoint, but it seems people just know you are trying to hard and don't buy in.

So then I started thinking, why am I trying so unnecessarily hard?

Well it's simple enough: anxiety (not to be confused that life-saving fight or flight fear). For whatever reason, at that meeting and with that subject matter I feel little confidence which breeds anxiety.

So we try our best to mask it, with big words, flashy presentations and feigned insights. The only problem is everyone knows. No one buys it. So all that anxiety has actually caused our worst case scenarios to self-fulfill.

What if we could forsake giving into fear and anxiety. Not react to it and overcompensate. Let the fear cycle helps us, rather than be our detriment. Well that's the focus of this excerpt from Linchpin.

Linchpin (Page 6): The Right Choice for the Wrong Reasons

As an accountant people always remark somewhat confused when they learn about this blog. We're supposed to be rule-followers, and cling to the status quo (not saying that the majority does not), but a lot of people go into my field because they want a steady job and good money (all positives, don't get me wrong), but that seems like the right choice for the wrong reasons. Perhaps, that's why when I meet people they assume I am fear consumed person.

I know I chose to start in accounting to learn the basics and develop my business acumen, and may be to some extent I was also enticed to take a safer route, who knows.

People in general are fearful. Fear of what may happen beyond their control and most scared about the future. That's fine, hell, I get scared about taking chances and seeming like a fool. But the difference is to not let that fear stop you.

We're so afraid because do not want to take responsibility if we should fail.

Take responsibility. Accept fear, but don't stop. Otherwise, what you fear the most seems to come to fruition (see page 7).

Linchpin (Page 5): Playing it Safe is Risky Business

We've all done it. Not followed through with that idea, held back when we know we're on to something. Why would we want to upset the status quo. Upset the order. The lizard brain entices us to put our heads in the sand. Play it safe, or put another way: let the opportunities of today become yesterday's if only's, which brings me to this post's linchpin tid-bit.
Linchpin Excerpt - Page 5

Why do we yield when everything compels us to move forward?

Simple: Fear.

Fear's ok (Linchpin taught me that). Unchecked anxiety is the true culprit.

Anxiety our propensity to avoid change, to let ourselves fail.

Hell, I am anxious about putting my ideas out here. But, that won't stop me, and it shouldn't stop anyone else.

What we are really doing is letting potential remain just that--potential.

Unless...we push through the resistance. Let go of anxiety, embrace fear (it let's us know we're on the right track), and become true Linchpins.