Government Bailouts, Groups and Your Career

Recently, something quite interesting has been happening in the American economy.  The government has decided to get involved in running various businesses.  These businesses include insurance companies, banks and automotive companies.  This is something that I am almost 100% confident is going to likely be a disaster.  In fact, it is already turning into somewhat of a disaster as far as I am concerned. History has shown time and time again, that when a government tries to operate a business, this ultimately fails.  It never worked in Russia, for example, and China and India have only started [Read more]

Use the Power of Contrasts to Drive Yourself Forward

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. Richard P. Feynman, Nobel-Prize Winning Physicist

When my father was growing up, his father used to spend occasional Sunday afternoons driving him through expensive neighborhoods around Detroit and showing him the expensive houses in these neighborhoods.  My grandfather was a newspaper man and never made a lot of money.  When I was growing up, my father also didn’t make a lot of money and did the same thing with me.  It was often uncomfortable cruising three miles an hour down these streets.  A major reason I was uncomfortable with this had to do with the fact that I knew a lot of the kids [Read more]

You Need to Be Seen as an Authority

Several years ago I learned about the power of authority while operating an asphalt business in Michigan. When I initially started the company it was called something like ‘‘Barnes Asphalt Service’’ or something along those lines. When I would show up at peoples’ homes, since I am Harrison Barnes, they would know the company was intimately associated with me and that I was a kid seeking to do asphalt work on their home. I was also around 18 years old when I started doing this and since for most people their home represents the biggest purchase of their life, not [Read more]

The Importance of Disconnecting from Your Work

Some of the happiest, most well adjusted, and most effective people I know are also people who have a profound ability to disconnect from their work. They can disconnect rapidly and put themselves in another state of mind which does not involve work. People who come to mind include Richard Branson, who set records in balloons, captains of industry who leisurely golf their days away, men in bars who slap each others’ backs while drinking martinis and making deals, or CEO‘s of companies in their early 60s who run marathons. One of the most important things you can do for yourself is learn to disconnect from your work. Many people never do this, or don’t know how. You see these people walking around with telephones in their ears wherever they go, getting up from dinner to talk on the phone, screwing around with their Blackberries at any given moment, and, in general, working every second of the day. I have a secret for you: The most important and successful people never behave like this. The most important people simply do not work when they are not working. If you are working all the time, you are not being nearly as productive [Read more]