Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com. And this is that show about those that most positively affect our lives, the innovations and the entrepreneurs.

Katie: That's right, Russ. And I love this space because we're talking about the rock stars of our business world today and tomorrow. And that not just the big names that absolutely everybody has heard of, but the big names that we will have heard of by this time next week. So this is a great place to be.

Russ: Okay. And speaking of big names, John Beddow is obviously not here today 'cause that's Miss Katie Laird, the famous co-host of the BusinessMakers Overtime, sitting in for John who is out on assignment today. Katie, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.

Katie: Thank you so much. I love being here.

Russ: Well, you've been a guest here before, too, so this is kinda just business as usual for you, right?

Katie: It is sort of. And also occasionally you'll hear my squeaky little voice for the Advantage Points as well. So I love the BusinessMakers.

Russ: Alright. That's alright. Absolutely. Well, tell us about the BusinessMakers Overtime Show.

Katie: Absolutely. The BusinessMakers Overtime Show is what I like to consider the cheekier, younger sister of the BusinessMakers Show.

Russ: There you go.

Katie: I'm very fortunate to have a fantastic co-host, Miss Esther Steinfeld, and we get to talk every Wednesday on our podcast at thebusinessmakers.com/overtime about kinda the cheekier side of business. We cover exciting weekly news stories. We look at kind of funky niche entrepreneurs. And we even throw in a lot of iPhone and Internet geekery, so definitely the silly cousin. (Laughs)

Russ: Okay, alright.

Katie: We love it.

Russ: Alright. And for those of you that are hearing about it for the first time, definitely go thebusinessmakers.com, and you can find it on the front page and subscribe to it and hear this cool show every Wednesday.

Katie: Exactly. And we love, love, love to get to connect to our listeners online as well, so we're on Twitter at twitter.com/overtimeshow. And, of course, you can find the BusinessMakers on Facebook at facebookcom/thebusinessmakers. So connect. (Laughs)

Russ: Okay. Cool deal, cool deal. Alright. And here's our lineup for this morning. First up for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, last week I was in San Marcus, Texas, and got to spend time with biopharmaceutical entrepreneur, Terry Chase Hazel. Terry is a strong encourager of entrepreneurship, as she was an Activate instructor at the University of Maryland, and now at Texas State University. Activate is a program designed to help women entrepreneurs create technology-based startup companies.

Katie: Oh, I love it.

Russ: You bet. And then for our featured guest segment, Dr. Don Minnick, clinical psychologist and organization consultant with Interpersonal Skills Laboratory talking about his just-published book, Surviving Downsizing: How to Keep Your Job and Become Indispensible to Your Company. Don has been on the show several times and we're really happy to have him back talking about his book. But first. That's right. It's time for the BusinessMakers School of Business. But this is not your business-as-usual school.

Katie: It certainly isn't. We won't be rapping your knuckles or sending you to a detention hall at all. (Laughs)

Russ: That's right.

Katie: So I'm so happy to be in this kind of school.

Russ: No punishment.

Katie: No, none.

Russ: You bet. Alright, cool.

Katie: Just brain candy.

Russ: And we kick the School of Business each Saturday morning first with the Quote of the Day. And this is one of those quotes that the author is unknown, but, boy, it's a cool one and it works very well with today's (Laughs) partisanship, and goes like this. "George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous administration for his troubles."

Katie: You know what? That's really true. Everyone really since then has blamed the last guy.

Russ: You bet.

Katie: Our poor presidents. (Laughs)

Russ: You bet. That's the mode of operation these days for sure.

Katie: Exactly. (Laughs)

Russ: Alright. And that brings us to This Week in Business History. Katie, what happened during this December week in business history?

Katie: This has been a hot week throughout the ages.

Russ: Okay.

Katie: So we're gonna start way, way back in 1620, in the land of the pilgrims, Russ. (Laughs)

Russ: Alright, alright.

Katie: So this week in business history, 1620, the Mayflower came ashore at Plymouth Harbor.

Russ: Wow. Cool.

Katie: So going way, way back when, they anchored at what's now Provincetown with 41 male passengers, and they signed that famous Mayflower Compact. And I guess the rest is history, as they say. (Laughs)

Russ: I guess so. Okay. Big day, big week for sure. Alright.

Katie: Yes, absolutely. Back in 1773 in this week in business history, the Boston Tea Party was held in the Boston Harbor. So, of course, the group of Massachusetts colonists that dressed up like Mohawk Indians that jumped on board three British tea ships and dumped over 300 chests of tea into the harbor in an act of protest against, of course, the British Parliament's Tea Act.

Russ: Right, right.

Katie: Which is interesting 'cause we still have occasional tea parties now. (Laughs)

Russ: Yes, we do. They've started coming back these days.

Katie: Yeah. Less tea, more protest.

Russ: There you go. Alright.

Katie: But, that's alright. (Laughs)

Russ: Alright, cool.

Katie: So this week in business history in 1871, Samuel Clements, of course, very well known as our beloved author Mark Twain –

Russ: You bet.

Katie: – received his very first patent for, and I quote, "the improvement in adjustable and detachable garment straps." (Laughs)

Russ: Okay, garment straps.

Katie: Exactly. So, to explain this, this strap was supposed to be attached to the back of a shirt and fastened up with buttons to keep the shirt, or whatever it is that you're trying to keep on your body, in place.

Russ: Right, okay.

Katie: And it wasn't just used for shirts. It was used for underpants and women's corsets, so kind of a multipurpose thing.

Russ: Wow.

Katie: And what's interesting about this invention is that he created this only because he hated elastic suspenders.

Russ: Oh, wow. Okay.

Katie: So he was done with them, so he decided to go kinda internal.

Russ: Cool.

Katie: And something I didn't know about Mark Twain, or Samuel Clements, of course, he also received a couple of other patents for self-pasting scrapbook in 1873. And also for a history trivia game. So talk about a multi-talented man. (Laughs)

Russ: Cool, cool, alright. Good patents stories.

Katie: Exactly. Now moving on into further technology, this week in business history in 1901, the very first transatlantic radio transmission was sent 2,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean by an Italian physicist, named Senior Marconi, all the way from Italy to Newfoundland.

Russ: Wow. Imagine that in 1901.

Katie: Exactly. And now the very first message was actually just a single letter, the Morse Code for the letter S. So I don't know, maybe they flipped a coin, like, "What alphabet –?" (Laughs)

Russ: So that would dot, dot, dot, right? That's what it was.

Katie: I believe so. I believe so. And so this champion of technologies later went on to win the Nobel Prize in 19090, so smart guy, smart guy.

Russ: Neat. You bet.

Katie: Speaking another smart invention, this week in business history in 1928, the clip-on tie was invented in Clinton, Iowa. (Laughs)

Russ: Fantastic. The clip-on tie.

Katie: Exactly. And shortly after, all the high school guys going to prom were saved from hours of embarrassment in front of their dates. (Laughs)

Russ: There you go. I wonder if there's gonna be a resurgence of the clip-on tie?

Katie: Oh, man, I hope not. (Laughs)

Russ: Yeah. It was bad. It was bad. I agree.

Katie: Now also this week in business history in 1944, bandleader Major Glenn Miller was lost over the English Channel.

Russ: Oh, wow.

Katie: Sad stuff. And theories on his death range from B17s that were discarding extra bombs in the channel, hitting his plan accidentally flying underneath –

Russ: Right. That would be terrible.

Katie: – all the way to the fact that perhaps Miller didn't die in a crash, but rather died in the arms of French prostitute. So I mean, you know? (Laughs)

Russ: Well, I like that version better, actually. Now you're almost too young to even know who Glenn Miller is.

Katie: You must be kidding me. I am a swing – this is my kinda music.

Russ: Oh, swing. Oh, wow. Cool.

Katie: I love Glenn Miller. And, of course, his band continues on today even.

Russ: Oh, absolutely, man.

Katie: So Glenn Miller's hot.

Russ: I remember it so much. My parents listened to Glenn Miller all the time when I was a young guy. It is cool, cool music.

Katie: It is cool.

[Music: "In The Mood"]

Katie: Speaking of another cool guy, this week in business history in 1950, a then undiscovered actor named James Dean, hubba, hubba, appeared in a Pepsi commercial dancing with other teens around a jukebox.

Russ: Wow.

Katie: So, of course –

Russ: So that's before his movies, right?

Katie: – this is – yeah. This is before. He made a cameo in a Pepsi commercial of all things. (Laughs)

Russ: Wow.

Katie: And, of course, Dean later went on to make Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, and Giants.

Russ: And Giants, yeah.

Katie: Yep. And tragically died in a car crash, unfortunately.

Russ: At a very, very young age.

Katie: At a very young age, 24. Yeah.

Russ: Wow.

Katie: What a bummer.

Russ: Yep.

Katie: So this week in business history, the astrodome in 1965 opens in Houston, Texas. The very first event was Judy Garland and the Supremes concert. So I had no idea that Judy and the Supremes had ever matched up. This is exciting.

Russ: Well, I know. I know. And, golly, the astrodome, in 1965, was such a building of extraordinary proportions. To have a building big enough to play baseball and football in was just mind-boggling back then. Now it's kinda commonplace.

Katie: It really is, yeah. It really is. So keeping with the music theme, this week in business history in 1971, Don McLean's eight-minute version of American Pie was released.

Russ: What a hit.

Katie: I love this song.

[Music: "American Pie"]

Katie: And then this week in business history in 1977, Saturday Night Fever, staring the amazingly attractive John Travolta, premiered in New York City.

[Music: "Stayin' Alive"]

Russ: And what a hit that was.

Katie: (Laughs) Seriously. So can you do the dance?

Russ: No way. Now maybe I could do the walk down the street like he did – (Laughs)

Katie: (Laughs)

Russ: – in younger years I could have done, but what a hit that was. And it was so interesting, John Travolta because before then, we all knew him as just the kid in Welcome Back, Kotter, and suddenly here he was a disco king.

Katie: Exactly, yeah. A mega star, for sure.

Russ: You bet. You bet.

Katie: (Laughs) So another mega star in this week in business history in 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached.

Russ: Oh, yeah, whew.

Katie: What a –

Russ: Emotional times, for sure. (Laughs)

Katie: Honestly, what a tough time. What a tough time.

Russ: And it was so funny 'cause before then when we would talk about impeachment in school, it was just such a serious and negative type thing that could possibly happen to our country, and to our leader. Somehow or another, Bill just sorta seemed to take it in stride, man.

Katie: He did, yeah.

Russ: And now we don't talk about it so negatively any more, either.

Katie: No. No, we really don't.

Russ: Kind of interesting.

Katie: It is. So also this week in business history in 2003, Saddam Hussein, once, of course, a guy building over 20 palatial estates in his hometown, was found in a hole by US forces, surrendered by without any fight. He was done. He was ready to go.

Russ: And it was sort of interesting because I think even by the time that we captured him, we were beginning to start doubting whether or not the weapons of mass destruction even existed.

Katie: Exactly.

Russ: But he was still a real bad guy. There's even stories today again about the people that he killed through the chemical warfare up in the north Kurdish part, and it's just – well, he ruled with an iron hand. But then sometimes you look at the country and you feel like, maybe the only way to lead that country is with an iron hand. Jeez.

Katie: Perhaps, yeah.

Russ: It's kinda scary.

Katie: It is scary.

Russ: You bet. Okay.

Katie: So finally, this week in business history, in 2007, the father of modern gaming, Nolan Bushnell, also the inventor of Pong, the founder of Atari, and – this is new to me, Russ – the founder of Chuck E. Cheese, was the featured guest on the BusinessMakers Show. I don't know how I missed Chuck E. Cheese on his resume. (Laughs)

Russ: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And what a guest he was. I really enjoyed him. And when you talk to people from the whole Silicon Valley world, they give him a lotta credit starting a lotta the innovation that happened. He supposedly was the first guy that built the company, at Atari, that casual dress was okay and beer bashes on Friday were the happening thing.

Katie: Oh. (Laughs)

Russ: And quite an entrepreneur. Yeah. And Chuck E. Cheese I think was just sort of a spin-off of Atari. I think there's a lot of us that wish he hadn't invented that.

Katie: Yes, yeah. Let me just say, Nolan, as the mother of a three-year-do, I'm not really sure that I'm proud of that particular achievement of yours, so thank a lot.

Russ: Boy, those –

Katie: But, fortunately, they do serve beer at Chuck E. Cheese. So everything's okay. (Laughs)

Russ: That's right. Alright. Well, does that wrap up your history lesson?

Katie: It sure does.

Russ: Well, l goodness gracious, you did a great job, Katie Laird.

Katie: Hey, I'm here to school ya, you know? (Laughs)

Russ: Alright, there you go. Alright. Well, hopefully you're ready for a little quiz here now because now it's time for Navigating Business Jargon.

Katie: Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait.

Russ: Now this is our vocabulary lesson for the day. I think you're familiar with how it works. It's always a contest format, and I get to always choose the word.

Katie: Excellent. What do I win if I get it right?

Russ: You get anointed as a winner. (Laughs) Which means if you don't –

Katie: What a cop out. (Laughs)

Russ: – you're a loser.

Katie: (Laughs) I don't wanna be a loser. Let's go. (Laughs)

Russ: Alright, alright. Here we go. And it can be acronyms. It can be abbreviations. It can be techno speak. I get to choose the word.

Katie: Okay.

Russ: I say the word. Say the word and you guess the meaning. Are you ready?

Katie: I'm ready.

Russ: No wagering, please. It's an acronym abbreviation, and I chose it specifically because of your sort of millennial background and Gen-X –

Katie: Oh, jeez.

Russ: You'll probably know this. Here's the word. MEGO.

Katie: MEGO.

Russ: Spelled M-E-G-O.

Katie: MEGO. And you're saying it's an acronym, right?

Russ: Yeah. And I'll give you more. It's like a texting abbreviation. Giving you lots of hints here, Katie.

Katie: Oh, man. I don't text enough, obviously.

Russ: (Laughs) I guess not.

Katie: (Laughs)

Russ: I'll give you another hint. It's like an indication that you're just really kind of bored with what you're either witnessing, seeing, or what you're hearing from the other person.

Katie: Okay. I'm just gonna throw out a guess here. Alright. So MEGO, looking at it from a texting perspective, and, of course, texters like to shorten things as easily as they can, I'm gonna say that MEGO stands for "My experiences give me great offense." You know what? I have absolutely no idea. I have no idea.

Russ: (Laughs) I think you're –

Katie: I was gonna guess something about "My electric gofers are offended," but that's totally not gonna be right. I'm a loser, aren't I? (Laughs)

Russ: Yeah. You're a loser. Now sometimes – now we have had instances where the definition exceeds the standard definition and we give you a winner, but I don't think you'll qualify.

Katie: Oh. (Laughs)

Russ: You're gonna kick yourself, too, 'cause it stands for, "My eyes glaze over."

Katie: Oh, man.

Russ: I thought you knew that. Oh, jeez. Okay.

Katie: But my definitions were way more interesting.

Russ: Well, they were. They were.

Katie: So I'm gonna give myself a gold star, so, yeah, you do your thing. (Laughs)

Russ: Alright, go ahead. That's okay. Alright. And before we wrap up this morning's School of Business, it's time for the very popular PKF Texas Entrepreneur's Playbook. So let's welcome Mr. Greg Price on the piano.

Russ and Katie: A one and a two and a –

Greg: This is Greg Price with PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook. Recently we have seen some failures in various sectors of our economy, financial institutions, the auto industry and mortgage banking to name just a few. Yet many of us turn to our political leadership to solve our problems. It's easy to play the victim and say someone else is responsible for our woes. But I submit we cannot, and should not, look to others to solve our problems.

I submit many of us need to take a step back and think about an exercise Fred Kofman has used to demonstrate what's really important in our lives. First, think of three characters you admire. They can be real people or fictional characters. Now think of key personality traits that make each of your chosen characters admirable to you. My characters are: Abraham Lincoln, John Adams and George Patton. I admire Lincoln's courage; Adams desire for freedom and self awareness, and Patton's tenacity and passion for defeat of tyranny.

Now compare these traits to what our society and other elements of the media define as success. Kofman's research suggests, and I concur, that it rare you will find anyone who is selected because their qualities are power, wealth, youth, beauty, pleasure or fame.

Your behavior in all kinds of situations can reveal the quality of your character. Kofman suggest that you are more likely to be successful when you focus on the result of process versus an outcome. While outcome is important, how you achieve that result is important to integrity of your own personal character. And while winning is important, it's more important how you win. And this leads us to my future topic...Success beyond success.

To read and comment on the PKF Texas' Entrepreneur's Playbook, visit my blog, fromgregshead.com. PKF Texas – The Fit That's Right!

Russ: Okay. That wraps up this morning's School of Business. Stay tuned in for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback with entrepreneur Terry Chase Hazel, presently an Activate instructor, and then our featured guest segment with Dr. Don Minnick, clinical psychologist, talking about his new book Surviving Downsizing: How to Keep Your Job and Become Indispensible to Your Company. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and online at thebusinessmakers.com.