Russ: Good morning. This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at theBusinessMakers.com. This is that show that champions innovation and entrepreneurship.
John: That's right. I think we're the only radio show that consistently does this. You could say it's a positive show in that we do an even handed job of interviewing these people and talking about what they do and even when they screw up - I mean, these people that do the hiring, they do the innovating, the creativity, the stamina.
Russ: They pay taxes.
John: And they pay taxes; yeah; right.
Russ: And not only is that true, but we've been doing this for over five years now and there are now approximately 650 interviews on our website. That's theBusinessMakers.com. I don't think there's anything like that. Largest collection on the planet. Alright; and here's our line-up for this morning. First up, Jeff Hill, founder and CEO of MyGait LLC. This is that cool company enabling seniors - I'm talking about senior citizens to stay connected to the digital world. Then that's gonna be followed by another session with Jennifer Heard, vice president with Microsoft. Again, enlightening us on Office 2010 and productivity advantages for small businesses. But first. That's right. It's time for the BusinessMakers School of Business. And this is not business as usual school.
John: No; it's kind of silly in a way, funny in another way if you have a decent sense of humor out there, but for the most part it's very educational.
Russ: That's right. It is powerful. The school of business is powerful because it's powered by Champion Energy Services.
John: Well yeah; and that's the best part about it because we don't - we used to do the hand crank before we - like the old Victrola. We would crank up our microphones.
Russ: Right.
John: Now we don't have to do that because we have a reliable supply of electricity -
Russ: Well reliability is what they're all about.
John: Right; and plus we can understand the bills 'cause they're in plain English -
Russ: Right.
John: Which means we can pay them on time here.
Russ: Absolutely.
John: And you can, too. It's kind of a revolutionary way of running a business.
Russ: That's right. Champion Energy Services. Alright. And we kick off the school of business each Saturday morning with the quote of the day and I felt like this one was very appropriate. It's a Woody Allen quote. More than any other time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness; the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
John: Choose correctly.
Russ: Right. When you look at the European meltdown, which our little sub-prime thing probably played a role in creating from years back, man, it's interesting times. And we're seeing economists kind of really starting to reevaluate their thinking.
John: Well they have to.
Russ: Absolutely.
John: Because everything they thought, especially the ones who had that Keynesian mentality.
Russ: Right.
John: Where the government funding the recovery of a recession. I mean, they're all wrong.
Russ: That's right.
John: I mean, the fact is and they should've known that it was wrong because it's never really worked.
Russ: Right.
John: And it's our livelihood that's at stake because these policies affect the way the country's run.
Russ: You bet.
John: Alright.
Russ: Alright; and that leads us to this week in business history, John?
John: Okay. This week in business history in 1805, this is probably the most ubiquitous business tool out there. Would you agree? The pencil.
Russ: Absolutely.
John: Okay. I mean, it's used by everybody.
Russ: That's right.
John: Or a form of it.
Russ: That's right. At one time or another.
John: And it was Nicolas-Jacque Conte was born in 1755 in, somewhere in France, in the country somewhere and he studied art and physics and made a living painting portraits for wealthy clients and had a talent for fixing machines, survived the French Revolution and he opened a pencil factory. Back then pencils were made of quality graphite from English mines, but France was cut off from the supply from the start of the revolution. So he invented an artificial graphite combining clays with cheap graphite.
Russ: Cool.
John: Yeah.
Russ: And I'm looking over your shoulder. I see it is this week in business history in 1805 that he died.
John: Yeah; right; yeah.
Russ: So he left us 205 years ago.
John: That's 205 years worth of pencils.
Russ: That's right. Absolutely.
John: Okay. This week in business history in 1901 the birth of Walt Disney. He was born in Chicago.
Russ: Goodness.
John: In 1901. His family soon moved to Missouri where he grew up, became interested in drawing, photography and acting. He was an ambulance driver in France during World War I. After the war he started an animation company and when that failed he moved to Hollywood to try again and after Steamboat Willie, first Mickey Mouse cartoon -
Russ: Yeah.
John: You could say his career did pretty well -
Russ: He did alright.
John: He did alright for himself.
Russ: Alright; good story.
John: Okay. This week in business history, 1941, Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese Navy. The attack consisted of dive bombers, torpedo planes, high level bombers, you name it and we didn't stand a chance.
Russ: Right.
John: However, there were two mistakes the Japanese made 'cause they were planning on three waves of aircraft coming in. They only sent two in 'cause they were concerned about the aircraft carriers. They didn't know where they were and they didn't wanna get caught with their pants down, like we were -
Russ: Yeah; we got caught with our pants down.
John: So, I was gonna say they didn't send the third wave in. The fuel tanks were left untouched. Some submarines were allowed to survive because they couldn't come back and finish the job. Talk about finishing the job, three months later we bombed Tokyo, the U.S. -
Russ: Yeah; bombs over Tokyo.
John: Bombs over Tokyo; the Doolittle raid.
Russ: Caught them with their pants down.
John: That's right. And then three months after that we not only had their pants down, we pulled them up over their head because we destroyed most of the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway six months after Pearl Harbor.
Russ: What a comeback.
John: It was amazing; right.
Russ: Cool.
John: This week in business history in 1967, 26-year old Otis Redding dies in a plane crash.
Russ: Ugh, what a loss.
John: His biggest hit, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, is recorded three days before his death. This week in business history in 1970 the Doors played their last concert. Jim Morrison, the controversial lead singer, this is all done in New Orleans, it's reported that Morrison now shares an apartment with Elvis.
Russ: What a character he was, too. Ya' know, what's interesting now is that his estate is probably just really worth lots and lots of money, but he willed it to his girlfriend who had a lifestyle just like him who died a couple of years after him -
John: Oh, I didn't know that -
Russ: And it's her family -
John: That's getting all the money.
Russ: Yes.
John: Ya' know, a lot of these dead celebrities are making more money than they ever did -
Russ: Oh yes; oh yes.
John: -- and he's one of them. This week in business history in 1974, sex scandal involving an Arkansas politician. This guy is not Bill Clinton. It was House Representative member Wilbur Mills, a democrat from Arkansas. He had to resign as chairman of the ways and means committee in the aftermath of an event that happened in D.C. Mills was stopped by Washington Park police while driving at night with his lights off. He was drunk as a skunk. He had a woman named Fannie Fox in the car with him. Now Mills is married, but he wasn't married to Fannie.
Russ: No; he wasn't.
John: She was just making sure he got home okay -
Russ: Wasn't she known also as the Argentine firecracker?
John: Argentine firecracker. So she gets - they get stopped. She panics. Bolts out of the car and goes into the tidal basin for a swim. It was quite a -
Russ: What a nut.
John: I was working in D.C. when all that happened -
Russ: That kinda' ended his career pretty much in D.C., right?
John: Right; yeah; right.
Russ: What about hers?
John: She became very famous.
Russ: That's right; benefitted.
John: She got TV appearances, wrote a book.
Russ: Good for her.
John: Okay. This week in business history in 1980, John Lennon was murdered 2 months after he turned 40, ya' know. He was quite a prolific artist you might say -
Russ: Oh yeah -
John: He was a former member of the Beatles. Unfortunately fell in love with Yoko Ono.
Russ: Yes.
John: And who broke up the Beatles. I don't care what anybody says. She was the main driver behind that -
Russ: She did; she did.
John: Okay; and last but not least, this week in business history, Roy Orbison dies at the age of 52 in 1988 -
Russ: My God.
John: Yeah.
Russ: So this week we lost Roy Orbison and John Lennon. Not in the same year -
John: Not the same; yeah; right -
Russ: But it's a dangerous week for stars.
John: Oh yeah. Well every week is dangerous.
Russ: Well it is.
John: Try drivin' in these highways out here. Take your life in your hands; sinkholes all over.
Russ: And that wraps up this morning's history lesson?
John: Yeah; we better get out of here.
Russ: It's dangerous.
John: I'm gonna go hide under the desk till we record next week.
Russ: Wow. We went from the inventor of the pencil -
John: Yeah; pencil. Everybody, yeah, everybody likes the pencil.
Russ: To, to -
John: Death.
Russ: To Roy Orbison dying.
John: Yeah; right; wow.
Russ: Good lesson. Alright. Thank you very much. Alright. That brings us to the jargon challenge round.
John: That's right.
Russ: Also known as our vocabulary lesson.
John: You're right there.
Russ: Just so you guys know, this is that part of the show where I go out and find a new sort of techno-speak acronym jargon word.
John: Right; yeah.
Russ: And if I can't find one I make one up.
John: Right; uh-huh.
Russ: And then I hide it from John all week.
John: I know.
Russ: I never do these more than a week in advance, but I hide it all week and then we come in here and -
John: Not that I'm ever looking for it -
Russ: Naw; you are -
John: -- because I think it, I think it helps make this segment -
Russ: I catch you all the time.
John: I think it helps make the segment what it is that I don't know what the word is until I hear it ________ in a few seconds -
Russ: And then he guesses the meaning.
John: Yes; I do.
Russ: And please, no wagering, but also you haven't warned people in a long time about being careful.
John: Yeah; I'm glad you bring that up 'cause I've been thinking about that and hopefully nobody's - no one's got hurt, but the thing is once you hear this word you really can't start using it very much 'cause what you need to do is practice using the word.
Russ: Right.
John: And put it in a sentence and generally if you stand in front of a mirror before you go to work in the morning or whatever, that's a good time to practice and then when you feel confident that you can use it, then go ahead and use it in sentences and maybe use it around the house. Then when you hit the cocktail parties on the weekend then you're ready to go.
Russ: Then you're ready to go. Should you do it before or after having cocktails, if you're a drinker?
John: If you're a drinker I would say before, during and -
Russ: And after?
John: And after; yeah.
Russ: Right. Here's this morning's word.
John: That way you hit the three segments.
Russ: That's right.
John: You hit the people who don't drink, okay. You hit the people who are social drinkers and then at the end, then the third group you get to use it on people who are usually passed out.
Russ: Right. And if you're good, if it's a good night you have the Trifecta, right?
John: The Trifecta, which is what we all strive for here at the BusinessMakers Show.
Russ: That's right. Alright. Here's this morning's word. Defictionalize.
John: Defictionalize; okay. Well fictional, ya' know, is something that's made up. When you defictionalize it, that is you take what's fiction and make it true. Then you defictionalize the happening in such a way that even though you thought it was something made up, hey, this thing might work -
Russ: Alright; hold your calls -
John: -- so I'm gonna put into practice. It's defictionalized.
Russ: Hold your calls. I think that's a - I'm gonna give you a win on that one -
John: Well thank you.
Russ: That was really good.
John: Okay.
Russ: It was probably easy, but it was good.
John: Now wait a minute. Okay. One of these days we're gonna turn the table and see how -
Russ: It's not part of the contract.
John: Okay. Well then -
Russ: Let me read you the -
John: Okay; but you gotta - don't say I got it 'cause it was easy.
Russ: Alright. You got it because you're brilliant.
John: Alright; okay. That's better.
Russ: Here's the true definition. When a product or object from a movie, a book or other fictional source is made in the real world. Now I know of an example of one.
John: Okay; go ahead.
Russ: The flux capacitor.
John: That's right. The flux capacitor.
Russ: It was originally just an idea in the movie Back to the Future and now it's a real thing.
John: I know. It is. Is it really?
Russ: Yeah; it is.
John: Has anybody gone into time travel --
Russ: Well no, but I --
John: -- that you know about?
Russ: -- I do know of a company -
John: That makes a flux -
Russ: -- that has one in their office. I don't know if they make it.
John: Oh right.
Russ: It's Blinds.com. They have a flux -
John: They have a flux capacitor.
Russ: Yeah.
John: Oh wow.
Russ: Sort of inspires innovative thinking.
John: So if they miss - if they screw up an installation they can take the flux capacitor, go back into time -
Russ: Right; and fix it.
John: -- and reinstall the blinds the way they should be.
Russ: I mean, they use it if you have like a bad quarter, which they never do.
John: Yeah; well hey, they're due for one.
Russ: Yeah; then they'll turn on the flex capacitor and go back and improve the quarter.
John: Right; yeah; okay.
Russ: I've had some companies that needed one of those -
John: Or if Esther shows up in the studio and she has an eyebrow out of place she can go back into time and reapply and get her eyebrows lookin' good, like they always used to do -
Russ: We're talking about Esther Steinfeld.
John: Esther Steinfeld -
Russ: Also the host of the BusinessMakers Overtime Show.
John: That's right; yeah.
Russ: Alright.
John: Alright.
Russ: And that brings us to dumb moments in business. Do you have one for us?
John: Yeah; we found - this is out of the L.A. Times. It's a fairly recent story. L.A. Times learned that there are plastic surgery centers in California that fail state - I'm just reading the headline here - fail state standards still allowed to accept patients.
Russ: Yeah.
John: So two years ago a woman by the name of Marcia Garcia. She's a 39-year old mother of 5, comes to one of these suburban office parks in Anaheim Hills for some plastic surgery -
Russ: Probably in a strip shopping center or something.
John: Yeah; something like that. Who knows. But at the end of the day she dies. She bleeds to death from a puncture wound and what she didn't know was this clinic, which was recommended by a friend, had opened like 90 days earlier and family members said she had no idea that one of her doctors was under investigation by the California Medical Board and she also didn't know that the Hill Surgical Institute failed to meet state standards for surgical centers that use general anesthesia -
Russ: Now this is where we need total transparency, isn't it.
John: Right.
Russ: That's what we got.
John: Okay.
Russ: Alright; and before we wrap up this morning's school of business, it's time for that very special part of our show, the PKF Texas entrepreneur's playbook -
John: Oh yeah; right and here he is. Greg Price, always on time, always has a smile on his face and always has a spring to his step so to speak -
Russ: You bet.
John: And here he is. A one and a two and a -
[PKF Entrepreneur's Playbook]
Russ: And that wraps up this morning's school of business. Stay tuned in for featured guest Jeff Hill, founder and CEO of MyGait LLC, the company that's bringing the digital world to senior citizens and that's gonna be followed by Jennifer Heard, vice president with Microsoft. Again enlightening us on Office 2010 and productivity advantages for small businesses. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at theBusinessMakers.com.
