Russ: Good morning. This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at theBusinessMakers.com. This is that show about those the innovators, the entrepreneurs, the ones that most positively affect our lives.
John: Yeah; these are the creators, the athletes and the artists of the free enterprise system.
Russ: Alright. And here's what we've got lined up for this morning. First up, another cool smart strategies to keep your business growing, brought to you by the Houston Business Journal -
John: That's right.
Russ: Oracle.
John: Right.
Russ: It's a panel interview with industry veterans led by Bill Arend of Oracle and the panel includes Jerry Lasco, founder and CEO of Lasco Enterprises, Gray Hall, CEO of Alert Logic, Larry Lawson, founder and president of E-Cardio and Charles Chanaratsopon, founder and CEO of Charming Charlie's.
John: Yes.
Russ: And then that's gonna be followed by - well here's a little preview.
George: Well if you wanna hear about entrepreneurship I recommend that you listen to the BusinessMakers Show. In fact, you're gonna like the way this show goes. I guarantee it.
Russ: That's right. We're talking about Mr. George Zimmer, founder and CEO of the Men's Wearhouse. John, did you know that today one out of every five business suits bought in the United States came from a Men's Wearhouse store.
John: Holy cow.
Russ: He's doin' alright I think.
John: One out of every five suits -
Russ: One out of every five. Absolutely. He's also got 30 percent market share in tuxedo rentals, too.
John: Wow.
Russ: I mean this is a major success story.
John: Well that's where I got my tuxedo rented for my wedding -
Russ: That's right. That's exactly right. You bet.
John: Here comes the bride.
Russ: That's right. Alright. But first. That's right. It's time for the BusinessMakers School of Business and this is not your ordinary business as usual school.
John: That's right. We have two curriculum; one that's on the radio -
Russ: Right.
John: -- which is kind of an abridged version.
Russ: Right.
John: So if you want the real, the full Monty, all the coursework and diligent research that we do, then you have to go online, which isn't too hard to do. Everyone's got a computer.
Russ: That's right.
John: Just the BusinessMakers.com.
Russ: And both of those versions just happen to be powered by Champion Energy Services.
John: That's right and it comes through a lot clearer 'cause the energy is scrubbed before we get it.
Russ: It is.
John: They have electric scrubbers.
Russ: That's right.
John: Before it goes into the wires.
Russ: That's right.
John: We get clean energy.
Russ: That's right.
John: Plus a bill we can understand.
Russ: That's right. You want clean energy and a bill that makes sense that's not, ya' know, in a foreign language or hidden statistics or anything.
John: Right; yeah; right.
Russ: It's just straightforward.
John: That's right.
Russ: Here's what you're paying for this clean kilowatt hour.
John: Yeah; you don't have to be a Mensa graduate to understand -
Russ: That's right.
John: -- the bill.
Russ: That's right. Alright.
John: Okay.
Russ: And we kickoff the School of Business each Saturday morning with a quote of the day.
John: The quote of the day; yes -
Russ: You bet. And now this morning I'm gonna go to the guy up there in Omaha, Mr. Warren Buffet for our quote -
John: Okay; alright.
Russ: Here it is. A public opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
John: Yes; okay. You're absolutely right and I think he's probably aiming that comment at political people who claim to be our political leaders, but just follow the way the wind blow in their political polling -
Russ: No kiddin'.
John: -- that they do.
Russ: No kiddin'. The society has just gone poll crazy.
John: Right.
Russ: And it's wrong. I mean, you have to think about it yourself and -
John: Right.
Russ: -- it hacks me off how many people decide -
John: Well we don't wanna -
Russ: -- what they're gonna do based on which way the wind's blowing.
John: Well we don't wanna hack you off.
Russ: Well no, you don't. You don't.
John: I know. It's hell has no fury like Capper gettin' hacked off, right?
Russ: Exactly; exactly.
John: Okay; alright; okay.
Russ: Alright. That brings us to this week in business history. What happened during this December week in business history?
John: December, this week in business history. 1773 the so-called Boston Tea Party is held. This is, ya' know, this moniker has been used -
Russ: Yes.
John: -- just most recently in the last election, the Tea Party Movement.
Russ: Yes.
John: Now what happened was it was a midnight raid on a British tea ship and about 340 chests of tea were dumped in the harbor by Massachusetts colonists that were disguised as Mohawk Indians.
Russ: Right.
John: Now what was goin' on here as the British Parliament wanted to save - they had the East India Company making the tea and bringing it over to the colonies, but no one wanted to buy it. They wanted to buy the other tea. Some of it was manufactured, grown in the United States or wherever. So what they did is the British Parliament cut the taxes -
Russ: On their own tea.
John: -- on their own tea to make it less expensive and it was kind of a what you would call predatory pricing.
Russ: Yeah; kind of manipulating the market with taxes.
John: Manipulating, yeah and that's what got everybody all riled up.
Russ: A lot of people I think misunderstand what happened there -
John: Yeah; except the British Parliament's throwin' a tax on their tea, the colonists' tea.
Russ: Right.
John: No. It's a little again predatory pricing.
Russ: Yep; there ya' go.
John: Anyway that's what happened. This week in business history, 1927 a guy by the name of Robert Norton Noyce who's one of the inventors of the integrated circuit was born in Iowa in 1927.
Russ: My goodness. I mean, the integrated circuit had more to do with luminous [unintelligible] than just about anything.
John: This is miniaturization of electronics.
Russ: Absolutely.
John: Ya' know, the watch that you wear -
Russ: Oh yeah. Computer.
John: These handheld devices -
Russ: Yeah.
John: -- we're surfin' the web with. Well anyway. I hear a very interesting story. Worked for a boss who was barely domineering and so he got into business for himself.
Russ: Alright. Did quite well.
John: Okay. Now another thing happened in Iowa. Later in 1928 the cliff -
Russ: And this week.
John: Yeah; this week. The clip on tie.
Russ: My good - that might even be bigger than the integrated circuit -
John: Yeah; 'cause who likes tyin' their own tie.
Russ: They should bring those things back. We should - we should tell that to George Zimmer, ya' know.
John: I know.
Russ: The Men's' Wearhouse could start a movement with clip-on ties.
John: Clip-on ties.
Russ: There ya' go, right.
John: This week in business history in 1942 Dave Clark is born, the rock drummer, ya' know, and they had that great song Glad all Over, Dave Clark Five -
Russ: Yeah; they were kinda' like, in my opinion, they were Chapter 2 of the British invasion 'cause I just remember the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan and then Dave Clark Five were on.
John: Okay; well the Rolling Stones had to be on -
Russ: Well, they were like third or fourth. They should have been, but I think they didn't care.
John: Okay. This week in business history in 1944 Glenn Miller who was a major in the military 'cause they wanted him to play in the USO concerts I guess with his band, was lost over the English Channel. In The Mood
Russ: Wow.
John: Okay. And never heard from again.
Russ: Wow. That's a loss.
John: Well yeah. Glenn Miller got lost.
Russ: Yeah; right.
John: I mean, that's pff. Okay. This week in business history James Dean who at this time, this was 1950, an undiscovered actor, appears in a Pepsi commercial dancing with other teenage types around a jukebox.
Russ: Yeah.
John: And he wasn't so happy in his movies. He was always playing the angry, tortured youth.
Russ: Right. But what a story he was for a very brief period 'cause he died, ya' know, real young.
John: Yeah; well he died when he was 24 in a car wreck. So that's - it is a brief period. This week in business history in 1953 - man, this is 3 years after James Dean was born, Ben Bernanke -
Russ: Wow.
John: -- who's now, I guess you could say now he is a tortured soul 'cause the economy is just, ya' know.
Russ: Ben Bernanke is the James Dean -
John: I wonder how James Dean woulda' done runnin' the treasury and Ben Bernanke could be in those movies.
Russ: Maybe better. Maybe better. So Bernanke, what? That makes him 57 years old.
John: I guess so, right; yeah.
Russ: There we go.
John: Yeah; okay. This week in business history in 1959 the Everly Brothers record Let it Be Me. 1965, this week in business history the Astrodome opens. The Astrodome. Now it's a relic.
Russ: Yeah; they're debating about tearing it down.
John: Or turning it into a - some people wanna make it into a big movie studio, but anyway the first event is Judy Garland the Supremes concert -
Russ: Wow. Cool.
John: They both co-entertained.
Russ: There ya' go.
John: This week in business history in 1971 Dawn McClain's 8-minute version of American Pie is released. Okay. This week in business history in 1977 Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta who started out on TV in a show Welcome Back Kotter - Play Bee Gees Song
Russ: Welcome Back Kotter; yeah.
John: Right; okay.
Russ: And what a show. That kind of ignited the whole disco thing.
John: This week in business history in 1979 Businessmaker guest and quarterback Roger Staubach plays his last season game, last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys.
Russ: Well and that was so interesting because he was a guest on the show because he started the Staubach Company. He's a very successful commercial real estate company -
John: Yeah; uh-huh.
Russ: And what was so unique back then is that when you were finishing your NFL career you needed to think what am I gonna do next. You don't have to do that anymore. If you play you got money forever.
John: This week in business history in the year 2000 Al Gore concedes his presidential election, delivers a concession speech ending all hopes of him becoming the 43rd president of the United States, which was a good thing, but unfortunately he got into the global warming business and created all kinds of mischief.
Russ: He did.
John: Yes, he did and he's still doin' it, too.
Russ: Well the funny thing, there's still so much controversy on that election. Granted it was damn close to being a tie.
John: Right, uh-huh.
Russ: But, ya' know, and people are critical of the Supreme Court. What can ya' say, but I heard that even when they kept proceeding with the recount in Florida, which was the determination and even though it was close, even after the recount the guy named W. Bush won.
John: Right. The whole thing came about, I mean, it was a close election, but the Democrats wanted to change the rules of the game after the game had been played and they didn't like the outcome -
Russ: Well there ya' go.
John: Okay. Last but not least this week in business history in 2007 the father of modern gaming and we're talkin' real modern gaming, Nolan Bushnell, the inventor of Pong and the founder of Atari and the founder of Chuck E. Cheese, he was a featured guest on the BusinessMakers Show.
Russ: Yes, he was and what an innovator he was. The only thing I hold against him is Chuck E. Cheese.
John: Oh yeah; right.
Russ: My God.
John: They have a real marketing problem at Chuck E. Cheese 'cause the kids love to go there, but the parents hate to take them there.
Russ: They need to like equip parents with noise reduction headphones or something or something.
John: Or sedatives.
Russ: Yeah; something. God, it's just - alright. So that wraps it up?
John: Put 'em in those sleep pods. Remember that guy from New York City -
Russ: Yeah; had the sleep pods.
John: Where you take nap pods.
Russ: He should have installed some of those in Chuck E. Cheese. He's another guest we had on the BusinessMakers Show.
John: That's right.
Russ: Alright; cool. So but that wraps it up?
John: Hey, that's pretty good.
Russ: It is. From the Boston Tea Party to Nolan Bushnell.
John: To Chuck E. Cheese.
Russ: To Chuck E. Cheese.
John: Right. They should have thrown Chuck E. Cheese in the Boston Harbor.
Russ: They should have. My goodness. The world would be better. Alright.
John: Okay.
Russ: And that brings us to navigating business jargon. Also known as the jargon challenge round. Also known as our vocabulary lesson -
John: Vocabulary lesson; yeah. Let's call it what it is.
Russ: You bet. Alright, alright. Here it is. And the way that this works -
John: I don't know the word.
Russ: He doesn't know the word. I choose a word. It's a new word. It's like a pre-dictionary word.
John: Or yeah; or a precursor of another word or maybe a variation of an existing word.
Russ: That's right. That's right. And John, I say the word.
John: And, yeah, and I try to guess what it means and sometimes more often than not I guess it.
Russ: Right; alright. Here it is. You ready?
John: Yeah; I guess so.
Russ: Dataveillance.
John: Dataveillance?
Russ: D-A-T-A-V-E-I-L-L-A-N-C-E.
John: Veillance.
Russ: Yes.
John: Like a veil. Okay. It's data - it's a - veillance is something that guard - that it hides the data. You get this data dump and you don't know what it means because there's some electronic cloaking of what it really is and by the time you open it up it's too late and your computer's half shot.
Russ: Man, I'll just let you go because you - it seemed like you were close. You were on the cusp, but I don't think I'm gonna have to give you a winner. Here's what it is.
John: Alright; okay.
Russ: The ability to monitor a person's activities by studying the data trail created by actions such as -
John: Surveillance; that's like a surveillance -
Russ: -- credit cards, purchases -yeah; yeah. Cell phone and internet use.
John: Oh, okay. Yeah; right.
Russ: Yeah; yeah.
John: I didn't know it; yeah.
Russ: Ya' know, and you should be aware of it 'cause it's happening to you all the time now.
John: I know. Yeah; right. There are -
Russ: People are always reporting to me where you are, how much money you're spend - no, no. But it is an issue. It's sort of a counter-privacy thing that's going on -
John: Yeah; the Wall Street Journal has done a 14-part series. It's like - you should never get online anymore.
Russ: Right; 'cause -
John: You shouldn't even turn on your computer.
Russ: You shouldn't. You shouldn't use a credit card -
John: Matter of fact you - you shouldn't use a credit card. You probably shouldn't even be watching television.
Russ: You shouldn't.
John: Because the cable company knows what you're watching -
Russ: They know what you're watchin'.
John: I know.
Russ: They're watchin' you.
John: They're watching you, right; yeah.
Russ: So that's dataveillance. Alright. That brings us to dumb moments in business. Do you have one for us this morning?
John: Yeah. Some people think the environmental movement has a lot of whackos in it.
Russ: Yeah; yeah.
John: Ungrounded people and they're right because there's Christiana Figureres is the executive secretary of the United Nations framework convention on climate change. The way she opened the UN Global Warming Conference -
Russ: In Cancun.
John: In Cancun, right. A lot of people were there. A lot of people burned up a lot of -
Russ: Oh yeah. I thought about goin'. Did you - did you think about goin'?
John: Yeah; I thought about goin'; yeah. No; the way she opened it, not with like a Pledge of Allegiance of a song, ya' know. What it was, it was a prayer to Ixchel, I-X-C-H-E-L.
Russ: Ixchel.
John: Yeah; who is the Mayan goddess of the moon. This mythical being is a goddess of sending rain for crops.
Russ: Yeah.
John: She's also according to people who know such things, also is a goddess of creativity and weaving and often assumes the guise of a jaguar. Not the car, but the animal. So this is how they opened up the United Nations -
Russ: So she's pray - the leader's praying -
John: For reason and hoping they can come up with the right decision.
Russ: Oh, I thought was gonna be praying can you just cool this place down, man.
John: Well it's winter time -
Russ: Well in Cancun it gets pretty hot down there -
John: Well it's on the equator, but anyway this is what - ya' know, and part of our money goes towards the United Nations and this is your tax dollars at work.
Russ: We need to get a copy of that prayer and play it on the show.
John: Ya' know, you're right. I wonder what it says.
Russ: Alright. We need to do that. Alright.
John: Alright, sir.
Russ: Alright. Before we wrap up this morning's School of Business though it's time for the very popular PKF Texas entrepreneur's playbook.
John: And here's Mr. Popularity himself, Greg Price. A one and a two and a -
Russ: A one and a two and a.
[PKF Entrepreneur's Playbook]]
Russ: Alright and that wraps up this morning's School of Business. Stay tuned in for smart strategies to keep your business growing and the cool, cool panel discussion brought to you by the Houston Business Journal and Oracle. Not only do we have an interview with the panelists, but we also have the entire panel interview discussion available at the BusinessMakers.com and that's gonna be followed by the one and only, you're gonna like the way you look; I guarantee it. Yeah; we're talking about Mr. George Zimmer, founder and CEO of the Men's Wearhouse. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at theBusinessMakers.com.
