Jim Blasingame

Business futurist, award-winning author, speaker and columnist

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Archives for June 2020

The New Regular: Beware The Compounding Effect

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This is the sixth edition of my “New Regular” series. No one’s seen hide nor hair of normal – old or new – since March 15.

Today we start with two quotes. The first is from a certified genius, and the second … not so much.

“Compound interest.”

Reputedly, that was Albert Einstein’s answer to the question, “What’s the most powerful force in the universe?”

And now a maxim coined by your humble correspondent, from years of experience operating a small business.

“When it starts going bad, it all goes bad.” This is not hyperbole or meant to be pessimistic, just sobering.

“The Compounding Effect” is my term for that maxim, and it, too, can be powerful. Except, unlike compound interest, not in a good way.

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Why a father’s tough love is the harder job

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As the father of an adult daughter and son, plus the grandfather of four knucklehead boys (Hurricane, Tornado, Crash, and Train Wreck), I’ve learned some things about love. 

All the hours logged as Dad and Poppy have often caused me to contemplate how different are the roles of mother and father, especially in the overt demonstration of parental love. It’s fascinating how the manifestation of this love differs between mother and father – biologically, emotionally, and experientially. 

A mother’s love, at once sweet and fierce, is observed in almost all animals, not just humans. No doubt you’ve heard this simile: “… as sweet as a mother’s love,” and this warning: “Never get between a momma bear and her cub.” I’ve witnessed and have been the happy recipient of this kind of love, and there truly is no other force like it in nature

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Defunding police will hurt America’s small businesses

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No other single group does more to benefit America than Main Street businesses. And no other has a greater stake in the stability of their communities.

Small business owners anchor thousands of communities by producing half of the U.S. economy, creating jobs and signing millions of paychecks every week, building things you can hold, delivering customized service you can see, and leading with class. President Kennedy had something to say about that last thing: “Class is grace under pressure.”

Surely, JFK was thinking of a small business owner, because no one scratched their head when Gallup reported public admiration for small business owners as number two out of 15 groups. They were right under the armed forces, immediately followed in third place by – the police. By the way, the “media” and Congress are on the bottom – 14 and 15 respectively. Just saying …

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The New Regular: Technology at the Speed of Your Humans

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This is the fifth installment of my New Regular series. No one’s seen “Normal” since COVID-19 took it out months ago.

Last week, we covered the concept of business fundamentals being neither Old School nor New School, but rather THE School.

To help restart your business in the New Regular of the post-pandemic economy, let’s continue that theme with two more THE School fundamentals. One is primal and one is, relatively speaking, a new kid on the fundamentals block. But both now as inextricably linked as they are completely different.

First, allow me to introduce two really smart dudes.

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