Tuesday, May 14, 2013


The Top Seven Reads For The Week Ending May 10th, 2013
From the e-magazine DKE’s Daily Knowledge Engine on Flipboard for iOS or Android

Most Money Managers Got PTSD After Lehman Collapsed, And It May Have Rewired Their Brains
By: Rob Wile (Business Insider)
A new study suggests PTSD following the 2008 market crash may have induced money managers to abandon "buy and hold" strategies. In "Financial Trauma: Why the Abandonment of Buy-­and-­Hold in Favor of Tactical Asset Management May be a Symptom of Posttraumatic Stress" published in something called The Journal of Financial Therapy, authors Bradley Klontz and Sonya Britt report 93% of respondents experienced medium or high levels of PTSD symptoms.

The Importance of Hiring 'A-Players'
By: Vick Vaishnavi (Forbes)
For every company whose ambitions of a successful IPO or explosive growth are realized, many more flounder and fail; the margin between a growth windfall and just trudging along being razor thin.  And while there’s no such thing as a full-proof plan to guarantee a company’s eventual prosperity, I personally believe that the key differentiator lies in the company’s employees.

10 Things Every Customer Wants
By: Geoffrey James (Inc.com)
Why does a customer buy from one vendor rather than another? According to research recently conducted by The Rain Group (detailed report here), customers tend to buy from sellers who are superlative at the following tasks:
1. Bring New Perspectives and Ideas
If customers could diagnose their own problems and come up with workable solutions on their own, they would do so. The reason that they're turning to you and your firm is that they're stuck and need your help. Therefore, you must be able to bring something new to the table.

8 Things Really Successful People Do
By: Kevin Daum (Inc.com)
Most people claim to want success. But not everyone is willing to do the hard work and the smart work to get there. Often opportunities present themselves and because people are distracted, they miss them or give up on them before things fully develop.
Truly successful people don't leave much to chance. They are disciplined and focused.  They constantly seek new methods to achieve more, in bigger and faster ways. Listed below are eight different practices that will help you concentrate your efforts on rising above the tide.

Marketing Through Teaching
By: Matt Baglia (Under30CEO.com)
Growing up on a dairy farm, with six brothers and sisters, it was drummed into me from an early age that humility is a virtue, and bragging, well… not so much. My parents, both humble to the core, told us that if we worked hard, and did a good job (at school, in athletics, or elsewhere) we’d be recognized for our effort and rewarded accordingly. For the most part, it was good advice. However, in today’s competitive workplace, if your plan to get ahead is based on the assumption that hard work alone will suffice, you may find yourself being left behind as the horn blowers around you land the opportunities you anticipated were yours.

8 Customers You Should Avoid
By: Geoffrey James (Inc.com)
Most of the time, customers (and prospective customers) are great. However, there are eight types of customer that are usually more bother than they're worth. Here they are, along with some advice for coping with them.
1. The Lookee-Loo
They are "interested" in your company's offerings but have no intention of buying from you... or anyone else. Your best defense: In your initial meeting, determine the prospect's financial result of NOT buying. If that number is small, politely move on.

How Warren Buffett Avoids Getting Trapped by Confirmation Bias
By: Roger Dooley (Forbes)
Warren Buffett is arguably the most successful investor in history, and a good part of his success is his ability to make investment decisions without being influenced by the combination of emotional factors and subconscious biases that govern most human behavior.

Monday, May 6, 2013

The Top Seven Reads For The Week Ending May 3rd, 2013


The Top Seven Reads For The Week Ending May 3rd, 2013
From the e-magazine DKE’s Daily Knowledge Engine on Flipboard for iOS or Android

4 Ways To Prevent Burnout Before It's Too Late
By: Drake Baer (fastcompany.com)
I remember coming home and curling up into a ball. I was so emotionally and physically exhausted, I couldn't even move. My productivity was cut to nothing. The next day at the office, I found myself just staring into my computer, for hours. No movement, just staring.

Brand Thinking: Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Pink, and Other Mavens on How and Why We Define Ourselves Through Stuff
By: Maria Popova (brainpickings.org)
The art of the interview may be nearly obsolete, but a handful of its contemporary masters still hold its fort. One of them is Debbie Millman who, besides being an extraordinary artist and modern-day philosopher, is also a maven of design and branding who has spent nearly a decade interviewing some of today’s most revered designers, writers, artists, anthropologists, and various other thought leaders on her Design Matters radio show, which earned the prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in 2011..

Successful Networking, Your Way
By: Ed Powers (Inc.com)
When it’s time to raise money for your business, you want to meet enough investors so that you have a choice and some negotiating power.  That means networking.
Networking styles tend to run along a spectrum with two extremes, neither of which works. At one end stands the networker. We all know this person. They're always reaching out and feel too slick. At the other end are those who count themselves above networking, and who disdain the idea of asking someone to buy their product or invest in their company.

Financial Opposites in a Life Together
By: Tara Siegel Bernard (The New York Times)
Jennifer and Scott Bartone were married in October after a seven-year courtship. But they did not have a serious conversation about money until this week. And boy, did Ms. Bartone, a 32-year-old legal recruiter, and Mr. Bartone, a 43-year-old bartender, have a lot to talk about. I was in their living room, in North Bergen, N.J., to witness it all as part of a “fiscal health day” exercise, where I promised to spend several hours helping readers organize their financial life.

Self-Promotion Is Not Crucial (Unless You Want To Get Ahead!)
By: Margie Warrell (Forbes)
Growing up on a dairy farm, with six brothers and sisters, it was drummed into me from an early age that humility is a virtue, and bragging, well… not so much. My parents, both humble to the core, told us that if we worked hard, and did a good job (at school, in athletics, or elsewhere) we’d be recognized for our effort and rewarded accordingly. For the most part, it was good advice. However, in today’s competitive workplace, if your plan to get ahead is based on the assumption that hard work alone will suffice, you may find yourself being left behind as the horn blowers around you land the opportunities you anticipated were yours.

David Pogue: 10 top time-saving tech tips
By: David Pogue (TED)
YouTube video. Tech columnist David Pogue shares 10 simple, clever tips for computer, web, smartphone and camera users.  And yes, you may know a few of these already -- but there's probably at least one you don't.

To Sell Is Human
By: Daniel H. Pink (iTunes)
From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising--and surprisingly useful--new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than fifteen million people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase.

Friday, May 3, 2013

The Top Seven Reads For The Week Ending April 26, 2013


DKE Advisor Solutions 

The Top Seven Reads For The Week Ending April 26, 2013
From the e-magazine DKE Daily Knowledge Engine on Flipboard for iOS or Android


Read “Contagious” and Learn How to Take Your Ideas Viral
By: Ivan Taylor (Small Business Trends)

This is a book you’ll want to spend some time with and perhaps use it as a checklist.  Another element that I like about the book is how useful it can be in starting discussions with your team about how to give your ideas and campaigns the highest chance of success.



Your Online Marketing Efforts: SEO Counts, but Quality Reigns Supreme
By: Dena Kouremetis (Forbes)

It all gets so confusing.  Back in 1998, when I began providing content for web sites, no one talked about Search Engine Optimization. And blogs?  They were for diarists who, through the magic of the Internet, discovered how much fun it was to cyber-share their lives with others.



What's So Bad About Single Stocks, Anyway?
By: Kate Stalter (Forbes)

In my last couple of columns, I’ve sounded the warning alarm for those inclined to trade in and out of stocks. This is a subject that’s been on my mind for several years, as I previously coached people on getting in and out of growth stocks, using market-timing techniques.



Here's Why So Many Wealthy Athletes Wind Up Broke
By: Claes Bell (Business Insider)

Whenever a prominent professional athlete files for bankruptcy, there's always a chorus of armchair financial experts wondering how such a thing could happen and talking about how they would have invested those millions so much better.




Investors Face Potential Municipal Bond Armageddon
By: Jake Zamansky (Forbes)

The Securities and Exchange Commission is worried that municipal bankruptcies, combined with an expected spike in interest rates, means that the muni bond market could face “Armageddon,” according to a report last week by SEC commissioner Dan Gallagher.

Don’t just do something, sit there
By: Buttonwood (The Economist)

CALL it hyperactivity, call it the temptation to fiddle. Chief executives have a tendency to make acquisitions just to show they are doing something. Similarly, fund managers, sitting at their desks all day, have the urge to trade. Otherwise why go into the office at all?

Overview Of The New 3.8% Investment Income Tax, Part 1
By: Tony Nitti (Forbes)

Beginning January 1, 2013, Obamacare – through the enactment of Section 1411 — will impose upon certain high earners a brand spankin’ new 3.8% tax on their “net investment income.” This additional tax has been the source of much confusion and misinformation for taxpayers and tax advisors alike.