When I got into the mail-order business years ago, it wasn't something you boasted about. You would be a bit inscrutable when people asked you what your job was. You would mutter something that included the word advertising -- so much sexier!
I recalled this coyness when an old colleague asked me to talk to some to Syracuse University students here in London who are enrolled in a course called Ethical Advertising.
Most marketers are too busy trying to make a living to worry about whether or not they're being ethical. But then I came across this quote from Abraham Lincoln that summed up the way I feel about my chosen career: When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad.
Inscrutable (in-SKROO-tuh-bul) — from the Latin for not + scrutinize — means obscure or cryptic; difficult to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.
Example (as used by Drayton Bird today): When I got into the mail-order business years ago, it wasn’t something you boasted about. You would be a bit inscrutable when people asked you what your job [...]
Today, I'm going to tell you how to make a lot of money.
If you are (a) not happy with the 0.5% return you are getting from your bank account, (b) worried about inflation, or (c) uncertain about the future value of your stocks and bonds, pay attention.
In fact, you might want to keep this issue of the Journal around so you can thank me later.
Do you recognize this man? It's Jamie Diamond, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and he's got plenty of reasons to be smiling. His bank still exists because of the taxpayer bailout. So, thanks to you and me, his paycheck last year wasn't bad. $16 million.
And, again thanks to you and me, his bank is able to borrow money (our money) from the Fed at virtually no cost and then turn around and lend it out at a big profit. How big? JPMorgan Chase reported $11.7 billion in profit in 2009.
English has rules that should be respected. One purpose of this column is to encourage proper use of the language. But a problem sometimes arises: People try to apply a rule with excessive conscientiousness and wind up, ironically, committing another kind of error. This phenomenon is called hypercorrection.
Do you recognize this man? It's Jamie Diamond, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and he's got plenty of reasons to be smiling. His bank still exists because of the taxpayer bailout. So, thanks to you and me, his paycheck last year wasn't bad. $16 million.
Is real estate an "insider's game" these days? Did so many folks lose their shirts trying to get rich during the Bubble Years that they've been scared out of the market forever?
In his interview with well-known "daredevil real estate artist" Frank McKinney, Jason Holland, managing editor of Early to Rise, gets to the heart of the matter.
To exacerbate (ig-ZAS-er-bate) — from the Latin for “to provoke” — is to worsen; to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of something.
Example (as used by Frank McKinney in today’s interview): “The onslaught of negative news exacerbated investors’ fears. That caused what I consider to [...]
I was sixteen years old when my father said those words to me. They were both kind and cruel. And I never forgot them.
The first time I can remember wanting to be a writer was several years earlier. I was eleven or twelve years old. It happened in the kitchen on a weekday night.
I recently heard a comedian claim that most people fear public speaking more than death. I don't know about that. But it's true that getting up in front of a crowd can be intimidating. In his essay today, Peter Fogel, no stranger to the stage, reveals why preparing the right way for a speech can make the experience painless... even pleasurable.
By Drayton Bird | Mon, May 10, 2010
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