Scott Griffiths
CEO - 18/8 Fine Men's Salons
Professor - Grazadio School of Business and Management -
Pepperdine University
The University of California Irvine - Chief Executive Roundtable
Member - Luxury Council / Board - The Surf Heritage Foundation
If you believe as I do that life is something special and becomes more special when we squeeze as much nectar from it as possible…then this site is for you.
If you know that to be curious is to be interested, and to be interested is to be interesting; and if you believe that education comes from books and your experiences... then this site is for you.
If you enjoy the arts, cooking, and excellent foods; if you appreciate a handmade super-180 suit, a fine 25 year old Macallan’s with a vintage Cohiba; if you travel to other countries to learn their languages and cultures; and if you believe that business is what you create and build, not just what you manage…then this site is for you.
Along with my team and our readers, I will be posting interesting, intriguing, and useful articles on art, wine, spirits, travel, restaurants, and grooming, along with great recipes for guys and features exploring the subject of renaissance men. This site is for you as interesting and intriguing men…and men on the path to becoming more interesting and intriguing...
In our newest column, Alexa will be offering the advice you need to become an 18/8 man; that man who is well-versed and cultured, who knows how to impress and captivate a smart woman, and who wants to be the best that he can be.
THE fiscal cliff is not really a “cliff”; the entire country won’t fall into the ocean if we hit it. Some automatic tax cuts will expire; the government will be forced to cut some expenditures. The cliff is really just a red herring.
Likewise, any last-minute deal to avoid the spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1 isn’t likely to save us from economic turmoil. It would merely let us continue the policy mistakes we’ve been making for years, allowing us only to temporarily stabilize the economy rather than address its deep, systemic failures.
Stabilization, of course, has long been the economic playbook of the United States government; it has kept interest rates low, shored up banks, purchased bad debts and printed money. But the effect is akin to treating metastatic cancer with painkillers. It has not only let deeper problems fester, but also aggravated inequality. Bankers have continued to get rich using taxpayer dollars as both fuel and backstop. And printing money tends to disproportionately benefit a certain class. The rise in asset prices made the superrich even richer, while the median family income has dropped.
A little bit of stretch for an analogy. However, I like Casablanca so much, and, Rick is absolutely an 18/8 Man…so I’m posting -Scott
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One mistake many companies make is emphasizing short-term profit at the expense of long-term value.
In squeezing every dollar out of a business today, the companies often reduce much greater value they could have created tomorrow.
By focusing only “shareholder value,” they also often neglect other constituencies—namely, customers, employees, and communities.
The best companies create value for all of these constituencies, not just shareholders.
They make a reasonable profit, not a “maximized” one.
And they continually sacrifice short-term profit opportunities in the service of long-term investments and other values, some of which have nothing to do with money.
I was reminded of this recently when I rewatched “Casablanca,” the 1942 Warner Brothers movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
It’s mostly a love story and war story, of course. But there are plenty of business lessons in there, too.
The trend of maximizing profits at the expense of other values is part of what’s wrong with the American economy these days.
So it’s worth highlighting the business lessons of Rick’s Cafe Americain.
Tim Cook—unlike his predecessor, Steve Jobs—famously doesn’t crave the spotlight.
So his most recent interview with Businessweek, which appears as a the magazine’s cover story, offered a rare glimpse into Cook’s life as CEO of Apple.
The discussion ranged from product design to manufacturing; he announced the company will expand its manufacturing operation in the USA. But the interview also provided some great insight for leaders about stewarding an organization—any organization.
Here are a few takeaways from Cook’s leadership style:
1. Diversity of leadership is massively important.
Diversity isn’t just an HR buzzword (or an old wooden ship, either). In fact, a plurality of backgrounds among your employees can actually help the revenue of your company. The idea behind this philosophy is that people bring lots of different experiences to the table, and companies that can harness the most amount of creative experiences will be more innovative
in their approach to business.
Cook very explicitly recognizes that fact, and has made diversity a cornerstone of his management philosophy.
“We want diversity of thought,” he says. “We want diversity of style. We want people to be themselves. It’s this great thing about Apple. You don’t have to be somebody else. You don’t have to put on a face when you go to work and be something different. But the thing that ties us all is we’re brought together by values. We want to do the right thing. We want to be honest and straightforward. We admit when we’re wrong and have the courage to change.”
2. Transparency is key.
Cook knew transparency would be key. With harsh criticism about the standards of Apple’s global employees (especially through their manufacturing partners at Foxconn), Cook opened the doors and invited the world to see how Apple’s operations really worked. By doing this, he not only created goodwill around the company, but set industry standards for other manufacturers.
“Our transparency in supplier responsibility is an example of recognizing that the more transparent we are, the bigger difference we would make,” Cook says. “We want to be as innovative with supply responsibility as we are with our products. That’s a high bar. The more transparent we are, the more it’s in the public space.”
What is the value of a Purple Cow?
If you’re running a venture-backed startup, don’t expect to be able to set a high salary for yourself.
One founder who’s getting ready to quit his job and raise a $500,000 seed round asked on Quora: “Is a $100K salary too much for an angel/VC-backed startup co-founder?”
He says his co-founder, who’s a software engineer with a great resume, “won’t accept less than a $100K salary.”
Most responders including Foundry Group’s Brad Feld thought that salary was too high, especially when it’s one-fifth of the total amount raised. Others wondered if the founder was cut out to be an entrepreneur with such a high salary request.
“$100K is below market for a good engineer, but is certainly above market for a seed-funded startup,” one person responded. “Salary should be sufficient to not create hardship — no sense in losing productivity because you can barely eat.”
So what should the founders pay themselves and when is it ok to go for six-figures?
A $50-75,000 salary seems to be acceptable when an entrepreneur is first starting out. “$50K/year is plenty. Some families live on that,” says VC Sean Owen.
David Rose agrees. “On my experience, that fact pattern (a pair of founders, $500K seed round) would typically see them each taking $50-$75K, at least until they either start generating revenue, or raise a larger round.”
When you’re profitable, you can start paying yourself a more impressive salary.
“An adviser once told me to keep the total annual figure (including taxes and bene’s) under $100k per year until you’re profitable, and VCs have seemed to accept this,” another says.
Click here to see the most voted up response: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-when-its-ok-to-pay-yourself-100000-2012-8#ixzz24IiAnOuC
Although women make up a fraction of high-level corporate positions, those who’ve earned a spot at the boardroom table pull in salaries that more than rival their male counterparts.
In the last fiscal year, among male (481) and female (19) CEOs at the 500 largest companies in America, women earned a median compensation of $11.1 million, while men earned $9.8 million, according to a study conducted by NerdWallet.
That means women CEOs were paid 13 percent more than men, though they made up just 16 percent of corporate board positions.
We’ve included data for total compensation, salary, bonus, stock and options. Here’s a list of ten top female earners at America’s biggest companies. Since the data is from 2011, former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is included in this list. New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer could make up to $25 million in base salary in bonus if she stays for five years.
Click here to see the top female earners: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-female-sp-500-company-ceos-who-make-more-than-men-2012-8?op=1#ixzz24Iai8bg4
Millionaires are so 1999.
Billionaires have changed the way our world works. They’ve altered the way we communicate, travel, and live. And along the way, they have made incredible amounts of money for their efforts.
Learning from the 10 billionaires below is not only a good idea if you want to boost your bank account, but also if you want your work to make a difference.
With that in mind, here are 10 lessons from billionaires on earning money, succeeding in business, and finding happiness in life.
1. “You become what you believe. You are where you are today in your life based on everything you have believed.” —Oprah Winfrey, net worth of $2.7 billion
First and foremost, you have to believe that greatness is possible. Many of the world’s billionaires have shifted the way our world works, because they believed that they were capable of doing something that was previously impossible.
Change is possible. Greatness is possible. But you can’t do anything unless you first believe in yourself.
2. “What we say here every day is that our success is really based on our members’ success, our community’s success.” —Pierre Omidyar, net worth of $6.7 billion
Your success is directly tied to how much you do for others. It’s not what you know. It’s not who you know. It’s what you do for who you know. Success follows generosity.
3. “The typical human life seems to be quite unplanned, undirected, unlived, and unsavored. Only those who consciously think about the adventure of living as a matter of making choices among options, which they have found for themselves, ever establish real self-control and live their lives fully.” —Karl Albrecht, net worth of $25.4 billion
Everything you do (or choose not to do) is a choice. Most of us think that life happens to us, but in reality life is something that we choose either by actively pursuing options and creating our own circumstances, or by blocking opportunities and limiting our beliefs of what is possible.
You can choose the type of life you want to live.
4. “I think that our fundamental belief is that for us growth is a way of life and we have to grow at all times.” —Mukesh Ambani, net worth of $22.3 billion
Success is not an event—it’s a process. Billionaires embody that process better than most of us. They are on a constant quest to improve, enhance, and outperform themselves. It’s a constant, internal drive to become a better person.
5. “Getting the job done has been the basis for the success my company has achieved.” —Michael Bloomberg, net worth of $22 billion
Billionaires have grit and perseverance. Top performers work hard at hard things. And that means that successful people do the things that most people don’t want to do, and that’s why they get the job done.
6. “If I’m going to do something, I do it spectacularly or I don’t do it at all.” —Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, net worth of $18 billion
Developing a world-class skill means that you have the capability to ignore everything else. You have to be able to focus on doing an incredible job or on ignoring it completely. Greatness doesn’t come from simply “putting the time in” … you have to put the time in with effort, energy, and resolve.
7. “It’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path at Dell. There’s always an opportunity to make a difference.” —Michael Dell, net worth of $15.9 billion
Take a look at any market-leading company. Are they compromising on their product in one way or another? That’s an opportunity for disruption, growth, and change. Any unmet need, any annoying problem, any half-baked solution offers a chance to change things.
8. “The role of business is to produce goods and services that make people’s lives better.” —Charles Koch, net worth of $25 billion
If your only goal is to become rich, then you’re going to have trouble meeting your goal. However, if your focus is on making people’s lives better, then you’ll find that success comes much more quickly.
9. “No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.” —Andrew Carnegie, net worth of $298.3 billion (in 2007 dollars)
Success unshared is failure. Our connections with other people are what give our work meaning. The things we do will only matter if they are shared with others.
10. “The ultimate definition of success is: you could lose everything that you have and truly be okay with it. Your happiness isn’t based on external factors.” —Tony Hsieh, net worth of $840 million
So often, we push happiness out on the horizon of life. “Once I get this job, I’ll be happy.” Or, “If only I landed that promotion, then everything would be good.”
Of course, life doesn’t work that way, and there is always another goal once we reach our previous idea of happiness. Money is important, but your life should never be built around it.
Happiness comes before success, not after it.
Read more: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2012/08/07/10-money-lessons-from-billionaires#ixzz23jBis8gI
Richard Branson - Renaissance Man
During a recent radio interview on the BBC, the host asked me what advice I would give to young people who want to start their own businesses. In the 46 years since I launched Student magazine, the world has certainly changed. The uncertain economic outlook and the relentless pace of technological advances make replicating Virgin’s success much more challenging for today’s young entrepreneur.
At Student magazine, we expressed our opposition to the Vietnam War and the Cold War; these days, governments now face the more nebulous threat of terrorism and instability in the Middle East and Africa. Back then, American and European markets were generally stable; today, the economic power of Western nations is being challenged by the fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and growth opportunities and new markets can be found around the world.
There is also marketers’ new ability to bypass traditional channels — TV, radio and newspapers — and build a strong following online for their companies via Twitter, Google+[GOOG 642.00 
-0.35 (-0.05%) 
], Facebook[FB 21.807 
0.797 (+3.79%) ] and new applications such as Path and Klout. This means that most startups are able to launch with smaller marketing budgets, and that entrepreneurs can break into new markets fast. It also means that successful companies must defend their positions, because their products can go out of fashion just as quickly as they caught on.
But during the radio interview I found myself arguing that while the world may be changing quickly, the steps to building a good business have not. The five simple guidelines we followed when we started the magazine and then Virgin Music remain as valid and useful as they were in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
1. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must love what you do.
2. Be innovative: Create something different that will stand out.
3. Your employees are your best asset. Happy employees make for happy customers.
4. Lead by listening: Get feedback from your staff and customers on a regular basis.
5. Be visible: Market the company and its offers by putting yourself or a senior person in front of the cameras.
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Virgin Media [VMED 27.00 -0.30 (-1.1%) ]founded its Pioneers program to promote aspiring business people and help them to network. One of our best known pioneers is Jamal Edwards, the founder of SB.TV, an online music and lifestyle channel, whose company and business model remind me of Virgin’s in our early days.
When Edwards started out, his company was just himself and his camera; he started posting videos of rap performances for his online followers. He was doing what he loved, and soon he developed a cult following for his passionate, innovative and authentic early videos of musical events.
Once he had established a brand and a following, Edwards and his team extended SB.TV’s reach into more areas, including music and lifestyle, merchandise, clothing and even a record label. Traditional brands like Puma and Nando’s (the fast-food chain) started calling, wanting to discuss deals and endorsements.
Edwards has also made his own luck by spotting talent. In 2010 a struggling singer-songwriter sent a video to SB.TV that was accepted and placed on the company’s YouTube channel. The views kept racking up, and eventually the rapper Example offered the unsigned young singer a chance to tour with him. This was none other than Ed Sheeran, whose career was effectively launched by SB.TV.
Edwards remains very busy and very visible, promoting SB.TV and himself wherever he can — on his website, in partnership with Google Chrome and in the media, he tells the story of his company and their dreams and successes, getting the message out. And he knows that good business depends on backing your people and being a good listener. Despite his early successes, he remains down to earth, always willing to listen and constantly trying new ventures.
If you have the right idea and execute properly, your startup’s launch date does not matter. While the business environment has changed, the basic rules remain the same. Rather than getting nostalgic about how things used to be, embrace the new opportunities and challenges available to you now.
Elon Musk - 18/8 Man
Not all entrepreneurs need co-founders, but many successful companies — including Apple, eBay, and Twitter — were built by multiple leaders with productive relationships.
How did these individuals find their business counterparts? And what made their combined skill-sets a recipe for success?
Not surprisingly, many were long-time friends, classmates, or relatives. Others, however, did not get along initially. Some still are not amicable, despite their joint achievements.
There is a common trend: the most well-rounded pairs recognized their individual limitations and respected what the other could bring to a partnership. Many of these duos have gone on to run some of the most successful businesses of our time.
Click to find out who formed these brilliant partnerships: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-super-successful-cofounders-and-why-their-partnerships-worked-2011-6?op=1#ixzz20LL3jo8d
A great primer on the business of gold - it’s historic value; demand; trends
I’m not yet a twitter guy. But, these people do look very interesting, and certainly worth following. -Scott
From Richard Branson to Deepak Chopra, find them here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/smart-people-to-follow-on-twitter-2012-6?op=1
My blog is purposely not about politics and finance per se (my facebook site covers these items). However, for the interesting and intriguing man, subjects that explore human nature; human behavior; and the game called life, some articles, such as this will be posted to the blog. Enjoy. Scott
I’ve led or been on the launch team of more than twenty companies. This is a useful chart that shows the phases and conditions for survival and thrival - Scott
