I'll be on KGO's Ronn Owens Program this Friday

This Friday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, I'll be back on the Ronn Owens Program, one of the most listened-to radio shows on the West Coast.  You can hear it on 810 on the AM dial throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area or on the Internet at kgoradio.com

I've been on Ronn's show for 25 years now, so I have a pretty good idea of what he'll ask me about. He'll probably ask me to suggest some good but not-obvious careers, advanced strategies for landing a job, and ideas on self-employment. Ronn tends to probe me for what to do in difficult situations: soft-skilled clients, older workers, etc.  In between his questions, I'll offer callers specific advice on their career conundrum.

Tune in. Call in. The price is right.

I'll be Introducing the Libertarian Candidate for President

I will have the privilege of introducing the Libertarian candidate for President of the United States, Gary Johnson, at his campaign rally at the University of California Berkeley's Sproul Plaza on Sep 25. Meet and greet is 11:00 to noon. Speeches are from 12:00 to 1:00.  300 to 1,000 people are expected to attend.

Regular readers of this blog know I'm not a pure libertarian. I believe government has important roles. But I do believe that, for most things, the private sector does a better job than does government. Also, I believe government should have no role in people's personal decisions: a woman's right to choose, the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, and a person's right to die.

I'm particularly pleased to be introducing Gary Johnson. Twice elected in a landslide as Governor in a Democrat-dominated state, he moved New Mexico from deficit to surplus.  He was term-limited and thus could not run for a third term. In a presidential debate, Johnson delivered what the Los Angeles Times and Time called the best line of the night: "My next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this administration."^[60][61]

Johnson, who by the way, climbed Mt. Everest in 2003, has called for major cuts in government spending, anchored by an immediate end to the War in Afghanistan. America's military adventurism in the Middle East has not only been a failure (Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, etc) and a wildly profligate waste of taxpayer money, it shows an utter ignoring of history. From Alexander the Great through Churchill's time (Remember the Dardanelles) through today, western efforts to change the Middle East have yielded failure. A President Gary Johnson would not have demonstrated such hubris.

I was asked to introduce Johnson because my core expertise is jobs, which these days is, of course, Job One, for America  I believe that Johnson's core values: smaller government, less burden on the backs of employers (e.g. ObamaCare), and encouragement of entrepreneurship is the most likely route to creating more jobs or at least to slowing America's decline and fall.

In addition to attempting to give Johnson the inspiring introduction he deserves, I will try to do my part to make the case for why, at this point in American history, the most beneficial, if not sexy, thing our leaders could do is to pull on ropes of restrain and to replace hubris and profligate spending with responsible money management and stewardship, yes, for ourselves but also for our children and grandchildren.

I hope to see you there.

How Much is Your Procrastination Hurting You? Five Questions

How much, if at all, is your procrastination hurting you? These questions can help you decide if you need to try to improve:

1.  How often does your procrastination increase your anxiety in excess of the benefit derived?

A) Often
B) Sometimes
C) Rarely
D) Never

2. How often does your procrastination significantly hurt the quality of your work products?

A )Often
B) Sometimes
C) Rarely
D) Never

3. How much has your procrastination hurt your career?

A) Greatly
B) Moderately
C) A bit
D) Not at all

4. How often does your procrastination frustrate your family and friends?

A) Often
B) Sometimes
C) Rarely
D) Never

5. How much has procrastination hurt your performance in school and college?

A) Greatly
B) Moderately
C) A bit
D) Not at all

Should You Start a One-Person Business?: 14 questions

Today, it seems that more people than ever are considering starting a one- or few-person business. Perhaps that's because, in this terrible job market, ever more people can't land a decent job.

These questions may help you decide if you'd be wise to start such a business.

1. Running your own one-person business means you must be a self-starter: structure your days, and keep working hard, even in the face of setbacks. How confident are you that you'd work hard and well enough?
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderate
D) Minimally

2. How confident are you in the viability of your business concept or your ability to find a viable one?

A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderate
D) Minimally

3. How confident are you in your ability to create an excellent (if brief) business plan that will address funding, cash flow, and marketing?
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderate
D) Minimally

4. How confident are you in your ability to persuade people to buy, invest, sell to you, calm down customers, etc.
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderate
D) Minimally

5. If you were buying furniture for your business, you'd mainly buy:
A) used items from Craigslist ads, garage sales, etc.
B) used items from a used furniture store
C) new items from Office Depot, Target, Ikea, etc.
D) new items from a higher-end furniture store

6. If you owned a store that sold eyeglass frames, you'd most likely buy them from:
A)  a manufacturer(s) in a low-cost country
B   a U.S. manufacturer(s)
C)  a wholesaler whose sales rep called and then visited you.
D) Costco

7. How confident are you that you would devote the usually-required 10-30 hours a week on marketing, especially in the business's first year or three.
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderate
D) Minimally

8. Even one-person businesses usually require significant paperwork: bill paying, bill collecting, answering emails, government forms, etc. How likely are you to keep up with it and/or to afford hiring someone to do it:
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderately
D) Not

9. Every business has problems that arise: technical, human, logistical, mishaps of all stripes. If you too frequently have to hire someone to solve them, your profits can erode quickly. How confident are you in your ability to solve such problems by yourself in a timely manner:
A) Very
B)  Quite
C) Moderately
D) Not

10. Many one-person businesses, especially service businesses can be started for under $2,000, especially if it's a home-based business. Of course, the business you choose to start could cost much more--opening a cafe, for example, usually costs six figures. How confident are you that you have the capital to start your business, plus the operating capital to keep it running for the months or even year or two it may take to become profitable? (You needn't have the cash yourself: You could borrow on your no-interest credit card, borrow from Uncle Ernie, and/or get an SBA loan, especially if you're a woman or minority.)
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderate
D) Minimally

11. Many one-person businesses operate at a loss or minimal profit for months or even a year. Can you afford that?
A) Yes
B) With modest strain
C) With serious strain
D) No

12. If your business ended up generating little or no profit and you lost all the money you invested in it:
A) You'd still be able to essentially retain your lifestyle and financial security.
B) It would hurt your lifestyle or financial security but you'd probably be okay.
C) It would hurt your lifestyle or financial security but it wouldn't be devastating.
D) It would be devastating

13. Facts aside, how worried would you be about your business failing?
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Somewhat
D) Minimally

14. Overall, how excited are you about the prospect of starting and running a one- or perhaps two- or three-person business?
A) Very
B) Quite
C) Moderately
D) Not

SCORING: For all items A=3 points, B= 2 points, C=1 point  D=0 points.
Obviously, no set of questions can definitively indicate whether you should start a business. But the closer you scored to the maximum of 42 points, the more the indication you'd be successful and enjoy running your one-, two-, or three-person business.

A Case for Candor

I believe that our lives and the overall society would be much improved by an increase in candor.

So many people wonder why they were "laid off," not hired,or unsuccessful in romance. And don't we all wish our politicians were more candid with us?

And might not America be more successful in competing in the global economy if employers and co-workers gave more candid feedback?

Yes, criticism hurts but would we not be better off, as individuals and as a society, if our friends, bosses, and leaders gave us honest feedback, positive and negative?

And when we get criticized, if, after the unavoidable reflexive sadness or anger, instead of wallowing or lashing back, we forced ourselves to fairly assess if the criticism is deserved and worth the effort to try to improve, and if so, fighting to improve?

Perhaps in urging more candor, I'm being unrealistic--most people don't want to give nor get more feedback.

TODAY, Marty Nemko talks about his book, "What's the Big Idea?"

Today, Sep 8, from 2:00 to 3:15 pm, I'll be speaking at the legendary Kepler's Books near Stanford to present some of the ideas in my newest book, What's the Big Idea: 39 Disruptive Proposals for a Better America. I'll be answering questions and autographing my book. Hope to see you there.

Kepler's has hosted many of the world's leading intellectual luminaries. For example, next week it's Salman Rushdie in conversation with Tobias Wolfe.

Kepler's Books is at 1010 El Camino Real in San Mateo.

A Proposal for an Almost Anarchist Small Government

I've listened to enough of the Democratic and Republican conventions to make me wonder if we'd be better off in a near-anarchist, truly small government.

So as a thought experiment, here are some of my ideas on what a minimalist government would look like. Some of this is adapted from my new book, What's the Big Idea? 39 disruptive ideas for a better America. 

Retain public schools but eliminate all district, county, state, and federal education bureaucracies and rules. Give teachers freedom to teach what they're passionate about and what they think their kids need to and want to learn. I would emphasize education for citizenship: ethics, empathizing with others, communication skills, and encouraging a cosmic obligation to care about people other than yourself.

Eliminate preventive policing--e.g., cops patrolling the streets. To deter crime significantly, you'd need five cops on every block, roaming through buildings, regularly invading privacy. Feasible-level preventive policing doesn't work well enough to justify the cost to the taxpayer. I would retain a streamlined police force to apprehend criminals.

Cut the defense budget by 80-90%. I'd guess that the additional safety that accrues beyond the most beneficial 10-20% is too small to justify taking all that money from the taxpayer.

Retain government's role in commandeering the building and maintaining of the infrastructure.

Eliminate government "investment" in energy and other technologies. If all companies, with all their brilliant scientists and bean counters, have all rejected a technology, it is too unlikely to be worth taxpayer money, even in the long-term. Examples: ethanol, a nationwide network of electric car plug-in stations, bus lines that traverse empty. In Napa, taxpayer money was used to create gorgeous trolleys that ran for years from Napa's periphery to the downtown. They were always empty, a moving monument to the absurdity of so much of government's spending of our money.

Eliminate all social programs that haven't demonstrated even marginal cost-benefit. Those include such media and liberal darlings as Head Start, job retraining, and even extending unemployment checks. (That results in so many people saying, "Good. Now I don't have to look for work for another 26 weeks.) Similarly, every time government increases financial aid, colleges think, "Good. Now we can raise tuition more."

Reevaluate well-intentioned but side-effect-ridden government programs. Few could argue with the intent of affirmative action. Yet the result has too often been to move merit to a back seat. That causes enormous damage to America. Increasing home ownership is a reasonable goal but government policies to encourage that triggered the financial meltdown. Banks were pressured to give loans to people who couldn't afford to buy a home and so created Stated Qualifications loans, the so-called "liar loans." It's no surprise that many of the borrowers defaulted.

I believe government should not restrict gay marriage nor a woman's right to choose to have an abortion. I'm ambivalent about legalizing marijuana--Its use would increase, which would take a devastating toll on motivation and memory, and increase traffic accidents. For the same reason, I am ambivalent about alcohol being legal. Of course, prohibition would result in a black market but I'd guess that the horrific societal effects of alcohol abuse would be significantly reduced.

Allow the right to die. It's crazy that millions of dying people must live their final weeks in agonizing (and expensive) pain because the government says they can't ask a doctor to painlessly end their irreversible misery.

My intuition says that those proposals would lead to a better America. But no one could assert that with confidence...except for a politician.

What do you think?