Steve Jobs Philosophy 101

What you do is based on what you think…so borrow a few thoughts from Steve Jobs.

Good advice for students, managers, and your personal career:

1. "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

Ideas without action aren't ideas. They're regrets. Every day, most people let hesitation and uncertainty stop them from acting on an idea. (Fear of the unknown and fear of failure are often what stop me, and they may be what stop you, too.)

Think about a few of the ideas you've had, whether for a new business, a new career, or even just a part-time job. In retrospect, how many of your ideas could have turned out well, especially if you had given it your absolute best? Would a decent percentage have turned out well? My guess is, probably so -- so start trusting your analysis, your judgment, and even your instincts a little more.

You certainly won't get it right all the time, but if you do nothing and allow your ideas to become regrets... you will always get it wrong.

2. "I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."

Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually does. Most people who do go there think, "Wait...no one else is here...why am I doing this?" And they leave, never to return. That's why the extra mile is such a lonely place. That's also why the extra mile is a place filled with opportunities.

Be early. Stay late. Make the extra phone call. Send the extra email. Do the extra research. Help a customer unload or unpack a shipment. Don't wait to be asked -- offer. Don't just tell employees what to do -- show them what to do, and work beside them.

Every time you do something, think of one extra thing you can do...especially if other people aren't doing that extra thing. Sure, it's hard. But that's what will make you different. And over time, that's what will make you successful.

3. "My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: Great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people."

Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of your customers are obnoxious. Some of your friends are selfish, all-about-me jerks. Stop whining. You chose them. If the people around you make you unhappy, it's not their fault. It's your fault. They're in your professional or personal life because you drew them to you -- and you let them remain.

Think about the type of people you want to work with. Think about the types of customers you would enjoy serving. Think about the friends you want to have. Then change what you do so you can start attracting those people. Hardworking people want to work with hardworking people. Kind people like to associate with kind people.

Exceptional employees want to work for exceptional bosses. Be the best you can be, and work to surround yourself with people who are even better.

4. "My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time."

Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but usually not in a good way. Most people given two weeks to complete a task will instinctively adjust their effort so it actually takes two weeks -- even if it shouldn't. So forget deadlines, at least as a way to manage your activity. Tasks should only take as long as they need to take. Do everything as quickly and effectively as you can. Then, use your "free" time to get other things done just as quickly and effectively.

Average people allow time to impose its will on them; exceptional people impose their will on their time.

5. "Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

Ask most people why they have been successful. Their answers will be filled with personal pronouns like "I" and "me." Only occasionally will you hear "we." Then ask them why they failed. Most will revert to childhood and instinctively distance themselves, like a kid who says, "My toy got broken..." instead of, "I broke my toy." They'll say the economy tanked. They'll say the market wasn't ready. They'll say their suppliers couldn't keep up.

They'll say it was someone or something else. And by distancing themselves, they don't learn from their failures.

Occasionally, something completely outside our control will cause us to fail. Most of the time, though, it's us. And that's okay. Every successful person has failed, numerous times. Most of them have failed a lot more often than we have. That's why they're successful now.

Embrace every failure. Own it, learn from it, and take full responsibility for making sure that next time, things will turn out differently.

6. "I didn't return to Apple to make a fortune. I've been very lucky in my life and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided then that I wasn't going to let it ruin my life. There's no way you could ever spend it all, and I don't view wealth as something that validates my intelligence."

Money is important. Money does a lot of things. (One of the most important is to create choices.) But after a certain point, money doesn't make people happier. After about $75,000 a year, money doesn't buy more (or less) happiness. "Beyond $75,000...higher income is neither the road to experience happiness nor the road to relief of unhappiness or stress," says a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And if you don't buy that, here's another take: "The materialistic drive and satisfaction with life are negatively related." (Or in non-research speak, "Chasing possessions tends to make you less happy.") Think of it as the bigger house syndrome. You want a bigger house. You need a bigger house. (Not really, but it sure feels like you do.) So you buy it. Life is good...until a couple months later, when your bigger house is now just your house.

New always becomes the new normal. That's because "things" only provide momentary bursts of happiness. To be happier, don't chase as many things. Chase experiences.

Someday you won't remember what you had...but you'll never forget what you did.

7. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."

Don't know what you're passionate about? No problem. Pick something interesting. Pick something financially viable -- something people will pay you to do or provide.

Then work hard. Improve your skills, whether at managing, selling, creating, implementing...whatever expertise your business requires. The satisfaction and fulfillment of small victories will give you the motivation to keep working hard. Small victories will motivate you to further develop your skills.

The satisfaction of achieving one level of success will spur you on to gain the skills to reach the next level, and the next, and the next. And one day, you will wake up feeling incredibly fulfilled -- because you're doing great work, work you've grown to love.

MANAGEMENT 101 - The solution for Post-it Notes lost under the desk and phone alerts silenced in meetings may be at hand. People who have tried countless online calendars and list-making apps are making the Bullet Journal—a way of organizing and writing lists in a plain old notebook—a hit. Bullet Journal devotees call it something between a diary, a wish list and a to-do list. It isn’t fancy; it isn’t technological, but that is the point. The journal works on the principle that nothing, not an idea, a hope, an appointment or an accomplishment need be lost if you write it down. Under the system, events are represented by an “O” bullet and tasks are a dot. From there more layers of complexity are added. Bullet journalists say the technique helps them improve productivity, reduce stress and sleep better.

SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CRUNCH - Since 2005, banks have doubled their lending to large businesses. Yet lending to small businesses is lower than it was in 2005. Four explanations for this lost decade for small business lending: borrower creditworthiness, banking consolidation, new regulations, and market imperfections.

POLITICS 101 - 5 reasons Trump might fall in autumn: The story of the past three weeks is less about a Trump comeback than a Hillary Clinton fallback, and the same head-scratching dynamic that defined the Republican primaries - Trump's Teflon, his opponent (in this case Hillary) is Velcro - took root in August. And there are warning signs aplenty for a candidate whose trajectory has improved only by his capacity to drag his opponent down to his own level of septic-tank unpopularity. And Trump's early fall 'surge' could be quickly reversed as he descends ever deeper into the darkening swamp of national self-hatred this rotten, hope-free, soul-sucking 2016 campaign for president has turned out to be.

1. Everything has gone Trump's way - and he's still not ahead ... 2. The cable and TV networks are going to vet Trump like he might actually be president of the United States. This one is wishful thinking based on zero evidence. Move along. ... 3. Trump is getting cocky again. Trump's steely messaging team has done a great job duct-taping the boss's maw since taking over in mid-August. But Trump's mouth, like LeBron James, is a cosmic force that can merely be contained for limited periods, and never truly shut down - and Trump's recent success has rekindled the suppressed I-gotta-be-me impulse ...

4. Terrified Democrats are Clinton's secret weapon. This is the big one, the factor upon which the election truly hinges. Raw, small-mammal fear. Trump's success might be the only thing that gets many Democrats (or anti-Trump moderates outside the party) to hold their noses and vote Hillary. 5. Gary Johnson? Really? ... Clinton's Brooklyn brain trust is in a quandary on dealing with this: Attack him, and Clinton allies have compiled opposition files on the former New Mexico governor, and raise his low profile; let him roam the firmament snatching up progressives in his VW van and lose votes. Fortunately for Clinton's team, support for Johnson seems relatively soft (as opposed to the smaller, but more militant following attracted by Green Party candidate Jill Stein), and Clinton's team expects many to drift back to her cause, as third-party defectors often do in October and November.

Days until the 2016 election: 49.

Days until the first presidential debate: 6.

THE HISTORY OF HEADPHONES - With Apple removing the headphone jack from its iPhone 7, a look back at the listening device over the years:

Late 1800s—Telephone switchboard operators began using headphones with quarter-inch jacks as they answered and directed calls.

1891—French engineer Ernest Jules Pierre Mercadier received a U.S. patent for ear buds for use as telephone receivers.

1910—Electrical engineer Nathaniel Baldwin developed headphones in his kitchen, which the U.S. Navy bought for their superior sound quality. An early member of the Mormon fundamentalist movement, he provided financial backing to the church, but was excommunicated for refusing to accept the church’s then-new monogamy policies.

1957—Willard Meeker, an engineer at RCA, created earmuffs with active noise cancellation, proving that technology used in the aerospace industry could be practical for wider consumer use.

1958—Musician John Koss, of Koss Corp., developed commercial stereo headphones after listening to music on military-grade headphones. He also invented a phonograph that incorporated a speaker and headphone jacks.

1964— Sony Corp. released its hand-held EFM-117J radio, an early use of the smaller 3.5mm headphone-jack socket.

1979—Sony launched its first personal stereo Walkman, the “TPS-L2,” making headphones ubiquitous. The Walkman was the first widespread use of the 3.5mm headphone-jack socket.

1997—Dutch inventor Jaap Haartsen performed early research on Bluetooth Wireless Technology and filed an important patent. Bluetooth took its name from Harald Blatand, a king of Denmark in the 10th century.

1999—Telecom vendor Ericsson AB launched Bluetooth commercially, allowing data to be exchanged over short distances using radio waves.

2008—Sony unveiled the first digital noise-canceling headphone. Sony claimed the set, called MDR-NC500D, could block 99% of noise in the 160HZ range, approximately the range of a jet engine.

2014— Apple Inc. bought Beats Electronics LLC for $3 billion, founded by rap star Dr. Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine.

Sept. 7, 2016—Apple removes the headphone jack. Users will be able to plug headphones into the iPhone 7’s lightning port, or purchase a pair of wireless ear buds, called Apple AirPods, for $159.

BOEHNER'S NEW CIG GIG -- John Boehner just got a seat on the board of Reynolds America, the big-time cigarette company. Boehner likes smoking, but now he'll make twice his congressional salary to sit on the cigarette giant's board. HE CAN MAKE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $400,000 PER YEAR. He'll get a $60,000 retainer, $1,500 per committee and general board meeting. He's on three committees. If the board meets quarterly, and each committee meets once a year, that's another $10,500. But where he'll really make some cash is with stock. Boehner will get 8,000 shares of stock a year -- at the stock's current price, that's worth $378,720. At that valuation, Boehner would make $449,200 a year!

OUT AND ABOUT – Congrats to Courtney Vance (Country Day ’78) for his lead actor Emmy Award for the series “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

OUT AND ABOUT PART DEUX – This foursome made their golfing presence known at the University of La Verne 2016 Golf Tournament on Monday at the “Pride of the Foothills” Glendora Country Club: right to left – Allison Krich (Kansas), Chris Krich (California), Joe Zanetta (New York), and Reggie Dunlop (Michigan). Joe Zanetta, Cornell University '75, '78, donned sunglasses to avoid the Press, who were seeking his comments on the Donald Trump Presidential election campaign and his involvement with “Log Cabin Republicans.”

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - University of California debt soars to $17 billion; regents consider new borrowing policy: Financial reports show UC paid more than $558 million in interest alone in the 2014-15 year - roughly $2,200 per student. That figure does not include the $104 million UC reported it paid in interest on medical center-related borrowing, which is covered by the centers' revenues.

Mayor Eric Garcetti promises free community-college tuition as Jill Biden helps launch L.A. initiative: Speaking in a theater packed with cheering students, Mayor Eric Garcetti reiterated his promise last Wednesday to make one year of community college free for eligible high school graduates, beginning next year.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Tommy Lasorda (89) Fullerton, CA..; Ava Suffredini …famous niece; Julius Walecki …famous Beach Volleyball player; Matthew Witt …..famous Public Manager.

GIVE HIM THE DEUCE – The S.F. Giants (79-71) have played themselves out of a post season playoff spot. Yes, they are tied (as of today) with the New York Metropolitans for the final wild card spot. But, their horrible play for the last two and one-half months indicates to me they are done.

NFL GAME OF THE WEEK – Sunday 9/25, 1:25 PM ET, CBS; Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-0); is Carson Wentz, the rookie QB from North Dakota State, for real. I think so, Philly wins 24 - 20. Season to date (1-1)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 9/24, 1:00 PM PT, ABC: #7 Stanford Cardinal (2-0) visits UCLA Bruins (2-1); The Cardinal is off to another Pac 12 title, Stanford 32 - 17 . Season to date (3-0)

SMALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 9/24, 2:00 PM ET, HGTV: #4 St. Thomas Tommies (3-0) at #8 St. John’s Johnnies (3-0); a big MIAC conference game on the turf, Johnnies 35 Tommies 32 .   Season to date (2-1)

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

(NFL, Sept. 25) Deetroit Lions (1-1) visit Green Bay Packers (1-1), a big win for The Pack, in this Norris Division battle; 35 – 20.

(NCAA-DIII, Sept. 24) St. Lawrence University saints (3-0) visit RPI Engineers (2-1); an important Liberty League conference match-up; Saints continue their winning ways, 17 – 14.

(NCAA BCS, Sept. 24) #2 #11 Wisconsin Badgers (3-0) vs. #8 Michigan State University Spartans (2-0). A big one in East Lansing, Sparty again is toooo tough, 38 – 28.

(World Cup of Hockey2016, Sept. 20) USA (0-1) vs. Canada (1-0), a USA loss sends them packing, adios, Oh Canada 5 – 3.

(MLB, Sept. 24) New York Yankees (77-72) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (82-68); Jays fighting for their playoff lives, sorry “Cat” Morrison, Yanks win 5 – 4.

Season to date (61-49)

MARKET WEEK - Financial markets have tightened, even as Federal Reserve officials continue their debate about whether to increase interest rates. Stock and bond prices have slumped and the dollar has strengthened. The Dow dropped 3.63 points to 18120.17 yesterday. Tighter markets in many ways have the same impact as rising interest rates, making it more difficult for consumers and companies to borrow. The rising cost of borrowing dollars for brief periods is hitting financial institutions and other companies around the globe, further limiting the already slim prospects that the Fed will tighten monetary policy at its meeting ending tomorrow. It has become a familiar pattern in recent years. U.S. markets tighten financial conditions just enough to dissuade central bankers from lifting interest rates. While some Fed officials have advocated lifting interest rates sooner rather than later, an increase now would be a major surprise to investors.

McDonald's (MCD) could face an order to pay nearly $500 million in back taxes to Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Indonesia plans to pursue Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google for five years of back taxes.

Wells Fargo (WFC) chief John Stumpf is set to appear at a Senate Banking Committee today (Tuesday) over the bank's sales practices. Look for Senator Elizabeth Warren to go after John Stumpf, he deserves it. Meanwhile, Mylan (MYL) chief Heather Bresch goes before a House panel on Wednesday over the EpiPen price hikes.

Two Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones reportedly have caught fire in China in what, if confirmed, would be the first such incidents in the world's largest smartphone market. Grappling with the massive global smartphone recall estimated to cost more than $1 billion, Samsung is moving swiftly to sell stakes in other technology companies to raise cash.

DRIVING THE WEEK - President Obama is back in NYC for three days including his final UN General Assembly address as president … House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks to the Economic Club of New York over lunch on Monday … FOMC makes its announcement Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. with no hike expected and a couple of possible dissents. Yellen presser at 2:30 p.m.. She’ll probably be asked about Trump’s criticisms but don’t expect her to take the bait... Senate Banking has a hearing on the Wells Fargo scandal at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday featuring CEO John Stumpf … National Association of Federal Credit Unions holds its 2016 Congressional Caucus Monday through Wednesday … Senate Banking has a hearing at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on cash payments to Iran.

Next week: Jack Ass of the Month and College hockey preseason picks.  What is on the iPod?

Until Next Time, Adios.

Claremont, CA

September 20, 2016

#VII-16-318

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – The New Yorker