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jim randel: Negotiating Tip: Consider The Alternative - 08/18/10 10:48 AM
I've done real estate transactions for 25 years - as an attorney, broker and principal. And there is one negotiating mistake that I have seen over and over: People negotiating with the wrong party.A common negotiation is between the seller and buyer of a house. The seller wants to sell his house, and the buyer want to buy a house (notice: 'a house,' not 'the house').Hypothetically, let's say the seller asks for $1 million, but is willing to accept $950,000. The buyer offers $900,000. The seller counters with $975,000. The game is on.Ninety percent of sellers make the following … (5 comments)
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jim randel: Playing Badminton with Paul Newman - 07/06/10 01:46 PM
About ten years ago, a buddy calls to ask if I had ever played badminton."Yes, about twenty years ago," I replied."Perfect," he said. "Can you meet at the Y tomorrow at noon for a doubles game?"Next day, I'm staring at Paul Newman across the net. He and my buddy played doubles every week, but this time their fourth was ill. I was now the fourth.OK, so I was pretty excited. I loved Cool Hand Luke, and Butch Cassidy and The Hustler. And the guy was still pretty good looking and very fit. But I figured I could hold my … (4 comments)
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jim randel: It’s Supposed to be Hard - 05/04/10 03:05 PM
Last week I gave a speech entitled “The Life and Times of an Entrepreneur.” In preparing for this speech, I reviewed all of my prior readings and writings on the subject. I wanted to give the audience my conclusions (30 years as an entrepreneur) in a clear and simplified presentation.Here are my top three conclusions:1. Everyone should devote some portion of their life to entrepreneurism – a calculated, roll-up-your sleeves effort that risks time, energy and/or capital in an effort to make a quantum leap forward. This effort does not have to be full time. Part time is fine – writing … (0 comments)
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jim randel: Playing Whack-A-Mole with the Regulators - 04/28/10 12:15 PM
As Congress contemplates how to sculpt the next phase of regulations to prevent overaggressive or unethical conduct in the financial world, we need to ask a basic question. Can the regulators ever keep up? It is my feeling that whereas of course well-crafted regulations administered by nimble regulators can make a difference, they can never anticipate or prevent all the schemers. There will always be creative types willing to trade fair play for great pay. That is why consumers need to educate themselves. Consumers must be the front line in the fight against unethical and illegal conduct intended to remove money … (0 comments)
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jim randel: Big Ears, Big Eyes, Small Mouth - 04/27/10 09:34 AM
I did a lot of research in writing The Skinny on the Art of Persuasion: How to Move Minds.One of my takeaways from all the research is the importance of keeping still – training yourself to watch and listen to the person across the table, the person you are trying to persuade.With time you can develop your senses to pick up on both verbal and non-verbal clues. If you want to learn more about reading body language, I recommend The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease (Bantam, 2006).But, even without these skills, you can increase your persuasiveness … (7 comments)
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jim randel: Thinking Like an Entrepreneur - 05/18/09 12:44 PM
I have been an entrepreneur my entire business life. There are good parts and bad parts. But, for me, the good far outweigh the bad.Whether you work for yourself or not, it is my view that you need to always think like an entrepreneur. Here are ten suggestions as to how to do that:1. If you have an employer, do not rely on your job security. Whoever he or she is, your employer is presently or will at some time be under pressure to cut costs. You may be one of those costs.2. If you have an employer, make yourself indispensable. … (2 comments)
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jim randel: The Thinnest of Margins - 05/11/09 12:01 PM
I feel that if my blog entry’s are going to be valuable to you, I need to read as much as I can about subjects of personal achievement and financial literacy. I feel that my job is to uncover, distill and select the most important points or concepts you may wish to know. My hope is that this information may be in some way helpful to you.So, this weekend I read Tom Peters’ (famous for In Search of Excellence) book, Talent, and Spencer Johnson’s (famous for Who Moved My Cheese?) new book, Peaks and Valleys. Both of these books had some … (4 comments)
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jim randel: The Root of Willpower - 05/04/09 01:20 PM
Over the last year I have read every book or article I could find on the subjects of willpower and self-discipline. As we entered challenging economic times, I felt that an understanding of how people dealt with adversity would be important.
Here is what I have concluded:
All of willpower and self-discipline is about an understanding of how your mind works. Willpower is really just a manifestation of focus and here are the five steps you need to understand in order to improve your focus:
1. Awareness - during stressful times you need to listen to your thoughts. What exactly is … (0 comments)
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jim randel: Dealing With Rejection - 04/20/09 11:15 AM
Last week I was the business “expert” on a television program. One of the other guests was Kathy Ireland, former supermodel and Sports Illustrated cover girl.
After her modeling career, Ireland decided to start a home furnishings business. Like many entrepreneurs, she was told she was crazy and had no chance competing against the likes of Martha Stewart. But, she prevailed and today her business is amazingly successful. When the host of the TV show asked her secret to success, she said that her modeling career had taught her to deal with rejection and so she was very ready for the … (7 comments)
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jim randel: My Goal With These Blog Posts/E-Letters - 04/13/09 12:25 PM
In last week’s blog post and e-letter I wrote about the need for each of us to think and act like an entrepreneur, the point being that one’s only safety net is the value proposition he or she offers to the marketplace. More on that next week. But today, given the growth in the number of people following my e-letter (which makes me happy), I want to speak to the objectives I have for my writing. I don’t need to tell you that the world is changing amazingly quickly. When it does, we can at times lose our sense of balance. … (0 comments)
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jim randel: Success In The Shadows - 03/30/09 03:38 PM
My office is on the perimeter of a golf course. I enjoy watching the golfers. There is a member of this club who is a world-class, amateur golfer. He has won several international tournaments. And here is what I have learned from him: success is earned in the shadows. Let me explain.This man is out on the golf course practicing every day, usually at dawn or at dusk. In fact sometimes there is hardly enough light to see. But, he is always there - before or after his work day (he is a stockbroker). This man's example is a metaphor to … (2 comments)
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jim randel: The Right Mindset for the Next 24 Months - 03/02/09 02:56 PM
No one knows when the meltdown is going to end. I am predicting 24 months. My guess is as good as anyone else's. However, after studying successful people for 30+ years, I do feel I have insight into the approaches of those who will survive and prosper during and after the meltdown. Here are four of my top ten (more to follow): 1. Yesterday is yesterday's news ... whatever your business was may no longer be relevant. The world is changing amazingly quickly. Major institutions that existed for more than one hundred years have failed or are failing. Bear Stearns and … (1 comments)
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jim randel: How Much Lower? - 02/23/09 11:19 AM
Since I hold myself out as a real-estate expert, the question that people are always asking me is “how much lower?” In other words, how much lower will housing prices go before they hit bottom?
Well, of course, I don’t know but the chart below, produced by economist Robert Shiller and excerpted from his book, Irrational Exuberance (Doubleday, 2d Edition, 2005) shows you what many economists think.
Here is what this chart tells us: that from 1890 through 1950, excepting the World War I and II periods, housing prices stayed within a fairly narrow range (adjusted for inflation). As you can … (8 comments)
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jim randel: Changes are Brewing for Credit Cards - 02/13/09 10:14 AM
Americans have a love - hate relationship with credit cards. On the one hand, it is hard to argue with the amazing convenience of this little piece of plastic. In fact today there are almost a billion active credit cards in the United States - more than 2 cards for every man, woman and child in the country. The problem is that at times credit cards are too convenient. Recently I spoke with a professor of consumer behavior who had done numerous studies on credit card use. Although intuitively we all know it to be true, he explained the psychological reasons … (3 comments)
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jim randel: Housing Predictions - 01/09/09 08:55 AM
Notwithstanding a lot of negative information about housing prices, I believe we will see stabilization in the markets by mid-year. Here is my thinking:The speed in which our economy crashed (housing and stock prices) is unprecedented. There were no economic models to predict what happened.Once the decline started, the fuel behind the fire was individual’s confidence (or rather, lack thereof) that the system would right itself. People (including lenders) began to believe that housing and stock prices were going to fall — and that is in fact a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once people anticipate price declines, they adjust their conduct accordingly. Certainly … (4 comments)
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