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Recently I was asked why I had drifted away from using Paypal, Venmo and similar payment services to collect payments from my clients. One simple reason: Zelle. Zelle is a money transfer service free to customers of participating banks. Zelle sends the recipient a text or email indicating...
The other day, I was looking at Charlie Varon’s website for some inspiration (he frequently inspires me) and I encountered his “The Year Year in Review: 5783.” That’s 5783 on the Hebrew calendar which just ended on September 15, 2023 of the modern calendar. He and his...
That’s right! People don’t buy products or services. They buy a way to rid themselves of: a pain a problem a challenge Or they buy to fill: a desire a need. They want solutions. They also want Courtesy Friendliness Honesty If you give them these, they’ll choose you every time over...
A plan that emphasizes the parts may pay the cost of failing to consider the whole, and a plan that emphasizes the whole may pay the cost of failing to get down to the real depth with respect to the parts.” C. West ChurchmanAmerican philosopher and systems scientist It’s always wise to...
Client Advice MESSAGE FROM XXXXX XXXXXXX ON 09/15/2022 Hi Claude, Dropping in for some input. I was thinking of sending a bulk message to my Men’s team, but I’ll start with you instead since you’re as badass as their combined total anyway. The Biden administration recently...
Not to long ago, I got a request from a member of the Briarpatch (the alternative business network I coordinate) to listen to a podcast her godson had created about hippies and the counterculture movement of the 1960s. The response I wrote to him follows: I’m a friend of Xxxxx’s and...
Of Historical Note In the Briarpatch’s early years, our open books practice spread by word of mouth to counterculture businesses coast to coast. This set the stage for the launch of the “open-book management” movement popularized in the early 90s by Jack Stack and John Case in...
Meaningful Work Food for Thought “We rush too much with nervous hands and worried minds. We are impatient for results. What we need . . . is reinforcement of the soul by the invisible power waiting to be used.” Henry Ford Henry Ford is the ultimate icon of the twins genius and demon. His...
There are many ways to organize a work portfolio. Gleanings from planet Briarpatch have revealed a simple portfolio model based on the activities required to become and remain visible to your potential supporters and fans. A majority of these activities involve communications in support of...
“If we are transparent enough, our ideas gain traction from the feedback and accountability provided by those around us.” Scott Belsky, Making Ideas Happen, p. 147. Overcoming the Stigma of Self-Marketing Your ability to access the resources and opportunities in your community depends on...
Never hold a meeting when action will produce just as much or more. Conduct all meetings standing up (except of course, for those who are legitimately chair-bound). Let no meeting last longer than 15 minutes. Let no meeting be held without a preplanned agenda (including estimated times for each...
How to Earn a Living Selling Used Books Online by Joe Waynick (Small Business Press, 2011). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer, 2011. INTERNET BOOKSELLING – The Website At first glance, when visiting Joe Waynick’s InternetBookselling.Com site it looks somewhat like all those “get rich...
Look for an interview with me on “Mindfulness and Meaningful Work” in the Winter 2011 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine. It should show up on newsstands around mid-January. This interview came about because of my consulting practice with individuals who are seeking meaningful work (aka...
IN MY OWN WAY: An autobiography 1915-1965 by Alan Watts (New World Library, 2007, Second Edition, 385 pp. with index, ISBN:10-1-57731-584-7). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspectives. “The reasonI became a philosopher is that ever since I was a little boy I always felt that existence...
SUCCESS WITHOUT COLLEGE: Why Your Child May Not Have to Go to College Right Now—and May Not Have to Go at All by Linda Lee. (Broadway Books, 2000).. Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective . College is a class issue. Think about it. What if your child decided not to go to college? How...
Purpose, Direction, Relevance, Dialogue, Fit, Relationship-building, Respect, Invention, Personal Acknowledgement, Challenge, Validation, Support, Development, Informality, Flexibility, Ownership, Equality, Oneness, Self-identity, Worth, Service By Tom Terez (Adams Media, 2000). Reviewed by Claude...
JOB SHIFT: How to Prosper in A Workplace Without Jobs. By William Bridges. (Addison-Wesley, 1994, 256 pp, bibliography, index, ISBN 0-201-48933-3). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective. A slightly revised version of this review was published in the Journal of Management Consulting, Vol...
THE WARRIOR: Living the Fourfold Way,. by Angeles Arrien. (Wisdom Circles CD series, 1996.) Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective. Show up. Pay attention to what has heart and meaning. Tell the truth without blame or judgment. Be open yet unattached to outcome. These are the challenges...
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COOK: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Living a Life that Matters, by Bernard Glassman & Rick Fields (Bell Tower/Crown, 1996). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for Shambhala Sun, April 1996. The Ch’an/Zen tradition has a long history of teaching stories that center on the...
MERCHANTS OF VISION: People Bringing New Purpose and Values to Business. Edited by James E. Liebig. (Berrett-Koehler, 1994, 252pp, bibliography, index, ISBN 1-881052-42-7). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective and the Journal of Management Consulting. Moving into the 21st century...
THE REPUBLIC OF TEA: Letters To A Young Zentrepreneur, by Mel Ziegler, Bill Rosenzweig, and Patricia Ziegler. (Currency Doubleday, 1992, 316 pp, ISBN 0-385-42056-0). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Spring 1992. Traditionally, best-selling business books rely heavily on...