Jack Falvey's Viewpoints
On Business News:
- "The Dow is up; the Dow is down; what does it mean? Few in the media have a clue."
- "There are 15 million companies that are not in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 companies that no one can
list!). There are only 10,000 or so publicly traded companies. Our vast free market economy is virtually unreported
in the media."
- "The good news is that other than a factory burning down there are no hot business stories. All business news
is glacial. Careful, thoughtful production and commentary can be done with extended or self-imposed deadlines at
reasonable cost."
- "There are no business professionals in 'the business."'
- "Financial services is the only industry regularly reported in the media. It is only a small segment of the
wealth and job creation action that goes on each day around the world."
- "It is better to have a mission in business than a mission statement."
On dot.com:
- "Market share is never a substitute for profits (except in Ponzi economics)."
- "Name recognition is not brand establishment. (A brand must deliver differentiated value.)"
- "Who will buy it at what price, is the eternal question. (The products-not the company.)"
On Career Strategies:
- "It's harder than you think to get in over your head. Things just are not that complex."
- "A job for life, a no-lay-off policy, tenure or early retirement are not career goals. They are life
sentences."
- "Self-reliance, not complete dependence, is what produces security."
- "Setting goals distant enough that no present action is required is not planning. It is self-delusion."
- "Being from a big company is far better than being with a big company."
On Small Business:
- "You don't need an accountant to be in business. You need to know arithmetic. More money must come in than
goes out."
- "All you need to be in business is a customer. If you have one, everything else can be purchased. If you don't
have one, all you have is a hobby."
- "The time invested to say 'please' and 'thank-you' will produce the highest returns in business."
- "The search for talent, and how good you are at it, will determine how far you will go."
- "Do the things you do best and love to do. You are not going to live long enough to fix your weaknesses."
- "Prayer, fasting and clean living have been universal steps to success since time began. Go for two out of three
and then work on the other one."
- "Go for the big customer (elephant hunting), but don't forget, if you get one you will have to eat a lot of
'elephant meat.' (They own you.) Shoot something for the pot every day. Cash flow is everything."
- "Look for strengths. No one is perfect. Live with weaknesses and build on strengths. Walk away from
'projects.' You need good people. Let someone else fix the also-rans."
- "Do all you can to extend your time in the marketplace. Things take ten times longer to do and they cost ten
times more than planned. Hang in."