Overcoming Myths
Since 2003, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have examined rumors, myths, urban legends, and misconceptions for the Discovery Channel MythBusters show (one of my favorites is the...
View Article4:44 of Fame
In 1968 Andy Warhol stated “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” This statement seems less prophetic in the Internet age combined with reality shows dominating prime time...
View ArticleA Change of Pace
For more than six months I have been posting about Employee Stock Ownership Plans. I thought we would change it up with this post and use a short video (11:8) to highlight many of the advantages of...
View Article1974 Was a Good Year
On September 2, 1974 President Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) into law. This landmark bill included provisions creating Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)....
View ArticlePlan Ahead to Avoid Giant Cockroaches
In the 1997 movie, Men in Black, Agent K (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (played by Will Smith) saved the universe from an intergalactic terrorist (which looked a lot like a giant cockroach)....
View ArticleIt’s All About Me, Not Me and Us
Recently I was returning to Des Moines from New York City via Minneapolis. The flight out of New York City’s Laguardia Airport was delayed and there were several passengers that were going to have...
View ArticleThe Top 10 of ESOPs
Let’s face it, Americans love top 10 lists. David Letterman includes one in every episode of the show, and if you Google top 10 lists you will find an array of results that range from the predictable...
View ArticleSocial Media 1.0
With all due respect to my 16-year-old daughter, her generation did not invent social media. They may have been part of the exponential growth of the internet, but they were not the inventors. In fact,...
View ArticleNCEO Conference Raises Questions–Why Aren’t There More?
In April, the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) hosted their annual Employee Ownership Conference in Seattle, Washington. Over a thousand ESOP owners, service providers and prospects...
View ArticleIt’s a Small World
There are 2,860 miles between Des Moines, Iowa and Cancun, Mexico. This distance is great enough that you don’t expect to run into anyone you know, much less several of them. Yet, while vacationing in...
View ArticleThe Entire Game
You have to play the entire game. This was very evident in game six of the recent Stanley Cup Championship. I missed most of the game, but tuned in with six minutes left and Boston leading 2 to 1. With...
View ArticleImitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. -Charles Caleb Colton The New York Times recently ran an op-ed about Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Authored by Gar Alperovitz, a professor of...
View ArticleMy Dog, Bear, Asks How ESOP Benefits Accrue
In February, I posted a blog about T.C., my new kitten. It may be just me, but since then every time Bear, our Wheaten Terrier, looks at me, I feel guilty. It is as if the dog is saying, “I have been...
View ArticleHarry Potter and the Employee Stock Ownership Plan
I am a Harry Potter geek. I love all of it – the books, the movies and the theme park in Orlando. The book series made J. K. Rowling one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time. She introduced...
View ArticleThe Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security
What does it take to be the best? It depends on a lot of things. For class valedictorian, it is grade point that matters. Want a gold medal in the Olympics? You need to be the strongest, fastest or...
View ArticleBeginning at the End: Designing Benefits that Work
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. [...]
View Article“Hey look kids, there’s Big Ben, and there’s Parliament.”
Hey look kids, there’s Big Ben, and there’s Parliament. -Clark Griswold, National Lampoon’s European Vacation Round and round and round the Griswold family went in this 1985 comedy...
View ArticleDon’t Take the Easy Way Out
Truth be told, most of us take the easy way whenever possible. There are those among us that choose to look beyond what is easy and take alternate paths. This hit home for me with my oldest daughter,...
View ArticleLet’s Celebrate! National Employee Ownership Month Begins October 1.
October is a busy month. It’s National Book Month, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month and National Employee Ownership Month, to name just a few of the topics...
View ArticleReal People. Real Companies. Real Stories. Real Inspiration.
The Principal Financial Group is proud to be a presenting sponsor of the 2013 Inc. 500/5000 Conference. This premier event brings together the fastest growing privately held companies in the United...
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