You can’t take it with you. Growing up Italian-American, I heard that phrase a lot because Italians always talk about death. You can start talking about pasta or baseball, but it would ultimately lead to the topic of death. And when receiving an unexpected gift from a relative, their response to your questioning the gift is they can’t take it with them, so they want you to have it so they can see you enjoy it before their, well, you know.

You may not be able to take money with you to the grave, but can you effect what happens to your money after you die? Especially if you realized near the end of your life you didn’t do such a good job with doling it out when alive? This is the core of The Ultimate Gift.

Though the book is fiction, it tells a true tale of the value of money and life and can resonate with anyone. The book was published almost a decade ago, but a recent mention in Forbes magazine and an upcoming movie based on the book have refocused attention on it. It is the story Howard “Red” Stevens, a successful entrepreneur who dies at the beginning of the story. At the reading of his will, his drooling relatives get their inheritances, with the exception of one, his great-nephew Jason. Red’s attorney, Ted Hamilton, is charged in Red’s will with leading Jason on a year-long journey, and at the end if he completes all 12 one-month steps, he gets to inherit “The Ultimate Gift” which is not revealed unless he completes all steps. Needless to say Jason is irked but agrees to go through the process, and the book tells of the learning odyssey by all parties involved.

I read this book right after The 4-Hour Workweek, and it turned out to be a good order to read them. It continued my thinking of how to evaluate how we spend our time and what is truly important in life. As Red Stevens learned this in life, he reassured my thinking of how we can only affect what happens going forward, and cannot change the past. This is important from an entrepreneur’s standpoint for if we fail or don’t do as planned, we can always try again!

It is a short book and a quick read. Each month of the journey is interesting, and I was compelled to want to finish the book to find out if Jason gets The Ultimate Gift and what it is. If you’re looking for a light-hearted read this is a good book you can read on a single flight. And I would not be complete if I didn’t point out there is a reference in the book to my beloved New England Patriots, as the attorney is based in Boston.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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I got tagged by David Dalka on a topic that has been going around the blog world – to post 8 random things about myself. So here goes:

1. I used to collect business cards. I passed along most of them to other collectors, but I still have cards from Bill Gates and Steve Case.

2. I was once in the studio watching a live broadcast of NFL Sunday Countdown at the ESPN Studios in Bristol, CT.

3. I was the general manager of my college radio station, WNEK-FM, which is why I still have records.

4. I used to own a Penny-Farthing bicycle – I won it in a raffle. As I could never ride the thing, I sold it to a bike shop that had the old-style English cycle as its logo.

5. I am 100% Italian-American.

6. I have been a New England Patriots season ticket holder since 1993.

7. I still own the TRS-80 Model 4 computer I owned in high school.

8. I have been to 12 countries.

Now to return the favor, I am tagging the following 8 people:

Mark Ashley
Mike Carruth
Justin Chen
Jason Jacobsohn
Clay Parker Jones
Matt Maldre
Drew Myler
Wendy Piersall

Of course there is no obligation to post, but it's more for fun and to share a little about ourselves. And so it continues.

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With the day-to-day grind of life and business, it’s good to take a break, even if for just a few hours. Sometimes it’s reading a book in my secret location or a walk along Lake Michigan. Every couple of weeks though, it is to relax and get cleaned up in the process, and for that I take a stroll over to The 316 Club.

The 316 Club, located next to the Board of Trade Building in Chicago, is a men’s spa, “designed to provide an oasis with premium grooming services.” You can get haircut – or in my case a head shave – face shave, face, hand or foot treatment – even waxing. The environment is done well with dark wood and stone, a lounge with a fireplace, pool table and a full bar. They have WiFi, but the last thing I want to do is bring my notebook and do work there!

If you do get a shave, it is a real straight-razor shave by Carmelo, a second-generation Italian-American barber. This is the extreme opposite of using a Bic disposable razor with Barbasol shaving cream! He uses The Art of Shaving products, which I personally have used for several years, which gives me the best shave I have ever had. If you have never had a straight-razor shave, I highly recommend you try it.

As it is called The 316 “Club,” it is a membership club. They offer 2 types of memberships both including unlimited use of one of their package of services – all including a shoe shine – and discounts on other services or products. They also host events throughout the year especially for members.

You don’t have to join to visit the Club, but after a couple of visits you probably will. Do the math for what you are paying now and it will make sense... add in the extras of the experience and it will more than pay for itself. Needless to say I am a member!

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The title alone enticed me to read it – The 4-Hour Workweek. Who doesn’t want to work just one-tenth of the standard work week? Not knowing anything more about it, other than it being mentioned on numerous blogs and podcasts, I picked up a copy and read a great book that both reaffirmed and inspired.

Tim Ferriss wrote this book based on his life. He was a typical office worker who was frustrated with his situation. He then took a look at his life, what he wanted to do, and built a business of selling supplements where all company functions were outsourced and he only needed a few hours a week – thus the title – to operate his business. With the rest of his time he travels the world, learned martial arts and to dance, and now is an author and speaker.

You don’t have to want to be an entrepreneur to read this book. It gives a unique perspective to how people spend their time, and how they could be spending their time. Even if you like what you do for a living – like myself – there is plenty to enjoy about this book.

My biggest takeaway from 4-Hour is quantifying your goals and dreams. Many people want to do something but think they can’t do it for many reasons, namely they can’t afford to. He talks through scenarios in his own life and even offers planning tools on his Web site to help you objectively determine if you can really do what you want to. In most cases you probably can, and seeing it in black and white will help you move towards your dreams.

Ferriss also professes something I have mastered owning my own business, working remotely. Many companies are moving towards telecommuting, but many do not allow people to work from home, or wherever they are connecting to the Internet. I once worked for a company that would not allow this as the director of my department liked seeing people in their cubicles! He walks the reader through how to approach it and once approved, how to manage it. With voice-over IP technology today, you could be calling a vendor from Denmark without them even knowing you’re outside of the US... not that I have done that myself!

Outsourcing is a key to how Ferriss has been successful. Some may not familiar with outsourcing overseas or the thought of someone in India balancing your US checkbook may be hard to grasp. The old adage that someone who earns $100 an hour should not be doing a task that can be done by someone who earns $10 an hour is a simplification of this concept, and taking a hard look at your life will probably show some of these tasks that can be done by others.

I recommend this book for anyone, whether you are an entrepreneur or are well into your career in a company. It is a high-energy and positive read and give many examples of services you can use to help you reach your goals, even if you just want to stay working under 40 hours a week.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (1) Comments • Permalink

Once during an annual performance appraisal I was told I was a generalist, and as they supposedly could not sell me as an expert, I was not going to receive a raise or bonus. This came almost a month after I received a “client service” award from the same person. What was my reaction? I smiled, and thanked my reviewer as I considered it a compliment to be called a generalist, and then pointed out how the 1.5 year project I just completed needed a generalist. A month later I quit that company.

For some reason there is a perception being a generalist is bad. You see this more in medicine, as doctors want to be a specialist and not a general practitioner. I see this often in the IT world, as people want to be solely a programmer or designer or database administrator and only focus on those areas, and see the others as places on the other side of a thick wall. For those of us who consider ourselves generalists or those who don’t understand us, the book Clients for Life is a must read.

This book was written in 2000 so some of the company examples may no longer be in business, but the themes and messages ring true today. It takes a perspective beyond being solely a generalist and focuses on being an unselfish, independent, deep generalist advisor to your clients. Rather than offering specific advice or a service and focusing on a one-time deal with the hope of more business, the authors take the viewpoint that by being there, readily available to advice clients on a wide variety of topics and areas and being able to guide them to specific resources or services is equally rewarding and profitable. This can be summed up as the difference between a transaction and a relationship.

As this is how my career interests have come to form over the years, my primary take away was an affirmation of my goals. It also promotes the sense of long-term relationships in building a client base and as a result revenue. Anyone can tell you that the best source of business is repeat business from existing clients and referrals to others from them.

The book is a good read – at times it seems like it is repeating itself to make its point though. Some of the examples of people who were deep generalists had sometimes tragic or dramatic ends to their lives. Even if you don’t believe in this philosophy 100%, I would recommend reading it as it may help form some of your own thoughts on client development.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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