Author: Hoss

CEOs Want To Keep Their Jobs Too

Chairman Powell, under Congressional oath, just stated that raising the interest rate will have almost no effect on the price of oil and groceries.

Which, also means, that lowering of the fed target rate also has no effect on the price of oil and groceries.

Which means we should check-in on the 4 Horsemen of Surprised for their reaction to this obvious news.


Supply and demand are tricky things, and that dynamic acts differently across various industries. Oil acts differently than copper, which is different than corn, etc, etc. But we’re seeing weakness across all commodities. (even platinum).  Maybe it’s only a pullback, maybe it’s sustained weakness, too early to tell.

We’re seeing a significant breakdown of Dr. Copper over this past week. Today, FCX broke significant support (and triggered my stop/loss). The OIH and all of the major oils are down almost 15% during the past week as well. Again, maybe it’s only a pullback, maybe it’s sustained weakness, too early to tell.

One of the expressions that commodity traders have clung to for several decades goes a long way to explaining our current relationship with commodity prices. “The cure for high commodity prices is high commodity prices.”

Every commodity CEO in the world rushes to get their product to market when their products are at the top of their price range and every CEO pulls back their product when the price is at the bottom of the historic price range. And if they don’t act in this manner, they aren’t CEOs very long. And, not surprisingly, CEOs want to keep their job too

Father’s Day Advice

Best Father’s Day Meme ever

Gen X folks were soooo lucky to have many wonderful father role models piped into our homes via cable during our formative years. Names like: Archie Bunker, Homer Simpson, and Bill Cosby.

Fortunately for me, I had actual father role models in my life as well. But,tbh, when it’s time to dish out fatherly advice to my kids, this is the image that pops into my head right before I dispense the knowledge.

I take that Viktor Frankl moment and think which words will truly be helpful, and sometimes the answer is to not give advice and to let them figure it out for themselves. (parenting really should come with a playbook, guidelines, something)

This year, my Father’s Day gift is I get to deliver as many “that’s what she said” jokes as I want, with no eye rolls or complaining.” It’s a dad-joke firing range at my house today.

The Return Of The Phone Warrior

The year was 1998, I was in my mid 20’s, and I got my first company paid StarTAC phone, which was a great phone for the times.

Although it was so compact, it could easily fit into your pocket, many StarTAC users wore them clipped to a belt. I’m not sure why, perhaps it was a Batman fetish, perhaps it was to show everyone you had this phone. But wherever you stored it, it was a tremendous asset for anyone who needed to do business while on the go.

“Small and Powerful”-that’s what she said

Being A Phone Warrior

Most phone warriors become that way because they are also road warriors.

The Original Scaffolding Team

No, not that kind of Road Warrior. The kind that is constantly on the move, which I was.

After my second month with the phone, I got a call from our company’s VP of purchasing. He wanted to talk about my phone usage. That month, April of 98, my phone bill was around $1,100. But what Jason wanted to talk to me about was significantly increasing my time on the phone. More phone time, more, more, more.


I gave him what he wanted.

Unfortunately, during the pre-internet times, car buyers were on the phone constantly. I spent my entire 20’s and 30’s connected to a cellphone and a pricing guide (Black Book for me). I was a phone warrior and a road warrior.

But then, I left the car business, and left the constant phone work behind.  In fact, still to this day, I often don’t touch my iPhone throughout the day. Part of me is still repelled from heavy phone work as a throwback punishment to my youth.

These days, there are soooo many ways to get or stay in touch with someone. Email, Slack, Discord, Text, a private message on one of the gagillion social media platforms available, and on, and on the list goes.

But do you know what hasn’t changed since the 90’S?

People Still Need To Do Business

  • Doors need to be opened
  • Deals have to be closed
  • Product needs to be shipped
  • Returns need to happen

And on and on the business cycle goes. But which channel do many, if not most, people pursue in order to perform these business functions? They choose the most crowded channel possible.

“I’ll send so and so a cold email, that’ll get their attention”, says a person who is delusional about how crowded inboxes are. If you are a middle manager and up in today’s email-fueled world, your inbox is probably bulging at its digital seams. In fact, I think I’ve received 100 fresh emails while typing this sentence.

So, how do you break through this resistance? Let’s look to an American poet for the answer..”

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost

Take the path less traveled, especially if you are trying to sell to someone Generation X and older. All day, every day, many in corporate America type furiously on our keyboards answering emails, Slacks, etc. All the while, our desk phone sits silently on our desks.

So if you are looking to make a new contact, or move some deal forward, or open new opportunities, try today’s least populated communication channel, the telephone.

Pick up the phone and call. Do this all day, every day, like Bud Fox, and outsized returns should follow.

Persistence!!

No Easy Path To Happiness

For anyone who feels like your life would automatically be wonderful beyond your wildest dreams if you were just: rich, famous, and good looking. You should spend about five minutes watching the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, and you will be cured of that feeling. Permanently.

Messy. Messy. Messy!