Billionaire T. Boone Pickens recently scaled back his plan for massive wind farms – though he’s still taking delivery on those 667 wind turbines he has on order. One of the reasons he gave for the change, besides the price of oil, was transmission problems. High capacity transmission is simply not available.

The coasts consume the majority of the electricity, but some of the best locations for wind farms and solar farms is inland. Practical renewable energy solutions will remain tantalizingly just out of reach until high-capacity cross-country transmission is available. The best way to move high volumes of electricity is via 765 kV. The 765kV grid requires no new technologies, no scientific breakthroughs. We know how to do this today.

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Think of goodwill as something you put in a piggy bank.

Every new business contact is made with an empty piggy bank. The new contact knows nothing about you. You have no goodwill, no account to draw upon.

So you walk in the door. You’re groomed and dressed impeccably. You have all the credentials. You have a product offering that matches the customer’s needs.

Goodwill in the bank.

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I saw a Nationwide Insurance commercial recently in which the visually impaired employee named Michael Piccerello expressed in 30 seconds a concept covered in one of my favorite B books: Janelle Barlow’s “A Complaint is a Gift.”

When a customer takes the time to complain, they are really giving you a gift – a gift of their time. Customers are not required to give you this gift. In fact it is a major imposition on them. Most people avoid uncomfortable situations when they can – it’s just human nature – and complaining is often very uncomfortable. That’s why so few customers take the time to complain. (more…)

I was watching Discovery Channel’s “Ted Koppel goes to China,” and an interesting point came up about the benefits of a one-party political system.

I am not advocating communism or anything – far from it.  I love my country, warts and all, and I still believe that there is no better place to live on the entire planet.  But I’m not above taking my head out of the hole once in a while to see what other people are doing.

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Wow.  I just saw the new AT&T commercial (Investing in America) for the first time last night.  If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it here:

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