Ping pong has changed my life. I thought about that a few days ago when I watched my adult sons whacking backhands and forehands playing against and then with each other in doubles at a big family celebration in California. They love the game almost as much as I do. The family they are part of never would have happened without ping pong. I started playing as a kid with my dad. Great for developing hand-eye coordination and a father-son relationship. I graduated to after-school competitions. One year, I played three games for the school championship before a few hundred…
Author: Lloyd Graff
I have thought much about friendship in recent years, wishing I had more, wondering why so many guys I know also don’t have many friends. In 2023, I decided to do something about it. I made a mental list of people who I hope to have a better relationship with– acquaintances, family, friends from long ago who I had lost contact with. I have committed to write them, text them, email them, and visit to begin to see what happened to them. I have seen stats that nearly 15 percent of men and 10 percent of women say they do…
This blog is what I decided not to blog about. I considered writing about holiday bonuses. I have struggled with giving bonus checks for as long as I have made business decisions. Every year is baffling. What is the right amount? Is it even a good idea to give them at all? Do I sow discontent because employees find out what other employees make and they resent that I did not feel they deserved as much? I have considered giving no bonuses at all and instead raising salaries, but that seemed dangerous because it locked me into wages which may…
She was portrayed in the Russian media as a “lesbian drug user,” skillfully plucked from a plane leaving Russia, to be traded for a valuable patriotic citizen imprisoned in America. Brittney Griner was finally freed from a Russian jail after almost a year in prison last week. To Vladimir Putin, she was a useful pawn in his battle to humiliate the United States as a pathetic state with weak leadership that bows to Russian might and his superior negotiating strategy. For Putin, it was one more part of the game of war. He must know that his attack on Ukraine…
It’s been a bad month for the bad guys. Iran: Bad guy #1 It lost to, of all countries, the United States, in the World Cup, and people all over the country honked their horns to celebrate. A couple of days ago, it was announced that the Morality Police were being abolished. It is the enforcement group that is the spearhead of religious orthodoxy in Iran. They are in charge of putting down women’s demonstrations all over the country for violating the mandatory wearing of the hijab head covering in public. The hijab requirement is symbolic of the lack of…
It’s hard to accept the idea that it is time to make a change and move on. I was reminded of that by listening to two wonderful interviews with Michael Lewis, who has written a dozen great books and inspired me to write many times. Steven Dubner recently interviewed him on the Freakonomics podcast to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his classic book, Moneyball, about baseball General Manager Billy Beane and the Oakland As, who revolutionized the sports world by going against the veteran baseball scouts and looking differently at players and the game. After that, I listened to Steve…
Why does a kid living in shorts and a t-shirt in the Bahamas attract multi-billions of dollars to invest in cryptocurrency, while the machining world is auctioning off Haases and Davenports because they can’t find enough people to run them? The Sam Bankman-Fried story fascinates me, perhaps because it is so different from the world of machining parts and trading in 40-year-old screw machines. I know those of you who choose to read my blog today will probably think I flew off my Y-axis by writing about the flame out of the cryptocurrency boy genius, Sam Bankman-Fried, but I think…
Two clients in the machining business. One is going up for auction soon. The other hopes to sell for $10M. Both are family businesses run by brothers. One runs mostly National Acmes, the other Davenports, Wickmans, and Brown & Sharpes. One has well-trained operators, the other says they are quitting the business because they can’t get an operator nor setup man. The one that is auctioning off their machines did mostly military and medical, the successful shop is almost all automotive. I do not know all of the intricacies of these two firms by any means, but I have been…
How do boys grow into men? I am no expert, but I have two grown sons and two grandsons. I am happy about them all, even the one who is six months old. And, add my son-in-law who is a wonderful person, a friend, and a Cubs fan. I have thought a lot about how young boys grow up confidently and joyfully in a world where so much is stacked against them today. Start with school. Boys and girls develop at different speeds. Girls mature one to two years earlier than boys. They often get their period by the time…
I wish I hadn’t bought the story. Ford, the pickup truck gorilla, was going to take over the electric pick up market which was going to crush the gas and diesel portion over the next few years. Ford knows the pickup business like nobody else. The Japanese and Koreans know new cars, but trucks are a mystery for them. The Germans can spell BMW, but for hauling a boat or a jalopy, “nein.” So when Ford brought in new management, a swami from Apple, and committed at least five years of earnings to building lithium ion batteries and the vehicle…