GUY: I have no predictions about the future
Those who try to predict the future do not tell us their track records, but they do ask us to buy their books.
John Guy
Articles
GUY: Where are the progressives?
Today, a political leader who proposes a higher appropriation to clean streets would be criticized. If he proposed going to the moon, he would be impeached.
GUY: Let’s motivate – not threaten – teachers
Evaluating teachers cannot improve results. Human nature does not allow it.
GUY: Do meter-contract critics have a plan?
If clear certainty were a business criterion, nothing ever would happen.
GUY: Do you want to travel or truly vacate?
How does a busy person vacate, as in the dictionary reference, “to vacate one’s mind
of worries?” One answer is to take a vacation, but an important choice remains: place or event?
GUY: Ethical collapses offer many lessons
“The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse,” by Marianne M. Jennings, caused me to wonder whether investors
could have avoided various corporate disasters in Indiana.
VIEWPOINT: Discuss CEO pay in the open
While transparency is a stated goal of many corporations, deliberations regarding distribution of shareholder property
to executives are not subject to light of day or to review. Instead, decision-making is camouflaged by
thousands of words that appear substantial but disclose little.
GUY: What price company leadership?
The folks who control executive compensation are often executives themselves. Boards must realize that their self-dealing,
self-benefiting ways are grossly out of line with the true value of one’s contribution to a business and society.
VIEWPOINT: CEOs, do you deserve your salaries?
An exaggerated share of the nation’s wealth is paid to CEOs of public companies, their minions and directors, through agreements
made inside boardrooms, by highly compensated individuals who commit shareholders’ money and are not subject to effective
oversight.
Are we victims of ‘group think’?
“Group think,” a powerful and controlling force, was present as the Capital Improvement Board built Lucas Oil Stadium and Eli Lilly and Co. developed and marketed Zyprexa.
VIEWPOINT: What we need to teach kids about money
“What should I teach my 5-year-old about finance?” a client asked. I responded: “Teach him that finance is fun.” Investment finance is neither complicated nor intimidating and, like a foreign language, the earlier the learning, the better the result. Thanks to a smart and active parent, I learned early, over the dinner table, or in the car. For example, my mother took me for a drive on the new highway near our home, and said: “When this building program started,…
VIEWPOINT: Corporate transactions: lose-lose deals
Corporate transactions, such as the sales of Peoples Bank and First Indiana Bank, as well as mergers of utility companies, benefit no one. For example: Retail customers: No evidence exists that consumers benefit from these transactions. Companies might argue that fees and prices rise more slowly in larger organizations, a result of efficiencies, but no proof is available, and the principle of diminishing returns suggests that, at some point, the cost of running a large entity becomes proportionately greater than…