My newest article is up at BiggerPockets titled "Why You Shouldn't Settle for hiring Anyone Below the Top Percent of Talent in a Paygrade." Although the article actually focuses more on coaching and firing.

First I note how Jim Collins in Good to Great found that it was Who not What that propelled greatness.

"The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it. "

Then I go onto detail some of the strategies Geoff Smart and Randy Street discuss in their book Topgrading, mostly regarding coaching and evaluating people after you hired them. As they note, "Topgrading is simply defined as achieving teams of almost all A players: those in the top 10 percent of talent available for the pay." Quite obviously, teams of A players are going to wildly outperform other teams. And thereby, companies with such teams will wildly outperform other companies.

As I conclude the piece, "...great employees can bring your business to new heights. You absolutely need to make hiring, firing, and coaching a priority in your business." Check it out.

My newest article is up at Mises.org; "Is Communist Speech Free Speech?"

The article is intentionally incendiary and serves two purposes: 1) To give a brief rundown of communist atrocities. As I note, "Going back through the twentieth century communists generally fall into two categories; 1) Mass-murdering, totalitarian dictators when in power and 2) terrorists when not-in power." And 2) To mock all of those "hate speech isn't free speech" lunatics on the Left. Most notably, Joe Biden, who recently tweeted out that "hate speech is not protected by the first amendment."

Umm, yes it is Joe.

Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't seem to get the obvious satire as the comments shows. Perhaps had my original draft been used, which included the following over-the-top ending, it would have been more obvious. But I can understand it really isn't in the spirit of an intellectual website such as Mises.org:

"Postscript: Communists tend to be rather dishonest, so if Howard Dean is looking for an unbiased third party to determine who is and who is not a communist, the Mises Institute would be happy to lend a hand.

"Postscript to the Postscript: After a thorough review, the Mises Institute has determined that Howard Dean will no longer be allowed to express his opinion."

Of course, people's sarcasm detectors seem to be permenantly broken when it comes to the written word. So perhaps one more would have been necessary:

"Postscript to the Postscript to the Postscript: Yes this is satire, c'mon people!"

Oh well. Regardless, communism sucks and freedom of speech, even for bad speech, is the cornerstone of a free society.

Yesterday was a punch in the gut as I learned my favorite musician had committed suicide in Detroit.  Anyone who has heard his music could tell he had suffered from depression before. But having followed him through the years, I thought it was something he had beaten. Heartbreakingly, that appears to have not been the case. I wish the best for his wife and kids. 

I became a huge fan of Chris Cornell when the first Audioslave album came out. I had liked Soundgarden before, but hadn't really differentiated them from any other 90's rock. I then rediscovered Soundgarden though and got into all of their stuff (other than their early heavy metal songs). Then I discovered Temple of the Dog and was basically hooked.

I followed him through his Audioslave days, his solo career (even the stint with Timbaland) and of course he reuniting with Soundgarden. And I loved his recent acoustic-based album Higher Truth.

I was lucky enough to see him in concert four times and must say he's a great performer, particularly when it's just him and an acoustic guitar. He was quite funny and really engaged the audience. And good lord, he could sing. Those acoustic concerts included something like 30 songs, which, as an amateur musician, I can tell you would not be easy to get through. Especially with the range he sings at.

Regardless, I will always be glad for the music he brought us while here. In parting, I think the song he wrote for Jeff Buckley when he died best illustrates how I feel. Thank you Chris and rest in peace.

My new article at BiggerPockets is up. It's titled "How to Improve Your Odds of Scoring a Loan With a Private or Hard Money Lender" and it's about what, well, I think it's pretty self explanatory.

Other than getting a great deal under contract, I note that the most important things you can do fall into four categories,

1. Your Financials
2. Your Experience
3. Your Trustworthiness
4. Your Coherence

The coherence one may sound a bit odd, but it's just as important as the rest. As I explain,

"...A confused mind says “no.” This is especially true with private lenders or equity investors. If they can’t understand what your pitching, it doesn’t matter how good the deal is, they will say no."

Go check it out.