→ Fear The Bow Tie.
→ 5,000 People Can’t Be Wrong.
→ Kids Don’t Ride Their Bikes To Work Anymore.

I sat down to write about a few things on my mind before I headed back up north for the summer, but I couldn’t decide where to start.  I’ve ruminated over 5,000 People Can’t Be Wrong for a week or so, but I’ve seen such a proliferation of bow ties that I am reluctantly drawn to the trivial.

Fear The Bow Tie.

Why?  Because there is nothing behind it.  It’s a statement that says “I am a bow tie.”  It’s an inexpensive way of saying “I am a Ferrari.”  I saw a similar comment recently about handlebar mustaches, some things are just hard to get past.  The bow tie stops you dead in your tracks.  It shouts.  It annoys.  It defines.  But, most of all, it limits the wearer to a sudden and debilitating identity.  They are merely a cliche’.  It works best on the most insecure of wearers.  For them it is a necessary distraction.  While a fashionable woman [dressed head to toe from LVMH] is worriedly positioning her social status, a bow tie displaces the wearer.  It throws them into a void of nothingness – nothing but a bow tie.  And, besides, Ernie Johnson looks ridiculous.

5,000 People Can’t Be Wrong.*

So, who are these 5,000 apostates that defy argument and possess damming evidence of a reprobate merchant?  Unfortunately [and, sometimes, fortuitously], it’s the 5,000 or so ex-Advantage employees who have scattered around WNY and the world for the past 35 years.  It’s hard to argue that the Advantage wasn’t the place for them.  While the alumni of the Advantage roam from Elmwood to Chippewa, from John Hopkins to the Cleveland Clinic, from Apple to SalesForce, from Yale to Stanford, from California to Maine, from Clarence to Orchard Park, from Australia to London, from UB to Canisius, and from the courthouse to the jailhouse – it’s undeniable that the Advantage just wasn’t for them.  But, for many of them, it was a fruitful and beneficial experience.

Allow me the requisite quote from the Bible:

Matthew 7:15-20  Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

You will know us by our fruits:  By our Walker Center, TW&Co, Lifetime Service, Stereo Advantage, iFul, House of Cotton, Bogavia, Giancarlo’s, Piece Apparel, Smart Squad Design, The Beauty Bar, Modern Luxuri, Sneaker Advantage, Advantage TI, Advantage Trade Group, Smart Squad Install, Brinkley Builders, Tiny Walker, Aussie T Co, The Nantucket Shop, Computer Head Start, SmartLinks, Sony Home Theaters, Forrestel Clothing Co, and the Advantage Computer Co.

By our founding support: AP Professionals, Advantage Wood Shop, Autonomic Resources, JNorman & Co, Consilium, CT&K, Black Box Creative, Capax Global, Greenview Landscaping, The Pizza Shoppe, Free Trade Consultants, Stereo Shops, Butler Chemical, Aussie Outfitters, Cleary Travel, Nobles, Bellus Development, Real Property Services, Manzella Gloves, Total Health & Fitness, Tony Walker Golf Club, Strategic Finance, Taplin Design, White & Co, My Personal Advisor, At Your Service, Gauntlet Design, Outback Paging, Advantage Marketing & Incentives, Trend Depot, Images & Graphics, and Irwin Sales.

And by our commitment: The Downtown Priest, Amherst Police Foundation, iWorldFundraising.org, and the Church of the Good.

Winston Churchill said that the only thing worse than having allies is not having them.

That leaves Kids Don’t Ride Their Bikes To Work Anymore.

The most recent Time cover story calls the generation of young adults known as millennials “lazy, entitled narcissists.”  The story points out, “The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that’s now 65 or older…; 58 percent more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982…  Their development is stunted: more people ages 18 to 29 live with their parents than with a spouse…”

I look forward to Joel Stein’s essay every week on the second last page of TIME, and this week his feature article didn’t disappoint.  He starts his cover story off by explaining, “I am about to do what old people have done throughout history: call those younger than me lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow.”  It’s an interesting, humorous, dubious, and somewhat troubling article to read, but as I pondered the fate of the millennial’s, I couldn’t shake the notion that they are on the cusp of immortality.  From Ray Kurzweil’s How To Create A Mind  to the 3d printing revolution, I am convinced that the regeneration of essential organs and the storage and rebooting of our thoughts are going to be de rigueur for the millenials at best and my grandchildren at worst.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind
http://blog.moebio.org/tag/3d-printing/

So, I’ll be busy next winter in Naples building my avatar of artificial intelligence coupled with my 30 years of personal journals so that I can converse with my great grandchildren a thousand years from now.  But, as for immortality, I’ll pass.

* I never asked them to like me, I asked them to build with me.  I’ve found that when it all works out the liking takes care of itself.  But when it doesn’t work out the way they want, I’ve found that I’m really in for it …  It’s been a small price to pay.  Thank you to everyone who has helped us build over the years.  We’ll be celebrating our 35th Anniversary on June 6th at the new Stereo Advantage Warehouse Sales Center located in our Lifetime Service and Distribution Center at 1955 Wehrle Dr.  Everyone is invited.  More info to follow.

This winter – and what we have had of a spring – has been a remarkable time for the entire Advantage Co.  Not only have our core businesses [the electronics division, TW&Co, and Giancarlo’s] produced the single largest increase in 20 years for Q1, our partnerships have set international and national precedents in IT as well.  The biggest winner of all was certainly our Lifetime Service Center.  Our local and California based service centers have had a run that rivals the pace we had in 2009 [and this time we are doing it right].

Over the past several months, the Walker Center has seen the development of our new Cento Club [with our two new private banquet and meeting rooms], The Beauty Bar [featuring all natural drinks, snacks, raw desserts, and organic juices], and the usual renovations and expansion.  Along with all that, we have partnered with Wellingtin Resources and introduced Bogavia to national accounts.

Recently, we’ve had visits from the founders, creators, designers, and CEO’s of Tata Harper, John Hardy, Roberto Coin, and Sumbody; while later this year we are looking forward to visits from Paige from Paige Denim, Brandy Monique from Fig Yarrow, the creator of DL1961, the creator of Peace, Love, World, the creator of Chaser, the creator of Yarok, the designer of Mackage, and we’re still working on Diane Von Furstenberg [who mentioned to Jules and Alison that she would come visit them soon].

While Tony Walker & Co and Giancarlo’s form our smallest division, it is my personal favorite.  I am looking forward to spending most of my summer on Giancarlo’s patio [and completely renovating the TW&Co store once again].

But all that has been going on pales in comparison to what our Autonomic Resources partnership has accomplished over the past six months.  Not only were we the first to receive the FedRAMP IaaS Authority to Operate, we have now received the Department of Interior’s 10 year ID/IQ Cloud Foundation contract award.  The Wall Street Journal led the story on this award with “Autonomic’s ARC-P Platform Gains Momentum With the 10 Year $1 Billion ID/IQ.”  I’d say we agree.

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130502-913753.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I return to town at the end of May, and I am looking forward to an incredible summer.  We’ll be kicking it off on June 6th with our 35th Anniversary Party as we open our new Stereo Advantage Warehouse Sales Center at our international distribution and service center on Wehrle Dr.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in what has been the most remarkable 6 months in the history of the Advantage Co.  Thank you.

No need to watch the Masters later today.  Tiger already won. They decided that he should be given the tournament because he is, after all, Tiger Woods, and can you imagine the ratings next year?

Of course, Nick Faldo will be back in the booth because he dutifully recanted any and all remarks about the Masters’ transgressions.  It wasn’t really him calling for Tiger to withdraw, it was a misinformed version of him.  The information he didn’t have at the time of his remark was that he was going to get fired – that changed everything. Pathetic.  And he was one of my all-time favorites.

While a 14 year old can get hammered for taking more than 40 seconds to hit a shot during a five and half hour crawl, Tiger gets a free pass on being DQ’d because he may have been confused.  Anyone who has played competitive golf for 20 weeks knows you drop as near as possible when you choose to hit from the spot you hit your last shot.  You’d think that after 20 years of competitive golf that Tiger would have that one down.  Of course if you can have a boulder removed from your path as a ‘movable’ obstruction, this is but a mere trifle.

Anyone who has ever played competitive golf knows full well that signing an incorrect scorecard is an immediate DQ.  No reprieve, ever.  This is the first time in the history of competitive golf that someone signing an incorrect scorecard was not DQ’d.  But there were extenuating circumstances – it was Tiger Woods and this is the Masters.

And please spare me the two stroke penalty bullshit.  It means nothing.  He got a pass on being DQ’d that is completely unwarranted whether anyone had looked at the tape prior to the end of his round or not.  He signed the wrong scorecard, and, in competitive golf, you are DQ’d.  Whether it is the Monday scratch tournament at Crag Burn or the US Open, you are DQ’d.

Anyone who holds their ground that this self-absorbed myopic asshole should have been DQ’d will certainly be ostracized from the Tiger Woods/Nike world of sycophants and the hallowed grounds of golf’s Sistine Chapel, Augusta National.  So it goes.

And, yes, Steve Jobs was a great man too [as long as you consider a lying manipulative coercive cheating exploitive sociopath a great man].  Read it enough and you’ll believe anything.

That’s not my Tumblr picture that got posted last night on my Facebook page.  Sorry.  I am trying to start a Tumblr blog, but I am still learning the settings, etc.  I was looking for a shot of great legs for our Cento Bazaar footwear wall, and I found a Tumblr picture I thought I could crop the legs out of.  I guess the cropping didn’t make it.  So it goes.

Regardless, I am coming home for the Grand Opening of the Cento Bazaar Room tomorrow night.  It’s a room built exclusively for our Cento Club members, and it will feature off-season product at 30% off all the time for members only.

I’ll post some pictures on my Tumblr blog when the room is done [and I figure Tumblr out].

Is this picture a little too much for the room?

By the way, I heard the news about Reggie Witherspoon last night.  Winters in Buffalo where always more fun while watching Kwitch and him work the sidelines from the court side seats Pam talked me into.  UB Basketball will not be the same without those guys.  They exemplified everything that is right in college sports.

I know a few of the guys that played for them, and their successful after-college-careers are due, in large part, to the mentoring Reggie and Kwitch provided.

Along with Coach Schintz, Sweet Home has given us the very best of basketball coaches.  It’s a group of guys that really understood the game and life – and provided the perfect balance.  They are all missed [although I’ve been hearing some rumors that Schintz is itching to get back at it – of course, right now, the twins are keeping him busy – and he’s loving every minute of it].

I’m sure it won’t be long until we see them all back on the court they love.  Until then they will be missed.

On March 18, 2013, Thomas Edward Perez was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States Secretary of Labor, replacing outgoing Secretary Hilda Solis.

So, along with my best friend from high school, Joe Macmanus [who President Obama recently appointed as the new U.S. Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna], we now have my old first baseman, Tom Perez, being appointed as Secretary of Labor.

I haven’t thought about Tom in a long time.  I lost touch with him years ago, but I’ll never forget his family and him.  I remember his dad passing away, and I was thrilled that Tom was still going to Canisius High School.  I think he may have been a college rep for us at Brown.  It’s fantastic that Tom is the Secretary of Labor, but Teeko’s [sp?] a doctor?  It would be great to hear from them.

It’s safe to say that Canisius High School is well represented at the Federal level.  Johnny Sturm would be proud.  I’m just happy to have our FedRAMP IaaS ATO.

Wikipedia:  Thomas Edward Perez was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, to parents Rafael and Grace (née Brache) Perez, who were both first generation Dominican immigrants.  His father Rafael, who earned U.S. citizenship after enlisting in the U.S. Army after World War II, worked as a doctor in Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Buffalo where he worked as a physician at a VA hospital.  His mother, who came to the United States in 1930 after her father Rafael Brache, was appointed as the Dominican Republic’s Ambassador to the United States, remained in the U.S. after Ambassador Brache was declared persona non grata by his own government, for speaking out against Dominican President Rafael Trujillo’s regime.

Perez, who was the youngest of four brother and sisters (who all followed their father in becoming doctors), suffered the loss of their father when he died of a heart attack, when Perez was 12 years old.  He graduated from Canisius High School in 1979, putting himself through college through the help of scholarships and pell grants.

Perez received his Bachelor of Arts in international relations and political science from Brown University in 1983.  He also received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1987.  While attending Brown, he worked at the University’s dining hall, and while attending Harvard, Perez worked as a law clerk for Attorney General Edwin Meese in 1986.

Lately I have been feeling aggravated about a few things at work.  There are a number of programs and projects that are not coming along as quickly as I had envisioned.  Someone unwittingly told me that I should not stress out about it.  Frankly, I had a hard time with that depiction of my aggravation.  I see stress in others, but I only feel my sense of aggravation [and anger] in my own “stressful” situations.  Now, I will readily admit that I am often seen as a stress carrier [I may be a walking typhoon of stress for some people], but I am seldom, if ever, afflicted.  So, I thought I would look into stress a little deeper this morning.  I came across two insightful depictions of stress amongst a cottage industry of opinions.

1. Stress, when driven from outside the individual, can be motivational.  It has the potential to be a positive, driving force especially when it comes from someone perceived to be a trusted supporter or mentor or manager.  It is often perceived as good advice and it often helps generate “considered alternatives and choices” that are different from the ones currently in practice.  –  Performance Management Company Blog

2. People often say that stress is a motivator.  What we’re referring to when we say this is really better described as stimulation and engagement.  Take the example of goal-setting.  We set goals because they give us something to aim for and keep us feeling engaged.  Stimulation and engagement are good.

But that’s not stress.  Stress is the negative whirlwind of emotions that gets imposed on top of our stimulation and engagement.  It leads to poorer decision-making, reduced creativity, mental exhaustion, and physical burnout (and eventually to disease).  In other words, stress motivates us in a number of harmful ways.  Without the stress, we have more energy to get things done and more fun doing it.  We need stimulation and engagement.  We all enjoy pushing ourselves to accomplish our objectives.  But we don’t need stress to get there.

Stress is not inevitable.  Look for something you’re not bothered by that other people are (a fear of heights, driving fast, flying).  People who experience stress in those situations may say that it’s inevitable because they can’t imagine not feeling stress, but you know that this isn’t so.  Their emotions come from their beliefs.  The same is true for whatever you’re stressed out about now (money, health, work, etc.).  It’s entirely possible to think differently and not experience stress in your life, as unlikely as that sounds.  It just requires a different approach.  If you’re successful and stressed out, you’re succeeding in spite of your stress, not because of it. – by Andrew Bernstein in The Myth of Stress

I can’t help but agree that stress is something we allow to happen to us.  What you or I think is stressful [or aggravating] may indeed be stimulating to someone else.  Stress is internal.

At the Advantage, I have been known to utilize a dramatic tirade from time to time to create an environment where people are motivated to give a 100% effort toward the desired result.  There is no denying that this is effective.  But, is it stressful?  Well, it would be hard to argue that it isn’t stressful to some, but, to others, it is a tonic [or, at the very least, a focal point].

I’m not deluded, and I am not out to justify my particular leadership style.  I’m just looking at stress as clearly as possible.  As I look at successful coaches [like the Vince Lombardi type] or successful business sociopaths [like the Steve Jobs type], they make me look like a teddy bear.

So, today’s question is, do I need to ratchet it up a bit, or do we need a kinder, gentler Tony?

I’m only kidding.  I’m too old to ratchet it up, and it takes a big toll on me – a toll I am no longer willing to pay.  No, what today’s question is: How do we create an environment where we eliminate stress knowing full well that everything that happens in business has the potential to stress someone out?  

I have been around countless people who are stressed by too much opportunity, too much success [that’s what they are saying is stressing out Rory McIlroy these days], too much responsibility, too much independence, too much control, etc.  For some, making a simple decision is stressful.  Stress is a very individual feeling.  It is, like beauty and pornography, in the eye of the beholder.

So, how do we eliminate stress?  Concern would help, as would genuine support.  But what we really need is confidence.  The more confident you are about yourself, your career, your health, your friends and family, your significant other, your finances, and your ability to actually reach your goals – the less stress you will feel when you are in what is, to you, a stressful situation.

I believe that the Maslow Need Hierarchy is relevant when it comes to stress.  Our unfulfilled needs are potential stress points.  Confidence comes from not only satisfying our needs, but in the knowledge that we have the potential and resources to satisfy our unfulfilled needs.  Stress, I believe, comes from a feeling of inadequacy.  But I’ll leave that for another posting.

In the meantime, as Henry Ford [that famous anti-semitic sociopath] once said: Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t – you’re right.

It feels like grandpa again.

Ariana, Sam, and my new grandson, Samuel Anthony, are already home starting their new adventure.  If there is anything better than grandchildren, I’ve never experienced it.  It is more than the circle of life, for me it is the life I always hoped for.

As I fast approach my 60th birthday, I can’t help but pause [more often than ever lately] to truly recognize and appreciate the gift of life.  I have always relished living my own life, and while it has been my children that have given it meaning – grandchildren are indeed a special gift.

Today, I am surrounded by my children and grandchildren.  Fate’s been kind when it comes to the love I feel from those close to me.  Just thinking of Francesca and Sam Anthony is enough to make my day complete.  My business thrives, my friendships endure, and my prospects for the future continue to amaze me.  But through it all, a certain ennui dampens my enthusiasm for the challenges that await me as I start every day.

As wonderful an adventure as it all has been, my business has certainly jaded me.  By building the Advantage Co, I have made more friends [and earned more enemies] than I ever imagined possible.  All through my school years, I was never much for socializing.  Even in college, I lived with my girlfriend, hung with a few friends, and played a lot of basketball and ping pong [while trying despairingly to play guitar].

And then along came the Stereo Advantage and a merchant’s life.  I made more friends in my first year of business than I had in the previous 24.  And by the time I was 30, I had more friends than ever, but as sure as the sun set at night, enemies rose in the morning.

It’s the nature of business that every success seems to mean someone else’s failure.  Every decision inevitably leaves someone satiated with discontent or, in the most regrettable of cases, palpable hate.  There is a cadre of ex-Advantage employees that share a common enmity that binds them together.  While it is mostly a comical association of malcontents, it does take its toll on the joy of the adventure.  WNY is a small town with little more than three degrees of separation.  And although this makes for a warm and nurturing environment for building a family, it can eventually wear you out with the petty remonstrations and almost clan-like vendettas.

But enough of all that.  The point to this little posting is that as I approach 60, this is what it all feels like: joy, appreciation, ennui, love, satisfaction, hope, and, most of all, a wry smile for the machinations of so many that find significance in anything other than the full appreciation for the gift of life.

For my family and friends, thank you.  You have given me more than my fair share of life [topped off by two beautiful grandchildren].  As for my traducers, if retribution is what you seek – you’re too late.  As I’ve said, I’ve already had more than my fair share of all that life has to offer.  From here, both the good and the bad are all a bonus.

And for all of you, especially Francesca and Sam, there is the gift of life.  Whether it be brief or long, you are always better off living it to its fullest [and a smile along the way wouldn’t hurt either].  But don’t let all this gift of life reverie confuse you, it’s still a Darwinian struggle, and the Advantage has every intention of thriving amongst the chaos.

This train keeps on rolling, and it just picked up another passenger.

It looks like we are all set with the construction plans for the new home of the Stereo Advantage.  The Retail and Commercial Divisions of the Stereo Advantage will soon be joining Lifetime Service at our Distribution Center at 1955 Wehrle Dr. [behind ECC North at Wehrle and Youngs Rd just east of Ingram Micro].  It will be great to have everyone back together again.

We will be building our new showroom, offices, and store for the Stereo Advantage in the 4k sq’ front section of our Wehrle facility.  Our plans call for a grand opening on June 6, 2013, our 35th Anniversary.  The Stereo Advantage will continue to occupy our temporary spot in the Walker Center until then.

Thanks to everyone who has been with us on this 35 year journey, it’s been quite a ride – and it still feels like we are just getting started.

Turn the page.

Reprinted from http://churchofthegood.wordpress.com/

If the COTG is to truly promote the celebration of the gift of life, it is incumbent upon us to provide services to our members that will enable them to be safe and secure.  It starts with financial security.  One of the services the Church of the Good will offer, therefore, is forensic accounting.

Accounting by God simply means accounting with no agenda other than transparency and illumination.  Our forensic service is not intended to make you money, rather it is intended to provide you with a full transparency, accuracy, and assessment of all your financial dealings so that you can make more informed decisions with your advisors.

Our COTG Financial Review will scrupulously examine all of your financial relationships and obligations.  We will review the performance and veracity of your accountants, lawyers, financial advisors, insurance providers, and agents; as well as all contracts, investments, holdings, loans, debt, credit, trusts, associations, tax filings, wills, and financial instruments.

The main value of the COTG forensic team is that it has no agenda beyond your financial well-being; whereas, every other advisor has an economic stake in the retention of you as a source of income.  This allows us the opportunity to provide you with a clear assessment of your financial health, an assessment that is not prejudiced by any other agenda.

What you don’t know may be undermining years of hard work, wise investments, and good faith.  Our forensic review will give you the peace of mind that comes with transparency and accuracy.  While our belief in god is based on faith, there is indeed a preponderance of evidence that substantiates god’s existence [not the least of which is his gift of life].  The same holds true for your advisors.  Every financial relationship you participate in is based on good faith.  And while faith is both uplifting and essential, it is not enough.  We are all responsible for the scrupulous examination of all our activities, associations, and investments.

Let the COTG financial review provide you with the requisite examination that your financial health depends on.

__________________________________________________

Information: Financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accountancy that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes.  ”Forensic” means “suitable for use in a court of law,” and it is to that standard and potential outcome that our forensic accounting works.

Our financial forensic engagements are generally concerned with economic damage, whether suffered through tort or breach of contract.  This is, increasingly, an area of great concern.  Often advisors not only mislead, but, at times, surreptitiously compromise their clients through outright theft and conspiracy.

Our forensic engagements also review bankruptcy, insolvency, and reorganization.  And our review adds transparency and credibility to any business valuation.

Our forensic accountants specialize in professional negligence claims where they are assessing and commenting on the work of other professionals.  Our forensic accountants are also engaged in marital and family law of analyzing lifestyle for spousal support purposes, determining income available for child support, and equitable distribution.

The COTG forensic accountants specialize in forensic analytics which is the procurement and analysis of electronic data to reconstruct, detect, or otherwise support a claim of financial fraud. The main steps in forensic analytics are data collection, data preparation, data analysis, and reporting.  We are most noted for our computer forensics/e-discovery.