What in the world is an insurance guy doing at CES? And what is CES??

It looks like next week I may be traveling in a friends suitcase to CES. His company has been invited by Intel as one of their featured developers for their new Atom App Store. It's not a public event, so you have to be invited. Unless of course, you're me, and you invite yourself :) Looks like I may end up being the "camera man".

No, seriously, I really am decent with a video cam. At least a Flip. (haha, I think I have them fooled:)

Here's why I want to go- I love consumer electronics. I've been an early adopter and sneezer when it comes to CS for a long time. It started with cell phones. For now it's Apple products and e-readers. I've even become enamoured with a sister industry called "technical gear/clothing". Oh, and don't even mention web apps and social media. I am a hopeless early adopter.

I'm also a committed entrepreneur and aspiring angel investor. As my clients vote with their dollars to support my insurance agency, I want nothing more than to put that back in the community. One way I'd like to do that is as an angel- funding local startups with great ideas and talent to develop it.

If I'm going to be an angel investor some day, I want to have deep knowledge in a few areas (insurance, customer experience, sales) but also have a working understanding of a broad scope of industries and a decent knack for trend-spotting. That's where going to CES comes in. It will be a great learning experience, not just for my insurance agency, but for my bigger picture.

A little impulsive. Perhaps. But clearly aligned with my long term vision. Definitely.

Oh, and here's what CES is all about: http://www.cesweb.org/aboutces.asp Scroll down to "History"

Would Jesus Want Credit for All This?

I'm not sure Jesus is too excited about the celebration we've constructed around his birthday. I don't mean that in a self-righteous way. I just mean, you look at the stories of what he did and said, and one has a hard time thinking he'd be excited about a lot of the parties and events put on in the name of Christmas. This whole thing started on account of Him, right?

For those people that consider themselves Christians, is it possible that Jesus was expecting something completely different for his birthday? (But instead we did what we do every year, but made sure He got the credit)

Don't get me wrong, I love being with family and friends and eating lots of food. I also loved taking my gift certificate to Backcountry.com and buying an Arc'teryx polo shirt. But again, is Jesus honored through all that stuff? Don't most birthday parties revolve around the birthday boy or girl?

And then this whole battle between the politically correct "Happy Holidays" and the (c)hristian-specific "Merry Christmas"...

I was flipping through the local AM channels on the way to be entertained by Rush Limbaugh's post holiday (probably pre-recorded) show. The 30 seconds or so I took in included the end of a rockish Christmas tune, then Limbaugh in his usually jolly style, " Happy Holidays everyone...no, Screw It, Merry Christmas!" Then he dialed up the next song and faded it in.

Does Jesus need his followers or republican entertainers sticking up for him?

That Time of Year Again, Part 2 "Build Your Own Board"

I've been thinking about this for some time- I need a board of advisers. Big businesses have them, non-profits big and small have them, and I think an entrepreneur should have one. How it should work exactly, I'm not yet sure.

But here's why I'm eager to form one: I really need outside perspective and tough criticism to grow as an entrepreneur. In addition to that, I think there'd be huge value in opening up my business to a trusted group that can provide input on everything from marketing strategy to HR, to financial operations.

If I'm only getting input from others in my industry or reading business books, I'm probably limiting my potential success and suffering from smallmindedness.

So how could it maybe look?

I'd probably meet with my board of advisers once a quarter or twice a year. We'd meet over a nice dinner (that I would provide) and spend a couple hours in discussion. Prior to the meeting, I'd send them a proposed agenda, financial statements and suggested topics, and the advisers could suggest changes to the agenda beforehand. At the dinner, I'd present to the group, then open myself up to feedback and discussion for the remainder of the meeting.

At first blush, it seems a bit one-sided, but in my experience, the times I've advised other entrepreneurs or taught students, I ended up benefiting greatly from the experience. Not only is it gratifying to play a role in someones success, but it often becomes a shared learning experience. In fact, I'd be honored to be on someoneelse's board of advisers at some point.

I've already spoken to one potential advisor so far and received a warm response. I'll keep you posted as I pursue this.

Could you or your business benefit from a board of advisers?

That Time of Year Again, Part 1

If you're tired, sleep. If you're awake, do something. I read that recently, I figure it's good advice. So I'm here at my office in the afterhours, working off a single cup of half-caff at a party earlier.

I'm working on my list of New Years resolutions. It's instinctual you know, to do this, every year, and it typically starts right about now. So here's part 1.

1) Spend less money. I've been in a cashflow crisis for the last couple months, and it's no fun. You remember the old addage "the more you make, the more you spend", well it's easy for a business to do that. Expense management is a new skill I will learn in 2010.

2) Time away every month. My wife still works part time as a nurse. Eventually she'd like to stay home. Really, she'd like to be working casual by this point, but we're not quite there yet. (I hired another employee instead) What I do have, is time. And in 2010, I'm going to start using it, for my family. A couple Fridays a month should do nicely.

3) Learn how to manage my team. I've got a team with a lot of raw talent, but I've not been guiding them. I basically hired them and turned them loose. This year, I need to learn how to set goals with them, motivate them, and then hold them accountable to their goals. I move at 100 miles per hour, but it's time to discover where the brakes are- I need to stop and manage occasionally.

4) I want to run- okay, this is an emotional knee jerk response. I'm still riding high off my recent finish of Born to Run by Chris McDougall. To say I'm inspired does not quite do it. Ultra marathons, probably not in my future, but work up to 5 miles a couple times a week, maybe.

5) Have friends over to our house semi-regularly. When Cara and I bought our house, we had a vision of using it for entertaining. It's a humble house, but it has a cool fire pit on the back patio, and a sunroom off the back of the house. We just haven't had people over much, and that bums me out. Time to use our house. Maybe a marshmallow roast in the near future. Don't be surprised if you get an invite.

More to come. I'd love it if you comment, and link to your blog with your resolutions. Cliche, I know, but still constructive.