I've been reading the Tao of Warren Buffett lately. Maybe you've heard of him. He seems to have made a couple of bucks over the last few decades and frankly I'm thankful that his former daughter-in-law was able to edit this compilation of his philosophy. With any luck, I should be awash in discretionary income within the next few months.
Warren's rule number 57 for making big cheese is: "Never ask a barber if you need a haircut." Mr. Buffett contends that if you ask an advisor if there is a problem he will assuredly find a problem---even if there isn't one. This is true of investment bankers, management advisers, lawyers, auto mechanics, lawn-care consultants, and the like. People who are paid to fix problems will always find problems no matter what.
Consultants are PROBLEM SOLVERS. Right away you know you're in trouble when someone remarks that a consultant has been retained. In radio, those of us toiling on the air used to cringe when we heard that a consultant had been hired by the station. Most of these guys were people who either had never been on the air or, at best, had worked the overnight shift on some tea kettle in Frozen Monkey, Montana. In other words, they were like the kid you knew in high-school who actually had a copy of the Kama Sutra but didn't know any girls. You know...LOSERS. My favorite one of these clowns was the guy who, when critiquing my morning show on K_BEST in San Diego sometime around 1997, asked me: "Why did you play that song by Jerry Lee Lewis just before the eight o'clock news? Don't you know that a song like that can make you sound OLD?" When I pointed out that we were an OLDIES station and that the playlist had been provided by HIM, I knew that it was time to look for work. I was right. MORON!
My point? I do have one. If you think you're getting a little shaggy on top, talk to either Andy, Barney, Otis or Goober...never Floyd.
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