Comments

Shelley,
Yes, given all the self-caused "masters of the universe" flameouts in the recent past, to borrow from an au courant insider phrase (i.e., overused), it's worth debating whether or not,
"Dull is the new black".

Posted by Randy Bosch at January 7, 2010 4:46 PM

Thanks Tom - The whole tone of this reminds me of one of my all time favourite quotes from my hero 84 year old Tony Benn;

"If you want to find a leader, don't look UP to a platform - look AROUND you"

Isn't that wonderful? - It reflects my experience - the best leaders I've met are humble and genuine.

Posted by Trevor Gay at January 7, 2010 6:07 PM

I like this a lot - perhaps it's that feeling that anyone could do dull if they tried!

Posted by PaulH at January 8, 2010 1:40 AM

Great video, Tom! This is so very funny. Before you even mentioned "The Millionaire Next Door" I thought of my best friend of many years and business partner who is exactly the quintessential millionaire next door. My friend is an executive engineer with a MBA from the University of Michigan. He's not incredibly lively. (Engineers are typically rather dull and not very energetic. Sorry Tom. You're an exception I think. :-) I've dated my share. I like rather dull probably because I'm so out there.) He lives in the same suburb that he grew up in. (They lived in a wealthy community but were far from wealthy.) He is a first generation Irishman of working class parents. He sits on hoards and hoards of cash which I have helped him to invest with a couple of businesses. You would not think for one second that he is so very rich. He does not eat, dress or act like a millionaire. (Over the years I've upped his game ever so slightly.) Our businesses are dull but so very cool and quite profitable even during this time of recession.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 8, 2010 5:58 AM

Seriously Cool. Seriously Fun. Seriously Profitable.

You're into something here Tom. I agree that industries that are hyped up so much don't generate as much lift as the real basic industry (read:work) that gets done really really well.

Thanks for the video!

Posted by Dennis Balajadia at January 8, 2010 9:22 PM

I know very well some of these millionaires, the first one is my Stepfather, with some millions in his network and have no boss and he`s on gov. contracting. I have a friend who own some expensive houses and expensive cars, he is on the automotive bussines have no boss too. He works on a dirty balcony selling auto parts and have 3- four autoparts shops.
And yet, they can be seen on weekends having fun on their boats or enjoying themselves.

Posted by Fausto at January 9, 2010 2:46 PM

TPC has devolved to the pinnacle of dullness behavior. The racist comments of Judy Ellis, the lack of competence of Trevor Gay, the censorship of Ms. Dolley. I like to visit TPC because then the real world seems so bright, fresh and exciting.

Posted by Michael at January 10, 2010 9:56 AM

We are stuck looking in the rearview mirror. The story of people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps is as old as
the republic. What we need to start doing is thinking of the United States as a nation. We are a people. We are not just a bunch of enterprising individuals. We talk basement science while the Chinese - well, I'm not going to say. I'll let you hear it from Tom Friedman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/opinion/10friedman.html

Posted by zorro at January 10, 2010 10:17 AM

Zorro - Thanks for the article. You are good for such. But you will keep your other voices (Michael, True Love, C-Love, Sean etc.,) to truthful facts, eh? You were doing so very well for quite some time there. You can do it, really. Plus, I, for one, do not need such voices for excitement. Truth and reality are exciting enough. What say you?

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 10, 2010 10:30 AM

Happy New Year Michael

Posted by Trevor Gay at January 10, 2010 11:12 AM

Michael, True Love, C-Love, Sean etc.

These people are not me
they are someone else.
I suspect Shelley could confirm that they do not come from the same ip address.

Posted by zorro at January 11, 2010 3:11 PM

Shelley - Will you please confirm that Zorro only uses one IP address and the many voices I listed above does not come from the same address. I'm not sure if this is a privacy issue for you guys, but I think I'm right here. If I am wrong, I owe him an apology. If not, maybe he does need counseling. :-)

Zorro - In any regard, I only have love for you. :-)

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 11, 2010 3:27 PM

Hi Judith
I can confirm that zorro does not use the same IP address as Michael/UK Love. I don't see this as a privacy issue when used to distinguish between anonymous posters not using valid email addresses when some choose to use multiple identities (it's not like I'm publishing the IP addresses). But if I'm missing something, please let me know. Hope this clears up the confusion.

Posted by Shelley Dolley at January 11, 2010 5:27 PM

Zorro! Zorro! Zorro! - I owe you the biggest apology. My bad! I'm sincerely sorry.

buy viagra cheap usa Now who is Michael? :-) I don't care...really. But I'm actually happy that I was wrong. If not, I would have rolled with it anyway, hoping for further understanding from you or just rolling in spite of .

Hi Shelley - Thank you for clearing this up for me. With regards to privacy, I just didn't want to ask something that I should not have asked from where I sit. Thanks, again.

Have a super week!

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 11, 2010 7:23 PM

Dull is what dull does.

Posted by Tom Asacker at January 12, 2010 8:02 AM

Tom A - I think you miss the point. But it sounds good.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 12, 2010 11:14 AM

Judith, my point is simply that there's no such thing as a "dull thing." It's how you approach the work that makes it dull or not. I thought we learned that lesson years ago with the "bricklayer making a cathedral" story.

Posted by Tom Asacker at January 12, 2010 8:52 PM

The explanation is appreciated, Tom A. Such curt phrases can be taken in so many ways. I actually liked the sound of it. But now I understand your meaning. Your "I thought we learned that lessons years ago" literally made me laugh aloud because it was precisely the image I thought of reading your comment initially but not in the light you intended. I don't know your work so I didn't equate Tom's beautiful analogy with yours words, nor did I assume what you did or did not know. I now know. By the way, I studied such cathedrals in Florence for three months one summer and was transformed by their beauty and the understanding of the intense monotonous work that went into erecting such magnificent structures.

Posted by Judith Ellis at January 12, 2010 10:20 PM

Thanks for this short yet practical advice.

This reminds me of that successful business named 1-800-GOT-JUNK started by an ordinary guy from Vancouver, Canada.

And now, it’s a multi-million dollar business! Indeed, there’s a good money in trash and other so-called "dull" business ideas.

Posted by Leo at January 17, 2010 5:21 PM