Restaurant entrepreneur and master chef José Andrés is the kind of human being we should all strive to be. His World Central Kitchen is feeding millions of health workers, victims, and families of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey announced she would donate $1M to his charity. Andrés, who is from Spain, was one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. He is my personal hero for a number of reasons. He was scheduled to speak at the NAHREP Convention in March, which we were forced to cancel. My hope is that we can get him to San Diego in September. If you want to donate to a great cause, consider supporting the World Central Kitchen.
Almost everyone, including Democrats, were expecting last Tuesday’s midterm election results to heavily favor Republicans. Many predicted a “red wave” where they would pick up 50-60 seats in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. Joe Rogan said the red wave that is coming will be like the elevator doors opening in the horror film The Shining.
When we invited Gary Vaynerchuk to NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE in 2021, I was mostly relying on input from others. Several members loved his content, but the little I saw online left me underwhelmed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation at our event, particularly his comments about toxic employees, which he says to dump with impunity.
Selling during a downturn required a more strategic approach, but the opportunities for growth and expansion are available to the savviest of companies. Here are some of the best ideas I’ve read about.
A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors said “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!”. The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.” A few days later the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” and the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”