Jim Randel's (jimrandel) Blog

I am speaking tomorrow morning in Trumbull, Connecticut. The theme of my speech is the need to create in your routine some activity that can lead to a life-changing event. I have studied successful people for thirty years and concluded that very few of them are uniquely intelligent, talented, goo...

In preparation for a speech I am giving tomorrow night, I have identified the most powerful financial principles in the Universe:1. Compound Interest – identified by Einstein as “the most powerful force in the Universe.” More so than nuclear fission, I guess. Understanding how compounding works i...

Last week I gave a speech entitled “The Life and Times of an Entrepreneur.” In preparing for this speech, I reviewed all of my prior readings and writings on the subject. I wanted to give the audience my conclusions (30 years as an entrepreneur) in a clear and simplified presentation.Here are my ...

As Congress contemplates how to sculpt the next phase of regulations to prevent overaggressive or unethical conduct in the financial world, we need to ask a basic question. Can the regulators ever keep up? It is my feeling that whereas of course well-crafted regulations administered by nimble re...

I did a lot of research in writing The Skinny on the Art of Persuasion: How to Move Minds.One of my takeaways from all the research is the importance of keeping still – training yourself to watch and listen to the person across the table, the person you are trying to persuade.With time you can de...

As I finish writing The Skinny on Networking and reading everything I can find on the subject, I note that the two general principles of networking are discussed by everyone:1. The more people you know the better, and2. The more diverse the people you know you, the better.What is not addressed, h...

I think the world is divided into two types of people – those who like air conditioning, and those who hate it. I’m in the latter group.On a recent trip to Florida, I left New York on a cold rainy day. I wore several layers of clothing and couldn’t wait to start removing layers as I headed south....

When I started writing a book about networking (The Skinny on Networking), I did not realize that one of the main themes would be the subject of comfort zones.We all know that networks are important. We all know that our value in business depends in part on the extent of our network. And, by the ...

One of my goals with these entries is to introduce readers to new, well-written books.One I read this weekend is The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. Lewis is the brilliant writer who has also penned, Liars Poker, The Blind Side, and Moneyball.The Big Short is the story of a dozen men who made fortun...

I am currently writing a new book, The Skinny on Networking, and in preparation, I am reading every book I can find on the subject. One of the best is Keith Ferrazzi’s, Never Eat Alone.Ferrazzi’s premise is that the way to build a network is to help everyone you can achieve their goals. In this w...