Category Archives: Personal Development

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Silicon Valley Bank’s Failure: Lessons for Private Business Owners and Directors

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank will be talked about for years. What really happened? What caused SVB to fail? Was it just the long-term Treasury securities that everyone has talked about? Well, no. SVB was on a self-imposed path to destruction that had been waiting for an adverse change in the economy or a rising interest rate environment to kick it into oblivion.

There are, indeed, lessons for family business directors from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. In this week’s post, I discuss four.

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A Change in Walking Goals: Weekly or Daily?

For years I have set a daily goal of walking five miles per day that has set me up for occasional “failure.” I have recently reset the the goal to 35 miles per week. This subtle change has no impact on my overall walking, but makes for more satisfying weeks, even if I fall short for a day. I can almost always reach the weekly goal now that I’m focused on it.

If you are walking with a daily goal, consider changing that goal to a weekly goal. And if you are thinking about starting a walking program, think about setting your initial goal on a weekly basis. We all want to “succeed” in reaching our goals, and this subtle change – from daily to weekly – helps assure ongoing success.

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Another Post on Walking

Today marks the 1,175th day of a walking program that began well more than three years ago. I thought I would miss my 5 mile goal yesterday because of a lower back issue, but somehow worked through it. It would have stopped a 258 day streak. I am so grateful to be able to move regularly, and encourage all to do the same – at whatever activity seems appropriate.

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Deja Vu #6: The Silber Restricted Stock Study (1981-1988)

This is the sixth post in a “deja vu” series focusing on the handful of famous restricted stock studies published by the mid-1990s based on transactions occurring through the 1980s. The post provides a convenient reference to each of the prior posts for reader convenience. This post addresses the Silber Study, the most transparent of all the early studies, and provides some very interesting insights.

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Deja Vu #5: The Maher Restricted Stock Study (1976)

In this “deja vu” series about the “old and tired” restricted stock studies, we are working our way through the leading early studies. We have already examined the SEC Institutional Investor Study, the Gelman Study, the Trout Study, and the Moroney Study. In this post, we examine the Maher Study. The story does not get better with repetition. So read on.

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900 Days of Walking – It Has Been a Life Changer

After walking nearly every day for 900 days, it is time to share a thought or two about the journey. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep me from my walking goals.  Paraphrasing the Post Office motto. Take a look and see. I share a few thoughts about a walking program for you, as well.

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Appraisal Review #1: A New Focus for ChrisMercer.net

After a break of more than two months, I’m back to ChrisMercer.net. This blog and its predecessors has been the beginning point of exposure for most of my thinking for many years. With this post, we turn to a new primary topic of focus — appraisal review. As you will see, there is a great deal more to the concept of appraisal review than a few methods or techniques to be employed. I’m looking forward to the coming exploration of appraisal review.

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Two Years of Daily Walking

I Think the Habit is Here to Stay

From December 15, 2019 until now, it has been just over two years. I’ve been walking with intentionality these past two years. Miles, 4,552. Steps, 9.6 million. Health, as far as I know, is better. Attitude, much better. This post recaps the experience of the last two years and offers a few thoughts that I hope you find either interesting, helpful or both.

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Excellence vs. Perfection

“The pursuit of perfection is the pursuit of failure.”

The thought came to my mind on my walk this morning.  It was undoubtedly prompted by meetings over the years with younger analysts who, because they wanted to find “perfect” answers to valuation problems, were (temporarily) unable to find any answer at all.

Excellence is attainable for many, if not most, at least in some areas of life.  Perfection is unattainable.  The pursuit of excellence is the roadway to success.  The pursuit of perfection is a downward slide to failure.