Category Archives: The Personal Side

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The ABZs of Business Valuation: A Blast from the Past

A Unedited Memo I Wrote for our Staff Way Back in 1989

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I wrote a memo, titled “ABZs of Solid Valuation Conclusions and Reports,” for Mercer Capital’s analytical staff in 1989. The introduction and conclusion to this memo were written for its republication in Valuing Financial Institutions, my first book, published in 1992. The memo is reproduced as written with the exception of a few [explanatory comments]. Nevertheless, I believe that this 1989 memo is worth the time to read or reread as we think about developing solid valuation conclusions and reports in 2018.

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First Experience Having a Video Clip from a Deposition Played at Trial

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Video depositions, which were an infrequent event during my career for many years, are being used much more frequently these days. I’ve had depositions taken by video on many occasions to date. Until last week, I had never seen myself on the screen at a trial. I’ve only ever seen a video clip of another expert’s deposition one time, which was quite a few years ago.

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A Buy-Sell Agreement Story

Introducing the Single Appraiser, Select Now and Value Later Process

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The idea for naming the appraiser at the time a buy-sell agreement is signed was not original to me. I first heard of the idea in the late 1980s when I learned that I had been named as the appraiser in a buy-sell agreement that had been signed a few years before. However, since learning of the idea, I’ve adopted it and promoted it widely in my books and articles on buy-sell agreements.

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Customer Service – Two Short Stories

Delta and Marriott

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Customer service is something that we cannot think about enough. It’s applicable whenever we (or our companies) interface with customers, whatever the nature might be. This post describes two such customer service interfaces I encountered on a recent trip to Minneapolis to deliver a speech. One was good and the other was not so good.

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“Succession” and “Transition” Planning – More Than Notebooks on Your Shelf

Interview re: Upcoming Talk for Extraordinary Banking Conference

My topic at the Institute for Extraordinary Banking’s annual conference in Minneapolis next month relates to the softer side of what I normally talk about. Roxanne Emmerich of the Institute and the Emmerich Group interviews me as we warm up for the conference.

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Apple “Stole” My Apple Watch and Sent Me Back to Fitbit

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About three years ago, I was interested in buying a smartwatch, and the Fitbit offerings were not very appealing. Not to be snobbish, but Fitbit simply did not have a watch product that I was willing to wear every day. So I bought first generation Apple Watches for my wife, Cathay, and me about three years ago. Along the way, there was a celebration of something, and I bought a second generation watch for Cathay. My watch, after a couple of fixes during warranty, performed well — until it quit performing— with a bit of help from Apple.