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Recent Articles from David Sneed
Denver: Capitol of the wild, wild West
Congratulations Denver, you have a daily flight to Japan. Now what are you going to do with it? Hopefully you’ll lure tourists and their shiny, shiny coins. But why would […]
The leader and the guy in charge
I don’t usually write about leadership, primarily because I don’t fully understand it. I think I get caught up in the definition. You, dear reader, can help me to learn. Usually a list of leadership traits describes the guy in charge, not necessarily a leader. The guy in charge and the leader are...
Seven ways to land that job
With the unemployment rate bouncing around 8 percent, there are still loads of unemployed and under-employed Americans. Several have applied at my company, and I see why some of them are still looking. Being a planner, I came up with a reminder sheet for myself in case I ever lose my job, and it's...
Seeing life through my own tattoos
If I were in politics, reporters would have a field day. “I see, Mr Sneed, that you support restricting payment for dental losses - so why is it that in 1975 you left three molars under your pillow and collected $1.50?” They got me. I did used to believe in a tiny winged woman who paid me to lose...
Gambling with oil
As I put gas in my car yesterday, I thought about everyone waiting in line for lung and kidney transplants. You’d think a capitalist society would have an organ futures market. Other commodities have a way to bet on supply and demand, and lungs are nothing if not a commodity. Speculators could ma...
Hit ’em with the carrot
When it comes to motivating employees, save on your stick budget and just hit them with the carrot. That may sound glib, but I’m serious. Here’s a specific technique that’s effective for both discipline and motivation – two things so intertwined they might as well be one. Let me stress that the to...
A game of fat chance
Three lucky ducks won the recent jackpot worth half a billion dollars. I bought a ticket and didn’t sleep very well since I couldn’t figure out when I’d have the time to go pick up the giant check if I won. The odds of winning were 1 in 176 million, and I matched exactly none of the numbers. That...
Going the extra mile
Do you remember having to clean your room when you were 10? Remember how you would resist; playing the brinksmanship game with your folks? Then, when the parental threats escalated, you would do just enough to qualify for dinner? Even then, most of that time was spent sulking—imagining how bad the...
Life happens
Last week, a guy (you wouldn’t know him, he’s from another state and doesn’t read this magazine) cried on my shoulder because his plans weren’t working out. In a tale as old as America itself, he ran away from the circus to become an accountant. He was lamenting the fact that after 10 years he st...
You lost me at “insurance”
I’ve never really understood health insurance. I pay State Farm $100 every month so that if I wreck my car I can afford to have it fixed. They take my […]
I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday…
There have been a great many articles written about Colorado’s House Bill 1046, and most have been against it. This one is too, but for a different reason. In case you don’t know, HB 1046, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, attempts to require those seeking public assistance to pass a...
Us…and them
There’s been a lot of talk lately about class warfare, usually involving taxes and the rich. It’s a discussion worth having, but we’re starting on the wrong square. The debate should begin with the Winners and the Losers - and who is which. (Nod to Kurt Vonnegut.) Forget America for a second, and...
