Professor Elam

SWTLC Sat Morning - For My Graduate Class

Frinday Night March 30, 2012

 

The SWTLC conference is at the Main Campus ,the link and map are here

http://www.tamusa.tamus.edu/maincampusbuilding/

Again it is NOT at Brook and it is not at Gillette
Business casual I suspect the sessions will be lightly attended, don't bother bringing lots of copies.
Do not read, do not read your power point, maintain eye contact, know what you are going to say and do just that.
YOu do not need to provide a written submission of your case tomorrow but you will next time our class meets.
And Yes part of your grade will be your evaluation  by your partner

SWTLC - 24 Hours

Thursday March 29, 2012

One student correctly reminded me to suggest the proper uniform of the day for the conference. Business casual is all that is required. A suit and tie for the guys is not necessary. A dark pants suit for the ladies would be appropriate. I think it best to avoid the bright pinks and turquoise colors for such events. Take a look at the photos on the sidebar from previous events. 

I will expect your papers to be submitted the next time the grad class meets which as far as I know is Thanksgiving Weekend given the weird schedule we have had, no really that is in April. 

The important thing is to have your oral presentation ready. Do not read from the power point or your notes, relate to the audience, Imagine you are there listening what would you want to hear? Know what you and your partner are going to say. The whole point here is to use this as an opportunity to test yourself for a potential real world presentation at your job. 

Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Cosby make this look easy, But what you are seeing is the result of decades of honing their craft. Now that Blue Comedy Tour is popular some of their earlier tapes are available. If you take a look you will see a marked improvement. 

I mean if Ron White can move from selling windows out of bar in Dallas to being a multi millionaire national celebrity , you can become a better presenter as well. 

True story, Larry the Cable Guy, grew up on  a pig farm in Nebraska. He was working at a hotel. Guests and fellow workers took note of his wisecracks and suggested he give the local comedy store a try. He agreed and wa accompanied by another worker. When they arrived there were two others outside th stage door. They were both experienced and anxiously rehearsing a carefully crafted script. Larry said hey there is no point in my doing this, let's go home. His friend urged him to try anyway, they were there after all. He reluctantly agreed to go on, and as they say, or as Larry would tell you

Git R Done!  Larry told Donny Deutsch that story  on The Big Idea.

So, a hotel bellhop, a traveling salesman, and Foxworthy started as a copy machine repairman....now look at them. 

Math Matters Update

Thursday March 29, 2012

Here is another article on how Don Johnson, the gambler not the tv star, took three casinos.

Intermed I and II Summer 2012

Tom Hall has reported that he will teach both Intermediate I in Summer 1 on Tuesday Thursday 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm.  Tom will also teach Intermediate II in Summer II Tuesday Thursday 5:30 to 9:30.

SWTLC Does Cost $25

Wed March 28, 2012

Well I was wrong. Students can attend if they volunteer to monitor or help with the conference. If you want to just attend the meetings, yes it does cost $25 whether you attend the lunch or not.

So sorry about that, given that I expect most of you will not attend unless you are presenting.

A Trip to the Office Store

Wed March 28, 2012

It was 3 PM on a Friday afternoon, and the line was four deep at the Big Box Print Shop. All of the Office retail big box stores have one of these and they are certainly a marvel of good layout, handy too. There are large paper cutters and other machninery not normally found in an office.

But as I say, the line was four deep, and there was only one person working there. She did an admirable job. But I could not help but notice that the other customers seemed uneasy, not sure how to use the equipment or what to do next.

I remarked to the employee that gee this would be a really great set up if only she had some help, she agreed.

And that in a nutrshell is what is wrong with our economy. I visited the store three times and me tthree different people, they work well together and handed my project off to one another. The last chap remakred that sales were up year to year. Yes I noted but, how much would they be up if there was adequate help to show everyone what could be done?

Employers are unsure of hwat employee mandate the government will dream up next. And so, uncertatin of the economy, they are just not hiring as they should. It is not unusual to see a large store such as this with only one or two people in the entire place.

SWTLC - 60 Hour Countdown

Wednesday March 28, 2012

The reason the school wants you to use your assigned TAMUSA e mail address is so that we can send you  a message. But most students do not use it. If I do not respond to you it may be that I simply have misplaced or inadvertently deleted your e mail.
To wit, Nancy Crist sent me her report but now I cannot find it, Nancy will you send it again. 
Now what to expect at your presentation. 
I have asked my undergrad classes to attend and write their impressions on BB. I suspect your audience will consist of fellow classmates and undergrads and TAMUSA teachers. You will note that half the presentations for Saturday are from this class!  So thanks for being a part of the proceedings. I would guess there will be 10-15 in your audience but that is a sheer guess. 
You will only improve your presentation skills by presenting. So practice practice practice. Limit the number of bullet points on each slide to three or four.
DO NOT READ YOUR SLIDES OR YOUR NOTES.  Those of you who have been in my classes before know that I never use the lazy method of showing a power point someone else prepared in my class. Practice speaking to your audience.  Keep eye contact. Are you engaging your listeners?  Be prepared to change or go with the flow, if the audience is not following you, do something else. 
Keep this simple. The issue is not a micro explanation of the facts. Rather the issue in all these cases are to emphasize the ETHICAL issues involved. 
Should taxpayers tolerate purchase abuse at DISD?Does Jon Corzine's story survive the smell test?Why do people fall for ponzi schemes over and over?Why do certain movies resonate with us on various issues?
Don't get lost in Purchasing Audit Trail 101 on DISD, or the intricacies of Greek debt for Corzine, or the latest variation of ponzi, or what is a leveraged buyout with a white knight avoiding a poison pill but providing greenmail against the barbarians at the gate. 
Keep it simple. Tell a story you would like to hear.
Watch Bill Cosby on You Tube. Bill Cosby is a comedian but he never tells jokes, He tells stories. His stories resonate with us as they remind us of shared experiences in our lives. His stories cause us to identify with him. And so he becomes the Universal Truth. And he's good at it. 
Watch  Jeff Foxworthy, he found success by being himself, not in a tv show that someone else created.  He is relaxed doing what he knows best, telling real world stories, just like Cosby. 
I am here if you need me. 

Proposed Sports Fee

Tuesday March 27, 2012

Here is the latest proposal for another student fee. 

I hope that we can have some discussion on this issue. 

 

Student Loans the Next Sub Prime Crisis

Monday March 26, 2012

$270 Billion  in student lons are 30 days delinquent. 

We maintain that the trillion of student loans will be the sub prime crisis for the next financial meltdown. It may have begun already. While a dilapidated shack in Tornto or Detroit can lose most of its value, the dirt under the house should be worth something. 

This of course is not the case for a student loan. 

There is not collateral-only hours of college.

And the borrower is likely a zero asset person, now perhaps on food stamps. 

But Barack has our back on this one, right, now that the Federal Govt via hte Family Fedearl Education Program FFELP guarantees the loans. 

The hyper link is to a lenghty and informative artcle that should be read. 

 

Hunger Games - $155 M first weekend

March 26, 2012

If you have not, go back and read our March 15 explanation of why Hunger Games would resonate with the public. The first wekend it grossed $155 Million.

That is about what The Dark Knight did its first wekend in 2008. Investors beware, rushing to see a government dictated teen gladiator combat is negative social mood for sure.