Change for the sake of change... is it a good thing?

Like many people, my head has been spinning since inauguration day with bills, budgets, stimulus plans, healthcare initiatives and the like coming rapid-fire out of Washington. One thing I also noticed was that with every new "plan", the nations financial markets took a nose dive. Also, every time the President would give tough talks about taking action against CEOs and hedge fund managers, it got even worse. Why is this? I think the answer is simple.

Since the inception of Wall Street in America, perception has always played a huge role in it's health and performance. Wall Street typically gives an immediate thumbs up or down on talk and policies as soon as they are introduced or threatened--long before the action of the programs have been implemented. Our financial markets make decisions immediately on things that are yet to come. It also provides a great barometer as to the viability of these policies and programs. In a nutshell, Wall Street has given a huge thumbs down to practically ALL of the administrations programs and rhetoric. And let me be clear on one thing: if our financial markets fail or become threatened, there is no social program or policy that will persevere. We cannot govern in the vacuum of ignoring the very source that provides almost all of the available working capital in our country. We need Wall Street just as much as we need good social programs and policies for our people. You cannot have one without the other. In just a couple of months, Wall Street has shed almost $3 trillion in capital and value purely based upon the perception that it is under attack from Washington. Let's restore confidence there as well as with our people and we'll achieve our goals.

Back in Austin (deja vu all over again)

February 3, 2009 - Austin, Texas

Well this is the first of what should be many articles from the mind of me, Bryan Holley.  I retired as President & CEO of Proteon / OpenROUTE Networks (Westborough, MA) at the end of 1999 upon the completion of the sale of the company to Netrix Corporation.  Like most of my career assignments, it was a "turnaround" (a company that needs "fixing").  Somewhere along the way, I was anointed a "turnaround CEO"- much to my chagrin!  While the work was extremely stressful, the financial reward, when successful, was beyond ridiculous.  I just calculated my hourly wage from that company for the first time as I'm typing this - $6,666.67 per hour.  Now THAT is ridiculous!  But such was the NASDAQ technology ride through the 80s and 90s.

After we sold the company, I suddenly realized that I was living in New England during a cold winter and, for the first time in my life, I could live wherever I wanted to!  This revelation became apparent after a family visit to Austin during the Easter break.  On my first day here, I played golf at Barton Creek Club with country music star Larry Gatlin and former UT football coaching great Darrell Royal.  The grass was so green, the deer were "frolicking", the flowers were blooming.  What the hell was I doing living in that winter hell-hole of New England?  I immediately started looking for (and finally found) a house and bought it.  I've been here ever since.