Unblakeable

Friday Fix: Ditch the Holiday Party

You won't believe this after reading this but I love the holidays. My memories of Christmas are almost uniformly positive. I still remember opening the Atari 2600 in 1978.

But holiday parties are dumb.

Very few of your employees really want them. They attend because it beats working. Unless you make the party at night or on a weekend - then they are working overtime.

Let's just be clear why companies do holiday parties - so that executives can bask in the fake love the holiday parties synthesize. If you have 100 employees, 10 of them really want the party.

And two of them are people you didn't know (and they didn't know) are alcoholics, and they are just jazzed for the free booze. (If you can't not get drunk around your coworkers and bosses, you have a problem - get help. Seriously.)

They'll raise a glass to your stupid toasts because if they don't, they know it's a career-limiting move. In other words, holiday parties are the North Korea of the corporate world.

For all the "feel good" of holiday parties, here are all the bad things that can happen and have happened.

Someone drives home drunk and kills someone on the way home.

Someone gropes someone else and you have a major HR problem. You'll probably have to fire the groper.

People who don't celebrate Christmas (come on - it's not a Hannukah/Ramadan Party - at least give us the gift of not insulting our intelligence.) feel uncomfortable and are made to feel more like "the other" than they already do.

People who don't show up with dates are going to feel ostracized.

Holiday parties where you can't bring a date always suck. Always.

Someone's dietary restrictions aren't going to be met so they are going home hungry.

People get drunk (or not) and start gossiping out loud or blab confidential information, creating major rifts in teams.

For what? A buffet dinner of CostCo meatballs and an open bar with all the Yellow Tail and Budweiser you can drink? No thanks. (And no - making it 18 year old Whiskey and Absolut doesn't make it better.)

Your introverts (statistically, 50% of your work force) are literally counting the minutes until they can graciously leave (or sneak out with nobody noticing.)

You want to thank your employees? Give them a day off and some bonus cash to go shopping with. People who feel like celebrating together can self-organize.

Holiday parties are so 20th Century. They should have gone out with salmon carpeting, Lobster Thermidor and Cherries Jubilee.

Bah humbug.

Risk Management Mondays: Why Paying "Market Rates" Is a Trap

A recent post by Gentry about paying market rates got me thinking: why do business leaders see "market rates" as a safety net?

In reality, paying "market rates" can make you more vulnerable. Here's why:

1️⃣ It signals your people are average, not exceptional. Who stays loyal when recruiters see their value as higher?

2️⃣ It ignores turnover costs—lost production, rehiring, and retraining expenses can be massive - much more than the additional salary you might have paid.

3️⃣ Market rates fluctuate unpredictably, often based on lagging, biased, or generalized data.

4️⃣ A few employers paying 30% more can quickly redefine "market rates," leaving you scrambling.

Want to retain talent? Pay a premium. A 20% bump above market—on base salary, not bonuses—signals commitment, builds loyalty, and deters recruiters. Yes, it might mean raising prices, but you’re probably undercharging anyway.

Paying generously isn’t just an expense—it’s an investment. Lower turnover enhances your business valuation and builds a reputation that attracts top talent. You want that kind of brand.

Think of it as an insurance policy for your team and your company’s future. It’s worth it.



My name is Mike (Stage Name - Unblakeable)
- Helping you win your best business decisions at your most critical moments.

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Risk Management Mondays: Don't Just Diversify Customers, Diversify Revenue

I've been talking to a potential client for about eight months now. Just sort of tracking them. They aren't ready to sell now, and I agree with their assessment.

The reason is that their business, after years of fast growth and strong profitability, is taking a step back. Revenues and profit are down by 30% from two years ago.

Their business offers online courses, which meant they had a big-time sugar high during the pandemic. People had free time, couldn't go out, and had more disposable income. Many spent some of their pandemic checks on e-learning. (I know I did - I studied Swedish - most of which I have forgotten.) They have thousands of customers, which means that customer concentration is never going to be a problem.

Then, the pandemic subsided for most of us, and we went back to doing the things we used to do - a lot of which wasn't e-learning. At the same time, there is more competition from content providers on the same topic, and AI platforms are also cutting into e-learning revenues.

And costs are going up. SEO and social media advertising are more expensive, as is content production.

They are still doing OK - making good money, but the growth is gone and margins are somewhat weaker. And there is nothing in the environment to suggest that their business will just turn around. They've entered the maturity (and possibly decline) phase of their life cycle. They need a reboot, which is where new revenue streams come in.

They are in the process of launching physical products with their existing brands, but that may not be enough. They are merchandising their brand, and while that is nice extra income, it isn't really moving the needle. Other ideas for diversifying revenue might be affiliate marketing, live events, instructor certification, or brand licensing.

All this, of course, is risky and requires investments on their part - but it is far riskier for them to do nothing. They may need to consider making some acquisitions to catalyze their growth.

Happily, this company is taking action. Ideally, they would have pursued this at their peak, but in fairness, that's hard to do. It's hard to be skeptical of success. If they act smartly, they still have time to address their revenue concentration problem.

Next week, I'll share a case study about a YouTube influencer who seems to be successfully aggressively diversifying his revenue sources.

Here is my latest video about Investing in AI, please view it on our Youtube Channel: https://buff.ly/40JbxcX

In it, I cover essential factors to understand as a potential AI investor:

–Consider companies backed by renowned investors or influential tech entities.

–Focus on firms targeting underserved vertical markets.

–Ensure the company practices good data hygiene. High-quality, organised, and complete data is crucial for effective AI functioning.

–Avoid investments in companies that develop technology first and then seek problems to solve.

–Validate if the business model is sound for long-term success.

–Keep abreast of potential regulations and legal changes.

What do you look for when evaluating an AI company to consider investing in? What do you think is different about this space?