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From left, Jeffery Kappen, Tony Thelen and Matthew Mitchell co-wrote "Am I Doing This Right?"
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New book shares valuable OPE: ‘Other people’s experience’
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BY STEVE DINNEN
You’re successful, right? But what if you could succeed just a tad more in both your business and personal life? How could you actually enjoy the fruits of your labor?
Three Iowa business experts answer those questions in a new book called “Am I Doing This Right?” published by Business Expert Press. Its subtitle, “Foundations for a successful career and a fulfilling life,” sums up its premise pretty well.
One of the authors is Tony Thelen, a longtime executive with Johnston-based John Deere Financial, the equipment financing branch of agribusiness giant Deere & Co. He wrote the book with Matthew Mitchell and Jeffrey Kappen, both business professors at Drake University.
To succeed in farming, banking, industrial production – or any other line of work – you obviously need some knowledge. The book’s foreword tells us there are two basic ways to learn beyond the university campus: trial and error, and OPE, also known as “other people’s experience.” Since trial and error takes so much time, the authors share OPE from business executives across the country whose stories and anecdotes offer plenty of ideas for anyone starting or restarting their career or pivoting in a new direction.
For starters, the book suggests you should identify your self-image, to decide who you are and who you want to be. Then consider your personal brand, or how others see you. You can start by simply filling in the blanks: “I want to be known for ______ so that I can deliver _______.” After you figure out who you are and where you want to go, you can work on how to get there – and learn along the way.
“Keep reinventing yourself,” retired John Deere executive Bob Timmons advises. “We can all slip into routines that stifle creativity, create lethargy and limit our view of possibilities. Being a lifelong learner is a way to keep one’s personal edge sharp.”
The question mark in the book’s title is helpful because it subtly prompts you to regularly examine whether you’re on the proper path. Kappen calls this the calendar test. “Look back after 90 days,” he writes. “Is it the way you want to live?”
Depending on your answer, you can adjust or stay the course.
The book is for sale on its own website or on Amazon.
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Getting a Global Entry pass? Good luck.
BY STEVE DINNEN
Global Entry is a mess. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that grants low-risk air travelers expedited clearance when they arrive in the United States has very few available times for application interviews, which are a necessary step to secure the pass. That includes airports at Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City and Chicago.
If you’re trying to renew the Global Entry pass you already have, good luck. I applied to renew mine at the end of July 2022. As of today: nothing. Not a single word on what I might do to untie the knot. They say only that they are “experiencing delays” that could be six months or maybe 18.
My pass expired on Dec. 11, which happened to be my birthday. To help me “celebrate,” the government also yanked my independently issued TSA PreCheck clearance.
A CBP spokeswoman said the logjam started with COVID-related shutdowns of enrollment centers. A record influx of applications hasn’t helped.
Going forward, interview times are supposed to open by 9 a.m. local time on the first Monday of every month. So rise and shine April 3, your next chance to request an interview.
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How to stay the course in 2023, when investing may be rocky
BY LORIE KONISH FOR CNBC
When markets hit a slump, investors are often tempted to head for the exits in search of safer places to put their money.
There are always reasons investors may get spooked. In the latest example, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank rattled investors and sent stocks lower on Friday. Signature Bank was seized by regulators on Sunday, marking the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history behind Silicon Valley Bank and Washington Mutual in 2008. By midday Monday, the markets had moved upward, though certain bank stocks were still hurting.
After some brutal market results in December, a few clients wanted to pull the plug and jump out of the market, according to Stacy Francis, a certified financial planner and president and CEO of Francis Financial in New York. Investors who stick with investing through the ups and downs in 2023 will be glad they did, predicts Francis, a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
“This is going to be a great year, and it’s definitely going to be rocky,” Francis told CNBC.com in February.
Yet there may be an upside for weathering that turbulence.
“This is a ride that you do want to ride because because you’re going to have some fantastic portfolio gains by the end of the year,” Francis said.
READ THREE TIPS TO STAY THE COURSE
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Estate tax could hammer wealthy Americans in 2026
BY JEFF STIMPSON FOR PRIVATE WEALTH
The possible expiration of some provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in three years is beginning to turn up the heat on estate tax planning. Though Congress might extend some provisions, it’s impossible for planners to know what parts of the legislation will remain. Without action from Capitol Hill, two of the biggest potential changes that could affect wealthy clients are the top income tax rate reverting to 39.6% and an approximate 50% reduction of the federal estate tax exemption, which is $12.92 million for 2023.
Sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will affect wealthy clients significantly and could expose more estates to a 40% federal estate tax, said Virag Shah, portfolio strategist with Van Leeuwen & Co. in Princeton, N.J.
Isaac Bradley, director of financial planning at Homrich Berg in Atlanta, sees the estate tax problem as “undoubtably” the biggest potential hit for wealthy clients. “Clients most impacted will be those with estates of $13 million to $26 million-plus (for married couples) and $6.5 million to $13 million-plus (for singles with no spousal allowance) who intended to leave their estate to individuals,” he said. “Currently these [people] have little to no estate tax liability but will have significant liability on Jan. 1, 2026.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE FOR STRATEGIES
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dsmWealth's Suggested Reading
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