Giving Thanks For Stuff In 2015

Thanksgiving in 2015 means I get to watch the rest of America slack off and indulge. I did some of that too today but my brain is still engaged 100% in the genius of Alfidi Capital. It's about time that I recognized some recent inspirations for my genius and give them thanks.

I'll thank the steady drip of followers who add to my Web brand presence when they republish my content. Smart people know quality when they see it. I just can't help it when the raw genius radiates from my presence. Life is best when we fulfill our destinies.

I might as well thank a couple of recent critics who called me names on social media channels. They kept my Web brand in circulation for a few more media cycles. I really enjoy being the target of ill-informed, ad hominem attacks that feed my ego. The First Amendment gives every American the right to speak their minds. I am thankful that even small-minded people notice what I have to say.

I must especially thank a handful of female friends whose constructive feedback is helping me abandon my previous sexism. Careless word choices do have real negative impacts. I am now much more careful than I was earlier this year when commenting on gender subjects. Women don't need some random loudmouth stereotyping them into irrelevance when they deserve more in life. They do in fact need men as advocates who include them as equals, whether it's at the Thanksgiving dinner table or in the corporate boardroom. I have a lot of advocacy to do with the rest of my life.

In years past I've stated that the world should be thankful for my existence. I still see nothing wrong with that even if the world has no thanks to give me. It is unrealistic to expect much of the planet to think like me. I am still morally obligated to be true to myself. I can thank my favorite philosophers - Stoics like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, plus Immanuel Kant and his Categorical Imperative - who reminded me how to live when I reviewed their works this year. My life is still my own, but my work should enhance humanity's moral worth.

Finally, I thank the Founders of our country who wrote the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights. The rule of law and the elevation of individual freedom enable me to run Alfidi Capital in a manner of my choosing. I could not have this type of lifestyle in other countries where busybodies, thugs, or authoritarians would silence me for speaking my mind. America is awesome and so am I. Happy Thanksgiving, America.

Buffett Vs. Trump On Women

Warren Buffett and Donald Trump are both undeniably rich. That is where they part company. Their temperaments are very much opposites. Buffett is reclusive and unassuming where Trump is vain and bombastic. Consider how their opinions of women in the workplace reflect their public personalities.

Mr. Buffett endorsed female empowerment in his legendary 2013 Fortune essay. Maximizing prosperity means getting the most from all of your people. Mr. Buffett sees vast potential in one half of the population that history has mostly ignored. Mr. Trump's remarks about women during this election season confine them to second-class status. His ridicule of journalist Megyn Kelly for capably performing her job tells women that their potential won't matter if they irritate powerful men with the truth. One business leader broadcasts an encouraging message while the other enjoys smacking competent people down. Feel free to decide which one you would prefer as your boss.

Consider how the two men treat women in their personal lives. Warren Buffett remained married to one woman for half a century, and even though they were separated for some time she approved of his longtime companion. The trio were comfortable with an enduring, lifelong partnership that most Americans would find unconventional. Donald Trump has been married three times, each time to a younger woman, yet some "conservatives" still think he's a role model. Uncle Warren's women are his partners and confidants. The Donald's women are his trophies and possessions. Feel free to decide which one would be a more reliable husband.

Hollywood icons offer useful ways to think of America's favorite business leaders. The Art of Manliness describes Jimmy Stewart as dignified, dutiful, and humble. Warren Buffet's folksiness recalls Mr. Stewart's graces. American author William Manchester wrote in 1987 about how real combat veterans of World War II humiliated John Wayne for his phony bravado. Brash, bold images that don't square with reality are an apt description of Donald Trump's reality TV franchise.

Business titans know a lot about success. They don't know everything, and some deserve more attention when their inner qualities are on display. Donald Trump's net worth is somewhere between $4B (according to Forbes) and $9B (according to his own big mouth). Warren Buffet's net worth was over $64B in 2014, according to SEC-compliant financial statements that everyone can read. The billionaire who sees enormous value in women is worth several times more than the one who sees them as mere playthings. Results matter in business. The more capable of these two investors knows the value of human life. Feel free to decide which one you would rather be. I'd work for Warren Buffett any day if it meant I could think like him.

LGBT Time To Shine In Business

Today I completed an Economist Insights survey distributed to business thought leaders. I get these all the time from various media outlets seeking to aggregate my genius with that of other leaders. This one was about LGBT inclusion, something I don't think I've ever addressed on the Alfidi Capital Blog. The world has gone without my awesome wisdom on this topic for far too long. I won't keep you all deprived any longer.

You'd think that LGBT inclusion would now be a given among corporate executives. Globe-trotting honchos are supposed to be some of the most cosmopolitan and enlightened people around. The tone of the Economist survey's questions hinted that executives in some regions are further behind their global peers. Local culture is probably a limiting factor. Imagine writing an inclusive HR policy for a multinational conglomerate only to discover that local government officials in some backwards country won't tolerate contact with an openly LGBT employee.

Catalyst's Quick Take: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Workplace Issues from May 2015 is the most comprehensive body of knowledge I could find on the workplace value of LGBT employees. They have plenty of buying power but they also face more barriers to advancement. I may not have blogged much about workplace discrimination in the past, but I have definitely blogged about how C-suite personal behavior and HR performance incentives determine the entirety of corporate culture. Change starts at the top because people emulate their leaders' personal behavior and respond to economic incentives. Get CEOs out in front meeting with their LGBT employees' affinity networks, and get their public endorsements of nondiscriminatory HR standards. Advances in ERP knowledge management modules now offer collaborative tools that managers can use to ensure everyone, gay or straight, stays engaged.

I have tried reaching out to LGBT people here in San Francisco. I sat at the same table as a gay man and a post-operative transsexual female during my service on the City and County of San Francisco's Veterans Affairs Commission. I never had any problems with their personal histories, although other Commissioners frequently disagreed with my policy ideas. I may have ruffled a few feathers in 2012 when I declined to endorse one Commissioner's idea to name a US Navy ship after Harvey Milk, because I do not believe in naming warships after politicians of any stripe . . . not even for the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). I stated back then that I would much prefer to see the US Navy name a ship after Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a true Revolutionary War hero who was probably homosexual. If anyone can carry the torch for a group that's been ignored or suppressed for most of human history, it's someone with battlefield bona fides. I'm pretty sure the San Francisco County Veterans Service Office has a record of my Commission statements on file somewhere.

Alfidi Capital is a one-person operation for a single, straight white male (that's Yours Truly, Anthony Alfidi, in case you need the hint). There isn't any internal policy change I could make with this enterprise that would make a difference for the LGBT community because I would only be talking to myself. My so-called white male privilege doesn't help me around the home office if I'm the only one here. Running my mouth to the outside world is a far more effective way to make people change their minds. Hey corporate honchos, lots of your LGBT people are in hiding because they wonder whether their leaders care about them. It's their time to shine after spending forever in the dark.

The Haiku of Finance for 10/08/15

End the gender wars
Men help women launch careers
Turn over new leaf

Taking The Tech Sector Gender Gap Seriously

The gender gap in the technology sector persists. The facts are available to everyone. Conference photos show far more male attendees than females. I see it myself, not counting the "booth babe" tradition that is either on its way out or destined to be augmented with "booth dudes" for equity. Fewer women pursue tech careers than men and they are generally paid less even when they have comparable education and experience. This state of affairs cannot hold forever in a society that pledges "liberty and justice for all" to its national colors.

I don't always discuss gender seriously on this blog. I usually mention it in the same breath as my awesome manliness, resembling a satirical Stephen Colbert approach to truthiness. A lot of people haven't been getting the joke. I used to think it was because I wasn't funny enough. Now I'm thinking it may not be funny at all. Members of both genders have caused me major problems in my career and that is why I must now work alone. My solitary efforts have provoked plenty of people who certainly deserve ridicule for their poor economic decisions. I have not shied away from criticizing the rich and poor alike. I must now address the unintended consequences of inequitable language.

More men are asking women what they can do to close the gender gap in tech careers. Women experts at the Commonwealth Club in October 2015 let us know what we can do, and I was in attendance to hear the message. Well folks, I am not one to back down from a challenge. If real men are supposed to step up and do the right thing, then by golly I need to be out in front. You won't hear any more sexist remarks on my Web properties in the future. If I need blog photos to illustrate demand for my compelling expertise at tech conferences, the photos won't include booth babes. My raw genius is powerful enough without photographic proof. I will do all that I can to encourage female acquaintances to attend local tech events, and they don't have to thank me. No one ever owes me anything. Paying it forward is supposed to be Silicon Valley's ethos anyway, but a lot of men in the Valley's insular VC culture somehow didn't get the memo.

Revising a few lines of text on the Alfidi Capital main site is long overdue and shouldn't take me more than a couple of days. Making the rest of the tech and financial sectors more accommodating to women will take longer. Men like me who dislike unfairness in business can no longer exclude women who would otherwise be natural allies in changing America for the better. I cannot change our society all by myself. Don't wish me luck; I won't need it. The rest of America needs that luck more.