Call me a traditionalist. I still love the smell of coffee in the morning and a good newspaper to get my day started. As I was cutting my teeth on business I always thought businessmen who had a copy of the Wall Street Journal laying around were snobs. It looked cool. But, the more I traveled the more I had time to read the free copies you often got when boarding a plane.
A few years ago I took out a subscription from a special offer and was surprised it could be delivered to my home. Every morning I go out and get two papers – the local Arizona Republic – and the Wall Street Journal. The Republic is now half the size it use to be. The Business section which I use to read first was just four pages yesterday.
The Wall Street Journal is more than numbers and charts. If you haven’t read it lately you should pick one up. It has lifestyle articles (lots of info on wine!), great entrepreneurial stories and more. It seems to be one of the last standing papers with lots of news. OK, I will admit that I also now read it online when away from home – but I still take the physical paper.
And, it gives you a global perspective on the economy. It reminds me of spending many hours in hotels in foreign countries watching Sky News or BBC. It was a whole new look at the US from outside.
The Wall Street Journal also has a great website at www.wsj.com (for those who like the smell of coffee and the feel of a keyboard) that again is loaded with LOTS of business information and articles and no, they are not all for Fortune 500 companies. In fact, I typically tear out one article a day to use for ideas.
You would be surprised of trends you first see in the WSJ. It is often a small news article that gives you a clue to what is going to happen in a certain business sector.
What’s the point? To keep in touch, be in tune, see opportunities and be a little more global. I first learned about Yelp a few years ago in the WSJ. I first read about the cotton shortage (in great detail) a couple of years ago in the WSJ.
For some – you might think only bankers or rich snobs read it. I am neither. It gives me a little fresher view of things. OK, I will admit the editorial page often leaves me fuming – but that’s another story.
