Donald Trump spent three days in Beijing last week. Among the things they discussed was the American and Chinese automotive industry. The United States has kept the Chinese autobuilders out of this country through tariffs and rules, but the huge and wily Chinese builders of electric vehicles are starting to twist their way into America. Waymo is quickly expanding its self-driving car business across the United States. The Jaguar-built cars have served them well, but they were built for big baggy software packages. Waymo’s newly designed self-driving cars are specially built by a division of Geely, a large Chinese autobuilder.…
Author: Lloyd Graff
The military draft has been a focus of my life since I was a teenager. I was a Vietnam Kid. The war always loomed large for me. When I was in college I was obsessed with it. I was convinced that I would die in Vietnam if I had to go. My relationships with women were framed by the belief that I could never make a commitment because I soon would be in the jungle toting an M16. Part of this attitude came from my Dad who never got drafted because he started a screw machine shop in Chicago to…
It started with a sharp local pain over her right eyebrow and gradually spread across her forehead. She said her energy felt like it was sucked out of her body, starting above her gut. Within a few minutes, ugly pressure felt like a tight helmet pressing on her head. For my wife Risa this was almost daily suffering, as one of an estimated 18% of women in America with migraine headaches. For many years, the migraine headaches shackled her, and I suffered watching her hurt. The search began for medicines and doctors who might have a cure or at least…
The Chicago Cubs’ season begins today in the Windy City on a gusty day. For me, it is New Year’s Day. It is a day of prayer for me. A day I did not think I would reach, after a heart attack with a 9.5 out of 10 lethality rate, prostate cancer, seven retina detachments, and a litany of maladies. But I’m here. The Cubs have been a lifelong passion for me. When I was a kid my Mom would let me stay home from school to watch the Opening Day. They would usually lose, but it was fun to…
You’ve been slogging along for 40 years and the cement floor bites harder every day. You are wondering if it is time to sell the company, but you have no idea what it is worth or if anybody would want it. I’ve been helping folks buy and sell machining businesses for quite a while. This blog is a primer on what to consider when selling and how to go about it. Why sell? Understand yourself and your situation. Are you being forced by illness, distraction, disinterest, or the allure of retirement? Is the business making money? This question is crucial,…
When Donald Trump announced his grandiose plan for trade tariffs on April 2, 2025 some people cringed, others cheered, and a few called their lawyers. One of those was Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of a family-owned company in Vernon Hills, Illinois a suburb of Chicago. His firm, Learning Resources, outsources the majority of the manufacturing of its products made of plastic to Chinese firms. My wife, Risa, is an educational therapist and we have some of their products in her home office. Woldenberg’s company was founded in 1984, but predecessor companies started by family members go back 100 years. Learning…
Today is my son Noah’s 46th birthday. My gift to him and to myself is to write a piece about him and my feelings for him. Noah is my youngest child. He has an older sister, Sarah, who is determined to be the best at everything she does, and usually accomplishes it. She was an “easy child”–class valedictorian and now a respected Rabbi in Silicon Valley. Ari, his older brother, had a somewhat troubled childhood and fought with Noah incessantly along the way. Today he is a gifted psychologist and extremely close with Noah and his wife Stephanie and their…
Remember your mother’s or grandmother’s silver service for 12 that she only used once or twice a year when the whole family showed up? Remember when nobody else in the family would take it when she passed away–because who had the space or the desire to show off fancy dishes or silverware. And what a pain they were to wash because you couldn’t just stick them in the dishwasher. Also they were so darn heavy. Then there was that big clunky wooden box they fit into. It did not deserve the space it took up. Ten years ago silver was…
Children, let me tell you a story. There once was a wonderful little cookie with a delicious white filling between two chocolatey layers. My mother used to bring them home from the A&P store where she shopped on 71st Street in Chicago. “Oreos!” we chimed. “No, they’re Hydrox,” she said. But they looked just like Oreos and tasted almost the same. But eventually the Hydrox disappeared. All gone. Eaten by Oreos and their big Daddy, Mr. Nabisco. *** Hydrox is a story of American capitalism. The originator, the inventor, the first “out of the box,” lost the battle. We may…
The Denver Broncos have one of the best records in the National Football League. They also have the second highest number of punts, which is what you do when you don’t make a first down and need to improve your field position. Sounds weird, but I was reminded of it by my It’s a Wonderful Business column of 12 years ago. I am becoming more accepting of aches and pains and setbacks than when I wrote that piece back then. Life isn’t easy. There are failures and in many cases you just have to punt. It’s no sin. Life is…