Old School Is New School

We live in the age of the “Next Big Thing.”

The latest and greatest smartphones are released every twelve months, rendering the last model about as useful as a paperweight (if you believe the marketing hype).  An entire industry has been built around Silicon Valley’s cult of disruption, a belief that we should always be replacing our old way of thinking and doing with new and exciting ideas.

It seems like nothing is safe from our love affair with newness.  In the coming years, cars will relieve us of the burden of sitting behind the wheel and smart refrigerators will relieve us of the worry of remembering to pick up milk.

Don’t get me wrong – I love technology. In fact, one of the most gratifying parts of my job is working with software and technology companies and the growth of their businesses. It’s hard not to be excited by the endless ways that innovation will change our lives for the better in the years to come. 

But while many of my friends and colleagues spend their free time reading about the future of robotics and artificial intelligence and thinking about how the Internet of Things will change our daily lives, I far more often find myself thumbing through decades-old issues of Forbes, Businessweek or Fortune, soaking up as much insight as I can from great dealmakers now relegated to the history books.

One mainstay on my nightstand is a battered old copy of Business Adventures by John Brooks that I bought from an actual bookstore (not online!) when I was in high school.  The book was originally published in 1969, but the insights remain astonishingly relevant today.  The passage I probably re-read the most is about the Ford Edsel fiasco, which is the ultimate cautionary tale about the importance of paying close attention to your market and being ready to respond when your customers’ preferences and demands change. It’s no surprise to many that the business leaders I admire, including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, are fans of Brooks and his timeless wisdom.

One of the core lessons the greatest investors and business leaders share is an obsession with the fundamentals. In hot markets like today, in which unicorns and pre-revenue billion dollar valuations grab all the headlines, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics.​

But sizzling markets and the lure of quick profits is nothing new. When I started investing in real estate in 2007 while still a college student, the market was saturated with speculators.  The previous few years had seen unprecedented capital growth in the residential and commercial markets, and suddenly everyone was a developer or a flipper.  Finding properties that were undervalued and had strong fundamentals was extremely difficult at the time, because the competition was snapping up everything they could find and counting on never-ending price appreciation. 

Going against the grain, I began building my company by obsessing over the fundamentals – intrinsic value, recurring cash flow, and a long-term investment horizon. When the real estate market collapsed in 2008, I managed not to panic or flee, and once again went against the grain, becoming one of the most active buyers of real estate in Austin…then Texas…and eventually, the nation. Following Buffett’s advice, I was fearful when others were greedy – and then positioned to be greedy when others were fearful.

This old school approach doesn’t just apply to investing, it applies to almost every aspect of building and running a company. In business and investing, cautionary tales are everywhere – from the one-hit wonder Wall Street fund manager who delivers one knockout year and then flames out, to the Silicon Valley rising star who builds a killer app and is never heard from again.  Those of us who have achieved success at a young age should be terrified by these examples.  I’m driven every morning to build a company that creates jobs, wealth and economic opportunity not just for years, but for generations.  I can’t imagine how to do that except for being a student of history.

I’ve never liked the old saying that those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it.  To me, history is a goldmine of proven ideas just waiting to be uncovered.  It may just be that the “Next Big Thing” happened long ago. 

Nate Paul is President, CEO & Founder of World Class Capital Group, a leading national commercial real estate investment group. 

5 Ways To Check References To Avoid Toxic Employees

Have you ever attempted to check references before hiring, and run into a brick wall with the former employer giving you only name, title, and date of employment? If so, that’s understandable because they fear lawsuits. On the other hand, the former employer may give a glowing reference. And only later you find out that the accolades don’t ring true.

You discover that your newly hired employee is toxic to coworkers. His or her social skills are non-existent; being a “team player” is a foreign concept. This new employee has become a drain on productivity and puts a damper on morale.

It’s far easier—and cheaper––to prevent the problem by non-selecting this applicant in the hiring stage.

To root out this kind of toxic employee at the early stage, I suggest this approach to reference-checking:

Approaches to Reference-Checking

Step 1: Ask the applicant for references among several past supervisors, coworkers, and “other friends.” (The idea behind asking for several is the applicant will find it time-consuming to inform and brief all thoroughly on what to say and what NOT to say in a conversation with you. You, of course, may not check with all, but a list of 3-4 in each category will likely serve your purpose of a candid conversation later.)

Step 2: Call one or two people from each of these categories (supervisors, coworkers, friends) to ask the reference-check questions below.

Step 3: Ask each of the references called in step 2 to give you another name to call to ask the same questions. (You’ll need to modify the questions slightly by explaining, “I was talking with Joe Smoe in regard to hiring Alberta Ditto, and Joe referred me to you, saying you might have a little more insight about Alberta since you two worked closely together. What would you say are …”)

Here are some key questions that tend to help you get an honest assessment of interpersonal skills and emotional stability:

Questions for a Supervisor

• “What would you say are Geri’s top three strengths?” (Does the boss mention any attitude or interpersonal strengths?)
• “We don’t find many perfect employees out there. So we expect that Geri will need some coaching. In what areas would you say she could benefit from coaching?” (Does the boss mention interpersonal issues that you think are not correctable?)
• “Would you say Geri was highly popular with coworkers? Well liked? Or worked better alone? Just how would you describe their coworker relationships?” (If the boss uses the “loner” label, consider this a warning sign.)

Questions for a Coworker

• Geri has given your name, saying you worked together at XYZ. Exactly, how did your jobs relate? (Does this person’s story sync with what Geri has told you? Does this person seem eager or reluctant to talk?)
• Tell me about some of the key strengths Geri brings to a job.
• What did you appreciate most in working with Geri—her skills, her attitude, her personality? (Listen carefully to what this reference says—and doesn’t say. Probe with follow-up questions.)
• Would you please give me the name and number of someone else there who worked closely with Geri? (Call this second person and ask the same questions if you still have doubts about Geri.)

Questions for a Friend

• Geri has applied for a job with our company and has given your name as a reference. Would you tell me how you two met? (Answers to this question and the following will simply reveal more about your applicant because people tend to choose for friends those who are like them, who share common interests, activities, and values.)
• How long have you known Geri?
• In what kinds of situations or activities have you seen Geri?
• What do you love about Geri?
• Does Geri ever do anything that annoys you? Do you two still stay in contact? Why not?
• Is there anything you wouldn’t trust her to handle for you as a friend?

(Of course, you will want to do other types of reference checks with supervisors to verify skills, with universities to verify academic credentials, with credit bureaus to verify financial integrity, and so forth.)

No doubt about it: This approach to reference-checking takes time. But then so does hiring, on-boarding, and training a toxic employee who later has to be replaced.

Workers Across U.S. 'Fight For $15' In Strikes For Wage Hikes

In 2012, Alvin Major was earning the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour when he went on strike at his KFC restaurant in New York City. Four years later, he’s earning $10.50 per hour, a 45 percent increase. But Major isn’t done striking.

“I’m feeling proud for the work we’ve done,” said the 51-year-old Guyana native. “But our fight has to keep going on. We won’t stop until we’ve won what we deserve.”

Major’s bigger paycheck is evidence of the victories notched by the “Fight for $15,” a union-backed worker campaign that turns 4 years old this week. But for Major, it’s also a sign of the work that remains. With four children, including two in state college, he still needs food stamps, and he has nothing left in his bank account at the end of the month.

“I’ve got to be making choices: putting food on table, paying the bills and paying rent,” he said.

On Tuesday, Major was joined by workers from around the country in the latest Fight for $15 strike. Protests hit dozens of cities to mark the anniversary, and images of workers and their allies being arrested for civil disobedience popped up on Twitter throughout the day. Dozens were arrested blocking traffic in Detroit, Manhattan and Chicago.

The Fight for $15 campaign began in 2012 with fast-food employees like Major but now includes day-care workers, airport baggage handlers and even some Uber drivers. The high-profile protests have helped drive minimum wage increases in cities and states around the country, including an aggressive one in New York that has boosted Major’s pay.

But four years on, the endgame for the Fight for $15 is still no clearer. The campaign aims to win workers not only $15 per hour but also union representation. The fast-food industry remains union-free. The Service Employees International Union, which has poured tens of millions of dollars into the campaign, has not attempted to unionize individual restaurants. It would much rather unionize fast-food workers en masse, which would require regulatory changes, or pressure industry giants like McDonald’s into implementing its own major wage increases.

The campaign shouldn’t expect any help from Washington under a Donald Trump administration. The National Labor Relations Board, which has refereed the workers’ disputes during the Fight for $15, will become a Republican majority much likelier to side with businesses. Regulators probably won’t be as receptive to workers’ arguments that the major fast-food chains are “joint employers” alongside franchisees. And the likelihood of a federal minimum wage hike has become even dimmer with Republicans controlling both the legislative and executive branches.

President Barack Obama has been a public supporter of the Fight for $15, as has Hillary Clinton, who was likely to continue Obama’s policies on the labor front had she defeated Trump in the presidential race. 

Hundreds of arrests in hundreds of cities so far today. We won't back down. We won't back up. Tune-In: https://t.co/Qw35GM1Th8 #FightFor15 pic.twitter.com/oymNSpvkBz

— Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) November 29, 2016

But Mary Kay Henry, the president of SEIU and a Clinton supporter, said Tuesday that the Fight for $15 would continue regardless of who holds the reins on Capitol Hill or at the White House.

“The movement has never relied on any type of politicians,” Henry said. “We think that working people have been at war for decades. The destruction of unions has been going on for 40 years. But when people join together, good things can happen.”

With fewer friends in Washington, Henry said fights on the local and state levels will become even more important. The last four years have seen a wave of new laws pushing local wage floors as high as $15 an hour, with voters keen on approving minimum wage referendums and paid leave proposals. A majority of states now have higher minimum wages than the federal level, which has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009.

The National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group that has supported the Fight for $15, released a report Friday estimating that 19 million workers are covered by minimum wage increases that have been enacted since the campaign began. The biggest beneficiaries, NELP said, have been workers in jurisdictions that passed $15-an-hour ordinances: California, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and SeaTac, Wash.

Many business groups and local chambers of commerce have opposed the minimum wage proposals only to be bowled over by their popularity. The industry-backed Employment Policies Institute, a vocal opponent of the Fight for $15, released a series of videos ahead of Tuesday’s protests blaming minimum wage hikes for closures of small businesses. The institute called them “cautionary tales.”

Major hasn’t lost his job due to the increases in New York. His current wage of $10.50 per hour is the mandated minimum for fast-food employees in New York City at the moment. That will eventually reach $15 at the end of 2018, under an agreement reached by state officials last year. He says he plans to continue protesting even after he’s won his $15 per hour, to earn job security and union recognition.

“I used to be scared when I first went on strike. Not anymore,” Major said. “We don’t have a union, but we’re acting like one.”

Special Report: Free Down Payment Money!

A bank is granting free money to help you with a down payment on a house! It sounds too good to be true, but it actually is true. Here are the details.

To remain in compliance with Federal community lending rules, Associated Bank has created a fund to help home buyers in selected census tracks in Illinois and Wisconsin, by giving them up to $20,850 in free money to put toward their mortgage down payment!

Yes, the details are important. The money is being distributed through their affiliated mortgage originators, but the bank would not give out a list of those lenders. I learned of this new deal from my long-time mortgage expert Daniel Chookaszian of Perl Mortgage, which is one of the lenders that has this money available starting immediately for those who qualify.

Just to make things easier, you can contact Chookaszian at 312-376-2215 to see if you qualify based on credit and location of the property.

Here's what you need to know:

•To qualify for this deal the property you are trying to purchase must fall within a specific census tract which has been determined to have a majority of minority homeowners, no matter what the property values.

•They will gift/grant you down-payment money up to 5% of the amount of the mortgage, with a maximum of $20,850. For example, if you qualify and are borrowing $400,000, you could get a grant of $20,000. The money does not have to be repaid - ever.

•The money is available for the purchase or refinance of a primary residence.

•There is no income limit for the purchaser.

•There is no limit on the purchase price of the house.

•You must have good credit (approx. 620 or higher) and appropriate income to qualify for a mortgage. (The higher the credit score, the lower the rate.)

•You may pay a slightly higher interest rate on the loan than with a traditional down payment loan.

•Mortgages may be made with only a 5% down payment -- all of which can come from the grant! Rates and PMI are, of course, higher for this option.

•If you do not have a 20% down payment (including the grant amount), you will be required to purchase PMI - private mortgage insurance that protects the lender, until you have 20% equity in the home.

•If you have saved 15% of the purchase price as a down payment, and get this gift of an additional 5% of the mortgage amount, and if it brings you up to 20% equity, you may avoid paying PMI on your purchase.

This grant money is available on a first come/first served basis. It has been estimated there is a pool of approximately $10 million available for these grants (although that could not be confirmed). Still, that could facilitate around $200 million in mortgages.

This column will be updated as soon as names of other participating lenders are revealed. Again, this program is only for homes located in specific census tracks in Illinois and Wisconsin.

How to Turn Your Passion Into a Startup

What does it take to be an entrepreneur? Starting a successful business requires more than a good idea: You also need financial backing, support, and a lot of tenacity. It's not an easy process: About half of Canadian small businesses fail by their fifth year in business.

via Salesforce

But you don't have to accept that fate for your own startup. This article will tell you all about the early stages of building a new business, including finding financial support and how to convince backers that your idea is a profitable one. With some guidance and passion, and a great plan, you should be able to build a business that you're passionate about--and that's profitable, too.

That tells you that running a business is no easy task. So even if you have an idea that you're passionate about and that you think could be successful, you need to work hard in order to make it happen. Even great business ideas have failed due to lack of resources, funding, and proper planning.

Don't fall into those common pitfalls. Make sure you have a plan for making your idea work before investing all your time and energy into building your business.

Develop your idea
Sure, you need much more than an idea in order for your business to be successful. But having a great business idea can make a big difference for your potential for success.

For an idea to be truly great, it needs to help people in some way. Otherwise, why would customers buy from you? So your product, service, or offering should have the potential to fill a need or provide some kind of value to consumers. If you've got a general idea for a business offering, do some research to get specific and build on that idea to continue going forward.

Turn it into a specific offering
Once you have your general idea, figure out what that means in terms of a product or service. Say your idea is to start a company that provides design services to businesses and website owners. From there, you need to create packages of services or produce the products that you can sell. You may determine a few different packages that customers can purchase based on whether they need full web design, logos, or some other branding work. Or you could create web design templates that people can purchase and install themselves.

There are plenty of ways you can format your offerings. You need to decide on exactly what you want that to look like for your own business before you continue building your business.

Get the right skills
If your idea is something you're passionate about, then it's likely something you already know something about. However, you may need to hone your skills before launching a business around them.

For example, consider taking a class or becoming an apprentice for an expert in your industry. If you feel confident you have the skills necessary for creating your products or services, then learn the support skills required to run a business. These skills, like bookkeeping and clerical work, are just as important for running a successful startup.

Determine your market
Now you need to decide exactly who you are likely to sell your products or services to. You may think your idea can help people, but if there aren't customers who are actually willing to pay for it, then you're not going to get very far.

That means you need to have a very clear picture of your target customer as you get started. Determine who is likely to buy your products or services so you can be better prepared to research your audience, build products around their needs, and market to them when the time is right.

Gather any startup funds
Not every business needs tons of startup cash to get off the ground. But you will likely need at least some funding for basic business expenses like permits, employees, and legal fees.

Since you'll need to invest in your business before you ever start selling any products or services, you need to find cash. You can fund the early stages of your business yourself, seek outside investors, ask friends, or use crowdfunding. Or you can lower your startup costs as much as possible so you don't need as much to get started. Then you can fund the growth of your business through the revenue you bring in over time.

Do your research
As mentioned previously, it's important to have an idea of who your target customers are. But once you've outlined the general characteristics of your target market--and created personas--the work isn't over. You need to find out what your target customers' preferences are in relation to your offerings.

To illustrate, if you're a web designer targeting young tech startup founders, find out what the members of that audience think about their current options when it comes to web design.

Are they satisfied with what's out there?
Is there something missing that they need someone to offer?
What would they be willing to pay for such a product or service?
Finding out those answers early on can help you shape your business into something that's likely to appeal to customers and, thus, one that is likely to be profitable.

Create a plan for profit
It's now time to come up with a business plan.

How are you going to make money?
How many products or services do you need to sell in order to turn a profit?
How are you going to make all those sales?
Your plan should include topics like marketing strategies, expenses, and sales data. It's important to have a good idea of what is necessary to reach your business goals before you even make your first sale. This type of plan may also be necessary in order for you to seek outside investors or supporters for your business.

Pitch your idea
If you do decide you need more funding to get your startup off the ground, then you'll need to take your business plan and present it to investors. Try to set up meetings with venture firms or secure funding from angel investors. There are also startup accelerators, events, and programs where you can build your ideas and present them to potential supporters or investors.

But you'll need to be able to show them exactly how your business is going to work and why it would be beneficial for them to invest. If they don't see the potential for your idea to succeed or don't see a benefit for themselves, they aren't likely to show support for your idea.

Create a marketing plan
It's time to decide how you're going to market your products and services to potential customers. There are many different routes you can take, from blogging and social media to online advertising, local events, and more.

Depending on the type of business you're starting, some methods are likely to be more effective than others. If your business is aimed at customers who need internet-based services, it probably wouldn't be worth the time and effort to launch a local marketing campaign. Online advertising and social media promotions will likely be beneficial.

Employ a few marketing methods to see what works best over time. Create a budget, research and write down a plan based on your business goals and objectives, and then keep an eye on what methods bring you the most paying customers.

Launch your offering
Once everything in place, it's time to launch. Ideally, you'll have built up some buzz by this point. And if you've secured funding from investors, you should be able to continue getting the word out about your startup while continuously working to improve your business. You'll also need to focus on things like customer service to make sure your business builds a strong reputation going forward.

Provide good service and create a quality offering that people actually know about through your marketing efforts. Follow these steps and you should be well on your way to building a successful startup that actually lasts.

This post originally appeared on the Salesforce Canada blog and is republished with permission.

Jonha Richman is an advocate of innovation, women in tech and ecommerce. She's also a marketing consultant for SaaS startups and a StartupWeekend mentor. She's also a contributor for Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Business Insider, among others. You may connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The Worst Habit You Develop When Working Retail

What are some bad habits that come with working retail? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

Answer by Alecia Li Morgan, Former Store Manager: Starbucks and Victoria's Secret, on Quora:

Having a 'Just Say Yes' mentality.

I could have a chicken and egg conversation here about all of this, but the bottom line is whether I had this already or whether working for Starbucks instilled it in me (it could be a little bit of both, and maybe all successful retail workers have this trait lying in them waiting to be fanned into greater existence). One of the worst habits I have, even five years since leaving the field, is a tendency to 'Just Say Yes.'

Even when I don't want to, or when it doesn't make sense. Even if it's probably not even helpful for the other person!

When you're working in customer service or a customer-facing role, you realize quickly that the client may not always be right, but as long as you want their dollar (Gary Vaynerchuk's answer to Is the customer always right?), they have to be, in some ways. Every retail worker I've ever known has talked about the various forms of training this to validate this. With Starbucks and VS, it boiled down to a Just Say Yes mentality. So requests, complaints, ridiculous return reasons, could escalate to epic proportions and we just had to keep Yes-ing and to smile away. It makes business sense most of the time. Even in life, it does make sense to say Yes as much as possible, if your intent is to get people to feel overall pretty positively about you.

But this means I end up saying yes to a lot of things I'd rather say no to, by instinct. Here are just some of the ridiculous things I've said yes to this year (and yes, I wanted to do most of them, it's just logistically, I really should have said no!):

• Driving four hours round trip to see a friend's child perform for two minutes of a half hour program, taking along my two younger children, to all of our misery and regret.
• Single parenting for a four-day block during a week when I had already agreed to take on a significant chunk of extra work hours to cover for a colleague on vacation, while my husband had a long weekend to relax and hang out with his family in AZ. (This should have been scheduled better on my end, but still, it worked for everyone else's plans, so I Yes-ed.)
• Taking on various projects for my youngest son's class despite being the 99% caregiver to my four children and working just about full-time besides.
• Countless airport pickup and drop offs for various family members so they wouldn't have to pay for parking or an Uber, frequently hauling all four kids with me to do so.
• Hosting every big family event at our house in the past year (Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving) - while I like this, it's tough for me to do, again mostly alone because of my husband's work schedule, etc., with four kids and a job.
• Rarely turning down extra jobs or tasks related to any of the projects I'm currently working on, even when I know I have no more time on my hands except sleep time. I absolutely will cut into my sleep time to say yes to a work project. (I don't foresee this changing, it makes sense to me, but still, I also have a policy of not saying no!)
• Waking up every morning quite early to get some work done, then make breakfast for the kids, lunch for the kids, dress them all for school/dropoffs, then make a full, hot breakfast and a packed lunch for my husband every single work day, while he sleeps until his alarm, gets up, dresses, then takes both and leaves for work. (Really, things should be more evenly split, but I'm stuck, again, in a very service-oriented mindset!)

The list goes on. Taken singly, any one is not bad, but you should know for the small handful I've listed, there are at least twenty more that I cannot list. (Because I don't want anyone who follows me and who might be interacting with me on these to think I resent them or the things mentioned!).

Retail is great. Everyone should work in customer service at some point, and I firmly believe that. But getting out of a Just-Say-Yes mindset to re-achieve some balance in your life is hard, really hard.

Tip your barista a little extra today, because that smile and welcoming attitude are going to have some cost for her throughout her life!

This question originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

More questions:

• Retail: What's your opinion on gender roles in toys?
• Bad Habits: How can I get rid of bad/toxic habits and behavioral traits?
• Salespeople: How do high-end retail salespeople know whether a customer is serious or not?

FCC Transition Leader Jeff Eisenach Works for Verizon, Not the Public.

• The FCC's long standing mission statement: To encourage competition in all communications markets and to protect the public interest.
• The Communications Act of 1934, Title 1, Section 1, as amended: To ensure that the American people have available - at reasonable costs and without discrimination - rapid, efficient, nation- and world-wide communication services; whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable.

Should Congress start investigations as to whether a paid consultant to Verizon and other communications companies should lead the FCC's transition team, a government agency that is charged with protecting the public interest? (See our previous article.)

A Partial List of Work

(NOTE: These listings specifically mention both Eisenach and Verizon. There are a host of other documents published by NERA, AEI and other organizations through 2015 that also may have been funded by Verizon.)

• March 12, 2013: In the Matter of Special Access for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers, AT&T Corporation Petition for Rulemaking to Reform Regulation of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier Rates for Interstate Special Access Services, Federal Communications Commission, WC Docket No. 05-25, RM-10593 Expert Declaration of Jeffrey A. Eisenach (with Kevin W. Caves) on Behalf of Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless

October, 2012: Broadband Competition in the Internet Ecosystem, AEI, Partial support for an earlier version of this paper was provided by Verizon Communications.

March 1, 2012: Order Instituting Rulemaking to Evaluate Telecommunications Corporations Service Quality Performance and Consider Modification to Service Quality Rules, Before the California Public Service Commission, Rulemaking 11-12-001, Reply Declaration of Jeffrey A. Eisenach on Behalf of Verizon Communications

February 2012: The Impact of Liberalizing Price Controls on Local Telephone Service: An Empirical Analysis, Kevin W. Caves, co-authored with Jeffrey A. Eisenach. Prepared with support from Verizon Communications.

January 31, 2012: Order Instituting Rulemaking to Evaluate Telecommunications Corporations Service Quality Performance and Consider Modification to Service Quality Rules, Before the California Public Service Commission, Rulemaking 11-12-001, Expert Declaration of Jeffrey A. Eisenach on Behalf of Verizon Communications

April 2011: Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of RUS Broadband Subsidies: Three Case Studies (Prepared with support from The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, (NCTA) co-authored with Jeffrey A. Eisenach.)

May 10, 2010: In the Matter of International Comparison and Consumer Survey Requirements in the Broadband Data Improvement Act, Federal Communications Commission GN Docket No. 09-47, Supplemental 7 Declaration Regarding the Berkman Center Study (NBP Public Notice 13) (with R. Crandall, E. Ehrlich and A. Ingraham) on Behalf of Verizon Communications

April 12, 2010: Net Neutrality: The Economic Evidence, Expert Declaration in the Matters of Preserving the Open Internet and Broadband Industry Practices, GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52 (with Brito et al.) Prepared with support from Verizon Communications.

April 2010: Modeling the Welfare Effects of Net Neutrality Regulation: A Comment on Economides and Tåg (Prepared with support from Verizon Communications.)

November 16, 2009: Declaration of Robert W. Crandall, Everett M. Ehrlich and Jeffrey A. Eisenach Regarding the Berkman Center Study (NBP Public Notice 13) National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and United States Telecom Association (USTA) (cable and phone company associations).

VITA 2009: Testimony, Government Filings and Expert Reports

March 13, 2009: Comments on the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Second Order for Notice and Hearing In Re: Revisions of Rules for Local Exchange Telecommunications Company Service Quality Standards, On Behalf of Verizon Virginia

September 24, 2008: In the Matter of the Appropriate Forms of Regulating Telephone Companies, Maryland Public Service Commission, Case No. 9133, Rebuttal Testimony on Behalf of Verizon Maryland

August 21, 2008: Comments on the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Proposed Service Quality Rules for Traditional Landline Telecommunications, On Behalf of Verizon Virginia

July 25, 2008: In re: Complaint and request for emergency relief against Verizon Florida, LLC for anticompetitive behavior in violation of Sections 364.01(4), 364.3381, and 364.10, F.S., and for failure to facilitate transfer of customers' numbers to Bright House Networks Information Services (Florida), LLC, and its affiliate, Bright House Networks, LLC, Florida Public Service Commission, Docket No. 070691-TP, Rebuttal Testimony on Behalf of Verizon Florida

July 8, 2008: In the Matter of the Appropriate Forms of Regulating Telephone Companies, Maryland Public Service Commission, Case No. 9133, Direct Testimony on Behalf of Verizon Maryland

February 29, 2008: In the Matter of Bright House Networks LLC. et al v. Verizon California et al, Federal Communications Commission File No. EB-08-MD-002, Expert Declaration on Behalf of Verizon Communications

•January 31, 2008: In the Matter of Verizon's 2007 Price Cap Plan for the Provision of Local Telecommunications Services in the District Of Columbia, District of Columbia Public Service Commission, Formal Case No. 1057, Rebuttal Testimony On behalf of Verizon

December 7, 2007: In the Matter of Verizon's 2007 Price Cap Plan for the Provision of Local Telecommunications Services in the District Of Columbia, District of Columbia Public Service Commission, Formal Case No. 1057, Direct Testimony On behalf of Verizon

November 19, 2007: In the Matter of the Commission's Investigation Into Verizon Maryland, Inc.'s Affiliate Relationships, Maryland Public Service Commission, Case No. 9120, Rebuttal Testimony On behalf of Verizon

November 16, 2007: On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California, et al., Petitioners, v. Linkline Communications, Inc., et al., Respondents, Brief of Amici Curiae Professors and Scholars in Law and Economics in Support of the Petitioners (with R. Bork, G. Sidak, et al)

October 29, 2007: In the Matter of the Commission's Investigation Into Verizon Maryland, Inc.'s Affiliate Relationships, Maryland Public Service Commission, Case No. 9120, Direct Testimony On behalf of Verizon

July 16, 2007: Application of Verizon Virginia, Inc. and Verizon South for a Determination that Retail Services Are Competitive and Deregulating and Detariffing of the Same, State Corporation Commission of Virginia, Case No. PUC-2007-00008, Rebuttal Report On behalf of Verizon

June 2007: The Effects of Providing Universal Service Subsidies to Wireless Carriers (Prepared with support from Verizon Communications, co-authored with Jeffrey A. Eisenach).

January 17, 2007: Application of Verizon Virginia, Inc. and Verizon South for a Determination that Retail Services Are Competitive and Deregulating and Detariffing of the Same, State Corporation Commission of Virginia, Case No. PUC-2007-00008, Expert Testimony and Report On behalf of Verizon

•December 2003: In the Matter of Review of the Commission's Rules Regarding the Pricing of Unbundled Network Elements and the Resale of Service by Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers, WC Docket No. 03-173, Declaration of Jeffrey A. Eisenach and Janusz R. Mrozek, Federal Communications Commission On behalf of Verizon

The New York Times Compiled this Dossier.

Failure to Disclose: No Mention Verizon is a Primary Client.

Should Congress investigate Eisenach et al. for their failure to properly disclose their ties with these corporations at congressional hearings and government agency meetings? And, have there been violations of the non-profit, tax-exempt status of the various organizations these consultants are affiliated with?

These are just two instances we found where Jeffrey Eisenach presented 'expertise' but failed to identify the fact that one of his major paid clients was Verizon.

• September 17, 2014: Statement before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary On "Why Net Neutrality Matters: Protecting Consumers and Competition Through Meaningful Open Internet Rules" Testimony of Jeffrey A. Eisenach, Ph.D. Visiting Scholar American Enterprise Institute

April 21, 2010: Testimony on Deployment of Broadband Communications Networks, Before the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, Committee on Energy and Commerce, United States House of Representatives.