General Hannibal Barca was faced with a looming problem. The Imperial Roman Republic had taken over his homeland of Carthage during The First Punic War, further expanding their vast enemy empire. Rome’s continued campaign of complete domination was being carried out by the feared Roman army, superior to Hannibal’s army in both size and resources. Hannibal knew that his only chance for success was to do something completely unexpected. He resolved to defeat his enemy by taking the offensive and invade Italy before the Romans were prepared. Though the odds were clearly stacked against him, the objective was clear to him and his men. His army was prepared. His plan of attack was meticulously calculated. Their strategy involved crossing the Alps – a journey made more treacherous with the autumn snow – yet they knew it had to be done. Defeating the Romans was more than a goal for Hannibal and his men. It was a resolution. When asked how they would make their way through the mountains, Hannibal responded with a steely resolve that would leave no room for doubt, “We will either find a way or make one”.

The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics published December 4 offered both good news, and bad news. The good news is that since the start of this year, the magnitude of monthly job losses has steadily decreased from an average of 357,000 during the three months from May to July, to an average of 135,000 in the three months prior to November. The bad news is that 10% of our nation’s population is still out of work. One of the now many unemployed is a friend of mine who lost his job over the summer. I called him a couple of weeks ago to see how he was doing, and his answer caught me off guard. “Todo lo que importa está bien,” he said in a peaceful voice.

Business as usual.  When’s the last time you’ve heard that old saying?  I’m willing to bet it’s been a while.  Nowadays business is anything but usual, and that’s fine by me because I never really subscribed to that philosophy to begin with.  There are so many components to business, and so many factors that affect [...]

When my grandfather started his business in 1940’s Cuba, he quickly carved out a niche for himself as a specialist in steel design, fabrication and construction which separated him from his competitors and earned him the respect of his peers.  As a registered engineer, he was certainly qualified to design buildings and foundations for his [...]