Near my home there’s a beautiful mansion and formal gardens called Allerton Park. It’s the former estate of Samuel Allerton who made his fortune in the livestock trade in Chicago. He wrote this letter in 1878 to his children. I always pay attention to the distilled wisdom of a person’s life.

To my dear beloved children, Kate and Robert,

Now it is one thing to make money and another to keep it. For every man that has it, there are men laying for fools who have it, to cheat and to get it from him.

When you go in business, go slow until you fully understand it and make yourself a master of it. Speculators are smart men who will make plenty of money on paper and pretend to be a great friend, but you must act on your own judgement or your money will be gone. Never go into anything you can’t get out of and have money left.

Capital constantly increases if properly invested. A man must always live on his income, never spend all his income; never enter into a new enterprise to the full extent of your capital. Keep a certain amount safely invested to ensure an income at all times.

Money is a necessity and a great blessing when properly used, but if spent in dissipation and to the detriment of the world it is the greatest curse that a man can have. Most fathers are afraid to give their sons money unti they have grown to manhood for fear they might lead a thoughtless and dissipated life, but I have confidence in my son that he will lead a thoughtful life remembering that the only true course of happiness is to shun evil. Keep the truth (which is everlasting) and manly courage on your side to do the right. Never wrong man or woman intentionally and lead a life that will fear nothing or no one.

A few things I’ve learned or been reminded of lately:

Intentionally digging into the details is one way to get new insight when you’re drawing a blank on a tough problem. Studying an individual case can lead to breakthroughs in understanding.

An experiment with measurable results is a great way to bring closure to theoretical debate about what works better.

It’s easy and useless for marketers to say what they want their customers to do. It’s hard and valuable for marketers to grasp what their customers want them to do.

Giving attention to what customers are promoting might be a better way to get their attention than asking them to pay attention to what you are promoting.

Three questions.

What, really, do our customers come to us to get?

Why, really, do they come to us instead of our competitors to get it?

How do we tell a true and compelling story about that to potential customers?

“It’s broken.”

“It’s over.”

“I was wrong.”

“I’m afraid.”

When we get down to the simple truth it takes lots of courage, and few words, to say it.

When we tell the simple truth, especially to ourselves, we spring toward change.

I’m looking for one incredible person to head marketing and sales at my company. He or she will work closely with me at our branch office in Champaign, Illinois to plan and implement the marketing activities that will keep ATS soaring.

If you or someone you know gets what marketing in the Internet age is all about, and has a track record of exceptional results, send them here to pre-interview online.

This is a rare chance to get in on the 2nd floor of something big. Join me

Update: This senior marketing role appears to be filled. Thanks for helping to spread the word. I’m still hiring. We’re looking for a marketing coordinator to help round out our marketing department. Click here to pre-interview online.