E D I T O R ' S
N O T E
StateWays
Executive Vice President
and Group Publisher
Charles Forman
Tel: 845-426-6072
Fax: 845-426-6423
email:
cforman@m2media360.com
Cliff Dwellers
N
o sooner was the ink dry on the tepid fiscal cliff-defying
agreement crafted by a seemingly dysfunctional U.S.
Congress then a hue-and-cry emerged from all forms of
media - broadcast and cable TV, newspapers and magazines, and the internet in all its
blogospheric incarnations: "There's even greater uncertainty to come! Watch out for the
imminent debt ceiling fight, which could send the entire U.S. government into default!
That could then send the U.S and world economy into a precipitous decline! It's another
fiscal cliff!" Well, judging by the atmosphere in our nation's capitol, it appears that we are
all going to be cliff dwellers for quite some time.
The drumbeat for the past several years has been that employment and the economy are
suffering because business leaders and managers are uncertain about the future (particularly
taxes, healthcare costs, etc.), and as a result are hesitant to hire or invest in their businesses
beyond immediate needs.
As I've absorbed this chatter – you can't avoid it these days if you are a sentient human
being – I've been wondering, "Isn't uncertainty an inherent part of the human condition?"
It obviously is, though we try not to think about it too much. Why then, doesn't that same
condition extend to a business environment? I've not run my own business, or handled the
large budgets that comprise state beverage alcohol divisions, like many of you do, and I can
imagine that it is comforting to be able to predict fixed costs; however, it seems that there are
so many varying dynamics, constantly in flux, that make up the totality of a business that a
level of uncertainty is more the norm than the exception. Indeed, it would seem that successful
businesspeople are able to intuitively recognize the conditions that lead to "uncertainty" in its
many forms, and then exploit those conditions to their advantage. Those who are prepared,
who know how to tack into the wind, can still move forward; those who don't, fall behind.
That's one point of a brilliant book, written a few years ago by Nassim Taleb, a
writer/scholar/mathematician/financial manager, titled, "The Black Swan." To dramatically
simplify his argument, he notes that there are completely unforeseen and unpredictable
events that occur which have enormous impact on us, the overall culture and the economy.
To recognize and understand that these apparently random events can and will exist is the
first step to preparing for and dealing with them as best we can.
Still, I remain certain about many things, and one of them is that The Alabama
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board continues to make great strides (see page 10): According
to the latest figures, its total sales, both retail and wholesale, were projected to be over
$378 million for the year, an increase, in dollar sales, of almost 5%. And its contributions
to the state budget are on track to reach almost $210 million, an increase of 6.7%. As one
of the ABC executives says, "The ABC is in good shape. The attitude is, we're operating
a business, we have a modern warehouse and our employees really know their stuff. We
couldn't be more pleased."
Richard Brandes, Editor-in-Chief
4
®
Editor- in-Chief
Richard Brandes
Tel: 212-353-3832
rbrandes@m2media360.com
Managing Editor
Jeremy Nedelka
email:
jnedelka@m2media360.com
Art Director
Adam Lane
Contributing Editor
Cheryl Ursin
Vice President of Sales,
Associate Publisher
Anthony Bongiovanni
tbongiovanni@m2media360.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Mark Marcon
mmarcon@m2media360.com
Senior Regional Sales Manager
Debbie Rittenberg
drittenberg@m2media360.com
Senior Vice President,
Audience Development
Joanne Juda-Prainito
Senior Research Analyst
Adam Rogers
List Rental Manager
Cheryl Naughton
cnaughton@m2media360.com
M2MEDIA360
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Marion Minor
Vice President, Finance & Operations
Gerald Winkel
Vice President, Operations
and Human Resources
Mary Jo Tomei
StateWays is published by
The Beverage Information Group,
a division of M2MEDIA360
Editorial and executive offices are
at 17 High St., 2nd Fl.,
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StateWays I www.stateways.com I January/February 2013