The Lotto Dudes Strike Again... Kind of 😂💰
The Lotto Dudes have completed another thrilling round of highly sophisticated investing.
The results?
We turned a $100 buy-in into...
🥁🥁🥁
$40.
That's a 60% return... in the wrong direction.
Or, if you prefer investment jargon, we posted a -60% ROI.
Warren Buffett has yet to return my calls.
The good news?
The jackpots continue to climb.
🎟️ Mega Millions (Tuesday): $800 million
🎟️ Powerball (Saturday): $600 million
That's $1.4 BILLION waiting for someone to claim it.
Now, a question for my Las Vegas friends...
Is the Lotto Store in Primm still open?
Back when I lived there, I found it much easier to skip the crowds and drive US-95 south to the first lottery stop in Arizona. It was about 20 miles farther than Primm, but during the huge jackpots, it was worth it. The line at Primm could easily stretch to an hour to buy a ticket.
Sometimes driving a little farther meant spending a lot less time standing around wondering what you'd do with a billion dollars.
As for me?
I'm still planning the beach house, the sports car, and whatever ridiculous idea pops into my head next.
One of these drawings has to go our way...
Right?
Leave a comment and let me know:
If you had to drive out of state to buy a lottery ticket, would you wait in line or take the longer drive to avoid the crowd?
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com/blog.
#Powerball #MegaMillions #Lottery #LotteryPool #LottoDudes #LasVegas #Primm #Arizona #ROI #Humor #DreamBig #internetgarbage
The Scammers Didn't Waste Any Time
A few moments ago, I shared the results of a behavioral assessment I completed as part of a job application.
It took about 15 minutes before I started receiving connection requests from what appear to be resume and recruiting scammers.
In this case, the profiles were Grace Isborne and Patricia Renee. I've attached screenshots of their profiles and our conversations so you can see what caught my attention.
A few observations that raised red flags:
Very limited profile history.
Both reference Harvard in some way.
No recommendations.
Generic recruiter messaging with little personalization.
Could these be new recruiters? Possibly. But when you're in an active job search, it's worth slowing down and verifying whom you're speaking with before sharing personal information, your resume, or paying for any services.
Scammers know job seekers are looking for opportunities, and they move quickly.
Stay aware. Stay skeptical. Verify first.
If you'd like to follow my ongoing experiences with job searching, recruiting scams, and career insights, follow along at NielFlamm.com/blog.
Have you encountered similar recruiting or LinkedIn scams? Share your experience in the comments so others can learn from it.
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com/blog.
What 98 Questions Revealed About Me
Every now and then, a job application asks to go beyond a résumé and complete an assessment that digs into how I think, work, and interact with others.
I'm currently applying for a role here in the Charleston, SC area. Like many opportunities these days, part of the hiring process included a behavioral assessment—98 questions that took about 45 minutes to complete.
The results were interesting because they aligned closely with how I've approached my career in Learning & Development, leadership, and continuous improvement.
Here are the competencies the assessment highlighted:
📚 Learner (Thought Process)
Curious and inquisitive. I enjoy learning new things, asking questions, and finding ways to apply new knowledge to solve problems and improve performance.
🎯 Achiever (Drives & Values)
Determined to succeed. I set high standards for myself and stay focused on accomplishing meaningful goals while continuously growing.
🔄 Adaptability (Work Style)
Flexible and resourceful. Whether it's changing priorities, new technology, or unexpected challenges, I enjoy finding solutions and helping organizations navigate change.
🤝 Individualizer (People Acumen)
Building personalized relationships. One-size-fits-all leadership rarely works. I enjoy understanding what motivates each person and helping them succeed in ways that fit their strengths.
🚀 Execution (Influence)
Exceeding expectations. Planning, data, experience, and intuition all come together to deliver results. My goal has always been to leave projects, teams, and organizations better than I found them.
What I appreciated most wasn't receiving a "score." It was seeing characteristics that I've tried to demonstrate throughout my career.
I'm still looking for the right opportunity—one where I can contribute, make an impact, help people grow, and continue learning myself. Whether that's through Learning & Development, instructional design, leadership development, or organizational effectiveness, I'm excited about what comes next.
Sometimes a behavioral assessment is more than another step in the hiring process. It's an opportunity to reflect on who I am and how I create value for others.
What strengths have been most consistent throughout your career?
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.
Day 40: How Is This Acceptable?
Today marks Day 40 since I requested a Nextdoor study that company communications directed me to request from Jacob Chavis.
Today, I sent another email to:
Nirav Tolia, CEO
Jacob Chavis
Investor Relations
Press
The question I asked was intentionally simple:
Forty days have passed.
Not forty days waiting for an answer I agree with.
Forty days without receiving the study.
Forty days without a response explaining whether the study is available.
Forty days without a simple acknowledgment.
At this point, this has become much larger than one report.
It's about communication.
It's about accountability.
It's about the culture an organization chooses to build.
As a shareholder, I don't expect every answer to be "yes."
I do expect organizations to acknowledge reasonable requests and communicate professionally.
A response could have been:
"Here's the study."
"The study isn't available."
"We can't share it."
"We're looking into it."
Any one of those would have moved the conversation forward.
Instead, today marks Day 40.
Some may wonder why I continue posting these updates.
The answer is simple:
Consistency.
If I believe communication and accountability matter, then I have to be consistent in asking for them. I'm not going to stop asking simply because the answer hasn't come. I'll stop asking when I receive a response or when there's nothing left to ask.
I've often quoted two lessons from a former colleague:
"We tolerate what we allow."
and
"We inspect what we expect."
Those ideas continue to guide my thinking.
If leadership expects trust from users, advertisers, employees, and shareholders, then communication is one of the first things to inspect.
I've attached the image that accompanied today's email.
Join the discussion at NielFlamm.com/blog. I welcome feedback.
We Inspect What We Expect
I've been using the phrase "We tolerate what we allow."
Full disclosure—I didn't come up with it. A former colleague, now a friend, shared it with me years ago, and it has stuck ever since.
He also left me with another one that's just as powerful:
"We inspect what we expect."
I've been thinking about that as I continue writing about Nextdoor's value proposition, its identity, and what I see as opportunities to improve the platform.
Some may call what I'm doing trolling.
I call it inspecting.
Recently, I was viewing Nextdoor through an account that doesn't use my real name or address. I came across a post encouraging neighbors to stop complaining, stop deleting the app, and focus on being more positive.
The intent was good.
Then I read the comments.
One person pointed out the irony of telling others not to complain while complaining.
Another questioned what the platform's purpose even is.
Another expressed the opinion that the platform's primary goal is monetization and enriching company leadership.
Whether you agree with those comments or not, they reveal something important.
They're signals.
They're feedback.
They're opportunities to inspect the experience people are actually having.
That's why I keep returning to the question of identity.
What is Nextdoor's purpose today?
If leadership expects neighbors to have productive, positive interactions, then it's worth inspecting whether the product, moderation model, communication, and overall user experience are supporting that expectation.
As the saying goes:
We inspect what we expect.
In my opinion as a shareholder, if those questions had been asked consistently over the past two years, the conversation around Nextdoor might look very different today.
There's nothing wrong with being on podcasts. If leadership spends more time speaking than inspecting the platform, listening to feedback, and experiencing neighborhoods firsthand, they shouldn't be surprised when the market, users, and shareholders do the inspecting for them.
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.