Dan J. Harkey

Master Educator | Business & Finance Consultant | Mentor

The American Enterprise

A Contrarian’s Look at America’s Enterprise—Economy, Government, and Leadership—Minus the Public-Relations Gloss.

Dan's unique perspective on the economy, the government, and our country's leadership is not commonly found in mainstream media. Designed to enlighten and engage you with what he believes is a refreshing dose of truth, his articles challenge the narratives often presented by mainstream media and encourage critical thinking about the state of our country's enterprise.

Dan offers workarounds and solutions when possible. His aim is to provide actionable solutions to the challenges we may face in these areas.

Search Results

“Light Speed Change”: Even Non-Profits Can Improve Faster and Faster.

Two instructive examples are the Free Sacred Trinity Church and its healing ministry, the Optimum Health Institute of San Diego (OHI-SD).

When Media Headlines Become Manipulated Truths: Part I of II

How Media Narratives Break Under a Revision-Driven Data Regime

Government Statistical Revisionism: III of III

Inflation targeting is especially sensitive to data revisions, because the entire framework depends on measuring deviations from a numerical target in real time. When inflation data subsequently change, they can retroactively reveal policy errors that were invisible—or unavoidable—at the time decisions were made.

Government Statistical Revisionism: Part II of III

Monetary policy is adjusted because central banks make real-time decisions based on data that later prove to be incorrect. That creates a gap between policy intent and economic reality—and that gap can persist for months or years.

Government Statistical Revisionism: Part I of III

Why Economic Data Keeps Changing—and Why the Public No Longer Trusts It

The Silent Technology Bottleneck: When Growth Outruns Infrastructure

One of the most dangerous bottlenecks is the one that executives refuse to see until systems begin to fail. As organizations grow, there comes a point where existing technology—servers, processors, storage, and RAM—can no longer support operational demand. When that moment arrives, performance doesn’t degrade gracefully. It collapses in slow, expensive increments.

The Bottleneck: The Smallest Constraint That Controls the Whole System

The bottleneck is rarely audible and may not even produce noise. It doesn’t announce itself with a crash—it whispers through delays, backlogs, and the creeping sense that everyone is busy, but nothing is moving. Like the narrow neck of a bottle that throttles the liquid behind it, a single constraint can quietly dictate the pace of an entire operation.

Light Speed Differential: When the Rate of Change Breaks Human and Organizational Instincts- Part II of II

Light Speed Differential is not a passive motivational slogan

Light Speed Differential: When the Rate of Change Breaks Human and Organizational Instincts- Part I of II

Most people and organizations fail not because they move slowly, but because they misjudge how much faster the world has begun to move around them. The real risk is not changing itself. It is the difference between the speed at which we are built to adapt and the speed at which reality now evolves.

“Highway to Hell”: AC/DC

AC/DC and the Making of “Highway to Hell”

“Roger That”:

If you’ve ever said “Roger that,” you didn’t say “yes.” You said, “Message received and understood.” The phrase sounds cinematic, but its roots are technical, born from the need to convey certainty over noisy airwaves and crackling lines. And while “Romeo” replaced “Roger” in the modern phonetic alphabet, the word endured, becoming a timeless seal of acknowledgment from cockpits to control rooms to everyday speech.

Pretty Girls Dancing While Working Out

Take a short break from today’s pressure to enjoy the scenery

The Bee Gees: Staying Alive- Unique and Effective

Few songs are as instantly recognizable—or as enduring—as the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” Which not only topped charts in 1977 but also became a symbol of resilience and cultural identity during the disco era, shaping how we perceive that time.

Brainwashing vs. Propaganda:

Influence, Coercion, and the Line Between Them

“Brainwashing”: Quick Read

Where Influence Ends, and Coercion Begins

“Brainwashing”:

The Line Between Influence and Coercion

“On the Fly”:

How a Two-Word Phrase Came to Define Modern Life

“Spill the Beans”

Meaning and Origin of “Spill the Beans

Car Invoice Price and Dealer Markup: Part III of III

What to Say Back:

Car Invoice Price and Dealer Markup: Part II of III

The real negotiation usually begins when you sit down with the closer (a.k.a. the finance Manager or sales Manager)