John Schultz
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Yeah, But That's Different
October 2, 2026
The Observation We require identity verification on the website: a picture of your ID and a selfie. A few customers a week call and say, there's no way I'm...
When both sides think the other has the advantage
September 22, 2026
When we ran simulcast auctions, with people bidding in the room and online, I heard the same suspicion time and again. The people in the room thought the...
Selling alcohol at auction in Nebraska: What we learned
September 17, 2026
By John Schultz, CAI, AMM | Grafe Auction Company This article describes our experience with Nebraska's auction-house permit process in August and September...
Hiring before the need
September 15, 2026
It takes us about 90 days to bring a new hire up to speed. Illness or injury can take someone off the schedule much faster than that. A resignation may give...
The Silent Switch
August 28, 2026
The Observation I was thinking this morning about friction in technology, and how a good customer will leave without a word. A little is useful. Too much,...
Small Wrongness
August 21, 2026
The Observation Mel brought Chinese for lunch on August 19. I went to break the fortune cookie and it was kind of soggy. Bit into it anyway, then read the...
The Quit Test
August 10, 2026
The Observation David Senra asked Brad Jacobs how he differentiates A, B, and C players. Jacobs runs a mental exercise: picture the person in your office...
Touch It Once
August 9, 2026
The Observation Touch it once. When something lands, finish it or triage it on the first touch. Do not pick it up, set it down half-handled, and pay the full...
The Note Is Not the Point
August 3, 2026
The Observation I was explaining how I take notes to someone on a call. I didn't start them on my whole digital system. I handed them a pack of habits that...
Shared Thinking, One Voice
August 1, 2026
The Observation Paul Ampe would dictate letters. I didn't know shorthand. So I'd catch the sense, then put the words back in his mouth. Paraphrase first....
The Full Circle Isn't the Ignition
July 29, 2026
How I became someone who could teach is not why I still do. The origin story is real. It just isn't the ignition. I can still see sixth grade like it was...
What Stuck When the Chair Ended
July 24, 2026
Last week, I completed my service as NAA Board Chair. I appreciate the people who walked it with me, and the members who trusted us with the work. I wrote...
Terms clear is not experience clear
July 22, 2026
After a foodservice liquidation, the survey scores came in. Same complaint, different names. The display piece mounted high on the wall. The scramble for...
Crowds Install Reality
July 21, 2026
The Observation I was listening to Lex Fridman with Julia Shaw on the bystander effect, and the piece that stuck was simple: if you're not first on the...
The IAC Title Is Two Jobs
July 20, 2026
The Observation I spent a long day scoring auctioneers. Prelims first. Then finals: interview, then selling again. Prelims decide who keeps competing. They...
The Machines Can Pay Now
July 6, 2026
The observation On July 1, Cloudflare shipped something called the Monetization Gateway. Any site behind their network, which is roughly a fifth of the web,...
Same Mind, Same Blind Spots
July 3, 2026
Today I rebuilt the routing rules for my AI agents: which model handles mechanical work, which handles hard reasoning, which validates the output before I...
If an AI Can't Find Your Auctions, Neither Can the Buyers
June 24, 2026
On June 3, 2026, Matthew Prince, the CEO of Cloudflare, posted a number from his own network's live data. For the first time in the history of the internet,...
Recurring Discretion Is a Contradiction
June 17, 2026
The spark I was listening to Gary Vaynerchuk on The GaryVee Audio Experience, an October 2025 episode about wasting time on people who will never buy from...
The Report That Covers You
June 14, 2026
A seller calls a few days after the auction closes. The line of equipment they bought new in 2021 came back at 40 cents on the dollar, and they're sore. They...
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