Profile
John A. Sarkett

Short bio:

John A. Sarkett is the designer of Option Wizard® software (http://option-wizard.com), and writes frequently on financial topics.  He is the author of:  Option Wizards:  real life success stories from the financial markets.

He is also author of best-selling Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success (2007) and Extraordinary Comebacks 2 (2009), Extraordinary Comebacks 3 (2012) and publisher of AIN'T JUST BLUES IT'S SHOWTIME:  Hard times, heartache, and glory along Blues Highway (2010). 

More recent titles include Obscure Composers, Obscure Composers 2, Bach and Heaven:  The Promise of Afterlife in the Text of the Cantatas, and Death in classical music: making friends with the unfriendly.

He began his career in public relations, and expanded into television production and syndication, publishing and software.  Full biography below.

Find his titles at http://sarkett.com and Amazon.

Long version:

Author, publisher, marketing communications consultant
Specialties: public relations, Internet, television

Recognized as an originator of new communications concepts and techniques, John Sarkett, has a wide range of public relations and public affairs counseling experience and a specialty in creating television programming for industry events.

Most recently, he is the author of Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success, published by Sourcebooks, Naperville, Illinois (2007).  Since its launch, it has consistently appeared in Amazon's Top 100 Motivation titles.  Media coverage included Fox Chicago television, Chicago Tribune, and some 20 radio syndications and stations across the U.S.

 He added the sequels Extraordinary Comebacks 2, (2009) and Extraordinary Comebacks 3 (2012).  He is also publisher of AIN'T JUST BLUES IT'S SHOWTIME:  Hard times, heartache, and glory along Blues Highway (2010).  See more of his titles at http://sarkett.com.

He directed marketing and public relations activities for a varied group of clients at Sarkett & Associates, Inc. starting January 1, 1979. Past major clients have included Eli Lilly, National Association of Realtors, American Bankers Association, Ford corporate, tractors and truck division, Steiger Tractor, and the Animal Health Institute.

 Starting August, 1995, he turned his attention to the development and marketing of Option Wizard® Scan.  This innovative financial software attracted clients from around the world, and earned mention in publications such as Barrons, Stocks and Commodities, Futures, and Active Trader.  In 2011, he introduced an innovative version that predicts stock and index movement based on statistical volatility:  Option Wizard® Simplified Options Strategy (SOS) Backtester.  More on this at http://option-wizard.com.

During the 1980s, he developed and produced the National Agriculture Week television special (major clients: Elanco (division of Eli Lilly), Ford Corporate, Tractor and Truck, American Bankers Association) and the American Home Week television special (major clients National Association of Realtors, Benjamin Moore, Clorox, Georgia Pacific, Glidden, Lucite, Kemper and Ryder Corporation).

Before founding Sarkett & Associates, Inc., he was a vice president of a small advertising and public relations agency in Chicago, the John Volk Company (1976-1978), where, tongue-in-cheek, he developed the world's first "do-it-yourself news conference", which was mentioned on the CBS radio network, and which received national marketing awards.

Previously, he had been the director of communications for the Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute in Chicago, the nation's oldest trade association (1975-1976).

Earlier, he had been an account executive at Burson-Marsteller, Chicago, for the American Bankers Association, Abbott Laboratories, and Massey-Ferguson (1973-1975). Before that, he worked at Bill Dorn Associates, Minneapolis, on the CIBA-GEIGY and Pfizer accounts (intern 1971, 1972).

John holds B.S. and M.S. degrees (both, 1973) cum laude from the Ohio State University. He has won a number of awards in public relations, including the Founder's Day Award from the Agricultural Relations Council, the highest award in agricultural public relations. He is listed in "Outstanding Young Men of America" and "Who's Who in the Midwest."

Accredited by the Public Relations Society of America (APR) in 1981, John has also been an active member of the Agricultural Relations Council, American Agricultural Editors' Association, National Association of Farm Broadcasters, and National Agri-Marketing Association.

John writes in his free time (books (mentioned above) and periodicals including Active Trader, Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities, Futures, Hollywood Scriptwriter, and North Shore). His own feature film script was reviewed by story departments of several Hollywood studios, garnered positive comments from Warner Brothers, but remains unproduced.

Married with three grown children, he has coached baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis and softball.  He captains USTA 4.5 tennis teams for Winnetka, IL, and enjoys reading, Zen poetry and writing, and music (classical, opera, percussion, jazz and blues).

Publications, Trade Press [financial]:

Publications, Interviews for Hollywood Screenwriter
Tim Kazurinsky, March 1998
Harold Ramis, January 1998
Wayne Beach, January 1996
Darrell Royal, September 1995

Sarkett & Associates, Inc.
The new public relations

Forethoughts for marketing and communications executives

If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success. 
 John D. Rockefeller

The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good and grabs the new just as soon at it is better. 
 Robert P. Vanderpoel

When a man has some one object in view to be achieved in a given time, it may be absolutely necessary for him to walk out of all the common roads. 
 Burke

The new public relations

The new public relations is best defined by its four most salient characteristics:

OLD PUBLIC RELATIONS NEW PUBLIC RELATIONS
Marketing follower Marketing leader
Reactor Initiator
Ignorant of management's needs Sensitive to management's needs
Feelings-minded Hard information-oriented
Soft information-oriented Cash flow-minded
Isolationist mentality Management team mentality
Task-oriented Goal-oriented
Measurement optional Measurement mandatory
Publicity-oriented Multi-disciplined
Not accountable per staff officer Accountable per line officer
Old line media Social media
"Journalism spoken here" "Wharton School spoken here"

 

Sarkett & Associates, Inc.

Practitioner of the new public relations

Sarkett & Associates, Inc. is a full-service public relations consultancy established to provide personalized service. Since its inception in 1979, a wide range of clients have been assisted in capitalizing on their opportunities, and solving appropriate problems through communications.

In order to give maximum personal attention to each client, John A. Sarkett works as a one-man agency. The "associates" in the company's name represents a number of artists, photographers and media representatives who have served the agency for many years, and may be called on at any time to lend their special services to help solve client problems.

Sarkett & Associates, Inc. offers public relations counsel and program implementation in the following areas: marketing, corporate, financial, agricultural, international, industrial, employee, community relations, as well as public affairs. Our programs are goal-oriented, measurable, accountable. In short, we are practitioners of the new public relations.

Sarkett & Associates, Inc. began January 1, 1979. The company won its early recognition with breakthrough work for Steiger Tractor, Inc., Elanco, and the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange, among others. The times changed, and we changed with them, venturing into television production and syndication in support of the National Agriculture Week Television Special, which aired in March of each year from 1982 to 1990.

National Agriculture Week creates a focus of national attention on American agriculture and simultaneously, gives farmers the opportunity to communicate their message to the nation. Here is a brief history of the occasion:

 

Besides the presenter DowElanco, other sponsors of these specials have included some of the leading organizations in agriculture: American Bankers Association, BASF, DeKalb Pfizer Genetics, Federal Crop Insurance Corp., FMC, Ford Corporate, Ford Tractor, Ford Truck, Honda, Procter & Gamble, and Stauffer Chemical.

A similarly structured presentation was developed for and presented by the National Association of Realtors, Chicago. This annual special aired from 1984 to 1986, and was also sponsored by:

Download (nearly 500mb), view:

In the 1990s, as clients like Elanco and Ford and others downsized and/or merged, Sarkett & Associates, Inc. responded creatively.  We developed and published software for the financial and educational fields:

Our stock and options analytics products have been extremely successful, and allowed us to serve the global investing public, from fund managers to neophytes, and everyone in between.

Products:

Financial

Backtest Wizard™

 Scan Wizard™

Option Wizard®

Education

Hungarian Pronunciation Tutor™

Violin Scale Charts™
 

Inspiration

Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success

The net result:  Being a developer and marketer ourselves creates additional sensitivity to the marketing and business needs of our clients.

Agency philosophy

The philosophy of the agency is simple. We practice the art and science of the new public relations. This means we are goal-oriented problem solvers first, communicators second and specialists third. We conscientiously avoid applying pat answers and tired formulas to client commmunications problems. As a result, we are able to devise communications strategies and programs that are fresh, vital, and most importantly, effective.

A unique outlook

Every agency and every consultancy claims to be unique, every agency is. No two firms approach any given situation in exactly the same way.

We believe what makes our company unique is reflected in the following "philosophical notes on the business of public relations."

Philosophical notes on the business of public relations

1. All public relations activities, by our definition, must be viewed as marketing activities. That means that they must be focused on the achievement of measurable and attainable goals.

2. The new public relations can generate enormous communications power and consequent results. The reason is public relations employs all avenues of communications: new media one - to - one communications, literature, publications, advertising, a/v, publicity, promotion, and much more.

3. When understood in this context, advertising is more properly considered yet another tool of marketing . . . rather than a detached enterprise undertaken for its own sake.

4. Sensitivity is the sine qua non of public relations . . . sensitivity first and foremost to the client and what he or she is trying to achieve, then to the market, the media and everyone else.

5. Sensitivity may be viewed as the essence of marketing. The question is: "what does the market want?" Not: what can I sell?

6. After approaching client problems and situations with sensitivity, the agency should be expected to go the next step and provide leadership.

7. An agency relationship is an investment, like any other. It must return more value, measurable value, to the client than the value invested in the communications program. There must be a payback; clippings alone are usually not enough. Clippings that invite reader response, which may be turned over to the sales force as leads might be enough, however.

Starting out

Upon starting work for a new client, Sarkett & Associates, Inc., conducts a thorough business and communications audit. An audit is necessary to become fully aware of the needs and objectives which the organization is striving to achieve. And it means listen -- we seek to understand.

Research may then be indicated to provide further information about the client's business and the way the market perceives the client.

On this solid information base, goals, strategies, and plans are determined. Provisions are made for measurement.

It is the aim of the agency to dispatch client communication in a timely, conscientious and economical fashion. A communications program is never considered complete unless it has undergone thorough evaluation. For some clients, this means investment in sophisticated attitudinal research. For others, it simply means charting the progress of the program against its objectives at regular intervals.

Fees and expenses

Professional service fees

Compensation arrangements vary: hourly charges, project fees, and monthly retainers can be arranged. All work is done based on accurate and approved budget estimates.

Expenses

Production expenses incurred on a client's behalf are billed with the customary mark up for handling. These expenses include printing, photography, typesetting, artwork, and engraving, among others. Postage, telephone, and travel are not marked up, however.

All supplier invoices are paid by the agency and categorized in the monthly invoice sent to clients on the last day of each month. The invoice is due within ten days.

For further information, please contact:

John A. Sarkett
Sarkett & Associates, Inc.
485 Sunset Road
Winnetka, IL 60093
first name dot last name at gmail dot com
 

Key Counseling Services/Public Relations

  • Research, information gathering
  • Analysis, goal-setting
  • Programming
  • Evaluation

Typical implementation services/Public Relations (Marketing)

  • A/V presentations, PowerPoint
  • Backgrounders
  • Broadcast features
  • Brochures
  • Case histories
  • Direct mail
  • Distributor, dealer programs
  • Feature stories
  • Films
  • Internet Solutions, DB marketing
  • Media contact
  • Media kit development
  • Media surveys
  • New product demonstrations
  • New product introductions
  • New media:  Twitter, Facebook, blogs, other
  • News conferences
  • News releases
  • Newsletters
  • Point-of-purchase materials
  • Product literature
  • Promotional literature
  • Public service announcements
  • Publications
  • Special events
  • Technical features
  • Web site creation, upgrading

Typical implementation services/Public Relations (Corporate)

  • Analyst meetings/interviews
  • Annual and interim reports
  • Annual meeting production
  • Community relations
  • Corporate fact books
  • Corporate identification programs
  • Employee relations
  • Financial and editorial surveys
  • Internet Solutions
  • Media kits fact sheets
  • Media relations
  • Position papers
  • PowerPoint presentations
  • Speechwriting

Video Services

  • Counseling
  • Educational, motivational programs
  • Placement for publicity
  • Point-of-purchase displays
  • Production (digital, film, video)
  • Syndication to cable, broadcast stations
  • Teleconferencing
  • Trade show displays


Financial features (included in Option Wizards®:  Real Life Success Stories from the Financial Markets)
  • Sarkett, John, “The Options Risk Curve Parts 1 and 2,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 36, No. 11, 12, (Nov., Dec. 2018), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “This Butterfly Wears Kevlar,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 35, No. 3, (March, 2017), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “A Road Trip with Options Supertraders,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 35, No. 2, (February, 2017), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “The Weekly Options, Part One,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 32, No. 1, (January, 2014), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “The Weekly Options, Part Two,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 32, No. 2, (February, 2014), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Calendar King,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 30, No. 10 (October 2012), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “The Queen of Iron Condors,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 30, No. 7 (July 2012), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Backtesting Options Strategies,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 29, No. 7 (July 2011), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Triple Theta Half the Time,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 28, No. 5 (May 2010), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Adjusting options trades with Bill Ladd,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 27, No. 13 (Bonus 2009), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Calendar spreads with Dan Sheridan,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 25, No. 5 (May 2007), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Double Calendars and Condors,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 25, No. 6 (June 2007), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Double diagonals and butterfly spreads,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 25, No. 7 (July 2007), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Time and Options Probabilities,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 15, No. 12 (December 1997), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “Trading and Moneyball,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 22, No. 11  (November 2004), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Sarkett, John, “How great traders go bad,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 17, No. 7 (July 1999), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.
  • Futures Magazine, p 72, Top Ten Options Mistakes, originally appeared in August, 1998 publication.
  • Sarkett, John, “Force Index,” Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities ™, Vol. 13, No. 4 (April 1995), © Technical Analysis, Inc. Used with permission.


Titles (available at amazon.com)

Music history

OBSCURE COMPOSERS

OBSCURE COMPOSERS 2

OBSCURE COMPOSERS 3

OBSCURE COMPOSERS: 
18th Century Classical Period

OBSCURE COMPOSERS: 
19th Century Romantic Period

DEATH IN CLASSICAL MUSIC: 
making friends with the unfriendly

BACH AND HEAVEN:
The Promise of Afterlife
in The Text of The Cantatas

CLASSICAL MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE

 

Music instruction

VIOLIN SCALE CHARTS™

VIOLA SCALE CHARTS™

CELLO SCALE CHARTS™

 

Motivational

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS:
201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS 2:
250 More Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS 3:
250 More Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph, and Success

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS 700

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS 700 ABRIDGED

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS ARTS

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS BUSINESS

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS HEALTH

EXTRAORDINARY COMEBACKS SPORTS

EXTRAORDINARY COMEDOWNS

 

Spiritual

A SHORT BOOK OF BIBLE PROPHECY:
77 Predictions On USA, Russia, Iran, Syria, Israel, Europe, The Euro, Mideast War, Global Warming, And More

AFTER ARMAGEDDON

STRANGEST STORIES IN THE BIBLE:
and what they mean to you

 

Financial

OPTION WIZARD® TRADING METHOD

OPTION WIZARDS® 
Real Life Success Stories from The Financial Markets

MARKET MENTORS

 

 

Other fine authors published
by Sarkett & Associates, Inc.

AIN’T JUST BLUES IT’S SHOWTIME:
Hard times, heartache, and glory along blues highway
By Carl Gustafson

STEPHEN SZÉCHENYI
And the Awakening of Hungarian Nationalism, 1791-1841   
By Professor George Barany

CSONGOR ÉS TÜNDE (Csongor and Tunde)
By Mihály Vörösmarty
English translation by Peter Zollman

THE SECOND COMING BIBLE
By Wm. E. Biederwolf


And still more at sarkett.com and amazon.com.

 

 

 

Many thanks for visiting.
 


CHICAGO