Who’s Your Boss?
Does your boss demand that you fill in all free time on your calendar with business appointments? Is he or she tyrannical to the point of demanding excessive travel and incursions on your personal and family time? Does the boss
No Frequent Flyer Points for Me
In 2007 I made only 31 business trips by air, logged only 37,497 miles (our of a total lifetime of 3,124,000) and had my best year ever with the least air travel ever (and my wife often with me). That
Trajectory: “This is Houston….”
Someone in the Mentor Program asked a great question recently: How much business do you need and at what fee levels to make seven figures AND lead a quality life? Early in my career, I was traveling 80% of the time
“Speaking” of Ethics
The National Speakers Association is the predominant trade association for professional speakers. Its membership is about 3,500 and it draws about half of those people to its annual convention. It maintains a Hall of Fame, of which I’m skeptical, since
Why Elevator Pitches Never Go Forward, Just Up and Down
(Note: This originally appeared in the current edition (Nov. 2, 2007) of RainToday (http://www.raintoday.comm), for which I am a monthly columnist. I happen to like this one a lot, so I'm reprinting it here.) Of all the bromides and vacuous bloviation
For Writers Out There
This is an unadulerated plug for my agent Jeff Herman's newest edition of "Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents, 2008." It's a treasure trove, from how to begin a story to how to reach editors, agents, publishers, and
Sensitivity Awareness Month
(Note: This is a rare duplicate post also appearing on Alan's Forums. It's an important rant, so I've included it here. For more information on the Forums: www.alansforums.com.) Okay, I’m so desperate that I’M giving sensitivity lessons. You may want to
An Award I Won’t Show Up For
The following is absolutely true. On Monday I received a call from someone I’ll call “Howie” from the Institute of Management Consulting (IMC). His voice message told me that the organization wanted to give me an award, and was curious as
The Art of Business, the Business of Art
I'm at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe outside of San Diego for one of our Private Roster Mentor Summits. This is the second time we've been to this facility, and today there was a large art fair on the
Why Would You Hire These Guys?
Iowa has recently ordered payment to stop for consultants A.T. Kearney after the state auditors found that Kearney was being paid more than the state saved in the project! And that was after the state kept lowering the success metrics
