DASM: Not All Rides Are the Same
I am not making this up. I arranged through the concierge of the W Times Square Hotel to have a car pick me up at Penn Station and take me…
Episode 24: Bureaucracy
Learn why too many people focus on the task and not the result, hear about some scary examples, and understand how you can avoid it yourself. In this edition of The Uncomfortable Truth, I share some of my favorite examples of (ridiculous) bureaucracy at its worst. You need to think about…
The Show Must Go On
We saw Into the Breeches by George Brant last night at Trinity Rep in Providence (the play takes place in 1942 Providence). The Premise: During the war, the “Oberon Theater” was…
Episode 29: Why Are We So Threatened?
The reasons for and means to escape going through your life defensively and scared. We’re scared of the wrong things. We get threatened and give in to knee-jerk reactions. Taxi drivers, for example, protested and reacted completely the wrong way when Uber threatened…
Sorry, I Called Someone Else Who Bothered to Show Up
Small businesses are not usually destroyed by poor economies, technological advances, or larger competitors. They are most often destroyed by horrible business judgment. The basic horrors: • Not showing up…
Episode 37: A Lifetime of Negative Feedback
How to break out of the martyr role and demand support from those around you.  You have to treat yourself well and adopt a healthy selfishness. Whether it’s coming from family or clients, don’t sit through a lifetime of bad feedback or default…
School Daze
I’ve had the opportunity to be in a top private school and a top public school in the past few months. Here’s what I’ve found: • Huge attention paid to…
Coffee, Tea, or Incompetence? Or: It’s Hard to Get Good Help These Days
At the local Dunkin’ Donuts the dogs and I go in the drive-through lane. I order at the speaker coffee for me, tea for my wife (who’s home sleeping), and…
Oh, Fendi, Oh Fendi, Why Offend Me? (DASM)
I had an Armani overcoat that was so impressive it made me look decent. After seven years, a pocket ripped. So I took it to Armani in New York to…
Episode 47: Napoleon Hill and I
This podcast discusses my indirect association with Napoleon Hill through my old boss, and why thinking alone won’t make you rich.  Think and grow rich? Not so fast.