I am at the Graphing Social Patterns West here in San Diego. I am not alone. The fact that I am here makes me part of a group that can be monetized. I have a CPM. I am a CPM. I will pay you for your CPM. All told if there is more than […]

I have been a fan of Sony Vaio laptops for ten years. They used to be thin, light, fast and filled with good apps. But, after ten years the affair is over. Sony customer service told me, in so many words, I am not a valued customer. My SZ230 had recurring power problems…and for $800 […]

In my last article I talked about how to avoid asking and answering stupid questions.  This time I will go over a few simple tips in how to ask good questions.  Again, for this article we are just going to concentrate asking for help and information in the workplace.
Here are some tips to asking a […]

A low relative value of the American dollar (I refuse to call it weak) has put American companies and American talent on the sales rack this Christmas. We can finally get out from under the idea that the USA is outsourcing its future. Instead the tables are turning and we are seeing foreign companies looking […]

There is such a thing as a “stupid question” and most likely, you probably have asked or have been asked one recently. Your ability to ask good questions not only helps find out what (you think) you want to know, but identifying and avoiding bad questions that people ask you can be a great time […]

I can fly right through a speech or blog with the right topic. The other day someone asked me how I come up with great speech and blog topics. I told them that the blogs that interest me are often the topics that stimulate my thinking and actions. So writing about these same topics may […]

I am in the people business. I enjoy building and running winning teams of people. What amazes me is the number of people who have wanted me to hire them that show up for work/life unprepared. Of course, they have a pretty resume and all sorts of credentials. Their references are seemingly impeccable. Oh they […]

Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it…
I have already talked about a handful of reasons that businesses fail. Now it’s time to talk about how to make sure you start a business that succeeds. I will reiterate, restate, remind and basically hammer into everyone’s head how critical it is to have […]

This morning I met with a successful business school graduate. He was looking to take on more substantial career challenges and was interested in a start-up. He was asking me for a little insight and here is more or less what I told him…Anyone can start a business, but only few are successful. Why is […]

Organization and efficiency in the kitchen is must. No successful chef can operate in chaos and disorder. There is a French term for it - Mise en place [miz eñ ‘plass]. Literally translated it means, “setting in place”. In the cooking world it is thought of having “everything in place”, doing all possible prep […]