Alan Weiss' The Uncomfortable Truth

SHOW NOTES: ° State of the art robots for pools. ° Found two years ago in a high-end magazine. ° Took a chance. ° Outstanding results. ° Second season, this year, one robot fails. ° Company says to send it back, they'll send a replacement first. ° True to their word, everything is good. ° Chinese company, locally in Texas. ° Two people ask to visit. ° Thought it was a scam. ° Two Chinese people, one from China currently, visiting customers. ° Bring me a gift. ° We walk through my usage, they take photos (of course). ° They question my use, show me an app and ask my reaction. ° Expanding into more robotics, they ask for suggestions. ° I point out pool levelers. ° Would I be interested for my cars and house? ° Encourage me to continue to ask questions by phone, offer ideas. The Uncomfortable Truth: 1. I've never seen any other firm in any field go to this trouble, even my investment advisors (who did just take me to lunch). 2. I cannot find any software or devices they left surreptitiously to undermine our way of life.

SHOW NOTES: Covid was a surprise, but not completely unexpected. Financial people were prepared for some "big event." The scientific, medical, and political responses were mixed, politicized, and hurtful. In retrospect, was it necessary to suspend schools and deny kids of years of learning and socialization; to prevent families from assembling for important occasions; to shut down businesses and drive some into bankruptcy; to endanger the arts, and see cultural activities stopped, sometimes permanently; to create increased sense of fear, isolation, and helplessness. Closings, suspensions, masks, distancing were clearly huge overreactions, and perhaps completely unnecessary. What IS clear is that the failure to create bipartisan approaches which found and promoted only the best and most reasonable reactions were not present, and not even sought. It was equivalent of social media and conspiracies and absurd opinions. And it encouraged fraud in claims made for financial assistance, circumvention of rules, disrespect for medical opinion. Billions were wasted, and cheats and crooks are still being arrested. This has contributed to a sense of powerlessness, of low self-worth, and of mistrust in the system. This is an age of low trust in government, journalism, entertainment, education, and religion. We need to create more trust in ourselves. We need to demand more, and we need to stop being content voting for the "least worst candidate."

SHOW NOTES: Why are politicians asking for support without revealing the party they represent? Because they're embarrassed or duplicitous, or both? Why don't they admit to errors their party has made, or they have made? "We shouldn't have supported this" or "I'm sorry I supported that." Why campaign as if fighting an enemy (the other party) instead of supporting their constituency? Why become a lacky to your party's demands rather than speak out against those with which and with whom you disagree? Why do you insult our intelligence by not providing a positive platform focused on what you can do, rather than merely against what the other side is doing? And how can you claim that you didn't know what you obviously did, and did know what you obviously didn't (or hid)? Why are politicians from states I don't care about with positions that don't affect me, strangers to me, expecting my money, and why are politicians selling each other lists within the party to gain access to potential contributors? It's because their affiliations to party are more important than obligations to us.

SHOW NOTES: There are jobs that many of us would prefer not to have and businesses we'd prefer not to own, but they provide valuable services. Someone has to run funeral parlors, cemeteries, cesspool cleaning, mold removal, and junkyards. Personally, I wouldn't like to pick up garbage, but we need the service or the rats would overwhelm us. Then there are jobs that I can't comprehend doing because of their impact on others. I knew a woman who incessantly pointed out that her husband was a doctor. I asked him once for a referral for a client who lived in the area, and he couldn't provide me one. I found out when we had dinner once, and I questioned him, that he sat at a desk all day approving and rejecting medical claims. Even with my excellent health insurance, I'm occasionally informed by a distant "claim administrator" that my claim wasn't covered or only partially covered. There's no coherent explanation, only the small print that some attorney, also sitting at a desk and who's never been inside a courtroom, has conjured up to protect the company which pays his or her salary. We do need some claims adjustors, for property insurance—houses and cars—for example, to protect against fraud and to serve the consumer, as well. But there are too many stories about medicines and procedures, to alleviate chronic suffering and even to save lives, that are denied on very arbitrary grounds, other than saving the insurer money. Remember when Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson sang about not letting your babies grow up to cowboys? Well, who on earth says to their kid, what guidance counselor suggests, what story of success supports, "My child, I can see with your skills and personally, you should go into health insurance claims adjusting! You'd be brilliant at it and I'm sure it would provide huge gratification!" Don't let your babies grow up to be insurance claims adjustors. If they display any such inclination, adjust them away from it.

SHOW NOTES: When I was teaching a graduate course as a "side hustle" for MBA and PhD candidates at the University of Rhode Island, I inherited a student who claimed he had ADHD and the "documentation was coming from health services." He also answered every question in class with a single word, "reengineering." I found out that he had pulled this con with the full-time faculty, and was in his final courses getting to his MBA. He told me he couldn't take "timed" tests. No worries, I told him, the midterm and the final were take-home essays and everyone had whatever time needed so long as they met the deadline. I gave them the questions 60 days ahead of the deadline. He never contributed anything else in class except that word, and I watched him easily banter with classmates, otherwise. He never turned in the midterm or final. I flunked him, unheard of in the graduate school where everyone received A's or B's or a rare C. He went ballistic and filed a complaint. My grade was upheld. The school's director told me, "You're like a utility player who came into the game and did things the starters never do." Post-script: After teaching two courses over five semesters in the evenings, I was not invited back, because (I was told confidentially) the student evaluations put me above the full-time faculty in quality of teaching and the faculty lobbied to have me removed. Another student who contributed brilliantly in class despite English being a second or third language (he was Indian) turned in a paper I required on an aspect of consulting. I found that he had copied, word-for-word, out of one of the assigned books for the course (not one of mine, but one I was obviously familiar with). I told him privately that I could have him expelled, but if he completed the assignment honestly and then did extra work I assigned him in the next two weeks, we'd get on with our lives. I felt he deserved the chance and I didn't want to end his current pursuit of the degree. He admitted what he had done and did an excelled job on the remainder of the assignment and class. I gave him a C. An obvious learning point for me was that doing something as an independent and for the joy of doing it enabled me to do things that those lobbying for careers, tenure, promotion, and popularity could never do, although my departure did help the rest of them lower the bar.

SHOW NOTES: The odds were better for the biggest longshot in the Kentucky Derby. An American has become Pope. It was said that no American could become Pope because the church wouldn't vest its power in someone with a Super Power. I would think, however, that there is no greater Super Power than God, so we shouldn't worry. Many people are pointing out that he spend twenty years in Peru so he's actually Peruvian. No, he's American, born here, but with a dual citizenship. Others, especially non-Catholics, panic when he's called a "missionary," thinking of the Colonialist/Imperialist times when the clergy were sent as missionaries to convert any non-Christian in sight. Today, missionary work is about caring for the poor, providing for the less fortunate, helping after natural disasters. The clergy as a whole are highly educated and learned men. There is no theological justification for a celibate, male clergy. Jesus never spoke of it, God never mentioned it. This was created by the church in the 12th Century because of the wealth of local churches passing on the priest's death to his wife. With celibacy, the wealth remained for the priest's successors and for the Vatican. For the record, about 4% of priests have been found guilty of sexual misconduct over the last 60 years of a total of about 3,500. Of 3,200,000 teachers over that period, between 11 and 14% were found guilty of sexual misconduct over the period (depending on the source you consult). Today, one of five humans is Catholic with varying degrees of commitment, and about 33% of humans are Christian. It's often occurred to me that the loudest atheists, such as the late Christopher Hitchens and the current Richard Dawkins, are "religious" in their attacks on religion! If you think about it, sooner or later everyone says a prayer when they are overcome with grief, or hope, or uncertainty. Let's give this new guy a chance. God knows, apparently, we need someone to bring us together in an angry world.

SHOW NOTES: •There was once a Readers Digest staple by this name, still available in summaries. •Here's mine. Keep in mind, when you critique someone who happens to be black, it's 'de rigueur' to announce, "I'm not a racist." Well, I'm announcing to you that I'm not a Trump supporter (and I'm also not a racist). •Years ago we thought about selling our home. Every realtor who showed me "comparable's" I turned away, because there was no comparable's to this home. It's a lifestyle, not a house. You judge it on that basis, not the neighbors. •People outside the US, especially in Europe, think that the US is simply like a European country, but much larger. (A client of mine in the EU, to whom I mentioned that Lichtenstein was the only European country I haven't visited, said, "Lichtenstein is in Europe?") •Trump is targeting some areas that need improvement, but where he should be using a scalpel he's using a flamethrower. •We cannot allow unregulated, illegal immigrants into the US. (Does an "undocumented immigrant" make a rioter an "undocumented shopper?") We cannot accommodate Latin America on our welfare system. •Dismantling the hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of organizations, and tens of thousands of people from the divisive DEI is productive. •Punishing—providing consequences—for universities which tolerate and even foster anti-Semitism and harm to Jewish students is an important consequence. "Hitler should have finished the job" is repugnant in moronic. •Taking the graft and waste out of social security and Medicare isn't ending it, it's saving money. (Do you know that billions were lost through corruption and criminality during Covid PPP payouts?) •It's interesting that when the US pulls out of an international aid group, the group usually has to close down, because no one else is supporting it sufficiently or intends to take over for us. •It's pretty clear a great many people seem to hate us in the US, and want us to fail, and enjoy using profanity hiding behind the internet to question our intelligence and wish us all the worst. •That's because they're envious of our freedoms, economy, and opportunities. It is self-hate directed outward. No country that declared neutrality in WWII should have any citizens voicing any critique of any country that fought they tyranny and oppression that threatened and killed so many. •There are no "comparable's" to the US, anywhere. If you want us to fail, give it your best shot, but you're on the wrong side of history and the future. •And some day, sooner or later, you're going to come around looking for our help again. You always do.

Show Notes: I knew kids in high school and college who cheated. They stole exams or looked at other people's answers or had someone else take tests for them. (Ironically, grammar school was far more honest!) My daughter had a friend whom she abandoned because of her chronic cheating and requests to help her out. She even cheated at sports unless the officials caught her. When you're successful, of course, you don't stop, and she tried cheating in college and got herself tossed out. I'd bet she's in a blue collar job today and stealing from her employer. People asked me to help them cheat and even offered money to me to write a paper or sit in such a way where they could see my answers. I never acquiesced, and there were two quite simple reasons. First, it makes it harder for all the honest kids to stand out, and second, I really don't want someone doing my taxes, or selling my house, or operating on an abscess who cheated to get to those positions. I remember a guy called in by auto shops who would "prove" that the car you wanted to trade in had been in an accident and repaired, hence lowering it's value. I assume he was one of the cheaters who was now making it his life's work. A doctor and bank board member cheated when he sold his house to us in Summit, New Jersey, by removing the lighting that would have shown a rusting furnace, then paying off the inspection guy to overlook it. So I turned down his bank for my loan. Chronic cheating is a disease, a personality disorder. Like smoking or certain drugs, which can addict you, cheating can dominate your life because, unfortunately, the more you get away with it, the more you think you're great at it, and the more you do it—until ultimately caught, sooner or later. You know all those college deans and politicians who, inexplicably, had lies on their current resumes and were cashiered? They had gotten away with it for so long that they began to believe it was the truth. "Yes, I went to Oxford, and yes, I was awarded a Silver Star." You know this Senator, Bob Menendez, convicted of fraud and political corruption (along with his wife). He pleaded for leniency in front of the judge and then walked a few yards over to the press and complained how unfair the judge was. I knew him when he was elected as a "reform" mayor at 20 in Union City, New Jersey. He exhibited then and since the same behaviors that have thrown him into jail now. The more powerful the person, the larger the lies.

Show Notes: •Quality diminishes as numbers increase. •As everyone joins in, fewer and fewer real authorities. •A guy doesn't publish directly, but is "presented" by others so you can't block his inanities. If you click on his site, there is a ridiculous training program hawked with absurd promises. He's a hustler. I block the people "presenting" him. •All those people with 17 "rules" for great leadership and charts for making decisions have never been a great leader or decision maker. If they were, why would they post this nonsense publicly. Can you see a leader with a chart or list in his pocket consulting it in the boardroom? •The there are the 'ad hominem' attacks, very popular on Facebook, where a person with an IQ 80 points lower than yours say simply, "That's a dumb question" or "You're clueless." •About 90% of the stuff that shows up on my X feed, which I don't want and never requested, is anti-Trump, often with ridiculous claim, false statistics, and posted by third parties but representing some random Democratic office holder. Have you ever considered that it's you and a terrible strategy and candidate, and not "them"? •Unscientific survey: Rabid Democrats are far more profane and obscene than Rabid Republicans. (I think profanity is the resort of the non-intellectual.) •There ARE some intellectual discussions on LinkedIn about politics, the environment, education, and so on. But they are usually interrupted and often ended by some wise ass who barges in with inanity. •One of my model train groups had to be ended because of political hostility (a train car had Trump written on the side). •There are also "cultists," for example with battleships of all things. •And then on Facebook, all the soft porn with usually Asian women in five-inch Laboutins and perfect legs. (Or so I'm told.)

SHOW NOTES: The threshold of rational behavior and values overcome by opposing normative pressures. The rioter's justification. The battlefield. The social media and "influencers." People who have low self-esteem and seek bias confirmation and approval. Fear begets fear, panic begets panic. The "drug" of the "magic bullet." Handholds when you're confused—they may be even more dangerous. Example: Are you trading or investing? Example: Have you looked at best case/worse case? Example: Have you considered probability and seriousness? The case of the quite successful "big lady." What's the empirical evidence and observed behavior? A friend is a friend, not an expert. The three kinds of empathy.

You can't deal with Hardly Relevant or Losing and Dying. You must be paid at least a deposit in advance. You must have "non-cancellable" under terms and conditions. You have to deal with a legitimate buyer. (I'm a buyer, I just don't have the budget.) The difference between budget and money. Don't argue over small matters and fall into the legal trap. Meet whomever is a stakeholder, especially in small businesses. Conceptual agreement ends with pouring concrete. Don't sacrifice and compromise personal issues. Don't give off "deal vibes". Always give options with value based fees. Always set DTA. Discuss outcomes not "deliverables". Create value with the buyer (that's how to increase fees). Never do a "pilot". Never do pro-bono for a for-profit. Never give a lower fee to sample your work. Do your homework. Act like a peer of the buyer.

While it's true that nonprofits often fail for lack of funding, there are reasons that they don't achieve funding or that they use it incorrectly and/or inappropriately. Here's my experience from eight boards, including chairing two of them: The boards are weak. They are made up of "names" who would seem to be significant, but who provide very little in terms of governance skills, strategic viewpoint, or even attendance. The executive director/CEO remains too long. The "shelf life" of these leaders is about seven years. After that, they stop serving the institution and the institution starts serving them. They create a tyrannical "fiefdom." No skin in the game. There must be a "give or get" minimum financial contribution from the board. They can't just play with "other people's money," and many granting foundations insist on such investment as a must for grants. They are not run as businesses. There is a budget to meet, strategic goals to achieve, the mission to be accomplished. They often approve budgets with illusory revenue sources, for example. They aren't professionally run. Just because you're a "volunteer" doesn't mean you have an excuse to be unprofessional. You need to meet accountabilities, show up, and do your job. Donors are not sufficiently romanced. Donors need to be "triaged" so that the highest donors receive the most recognition. One theater, in a fit of "woke" madness, actually put donors in alphabetical order in their playbill, so that no one knew who gave $5 or $50,000. That's just dumb marketing. They exhaust funds and credit lines with no idea of how to repay. Debit kills the arts in particular. There's no room to take risks or to contract for expensive rights. Politics overwhelm the value. It was just pointed out that every member of the board of National Public Radio, accused of being far too liberal and unfair in its reporting, is a Democrat. That wasn't an accident, and they're using public tax money. They default to tactics on the board, not strategy. Instead of talking about what to create to attract more patrons or donors, they discuss what meal to serve at the next fundraiser. Every organization is a business. You need customers/clients/members/audience/contributors. You need leadership and board members who know how to run a business and meet goals and financial requirements. Oh yeah: And you need term limits to remain contemporary and effective.

Uncertainty leads to poor choices. People seek certainty at the cost of their well-being. We have been "certain" about such horrors as eugenics and such trivialities as not swimming for an hour after eating. We've had brutal endings to cults, in Waco, in Jonestown, because conmen had convinced followers that they had certainty. We have polarization today because opposing politics or values cause adherent to be "certain" about their position and hold those who disagree as inferior. There are people taking invalid behavioral tests to dismiss others as having weak or defective profiles, and they are certain that they are superior to them. I remember when so many people had their feet burned trodding over hot coals that more EMTs had to be called. I guess their motivation wasn't sufficient—they were uncertain. BOTH science and religion try to create certainty around the mysteries of the universe, as if we could understand the unfathomable. (What do we mean there was "nothing" and then there was "something" which then "exploded"...??) In this age we need to live with and thrive on uncertainty. Solid companies such as GE suddenly crumble. Upsets in sports abound. We have gone from "global warming" to "climate change" to try to correct prior uncertainties. Can you be "certain" that your kids aren't using drugs or that your elected officials aren't stealing? I'm not calling for continual cynicism, but I am suggesting we have to live with uncertainty and be resilient and agile enough to deal with the failure of the "certain." These two astronauts who went to the space station for a week and nearly stayed for a lifetime are good examples of dealing with uncertainty. Of course, they have "the right stuff."

I'm a capitalist. Socialism and the rest simply favor the few at the top, from Lenin to Hitler to Castro. Yet we do have too high a level of poverty. In the face of this we are paying athletes tens of millions a year and hundreds of millions in contracts. Connor McGregor makes $180 million annually, Lionel Messi $130 million. Juan Soto, a good hitting but poor fielding right fielder has signed a $765 million contract with the New York Mets, which is about $60 million a year, more than a million dollars a week, and that's not counting endorsements, commercials, and other extra-curricular activities. Entertainers make a fortune: Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) $88 million, Ryan Reynolds $100 million, Kevin Hart $100 million, Tom Cruise often $100 per picture. I don't doubt their talent, but I do question the proportions. I've never believed that if you build one less aircraft carrier you could improve every school. Government doesn't use "pockets" of money. But I do suspect that most athletes and entertainers, proportionally, do not contribute to charities or their communities in greater percentages than average. The same, of course, applies to business executives. Elon Musk (Tesla): His compensation reached $1.403 billion in 2023. Alexander Karp (Palantir Technologies): He earned $1.099 billion in 2023. Hock E. Tan (Broadcom): He received $767 million in 2023. Brian Armstrong (Coinbase Global): He earned $680 million in 2023. I understand that these people bring fans into the athletic venues, into theaters and streaming services, and produce products and services that are needed. But unless you've founded a company, as did Fred Smith with FedEx, Steve Jobs with Apple, or Bill Gates with Microsoft, do you deserve $500 million when someone could lead it well for $50 million (or even $5 million)? And then again, Harvard, of the huge tuition of about $60,000 per semester, also has an endowment of $53 billion. That is not an error or misprint. Perhaps it's unfair to "blame" these people in any way, and the system has created a vibrant middle class over the years. As many of you do, I pay a large amount in taxes and I am highly philanthropic. But what of money to create an equal and high quality educational system? Or to create equal and high quality medical care for all citizens? There is something wrong here. I believe that none of us has the right to consume wealth or happiness without producing wealth and happiness for others. That's not socialism, not capitalism, that's humanity.

SHOW NOTES Let's stop using inaccurate terms, such as VITO (Very Important Top Officer) or "C-suite," which doesn't actually exist. Let's focus on real buyers. And that also calls for accuracy. A small business owner is a small business owner, not a CEO. That buyer has differing frames of reference and motivation from an executive in a large organization. Trust and credibility are reliant on understanding those distinctions. Titles are midleading. I've found a lot of vice presidents who can't buy, and a mid-level director who spent $250,000 with me every year for ten years. Budgets and money are two different things. A true buyer can move money from one budget to another, or create a new budget (especially important since a new client hasn't budgeted for you, someone the buyer didn't know prior, in advance). You need to convince the true buyer that moving money from an existing budget to you represents a far better ROI. If you can't do that, no one else is going to do it for you. No one is a buyer who doesn't control money with discretionary purchasing power. "I'm the buyer, but my boss has to approve," is absurd. Move on. The first sale is to yourself, the second to your client, the third for referrals, and the fourth to building that collection of income into an evergreen relationship. Always think of the fourth sale first.

Usually found on AM radio, sometimes TV infomercials, sometimes online ads. They involve an "authority" you've never heard of and an interlocutor you've never heard of who's as eager as a puppy, e.g., "Media personality Joe Shmo." The issue is weight loss, erectile disfunction, leg pain, backaches, congestion, hearing impairment, of any other popular problem. There are "studies" and the suggested approach has been "clinically proved." There are eager customers who evangelize. On TV it says in small print either "hired actor" or "actual patient who is compensated for the appearance." The sidekick asks all the "deep" questions (How long have you been investigating this?)" and provides all the deep responses (wow, hooooo, impressive!). Then there are the strange warnings and advisories required by the laws: may cause permanent hearing loss, narcolepsy, kneecap fracture, suicidal tendencies, and urge to commit arson. Do not take if you are allergic to the dug (how would you know?), if you're on drugs in the form of an oval white pill, if you live above 2,000 meters, or have lost your driving privileges in Nebraska, consult your physician first. On TV there are paragraphs of small print on the screen for 3 seconds. These are present, surpassed only by the obnoxious and slimy personal injury lawyers' ads, which cause you to want to shower immediately after, at huge cost, usually in the hundreds of thousands, sometimes in the millions. That means there's a huge buying potential. People want the magic bullet over the hard work. I had a client who continually asked me how she could make millions and not leave her home. Yet as silly as that is, it's also what a thousand people on social media promise every day. What is the diabetes drugs which also promise everything from weight loss to hair growth, from virility enhancement to clearer skin, had a longer-term adverse consequence? - I know what you're thinking: They're tested, there are laws, others are using them, the media approves, even some medical authorities and intermittently supportive or at least passive about them. -That's what you may be thinking. You know what I'm thinking: The treatment for morning sickness and insomnia, two serious medical issues. The answer was approved and utilized for a decade. It was called Thalidomide. And today, we actually have an issue with measles because some parents won't vaccinate their kids against it. One thing medicine in any form can't do is fix "stupid."

Radon is a radioactive gas that has no smell, colour or taste. Radon is produced from the natural radioactive decay of uranium, which is found in all rocks and soils. Radon can also be found in water. Radon escapes from the ground into the air, where it decays and produces further radioactive particles. Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems. Sometimes radon enters the home through well water. In a small number of hones, the building materials can give off radon, too. However, building materials rarely cause radon problems by themselves. You can either hire a radon tester or purchase a radon test kit from a hardware store and do it yourself. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends hiring a qualified tester if you are buying or selling your home. A short-term radon testing kit measures radon for 2-90 days for quick results. Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless, radioactive gas. It can seep into homes and other buildings. You're at higher risk for developing lung cancer if you breathe in high levels of radon gas over time (over 4pCi/L or 148 Bq/m3). Tests can measure radon in your home. Mitigation effectively lowers radon to acceptable levels. For most people, the most likely place you're at risk of being exposed to radon is in your home. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 1 of every 15 American homes has radon levels above the recommended safety level. People who work in mines or caverns may also be at higher risk, depending on how many hours a day you're exposed to elevated radon levels. If you smoke and are also exposed to radon, it increases your risk even more. Radon levels are usually in higher in places that are: •Closer to the ground, such as basements or underground mines •Near soil that contains more radioactive metal •Poorly ventilated •Processing or storing certain products, such as phosphate fertilizers or uranium •Very tightly sealed •Very well-insulated You can also talk to your child's school about radon levels in school buildings and whether they've had testing. And the U.S. federal government has regulations about radon levels in workplaces. If you're concerned about radon levels where you work, talk to the company's safety officer, or contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore" This is a line from the 1976 movie Network. The line is spoken by Howard Beale, a character who is angry about the state of America. The executive vice president at a huge bank asked where I was from. "So you left that cesspool to move up here," he said. I said, "Why are so many of you so jealous of New York, is it an inferiority complex?" (This guy was later cashiered because of massive sexual harassment charges.) Then you have the passive-aggressive types: "I assume your daughter's school as her backup school"? "No, but you wouldn't know how good it is because your kids could never get in and you could never pay for it." My first Ferrari: "Look, you can't afford the insurance and she could never learn to drive it." Three Ferraris later, he put me into the first Bentley sports car for $150,000 to try to buy my good will. I've now had seven Bentley's. Stop taking crap from people. When the woman in the coffee shop was rude twice in a row, I told the owner, whom I've known since he opened up 20 years ago. "I'll take care of it," he said. She's all peaches and cream now. Prudence is required. I don't respond to poor driving. I don't want to encourage road rage. But I have taken movies of truck doing 40 on the main street, and a state bus tailgating at six feet behind cars. I received very thankful notes from the trucking company and the Rhode Island transit people. How will they know if no one tells them? I stop donating to causes that are poorly run, don't conduct quality events, and constantly berate me as if I'm an ATM. I hang up on every phone solicitation. The gym knows that when I'm there, if they can, they don't play rap music featuring the "N-word," or "mother F," or any other Fbomb, or calling women "bitches." That's not a matter of taste. It's revolting. Should they show porn videos on the wall, as well? I don't try to please other people's accounting departments and their affectations. They don't need a W2 from me, I'm a corporation. I don't send invoices for minor amounts. And I'm on them like the wrath of God if they owe me money past the due date. And speaking of God: Jesus said to turn the other cheek, but he never said to let them keep hitting you.

Show Notes: Consider two axes, one or importance (of a job, career, project, relationship) and the other of courtesy. Thus, we run from unimportant to important, and rude to polite on the two continua. If something is important and it is performed with courtesy and consideration, it is effectively done. Consider the flight attendant ensuring that seat belts are fastened or the server apologizing for a poorly prepared meal and quicky replacing it. If something is relatively unimportant but politely done, it's a gracious encounter. This might be the coffee shop worker delivering your order and thanking you for your business, or someone ahead of you holding a door and smiling. When something is important but people are impolite you have a nasty individual. I've met immigration officers who are simply surly and disrespectful, and bank tellers who ask for identification from people they already know quite well. And when something is unimportant and people are rude, you have malice—someone looking for trouble. These are people who shove you aside on the sidewalk or who are passive aggressive and try to undermine you in a chat with others. It costs nothing to be polite, but it seem that a lot of people see it as too big of an investment.

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore" This is a line from the 1976 movie Network. The line is spoken by Howard Beale, a character who is angry about the state of America. The executive vice president at a huge bank asked where I was from. "So you left that cesspool to move up here," he said. I said, "Why are so many of you so jealous of New York, is it an inferiority complex?" (This guy was later cashiered because of massive sexual harassment charges.) Then you have the passive-aggressive types: "I assume your daughter's school as her backup school"? "No, but you wouldn't know how good it is because your kids could never get in and you could never pay for it." My first Ferrari: "Look, you can't afford the insurance and she could never learn to drive it." Three Ferraris later, he put me into the first Bentley sports car for $150,000 to try to buy my good will. I've now had seven Bentley's. Stop taking crap from people. When the woman in the coffee shop was rude twice in a row, I told the owner, whom I've known since he opened up 20 years ago. "I'll take care of it," he said. She's all peaches and cream now. Prudence is required. I don't respond to poor driving. I don't want to encourage road rage. But I have taken movies of truck doing 40 on the main street, and a state bus tailgating at six feet behind cars. I received very thankful notes from the trucking company and the Rhode Island transit people. How will they know if no one tells them? I stop donating to causes that are poorly run, don't conduct quality events, and constantly berate me as if I'm an ATM. I hang up on every phone solicitation. The gym knows that when I'm there, if they can, they don't play rap music featuring the "N-word," or "mother F," or any other Fbomb, or calling women "bitches." That's not a matter of taste. It's revolting. Should they show porn videos on the wall, as well? I don't try to please other people's accounting departments and their affectations. They don't need a W2 from me, I'm a corporation. I don't send invoices for minor amounts. And I'm on them like the wrath of God if they owe me money past the due date. And speaking of God: Jesus said to turn the other cheek, but he never said to let them keep hitting you.

Lisa Miller is an expert and thought leader in efficiencies and effectiveness in health care, including how to sell in changing environments to health care executives (and avoid procurement, for example). In this rapid-fire conversation, we discuss the pros and cons of AI, the multitude of options, the projected shortage of physicians, the ability to obtain fast, comprehensive results, and much more. Can you see yourself in a "mini-Mayo Clinic" where machines evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe in one brief visit? Are you using the "portals" now available to quickly access test results and to confer rapidly with your physician without delayed visits and messages relayed through assistants? AI is proving to be fast and accurate with diagnoses, but it's incapable of hearing a random patient comment that might be more important for the patient's medical condition than the patient thinks, and that a doctor might well pick up immediately if present. When doctors are departing or changing their practices to escape confiscatory insurance premiums, will this "high tech" alleviate shortages or make them worse? If you're selling products and service to the health care market, you can't afford to miss this interview. (And for that matter, any market we discuss here the art of "warm introduction".) Lisa T. Miller, MHA With over 33 years of unparalleled success in the healthcare sector, Lisa's expertise in selling to the C-Suite and deep understanding of the market and her clients' needs have driven over $200 million in sales. In August 2022, Lisa Miller's company, VIE Healthcare Consulting, was acquired by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, marking a significant milestone in her career and underscoring the immense value and impact of her work in cost optimization for the healthcare industry where she has helped hospitals and healthcare systems eliminate over $1 Billion in unnecessary costs. As founder and CEO of VIE Healthcare Consulting, Lisa perfected a sales framework that enabled her to sell successfully to the C-Suite. Using that framework, she closed multi-million dollar deals by helping her clients eliminate unnecessary costs, operate more efficiently, and provide exceptional patient care. Today, Lisa utilizes her sales strategy, C-Suite Selling, combined with deep industry knowledge, education- based selling, and innovative solutions to identify and articulate value propositions that resonate with healthcare executives. This approach builds credibility, addresses complex needs more effectively, and ultimately leads to higher-value contracts. Lisa's career began with record-breaking performances as a top sales representative for CytoDiagnostics and Stryker Surgical, where she developed a profound understanding of sales as the engine behind business growth. These early accomplishments provided the foundation for her entrepreneurial success, instilling in her the strategic thinking and sales acumen that have become her trademarks. What sets Lisa apart in the competitive world of healthcare consulting is her ability to compete with industry giants and win. She has repeatedly outmaneuvered larger firms by leveraging her sales expertise, delivering superior results for her clients. This David-versus-Goliath success story is a testament to Lisa's courage, sales tenacity, strategic thinking, and unparalleled understanding of healthcare organizations' needs. Lisa's success story is a powerful testament to the critical role of sales skills in business leadership. It demonstrates how a sales-driven approach, combined with industry expertise and innovative thinking, can enable smaller, more agile firms to outperform industry giants. Her career serves as an inspiration for sales professionals and entrepreneurs alike, highlighting the potential for sales excellence to drive transformative success in any industry.

A "battleground state" in a US election is a state where either candidate might win depending on the appeal to voters and for whom the majority votes. This is the essence of democracy. Shouldn't every state be a "battleground state"? The same should apply to Congressional and Senate Seats. We have Senators serving longer than many European monarchs. Will people with that kind of sinecure ever vote term limits for themselves. Let me go out on a limb and say, "Never!" The European monarchies were cast aside by democracies. We seem to be going in the opposite direction, with democracy subordinated to Senate monarchs. You think I'm kidding? The late Robert Byrd served in the Senate for 51.5 years. The currently serving Chuck Grassley has been sitting there for 50 years. Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, but the average tenure of a British monarch has been 25 years, and only 17 if you remove her unnaturally long reign. The French monarchs have averaged 20 years, but less if you remove the 72-year reign of Louis XIV. Since 2018 polling, over 80% of Americans favor term limits in Congress. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of our Democratic Senators from Rhode Island for 24 years hollered long and hard for term limits on the Supreme Court, which was too conservative for him. He has never uttered a word about term limits for the Senate. He has also fought to end the filibuster and increase the size of the Supreme Court, but he's mum on that now since his side lost the election! Were they good ideas, or was he just seeking more power? I don't think the founders left King George III to someday serve under King Sheldon I.

War's End? We've honored the character and acts of Jimmy Carter upon his death, as we should. But most of the honor was due to his works after he left his one-term presidency, defeated by Ronald Regan. People voted for a starkly different candidate (as they did with Trump after both Obama and Biden). One of Carter's great blunders was his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis, that lasted for over a year. While there was international pressure and economic compromises, the overwhelming pressure was probably from that election of Ronald Regan, who was seen as someone who would be far more forceful than Jimmy Carter. Regan fired the air traffic controllers who illegally went on strike. Now we apparently have a cease fire in the Israeli/Hamas war which seems to be due to the same factor: In this case, a threatening Donald Trump replacing a wavering and weak Joe Biden. It isn't unreasonable to believe that Ukraine will settle its war with Russia in a similar fashion. There will be pressure for concessions, some land lost, but a way for both sides to save face and rebuild. Korean soldiers being used a cannon fodder are clearly not the answer for the Russians, not is tolerating the horrible attrition for the Ukraines. Strength, and the ability to project strength, are what enables national goals to be met and protected. What is China doing these days? Building a stronger and stronger navy.

Podcast: Gratitude We made four significant charitable contributions to the arts at year end. Two of the the group's management called to thank us. Whenever I see a positive mention about me on social media, I write in to simply say thanks for the generosity. I thank bussers and gas station attendants. I thank my trainer each time. It doesn't matter whether I'm paying them or not. People get unduly upset when people in other cars don't express thanks for being able to turn, but I don't let them turn in order to be thanked. And they may be preoccupied. But people always say “thanks” when you hold a door, I think because of the physical proximity. I thank my doctor and dentist and attorney. I thank people who pay me. It's more than a common courtesy, it's a symbol of respect and dignity. Removing used plates and leftover food is an important service in terms of a dining experience, as is standing out in the elements and pouring gas into my car. A great many people, believers and non-believers, reflexively say “Thank God” when something good occurs, from an illness recovery to a victory for the home team. But I don't believe He is the one who's concerned. Yet we see this desperate need to thank someone! Some of us offer thanks publicly, some privately, some often, some infrequently. But I think we all tend to exhibit gratitude when things go our way or weren't as bad as we feared. Thank God for that.

Show Notes: Predictions • Both wars will run out of steam and end, officially or unofficially. • There will be insurrections in Iran. • Neither the Dodgers, nor the Celtics, nor the Chiefs will repeat. • Electric car requirements and limits on ICEs will be lifted or eased. • Retinal scanning and fingerprints will allow many to circumvent TSA. • Attempts to copyright and/or trademark AI composites of text and images will eventually reach the Supreme Court. • A betting scandal will rock professional sports. • As China's economy weakens it will engage in more limited military actions against Taiwan. • Universities will face a perfect storm: AI will enable cheating and plagiarism, students and parents will revolt against huge tuitions, government forgiveness of tuition debt will end, there will be attempts to fire tenured professors who teach radical and biased political views, and large cuts will have to be made. The biggest threat: Remote learning which will dramatically lower tuition and enable a greater choice of institutions. • As the population ages and the Millennials rise in business, the country becomes more conservative and centrist in its views and voting. • There will be more intensive recruiting and higher pay for police officers. • Two more members of Congress will be indicted for corruption. • The Taylor Swift phenomenon will begin to wane. • The largest contribution to population growth in the US will be from legal immigrants. • Hacking will accelerate, and will include all kinds of organizations. The government will grant immunity to convicted hackers to help them combat other hackers. • The smart Democrats will realize that it wasn't that “their message didn't get out,” but rather that most people didn't like the message. • Not a prediction, but a wish: Term limits for all of Congress so we can finally end the incestuous power grabbing that has undermined progress for the people. • Happy New Year.

Forget resolutions that are broken in 90 minutes. Try to focus on the good things that you do and that happen to you. Try a personal journal. You don't have to be compulsive, but keep it handy, electronically or physically, to easily record things. These may be good acts done for you by others or good acts you perform, especially spontaneously and “in the moment.” Record experiences that were unplanned yet rewarding: a deer staring at you from the woods, a quick-reflex escape from someone else's driving error, a baby smiling at you on a plane. We tend to default to the negative: what didn't work, what disappointed us, what we did to disappoint others. Reverse that, and make note of the positives and the emotionally rewarding. Have you worked out without missing a session for 90 days; have you refrained from entering into a senseless argument with a family member; have you thanked someone seldom thanked who was appreciative of your recognition? Every so often, you can review your journal, not necessarily reread it all, but randomly choose some pages to remind yourself of the rewards in your life and the kindnesses you bring to others. We need to escape our “doom loop” mindsets and the normative pressures that attempt to make us feel guilty and unworthy. While it's important to rely on others, it's also important to rely on ourselves, and our recall isn't always sufficiently complete or accurate.  Did you throw your first snowball of the season, call a friend you haven't spoken to in quite a while, or leave social media platforms that are simply irritating and unfulfilling? What did you do for your family, your business, your community, and yourself? Some people might call this a journal of gratitude, but I prefer a journal of reality and accomplishment. Life is not a slow crawl through enemy territory nor a random walk in the dark. It's a thoughtful journey in what light we have.

These are times of astounding incivility, harassment, and dismissiveness. These acts are based on a posturing of moral superiority, as if mere disagreement denotes an inferior being. There is a line in Morris West's The Navigator that states: "And that's the terror of the high place and the high man. Is it God he hears or the echo of his own mad shouting?" Hillary Clinton most probably sealed her election defeat with the observation that those who would vote for her opponent were the "deplorables." This time, it was Joe Biden calling Trump supporters "garbage." The arrogance of such statements and such positions is appalling. I'm not taking a political position, but rather a social one: We understandably reject people who feel our opinion is not to be respected but immediately rejected because it originates in some lower intelligence. But we are mostly filled with hubris. We live in an indeterminate universe, acting as if we understand infinity, light years, and black holes. We know virtually nothing of its origins or nature. (A "big bang" before which there was nothing? "Nothing" has no meaning if there isn't "something" to which to compare it.) When praised for discovering universal laws of the cosmos, Einstein replied, "Yes, but the question is really who made the laws?"  During a recent scientific journey in Peru's Alto Mayo region in the Amazon rain forest, researchers identified 27 new species of animals and indications of another 48, all previously unknown to science. And, of course, we have very little idea of what lives in the abysmal depths of the great oceans. We do know that we live on a hunk of rock speeding through a vacuum at 85,000 miles per hour, around an exploding star. Don't tell me you have no faith. I'm not proselytizing, not suggesting a belief in a deity is required, though I would remind everyone that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I am suggesting that the arrogant, polarizing behaviors extant in the land are basically caused by low esteem, the fear of trying to confront the unknowable, and the comfort of kidding ourselves that we truly understand the arcane solar systems and galaxies.  A little humility might go a long way this holiday season, and it just may be developed and instantiated during this time of purported tolerance and forgiveness, of presents given and received, and of church bells ringing and choirs singing, "Joy to the World." From Maria and me, my friends, whatever your beliefs, in the true spirit underlying it:  Merry Christmas!

Are you looking where it's easy or where you're more likely to succeed? We content ourselves with people who can say no and can't say yes. We seek affection and not respect. Remember "looking for love in all the wrong places"? You won't find love in a bar. A woman told me all the really appealing men in bars are married or gay! If you want to catch fish, go where no one else is fishing, not where all the fishermen (and bears) are. When you try to get into the fastest lane on a crowded highway, you usually wind up in worse shape. You won't find high-level buyers trolling the web. Cold calling is absurd. Email is surrounded by scammers, spammers, and noise. Most claims on the internet about building a business are bogus. Most certificates and initials after your name are worthless. This podcast is the right place because no one else is telling you this. Search for your keys where you dropped them. Use your iPhone to shine a light in your life.

We seem to have a sense of entitlement. We believe we're being “ghosted” (a ridiculous term) when people don't return our calls because we didn't sufficiently impress them or excite them in our earlier interactions. We're not entitled to: • Clients who never change a schedule • Not having an opinion on business practices • Using non-validated testing instruments • Always ignoring the dinner check • Deducting the family car as a business expense • Using a client's logo without permission • Showing me your “smile sheets” to impress me • Expect a client refund on a non-refundable ticket • Use or refer to others' work without attribution • Expecting well-known people to be on your podcast • Contact people through an assistant for a favor • Coach for months with no results We seem to shift the blame for unpleasantness to the client, our family, the environment, technology, and the family dog. Dogs can bite. So, this attitude can bite you right back. Take some accountability. In fact, assume all of it as your accountability and you'll truly be in charge of your fate. Otherwise, you may be running a solo business with the stereotypical toxic boss.

You steer into a skid; you don't try to get out of it because then you lose control. We have to exploit opportunities and deal with setbacks resiliently—"bouncing forward." Blaming and complaining are for children and immature adults. Never let up. The key is to be at your best when you're under the maximum pressure.  We should be able to make minor and major adjustments in our lives and work and constantly innovate to grow. The key is to never be complacent and to ask why we didn't succeed when we expected to (even with clients). This is how the best players can consistently make free throws in basketball. Why the best of us can improvise and extemporize. We can create historical memory where we are reinforced as "winners." We should seek respect, not affection.  And never be embarrassed by winning.

Relativism holds that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, and/or historical context and are not absolute. I'm not so sure (nor are a lot of other people). Let me speak of relativism today. There is an old Monty Python skit where a one-legged man auditions for a theatrical role as Tarzan. After some awkward movements, the people in the dark of the theater say, “Thanks, we'll get back to you.” The man plaintively asks, “Do I have a chance at all of being considered?”  “Well,” answers a producer, “I supposed we would come to you first before a man with no legs at all.” In Rhode Island, there are two public schools that stand out among all the others in terms of grade-point averages, performance on standardized tests, and admission to colleges. They are hailed as the avatars. Yet neither is in the top 100 of such schools nationally. A great many high school all-stars can't make the team in college, and most college all-stars never make the pros. Some people snidely point out that a Chrysler or a Genesis looks just like a Bentley. Perhaps, until you place them next to a Bentley.  A Campbell's soup can painting or a banana taped to a canvas might go at an auction for seven figures, but they're ludicrously considered against the Mona Lisa, The Nightwatch, The Scream, or Guernica. We tend to lose perspective if we don't open our vistas, widen our interests, travel to new places, and gain new friends. You may well, rightfully, enjoy the view from a ski chalet, but the Grand Canyon is hard to describe adequately once you've been there in person. While I was trying to hide at a party, a college professor's wife mentioned to me that her husband had published four books over 12 years. “That's impressive,” I offered, looking for an escape route. “Impressive?!” she repeated in a stentorian voice, “It's more than that! How many people do you know who have done that?”

The post-mortems from those who did not back the winner in this presidential election seem to be two-fold. On one hand, we have a group of insightful people asking, “What did we do wrong, and how can we improve?” On the other, we have people whose heads are exploding in vitriol and venom.  The latter's basic premises are that those who voted for the winner were fooled, are ignorant and poorly educated, and are “f…ing” morons. The amount of profanity seems to be in direct proportion to the lack of an intelligent argument.  The overwhelming number of people who didn't vote for the Democratic candidate are not misogynistic, racist, or any other epithet. They just did not prefer that candidate.  Perhaps “woke is broke.” Perhaps the price of consumer goods, the lack of any cogent immigration policy, and persistent, independent polls indicating that Americans didn't like the direction of the country shouldn't have been ignored.  There's too much arrogance around, too much self-illusion that one's opinion is more than an opinion; it is the “moral high ground.” Maybe. Or maybe it's something we experienced when we were young and won a game fair and square, but the other side complained that we won the game by cheating. We called them “sore losers.”

We all need friends, but not the same ones! Friends need to evolve as we grow, mature, and change. Marshall Goldsmith and I wrote Lifestorming together, and we somewhat disagreed on this, but he wrote the terrific book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, so I think this applies to friends, as well! Your spouse is your best friend? That's a cop-out.  You need people who will push back, tell you the truth, mourn with you, and celebrate with you. I'd prefer an honest critic to a lying friend. We don't need our egos protected, we need to grow. Long-time friends can poison you with their poverty mentality, “guilting” you about your spending, habits, or lifestyle. They can insist on the same places and the same experiences “for old time's sake.” “When it's cold,” said Hemingway, “home is where you go, and they have to take you in.” Fair enough. But with friends, they don't have to take you in, but they choose to do so. Have you been to school reunions? If so, you've found that people are basically the same as they were X years ago, with very few exceptions. It's nice, perhaps, to see them again, but you've outgrown them. 

This election reflects a totally flawed Democratic strategy: • Painting your opponent as toxic but not having positive policies. • A candidate who cannot speak without a teleprompter and memorized sound bites. • A morally superior attitude that conveys people voting for the opposition are less educated, dumber, and morally inferior. • Rallying celebrity support, media support, Hollywood support, and academic support—which actually was terribly off-putting. • Somehow maintaining the paradox that their candidate was superior in every way yet claiming the election would be close, thereby implying half the population was stupid. • Transgender and DEI focus pales next to prices, immigration, and a sense of security in a turbulent world. • Calling illegal aliens “undocumented” and the homeless “unhoused” is simply disingenuous, like calling rioters “undocumented shoppers.” The overwhelmingly liberal newsreaders on election night were actually grimacing and shaking their heads in disbelief at the results, having previously believed their opinions to be the fact. The real culprit here is Joe Biden, who claimed to be a “transitional president,” i.e., serving one term, and who broke that promise, fell ill with age, and the Democratic reaction to obviously try to hide it until exposed during the first debate. Then, to preserve $160 million pledged to the Biden/Harris ticket, they didn't hold a true convention but maneuvered an ill-prepared and terribly unsuited Kamala Harris into the nomination. How many heads are exploding this morning at the New York Times and on the progressive talk show The View? Do we have an airport express lane for all those celebrities who will now be leaving the country? We don't have to “make this country great again,” it IS a great country with free elections and people unafraid to make their sentiments known at the ballot box, sometimes waiting hours to do so. You can now support the country or waste your time castigating people who disagree with you but who may just have turned out to be far smarter, after all, than you are. God Bless America!

The turning point in the American Civil War—and probably world history—occurred in Gettysburg on a rise called Little Round Top. At that place, at that time, a Union general saw a vast threat, and a Union Colonel and his regiment averted the threat through the brilliance of a single command. We need more courage in our lives because, unlike Gettysburg, no one is shooting at us. We are too easily placed on the defensive by bullies, the economy, regulations, normative pressure, or simply fear. But we can easily regain control of our circumstances by playing offense instead of defense, by being assertive instead of timid, and by being bold instead of afraid.  This is the true story of a relatively few people doing what they were expected to do, under great pressure, and with great courage.  I remind you, once again, that no one is shooting at us. 

We all get the kind of government we deserve. If you voted for the winner of the election, that's good until such time as you feel promises aren't being kept. If you voted for the loser of the election, that means not enough people in the right places agreed with you, and you have to submit to the system. However, you're still free to protest, be surprised by some things that are advantageous to you, and wait for next time. If you didn't vote at all, then you simply have to accept the government that other people voted for, and you have sacrificed your right to complain about it. If you didn't vote, you obviously don't feel strongly about anything enough to try to affect the election. (The US ranks 31st of 50 countries in voter turnout, albeit 22 of them mandate voting, so you could make a case we're high on the list, but with 40 million not turning out, that number would easily sway an election one way or the other.) To be somewhat cynical, we have no good metrics for politicians because most of them put their own needs (to stay in power) before their constituents' needs. I love the newsletter you get two weeks before election day, as though the candidate at any level really cares. If they did, why aren't the newsletters weekly or monthly?  And politicians are really like children, trying to take the ball and go home if they don't get their way. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse up here in Rhode Island honks long and loud about Supreme Court term limits and/or expanding the court to include more justices who share his view. He wouldn't feel this way if the court had already agreed with his biases.  Whitehouse will be elected to his fifth Senate term this year, which is 30 years, and he's never suggested any term limits on the Senate, which would be a far better system than people holding these offices for life. That's how transparently hypocritical he is. But so are they all! It's like the rigged trotting races that took place in the Meadowlands of New Jersey when I was young. Betters simply tried to choose the horse which was rigged to win. Today, we simply try to choose the politician who's probably lying the least.

Bill Russell, in Second Wind, defines pressure and performance. For example: - Brady coming back from 25 points down in the second half of the Super Bowl. - Houston, we have a problem (Apollo 13). - Sully Sullenberger landing in the Hudson River.  The need is to really stay calm. - Three Mile Island as opposed to Chornobyl. - Bluffing in poker (vs. the “tell”). - Is Mickey Mouse a dog or a cat? - Police overreaction. - The basketball player's wink. Keep perspective, the world isn't watching. Most pressure is self-generated. Think of Philippe Petit and the six feet. Use some humor. It's usually not fatal if you fail. Puncture the pressure balloon.

Many people in Rhode Island have never been to Boston, let alone New York. I've coached a very successful entrepreneur who has never been to New York and doesn't wish to go. Most people can't locate Bolivia or Laos (or Nebraska) on a map. When Americans in a survey were asked the three most famous Japanese they could think of, it was Bruce Lee, Yoko Ono, and Godzilla. Or not? Through my travels abroad, I learned: - To eat “European style.” - People are far more multi-lingual than we are. - Computers in foreign airport restrooms tell you how many stalls are available, and you can rate the cleanliness. - Floating markets of Thailand (and the Cayman). - The immensity of the Great Wall (some of which can't be fixed today). - The Acropolis uses the same machinery today to repair it as was used to build it. - The exquisite wines of Chile don't travel well. - The modernized airport immigration systems. - There is better first class (Emirates, Air Singapore). - Some lamps are older than our country. - The timeless artistry (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rodin, Mozart, Vivaldi). - Bikes, scooters, motorcycles, and trains are used for everyday commutes. - People in the US are stagnantly Americentric. We see the world through distorted lenses: US TV, US papers, US social media friends. If it's truly a global economy, we ought to be a global people. Diversity goes beyond borders.

Esteem means respect and admiration. Hence, self-esteem would mean respect and admiration for yourself. Self-worth and self-esteem are the same thing to me, whereas self-confidence is your faith (or lack thereof) that you can do something: efficacy. Pride is feeling proud of your accomplishments, but vanity is insisting that others hear about them, as well. The pandemic, foreign wars, polarization, AI, demographic change, and climate change are all contributing to the diminishment of self-esteem. People feel as if they've lost control, need too much permission (TSA), and lack power. Pandemic approaches seemed to be more about politics than medicine. And the internet is rife with conspiracies and misinformation.  How do we resolve this and reclaim our power and esteem? • Be healthy. Exercise, have a reasonable diet, and get medical checkups. • Love yourself. How can anyone else love you if you can't love you? • Don't jump to conclusions and make assumptions. Find the facts. • Don't fret. Find ways to take action. • Talk positively about yourself, don't speak about your “struggles” or “fears.” • Isolate negatives and generalize positives. • Create a sounding board, a support system, and enlist trusted others. • Recognize that if the cause is emotionally deep and traumatic, you probably need therapeutic help. • Journal your accomplishments and successes. • Practice a morning/evening ritual. Be honest about your successes, that's not boasting. But if you don't recognize the talents and abilities that led to your successes, you'll always feel like an imposter.

The rate of failures of small businesses is astounding: 20% fail during the first two years, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first ten years.  While there are myriad reasons, such as succeeding generations of ownership not being as motivated or competent, most of these fail under the original founders and owners. That's because they tend to think of their business and tasks and not the customer's happiness and results.  In this episode, I discuss the 20 or so common mistakes and oversights that contribute to the problems. For example, most owners don't sufficiently shop their own businesses, hire “bodies” instead of talented people, and view customers as an impediment to doing business the way they'd prefer! Instead of passing on every possible cost to the customer, client, or patient, small businesses should be passing on every possible value and benefit. They should make it easy for the buyer to buy. I've come to believe “Someone will be right with you” about as much as I believe “This call may be recorded for quality control purposes.” Just because you own a small business doesn't mean you can get by with a small mind.

Some suggestions to build credibility with a buyer during the initial meeting. (This assumes you're meeting with a true economic buyer who controls the budget.) 1. Assume a peer mentality. Don't allow yourself to be cast in a “dog and pony show.” (I suggest you never show up with visual aids for this very reason.) Adapt an attitude that the two of you are peers mutually exploring a working relationship. Either of you might accept or reject it. 2. Be patient. Don't barge into silence and state, “Let me tell you about myself.” You're not there, believe it or not, to get a sale. You're there to develop a relationship. That might require several meetings. 3. Use provocative questions to get the buyer to talk about him- or herself, or at least the company. Show an interest in the buyer and the business. 4. Do your homework. Learn the current stock price, the company history, the major competition, and the primary markets served. Become conversant in the client's business environment before you meet the buyer. 5. Push back. Choose your spots to disagree with the buyer. At least offer alternative viewpoints. Relationships are based on honesty and candor. 6. Offer immediate value. Demonstrate some techniques or approaches that might be applicable. Don't wallow in theory, and do not focus on your exceptional credentials. Instead, provide help. 7. Embrace the buyer. Use “we” and “us.” Orient your conversation around how the two of you would partner, not what “you” would do to “them.” Encourage the buyer to think about the two of you working in concert. 8. Focus on business outcomes. Spend as little time as possible on alternatives and input (e.g., training, surveys, retreats, audits), and emphasize results (e.g., market share, improved teamwork, higher profits). 9. Ensure that your image is professional. Dress well, even in a business casual environment. (Expensive casual clothes are indicative of successful people.) Make sure your grooming is appropriate. Use the language perfectly. 10. Take the initiative. Ask about and reaffirm the meeting time frame and the agenda. Suggest next steps. Summarize what you've heard. Act like someone accustomed to working with high-level people. You won't close every deal or charm every buyer, but at least ensure that it's not because you're your own worst enemy.

There are 330 million people in the US that we know of. There are 12,500 school districts, 18,000 police departments, 17,000 libraries, 400 different languages spoken, 45,000 flights per day, 5 million privately and commercially owned vehicles, 200,000 dentists, and 641 amusement parks.  There are nation-states (Japan, Korea), multi-state nations (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait), and multi-nation states (US, UK). The US is probably the most pluralistic and diverse nation on the planet, especially in these numbers. Comparing us to Denmark, Thailand, or New Zealand is plain silly. I'm not disparaging those nations; I've been to them and another 60 besides, and like almost all of them (apparently, I'm alone in finding Iceland totally boring and Brazil scary). It's like saying if a hybrid Kia can get 60 miles to the gallon, why can't a Ford pickup? Well, because they're entirely different vehicles with different appeals and purposes. I pointed out to a client in Denmark while arguing these points that there are no lines of people at Denmark's borders seeking entry and citizenship. "Well, you're right about that," he said, "and if there were, we wouldn't let them in." There's a lot of room for improvement in the US, and, in all fairness, there's been a lot of improvement, and people are better off than they think they are because they haven't been to 60 other countries (and, in many cases, even one) and they're drowned in bad news by media that reports calamity where none exists and refrains from reporting good news as if that's the calamity. By the way, there are 2,700 commercial news channels in the US, and I'm not sure that's a good category to be leading (we're 4th, after Russia, China, and the EU).

This is a marketing lesson for the Catholic Church. I'm a lector and a Eucharistic Minister in the Church and converted 18 years ago. As some of you know, I've also spent a great deal of my coaching and consulting career in the field of strategy and have written two commercially published books on the topic. The average age in the church my wife and I attend is north of 60. Young people are not drawn to the church in the numbers of old, and as the population ages, it also diminishes. Churches are closing and being combined because there aren't enough priests to go around. They, too, are aging as young men aren't becoming seminarians in large numbers.  Strategically, the Church needs to permit women and married men to become priests, as is the case in many other religions. This would provide not only more people, but more diversity: female points of view (Mary is important only second to Jesus in the Church and many people feel they're equal), and priests experienced in marriage, raising children, and intimate matters.  Tactically, the Church needs to equip existing and future priests with the ability to deliver pragmatic sermons which reflect how Christianity is to be lived daily, not just one day a week for an hour within certain edifices. (And even then, I often don't get a break trying to get out of the parking lot.) I have heard, nationally and internationally, some brilliant sermons delivered by priests, bishops, and cardinals. But too often, the sermon is existential and philosophical, not something parishioners can take with them back home or to work. Too many priests read their sermons, which are horrible and not very heartfelt. And often, what they're reading are their notes from when they first gave that sermon 40 years ago. The church needs to be audience-centered, not clergy-centered, and priests (as well as lectors) need to be instructed in professional speaking skills. (This is why the mega-churches always have highly skilled homilists, by the way). And there's also humor to be found. St. Augustine said, “Lord, please make me a good man. But not too soon!” Church is community. The community deserves more than a shepherd; it deserves a diverse clergy whose messages can be applied to improve lives immediately, delivered in powerful and effective ways. So help me God.

The agenda of inequality and wealth focused only on the richest might not reconcile with reality. There have been increases in home ownership (even though buying always has its difficulties, from interest rates to inventory). There is a record of intergenerational wealth transfer from retirement savings and the Regan-era IRA legislation. In the West, family prosperity is higher than ever: assets, cash in banks, pension funds, etc. Daniel Waldenström's book Richer and More Equal makes a case that the West is richer and has less inequality than in the past.  US wealth concentration is higher than in Europe but is lower than before WWII. Major improvements that lower wealth concentration have been pension/retirement funds and home ownership.  Wealth improvement leads to successful business ventures, hiring, and investment, and the most net, new jobs. We are not there yet. Many inequities remain. Capitalism does a fine job generating wealth but not distributing it. It is an ethical and societal responsibility to help others who cannot generate wealth and/or who are denied the opportunity. One reason that we don't appreciate our well-being is that the media prefers to trumpet inequities and problems rather than progress and improvement. Another is that not every grievance expressed is legitimate because the loudest voices often are pursuing very private and personal interests. This podcast was stimulated by an article called The Great Wealth Wave by Daniel Waldenström, a professor of economics at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm. It was published in Aeon.

Just tell me what I want to know. People instead tell you everything that they know. College professors are reading their dissertation notes. Electricians are telling you about high and low voltage, amps, and watts. The tree guy tells you about diseases of poplars when you asked if he could prune some dead branches on an oak. The auto guy explains why a repair isn't as easy as it looks because of the wiring, which is different from last year's, which is subject to weather conditions…. On the other hand, there are some benefits. Keeping someone talking at a bar and not having to talk back. Feigning interest in someone's work by asking a question every five minutes. But it doesn't work with politicians because they put no stakes in the ground. The phrase “How Are You?” isn't actually a legitimate question because the asker is not seeking an answer but merely providing the secret handshake. Catholic Confession can be burdensome when you confess to impure thoughts, and the priest's reply is, “Let's begin with Adam and Eve.” Of course, some answers are too brief. “Can I plug this in here?” Answer “yes,” but it doesn't include “if you turn the power off, first.” General Anthony McAuliffe's response to being asked to surrender around Christmas 1944 by the overwhelming German force facing him was “Nuts!” His forces held out and were rescued. I often go ask a question with a phone to my ear, ask out loud, “Can you hold on a minute while I ask a question?” ask my question, and then go back to my call. Of course, that didn't work out too well in the Confessional.

Even in truly tough times and horrible market segments, there are winners and strong companies. You have to play the hand you're dealt, and you have to play it well. If anything is happening to you more than two times out of ten, it's you, not them. With high interest rates, houses are still being sold. With food being expensive, people are still dining out. But you can't expect yesterday's ideas to thrill people about tomorrow. Nor can you tap dance on hot coals, in sweat tents, or with rah-rah speakers. You have to show people that you have ideas for tomorrow, anticipating change, not answers to past problems. Don't create false narratives that drive your approaches, e.g., “I can help you cut expenses” or “We need to lower our expectations.” Don't allow your prospects' fear to scare you or infect your thinking. The Titanic was a bad idea: mistaken design, insufficient lifeboats, and a poor route. FedEx was a great idea: postal service weakness, hub and spoke, “guarantees.” We are accountable. Not the fates or the winds or the tides or technology or society. Endure the brief pain of trying new approaches and innovating, or you'll face the long-term pain of inevitable decline.

If you win a race by .001 seconds, have you really “won.”? And certainly, you're not the “best in the world.” On that day, in that place, at that time, you finished barely ahead of the next person. What if you did it again an hour later? Of course, if you constantly and consistently win, you might be the best in the world or the best ever: Yankees, Celtics, Tom Brady, Rocky Marciano, Serena Williams, Jack Nicklaus. In subjective judging, it's really a joke. Those that are the best also get the most benefit in the scoring. Brady threw touchdowns, or he didn't. But the ice skaters, divers, gymnasts, surfers—those with the best records get the best treatment. Then again, there's the doping and the cheating. The Chinese escaped disqualifications for doping by claiming they consumed “tainted meat.” I wonder who slipped them that? By the way, if the Olympics are about simply the fastest, strongest, etc., why keep medal counts and raise national flags to national anthems? What about the bad calls and missed calls from officials? Is break-dancing a sport? Isn't there a practical requirement historically, such as in archery, fencing, judo, or running? Even the pommel horse was used originally to teach mounting and dismounting.  If break-dancing is a sport, why isn't ballroom dancing, which has its own competitions globally and requires superb coordination, training, balance, and teamwork? I was at a Four Seasons where, early in the morning, there was a bed-making and floor-vacuuming competition. Why isn't that an Olympic event? It's a highly coordinated skill done billions of times a day worldwide? Tennis players are athletes. I don't think golfers are, nor are race car drivers. They are certainly skilled and adept, but so are woodworkers and chess players. I understand the ambiguity of X and Y chromosomes and uncertain genitalia. However, I also know that women's athletics and Title 9 were not intended for average male athletes to be stars in another venue. When you “eclipse” someone's record, does it really count if you're using vastly improved equipment, medical support, and venues? Hasn't fiberglass improved vaulting over wood and bamboo? With modern sports medicine, Sandy Koufax would have had another six unsurpassed years. Brady couldn't have played into his 40s. We're a country of 330 million people, and it seems to me that the Australians, with 30 million, eat our lunch in the pool. And they're not as insufferable as we are with the constant chants of USA, USA. (I do chant myself against the Russians and the Chinese.)  Finally, I don't know about you, but the juxtaposition of athletes not supported by anything substantial and working with little money and not the greatest support at home, and the kibillionaire professional US basketball players, marching in the same parade and winning the same medals, well, come on….

The Olympics sparked several replays of an Australian swimmer, Cate Campbell, being interviewed on what I think was an Australian TV news show. In a prior competition, she had beaten out the Americans for the gold medal. The interviewer asked her what it was like.  She ranted on about how glorious it was because she detested the Americans using a cowbell to motivate the team and hated the chant of the fans, “USA, USA, USA,” which she mimicked in a sarcastic tone. Let me repeat: her team won. She was a sore winner. If you're a world-class athlete and you can't take the pressure of people rooting against you in favor of their teams or motivational techniques used to un-nerve the opposition, maybe you have some serious esteem problems. If you don't want to endure the pressure of the limelight, don't walk into it. I've been to Australia 19 times, I have friends and clients there, and I find Australians to be “in touch,” personable, and have a great sense of humor. It's when we take ourselves too seriously when we feel we shouldn't have to be subjected to boisterous fans, that our fragile egos are exposed. The same day the interview was first aired, the Australian women won the 4X100 meter relay, and the American men won their 4X100 meter relay. The Australians and Americans at the pool congratulated each other in good sportsmanship. So here's to you Cate: Bong, Bong, Bong, Bong…..

You've known wowsers. They're always trying to be the “second smartest person in the room,” and they correct you even though you're correct to begin with. They are official “killjoys.” They are critical of others' pleasures and accomplishments. Lacking expertise doesn't inhibit their critiques and corrections. They never converse; they lecture as perpetual professors. They're distraught if they think someone else is having a better time than they are (and most people are). Wowsers are dismissive according to their own biased criteria. “You smoke cigars, so you don't make good life choices, so your opinion on the climate is flawed.” For them, everything they do is the best, no matter what: The trip was the most thrilling, the play was the most sensational, the restaurant was seven stars, and the restroom was the cleanest. They announce awards and honorifics no matter how transparently unimportant they are. “I've been named as most likely to write my first book within four years in my zip code.” Knowing next to nothing, they are cynical and cite memes and fragments of others' expertise: “Well, consider the ‘establishment clause,'” “They might invoke the 27th Amendment….” These are the people who scream, “Get in the hole!” after every golf shot and call into the tournament if they spot a violation on TV. They call people over to the bar to have drinks and then disappear before the bill arrives. You know who I'm talking about.

People may think of a "Grand Challenge" as an exceptionally worthy and difficult problem to solve, and they'd be right. But it's also representative of a more formalized and impressive approach to what appear to be intractable societal issues. Seth Kahan specializes in these, his most recent being to remove stigma in mental health issues. This involves a farrago of interested parties, from television writers who want to depict the issue realistically and correctly to pharmaceutical companies which seek to develop the proper medications and police departments which need proper responses. These challenges can be about education reform, immigration reform, climate safeguarding, reproductive rights, and other such vast issues. They tend to be nonpartisan. The correct approach to mental health issues, for example, benefits a wide range of society, from treatment to facilities, from crime deterrence to cures. Learn where the funding comes from, how varied organizations become involved, and the timing needed for these initiatives to make a difference while successful along the way—sometimes 20 years or more.  And looking back, from women's rights to civil rights, such movements have existed, being formed out of necessity. We also discuss great leaders (Lincoln, the Roosevelts, Churchill) who were successful because they purposely created these Grand Challenges—not just to improve civilization, but to save it.

My wife wasn't feeling well, so I went out to eat at 5:30 and brought her something back. When I do that, I bring my iPad and read a book at the bar. I finished, the takeout arrived in a shopping bag, and I drove home. At 10 pm I thought I'd play some Angry Birds before going to bed but realized my iPad was gone. I used "Find My iPhone" to determine that it was still in the restaurant. Although after hours, they answered the phone.  "We have it right here," said a manager, after a brief search, "come around to the door by the bar, it's open. We're cleaning up." They were cleaning up, and the same bartender from five hours earlier came out and handed me the iPad. We chatted, I thanked him, drove home (and played Angry Birds). That's the way it's supposed to work, right? Friendly people, honesty, using technology as a help to solve something. Yet we keep valuables locked in hotel safes, we're careful about where we keep our wallets or carry our purses, and some stores don't accept any cash larger than a twenty-dollar bill. Shoplifting is one of the major expenses for retail stores. We're advised to use a complex password on our smart phones because thieves are stealing them, cracking simple codes, and cleaning out bank accounts. It's a shame when once-common acts of honesty and courtesy stand out because they're exceptions to our expectations and no longer the rule.