I once had a CEO who despised salespeople. Actually, he didn’t despise all salespeople, just his own. It’s not that he saw sales as a necessary evil. More like comic relief. He wasn’t much of a marketing fan either. His favorite description of us was “limp dicks.” The guy used to have[…] Read On
The receiving end of communication is all about listening between the lines to understand what people really mean. It’s as true in business as it is in life: It’s more important to hear what people don’t say than what they do say. Easier said than done. The other day I[…] Read On
Nobody is permanent Everything is on loan here Even your wife and kids Could be gone next year – Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders We often rail against the transient nature of life. Why, I don’t know. All things begin and end. Life, relationships, companies, buildings, planets, stars, even the very[…] Read On
It’s ridiculously hard to be successful over the long haul. It’s a lot harder if you don’t know the basics. Factors like global competition, channel conflicts and supply-chain issues are tough enough to overcome; you don’t need internal problems to make it even harder. When it comes to running a[…] Read On
Q: Where can you find the nastiest, neediest and dumbest narcissists on Earth, all in one place? A: Twitter. It’s common knowledge that Twitter users exhibit the worst human behavior imaginable that doesn’t involve a weapon. The anger, cruelty and vitriol is so pervasive and off the charts that, even[…] Read On
When a publication – any publication from anywhere in the world – even hints at something controversial out of President Trump’s mouth, it becomes headline news from every media outlet on Earth. Oftentimes it’s fake headline news. Yesterday, Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche ran the following story, “Trump Wants to Block Daimler From the[…] Read On
I was standing in front of the boardroom, my last slide up on the screen. Everyone knew what was coming. “Is that all you marketing $#*!s know how to do,” my CEO lashed out, “cut prices?” He was fuming. “No, that’s not all I know how to do,” I said.[…] Read On