When Rodney Johnson, President of HS Dent, a company that provides economic research, spoke in Dallas last Friday, I was there. I’d not seen Rodney, a long-time client of mine, present since several years ago when I was invited to speak at the annual HS Dent conference myself. It’s always provocative to […]
Author: alexAdmin
The Reinvention Ragtime – September 2009
Cary Grant did it. ATT, TI, and ExxonMobil did it. Even I’ve done it-several times. Reinvention is a hallmark of successful companies and people. Just like the great American musical genre ragtime, the originality and excitement that emerges from reinvention is built on a legacy of past experiences-both the positive and negatives. I developed a […]
The Overwhelm Loop
What struck me when I was asked to address a meeting at a client company today was how many were stuck in the “overwhelm loop.” It was a perfect opportunity to explore some aspects of emotional intelligence. I asked the group to describe what being overwhelmed meant for them and received great answers, such […]
And What’s Your Job? “Chocolatier,” She Said.
Sexy, hip, Katrina and Noel Merrem are a husband and wife duo living their entrepreneurial dream. The founders of the decadently deep, hand crafted NOKA Chocolate rightfully so are designated “Chocolatiers, ” even though the two of them once labored in traditionally ho-hum jobs. Now they attend glittering parties, have stores in Neiman Marcus and Tokyo, […]
The Nose Knows Wine and Wine Glasses
I guess being the 11th generation of exceptional wine glass makers, one’s nose is simply bred to distinguish the flavors in a wine bouquets. Viennese bred Maximilian Reidel of the legendary Reidel crystal glassware did not disappoint when I recently attended a wine and fine chocolate tasting hosted by Noka Chocolates. Looking around guiltily, […]
The Blog Ghost Shakes Hands
Okay, I admit it. I don’t always “get” it when it comes to technology. Here’s what I’d like to know: How is it that after months and months of writing this blog, all of a sudden, my monthly newsletter, all about handshakes this month, and which is completelyindependent of this blog and uses a completely […]
A $13 Billion Handshake
Mr. Joe Ordinary out there rarely considers how so-called “soft skills” carry any financial punch, much less could have the clout to impact billions of dollars. But one extra-ordinary Joe, legendary attorney Joe Jamail, proved how even the humble handshake can rock Wall Street. Here’s what ordinary people miss that the extraordinary don’t: We make […]
A Gentle Thought: Beer Obama-style to the Rescue
Even the Wall St. Journal last week got in on the recent Obama police snafu and subsequent beer fest. I’m referring to the president’s negative remark about the police who mistakenly arrested his friend, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. for breaking into his own home. For the president of the United States to call […]
Bravo for the Gutsy Babes at Angels and Demons
The Cigar Peg is the kinda place you’d expect to see testosterone in action. You just don’t always expect to see it from a couple of dainty and determined women. Without them, this economic slump would have slammed the Cigar Peg last Monday night, since the bidding was anemic until my friends stepped up and […]
Writing Your Mother’s Obituary
You do it, because you don’t want anyone else to do it. After all, she was your mother. It’s a strange way of holding on. You once were the newspaper columnist, and every one expects it. After all, who else should do it? It all happens so fast. Between then and there, you have […]