Published in Online Spin, September 28th 2012

I cannot begin to tell you the number of bad ideas I have had.

When I first started receiving an allowance, at the age of 10 or so, I had grand intentions for my weekly five dollars. Surely, I thought, I can use this to pay rent on an apartment, which I can then use to house and care for homeless animals. Every week, I scoured the real estate section of the New York Times magazine, looking for the right property. Finally, I saw it: a big house, out in the country, for sale. I couldn’t believe my luck; the price tag was a mere $2,700.

Published in Online Spin, September 21st 2012

Dear Reader,

It is often (and dishearteningly ) the case, in these modern times, that etiquette is considered unnecessary: an anachronism, a relic. We seem to have agreed to dispense with courtesies, with gentleness, and with grammar. These dismaying developments appear to arise from a belief structure that, at its core, is flawed -- a structure that interprets kindness as weakness and assumes thoughtfulness is only required of subordinates.

Published in Online Spin, September 14th 2012

If you’ve ever pitched to investors, you’ll have heard the same five questions over and over. They’re the same questions asked on “Dragons’ Den” and “Shark Tank.” They’re the questions that must be answered well for any business to grow to a significant size, and, although they are simple, they are exceedingly complex:

Published in Online Spin, September 7th 2012

I had breakfast recently with a friend from college who is doing very well for himself. His company deals in public utilities. They work all over the world. I asked him his greatest piece of advice.

Published in Online Spin, August 31st 2012

We received a postcard last week. It looked fake -- or, at the very least, salesy. But in fact it was a picture of some friends, taken by the Thames in London, by a machine or a kiosk or a service that obviously specializes in automating the sending of personalized postcards. The note, clearly written by our friend, was printed in a font evocative of handwriting but obviously not. I imagine that there was some kind of setup with a sign, “Take your picture, write your note, and we’ll print and send your postcard anywhere in the world!”

Published in Online Spin, August 24th 2012

Let me tell you about Greg.

Officially, Greg is a salesman. He works for a computer company, securing significant corporate contracts for data centers. He is very good at this job.

Unofficially, though, the value Greg brings is not his ability to talk features and benefits. It is his ability to serendipitize.