Wanting to unwind a bit after a recent meeting, I joined a friend and a colleague for a little informal get-together. Over glasses of wine, the three of us spent some time discussing relationships, people and life in general — no business talk, no agendas, no drama, just pleasant, interesting conversation. The next day my

Had any “casual collisions” recently? I was fortunate enough to have experienced one not long ago. By “casual collision,” I don’t mean a parking-lot fender bender that you would hope to steer clear of. I’m rather referring to the kind of serendipitous encounter  made famous by a couple of employees at Google headquarters who became

Sometimes, we give advice to other people, only to end up taking it ourselves. A recent example is the way in which I was reminded of the importance of  properly “framing” whatever you are talking or thinking about – that is, presenting it in a context that generates a more positive spin. It came about

In a recent blog, I offered some advice to anyone suffering from a “sinking feeling” that was given to me many years ago: to “always be cork.”  While I have utilized this analogy for many years, I never  quite realized just how amazing this resilient tree bark really is until I happened on an article

Among several upcoming forums on innovation and entrepreneurship, one in particular caught my eye since it’s expected to draw some 1,500 attendees to New York City next month. This got me to thinking about how anxious people are these days to learn the secrets of coming up with marketable and potentially lucrative new ideas –

Those of us in the cutthroat world of business might all do well to borrow a leaf from George Washington’s book.  Or, to put it more precisely,  we might do well to borrow the benevolent spirit found in a note he wrote to one of his key rivals. It was in October of 1777 just

In a previous blog, I wrote about the positive effect that extending a small courtesy or accommodation to one’s customers can have in any business, noting how a woman attendant at a gas station had made my day by allowing me inside its convenience store before opening time to brew a cup of tea. But

To believe you can inspire someone at times feels a little arrogant, and so maybe I don’t think about it in quite that way, preferring the idea of providing support and encouragement instead. However, one might regard it, the role of mentor is one I yearn more and more to assume the older I get

“Do Something” was a book I co-authored several years ago after meeting with Syracuse University students who said they were so overwhelmed by responsibilities that they couldn’t be bothered even thinking about the environment. This bothered me enough to explore the question of how anyone preoccupied with other concerns might be persuaded to become involved

On a recent morning I got up early to go to San Diego, leaving my apartment at 5:30 a.m. in hopes of beating the L.A. commuter traffic. While stopping for gas at a Shell station on La Cienega, I thought I’d get some hot water to make a cup of mate tea, but discovered the