Bemelmans Bar Sweet, pungent, intoxicating, elegant blend of cigar smoke, expensive perfumes, exclusive men's colognes. How that 53-year-old bar should smell. And the unforgettable crooning and sophisticated banter of the one and only, tuxedoed Bobby Short. A paragon of style. A raconteur of romance. And a beacon in my life... Chapter two ... Finally I have been keen for a couple decades to write about my "journey" from my late teens through...

World-renowned street artist, Bansky — his real name and identity are one of the best kept secrets in the world — is said to have written: “They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time." Perhaps haughty of me, I may be a pedestrian thinker by comparison to Bansky, I assert that his wisdom on this topic is somewhat superficial. In my humble opinion… We...

I wrote this “love-note” to the CEO of a major department store chain. You, my readers, know who they are. Perhaps even shop there. I pursued his senior staff to do business with my agency. That, notwithstanding admonishment from an occasional friend, a long-time and relevant supplier to them, who urged that I take care that my would-be client does not find out I am a Jew before I have a chance at doing business with them. They just ain’t that...

"OWN THE ROOM" AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS. Some of us believe, at least we think that we can exhibit solid impromptu alacrity all the time. That we are exceptionally quick thinkers, particularly when leveraging our competencies. We are proverbially quick on our feet. No matter! PREPARING TO LEAD A MEETING is critically important for everybody who will ever have to lead a meeting. And then HOW TO LEAD A MEETING to achieve specific goals. My approach...

SUSTAINABILITY An intellectual compost as old as fossil fuels. By Steven J. Manning May 17, 2024 So many experts, real and self-anointed, and hapless talking heads, writing and spewing copious word-salads about sustainability. Occasionally stuff beyond ordinary and unoriginal drivel. And so much from A.I. disciples. Indulge me with the unconventional start to this column with what one might consider a wrap-up paragraph. Much about the unholy...

This from Selwyn Gerber, Chairman & Chief Strategist at RVW WEALTH. CURRENT STATUS: Silicon Valley Bank’s failure on Friday afternoon left the business and financial industries scrambling in uncertainty. Many companies who had tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on deposit spent the weekend planning what they would do next. The depositors have been bailed out.  Assurances by  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell,...

Don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth. How has that phenomenally dumb concept endured since John Heywood uttered those thoughtless words in 1546! Well, don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth unless you want a very large, feed-guzzling-aged- pet. And likely good sized veterinarian bills. More elsewhere for you city-folks, who may not relate much to horses and their teeth. My take: of course you look a gift-horse in the mouth! And never ignore a...

In all my professional and personal travels — a million both “life-miles” and also in those amazing pressurized flying machines — I have had the privilege to exchange much with internationallyrecognized luminaries and public figures in business, academia, publishing and sports. Most regrettably, Dr. King was murdered when I was entirely too young and unwise to fully comprehend all that he was. And represented. It took some years for my wisdom...

Excerpts from an interview published in AUTHORITY MAGAZINE... From an objective standpoint, we are living in an unprecedented era of abundance. Yet so many of us are feeling unsatisfied. Why are we seemingly so insatiable? Do you feel that marketing has led to people feeling unsatisfied and not having enough in life? If so, what actions can marketers take to create a world where people feel that they have enough, and they are enough? Can we...

Statistically, business leaders read four- five books a month. There are 20,000 books in print on leadership. Most make a yeoman’s effort to define leadership. Often by contrasting that to management. Then, to add value to the droll reading, conflate the core of “leadership” to the holy grail of benefit: success. My definition of that hereinbelow. Likely my readers have read beacoup on that. I did starting decades ago; more recently while...