The gravest lesson of history is not that evil exists. It is that too many recognize it only after it has become impossible to ignore. " Dumping on God? No way to start anything you are going to write,” bellowed a colleague, a globally acknowledged thought leader. Not dumping. Simply asking a less-than-theological question from the perspective of Jews and the enduring plague of antisemitism. If every human being is created B'Tselem Elohim—in...

This is written with at least some measure of hope—whether entirely justified or not. Was it myth, history, or strategic fantasy that MacArthur urged Truman to let him march westward—through a starving Soviet apparatus—all of it, with minimal American casualties. All the way to breakfast in Moscow? Perhaps. Perhaps not. One could argue MacArthur fancied himself capable of becoming emperor of Mother Russia. Why not? He certainly did an...

Prologue... The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or as my intellectual snob father would insist that be quoted in the original French: “Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose”. (1849 Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr) With the world spinning about us with the vertiginous speed of scientific discovery and purported progress, often fueled by regrettably insubstantial thought, I thought that dumb. No longer. All I and you have to do is...

I fancy myself an astute observer of people and life. Some people collect stamps, memorabilia, music, dolls, zippo lighters, bottle caps, happy meals toys, rocks. And too many people just collect bad habits. I collect people and stories. Then express my observations, conclusions, musings as a storyteller, satirist and some think—I certainly hope as a provocateur. It is the holy grail of leadership to be a thought-leader. To influence what...

There was a time when so-called French intellectuals were valued. Specifically, people who LEARNED and KNEW a bit about a lot of things. Not much depth in anything. Very interesting dinner guests. And amazing pseudo-intellectuals. What we have created in the US, as far as this topic, is kind of like pea-soup. You know it is at boil because, well, it appears to be, and because of the infrequent little bubbling on top. To be clear, it may be...

About Happiness in Business... Fortune 100 vs. Bill's Burgers... This is about Bill's Burgers. And some about too many Fortune notables’ leaders… Bill’s makes everybody's list of “The Best Burgers in the United States.” Often on the top three! Has for decades. That fine establishment in the heart of industrial Van Nuys, California. I am told that Bill of Bill’s Burgers, still goes to work there. I have actually spied him doing that a couple...

You gotta love Starbucks.... “There is a fine line between love and hate.” — Cecelia Ahern, c. 2002-2005. I used to really dislike Starbucks. Upon recent reflection ... Salvador Dali, unmistakable mustache on full display, walks into a Starbucks. Eureka moment for the barista nearest to the door. She whispers into the ear of her co-caffeine mixer nearest to her: “You know who that is? Very, very famous!” They grab the third member of the crew...

From awareness to intelligence to zombiehood… I am tackling a truly challenging topic. Emotional intelligence. Now … Assuming I have even a pedestrian understanding of what that is… Assuming that I do have some ordinary, lay, understanding of what emotional intelligence is, it is a topic I have been looking forward to getting into. To be entirely forthcoming, likely to take a hopefully intellectual wrecking ball to it. And then offer genuine,...

Be uber at sales. Absolute "do's" and "don'ts." All of that is built on a bedrock concept. NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL YOU SELL SOMETHING. That is my take on something Henry Ford said a lot of decades ago.   Allow me a couple minutes to be my reputed raconteur self. With a purpose, I assure you.   Children all over the world dream of becoming fire-fighters, astronauts, teachers, doctors ... tennis pros. I was destined to be a – humbly –...