Shame, thy name is Ben.

 Have you heard about Ben Edelman? His story is rocketing around the internet. He’s a Harvard Business School professor and lawyer who feels he was cheated by a small Chinese restaurant (seen above in a Boston.com photo) in the Boston area, and decided to bring the wrath of […]

Imperfect…and Tense

“Doesn’t it seem like somebody is working awfully hard to convince us of how imperfect we are? If we could be more emotionally resilient or get up at 5:00 a.m. every morning or remember to do that one thing that successful people never forget to do, would our […]

The Monk and the Concorde

An excerpt from “An Honest Day’s Work,” my new book, which will be published in the fall of 2014. One of my favorite Burson-Marsteller clients was Lloyd’s of London. Lloyd’s was renowned for its willingness to take on all kinds of outsized risks – major catastrophes, environmental disasters, […]

Canoe Keep a Secret?

Mark Twain famously said, “There are three kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies and statistics.” I know exactly what he meant. My first job in PR was working for a sole practitioner. His main source of income was an engagement with Grumman Boats and Canoes. Legions of one-time […]

Stalking the Wild Goose

Some years ago, when I was working for a major PR agency, my buddy stuck his head in my office doorway. “Listen,” he said. “I know we were supposed to go to lunch today, but we got a call about a huge new business opportunity. The prospect wants […]

35mm Mayhem

If you started your first job in 2013, you have never known life without PowerPoint, the ubiquitous presentation software developed by Apple and later sold to Microsoft. Powerpoint can be an effective supplement to a discussion, but we have all experienced the microtype, over-stuffed slides that gave rise […]