My wife Ellen likes to watch home improvement shows like Fixer Upper. I’m not a big fan of these shows. I find them banal and monotonous with far too many commercials. But the worst part is that after watching these shows, Ellen walks into our kitchen, sighs loudly and says, “We really need to put in…
Mr. Carpenter
In high school my favorite teacher was Mr. Carpenter. He taught Computer Science, Trigonometry and Calculus. He ran the Math Club. He led our school’s gifted/honors program. He was a genius. He would think before speaking. He encouraged questions. He pushed us to challenge ourselves academically. He never yelled. He never assigned us busywork. He looked…
When Hustle Isn’t Good Enough
When I asked to try-out for the University of Pittsburgh’s Division 1 Wrestling Team having never wrestled a day in a my life, the head coach warned me that “natural athletic ability isn’t good enough to be successful here.” I was insulted. I proclaimed that I had no natural athletic ability (true but perhaps not…
No News Is Good News
For most of my life, I loved reading the newspaper. As a kid, I started by reading the comics. Then I moved on to the political cartoons. Over time, I grew to enjoy articles about politics, the economy, business and lifestyles – pretty much everything except cars, sports and fashion. Reading exposed me to ideas…
You Might Not Need a Sales Manager
As someone who’s been in sales management for most of his professional life, it may be sacrilegious for me to say it, but you might not need a sales manager. For some companies, a sales manager can make or break your sales team. For others, a sales manager is a waste of money. Money that…
Math Geek
I have loved numbers for as long as I can remember. As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a counter. As a child, I’d count the steps it took to walk to the grocery store. I’d divide my toy soldiers into equally numbered teams. I asked people’s ages and would figure out how many…
I Don’t Want Your $2.7M Penthouse Condo
Last weekend my son did an art event in a penthouse condo that was on the market. My wife and I went to the event to support him. The artwork was incredible. The artists and their families were an eclectic cast of characters. The condo, not so much. Even if I had the money to afford…
How to Make Sales with No Leads, No Marketing and No Track Record
Once upon a time, I joined a 3 man startup to sell Intrusion Detection Service. I realized in my first week that our product was vaporware – we had no software, no service and no customers. But we needed to generate sales so we could make payroll and run the business. Not to mention, I needed…
Old Man
Last year I had a work trip to Pittsburgh, my old hometown. While there, I arranged to have dinner with some friends who I hadn’t seen for several years. We planned to meet at my hotel and walk to a nearby restaurant. Since it was summer, I took advantage of the great weather to take…
What is it you do and how do you make money?
Recently I had a conversation with a former colleague who asked me, “So what exactly is it that you do and how do you make money?” I’ve gotten this question several times in the past year, so I thought I should share my response in a post.