Have you ever noticed that when a politician makes the news for a bribery conviction the amount of money they got caught taking is always surprisingly low? $1,500 here, $5,000 there. All for sacrificing

Things I Don’t Like. In No Particular Order. I don’t like when people wearing earbuds or iPods approach smiling because of what they’re listening to, not because they’re happy to see me. I don’t like not

Are you familiar with the psychological phenomenon called the Benjamin Franklin effect? It’s where a person who has already performed a favor for another person is more likely to do a second favor for

A friend and I spent some time talking about her business. The next day I received a lovely thank you note from her. “Thank you for your generosity yesterday Bruce – You really got my wheels spinning in

At first, I wanted to cry. Three of my longtime readers unsubscribed from my blog this week. I didn’t know which of their notes was more cutting. One simply wrote, “delete me from your mailing list.” “Mailing

The speed of evolution is measured by the genetic changes of a species over time. If these genetic changes occur over a short period of time, the speed of evolution is defined as “fast.” Of course, “fast”

It’s time for you to market your business like a pickup truck. That’s because Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is about to release their 2020 Jeep Gladiator; a midsized truck based on their best-selling

How often have you left a negotiation or a personal meeting and thought you’d like to be a fly on the wall and hear what’s going on when you’re not there? Of course, it’s always been a reality for famous

Last week I received an email from my friend Randy. Over time I’ve been helping Randy with his business: “Hey Bruce, I got a call from a potential client yesterday. He had been referred by someone I didn’t

Do you ever wonder where the writers for Saturday Night Live get ideas for their skits? How about where the comedians on the show get ideas for their characters? I think I know. While I’m writing this

Hermés uber status symbol, the Birken Bag, range from $12,000 to more than $200,000. Fortune Magazine suggests that they might be a good investment because “Earlier this month, a single handbag sold at

Here’s a fascinating dichotomy: The management structure in most hotels is very hierarchical. The org chart pyramid starts at the top with the owner, then the General Manager, then the department directors

Lots of brand consultants like to use an exercise where they ask their audience this question: “If your brand was a car, what car would it be?” They use cars because most people have a good understanding

Years ago I was introduced to a brilliant woman who was doing business with a friend. When we met, she gave me a copy of her book – a New York Times bestseller that I had heard a lot about. I read it across

Let’s try an experiment. Let’s dispassionately examine some of the phenomena that are front and center in our national zeitgeist these days. Please don’t be swayed by whether you agree or disagree. Just

I was reading The Piano Shop on The Left Bank when I came across the following phrase, attributed to piano virtuoso György Sebök: “There is no such thing as a music note by note just as there is no such

If you’ve consumed any popular culture at all, you’ve probably seen some of the brouhaha Gillette’s new ad calling out Toxic Masculinity. The commercial appealed to men to ‘be better,’ over scenes of boys

Here are some interesting online marketing facts for you: Over 70% of B2B marketers confirm that video is more effective than text for brand building. A study done a few years ago reported that social

I’m sitting in the second row of the big conference room listening to the keynote speaker at a corporate event. Every few minutes the speaker raises his hand and asks the audience if they’ve experienced

Want to know how to ask for money? Pull off any expressway and down onto any exit ramp in any big city in America and you’ll probably have this same experience: As you slow down on the exit ramp, you’ll