07/02/10 - In his book, The 13 Secrets of Power Performance, author and trainer Roger Dawson tells the story of a meeting between two iconic figures in the restaurant industry: Tom...

06/14/10 - Codfish are a delectable treat in America's Northeast. But when attempts were made to ship them fresh to distant markets, the cod did not taste the same as they did clos...

04/01/10 - Disagreements happen. You can't always get your way. Everyone has an opinion. There are two sides to every argument. When you're dealing with family or friends, y...

03/29/10 - With spring here and planting season in many places just around the corner, I came across a garden plan that you might consider this year. First, plant three rows of p...

03/21/10 - Great movies leave plenty of excellent footage on the cutting room floor. It's part of the process, my son David, a film director, tells me. The same is true when a...

03/19/10 - After a particularly brutal winter across the country, spring fever has become an epidemic. What more certain sign of the coming season than that great American traditio...

02/23/10 - A great product doesn't automatically sell itself, as just about any businessperson who has built a better mousetrap can attest. Effective marketing is a critical factor ...

01/28/10 - As any successful person will honestly admit, I've had my share of failures. Since this column is limited to 750 words, I won't bore you with the details! But from eve...

01/19/10 - I once heard a high school math instructor issue this challenge at a school assembly: "I hope you all fail," he said, to an audience of high school seniors, eager to go o...

12/10/09 - When I wrote a column on taking care of customers recently, I correctly figured I would receive positive feedback from it. But one negative email stood out to me-because ...

11/27/09 - In this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her remarkable vision that created the Special Olympics. And I am grateful for the t...

11/19/09 - One of the fastest growing hobbies today is genealogy-tracing your roots. It is fun to find out where you came from, how you got here, and what happened along the way. It...

11/18/09 - Talk about getting the answers you need-I recently wrote in this column about the best way to ask questions to get the most out of answers. It triggered several responses...

11/02/09 - In the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady," Professor Higgins has driven his prodigy Eliza Doolittle to exhaustion teaching her how to speak proper English. The professor sho...

09/17/09 - When the going gets tough, such as it is for so many right now, it's time to make a trip to the zoo for inspiration. That's where you'll find my ingredients for success: ...

09/11/09 - When I was a kid, one of my favorite games was "Twenty Questions." Remember the drill? Animal, vegetable or mineral? Living or not? Famous? Male or female? And so on, unt...

08/20/09 - A young boy enters a barbershop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch this." The barber calls the boy over, puts a dollar ...

08/17/09 - Luck seems to have a peculiar attachment to work. I'm sure that most of you have heard the Dave Thomas quote: "It seems the harder I work, the luckier I get." I would ...

08/17/09 - A lot of people think leaders are born and not made. I disagree. I think you can become a better leader. I'm not a cook, but I've held many leadership positions. I though...

08/01/09 - Taking care of customers is taking care of business "Customer service in America stinks." That's what my friend Tom Peters, author of the blockbuster book, "In Searc...