The more critical the decision, the more it should be made for sensible reasons. But unless your decision making process is fairly cleancut and streamlined, you can find yourself in a “paralysis by analysis” doom loop. So what we need is a simple, tried and tested method to help make solid yet efficient decisions. For…
I don’t get it – do you? Every day I receive communications from banks and lawyers and governments and tech companies, and most of them paint a picture of pompous, self-important asses. Not the kind of people I want to hear from. Yeah, this is another “Norm rant”, but I know this is an issue…
You’ve undoubtedly noticed that many tunes for children’s songs serve multiple lyrics. The Bear Went Over the Mountain, for example, shares the tune with For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow. (I’ve just ruined your day, by the way, because you’re going to try those out and have them stuck in your head for hours. Sorry!)…
My friend Michael Hughes has been a very important influence in my life as I entered retirement from law and transitioned to the world of speaking, writing, and coaching. Michael’s recent “e-tip” struck a note, and I’m reproducing it entirely below. If you want to know more about effective business networking, Michael’s your guy, not…
Public speaking is one of those things that quickly and neatly divides the crowd into those who love it and those who hate it. Personally, I love the platform– there’s no rush like it. But most of my friends hear this and look at me as if I had two heads. Fortunately or unfortunately, we…
Lady Astor was an irascible old soul, one who always marched to her own tune. Even her family held her at arm’s length, so when she woke up in a hospital bed to see her loved ones gathered round, she asked, “Is this my birthday, or am I dying?” Jack Daniels, of whiskey fame, had…
When I read the kiddie press chortling and cackling about Joe Biden’s “fumbles”, my mind goes back to the 1974 Canadian election. Pierre Trudeau’s government had fallen in a confidence vote and the country went to the polls. Without doubt, Trudeau was clever and charming and energetic, and all told not a bad Prime Minister….
For the public speaker, props can give wings to your talk. On the other hand, they can sink you like a stone. Props are the icing on the cake. Great icing can’t rescue a bad cake but bad icing can ruin a good cake. However, great icing on a great cake marks the master baker….
You’re not supposed to have “favourite clients”, but if I did, Fred would be high on my list. Fred was actually the barber in the building which contained all the Provincial Courts in Ottawa, and after he cut my hair enough times, became my client. We’re now both retired from our second professions, and we…
Everywhere you turn, somebody is offering “tips and tricks” to do something faster, smarter, cheaper, easier, or whatever. “Little known secrets” is one of my favourite lines, because if they weren’t “little known”, they wouldn’t be secrets, would they? “Tips and tricks” can be enormously helpful to someone who already has a solid grasp of…