Alan Weiss' The Uncomfortable Truth

Show Notes: I knew kids in high school and college who cheated. They stole exams or looked at other people's answers or had someone else take tests for them. (Ironically, grammar school was far more honest!) My daughter had a friend whom she abandoned because of her chronic cheating and requests to help her out. She even cheated at sports unless the officials caught her. When you're successful, of course, you don't stop, and she tried cheating in college and got herself tossed out. I'd bet she's in a blue collar job today and stealing from her employer. People asked me to help them cheat and even offered money to me to write a paper or sit in such a way where they could see my answers. I never acquiesced, and there were two quite simple reasons. First, it makes it harder for all the honest kids to stand out, and second, I really don't want someone doing my taxes, or selling my house, or operating on an abscess who cheated to get to those positions. I remember a guy called in by auto shops who would "prove"

Show Notes: •Quality diminishes as numbers increase. •As everyone joins in, fewer and fewer real authorities. •A guy doesn't publish directly, but is "presented" by others so you can't block his inanities. If you click on his site, there is a ridiculous training program hawked with absurd promises. He's a hustler. I block the people "presenting" him. •All those people with 17 "rules" for great leadership and charts for making decisions have never been a great leader or decision maker. If they were, why would they post this nonsense publicly. Can you see a leader with a chart or list in his pocket consulting it in the boardroom? •The there are the 'ad hominem' attacks, very popular on Facebook, where a person with an IQ 80 points lower than yours say simply, "That's a dumb question" or "You're clueless." •About 90% of the stuff that shows up on my X feed, which I don't want and never requested, is anti-Trump, often with ridiculous claim, false statistics, and posted by third parties but representing some

SHOW NOTES: The threshold of rational behavior and values overcome by opposing normative pressures. The rioter's justification. The battlefield. The social media and "influencers." People who have low self-esteem and seek bias confirmation and approval. Fear begets fear, panic begets panic. The "drug" of the "magic bullet." Handholds when you're confused—they may be even more dangerous. Example: Are you trading or investing? Example: Have you looked at best case/worse case? Example: Have you considered probability and seriousness? The case of the quite successful "big lady." What's the empirical evidence and observed behavior? A friend is a friend, not an expert. The three kinds of empathy.

You can't deal with Hardly Relevant or Losing and Dying. You must be paid at least a deposit in advance. You must have "non-cancellable" under terms and conditions. You have to deal with a legitimate buyer. (I'm a buyer, I just don't have the budget.) The difference between budget and money. Don't argue over small matters and fall into the legal trap. Meet whomever is a stakeholder, especially in small businesses. Conceptual agreement ends with pouring concrete. Don't sacrifice and compromise personal issues. Don't give off "deal vibes". Always give options with value based fees. Always set DTA. Discuss outcomes not "deliverables". Create value with the buyer (that's how to increase fees). Never do a "pilot". Never do pro-bono for a for-profit. Never give a lower fee to sample your work. Do your homework. Act like a peer of the buyer.

While it's true that nonprofits often fail for lack of funding, there are reasons that they don't achieve funding or that they use it incorrectly and/or inappropriately. Here's my experience from eight boards, including chairing two of them: The boards are weak. They are made up of "names" who would seem to be significant, but who provide very little in terms of governance skills, strategic viewpoint, or even attendance. The executive director/CEO remains too long. The "shelf life" of these leaders is about seven years. After that, they stop serving the institution and the institution starts serving them. They create a tyrannical "fiefdom." No skin in the game. There must be a "give or get" minimum financial contribution from the board. They can't just play with "other people's money," and many granting foundations insist on such investment as a must for grants. They are not run as businesses. There is a budget to meet, strategic goals to achieve, the mission to be accomplished. They often approve budgets

Uncertainty leads to poor choices. People seek certainty at the cost of their well-being. We have been "certain" about such horrors as eugenics and such trivialities as not swimming for an hour after eating. We've had brutal endings to cults, in Waco, in Jonestown, because conmen had convinced followers that they had certainty. We have polarization today because opposing politics or values cause adherent to be "certain" about their position and hold those who disagree as inferior. There are people taking invalid behavioral tests to dismiss others as having weak or defective profiles, and they are certain that they are superior to them. I remember when so many people had their feet burned trodding over hot coals that more EMTs had to be called. I guess their motivation wasn't sufficient—they were uncertain. BOTH science and religion try to create certainty around the mysteries of the universe, as if we could understand the unfathomable. (What do we mean there was "nothing" and then there was "something" wh

I'm a capitalist. Socialism and the rest simply favor the few at the top, from Lenin to Hitler to Castro. Yet we do have too high a level of poverty. In the face of this we are paying athletes tens of millions a year and hundreds of millions in contracts. Connor McGregor makes $180 million annually, Lionel Messi $130 million. Juan Soto, a good hitting but poor fielding right fielder has signed a $765 million contract with the New York Mets, which is about $60 million a year, more than a million dollars a week, and that's not counting endorsements, commercials, and other extra-curricular activities. Entertainers make a fortune: Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) $88 million, Ryan Reynolds $100 million, Kevin Hart $100 million, Tom Cruise often $100 per picture. I don't doubt their talent, but I do question the proportions. I've never believed that if you build one less aircraft carrier you could improve every school. Government doesn't use "pockets" of money. But I do suspect that most athletes and entertainers, propor

SHOW NOTES Let's stop using inaccurate terms, such as VITO (Very Important Top Officer) or "C-suite," which doesn't actually exist. Let's focus on real buyers. And that also calls for accuracy. A small business owner is a small business owner, not a CEO. That buyer has differing frames of reference and motivation from an executive in a large organization. Trust and credibility are reliant on understanding those distinctions. Titles are midleading. I've found a lot of vice presidents who can't buy, and a mid-level director who spent $250,000 with me every year for ten years. Budgets and money are two different things. A true buyer can move money from one budget to another, or create a new budget (especially important since a new client hasn't budgeted for you, someone the buyer didn't know prior, in advance). You need to convince the true buyer that moving money from an existing budget to you represents a far better ROI. If you can't do that, no one else is going to do it for you. No one is a buyer who do

Usually found on AM radio, sometimes TV infomercials, sometimes online ads. They involve an "authority" you've never heard of and an interlocutor you've never heard of who's as eager as a puppy, e.g., "Media personality Joe Shmo." The issue is weight loss, erectile disfunction, leg pain, backaches, congestion, hearing impairment, of any other popular problem. There are "studies" and the suggested approach has been "clinically proved." There are eager customers who evangelize. On TV it says in small print either "hired actor" or "actual patient who is compensated for the appearance." The sidekick asks all the "deep" questions (How long have you been investigating this?)" and provides all the deep responses (wow, hooooo, impressive!). Then there are the strange warnings and advisories required by the laws: may cause permanent hearing loss, narcolepsy, kneecap fracture, suicidal tendencies, and urge to commit arson. Do not take if you are allergic to the dug (how would you know?), if you're on drugs in the form

Radon is a radioactive gas that has no smell, colour or taste. Radon is produced from the natural radioactive decay of uranium, which is found in all rocks and soils. Radon can also be found in water. Radon escapes from the ground into the air, where it decays and produces further radioactive particles. Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems. Sometimes radon enters the home through well water. In a small number of hones, the building materials can give off radon, too. However, building materials rarely cause radon problems by themselves. You can either hire a radon tester or purchase a radon test kit from a hardware store and do it yourself. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends hiring a qualified tester if you are buying or selling your home. A short-term radon testing kit measures radon for 2-90 days for quick results. Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless, radioactive gas. It can seep into homes and other buildings. You're at higher risk for develop

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore" This is a line from the 1976 movie Network. The line is spoken by Howard Beale, a character who is angry about the state of America. The executive vice president at a huge bank asked where I was from. "So you left that cesspool to move up here," he said. I said, "Why are so many of you so jealous of New York, is it an inferiority complex?" (This guy was later cashiered because of massive sexual harassment charges.) Then you have the passive-aggressive types: "I assume your daughter's school as her backup school"? "No, but you wouldn't know how good it is because your kids could never get in and you could never pay for it." My first Ferrari: "Look, you can't afford the insurance and she could never learn to drive it." Three Ferraris later, he put me into the first Bentley sports car for $150,000 to try to buy my good will. I've now had seven Bentley's. Stop taking crap from people. When the woman in the coffee shop was rude twice in a row, I tol

Show Notes: Consider two axes, one or importance (of a job, career, project, relationship) and the other of courtesy. Thus, we run from unimportant to important, and rude to polite on the two continua. If something is important and it is performed with courtesy and consideration, it is effectively done. Consider the flight attendant ensuring that seat belts are fastened or the server apologizing for a poorly prepared meal and quicky replacing it. If something is relatively unimportant but politely done, it’s a gracious encounter. This might be the coffee shop worker delivering your order and thanking you for your business, or someone ahead of you holding a door and smiling. When something is important but people are impolite you have a nasty individual. I’ve met immigration officers who are simply surly and disrespectful, and bank tellers who ask for identification from people they already know quite well. And when something is unimportant and people are rude, you have malice—someone looking for trouble. The

Lisa Miller is an expert and thought leader in efficiencies and effectiveness in health care, including how to sell in changing environments to health care executives (and avoid procurement, for example). In this rapid-fire conversation, we discuss the pros and cons of AI, the multitude of options, the projected shortage of physicians, the ability to obtain fast, comprehensive results, and much more. Can you see yourself in a "mini-Mayo Clinic" where machines evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe in one brief visit? Are you using the "portals" now available to quickly access test results and to confer rapidly with your physician without delayed visits and messages relayed through assistants? AI is proving to be fast and accurate with diagnoses, but it's incapable of hearing a random patient comment that might be more important for the patient's medical condition than the patient thinks, and that a doctor might well pick up immediately if present. When doctors are departing or changing their practices to escap

A "battleground state" in a US election is a state where either candidate might win depending on the appeal to voters and for whom the majority votes. This is the essence of democracy. Shouldn't every state be a "battleground state"? The same should apply to Congressional and Senate Seats. We have Senators serving longer than many European monarchs. Will people with that kind of sinecure ever vote term limits for themselves. Let me go out on a limb and say, "Never!" The European monarchies were cast aside by democracies. We seem to be going in the opposite direction, with democracy subordinated to Senate monarchs. You think I'm kidding? The late Robert Byrd served in the Senate for 51.5 years. The currently serving Chuck Grassley has been sitting there for 50 years. Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, but the average tenure of a British monarch has been 25 years, and only 17 if you remove her unnaturally long reign. The French monarchs have averaged 20 years, but less if you remove the 72-year reig

War’s End? We’ve honored the character and acts of Jimmy Carter upon his death, as we should. But most of the honor was due to his works after he left his one-term presidency, defeated by Ronald Regan. People voted for a starkly different candidate (as they did with Trump after both Obama and Biden). One of Carter’s great blunders was his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis, that lasted for over a year. While there was international pressure and economic compromises, the overwhelming pressure was probably from that election of Ronald Regan, who was seen as someone who would be far more forceful than Jimmy Carter. Regan fired the air traffic controllers who illegally went on strike. Now we apparently have a cease fire in the Israeli/Hamas war which seems to be due to the same factor: In this case, a threatening Donald Trump replacing a wavering and weak Joe Biden. It isn’t unreasonable to believe that Ukraine will settle its war with Russia in a similar fashion. There will be pressure for concessions,

We made four significant charitable contributions to the arts at year end. Two of the the group’s management called to thank us. Whenever I see a positive mention about me on social media, I write in to simply say thanks for the generosity. I thank bussers and gas station attendants. I thank my trainer each time. It doesn’t matter whether I’m paying them or not. People get unduly upset when people in other cars don’t express thanks for being able to turn, but I don’t let them turn in order to be thanked. And they may be preoccupied. But people always say “thanks” when you hold a door, I think because of the physical proximity. I thank my doctor and dentist and attorney. I thank people who pay me. It’s more than a common courtesy, it’s a symbol of respect and dignity. Removing used plates and leftover food is an important service in terms of a dining experience, as is standing out in the elements and pouring gas into my car. A great many people, believers and non-believers, reflexively say “Thank God” w

Show Notes: Predictions • Both wars will run out of steam and end, officially or unofficially. • There will be insurrections in Iran. • Neither the Dodgers, nor the Celtics, nor the Chiefs will repeat. • Electric car requirements and limits on ICEs will be lifted or eased. • Retinal scanning and fingerprints will allow many to circumvent TSA. • Attempts to copyright and/or trademark AI composites of text and images will eventually reach the Supreme Court. • A betting scandal will rock professional sports. • As China’s economy weakens it will engage in more limited military actions against Taiwan. • Universities will face a perfect storm: AI will enable cheating and plagiarism, students and parents will revolt against huge tuitions, government forgiveness of tuition debt will end, there will be attempts to fire tenured professors who teach radical and biased political views, and large cuts will have to be made. The biggest threat: Remote learning which will dramatically lower tuition and enable a greater choi

Forget resolutions that are broken in 90 minutes. Try to focus on the good things that you do and that happen to you. Try a personal journal. You don’t have to be compulsive, but keep it handy, electronically or physically, to easily record things. These may be good acts done for you by others or good acts you perform, especially spontaneously and “in the moment.” Record experiences that were unplanned yet rewarding: a deer staring at you from the woods, a quick-reflex escape from someone else’s driving error, a baby smiling at you on a plane. We tend to default to the negative: what didn’t work, what disappointed us, what we did to disappoint others. Reverse that, and make note of the positives and the emotionally rewarding. Have you worked out without missing a session for 90 days; have you refrained from entering into a senseless argument with a family member; have you thanked someone seldom thanked who was appreciative of your recognition? Every so often, you can review your journal, not necessarily re

These are times of astounding incivility, harassment, and dismissiveness. These acts are based on a posturing of moral superiority, as if mere disagreement denotes an inferior being. There is a line in Morris West's The Navigator that states: "And that's the terror of the high place and the high man. Is it God he hears or the echo of his own mad shouting?" Hillary Clinton most probably sealed her election defeat with the observation that those who would vote for her opponent were the "deplorables." This time, it was Joe Biden calling Trump supporters "garbage." The arrogance of such statements and such positions is appalling. I'm not taking a political position, but rather a social one: We understandably reject people who feel our opinion is not to be respected but immediately rejected because it originates in some lower intelligence. But we are mostly filled with hubris. We live in an indeterminate universe, acting as if we understand infinity, light years, and black holes. We know virtually nothing of i

Are you looking where it's easy or where you're more likely to succeed? We content ourselves with people who can say no and can't say yes. We seek affection and not respect. Remember "looking for love in all the wrong places"? You won't find love in a bar. A woman told me all the really appealing men in bars are married or gay! If you want to catch fish, go where no one else is fishing, not where all the fishermen (and bears) are. When you try to get into the fastest lane on a crowded highway, you usually wind up in worse shape. You won't find high-level buyers trolling the web. Cold calling is absurd. Email is surrounded by scammers, spammers, and noise. Most claims on the internet about building a business are bogus. Most certificates and initials after your name are worthless. This podcast is the right place because no one else is telling you this. Search for your keys where you dropped them. Use your iPhone to shine a light in your life.