Rob Biesenbach 
This is the first in a series of videos we’re doing to bring the Act Like You Mean Business lessons to life. It’s basically a condensed and “out-loud” version of The Fugitive story, which is one of my favorites from the book. There are so many lessons from that one scene: Focus on what’s essential … Read more
I’m getting a sense of deja vu from this article [link no longer available] about Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants. The author applies lessons from Fey’s book to business. Several of his points hit on things I discuss in my own book, including the “agreement” and “yes, and” concepts you learn in improv: Fey explains that the … Read more
I admire this instructor’s self-control. I might have slapped the little twit. I have no regrets about my English major. Indeed, I’m proud of it and have actually found it helpful in my career. It helped with my writing, but mostly it sharpened my analytical skills. When you’re picking apart every phrase or even every … Read more
Seven months ago I acted in a corporate video that was creative, evocative and inspiring. Six months ago I acted in a second version of the video based on a revised script. Yesterday I acted in version three. Not surprisingly, the video did not get better with each iteration. It got more wordy, more specific, … Read more
There’s a critical scene in one of my favorite movies, The Fugitive. Dr. Richard Kimble (played by Harrison Ford) is the man wrongly accused of killing his wife. Tommy Lee Jones is the federal marshal sworn to bring him to justice. When they have their big confrontation down in the bowels of that giant hydroelectric … Read more
I went to an industry event today where there was a guest speaker. I thinkthere was some value to the substance of his presentation, but it was very hard to tell because I was so turned off by the style, which was forecast by three things he did at the very top: He announced that … Read more
We put together an index and I consider it as much a part of the marketing as the cover. I think thumbing through it reveals a potentially very different, pretty fun book. Here is a condensed version of the 200 or so entries: Allen, Woody approval process audience: connecting with Austin Powers Bachelor, The body … Read more
I swear I learned a concept in high school psychology called “spatial filling.” I can’t find it on the Internet (or at least not in the way I thought I knew it), but here’s how I recall it. Spatial filling is the tendency for our mind to fill in missing details that we expect to … Read more
In the book I give some tips for using humor in a business situation — speeches, videos, emails. I talk about the fact that comedy is derived from truth. It should happen naturally and organically — just like it does over the dinner table when you’re out with friends. The #1 Rule for using humor? … Read more
I used to do crosswords all the time. Then I got a smartphone. Now I just kill time browsing the Internet. But I always take one or two aboard a plane, because there are long stretches where you can’t use electronic devices, and everything, including my books, are on electronic devices. Anyway, I was on … Read more