Sterling’s Gold: 7 Lessons for Success from Mad Men

Roger Sterling: fictional ad man, chronic drinker and serial womanizer. An inspiration to wiseasses everywhere, he says the things we wish we could say in the workplace — only funnier. But his collected quips, lovingly catalogued here, represent more than a cautionary tale about the dangers of cynicism and debauchery. A few precious gems stand … Read more

Vital Life Lessons from Mad Men

With Mad Men finally, finally returning Sunday night, it’s got me thinking about the show’s most memorable moments. Moments that are not just memorable, but instructive. I talk a lot about the lessons we can draw from Mad Men. In a world so often full of needless jibber-jabber, Mad Men reminds us of the power … Read more

Tune into Your Audience

When I started writing the book, I thought about crowdsourcing it. There are sites where you can put up a chapter at a time, invite comment, ask questions and start debate. I quickly realized that that’s never been the way I write and decided to just do it the traditional way. But I’m learning so … Read more

Don Draper Says “What?” And 4 Other Lessons

What can Mad Men teach us about expressing ourselves effectively? What does Chris Farley tell us about stage presence? Is there intelligent life down here? Mr. Spock says so. Nothing sells like video! The webcast of yesterday’s radio show is up and it turned out great. Having video clips, even if audio-only, added a lot of … Read more

Take it From Harrison Ford: Keep it Focused

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