If I had to pick two words that consistently raised the cackles on my neck when sharing some advice with my stepson during his early years, it was his knee-jerk response. Here I was sharing my hard-earned experience in an effort to help him circumvent a foolish mistake, and he hits me with “I know.”

(Combine “I know” with an eye-roll and there was cause to immediately dial 911—just in case the old man might blow a gasket.) Read the rest of this entry »

Who Do You Trust?

A handful of seasoned travel agents will recognize these four words as the title of a TV show first introduced in the early fifties and hosted by Johnny Carson.

Fast-forward nearly 60 years, and these four words still represent an interesting question.

Exactly who can we trust today? Read the rest of this entry »

Here is some food for thought that is designed to take much, if not all, of the stress out of your sales responsibilities.

I will use two examples to deliver my point. The first involves a house visit while the second involves a telephone.

If you invited me to your home, I would enter looking for directional cues coming from you. You would tell me when it is time to sit and where to sit. You would tell me when it is time for a drink and when we will be eating. You would be in control. I would be on my best behavior and wait for instructions.

I guess you could safely say that flying was embedded in my DNA. My grandfather was the President of Republic Aviation and was responsible for building the P47 Thunderbolt. My dad flew in World War II, and my Uncle Al also flew single-engine airplanes. It only seemed natural to earn my private pilot’s license back in 1983.

Today’s story involves a near land-based catastrophe. It was colder than expected the morning when my Uncle Al and I were going to satisfy our urge to take to the skies over Morristown, New Jersey. The sun was shining brightly when we arrived at the airport but the overnight cool air lingered, which made it difficult to start the single-engine.

Rather than jeopardize the remaining juice in the battery, Uncle Al Read the rest of this entry »

I was a senior in high school in 1967. It was a Friday afternoon when Mr. Zuckerman, my guidance counselor, informed me it was time to present my credentials to a number of colleges in the hope one would grant me admission. At the time, high school graduates had two choices: Attend college or get fitted for army fatigues before being shipped out to Vietnam. In most cases, this choice was considered a “no-brainer.”

The problem was, I had not given it any thought up until that Friday afternoon. Mr. Z suggested I go home and discuss my options with my parents before reporting back to him on Monday with my plan of attack.

I told my mother that it was time to identify a few college choices. She asked, “So where do you want to go?” I remember thinking of a reputable place where they played pretty good football. The name of the school shot into my head, and I said, “I think I’ll apply to Read the rest of this entry »