When I speak at conferences catering to small businesses, I usually show up an hour before the conference starts. I check in, but don’t pick up my own badge. Instead, I scan the badges already spread out, and grab someone else’s – usually someone who runs a small business. I’ve been Jon Michelson, Tyrese McHale, and my personal favorite, Gordon Brown (not that one), all of whom own small businesses, and all of whom are looking for the magic bullet that will convince them that social media actually works for them – will actually make them money, will actually help them sell product, and isn’t the next BS thing they hear about every day on the radio, on TV, and [...]

This is a post in the continuing series of How to be Taken Seriously. In this post, we’re going to discuss how the littlest things can tell people so much about you, before you’re even aware they are. Nathan Muir: You just gave her four pieces of personal information for one dubious impersonal fact. 1) You’re straight, 2) You’re engaged, 3) Tomorrow’s your girls birthday, and 4) You have terrible taste in women’s clothing. Tom Bishop: Just trying to find out where she got that dress. Nathan Muir: What if she were an asset? You told her four lies that now have to be true. Spy Game, (Robert Redford, Brad Pitt) 2001 This afternoon finds me on an Amtrak train, [...]

This is a part of a continuing series of posts on the topic of how to be taken seriously. And if you wonder why a post about how to live your life while having fun is part of a group of posts on being taken seriously, think about it – If you can be a professional, while having fun and enjoying your life, there’s nothing more respected than that. Before you read this post, read this one first. Chances are, if you’re gonna leave a snarky comment, it’s already been left there. Now then: I’m writing this blog post on a flight back from Frankfurt, a connection to end a trip that started four days ago at Newark Airport, led [...]

This is the first in a series of posts on how to be taken seriously. Each post will focus on a specific concept, and the five ways to be taken seriously within that concept. This post has to do with backup plans and timing. Last week, during the 854th NYC storm of the month, I had to get out to San Diego to keynote a conference. Knowing there was going to be a storm, I made a backup plan. I booked the Continental 8:45 EWR-SAN, then booked the Continental 2:45 EWR-SAN as a backup, pretty sure the 8:45 would be cancelled. And of course, it was, and I was all like, “It’s cool, I’m on the 2:45.” And it was [...]

Thoughts from a subway… Writing this on the downtown 1 train on a Saturday morning, on my way to 90 minutes of Boxing at Trinity Gym. Our train conductor has just told us that because of construction, there is no service on this train past 14th Street. Why did I have to wait to get onto the subway to find that out? That’s like your GPS telling you there’s an accident ahead when you’re already sitting in the backed up traffic from it. Now technically, I didn’t. I could have logged onto mta.info and looked before I left the house. But by that logic, I also could have brought the shopping list I made for Whole Foods, as well as [...]