On Sep 24-25, 2009, Peter Zafiro and I ran a workshop on behalf of Manufacturers Agents National Association (MANA) in Chicago. The workshop is called Building A Successful (Independent) Representative Network. Typically companies attending the program are companies that are growing and need more sales; are entering a new market; or are not growing and have had to lay off their direct sales force in lieu of hiring an independent, straight commission sales force.  Read more

The Los Angeles-area September 2008 head on collision of a passenger train with a freight train that killed 25 people was a horrific event. The first thing that comes to many people’s mind must be, “How can two trains have a head-on collision in this day and age of technology?” Technology apparently was- and wasn’t- the culprit. The train system technology was working quite well. It unfortunately was competing for mind-share with personal technology- cell phone usage. Accident investigators are honing in on the theory that the engineer of the passenger train was text messaging his friends and may have missed a red signal as a result. Whether or not this proves to be factual, the following is food for thought. Read more

Everybody’s busy. No time to get anything done. Is that actually true? Or are we so psychologically busy? There are people who are basically overwhelmed when they get out of bed. They sit there at breakfast, wringing their hands, rubbing their eyes, and fidgeting in their chair about their dreaded workload that awaits them. They slump their shoulders, drag their feet, and move at a pace that would make a snail yawn. Slogging their way through traffic, they make it to work- even more tired than when they woke up. Eight trips to the break room for coffee, and they’re still not feeling better. Overwhelmed, they pass their day fidgeting as more work piles up and they roll their eyes. Having accomplished nothing, they go home, totally stressed from their work day. And didn’t do a damn thing. Every story that follows is true- I couldn’t possibly be this creative with fiction. Read more