Alan Weiss' The Uncomfortable Truth

SHOW NOTES: Do we have toxic workplaces or toxic employees who make workplaces harmful and unhealthy? Are we terminally entitled? I found that there was no safety net for me, being born and raised in a poor family. I mean damaged furniture, stained rugs, bill collectors on the phone. When I was being beaten up by the neighborhood tough guy, my father, leaning out the window, told me to fight my way out of it. Many years later a therapist told me that was my father's bad, not mine. Whatever. So I learned to be smart to stay out of fights, to get along with teachers right through grad school. They looked kindly on me as not being a troublemaker and gave me the benefit of the doubt when I was. I was never looking for a safety net below, I was looking for another handhold above. I free-climbed the El Capitan of life. When I was fired, I got angry, not distraught, and determined to be my own boss and to own, not be employed. I realized that my life was my responsibility. I was happy later to support both my

SHOW NOTES: Have you noticed the increase in surveys from hotels, airlines, online retailers, and even medical practices? These are usually accompanied by requests for ratings on the internet. This is related to "calls being recorded for quality purposes." If anyone really listened to the calls, we'd have a lot better services. Even restrooms have a computer screen asking how clean the place was. I really don't want to touch it with my finger. Why not take care of my service problems while I'm experiencing them, not asking about how bad they've been after the fact? I think many of these are a pretense for actually caring. They try to cheaply overcome the unhappiness of customers with a false promise to improve, when they are actually just a vent for unhappiness with no obligation to improve. Executives have "executive assistants" so that they don't have to personally respond to calls and emails, even though they claim to lead "customer-driven" operations. I love the representatives who tell you, "You'l

SHOW NOTES: The Super Bowl halftime show; the World Cup; the Masters championship; the US Open Tennis championship; the Oscars; July 4th; Christmas lights; gender reveals; children's birthday parties; destination weddings. Things don't have to get bigger to get better. In fact, the promise of "bigger and better" leads to expectations that can't be met OR exaggeratedly high response to mediocrity to justify the cost of attendance, real or remote. A thousand people marching around a field while someone lip-syncs a song isn't all that impressive. Pre-game, half-time, and post-game analyses by a panel of "experts" just adds talk, not insight. Gender reveals are nonsense and now the trend of mass wedding party dancing as an opening to the ceremony is as boring as running into the same caterer at every fundraising event. You can be married underwater with a jellyfish band for all I care, it doesn't make your love for each other any different in my mind, though it doesn't affect my impression of you self-absorpt

SHOW NOTES: World Cup attendance and revenues are disappointing. That's hardly surprising. The hype and publicity and exaggerated claims create a level of expectation that's hard to support, and the inflated prices of everything from hot dogs to hotel rooms is absurd. This kind of insistence on constantly "topping" what's come before exists with Super Bowl halftime shows, entertainment award shows (they are proliferating in number as well as production extremes), parades for any variety of causes, political rallies, and even fundraising. The more the pressure to "better" and "outdo" the past attempts as a metric of current success, the more you're prone to fall short. No one has ever sung the Star Spangled Banner better than Whitney Houston, so stop trying to create a canonical version, and just sing the song. Tom Brady wasn't trying to be better than Joe Montana or Johnny Unitas, just the best quarterback he could be.Picasso was just trying to be Picasso. They're wondering why attendance is down when a t

SHOW NOTES: Steven Spielberg created Jaws and Close Encounters. He used technology for the shark and the spaceship. But he used talent for the creation. Pablo Picasso famously relied on Ripolin, a quick-drying, glossy commercial house paint, instead of traditional artist oils. For tools, he used oversized, long-handled bristle brushes, and stiff palette knives for impasto textures. But the painting Guernica was the result of his talent. Bach created the Brandenburg concertos and the musical advancements that most helped him were the rise of flexible "well-temperament" tuning and the rapid development of the Italian concerto style. Together, these innovations allowed him to achieve his legendary harmonic complexity and contrapuntal mastery. But the talent was already there. Houdini created incredible illusions and escapes using hidden keys, sleight of hand, mirrors, and secret hatched. But the design and the implementation were due to his talent. Focus on your talent, not technology. A microphone can enhance

SHOW NOTES: Long ago the Canadian sociologist and business expert, Marshall McLuhan, talked about the "mixed media affect," meaning that experts in one area often migrated to other areas where they are not expert. So you had athletes, entertainers, artists, actors, and random "celebrities" pontificating in fields where they are not expert at all. Barbra Streisand was representative of this phenomenon, with continual political commentary on her web site, at concerts, and in guest appearances. I was in attendance once in Boston Garden, where, in addition to her song lyrics (she couldn't remember them) on the Jumbotron hanging from the roof, was her political "patter" and jibes at the Bushes. (This prompted Laura Ingraham's book, Shut Up and Sing.) At the recent Tony Awards, always great because these are stage actors who don't expect teleprompters and second "takes," a surprise winner for featured actor was Ali Louis Bourzgui for "Lost Boys." He pulled a couple of sheets from his jacket and condemned fascism,

SHOW NOTES: We’ve lost trust in major institutions: universities, medicine, journalism, the law, politicians, religion. (The recent rise in Catholic converts and church attendance is not due to any great marketing by the church, but rather due to a desperate need for a source of faith by many.) We tend to see AI as a magic bullet that will help us out of our uncertainly, lack of success, confusion, and sense of loneliness. Yet AI is the product of humans and has the notorious imperfections that one would expect. My GPS, spell check, computer, and other technology has glitches and errors. They are far from perfect. What we truly need is self-belief, confidence in our own judgment. We need to stop seeking the judgment of others, of others’ metrics, of others approval, and of validation for our tentative decisions. This combination of a loss of trust in ourselves and an overhyped AI by an industry seeking to make trillions is a perfect storm. Resist it. Develop faith in yourself. It doesn’t matter what hap

SHOW NOTES: At a restaurant, I’m asked if I have food allergies when I make the reservation, then by the hostess when I arrive, then by the server who has my table. While I appreciate all the precautions, I think they’re afraid of being sued. Isn’t it the responsibility of someone with a serious food allergy who’s make the decision to dine in a restaurant to inform people themselves? The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, a wonderful place, actually has a sign informing its guests that the china, which has artful designs and craftsman ship, has potential cancer-causing agents in the art work. Since these are decorative “chargers” and not used for food, a guest would have to chew on the gold leaf to ingest anything remotely dangerous. People complain that prospects are constantly “ghosting” them and it’s an epidemic of rude behavior. Well, the commonality is the person ghosted, so perhaps they aren’t offering sufficient interest of value to justify a return call and that prospect doesn’t want to waste still

SHOW NOTES: Wherein Alan shares his views of exotic car density, cab maneuvers, High Tea, American advantages in admiring the Royals, and the lies and deception around priority luggage.

SHOW NOTES: “No worries” doesn’t mean “you’re welcome” it means “You didn’t bother me all that much.” “Perfect” doesn’t mean “thank you” it means “You got that right and didn’t waste still more of my time.” “You guys” is terribly inappropriate if the people addressed are not entirely “guys,” and is most misused by women, especially women in the media. “February” and “library” each have two “r’s” in them, or the first is not a month and the second is some kind of fibbing fruit on a vine. These usages are all square pegs attempting to fill round holes, and they’re battered by people who just can’t pass the test. “No worries,” you guys weren’t “perfect.”

SHOW NOTES: The fallacy is that you should be prepared to “spring” in a sales call to “pitch” the sale, like a cheetah on the Serengeti chasing an eland. Well, cheetahs can only maintain high speed for a limited duration, and they’re only successful getting a meal one time in ten (as are all predators). One time in ten is not sufficient for a successful career. We need to empty our heads, and not allow our minds to be crammed with facts, figures, “closing” language, and one-upmanship comments. To “stay in the moment,” which we’re constantly told, we need to listen and watch, not talk and pontificate. The sales “pitch” was already ineffective in the 1950s, but even today you hear about the elevator pitch or the airplane pitch from people who don’t have a clue and cannot sell a thing (which means they’re on Linkedin). Follow my lead. Empty your mind to stay in the moment. And it may just become your moment of glory. The eland is caught, your family is fed, nine times out of ten.

SHOW NOTES: The following guest column by Randy Gage is an excerpt from his new book, Wealth Without Apology, which is being released this week, and which will be the subject of my conversation with him on my podcast this Thursday: Alan Weiss's The uncomfortable Truth Magnitude of Scale: Why Thinking Bigger Pays Better I’m currently conducting a comprehensive, groundbreaking, rigorous, cross-sectional, peer-reviewed, gold-standard, double-blind, placebo-controlled, first-of-its-kind, breakthrough, scientific research study. The purpose of the study is to test the following hypothesis: In today’s environment, it is easier to become a billionaire than a millionaire. This premise may not be as cheeky as it sounds. As I told you earlier, it’s surprisingly easier to earn a large amount of money quickly than it is to earn a small amount of money over a longer period. This is due in large part to a dynamic I call the “Magnitude of Scale Effect.” Put simply… The more bold, audacious, and breathtaking an endeavor is

SHOW NOTES: The airlines’ major frequent flyer programs began with American Airlines back in 1981 (thought Texas International Airlines had one in 1979). Everyone quickly followed. Travelers fell in love because they were earning free trips without paying anything extra for the ticket. You may feel the travelers were and are silly. Well, the average major airline today has a liability of about $7-10 billion if these points were all cashed in. Although there are attempts to squelch this with blackout periods and restricted seats available, this is none the less a very real monster under the bed. However, many people never cash them in or they the points may expire. Airlines and hotels figure the points won’t all be used. This is called “breakage,” believe it or not, and it’s the monster-slayer. Another example of this is the US Postal Service, which prints about $14 billion in postage stamps each year. But it’s estimated that over half of this amount is never used for postage because it goes into collection

SHOW NOTES: "Josephine Victoria 'Joy" Behar is an American actress, playwright, comedian, and television host. She's best known for co-hosting the ABC talk show The View, where she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2009. Behar is known for her sharp wit and asking questions that others might avoid, such as asking Chris Christie if he was too overweight to be president. She's also hosted her own shows, including The Joy Behar Show on HLN and a call-in radio show on WABC. She is 83." The above is a PR document from ABC about her. In fact, Behar is rarely humorous. She's rather dour and absolutely inconsolable when anyone violates her political positions. She recently refused to appear on The View with her colleagues because a guest was Carrie Underwood, the great singer and American Idol winner who has a garage-full of Grammys. Behar's tantrum was that Carrie had sung at a Trump event. That's it: She had the temerity to appear and sing as an expression of her right of free speech. This is Behar's consistent behav

SHOW NOTES: • Two great American novels: Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. • She championed “objectivism” and individual accomplishment. • It’s not subtle, and it’s not modest. It’s a full-throated defense of reason, individualism, and self-interest—often misunderstood because people hear “selfishness” and stop listening. • Today we have “soak the rich” and “tax the rich” and “occupy Wall Street” and people defending Luigi Mangione who killed an insurance executive on the streets in New York. • I don’t think a company needs a Jim Anderson of Coherent making $100 million as CEO. I do think that any founder of a company deserves whatever money he or she can make. • We’ve moved from a society that prized innovation and initiative and the wealth that ensues to one where entitlement is a prevailing belief. • Yet we idolize red carpet movie stars, athletes, and simply rich celebrities without discernable talents, like the Kardashians. • We find excuses not to succeed, such as “toxic workplaces” which, if they do

SHOW NOTES: • If you’re in love with golf, and especially hitting a ball into a bed sheet, I suggest you don’t listen to this. • Is watching multi-millionaires hit balls into a screen and then in a confined stadium with undulating greens really interesting? Is it really a sport? Are they really “athletes”? • Maybe the Americans should focus on trying to win a Ryder Cup out in the real world before trying to excel in a virtual world. • Are we ruining tennis, baseball, football with endless algorithms and technological toys while purging them of judgment? • Do you need a veteran sports manager to read computer output? • We’d never develop today a Ted Williams, Willie Mays, or Sandy Koufax. • I understand the weekend duffer who spends four hours with buddies and then goes for drinks and cigars. I don’t understand what’s so fascinating about watching millionaires, who have caddies and perfect courses, competing to make more millions when there’s such a strong factor of luck involved.

SHOW NOTES: Learn how to learn from ducks, geese, otters, herons, egrets, turtles, osprey, and fish. They're bolder than many of you. Of course, they have to eat to live, but so do you...

SHOW NOTES: Higher education is going extinct. Tuitions are sky high forcing parents to take out second mortgages or kids to mortgage their future by owing $300,000 to teach history in high school for $60,000. Brick and mortar is giving way to remote learning. Government is increasingly intervening in college admissions, curricula, and hiring. The Epstein and other sexual scandals are undermining (and ending the careers) of faculty and university officials. The president of Ohio State just resigned because it was revealed that he had a sexual liaison with a woman bidding to do business with the school. The next president will be the fourth in five years. Ideology rules the classroom among tenured professors who can't be fired short of committing arson. Today and tomorrow, competence is trumping credential. Harvard had to create A+ to differentiate among all the A's everyone automatically receives. Is that really a valid degree? Think twice before you go into hock to send your kid to college. Look around. Thi

SHOW NOTES: INMJ (It’s not my job.) Some people define their job as the absolute minimal effort to be expended and not be penalized. It’s about laziness, lousy attitudes, and low esteem. Some people define it as pleasing and delighting the customer. It’s about pride, resourcefulness, and helping the organization. I’ve just returned from an eye doctor who is magnificent and has a great personality. But her technical assistant is a drip, with no personality who never utters a word like “please” or “thank you.” I tolerate her only because the doctor is so good. There are no consequences for her dull personality. This is all a matter of choice and it can determine repeat business, referral business, or no business. I don’t like virtual assistants and other third-parties because there are rarely consequences to perform well and not to perform poorly. If you own a boutique firm, I suggest you test with your clients how they believe they’re treated when dealing with your employees, who may be pleasing around

SHOW NOTES: •There are no "humble" jobs •The less on Downton Abbey •The doers vs. the administrators •Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night •Blue is trumping white •AI isn't plowing your driveway •Maybe your daughter should marry a cowboy