Many years ago, when both of my children entered 5th grade in Northern Virginia, they suddenly began dropping the F-bomb. Fart. It seems Mother Nature had predetermined that 5th grade was the perfect year to usher “potty humor” into daily childhood vernacular. Any and all mentions of bodily functions suddenly became both widespread and hysterical.

While the  world, me included, can sometimes appear obsessed with criticizing the workplace conduct of Millennials, I recently sat down with my very first real-world boss, Karen Richards and my very first real-world secretary, Julia Ann Poore to chat about my personal effectiveness as a 22-year-old new college graduate and novice sales person in 1985. What’s really

Video featuring Randall Kenneth Jones and Barb Brandon. Produced by MindZoo and Gates Rodenfels of Flying Pig Productions in Naples, FL. Are there ups and downs to Smart Phones and iPhones at business meetings?  

Video featuring Randall Kenneth Jones and Barb Brandon. Produced by MindZoo and Gates Rodenfels of Flying Pig Productions in Naples, FL.

Video featuring Randall Kenneth Jones and Barb Brandon. Produced by MindZoo and Gates Rodenfels of Flying Pig Productions in Naples, FL.

Originally published in Smart Business Magazine September, 2013 If you are like the majority of business executives, you prefer communications by email. But is it at any price? What about some ground rules for civility? A recent Google search of “email etiquette” resulted in a substantial number of entries — the majority with a spotlight

In the early 17th century, Spanish author, poet, and playwright Miguel de Cervantes introduced the world to knight-errant Don Quixote. Critics came to view Cervantes’s work as a tragedy because Don Quixote’s intrinsic idealism was viewed as insane and he was ultimately defeated and rendered useless by common reality. However, it’s also safe to say that

Professional courtesy in politics? Yeah, right. But then again—why not? When I was growing up in Missouri in the 70s, I was raised to respect the Office of the President regardless of who the voting public had selected to occupy the Oval Office. And though my parents always had a preference of one candidate over another, I don’t recall

We all have our mentors—those who inspire us in business and, in some extraordinary cases, to simply be better people in and out of the board room. For me, even as a business professional pushing the mid-century mark, that inspiration most recently came in the form of a remarkable Harvard-educated business woman named Janey Lack. Until

I unearthed one of my unpublished articles recently. A piece that chronicled a moment in time that profoundly impacted my views on parenting, philanthropy, social responsibility, compassion and mortality to name just a few. At the time I wrote it, it seemed almost too personal to publish. I was wrong—it is a story that needs