I unearthed one of my unpublished articles recently.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

Everyone wants to feel important—to friends, family and yes, business colleagues. Feeling important is—well—important. Like so many leaders in today’s business community, I was raised in a different business culture—a time before email and texting began to control our daily communications. When a handshake meant more than the Legal Department’s blessing. When walking down the

Like many others of my generation, I learned to read with the affable assistance of Dick, Jane, Sally, and their forward-thinking pooch, Spot. Simple watercolor pictures mentally transformed themselves into written words every time I saw Spot run. I witnessed Sally’s excitement at how Dick’s toy airplane would “go up, up, up.” I applauded when Jane

I have often heard it said that art imitates life. In my case, art and life are quite often indistinguishable from each other. And I prefer it stay that way.As someone who makes his living being “creative,” throughout the years I have continued to stretch and challenge my creative muscles (and sometimes my physiological ones)

As a teen in the 70s, I desperately wanted to work. Of course, I was driven by a desire to earn my own income—Bee Gees albums ain't gonna buy themselves—but I also ached for the sense of accomplishment that came with winning a real job. Flash forward many years later—after witnessing my millennial children’s job

During their middle school years, my daughter Maribeth announced she wanted to be a music producer while my son Kevin proclaimed his career ambition was to design video games. Ah—glamour jobs! My astute parental response was to attempt to sell them on the importance of product marketing. After all, that’s what dear old dad does

Every manager eventually understands they will have to “manage” the activities of a wide variety of personalities in a diverse set of situations. Truth be told, many of these executives (myself included) secretly loathe this concept. After all, it’s much easier if our subordinates simply have the courtesy to think like we do, right? My cross to bear has

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?