When I meet a new advisor and tell them that I speak about the psychology of business owners and how to make it easier for them to let go when the time comes to exit their business, they usually groan and say something like “Good grief, I spend half my time in every deal playing a part-time psychologist for my...
I was at a networking cocktail party two weeks ago and the investment banker I was talking to kept checking his phone. He apologized at one point, explaining that his wife was driving to another state with his daughter who was starting college the following week. He was, understandably, nervous about them being on...
REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS TO CONTEMPLATE AS YOU TURN THE PAGE *** CLOSING THE BOOK ON 2020 What did I embrace in 2020? What did I let go of in 2020? What changed for me in 2020? What did I discover about myself in 2020? What was I most grateful for in 2020? When did fear hold me back in 2020? Where did I demonstrate...
“Now just feels like the right time,” said Steve Croft (age 73) on Sunday as he announced his retirement after 30 years at the CBS News show 60 Minutes. He said he’d been considering when to retire at the end of each of the past four seasons and knew it was finally time. Hearing him say that he wanted to leave...
He told me, “Sometimes I just feel so lonely. Lost, in fact. Where did my friends go? I guess I just let work and family take up so much space that I’ve ended up feeling like a stranger in a strange land. I miss that I don’t have a universe of close men in my life. The worst part is feeling myself stuck in solitude...
I was talking to my massage therapist the other night about a workshop called Courageous Choices that I led recently for a group of senior executives. I was preparing them to exit their companies and discover a legacy beyond just money. Helping people make courageous choices is at the heart of what I do as a...
Last week I was talking with a banker about how to save a deal of his that was spiraling out of control. It seemed the Seller had become less and less responsive over the past several weeks and then, suddenly, threw up a wacky deal term out of nowhere that threatened to kill the deal. The entire deal team was left...
In many of Charles M. Schulz' Peanuts comic strips, Linus' security blanket is prominently featured. Linus loves his blanket, carries it everywhere, often while sucking his thumb, and is not embarrassed by it. He cannot survive without it and really suffers when it is being washed. However, in...
"What do you do?" a man at the cocktail party asks me, glancing at my name tag. Those four simple words and the answer they elicit could be a doorway into a meaningful conversation. "About what?" I want to reply, but I know that isn't the question he thinks he is asking me. My thoughts were already falling back...
