Martin Lindstrom’s Ministry of Common Sense is a refreshing and insightful book that shines a light on the inefficiencies and nonsense that plague organizations today. Lindstrom, a well-respected business thinker, expert in neuro-marketing, and one of the world’s most influential people, takes a bold departure from his usual subject matter to explore the loss of…
Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon, by William D. Cohen, is an outstanding book that delves deep into the history of General Electric (GE), its transformation into a corporate giant under the leadership of legendary CEO Jack Welch, and its subsequent downfall under his successor, Jeff Immelt. Page-turner from start to…
James Golden’s book, Rush on the Radio: A Tribute from His Friend and Sidekick James Golden, aka Bo Snerdley, is a fascinating memoir that delves into the life and career of the legendary talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh. Who is Bo Snerdley? As a close friend and longtime collaborator of Limbaugh’s, Golden (known as “Bo…
In his remarkable book, The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance, Nate Zinsser takes readers on a transformative journey through the intricate workings of confidence. Anchored in research and first-hand experience As a performance psychologist at West Point, Zinsser brings a wealth of experience and credibility to his exploration of mental toughness training.…
J. Budziszewski’s book How and How Not to Be Happy is a refreshing and enlightening read in a world that seems to have lost its way when it comes to finding true happiness. In a culture where suicide, depression, nihilism, fear of the apocalypse, and a denial of God’s existence are pervasive, this book offers…
WSJ Obituary columnist James R. Hagerty’s book, Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story, is a thought-provoking and engaging work that explores the importance of crafting our own obituary and telling our own story. Hagerty’s inspiration for writing this book comes from his own experience with his father’s passing. Like many people,…
A book review of The Unspoken Rules, by Harvard career advisor Gorick Ng— If you are a recent graduate or an early professional looking to make a splash in your career, then The Unspoken Rules: The Secret to Starting Your Career Off Right, by Gorick Ng is a book that you definitely need to read.…
A proven guide on how to survive and lead during inflation — Inflation that we have not seen in 40 years is here to stay, with no foreseeable reduction in sight. It is not transitory. Best-selling author Ram Charan, whom I have known for 40 years, experienced the insidious inflation of the 1970s. So have…
March 17, 2023 I visited Westport Ireland three years ago in search of my grandmother’s (Cahill) birth certificate. It is a beautiful place on the West Coast of Ireland, north of Galway. It lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick which is named in honor of Saint Patrick, the apostle and patron of Ireland and the Irish race.…
A review of ICARUS 2.0—Lt. Col. Peter Smith USAF (Ret) is one of the very few combat pilots to survive an ejection over 400 mph. ICARUS 2.0 is his story of survival and a checklist of learnings that can be used by all when facing uncertainty. After a daylight training mission over the Gulf of…
Raj Rajaratnam in his Uneven Justice shares his story of being handcuffed and arrested on the morning of October 2009 by five FBI agents and then convicted in Federal Court by New York’s U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, Preet Bharara for “insider trading.” Bharara alleged that 0.02 percent of the trades between 2003-2008 by…
My relationship with New York Times best-selling author and speaker Matthew Kelly dates back to 2004 when another New York Times, best-selling author and friend Patrick Lencioni, brought him to my attention as a potential speaker for the Diocese of Oakland’s Catholics@Work (C@W) Speaker Series. Despite Kelly’s very busy schedule, we were able to bring…
I noticed a sea-change in the investment landscape about 10 years ago as family offices, which were relatively unknown to entrepreneurs as a source of capital, expanded from investing solely in investment funds to investing directly in young companies. Family offices provide a wide range of services tailored to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals,…
J.W. (Terry) Freiberg, social psychologist turned lawyer, explores what St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) called “The most terrible poverty” in his trilogy of books on loneliness – Four Seasons of Loneliness: A Lawyer’s Case Stories (2016), Growing Up Lonely: Disconnection and Misconnection in the Lives of our Children (2019), Surrounded by Others and Yet So…
Like many, I have had a sense something bigger is afoot in America than plain old partisan politics. I have not been able to connect all the dots, but I am finding dots to connect. Angelo M. Codevilla’s The Ruling Class (2010) and Matthew Lohmeier’s The Irresistible Revolution (2021) are two of the bigger dots…
I received a copy of Rich Karlgaard’s Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement to review just before it was a published. This book really resonated with me since I have been working with people in transition since 2001 through a parish based ministry. Over 6,000 executives, managers and…
As he approaches his ninth decade of life, Monsignor Hilary C. Franco, author of Bishop Sheen: Mentor and Friend, has given us a gem of his reflections, Six Popes: A Son of the Church Remembers, encompassing a distinguished life that spans his nearly 70 years as a priest. As a son of Italian immigrants from…
A Book Review of Ken Rusk’s Blue Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life— I had the good fortune of working in the construction industry as a bricklayer’s labor during my college years. It was very hard work, but it enabled me to develop physically beyond belief, work with…
A Review of Joe Murphy’s Spiritual Lifeboat. I was introduced to author Joe Murphy by Mary Jo Potter, the former Dignity Health Board Chair and a recent guest on my radio show, THE MENTORS RADIO. Mary Jo suggested we meet due to my work over 20 years helping more than 6,000 professionals navigate their career…
Book reviews of “The Catholic Guide to Miracles” and the “Diary of an American Exorcist” I fully embrace the reality of a spiritual dimension to life. It cannot be proven with science, but it can be observed and for some, experienced. I am grateful for having numerous spiritual guides and experiences over many years that…