April 13, 2026 Keeping it Real Why audiences don’t want polished presentations—they want someone who’s actually done the work In retirement, I’ve unexpectedly found myself being called upon as a speaker at national industry trade shows, conferences, and expos. No one is more surprised than I am. I never took Speech in high school, never performed in a play, never presented to a boardroom full of executives. The only meetings I led were daily production meetings at my company—and even those I eventually handed off to someone better at it than me. Yet now, I’m standing in front of 30, 40, sometimes 50 industry peers who’ve…
December 14, 2025 When You Become the Villain in Someone Else’s Story I sold my printing company almost two years now, long enough to assume I had wrapped up any leftover emotional debris from more than three decades of leadership. Thirty-five years as a boss tends to do that. You accumulate stories, scars, and a surprising amount of affection for the people who kept showing up every day and doing their level best to help build something real, lasting and meaningful. And then, without warning, Facebook taps you on the shoulder and reminds you that memory is subjective, perspective is optional, and some people prefer their history with a fictional twist. This…