Strange Times in Oak Park: Responding to a Rant Straight Out of the Trumpian Playbook

This was no momentary outburst, but a sustained table-pounding, finger-pointing diatribe that occupied the better part of four minutes. The irony and hypocrisy are thick; the topic was the diversity statement—wherein the board affirms its commitment to, um, a variety of viewpoints, among other lofty aspirations.

‘Stretch Your Comfort Zone’ is my key message to Concordia University Chicago students

Yesterday, as part of the Concordia University Chicago College of Business Guest  Speaker Series, I shared key principles that have been integral to my professional and personal journey. Among those principles: *Stretch beyond your comfort zone on a regular basis;*Ask for help and seek out mentors in your field of endeavor:*Value all people–not only those you think […]

Humbling honor to give PR boost to `Jeanne’s Journey for Hope’ support of Joliet boy

In a lifetime, most people don’t spend more than a few months in a hospital—and some can measure those stays by a handful of days, or perhaps weeks. It’s a different situation for 6-year-old Dominic Hamilton. Over the past 2 ½ years, the Joliet boy has been a regular patient at Lurie Children’s Hospital in […]

Trump: A Reflection & Indictment of Our Times

A few weeks ago, a funny thought occurred to me: maybe President Trump is the perfect leader for our times. Now, don’t get me wrong–I don’t mean funny in the “ha-ha” sense, since the closest Trump’s administration can be linked to humor is that it has been one protracted punch line in an utterly, outrageously cosmic […]

Oak Leaves’ Real Estate Roundup Steers Clear of Exploring `Why’ of Slumping Sales Locally

What? Who? When? Where? Why? How? In simple terms, those questions drive story-telling. Beyond the “what?”–which obviously covers a lot of essential ground–the most vital question to answer is “why?” Tackling the “why” of something that has happened or is happening requires expertise and insight and nuance and, yes, even sticking out your neck with […]

A Beer With Baron: Enjoying a 10th Round With Mark Bazer, Creator/Host of The Interview Show

The brilliantly stupid film Zoolander…ESPN’s Mike Greenberg…and the topic of vandalism—all make cameos in a sprawling chat that I had last week with Mark Bazer of The Interview Show. As I mentioned to Mark in my opening remarks, he was on my list of candidates in part because he has blazed the trail so well for interview shows […]

‘Packing for Retirement’ & Beyond: Jim Flanagan’s Passion to Help Older Adults

Trying to make heads or tails of health care, with its seemingly endless changes and complexity, is enough to make just about anyone queasy. Against that backdrop, a retirement planning expert who speaks with clarity and authority is the perfect antidote. That’s one of the ways that Inside Edge PR introduces Jim Flanagan. In this […]

From (Brand) Promise to Silence

The Amazon delivery began with such extraordinary promise. Not only did it include the super-affordable and Gumby-like-flexible tripod Smartphone holder, but also a note from the top dog at the device’s distributor. And this communication was no lip-service brimming with empty platitudes. Instead, what greeted me was a warm, earnest note pledging supreme customer satisfaction, […]

Damian Lillard’s epic buzzer-beater: off-the-charts talent vs. out-of-your-mind bad judgment

In my 40-plus years as a basketball player, coach, referee and all-around zealot, I have found that there’s no reliable metric when off-the-charts talent meets out-of-your-mind poor judgment. A standout player can make what appears to be the worst decision, and somehow make it right. This is especially true when that out-sized talent is rivaled […]

Admiring & dissecting an artful Dodgers vs. Cubs story

I began inhaling Sports Illustrated cover-to-cover when I was 10 years old, after my dad hooked me up with a subscription for my historic double-digit birthday. It was summer on the South Shore of Boston, my beloved Red Sox were miles ahead in the American League East, and the cover of my inaugural issue featured a […]