7AM, the alarm rings. One look out the window and I really do not want to get up. There is a driving rain outside and the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees. ‘This will be a tough day’ I think ‘but I got to go – if I don’t show up in bad weather,…
“Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy the Flight”! How I hate this phrase! Its impact on me is second only to the sound of fingernails scratching across a blackboard. I have recently re-joined the ranks of somewhat frequent fliers, and every flight is an “adventure” I’d rather not participate in. I imagine there is a…
Given my background as an undercover agent, I often warn about the insider threat when talking about cyber security. I believe that we are currently witnessing the biggest insider threat this country has seen in a long time – and this threat is us. Ever since the story of the Russian hacking made it to…
This is where life comes in direct contact with the art that unknowingly imitated it. Episode 5.10 of The Americans airs tomorrow (May 9, 2017) on FX at 10PM. I am delighted that my scene did not wind up on the cutting floor. Finally, the public will get a glimpse of the real me: Suave,…
This little piece is for all the friends and colleagues I left behind in the (more than one way) chilling Northeast. Here is the gist of it: After almost five decades of endless wanderings, I have finally found my home. You may ask, how does a born German who lived more than 30 years in…
Ah, the folks at despair.com have it so right (forgive me, “despair” folks, for using your image – but hopefully, I will be directing some more traffic to your site – and how often do you get an endorsement from an ex undercover KGB agent?). In my 30 plus years career in corporate America, I…
Can you believe that Donald Trump is our President? The Russians are hacking like crazy. The NSA is collecting data about me. There is no inflation, so they say — somebody forgot to tell my supermarket. The Knicks (Lakers, Celtics – take your pick) stink! It is way too cold in New England. It…
There are all kinds of approaches to managing groups of people. It appears that micromanagement is accepted as a valid alternative by many practitioners (not necessarily theoreticians). Ladies and gentlemen – where is the logic in this approach? Just for arguments sake, let us say you are heading an organization with 100 professionals. Assuming that…
I wrote this piece for my daughter when she was 16 years old and a struggling teenager. At the time, she did not know about my past and my decision to defy the KGB and risk capture by the FBI for only one reason: To be with her and to take care of her. Today,…
Just kidding. Life in the “fast lane” it is not. You get a text at 8 PM from the producer asking if you can be on at 6 AM the next morning. You say “sure” because that is what you publicist told you to do. After all, you are trying to sell a book. So,…
