“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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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,…
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Note: Dr. Zacharias is one of the most prominent living Christian philosophers. He is often called the C.S.Lewis of our time and is best introduced via the bio on his web site: http://rzim.org/about/ravi-zacharias/ My wife Shawna and I were blessed with an invitation to meet Dr. Zacharias at the RZIM (the name of his organization)…
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