Make sure you don’t over-promise (or if you hire a PR firm to serve your company, make sure they don’t promise you the moon) either. Any public relations firm that tells you they can guarantee non-paid media placements is being overly optimistic at best. At worst, they’re probably lying.

However, overall I’d be disingenuous if I told you that besides the work I do for my chosen charitable organization (and a couple of small, short-term projects to improve my community) that I don’t resent the persistent entreaties for free or outrageously discounted services from organizations, companies and individuals who have the means to pay me for my expertise.

“The things we are trained to think make us happy, like having a new car every couple of years and buying the latest fashions, don’t make us happy.”Mr. Belic says his documentary shows that “the one single trait that’s common among every single person who is happy is strong relationships.”

Yes, you heard him right. In the middle of his pitch to Oklahomans to buy aluminum siding and new windows, he says “Yes, I’m an Oklahoma conservative Christian businessman who stands for liberty and freedom. So, let’s end this secular socialism right now.”

BP Plc plans to name Robert Dudley to succeed Tony Hayward as chief executive officer as the board looks to recover the company’s position in the U.S., two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The press conference was instructive because it provided such a vivid demonstration of how inexperienced Apple is in its new role as just another company – and how inept Jobs is when faced with the hostile skepticism that is the routine experience of other CEOs.

It’s just good manners and of course much more professional. This sounds like obvious advice, but I have–more than once–been exposed to bickering couples and business managers yelling openly at their staff. Both times it made me uncomfortable and reluctant to spend any time with the offending couple/business in the future.

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Today’s economy is creating a glut of misery and uncertainty. It’s also rife with desperation. Desperation–when you’re at the end of your rope–is bad for a lot of reasons. Perhaps the most insidious is that it often robs you of the ability to know you are reeking of desperation, which makes things worse. Check out […]

Some say he handled this just fine. If you go by the metrics of this story is now fading and Apple hasn’t collapsed, then yeah, he did. In fact Apple shares rose slightly.