Feb 17, 2026
Impacting the lives of others
Over the course of our own lives, we are often unaware of things we have said...
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Feb 17, 2026
Dec 28, 2025
No sad stories
As everyone heads off to welcome 2026, I would suggest that those of you who...
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Dec 17, 2025
If the phone doesn't ring, it's me
Several years ago, a very old friend of mine called my attention to this song...
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Dec 15, 2025
Our open door policy
I’m sure all of you have heard the joke about the executive who was addressing...
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Aug 14, 2025
Asking for and accepting help
Several years ago I got a note from one of our new members that warmed my heart.
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Aug 6, 2025
Call me Ishmael
Thus begins Moby Dick. Of course, I am more likely to say: “You can call me...
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Aug 5, 2025
How are you doing?
One of the hardest things to do during a job search or even during a difficult...
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Jul 28, 2025
The responsibilities of sponsors
As I hope all of you know, The FENG is not a fee for service. Our most...
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Jul 9, 2025
The sounds of silence
There was an article in the New York Times several years ago about how...
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Jul 2, 2025
Paint on a smile
With the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend, a great opportunity will be...
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Jun 15, 2025
Say what?
I used to be very good at multi-tasking. Now that I have gotten older, I am not...
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May 14, 2025
Help me out – buy a ticket
I try to have several Zoom calls every week with members seeking advice about...
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Apr 21, 2025
Selling from a full wagon
One of the great mysteries of this world is why consultants are expected to be...
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Mar 20, 2025
A sense of inner calm
When jobs are winding down, it can be very difficult to “keep it all together.”
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Mar 4, 2025
Don’t shoot the piano player
If job search is one thing, it is stressful. The uncertainty, the very idea...
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Feb 25, 2025
The value of free advice
There is, of course, the old saw that free advice is worth what you paid for...
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Jan 16, 2025
The difficulty of being a friend
I often refer to The FENG as a circle of friends. In a very real sense, the...
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Jan 5, 2025
Saturday Night Live!
I have been known to get seriously silly at times. (I know this will come as a...
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Dec 29, 2024
If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me
Several years ago, a very old friend of mine called my attention to this song...
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Dec 19, 2024
Paint on a smile
Over the next two weeks, a great opportunity will be presenting itself to you...
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Dec 16, 2024
Unsolicited advice
It is a well-known fact that men don’t like unsolicited advice. It is for this...
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Nov 25, 2024
Thanksgiving
As we begin “the holiday season,” I hope everyone will spend a few minutes...
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Nov 18, 2024
The illusion of trust
It is always difficult to explain why you trust someone.
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Sep 24, 2024
The care and feeding of those who help
After “I love you,” “thank you” is probably the next thing no one hears enough.
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Aug 8, 2024
Law and order
Over the years I have been asked many times how large The FENG could get before...
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Jul 28, 2024
The art of friendship
Perhaps because we fill in so many forms during the course of our careers, it...
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Jul 23, 2024
Life is a journey
I have often noted to my friends who aren’t into boating that the difference...
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Jun 19, 2024
Just showing up
There are several folks who claim credit for it, but one of the things I have...
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May 7, 2024
Being nice to everyone
Whether you are active in your job search or just trying to get your job done...
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Apr 28, 2024
Fixing a bad attitude
How often have you heard it said “He has a bad attitude?”
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Apr 14, 2024
Chip firmly in place
Over the years I have had more than a few “interesting” discussions with new...
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Apr 2, 2024
Organizations have character
One of the more amazing things I find myself discussing from time to time is...
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Feb 20, 2024
Call me Mr. Know-it-all
One of the most endearing qualities of us financial folks is that we almost...
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Jan 28, 2024
Sharing with the Family
Job search can be a lonely business. There you are, in your home office from...
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Jan 23, 2024
Save the Nauga
I assume that most of you are unaware that in addition to being Chairman of The...
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Jan 16, 2024
Knowing what’s important
I always find it interesting during 90-second announcements how nearly...
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Jan 11, 2024
Hanging on to unpleasantness
I don’t know if you remember “Rain Man” with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, but...
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Jan 10, 2024
There’s honestly no excuse
There was a time, I suppose, when it was really hard to get back to people....
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Jan 4, 2024
Unsolicited advice
It is a sad fact that most men don’t appreciate getting unsolicited advice....
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Jan 3, 2024
Why bother saying thank you?
For those of you who are sailing fans and/or history buffs and saw the movie...
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The definition of networking I use is: Networking is a process by which you can...
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Dec 4, 2023
It could be Santa Claus
I don’t know what it is about returning emails and phone calls. I get them by...
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Nov 30, 2023
Call me Mr. Know-it-all
I know we don’t mean to do it, but as financial types who come to our decisions...
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Nov 29, 2023
Words are important
The words we use when referring to others are important in that they affect our...
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Nov 12, 2023
What makes The FENG unusual?
Many years ago I spent an evening out with an old friend of mine who previously...
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Oct 29, 2023
I’ll call him back
Just to prove to you how old I am, there used to be a show on TV called “The...
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Oct 24, 2023
Two anchors or one?
A long time ago I got into a discussion with another captain about the wisdom...
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Oct 22, 2023
Accepting help
One of the less well recognized phobias in this world is the fear of accepting...
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Oct 19, 2023
The art of being sensitive
I’m sure there are those of you out there who remember a positively awful movie...
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Oct 5, 2023
Some dumb ideas actually work
Back at the beginning of time itself when my good friend Ed Devlin was running...
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Oct 1, 2023
Great expectations
For those of you who are familiar with Kermit the Frog, you know it isn’t easy...
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Sep 21, 2023
Making small talk
I have never considered myself a social butterfly, but I guess for many of us...
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Sep 20, 2023
It’s always about people
One of the most vexing problems potentially facing those who are active in...
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Sep 19, 2023
The sounds of silence
If losing your job wasn’t bad enough, the reluctance of business associates at...
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Sep 17, 2023
Yeah, what do you want?
Sometimes the phone here are world headquarters gets a little quiet. Several...
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Sep 13, 2023
Giving and taking advice
It is well understood that men don’t like unsolicited advice. It is for this...
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Sep 10, 2023
Doing the “friend thing”
Over the past few months I have gotten several notes from members commenting on...
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Aug 20, 2023
Life is a journey
I have often noted to my friends who aren’t into boating that the difference...
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Although I must admit that I no longer use #2 pencils, I am still greatly...
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Aug 6, 2023
Members in need of assistance
I am sure I don’t need to tell all of you that The FENG is a remarkable...
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Jun 27, 2023
Unsolicited advice
There was a cartoon I saw many years ago. The picture was of a man playing a...
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Jun 19, 2023
Reinforcing appropriate behavior
In one of the jobs I had early in my career I was Business Manager for the...
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Jun 4, 2023
Man is a political animal
One of the common complaints I hear from people about their current or prior...
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Jun 1, 2023
Corporations are reptilian
I hope no one will be offended by the thought that corporations are reptilian....
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May 24, 2023
Do you know who I am?
There is an extended joke I heard a while back about a man who experienced a...
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Apr 26, 2023
Why do boaters wave at each other?
I don’t know about you, but there are lots of things in this world that I...
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Apr 10, 2023
Your allotted time
I do tend to rattle on. Some night I will tell you the FULL story about how I...
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Mar 26, 2023
Details, details, details
One of the most annoying things about us financial types (at least to...
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Mar 22, 2023
The captain can show no fear
With just about everyone in the ENTIRE world running around like their hair was...
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Feb 27, 2023
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
One of the most disconcerting aspects of looking for a job is that you often...
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Feb 22, 2023
Saying thanks
One of the gag gifts that my wife got once was a “Stress Busters” calendar....
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Dec 27, 2022
No sad stories
As everyone heads off to welcome 2023, I would suggest that those of you who...
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Dec 15, 2022
Our open door policy
II’m sure all of you have heard the joke about the executive who was addressing...
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Nov 16, 2022
Common courtesy
There are some who would argue that in this day and age of email, texting and...
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Several years ago I read a book sent to me by one of our Associate members,...
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Oct 19, 2022
On being gracious in defeat
I have written many times about the fact that when the answer is no, you don’t...
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I guess there has indeed been a total breakdown of law and order. Not only are...
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Sep 19, 2022
The fine art of commiseration
It is, unfortunately, far too easy to fall into the trap of having a negative...
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Sep 18, 2022
The truth about jelly beans
Many years ago, a college professor of mine related a story about one of his...
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Jul 26, 2020
Human interaction
Sailors are a naturally friendly lot. (Yes, another sailing analogy!) As one of...
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Jan 28, 2019
It’s all in the preparation
According to a survey that Bruce Lynn completed late last year, only about 30%...
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