Feb 4, 2026
Networking-A navigation problem
Acting as captain and primary navigator for a sailboat as I do is challenging...
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Feb 4, 2026
Jan 29, 2026
The importance of being personal
I don’t know about you, but I can almost always tell when I get a thinly...
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Jan 28, 2026
Building your inner circle of friends
If you are interested in getting your job search off to a flying start in 2026,...
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For those of you who are not familiar with the Tinker Bell story, all you need...
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Jan 18, 2026
The suspension of disbelief
Key to the success of most movies is the suspension of disbelief. There are so...
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Jan 12, 2026
Coziness is a state of mind
I suppose that at times being a member of the runaway train we call The FENG...
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The idea that you can wipe the slate clean is an enduring and endearing idea of...
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Jan 4, 2026
Welcome to 2026
One of my observations is that everyone seems to be shutting down earlier and...
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Dec 18, 2025
Performing the behaviors
I’m not sure why it is, but most financial folks think they are terrible...
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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 16, 2025
Asking for and accepting help
One of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis is getting our members to...
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Sep 11, 2025
Approaching networking contacts
Since The FENG has been built by friends introducing friends, I imagine that as...
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Aug 19, 2025
Working those business contacts
One of the biggest half-truths in this world is the idea of saving your...
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Aug 12, 2025
Abraham Lincoln and Bill Gates
In my distant past I remember seeing a commercial in which an Abraham Lincoln...
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Aug 4, 2025
Do you have enough friends?
If there is anything those of you who have ever been engaged in a job search...
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Jul 27, 2025
The futility of planning
I guess it is in my DNA that I am always working on fixing things or making...
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Jul 23, 2025
Taking in each other’s laundry
Networking is what The FENG is all about. And, it has a lot of not so obvious...
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Jul 22, 2025
Allowing others to wear us down
I had lunch a long time ago with one of our members. I always enjoy meeting and...
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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 30, 2025
Talking on the phone
Talking on the phone
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Jun 12, 2025
Stress reduction in networking
I suppose it is hard to believe, but those on the receiving of networking calls...
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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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May 13, 2025
The gift of friendship
As all of you know, The FENG is a circle of friends, not a fee for service. In...
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Apr 24, 2025
The world is a finite place
When you are out in the middle of the ocean, it is easy to think of the world...
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Jan 2, 2025
Welcome to 2025!
One of my observations is that everyone seems to be shutting down earlier and...
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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 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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Dec 9, 2024
Presenting your credentials
Job search is a draining and discouraging process at times. (Or is that most of...
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Nov 24, 2024
When things get quiet
Every once in a while, things get quiet. There is no email (except for our...
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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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Oct 22, 2024
The importance of labels
For those of us who read the newspaper from time to time, one can’t help but...
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Oct 8, 2024
Creating an inner circle of friends
It is a sad fact of life that no one ever has enough friends. Men in particular...
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Oct 3, 2024
Working your contacts
I would be the first one to agree that finding ways to keep in touch with your...
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Aug 26, 2024
Networking is easy
Have you ever had someone call you up to network and actually been able to help...
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Aug 19, 2024
Don’t call me late for lunch
I don’t know if all of you have noticed, but our new member announcement has a...
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Jul 31, 2024
A rhinoceros and a piece of paper
Many years ago, my son and I were rowing out to our mooring to go sailing with...
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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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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 21, 2024
A fine line
The difference between being viewed as possessing dogged persistence and being...
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May 16, 2024
Networking is easy
Perhaps this is a bit of an overstatement, but I am primarily talking about...
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May 15, 2024
Networking-A lifetime activity
I was fortunate to speak with two of our more experienced chapter chairs a...
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May 6, 2024
Making introductions
Everyone knows a few important people who they believe will at some point be...
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Apr 29, 2024
Keeping hope alive
Whether you are currently working and hate your job or are currently in active...
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Apr 25, 2024
Bashfulness is not my strong suit
Hard to believe, but bashfulness is apparently a quite prevalent condition...
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Apr 23, 2024
Everyone wants to help
I know that some of you who have been at job search for a period of time may...
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Mar 31, 2024
Watching your back
It would be great if we could all see behind us while at the same time looking...
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Mar 27, 2024
Two peas in a pod
One of the great mysteries in this world is why any two people would network....
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Mar 26, 2024
Time is of the essence
For those of you who have had the honor of dealing with legal matters, you know...
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Mar 21, 2024
90% of life is just showing up
While I am sure the correct answer is “about” 90% (90% is a little too...
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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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Feb 12, 2024
Homogeneous groups and pitfalls
Is there a possible pitfall in sticking with a homogeneous group of unemployed...
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Feb 8, 2024
Dropping in a little artillery
The truth is that even friends sometimes don’t get back to you when you call....
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Jan 29, 2024
Making networking benefit YOU
I am always trying to explain networking to users. Tonight I am going to try to...
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Jan 18, 2024
Getting back at it
Okay sports fans, the new year has begun. It is now January 18th and time is...
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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 9, 2024
Unbelievable!
When asked how your job search is going or your job, the best answer is...
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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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Dec 10, 2023
Putting it behind you-NOT
Since much of what we do in The FENG is about job search, I thought it might be...
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Dec 7, 2023
Networking by brute force
From time to time, someone tells me that networking as an approach is falling...
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The definition of networking I use is: Networking is a process by which you can...
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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 15, 2023
Staying close to home
With the holiday season coming up fast, it is perhaps the time to repeat the...
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For those of you who are new to networking and for those of you who think you...
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Oct 31, 2023
A lifetime commitment
It is in some ways a shame that the idea of networking has gotten itself so...
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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 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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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 19, 2023
The sounds of silence
If losing your job wasn’t bad enough, the reluctance of business associates at...
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Aug 28, 2023
Bestowing the gift of friendship
As all of you are out and about networking, I hope you are aware that one of...
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Aug 9, 2023
Meeting the RIGHT folks
Being successful at getting meetings with potential decision makers who don’t...
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Aug 7, 2023
Time stands still
I can never understand why people hesitate in contacting old friends.
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Jul 2, 2023
The golden rule – revisited
As you all know, I get a lot of email. Most of it is actually pretty routine.
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Jun 29, 2023
Birds of a feather
We are fortunate in the financial professions to be blessed with a very high...
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Jun 21, 2023
Can you hear me now?
I still remember with fondness the cell phone commercial where the technician...
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Jun 13, 2023
Catching a tiger by the tail
I hope we all spend a lot of time networking. (To paraphrase René Descartes,...
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Jun 5, 2023
Your inner circle of friends
The FENG is a circle of friends, not a job listing service. The question I...
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May 18, 2023
Asking for and accepting help
In our male dominated society called The FENG, one of the biggest challenges I...
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May 11, 2023
An over reliance on job leads
Part of the lecture I deliver to new members who call me is that The FENG is a...
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May 8, 2023
Asking for specifics
One of the worst things that anyone networking can do is to ask if you know of...
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May 3, 2023
The power of networking
For those of you who have been spending any significant time surfing the job...
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Apr 5, 2023
A beautiful mind
Many years ago in the movie “A beautiful mind” about John Nash, the...
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Mar 15, 2023
The golden rule
If there is any complaint I hear more than any other, it is that those we send...
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Mar 13, 2023
Paying back favors
One of the worst feelings you can have when you are networking is that you are...
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Mar 2, 2023
Silver bullets
Except for the Lone Ranger, none of us actually has silver bullets in our gun.
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Feb 23, 2023
Networking is easy
I am never surprised when a member tells me that he isn’t good at networking.
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Feb 19, 2023
Networking-The NFL approach
A lot has been written over the years and in this newsletter about the do’s and...
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Feb 5, 2023
Networking-A navigation problem
Acting as captain and primary navigator for a sailboat as I do is challenging...
Read More
For those of you who are not familiar with the Tinker Bell story, all you need...
Read More
Jan 16, 2023
The suspension of disbelief
Key to the success of most movies is the suspension of disbelief. There are so...
Read More
The idea that you can wipe the slate clean is an enduring and endearing idea of...
Read More
If you are interested in getting your job search off to a flying start in 2023,...
Read More
Dec 20, 2022
Performing the behaviors
I’m not sure why it is, but most financial folks think they are terrible...
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Dec 7, 2022
Hi, it’s me the pest!
The amount of follow up to do with recruiters and networking contacts is always...
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Nov 27, 2022
The holiday networking season
I try to take a few minutes of your time every year at this holiday season to...
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Nov 6, 2022
Boo!
It has been said that everything you really need to know, you learned in...
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Nov 3, 2022
The best jobs aren’t posted-DUH!
There was an article in The Wall Street Journal today titled: “The Best Jobs...
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Sep 27, 2022
The networking process
In the days of wooden ships and iron men, the determination of longitude was...
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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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Dec 27, 2021
Building your inner circle of friends
If you are actually sitting at your computer with not much to do the next...
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Nov 1, 2020
Things to do this week
Top of the list is, of course, to vote if you have not already done so. \n
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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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Jul 19, 2020
Extending the hand of friendship
The name of Rodney Eaton may or may not be familiar to you. Or, you may be...
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Sep 4, 2018
The ultimate scam
I was recently reminded of one of my favored approaches to networking that I...
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Jul 29, 2018
A rhinoceros and a piece of paper
Many years ago, my son and I were rowing out to our mooring to go sailing with...
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Mar 22, 2018
Time is of the essence
For those of you who have had the honor of dealing with legal matters, you know...
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Mar 12, 2018
An inner circle of friends
If there is any topic I discuss more than any other in phone conversations and...
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Feb 21, 2018
Listening & throwing up
One of the many skills we always need to be polishing as financial...
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Jan 23, 2018
Making networking benefit YOU
I am always trying to explain networking to users. Tonight I am going to try to...
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Jan 11, 2018
Geese and golden eggs
One of our very most important audiences are members of the search community...
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