THOUGHTS OF CHAIRMAN MAC

  Believe it or not, there is overwhelming evidence that Donald Trump is the real-life reincarnation of New York’s notorious mob boss John Gotti. No wait … before you think this is just silly and click off, take a few minutes to review the indisputable facts that lead to no other conclusion than that Trump is Gotti reincarnated. Consider these irrefutable facts … Both Gotti and Trump were bred and raised in New York.                                                 ### From a young age both Gotti and Trump were schooled in the family businesses. For Gotti it was crime and for Trump it was real estate.                        ...

  What does history have to do with the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis and our own future?   Time is the echo chamber of history. History reverberates through time to torment those who do not learn the lessons it teaches. It is the knowledge and understanding of history – especially the mistakes – that can lead us as individuals and as a society to a better future. If not, we will be trapped in the whirlpool of repeating the historical mistakes of the past. That is why it is so perilous to fall prey to the disingenuous and incendiary diatribes of ambitious, but deeply flawed politicians and demagogic wannabe leaders, who don’t want us to know or make sense of our country’s history; let alone learn from that history.   The current cadre of these duplicitous politicians use the buzz-word “woke” as a dog-whistle, signaling that trying to understand and correct historical mistakes is in some way wrong. They take this approach because they recognize that if we have...

  In the early 1960s Rod Sterling created a social phenomenon of a TV show called The Twilight Zone. The premise of the show was that individuals would find themselves entangled in extraordinarily unbelievable situations. They were in the “twilight zone” trying to extricate themselves from a mind-bending quagmire of fantasy they could never have imagined becoming reality. But it had. It has been over 50 years since the last episode of The Twilight Zone was broadcast, but it has been reprised as a live “reality show” that is called the United States House of Representatives. Rod Sterling was creative but … As creative as he was. even Rod Sterling would have been hesitant to suggest a scenario where 8 Republican Representatives could “out vote” 210 of their Republican colleagues to oust their leader Kevin McCarthy, pushing the House of Representatives into a real life “twilight zone.” But unlike Sterling’s stories, this was fact not fiction. But this was not the end of the sho...

Trump Has the Perfect Defense to Avoid Becoming a Convicted Felon   With over 40 felony charges already filed against him, it’s an obvious understatement to suggest that Trump appears to be in serious legal jeopardy. Due to a copious collection of written, video and documented statements by witnesses, the four felony charges filed by DOJ’s Special Counsel Jack Smith relating to Trump’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 election appear to present the most risk for Trump.   But is Trump actually in jeopardy of being convicted and sentenced to jail time? Not likely, because in reality he has a very straightforward, simple and effective defense that he can employ. Trump could use what is called the mens rea (“guilty mind”) defense. The theory of mens rea is that a defendant cannot be convicted of a federal crime unless it can be proven that they had a knowing of and clear intent to commit a crime; in other words, they had a “guilty mind.” The American Law Institute’s Mo...

  For those talented and ambitious individuals in the midst of building a career, there are usually two issues front and center in their thinking: Is my job safe and secure? Does the company I work for offer an opportunity for long-term personal growth?   These are good questions and the only way to really find the answers is to constantly assess the cultural environment, viability and potential of the company for which you work. The answers will be revealed only by exploring and understanding the very fundamentals of how the company is managed and led. Even if the company has achieved success in the past, if the company seems to be going down the wrong path now, then you should consider seeking a different path.    The good news is that working at the company, you are in the best position to determine the future direction of the company and the potential opportunity for your own career growth. The key is to be observant and brutally honest about what you see and...

  When to Break the Rule That Says to Hire the Most Qualified Candidate for a Job One of the most important responsibilities the leader of a vibrant, growing organization has is to make sure the right people are hired or put in place to assure continued growth and success. Failure to accomplish this objective could portend the ultimate failure of the organization. Find the future in the present. I have an abiding belief that the best way to sustain a successful organization’s growth is to do so organically by identifying, developing and promoting people from within. Indeed, a clue to a company beginning to fail is when management decides it is easier to hire from the outside, rather than grow talent from within the organization. Certainly, there are times when introducing some “fresh blood” into a culture can be good for the system by preventing inbreeding or staleness, but this approach is fraught with risk and must be done the right way, for the right reason. (And it should...

  “Do the right thing” is the mantra most often uttered by those who believe this sentiment creates the psychological and spiritual power to build a successful life, career or business. The assumption is that when in doubt, falling back on doing the right thing will make things right. Most (but certainly not all) understand, accept and try to do the right thing. However, because the real world is never as black and white as right and wrong, the reality is that doing the right thing is not always as easy as it may seem to be. In most cases it is not difficult to understand or identify the right thing to do. What can make it difficult to consistently do the right thing is that often the challenge to do so emerges at the wrong time. In a vacuum it is easy to differentiate between right and wrong, but we don’t live in a vacuum. Rarely are there times when our lives are completely unfettered by personal concerns that revolve around job, career, finances, family, friends, health or wel...