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Spoke to a networking group this week. Several people said they were in “transition.” We’re all in “transition” every day of our lives.

Whether Boston or Bosnia, after a disaster (natural or man-made), the first sign of a return to normalcy is when mom & pop stores re-open.

Don’t confuse “acquaintances” with “friends.” Acquaintances are the people you know. Friends are the people you love.

Re: Take Sons/ Daughters to Work Day: We who worked in our family’s mom & pop stores have a greater appreciation for what they did all day.

Nordstrom continues to stay hip and contemporary, attracting new aspirational customers w/o turning off oldsters. Not as easy as it looks

Samuel Johnson wrote: “There’s no one who is not in some degree a merchant; who has not something to buy or something to sell.” Agree?

New Reader’s Digest survey of 100 Most Trusted People in America: top 4 are actors, who pretend for a living.  We “trust” their artifice?

To tax or not tax online retailers?  I could make an argument either way.  Is what’s good for Walmart also good for the Mom & Pop store?

Tommy Bahama just bought back its Canadian retail license.  Fact: The sunny tropical-island-inspired brand is based here in rainy Seattle.

Joyce Brothers just passed away. I ghostwrote for her in the ‘70s. A sweet, class act, whose home # was listed in the Manhattan phonebook.

As an SOB (son-of-a-butcher), I think about how amused (and proud) my late father would be that today there exist “celebrity butchers”. 

With tablets replacing cash registers our descendants will neither “ring up” a sale nor appreciate the sound and significance of “ka-ching.”

NYC newsstands can’t sell items over $5. City Council may raise to $10. Amazing: a bar to entrepreneurialism in the heart of capitalism.

Somali pirates who hijacked a German oil tanker had a bookkeeper to proportionally divvy up ransom. Buccaneer bucks?

Increasing # of parent-child combos buying franchises. Mom & Pop Store American Dream still lives in the hearts of the daring and diligent.

Always ignore headlines containing modal verb “may.” The story is meaningless. If something may happen, it just as likely may not happen.

Customer Experience Is Now The 5th Marketing 'P' ... And Other Top CMO Insights - Forbes ow.ly/mM9xp

Study: Retailers are ill-equipped to deliver omnichannel experience | RetailCustomerExperience.com ow.ly/mM9AQ

smart read- New Research: You're Doing Customer Experience Innovation Wrong - Kerry Bodine - Harvard Business Review ow.ly/mMa85