Personal · Part 1 of 2
What Does It Mean to Be Overdressed Now?
Dressing up used to be the safe mistake. Now that almost nobody does, the question is whether your clothes serve the room or ask it to look at you.
Personal · Part 2 of 2
A Few Rules I Actually Follow
The specific calls people ask about most, the two rules with no exceptions, and the grooming and fragrance habits that do as much work as the jacket.
Personal
The Best Manners Are Usually Invisible
A personal essay on why the best etiquette is the kind nobody notices, and what happens when that instinct crosses cultures.
Personal
Why Use a Fountain Pen When a Ballpoint Works Better?
A personal essay on nibs, ink, and why a fountain pen asks more of you than a ballpoint ever will.
Personal
Loneliness Has a Calendar
Four days of COVID isolation taught me how much I need people nearby. It also made me think about my mother, and everyone like her.
Personal
Presenting Is Not Public Speaking
Surviving a room and moving one are not the same skill. A failed presentation taught me the difference, and what actually fixes it.
Personal
Nobody Is Teaching People How to Talk Anymore
Most conversations are two people waiting for their turn. The whole skill is a second question and a silence held a beat longer.
Personal
On Restraint
Past a thousand bottles, the real discipline is mostly invisible. It shows up in everything tried once and never bought again.
Personal
What Acting Taught Me About Running Meetings
Acting class breaks the habit of planning your next line while someone else is still talking. Meetings changed once that habit did too.
Personal
The Case for Three Companies
Automation, fragrance, and film don't look related on paper. Each one is the same discipline, applied to a different material.