Sometimes I feel like I’m a good leader. I think I’ve always believed at least that I could be. The insecure statement comes from my conventional view of leading–taking charge to mobilize other people in our businesses, or as a dad or as a thought leader.But my podcast guest Ryan Avery, gave me a new view of what it...

“God, I am so NOT relaxed right now. But I need to just embrace what I read recently — you need the courage to be rubbish. Just relax, stop worrying about everything being perfect, and do it.”I said that to my dad, Lloyd, as we sat down to record our podcast last week–which turned out to be the opposite of rubbish. ...

Today’s AI conversation is about vulnerability—not automation, efficiency, and replacing jobs.Brooks Canavesi, co-founder of Baryons, is taking AI somewhere different. He’s not trying to replace the human. He’s trying to make the human better. I’ve actually been using ChatGPT to supplement my own life coach for a wh...

The most interesting things I’ve ever done — the best conversations, the best podcasts, the best calls — they all required me to be confident enough to move forward, when the results were far from certain. Today I’m going to tell you something I just learned that can get that confidence up when you need it most. (Bl...

The Chicago Cubs’ season begins today in the Windy City on a gusty day. For me, it is New Year’s Day.It is a day of prayer for me. A day I did not think I would reach, after a heart attack with a 9.5 out of 10 lethality rate, prostate cancer, seven retina detachments, and a litany of maladies. But I’m here.The Cubs ...

You’ve been slogging along for 40 years and the cement floor bites harder every day. You are wondering if it is time to sell the company, but you have no idea what it is worth or if anybody would want it.I’ve been helping folks buy and sell machining businesses for quite a while. This blog is a primer on what to con...

When Donald Trump announced his grandiose plan for trade tariffs on April 2, 2025 some people cringed, others cheered, and a few called their lawyers.One of those was Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of a family-owned company in Vernon Hills, Illinois a suburb of Chicago. His firm, Learning Resources, outsources the majorit...

At 12, he was cutting metal in northern Italy. By 21, he was teaching DMG’s own technicians how to use their machines. At 47, he owns the whole company he first walked into just to set up a machine.Federico Veneziano is the owner of BoldX Industries and an old friend of mine. His story requires two episodes. This is...

The last six months I’ve been using AI to help me with everything from business negotiations to dealing with my kid’s pneumonia. It’s become a daily part of how I operate—at work and at home. The big difference between it and just googling is that you have a conversation with it.Check out the video I made for my You...

Last week another machinery dealer mentioned that being a family business was part of why she wanted to work with us at Graff-Pinkert. I don’t know if that was the deciding factor, but it reminded me that persuasion often happens before you say a word.This concept of convincing someone before you even start making y...