True stories, odd questions, and the occasional argument about whether Texas counts as the South. Some are thoughtful. Some are ridiculous. The better ones are both.
Looking for the novel? It lives on the Books page, and you can start Chapter 1 free.
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Build in the Margins
You don’t have to quit your job to build something that matters. How I wrote a 42-chapter novel in the margins of a full-time job and family life.
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Why You Never Get as Much Done as You Planned (Call Centers Have a Word for It)
Call centers plan for the fact that a third of every shift disappears. Most of us plan our lives like it won’t.
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Do More Choices Really Make Us Buy Less? A Former Pizza Manager Checks
The famous jam study says too many options make people walk away. I ran a Domino’s. I have thoughts. So does the research that came after.
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Could the Way You Hold a Fork Get You Caught as a Spy?
There’s a famous WWII story about American spies getting caught at dinner. A former PI went looking for proof.
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Why Do We Shake Hands? Somebody Was Checking for Weapons. Maybe.
It started as a deal between two kings, picked up a weapons-check legend, and became a protest against bowing. Now it’s how you start a job interview.
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Can You Tell When Someone’s Lying? A Former PI Says Mostly No
Everybody asks a former private investigator the same question. The honest answer disappoints everyone, including me.
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Ridges, Loops, and Whorls
Fingerprint training is slow, squinting, unglamorous work. It’s also the best lesson I ever got about mastering anything.
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If I Ran Your Calendar Like a Call Center
I teach call centers how to manage every minute of their people’s day. Here’s what happens when I point those same tools at your week.
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What Ninja Training Actually Taught Me About Surveillance
Smoke bombs? No. Most of what I learned about staying hidden as a PI came down to two things: climb something, or sit still.
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Bad Attitude, Good Signal
A corporate inspector called me abrasive and uncoachable. Six months later she said I was a changed man. She was right, just not for the reason she thought.
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You Don’t Get the Map Until You’re Lost
Everybody wants to know how to start before they start. Bad news: the instructions only show up after you’re already in the middle of it.
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Nothing Was Wasted
Crime scenes, pizza, cell phones, call centers, novels. My resume looks like a mistake. It turns out every job was quietly training me for the next one.
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