First time I met her was a Monday morning, 9 a.m. freshman Intro to Advertising. After an hour of no teacher and 65 students chirping about walking out, Lynette walks in, slams some books on a desk and yells, Hey! Anybody got a cigarette?! It was classic. Kthfrontcovsmall111008 copy 1 We all hit the...

Nobody liked Carter. Not women. Not men. Not nuns. Not priests. Nobody. Even if you started out liking him, as I did, eventually he made you want to beat him until all his meals had to be eaten thru a straw. No one liked Carter. Actually, I take that back—there was this one guy “Kurt� who like...

I love my posse and it ain’t no joke! —Disco DaveThe most undervalued and overworked people in business are support staffers: IT workers, secretaries, administrative assistants, executive assistants, receptionists, and mailroomers. In over 12 years, everywhere I went the support staff was the ba...

One day we’re chopping it up over career stuff when he says, “I want Screw You money.� I look confused so he explains. Screw You money is checking your bank statement then telling your clients/bosses, “Screw you, I don’t hafta take this anymore.� Screw You money burns bridges now but bui...

The funny thing was I didn’t drink or do drugs until I got into the business world. Where I lived all I saw were the addicts, the prison records, the ruined lives, and the violence that came with narcotics. It was a big turn-off. But at work, all I saw was the fun, the camaraderie, the innocence a...

The record biz loves budgets, too. The Warner Bros., IDJ-Universal’s, EMI’s, Interscope’s, PolyGram’s, Virgin’s, and Sony-BMG’s of the world lock down the distribution, retail, radio stations, and video channels ensuring their status as the gatekeepers every artist must go thru in order ...

Whether it’s a blue chip brand with a multi-million dollar budget or a mom ‘n’ pop shop with baby bucks, the marketing hustle’s the same: Budgets. Get the budget up, spend the budget up, and then get the client to re-up the budget. The golden rule on budgets: Use it or lose it. (Ask any poli...

White, squeezably soft, and often full of crap. Charmins will rock V-necks and khakis; wrap blouses, capri pants, chunky heels, cargo pants, and hip-huggers… Mini-skirts, collegiate sweats, and cheerleader-style shorts with their school/sorority on the butt… Steve Madden, Kenneth Cole, and Nine ...

At home, I had a view: Graffiti’d up walls, streets Swiss-cheesed with potholes, broken liquor bottles, rolling papers, used condoms. Schools that resembled warehouses and functioned like temporary storage facilities. Mini-Tupacs, pseudo-Goodfellas and bad cops, junkies and alcoholics. Pushers and...

Knock The Hustle is all about businesses run right, businesses run wrong, and businesses run right into the ground. It’s a collection of cautionary tales about employees and CEOs. Consumers versus Fortune 500 brands. Crooks and coworkers. Stupid people and smart leaders. Commodity versus Culture. ...