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PODCAST

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth®

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® is a weekly broadcast from “The Rock Star of Consulting,” Alan Weiss, who holds forth with his best (and often most contrarian) ideas about society, culture, business, and personal growth. His 60+ books in 12 languages, and his travels to, and work in, 50 countries contribute to a fascinating and often belief-challenging 20 minutes that might just change your next 20 years.

society & culture

All Episodes

00:07:08

The Decline

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/10/30

SHOW NOTES:It seems as if civilization, especially the arts, are in decline. Famed authors are "mailing it in" (or really writing to try to sell a screenplay, not a book). Laugh tracks have to remind us when the writers think something is funny, but otherwise it isn't. Quiz shows, talk shows, news shows all seem out of the same mold, which is 50 years old. No newscaster ever says to a politician being interviewed, "But you didn't answer my question. It was a 'yes or no' question." Despite the

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00:35:02

The WhaleSale™

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/10/23

SHOW NOTES:Strategic WhaleSale™ Approach- Alan and Lisa discussed the concept of "WhaleSales," which involves targeting large, high-value clients to maximize revenue and efficiency. Lisa shared her experience of landing a significant whale deal that transformed her company's growth and stability, emphasizing the importance of alignment with the C-suite and strategic goals. They highlighted that whale sales should be an intentional strategy for businesses and not an accident, with Lisa noting that

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00:04:51

David McCullough

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/10/16

SHOW NOTES:My tribute to one of the greatest historians in our history. This is the speech he made in 1995 when receiving the hugely prestigious National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He was also awarded two Pulitzer Prizes among dozens of other awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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00:03:50

The High and the Mighty

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/10/09

SHOW NOTES:There was a song from the movie of the same name called The High and the Mighty, by Dimitri Tiomkin, nominated for an Oscar. It was about a trans-Pacific flight with critical engine problems and crew and passengers facing confrontations with death. It was probably the first of the major disaster films: 1954. We have the high and mighty today and they occupy.....Washington, DC: 2025, 70 years later. The Senators and Congressmen still get their salaries during a government shutdown

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00:08:23

Why You May Never Be Happy

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/10/02

SHOW NOTES:•The lessons of the newspaper woman. •The causes of toxic workplaces, more often than not. •The 90-minute wrench. •It's not your mother's fault. •Distress and eustress. •The key to peak performance. •It's about how you awaken, and I don't mean "woke." •Putting it to bed.

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00:09:24

Better Practices

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/09/25

SHOW NOTES:•Never talk to people who can say "no" but can't say "yes." •Treat the buyer as a peer, not a superior. • Have a conversation, don't make a presentation. •Language controls discussion, which controls relationships, which controls business. •No one is shooting at you, get rid of your fears and weak ego. •Gain conceptual agreement. •Money and time are priorities, not resources. •There are three elements to every sale. •Play into the buyer's "story." •Four objection areas, only one is

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00:07:24

Business Fads

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/09/18

SHOW NOTES:If you're in favor of this stuff, listen carefully to the audio. You're driving on the wrong side of the road. •servant leadership •holacracy •one-minute management •management by wandering around •management by objectives • total quality management •360° feedback •self-directed teams •open office (hoteling) •open book management •reengineering •JIT (just-in-time) •lean •matrix management •theory Z •flat organizations •matrix management •six sigma •open book management

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00:12:08

Social Proof

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/09/11

SHOW NOTES:•This is an almost subliminal technique to create normative pressure psychologically. •It's pointing out what others are doing, or not doing, or what events, prove your point. •It's the use of profound analogies. •Listen to my examples about Amtrack's infrastructure, or the fallacies around Kodak. •If pictures are worth a thousand words, social proof is worth a thousand pictures. •Learn who was more important, Brady or Belechick. • Understand how breaking the rules can save

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00:03:45

Value Follows Fees

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/09/04

SHOW NOTES: •We think the higher the value, the more we can charge. •However, at a given point, people believe they get what they pay for and those lines cross. •The point at which they cross means your brand is strong. •No one needs a Bentley for transportation, a Brioni for attire, a Bulgari to tell the time. But they assign great emotional value in their association and display. •The wrench story. •Many people made money during the pandemic and rough economic times by raising fees. It's easier,

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00:03:50

Verbosity

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/08/28

SHOW NOTES:•Do you know people who are loquacious, verbose, prolix? •Ask a "yes or no" question and they respond with opinions, history, and self-therapy. •Have you been to the Jersey Shore? Well, I did go once, as a child, but my parents really couldn't afford the vacation, and then when they could, they preferred Cape Cod. I haven't taken my children because my spouse thinks that "Jaws" was a documentary. •Why so much talk? -Articulating cognitive processes -Buying time -Believing it adds

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00:07:48

Profitable Problems

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/08/21

SHOW NOTES:People want problems solved, even if you caused them! Learn how Katz's Deli and Mercedes Benz have turned problems into profits. Don't look for blame, look for opportunity. No one is as excited about an expected excellent experience as they are about a disappointing experience turned into an excellent experience. Customers tend to tell a huge number of people about their experiences, at their levels—peer-to-peer evangelism. This is why companies that make it their work to make

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00:03:05

Body Language

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/08/14

SHOW NOTES:There are myriad claims on social media that are justified by the author observing (or being a self-proclaimed expert in) "body language." I have always thought this was ridiculous, sort of a faux psychological claim of expertise. Of course, the French have long studied graphology (handwriting) to determine behavioral traits (hard in a world forsaking cursive), and scapulimancy, the study of old, burned animal shoulder bones, has been used by various cultures to contact the gods. "Body

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00:05:00

Jumbotron

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/08/07

SHOW NOTES: •Let's stop the hypocrisy around this affair. •This goes on all over, government, business, education. •I've seen it, many people know the "secret." •The foolishness is the arrogance that you think it's a secret. •But the attempts at shadenfreude are ludicrous. •Who's pointing the finger? People who have cheated on exams, broken traffic laws, evaded taxes, blamed others for their corrupt behavior, lied on applications, snuck into events, bragged about things that never happened, and

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00:10:39

Golf

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/07/31

SHOW NOTES: •Why is Scottie Sheffler likely to become the greatest golfer ever? •Why is mental attitude the key to winning? •How some sports prompt more honesty than others. •Handling defeat and victory properly. •Not allowing a mistake to become a haunting obstacle. •Why Tiger Woods was overrated. •Even if you don't play the game you can learn from it. •Playing prudently to win. •Never "coming back to the pack." •Sheffler and Koufax and Sinatra.

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00:34:09

Mercedes and Anastasia

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/07/24

SHOW NOTES:We strongly suggest you view the video of this conversation using this link: https://alanweiss.com/mercedes-and-anastasia/ Mercedes and Anastasia Korngut are two teen sisters, and co-founders of the company, Small Bits of Happiness. Their mission is to help individuals of all ages find more happiness in daily life. They have reached over four million teens and adults. As two teens, Mercedes and Anastasia understand firsthand the difficulties of teenage-hood, including not only the

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00:03:08

Unicorns

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/07/17

SHOW NOTES: One of the most corrupted words in the language recently is "unicorn," which is a mythical creature. "Mythical" means "not real." Yet all kinds of people have decided they are unicorns and, therefore, are unique, better than others, more valuable. Yet if so many people are appropriating the title, then are they really "unique"? Outstanding performers may be rare—in sports, business, entertainment, whatever—but they are not mythical, and they don't see themselves as mysterious

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00:10:52

Generations

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/07/10

SHOW NOTES:•We should avoid generations stereotyping. •We're really better off than we're led to believe. •Try living in Denmark or Iceland. •Magic bullets won't help. •Can a culture survive on gambling? •There is extreme unhappiness in the land. •It is exacerbated by the internet. •People would rather blame themselves, the boss, or the system rather than accept accountability. •Conspiracies and claims of catastrophes abound. •Self-absorption has become a pastime. •Selfishness has grown to not even

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00:04:33

RIP Frank McGuire

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/07/03

SHOW NOTES:Here's just a part of the obituary of my friend and former subordinate, Francis X. McGuire from 2010: "...a unique man whose professional life began as a late night disc-jockey in New York City, led him to serve in the Kennedy White House, work for the ABC network (hiring Ted Koppel), to be on the ground floor side-by-side with Fred Smith during the Fed Ex start-up, and there with Colonel Sanders when he sold." In the mid- to late 70s he wound up working for me at a firm in Princeton,

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00:03:14

Fall Down Quaking

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/06/26

SHOW NOTES:Fight, Flight, Fright, or Fall Down Quaking We feel powerless in an age of volatility and disruption, of lack of trust in our institutions, and of polarization among those supposed to represent our best interests and not merely their own. Fight or flight has added fright to the equation, but it seems to me there's also the new option of hiding under the bed (fall down quaking). Whining has become a national past time, and we hear of "toxic bosses, poisonous workplaces, unfair demands,

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00:06:11

Beat Bot

Alan Weiss"s The Uncomfortable Truth® ·

2025/06/19

SHOW NOTES:° State of the art robots for pools. ° Found two years ago in a high-end magazine. ° Took a chance. ° Outstanding results. ° Second season, this year, one robot fails. ° Company says to send it back, they'll send a replacement first. ° True to their word, everything is good. ° Chinese company, locally in Texas. ° Two people ask to visit. ° Thought it was a scam. ° Two Chinese people, one from China currently, visiting customers. ° Bring me a gift. ° We walk through my usage, they take

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421 results

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