The life and death of Tony Hsieh, the billionaire CEO of online shoe-seller Zappos, is a master class in visionary business leadership and a cautionary tale about how fame can mask profound problems.

Hsieh, who sold Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion, died in a mysterious shed fire in late November 2020 at age 46.

This week, two reporters for The Wall Street Journal — Kirsten Grind and Katherine Sayre — join host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart to share details from their newly published biography of the business legend, Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest o Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. 

Theirs is a riveting examination of an entrepreneur who was simultaneously great and deeply flawed.

Photos: Kirsten Grind (l) and Katherine Sayre, Happy at Any Cost
Posted: April 4, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:34

Kirsten and Katherine will be signing copies of their book and invite Monday Morning Radio listeners to stop by and pick up a copy.

Las Vegas: April 8, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Intuitive Forage Farmers Market, 300 N. Casino Center Blvd.

San Diego: April 13, 7:30 p.m. Warwick's Bookstore, 7812 Girard Ave. La Jolla

Here is a harsh truth: Many entrepreneurs have no business running their own businesses.

In a no-holds-barred conversation with host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart, bestselling author Gino Wickman draws an impermeable line between those who have the right stuff to succeed in business and those who never will, no matter how hard they try.

Wickman is the creator of “The Entrepreneurial Operating System,” which more than 130,000 companies have relied on to improve their results. He knows the ingredients of success and failure.

Wickman’s most recent book, “Entrepreneurial Leap,” defines the attributes that entrepreneurs must possess to prosper, advises founders on ways to avoid common mistakes, and suggests alternatives for those not born to own and grow their own businesses. 

Do you have what it takes? Listen in and find out.

[Listeners to Monday Morning Radio can purchase a copy of Dean Rotbart’s newest book, September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story. Visit Gutenberg’s Store.]   

Photo: Gino Wickman, Entrepreneurial Leap
Posted: March 28, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 49:10

Ann Papayoti has plenty of reasons to be bitter. She lost an infant child, had another born with epilepsy, and was married to a belligerent and abusive husband.

But Ann chose to make peace with her past. Today, she is a successful self-help author and life coach who mentors others on how to overcome all manner of life setbacks.

What allows people to prevail over their difficulties is what Ann calls “shift” — embracing a better, life-affirming perspective. 

Ann is the co-author, along with Tracy Mac Donald, of The Gift of Shift: Discover the Key Within to Unlock Your Best Life.

In the book, Ann and Tracy share a collection of personal stories designed to inspire readers to look at life’s hardships from a fresh perspective.

The book aims to help each of us find peace within, create positive change, and embrace a new outlook on life.

This week Ann shares specific shift approaches to transform hardships into blessings.

Photo: Ann Papayoti, The Gift of Shift
Posted: March 21, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 38:55

Good PR has become everyone’s responsibility, regardless of your industry or job title. That is a core message shared by a distinguished panel of three experts on this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio.

Leading the panel is Robert L. Dilenschneider, editor of the newly published fifth edition of The Public Relations Handbook, a must-read for communications practitioners and a valuable reference for executives who wisely recognize that public relations is integral to every activity and decision they make.

Dilenschneider is the founder of The Dilenschneider Group, which for more than three decades has been providing strategic advice and counsel to Fortune 500 companies and leading families and individuals around the world. 

“Public relations professionals must be prepared to deal with a staggering variety of people, issues, and subjects,” Dilenschneider writes. His book consists of seventeen chapters, each contributed by recognized PR specialists.

Two of the contributors — Jack Devine and Virginia A. Kamsky — join Dilenschneider and host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart on the panel.

Devine is a founding partner and president of The Arkin Group, specializing in international crisis management, strategic intelligence, investigative research, and business problem-solving. He previously spent 32 years with the CIA, having served - among other posts - as Acting Director of Operations.

Kamsky, who divides her time between New York and Beijing, is the founder of Kamsky Associates, Inc., a strategic advisory firm whose client base includes preeminent companies worldwide. During the Obama Administration, she was appointed a member of the US Secretary of the Navy Advisory Panel, providing independent advice and recommendations.

“The best thing anybody reading this book can do right now is come away and say, ‘Life has changed and if I’m going to keep up with it and be successful, I better change too,’” Dilenschneider says. “The book offers the ways people should adapt to the changing environment.”

Released in February 2022 by Matt Holt Books, The Public Relations Handbook is available from Amazon in hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook editions.

Photos (Clockwise from upper left):   Host Dean Rotbart, Contributor Virginia A. Kamsky, Editor Robert L. Dilenschneider, and Contributor Jack Devine
Posted: March 14, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 55:37

There is only so much room at the top of the corporate ladder. What can owners and CEOs do to retain and incentivize good employees when no more executive slots are available?

According to Julie Winkle Giulioni, a human resources expert and bestselling author, there are excellent alternatives to promotions. Besides, many employees no longer want all the drama and responsibilities that come with upper-management jobs.

Julie’s new book, Promotions Are So Yesterday, won’t be out until next month. But host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart persuaded Julie to share some of her best employee enticements on this week’s podcast.

[Are you an author or would-be author? Pub-Site.com is the best do-it-yourself platform for building your author’s website. Take advantage of Pub Site’s free 14-day, no-obligation trial.]

Photo: Julie Winkle Giulioni, Promotions Are So Yesterday
Posted: February 21, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 47:05

To sell his first book, Man Interrupted, James Bailey — a sufferer of severe obsessive-compulsive behavior who was living out of his car at the time — staked out bookstores and celebrity haunts in Malibu, Santa Monica, and other well-to-do Southern California towns. 

When he spotted stars, he unashamedly pressed them to buy his book or at the very least accept a free copy.

Bob Dylan bought one. So did James Woods. Simon Cowell promised to buy the book. And Mel Brooks was so impressed with James that the Academy Award-winning writer of The Producers wrote a cover blurb for James’s newest book, The Diary of a Manic OCD Bookseller.

“I never back off,” James tells host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart. Indeed, James has sold thousands of his books, one at a time, and this week he explains how anyone can adapt his methods to help them achieve their goals.

Photo: James Bailey, The Diary of a Manic OCD Bookseller
Posted: February 14, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:28

This week, in Part Two of host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart’s conversation with business historian Gary Hoover, the two turn their attention to women and minorities who overcame long odds to build or lead successful companies.

They’ll also reveal the failures and rebounds of some great American companies and share the story of one executive whose business failed, and afterward, he went home to his parents’ house and locked himself in the bedroom for a month. True story.

Gary is the executive director of the American Business History Center and the author of Bedtime Business Stories: Short Sagas of Business Creation, Success, and Failure. A serial entrepreneur, one company Hoover founded was acquired by Barnes & Noble, while another was purchased by Dun & Bradstreet.

Gary’s  specialty is looking back at the great industries, businesses, and business leaders of bygone days and reminding all of us of what made them great and how we can apply their insights today.

Photo: Gary Hoover, American Business History Center
Posted: January 24, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 33:08

Back in November, when General Electric announced its plan to break itself into three different companies, host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart invited business historian Gary Hoover to share the lessons of GE’s fall from grace.

Hoover is the executive director of the American Business History Center and the author of Bedtime Business Stories: Short Sagas of Business Creation, Success, and Failure. A serial entrepreneur, one company Hoover founded was acquired by Barnes & Noble, while another was purchased by Dun & Bradstreet.

This week, in part one of a two-part conversation, Rotbart and Hoover take a deep dive into an array of legendary American businesses and CEOs and what they can teach today’s business owners and leaders.

Photo: Gary Hoover, American Business History Center
Posted: November 22, 2021
Monday Morning Run Time: 38:42

Host Dean Rotbart is being mysterious about his guests this week on Monday Morning Radio. All he’ll say is that their names are Peter Desberg and Jeffrey Davis and between the two of them, their clients have included Apple, Dell Computers, Boeing, Toyota, and Honda.

Peter and Jeffrey have a "how-to" business book coming out next month that the authors promise will have entertaining, actionable advice for all owners and entrepreneurs, regardless of the nature of their businesses.

The two authors think that after hearing what they have to say, many listeners will want to buy their book. If you do, you can pre-order it here.

But as Dean points out, it’s totally up to listeners to decide if Peter and Jeffrey acquit themselves admirably.

Photos: Peter Desberg (l) and Jeffrey Davis, Authors
Posted: January 10, 2022
Monday Morning Run Time: 44:45

Imagine learning best business practices from the former vice chairman of Booz Allen Hamilton, Chairman of Chiquita Brands International, publisher and CEO of the Chicago Sun Times, and directors at Virgin America and Allegheny Energy.

You wouldn’t actually need a very big room, since Cyrus Freidheim filled everyone of those roles during his 55-year business career, as well as stints at Union Carbide, Ford Motor, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Cyrus has summed up all he’s learned about business — and life — in a newly published book, Commit & Deliver: On the Frontlines of Management Consulting.

There’s no need to pay $1,000 an hour or more for Cyrus’s expertise. It’s free for the taking this week as host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart’s guest is Cyrus Freidheim.

Photo: Cyrus Freidheim, Commit & Deliver
Posted: December 27, 2021
Monday Morning Run Time: 56:08