CSI Chat

We are joined by "Mr. Excel" himself, Bill Jelen.  There are very few on the planet who know more about Microsoft Excel then Bill Jelen.  Bill started the "Mr. Excel" website in 1998 and since then, has authored over 70 books and runs seminars all over the world on the use of Excel.  He also has several other "special talents", including winning the Grand Prize in a local "Stupid Human Tricks" competition by stopping an electric fan with his tongue!   We talk to Bill about: - How did he get started in becoming an "Excel Expert"?   - What are some of the best tips for beginners and advanced users on Excel?  What is Bill's favorite function in Excel? - What are the MS Excel World Championships and is it true that Bill was once a commentator? Bill is a fascinating guy and I hope everyone enjoys the conversation!  

We are joined on CSI Chat by Guido Palazzo.  Guido is a professor of business ethics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and a business advisor.  During our "Chat", we talk about Guido's latest book, "The Dark Pattern:  The Hidden Dynamics of Corporate Scandals" whereby Guido reviews several corporate scandals and identifies certain trends and commonalties across each of these.   During our "Chat" with Guido, we discuss: The balance between "Human Morality" and "Shareholder Returns/Capitalism".  Trending of corporate scandals over time and whether the issue has declined.  Guido also discusses a number of case studies in his book.  The "9 Building Blocks of the Dark Pattern" and how they were evident in each of his case studies.   I hope everyone enjoys the "Chat"!  

We are joined by business Professors Feng Gu and Baruch Lev to discuss their latest book, "The M&A Failure Trap:  Why Most Mergers and Acquisitions Fail and How the Few Succeed".   We talk to Professor Gu and Professor Lev about: The process of analyzing historical acquisitions and how they reached the conclusion that most M&A ends in failure.  Over time, has the M&A failure rate improved or gotten worse?  The statistics are surprising.    What are some of the main reasons why M&A ends in failure?  The Professors have also put together a "M&A Checklist" which should help companies in their M&A process.   It is a very interesting discussion with Professor Gu and Professor Lev and I hope everyone enjoys it!  

We are joined by Pav Gill, formerly of Wirecard and perhaps the most famous whistle-blower on the planet.  Despite serious risk to Pav's physical well-being and his professional reputation, he made the courageous decision to blow the whistle on the issues he was seeing within Wirecard.   During our "CSI Chat" with Pav, we talk to him about: - His decision-making process to originally join Wirecard as legal counsel and how long it took him to realize that there may be serious issues within the Company.   - What were some of the issues he was seeing within Wirecard and why didn't anyone listen to his concerns?   - At one point, Pav was instructed by his superiors at Wirecard to travel to another country for a "business trip".  Pav later realized that if he decided to hop on the plane, it would be a "one way trip".  Pav explains.   I hope everyone enjoys the "Chat" with Pav!

We are joined by Dan McCrum, an investigative reporter from the Financial Times who wrote extensively about Wirecard and was the author of the terrific book, "Money Men:  A Hot Start-up, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth" which chronicles the story of Wirecard, the large German payment processing company which collapsed.  During our "CSI Chat" with Dan, we discuss: -  The role of an investigative reporter and the extensive research which goes into articles produced by the Financial Times.  There is an incredible amount of work involved prior to hitting "Print".  How does Dan sleep the night before a big story?  Dan explains during the chat.   - Dan outlines how he first crossed path with Wirecard and the early signs he uncovered which indicated there might be a problem.  Dan also outlines his interactions with some of the executives at Wirecard.   - Dan explains the risk he encountered to both his safety and his professional reputation while pursuing this story.  From Russian poison recipes to plots to plant drugs in the back of Dan's car, this is an example whereby the truth is stranger than fiction! I hope everyone enjoys our "CSI Chat" with Dan!    

We are joined on “CSI Chat” by retired United States Navy SEAL Drago Dzieran. Drago wrote an terrific book entitled “The Pledge to America: One Man’s Journey from Political Prisoner to U.S. Navy SEAL”. During our "Chat", Drago and I talk about: The challenges of growing up in Poland under the Communist rule and how we was able to immigrate to the United States. Drago’s time in Poland included being locked up as a political prisoner under extremely difficult circumstances. Drago became a US Navy Seal at the age of 31 (which is very old when it comes to a Navy SEAL). Drago talks about surviving the extensive US Navy SEAL training and the notorious “Hell Week”. I hope everyone enjoys our "CSI Chat" with Drago.  

We are joined on CSI Chat by Crypto Currency expert Jake Ryan to talk about Crypto and his book “Crypto Asset Investing in the Age of Autonomy”. If you were looking for a “Crypto 101 Seminar”, you will find the “Chat” very interesting. During our "CSI Chat" with Jake, we talk about: The current state of the “United States Dollar” and how Crypto Currency may play a significant role in the future. The history of Crypto Currency/Bitcoin and how it was developed by a yet to be identified founder, “Satoshi Nakamoto”. Crypto 101 basics including the the role of a blockchain and a more fundamental question on how to value the various Crypto Currencies which currently exist on the market place. I hope everyone enjoys our "CSI Chat" with Jake!  

We are joined by investment expert Chris Mayer to talk about "100 Baggers".  Chris wrote a terrific book entitled "100 Baggers:  Stocks that return 100-to-1 and how to find them".  In the book, Chris analyzes these high performing stocks and tries to find similarities between them.   During our "Chat" with Chris, we talk about: - Chris' background and how he transitioned from a corporate lender to a professional investor.  We also talk about Chris' core investment values and how he goes about trying to find the next "100-Bagger".   - We talk about some of the key characteristics of "100-Bagger" stocks, including high growth expectations and a low PE ratio.  Which is easier to find?  Do you need both to have a "100-Bagger"? - What are some of the "100-Baggers" which have gone bust?  This would be a great title for Chris' next book! I hope everyone enjoys the Chat with Chris!

We are joined by Harvard Kennedy School business professors Dan Levy and Richard Zeckhauser to talk about decision making and their latest book, "Maxims for Thinking Analytically".  End of the day, if you can think more analytically, it will enable you to understand the world around you and make better decisions.   During our Chat with Dan and Richard, we discuss the interesting topic of "Decision Making" and touch on: How does it help to leverage both extreme cases and simple cases when it comes to decision-making?  How do we need to avoid taking refuge in complexity?   How should some of these core decision making skills be utilized to make important decisions such as those surrounding tariffs?  How can we use these skills to order dinner at a restaurant?  We look at both ends of the spectrum.  For the football fans out there, we ask Dan and Richard the critical question which arose from Super Bowl 49 when the Seattle Seahawks famously through a late interception which costed them the game to the New England Patriots... Should Pete Carroll have handed off the ball to star running back Marshawn Lynch?  Alternatively, was the decision to pass perhaps a good decision that resulted in a bad outcome? I hope everyone enjoys the "CSI Chat" with Dan and Richard.  

We are joined by Peter Warmka who is a former Senior Intelligence Officer with the CIA with over 20 years of experience in national intelligence and security issues.  To make it simple, Peter is an expert in "Human Hacking" or the art of influencing people.  Peter is also the author of 2 terrific books entitled "Confessions of a CIA Spy" and "Why are you messing with me".   During our "Chat" with Peter, we talk about: How did Peter join the CIA?  Peter outlines the crazy story of how he joined the CIA which involved some very intensive interviews with both him and his wife!   What is the "Art of Elicitation" and how is this used to extract information from other people? Why should we be careful navigating some of these social media sites such as LinkedIn?  What are some of the red flags we need to watch out for?   Why do we need to be careful talking with strangers at conferences or trade shows?  Surprisingly, these events can be attended by folks who are strictly looking to extract non-public information from others.   It was a fascinating conversation with Peter and I would encourage everyone to check it out!  

Robert Mazur served for 27 years as a special agent for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency working predominantly as a undercover agent working as a money launderer.  Robert wrote two terrific books, "The Infiltrator" and "The Betrayal", the first of which was turned into a movie which starred Brian Cranston as none other than Robert Mazur! Robert joins CSI Chat and we touch on a number of topics including: - How did someone go from working at the Internal Revenue Agency (IRS) to working undercover going up against the most dangerous drug cartels in the world? - What is the mental skill set one needs in order to prepare themselves to go undercover?  How do you prepare your family for this dangerous experience? - What is the "day in the life" of an undercover agent?  How do you deal with the stress and the fear of potentially being caught? Robert is an American hero and an incredible person who has been fighting against the illegal drug trade in the United States his entire life.  We are very lucky to have him join "CSI Chat".  

We are joined by the former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (and HUGE Detroit Tigers fan) Barbara McQuade to talk about her book "Attack from Within:  How Disinformation is Sabotaging America".  After spending some time talking about the pros and cons of both the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays signing Alex Bregman during the offseason, we get down to business and address: Her experience as the former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and some of the high-profile cases she prosecuted during this time. How disinformation is used by politicians to push their agenda and help sway voters.   What we can do as citizens to ensure that we are not a victim of a disinformation campaign.   It was a terrific conversation with Barb and I would encourage everyone to check it out!     

We are joined by the "Q" (James Bond fans will know "Q") of the CIA, Dawn Meyerriecks.  After learning a bit more about Dawn, perhaps it is more accurate to state that "Q" is the Dawn Meyerriecks of the British Secret Service.  In any event, Dawn was the Deputy Director of the CIA for Science and Technology.  Dawn recently led a "Masterclass" on "The Art of Intelligence" which I would highly encourage everyone to check out.   We talk to Dawn about: - There are a few questions that we have always wanted to ask someone from the CIA (including whether it is true or false that there are CIA agents who speak over 30 different languages fluently).  Dawn does her best to answer these questions! - What is a "day in the life" of the "Deputy Director of the CIA"?  How did she spend a typical day? - How does Dawn compare life in the public sector vs. the private sector (as she has worked in senior positions in both). - We ask Dawn about the current state of technology in society and whether we should be concerned about the increased investments being made in Artificial Intelligence.   I hope everyone enjoys the "CSI Chat" with Dawn!  

We are joined by Colin Bryar, a former Amazon executive and co-author of the outstanding book, "Working Backwards:  Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon".  How did Amazon grow from a tiny start-up to one of the most successful companies on the planet?  What best practices did Amazon leverage to facilitate this success?  Colin was Jeff Bezos' "shadow" (Jeff's Chief of Staff") during those early days and talks to CSI Chat about: - How was Amazon able to hire the best and the brightest employees?  Colin explains Amazon's "Bar Raiser" hiring approach and how it was leveraged to hire 1,000's of Amazon's top employees.   - Amazon has banned the use of PowerPoint within their organization for most meeting presentations.  Why did Amazon ban PowerPoint and what format does Amazon now use for most presentations?   - How has "thinking long-term" and "focusing on the customer" resulted in some of Amazon's life changing products and services including "Amazon Prime" and "Amazon Web Hosting"? End of the day, Colin explains how nearly all of Amazon's best practices can be leveraged by all corporations to facilitate their growth and success.    

Michele Rigby Assad, who is a "super spy" and a renown author, joins us to talk about her latest book, "Get off the X:  CIA's Secrets for Conquering Obstacles and Achieving your Life's Mission".  Michele spent 10 years working in the Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA") and is now an international corporate advisor, author and keynote speaker.   Michele talks to us about: How do you go through the process of joining the CIA?  How do you apply and how does the interview process work?  What types of folks are the CIA looking for?   What is it like living in a war-torn country while working for the CIA?  What is a typical "day in the life" of a super spy?   What does Michele imply when she says to "Get off the X"?  How do we apply the training she received in the CIA to real world examples? After listening to Michele (and reading her book!), you will have a tool kit to "Get off the X" and achieve your life's mission.  

Frank Perri joins CSI Chat to talk about "Red Collar Crime".  Frank is the author of "Red Collar White Collar Crime:  Corporate, Predatory Violent Fraud Offenders".  Frank debunks the myth that white collar criminals reflect the kinder, gentler offender and Frank explains how red collar criminals resort to violence to prevent the detection of their fraud schemes.  Frank takes us down a fascinating journey of how a white collar criminal can turn to violence ("Red Collar") when cornered.  

We are joined by Bethany McLean on CSI Chat to talk about the learnings from Enron, the 2008 financial crisis and her most recent book, "The Big Fail:  What the Pandemic Revealed about Who America Protects and Who it Leaves Behind".  Bethany is a well-known journalist who published in 2001 the now famous article in Fortune, "Is Enron Overpriced".  Bethany is the author of several books, cohost of the podcast "Capitalisn't" and a special correspondent at Insider and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.   During our "Chat" with Bethany, we talk about a number of topics including: We go back in a time machine to March 2001 when she first wrote "Is Enron Overpriced"?  What was Bethany thinking at the time?  What conversations did she have with the Enron executive team? After 20+ years since her article and the Enron collapse, have we learned anything?  Is history due to repeat itself? Why did she decide to write a book on the financial crisis of 2008 entitled "All the Devils are Here"?  Was the 2008 financial crisis preventable? Her most recent book, "The Big Fail", goes through the learnings of the COVID 19 pandemic.  What did we do well during the pandemic?  What were the areas that we could have done better?  Are we prepared for the next global pandemic.    It is a fascinating conversation with Bethany and I hope everyone enjoys it.  

David Giersdorf joins us at CSI Chat to talk about his experience in the cruise industry and his fantastic book, "Hardships:  Navigating your company, career, and life through the fog of disruption".   David has spent nearly his entire professional life involved with the travel and cruise industry.  When COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, the cruise industry was hit extremely hard.  How did the cruise companies deal with this disruption?  How were they able to navigate when a huge portion of their costs are fixed?  David was called upon by several cruise companies to assist during this difficult time.   David provides his strategies and insights on how to deal with disruption which are applicable to all industries.    

The "Pink Collar Crime" lady Kelly Paxton joins us on CSI Chat for a terrific discussion on "Pink Collar Crime".  Kelly Paxton is the author of the book "Embezzlement: How to Detect, Prevent, and Investigate Pink-Collar Crime" and is a world-renown expert and global speaker in the area.  Kelly's background ranges from investigating narcotics crimes for the United States Customs to investigating how owner managed businesses are at risk of fraud.     During our Chat with Kelly, we touch on: The definition of "Pink Collar Crime" and the type of businesses which are most susceptible to this issue.   What are some of the "Pink Flags" that would indicate a potential issue in a business?   What are the most common methods to facilitate a "Pink Collar Crime" and how do we build an effective internal control environment to prevent these issues.     I hope everyone enjoys the "Chat" with Kelly Paxton.  

Tom Hardin, also known as "Tipper X", was working his way up the corporate ladder on Wall Street when he was stopped on the street by a couple of FBI agents and his life was never the same.  Tom was faced with accusations of insider trading and decided to cooperate with the FBI.  It was at this point Tom transitioned from being "Tom Hardin", up and coming Wall Street banker to "Tipper X", undercover agent for the FBI.  After working with the FBI, Tom is now a renown public speaker and sought after expert in the area of corporate ethics. The discussion with Tom is fascinating as we touch on a number of subjects, including: When Tom is first stopped in the street by the FBI agents, the FBI suggests they go to a private spot to discuss the situation.  Where is the spot of choice?  The restaurant "Wendy's" of course.  The amount of profit on the insider trades was approximately $46,000.  Hard to believe that someone's life can be turned upside down for $46,000.  Tom tells some shocking stories about the process wearing a wire, including one experience in a pool.   Truth stranger than fiction?  Perhaps.   Tom is a very interesting guy and I hope everyone enjoys the "Chat".