It was around 5 P.M. and I was in the mood for some Chinese food so I immediately remembered one of the most valuable lessons my father ever taught me: "When you eat Chinese, make sure your dinner companion is interesting. That way, when the food comes, you get the...

It's hard to win, but for most people, it's harder to lose. I realized this truth applied to me as I settled into my seat flying from New York to Detroit. I had just lost out on an upgrade to first class and despite the fact that it was a...

I just finished eating in a Vietnamese restaurant and paid the check quickly. I wanted to get back to my hotel room in New Brunswick, N.J. to watch the third game of the ALCS and second debate game. Since I'm an expert in television watching, I knew it would be...

Thirty seconds isn't a lot of time for Peyton Manning to quarterback his team for a winning touchdown, but 60 minutes was plenty of time for me to give a game plan to the 400 executives who wanted to know how to handle difficult conversations. In fact, it is one...

A few minutes after I went into my local Starbucks for my morning ritualistic coffee, it started to rain, so I thought it better to stay and sip and read the Wall Street Journal than get my new sneakers wet. Since my normal comfy chair was occupied, I took a...

If you are open to new ways to improve your success, you might want to try increasing your "PI" -- that's "personal intelligence," a cousin of emotional intelligence. Personal intelligence is new kid on the block for achieving success and it's gaining a great deal of attention because it is...

Faster than a speeding the bullet is how I read Larry Tye's new book, Superman: The High Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero (Random House). Engaging, fun, inspiring -- like The Man of Steel -- are only some of the super adjectives that the book richly deserves, and I...

If you take the two books I've written on anger management, the three books I've written on giving criticism, and mix them with more than a thousand presentations that I've done on anger and criticism, and the fact that I was one of the first practitioners of anger management (1976),...

You know the term "emotional intelligence" -- using your emotions, feelings, moods and those of others -- as a source of information that allows you to make better decisions and navigate through life more effectively. For the last few months, I have been helping individuals in many Fortune 500 companies...

I'm sure there are times when your best-laid plans don't pan out. You may seem to be going along just fine, when suddenly -- wham! -- a setback sends you veering off course. Your forward movement comes to a grinding halt and your motivation plummets. At such times, your self-esteem...

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me," or in Ozzie Guillen's case, "Words can never hurt me," is a proverb that proves to be wide of its mark.

By now, you are probably aware of how Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen...

Since 1728, it's been a dilemma for millions of people: how to be a little piggy that goes to the marketplace, eat roast beef, and not have to wee wee all the way home. Well, the problem has been solved.

I first learned of the solution a few nights ago....

Friendships -- they're something we all crave and it's no wonder; they provide us with support, comfort and security. They add joy to our lives, help us cope with adversity, stimulate our interest and make us feel connected -- as though we belong.

Friendships -- they often define who...

Anger! If you are like most people, you have probably experienced it in the last 24 hours, and in the last year or two heard the word 10,000 times. Whether on ESPN or CNN, on the phone or in your home, anger permeates our lives.

For most of us, anger...

"Wow," I said aloud as I watched 'Melo make a 30-footer to tie the game. "The Knicks can do it, they can beat the Celtics! Plenty of time, the fourth quarter is just starting," were my internal cheers.

Then, worse than the sound of a game ending buzzer, my BlackBerry...

If you have ever experienced the end of an intimate relationship (and chances are you have), I'm sure you are familiar with the common denominators of intimate relationship endings: anger, anxiety, sadness/depression, despair, relief. What I've learned as a psychologist -- and personally, too -- is that it is how...

One of the great benefits of my daughter Bri relocating to New York from L.A. is that I occasionally get to dine with her while we watch television. She controls the remote.

Back in the day, I frequently watched her shows with her and, besides this being fun, I always...

If you are like millions of others worldwide, I can make money by betting that in the next few weeks, you will be going to an event that has existed hundreds of thousands of years before catering -- the family gathering.

I'll make more money by betting that you will...

No one would dispute the fact that managing a workforce is a tough task. In a working world dominated by anxiety, frustration and fear and with little enthusiasm and joy, managing a team, department or division is harder than ever. These days, it is easy to be a failing manager.

During the last two years, I have asked top executives and managers from the most elite companies in the world, "Would you like a more productive staff?"

Naturally, they all answer with a resounding "YES!"

"If that is the case," I tell them, "Manage with emotional intelligence."

Because most...