SO BE HUMAN.

Well, this doesn’t sound too cheerful, does it?

Even in this tough situation, Ron offers a great perspective. As he explained to me, “My advice in a situation like this is to be human, to be their friend. And be proactive, call them up and say, Hey, listen, I know you ' re in a tough spot. I know you can't pay me. Don't worry about it. When you get the money, pay me. "

A STORY FROM 9/11 AND SONY

As they chatted, Ron continued, “let me tell you a story. When 911 happened, I was at Sony, and I was the President of the Sales organization at that time. We had a very large customer on Wall Street. It was called J&R Music, and J&R sold a huge amount of electronics which they bought from us to people who worked in the World Trade Center area and Wall Street. The company was run by a woman named Michelle Friedman, who was powerful, and very accomplished. I had a relationship with her because I used to run the New York sales office so knew her, but she was not always the easiest person to deal with. But she dealt with me, and we got along because we were both really straight shooters.

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