I’ve spent my career trying to help people without connections understand what’s going on so that they have a chance of getting a fair shake from the connected and the powerful.

Report, report, report. Dig, dig, dig. Think, think, think. Don’t stop being a reporter because you’ve become a columnist.

When I started writing a business column 15 years ago, I knew I’d found the perfect job for myself. As a columnist I could pick my own topic, do my own analysis, say what I wanted to say and attribute it to myself. Best of all, I could write in my own voice.

Don’t commit to being a columnist unless you’re willing to do it right. Report your behind off, so you have something original and useful to say. Say it in a way that will interest someone other than you, your family and your sources.

I don't tolerate whining, I look at people & say 'you're a victim, it's not your fault' figure our how to survive!

If the subject matter isn't inherently interesting - accounting comes to mind - I've got to make it amusing, if only to keep myself awake.

If a column is crying out for a good line and I can't come up with it, I troll for help. Communal humor is good, especially if you involve your boss.

It's easy to write a good column if you've got good information. It's hard if you have to depend on style alone. I suppose there are people who can get away with styling on a regular basis. I'm not one of them. You're probably not, either.

If the government decides to put your life under a microscope, do you think it won't find something? I suspect there's not an adult in the country who would walk away totally unscathed if every aspect of his or her life were investigated the way Stewart's ImClone trading was.

When I started writing a business column 15 years ago, I knew I'd found the perfect job for myself. As a columnist I could pick my own topic, do my own analysis, say what I wanted to say and attribute it to myself. Best of all, I could write in my own voice.