I know many in RBC Land say to themselves, "I know how to write Boolean strings but how come I can't make a hire?" or "I've been using the phone since I was three but I'm afraid of talking to a gatekeeper!"

Maureen Sharib feels your phone pain - really she does. I've known her for a few years and she's confided to me her fear of the phone and her solution to her problem. It's like me with crowds; I'm deathly afraid of making speeches but I've had to mentally change how I think about crowds. For me, my solution is to think about everyone sitting there in their underwear. Sure it sound corny but it works.

For the first time, I'm sharing Maureen's secret to telephone names sourcing. Yes, it's true: Maureen makes her calls dressed in 6 inch pumps, a black corset rolled down to show shiny gold pasties, fishnet stockings, white silk evening gloves, red as red can be lipstick, triple the length false eye lashes, and her hair in a tightly wrapped bun. Oh, and there's an ten inch ivory cigarette holder on the edge of the table. Finally, her husband Bob is dressed like a Pharaoh's helper, feeding her grapes, ready to hand her a cat-o-nine tails if he behaves badly.

Maureen says it really helps