Each year I pick a word (or a word picks me!) rather than a resolution to focus on. I have learned from experience, resolutions come and go as evidenced by how crowded the gym will be in January and then uncrowded in February! Discovering a word and focusing on that word is sticky and becomes […]
Since 1989, I have been studying what it means to “Seize the Day.” Watch my YouTube PechaKucha presentation to see and hear what I’ve learned and what I try to practice!
James Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge, have been surveying followers for over the past thirty years on what are the top seven characteristics out of twenty of an admired leader. Look at the latest results from the 2017 survey on the left. The top four characteristics of an admired leader are honesty, competence, […]
I recently read Rachel Sugar’s, Vox, The Great Escape post. She writes there are over 2,300 escape rooms in the United States. TripAdvisor says there are seven escape rooms in the Asheville area. If you are not aware of these places, they are rooms where you gather with up to 7 other people and try […]
I’ll begin with what I know for sure: Experience trumps knowledge. Mentors have experience. The mentors in my life have had a significant role in where I am and what I am doing today. They gave and still give me the gift of their time and their wisdom. My mentors help me be a better […]
Once again, my Cincinnati Reds are cellar-dwellers for 2019. On an average home game, the Reds’ fans fill just over a third of Great American Ballpark’s 42,319 seats, reflecting the Reds’ ability to lose more than win. There are still gripes about Dick Williams, the general manager, and how he manages. Six-time MLB All-Star Joey […]
A young man came to me recently. He has just experienced his fourth department leadership change in three years. He was a mix of anger, frustration, and disappointment. He was losing hope in the organization and its leadership. The future concerns him because he wants stability. He asked for answers or at least my advice. […]
A wall is a door. – Ralph Waldo Emerson One of the most powerful experience-based initiatives in my toolbox is the Group Wall. Its a good initiative to do with groups when they have reached a plateau of either thinking “we’re good,” when egos are still at play or the group is still not collaborating […]
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. While my intentions may be good, I find that if the resolution is not specific, clear, focused, relevant and has a deadline for achievement, it is not going to happen. In other words, making New Year’s solutions is like bacon and eggs. I have found I make resolutions from […]
In October 2018, Deborah Copaken wrote in The Atlantic, What I Learned About Life at My 30th College Reunion She listed 30 lessons. Several resonated with me. “No one’s life turned out exactly as anticipated, not even for the most ardent planner.”Amen! Life is what happened while planning something else. I do think its important to […]
