Insights

Jan 07

bye, bye Miss American….,

I woke up at 4am this morning with Don McLean’s American Pie lyrics running through my head. I rarely understand the basis for my dreams but this morning was different. It was because Donald Trump sent the hordes down the street to the US Capital. It was because of the... read more →
Jan 04

Test Positive for Leadership

We all learned the phrase “test positive” in 2020, and it never brought good news.  2021 begins with hope that vaccines will reach enough people to generate herd immunity and return our lost freedoms. But it will take some time. Lockdowns will continue to take their toll on all of... read more →
Dec 23

So, this is Christmas

Like every Christmas since 1994, we will be together as a family. We will make cookies and Almond Rocha. We will play Yahtzee, Catan and Uno. We will sing carols on Christmas eve. There will be the regular golf game on Christmas eve morning. We will take most of Christmas... read more →
Aug 18

No Waiting To Press

“Patience has nothing to do with suppression” -- Pema Chodron I was born early.  Every day since September 19, 1955, I have been impatient. Parts of my life might have been easier if I met Pema Chodron sooner. My impatience was nurtured in my high school years. I played basketball... read more →
Aug 03

My Regards to the Redwoods

I have been a consultant for 37 years. Like all responsible consultants, I fulfill my professional duty and buy books. Many books. More than I care to admit were impulse purchases backed up with inverted rational and upside-down logic. I value my books. My books are my thought partners, sources... read more →
Jul 07

Joshua Wong: Leader

I have been thinking a lot about Joshua Wong this past week. Actually, I’ve been concerned about his well being.  Wong is the 23-year-old Hong Kong political activist who has been raising hell with the Beijing government for the past six years to maintain Hong Kong’s independence and freedom. His... read more →
Jun 29

Zoomed

This morning I reviewed my calendar for this past week. I estimate I spent 17 hours on Zoom. It could have been worse. It could have been 17 hours on Microsoft Teams. I think this amount of time talking to people online partially explains why I woke up at 4am... read more →
Jun 25

Choose & Choose Again

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." -- Martin Luther King In 1982, I began working as a consultant. In 1984, I began my coaching work. In 1990, I met Will... read more →
Jun 23

Divergence

“Is there anything more dangerous than sympathetic understanding?” --Picasso Pablo Picasso is regarded as one of greatest artists in history. He was beyond category. He suffered no fools. He defied Hitler with his master work Guernica. He often said “Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.”  But what was he stealing?... read more →
Jun 11

The Balcony

“Being in power makes me permanently suspicious of myself” Vaclav Havel, Speech 1991 Vaclav Havel has been a role model for me since the early 1990’s. I was enamored with the politically romantic story of a playwright becoming president of Czechoslovakia. I often wondered if he thought about how absurd... read more →