The Backstory Jones of the Old Shoes is based on bedtime stories I began telling my son, Max, when he was 5-years-old. So, the book has been in the works for 30 years! In 1999, Max was a 10-year-old fifth grader, and I was about to publish my...
Read MoreAuthenticity. There isn’t much of it out there these days. Maybe there is among the animals who don’t know anything else. They never learned how to fake it. Increasingly, we humans are faced with fake almost-everything: fake news, fake images, fake claims. Artificial intelligence is...
Read MoreWe all have one and it contains the seeds and secrets of who you are. The question is: Do you want to share your story with others? Do you want others to know, really know you? Recently, I read an article by the New York Times...
Read MoreThe other day, I read an article in the New York Times about two Canadian men who were switched at birth by mistake. Each went home with the wrong parents. Now, 67 years later, the mistake has been discovered. It’s effect on each man has...
Read MoreWhat is my message? is a question that has an out-sized impact on our lives, even when we aren’t aware of it....
Read MoreSometimes, all of this suffering gets to me, yet I am powerless to alleviate it. It’s too much. Too big. Too far away. Still, to do nothing isn’t an option....
Read MoreA friend of mine recently sent me this LinkedIn post by someone named David Reed. Actually, it’s not a post; it’s a meditation on mortality. But more. It is a meditation on life. The power and grace of his words startled me. I wondered whether...
Read MoreWe live in a world informed by the goals we set for ourselves. To be an A student. To learn how to make world-beating Italian food. To finish writing that children’s book. To make the varsity tennis team. To be able to play guitar with...
Read More“There is something terribly wrong with a culture inebriated by noise and gregariousness.” These words from George Steiner, a leading, French-born American literary critic, struck me as perfectly fitting for how we live today. Or don’t. We live in chaotic times that ceaselessly demand our attention in...
Read MoreThere is a hopelessness in the air these days. We have, many believe, reached the point of no return when it comes to getting along with people who don’t see things our way. We speak the same language yet understand nothing. To quote a famous...
Read MoreThe question, what do you love?, probably triggers thoughts ranging from favorite foods to favorite sports, hobbies and other activities. Maybe, you love grilling a great burger, or roasting fresh salmon, or sipping French reds from Bordeaux. Maybe, what you love revolves around golf or...
Read MoreOn December 13, 2020, George Schultz turned 100. In an article in The Washington Post around the same time, Schultz, a former U.S. secretary of labor, treasury and state, described the 10 most important things he learned about trust over the course of his life. Here...
Read MoreOne has to go beyond the pairs of opposites to find the real source of anything.” Joseph Campbell We’re living in a polar world, a world which, in many ways, is defined by polar opposites. Our notion of opposites tends to default to politics: Republicans...
Read MoreIn my last Viewsletter, I referred to the Book of Joy, published in 2016, which condenses a week’s worth of discussions between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama into a compendium of wisdom. In today’s complicated world, I believe it’s worth looking at joy,...
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The two men reflect on their personal experiences and outline what they call the eight pillars of joy. In re-reading the book, I was struck by how relevant these pillars are today as we navigate a new way of being in the world....
Read MoreIt’s been two years since my end-of-year viewsletter focused on what you believe. Too long! Over time, readers have submitted dozens of answers, ranging from the illuminating, serious, and funny, to the distressing and the reassuring. Let’s do it again. After all, we are in...
Read MoreIt’s not always easy asking for help. But we all need it, now and again. ...
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In my last Viewsletter, I posed the question: How many north stars does one company need? The answer? Just one. Whether you call it your mission, brand, purpose, vision, or identity is beside the point. What matters most is that whatever statement you select be...
Read MoreSome years ago, I had the opportunity to help Dow Chemical clarify its global brand: What was the company all about? Why was it here? How did the company make a meaningful difference to its customers, employees, suppliers, communicates, even investors? When I arrived in...
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