First, quiet the dragons
January 16, 2023
Sometimes, 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....
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Promises, promises
We 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 MoreShhhhh.
“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 MoreWill my life be rich?
There 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 MoreWho can I trust?
On 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 MoreHow many north stars does one company need?
Some 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...
Read MoreThe death of integrity
I recently came across a witty line that was part of a political message: Stop truth decay! The thought has stuck with me. It is memorable and meaningful. It is common knowledge that politics is a business that, for the most part, lacks integrity. Politicians will...
Read MoreWhat’s on your business card?
How do you present yourself to the world? Do you -- can you -- present your true self or do you present the traditional, expected "data?" -- What you do, who you work for? Here's another approach for fashioning a personal business card that asserts your...
Read MoreThe problem with “identity” (Fixing it is up to you)
Do you know what the word of the year was in 2015? It was ”identity” according to Dictionary.com. Why has identity become a hot topic today? Why was “identity” the word of the year in 2015? Chalk it up to the new individualism — a world where we’ve...
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