Category: Blog

The best leaders in history have been reluctant. Fact. America's foremost father, George Washington, did not seek power or position. When The Revolutionary war was in it's final chapter a few of his teammates (mostly motivated by their lack of pay, btw) put forth a proposal to crown him King.  He said no bueno. It … Continue reading Reluctant George…

Fortune happens to you. Good fortune is the weather being perfect for your birthday party. Unfortunate is layoffs at your company. Little to no control over either. Tina Seelig (in her book What I Wish I Knew About Luck) argues that luck is the result of the choices we make and the chances we take. … Continue reading Fortune vs luck

Lauren and I were able to sneak away for a date night recently for one of our favorite activities, wine tasting, and randomly sat with a guy in an open seating format that turned into the 3 of us sitting and talking for 3 hours sharing some of Champagnes finest in addition to stories about … Continue reading The Power of Personal Agency (part 1)…

Rereading The Real George Washington has more than humbled my sorriness. The heat of summer is upon us. It's going to be a near record high today. No big deal to this soft dude. I'm sitting in the comfort of my home. AC on. My toes are cold. Had to go get slippers.  Soft.  GW's crossing of … Continue reading Soft as…

Cultures of excellence are grounded in both high performance and high levels of care. Most go too far toward one side or the other. If you envision this as a 2x2 grid, in the lower left corner you have toxic cultures - low performance and low levels of caring. These companies don't tend to last … Continue reading Culture of excellence

You don’t like how you’re tracking. Body might be betraying you. Doesn't do what it once did. Others might be hanging you out to dry. Feeling overworked at work, under-appreciated at home. The boss isn’t giving you what you've earned. Your bride or best friend is too much or too little. You are frustrated. What … Continue reading Start here…

John Adams had a great truth teller.  His truth teller was never his direct report, never served on one of his committee's, never managed his campaigns, never worked beside him in any form of public service.  His greatest truth teller simply told him the unvarnished truth. Served it up wth the right amount of humor … Continue reading Ask for it…

David Brooks has written about resume vs eulogy virtues. The norm for most of us is to spend most of our focus and our career years building resume virtues. I.e. the skills you build up and bring to the marketplace. The ones you would list on your resume. Most of us focus our efforts here. … Continue reading Eulogy virtues