Monday Morning Mojo

My daughter, Ruchi, did an outstanding job with her grades in the first semester of her freshman year in high school. We wanted to reward her tenacity, perseverance, and results. When we asked her what she wanted, she requested a langa, an Indian dress outfit. My wife helped her pick one out and make the

Dawn Sweeney, CEO of the National Restaurant Association, is an exemplar of extraordinary leadership, my chosen area of focus and professional expertise. I help leaders get better at doing bolder things. Dawn is someone who I watch closely because of the boldness of her initiatives and her successes. The picture above was from the recent

The picture above is my daughter, Ruchi, in the frame shop. It is her art that is laying on the table. When we first brought Ruchi home from New Delhi at the age of eight she was a prodigious colorer, going through many coloring books. As the years unfolded she did less and less. It

It was a brisk morning yesterday when I took my German shepherd, Sita, out. We came upon this beautiful holly plant, wet with the cold drizzle that was all around. It was a bracing and brilliant way to start the day. The cold air was invigorating. The holly shook with the wind. Sita was sniffing

My good friend, Raj Chawla, encouraged me this morning over coffee to consider how results rest in the center of leaders’ relationships. After I made a comment about the importance of relationships, he reminded me that those relationships live in the context of results. I can see both sides: relationships can generate results just as

When I was a professional storyteller I was struck by how rare common storytelling has become in our culture. Prior to the Internet it was not unusual for family gatherings to center around stories that rekindled relationships, affirmed values, conveyed important life lessons, delivered an appreciation for what had come before and pointed toward the

In the picture above my daughter, Ruchi is dressed up as Kali for Halloween. Kali is one of the ten great goddesses of Hinduism. She is the destroyer of evil forces. Ruchi, adopted 8 years ago at the age of eight, is today digging deep into Hindu mythology. Her choice of a Halloween costume reflects

Three weeks ago I did a Monday Morning Mojo on taking charge of your own education and wrote about an event I was putting together for association CEOs on how they change the world, with special guests, Susan Neely and Jay Timmons. The picture above, by Jane Love, is me addressing this audience during my

My mother received her PhD in early child development when I was a youngster. I was often her test subject. As a result I associated my mother’s love with taking tests. That alone gave me a great advantage throughout my academic studies. A central focus of my mother’s studies was the importance of play in

The picture above is me speaking at a couple of weeks ago at a Design Summit for a new Grand Challenge. It was a true honor. I am humbled by the people who gather to take on a Grand Challenge, which is a socially intractable problem that matters. In this instance, there were over 30