As I write this Gabe and I are on our 17th annual father-son trip, starting with Seattle, Vancouver, and now, Whistler, home to some of the 2010 Winter Olympics. We had a tremendous time in Seattle with our good friend, the extraordinary writer, Libby Wagner. She took us to indie bookstores (our favorite kind), coffee shops, […]
Dispatch from the Pacific Northwest Read More »
One of my great pleasures is reading. I am in the midst of a fantastic biography about one of my personal heroes, James Baldwin. In the picture above he is approximately 24, when he first went to Paris. The book I am reading is by David Leeming, who served as Baldwin’s secretary for awhile and
I am just getting around to watching The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. It came out in 1984. It was a flop, but achieved cult status when it was released on video cassette. It may not seem like much to you, but as a fan of interdimensional science fiction, it was remiss
My canine companion, Sita, was hurt in a conflict with an unknown animal in our backyard two weeks ago. She came into the house with deep lacerations on her front and back leg. She is okay now, after a trip to the emergency room, a ton of antibiotics and some time spent inside the infamous
Taking Care of Each Other Read More »
Wu wei is a concept that comes from taoism, and literally translated it means action through non-action. This is often interpreted to mean doing by not doing anything. This interpretation reminds me of managing people, which I did for many years at the World Bank. When there was a minor issue, a manager’s first course
Writing today from up in the sky on my way to Orlando from Chicago. As fortune would have it I am in the midst of 15 days of back-to-back engagements, mostly at home in the DC area, but also in the two cities mentioned above plus Las Vegas. Consulting, as a colleague says, is lumpy.
Sustaining Momentum Read More »
When I was a little boy my mother earned her PhD studying the precognitive development of blind children. Her graduate work included studying theories of child development. I learned from her that play can be understood as the activities children engage in to make sense of their world and orchestrate important aspects of their own
The Power of Play Read More »
In my work, I have the great pleasure of meeting true luminaries, ordinary people who have succeeded at extraordinary efforts. Susan Neely is such a leader. Today she is CEO of the American Beverage Association (ABA) and later this summer, she will assume her new position as CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers. During
Visionary: Susan Neely Read More »
Buckminster Fuller had a life-changing mystical personal experience that re-oriented and revitalized his life. This incident provided him with a deep sense of purpose. When he recounted it he told others he heard a voice that spoke directly to him and said: “ From now on you need never await temporal attestation to your thought.
I work with CEOs and executives on strategy and innovation. Since 2009 the vast majority of my clients are association leaders: trade associations and professional societies. Over the last 10 years, I have done a lot of work in strategic planning. So, I distilled my process down to a few short steps. You can download
Association Strategy Read More »
