Lord, it would be funny if it weren’t so crazy. How do we nurture everyday leaders? Better start here: Realize it’s a 24-7 job to push back. Cuz if you’re a parent, teacher, CEO, preacher, boss or head of just about anything, they’re going to expect you to take care of just about everything. … Continued
Christine Carter, a friend (and author of the acclaimed Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents), and I are reading each other’s ideas for our next books. Her draft is like one of those aps you sign up for which tell you all the stuff they’ll be accessing on your phone, e.g., … Continued
Sometimes your team has looked at a problem that’s been festering, agreed to work on it, and you really hope things will get better. (Or maybe the problem’s been in your church, your marriage, or with your kids.) You hope things will improve. In my consulting an a-ha reveals itself, as clients say: “Wow. We … Continued
My vocal teacher has story after story – starting with her own – of how critics can be to a singer’s esteem, what termites are to a wooden home. A single criticism can devour the mind of self-confidence and easy expression. Singers or not, everyone I know has a story of criticisms planted in their … Continued
I first met Barbara Lee ten years ago. My wife had been talking about this amazing woman who was relentlessly dedicated to identifying, recruiting, supporting, and coaching great women to run for elective office. Jennifer doesn’t think she’d have gotten elected without Barbara’s encouragement and energy. Jennifer was far from Barbara’s only beneficiary. Barbara Lee … Continued
Are you, as I am in middle age, drawn to enchanted memories of early years? I can see, even smell certain places I haven’t been in 40 years. So my brother Pat repeatedly says to me, “Danny, we’ve got to go back and play Birmingham [Country Club].” He and I caddied there. We spent hundreds … Continued
I’m back from two weeks of vacation on magnificent Lake Michigan. I learned some simple leadership tips; some through success, and others as notes to do better next time. If you’re going on vacation at some point perhaps you’ll find value in these 4 takeaways. 1. Get all the way away. Routine can shrink … Continued
Our marvelous friend Jeanne Gallo invited six of her husband’s law school classmates from ’86, and Jennifer and me, and our spouses and children to their summer cottage for the 4th of July. She had no idea when she issued the invites that tragedy would intervene. Three weeks ago Jeanne’s sister found their mom … Continued
I was speaking to a delegation of manufacturers from China about old and new leadership approaches in America. After every four or five sentences, I would stop. The interpreter would then reel off sentences in Mandarin. I’d catch when he said a word, like “Google” or “Obama,” but otherwise I understood absolutely nothing. As he … Continued
RFL Two weeks ago: really examine yourself before you start correcting someone else. RFL Last week: there is no reality, so “get” their reality. Their reality – their perceptions, recollections, evaluations — are completely independent of yours. Their view need not threaten you. Just GET IT and then many problems will go away. Now: You … Continued