Friends, Have you been watching the new Pope? Like all great leaders — would that be YOU??? — he demonstrates a powerful sense of symbols to model a way for others. His actions remind me of the line attributed to the awesome spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, “be the change you hope to see in the … Continued
Friends, Today’s column is really NOT about hoops (much as I love the game). It’s about how brackets are both really cool — for reasons I do not understand — and can be kind of useful. So, just for kicks I have created my own tournament bracket for your and my use. In each branch … Continued
Friends, In Sunday’s New York Times, the great novelist Elmore Leonard (University of Detroit High School, 1943) imagines what his father would say to Elmore’s mother about the current situation at the Vatican: “You see, we’re gonna have two popes at the same time — both infallible — and you don’t think there’s gonna … Continued
Friends, To paraphrase Tina Turner, “What’s height got to do with it?” Well, it seems like a lot. When George Washington at 6’1″ served as first president he was literally a head taller than many of his cohorts: John Adams was 5’7″ and James Madison a diminutive 5’4″. (Independence Hall in Philadelphia has a wonderful … Continued
Friends, My wife Jennifer, son Jack and I panted and fussed our way over the considerable hills of Oakland on Sunday. Jen signed us up for a Terraloco run (“crazy earth”) a 5K unlike any we’d experienced. About 75 people met in the Leaning Tower Pizzeria in downtown Oakland, and they gave us all a … Continued
Special 12th Anniversary Guest Column By Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster We recently appeared on a late-night television show to promote our new book, Mean Girls at Work. Our hosts, two male comedians, were very surprised to learn that women react to teasing, sparring and criticism very differently from men. “When you insult or yell at one of … Continued
Friends, My sister Mary emailed this photo to me and our 5 brothers and sisters. Her note said, “Dad would have been proud.” And she was so right. Our old man served on the city council in Inkster, Michigan (about 1/20 the size of Tampa, where Mary serves). Looking back and seeing how, during his … Continued
Friends, Dang! Things come apart so easily. For example(s): A staff member keeps creating conflict with you or others. Your boss seems like she came from a different planet; she never smiles, and that’s not funny. One of your kids is a challenge-a-minute. The back office is a constant source of frustration. The possibilities … Continued
Dear Friends, “So You Want To Be Part of a Great Team?” I ask, as did Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith in their book The Wisdom of Teams. The “why” you’d want to is obvious, and likely two-fold. First, teams generate results. A great team is more than the sum of its individual parts, and – … Continued
Special 12th Anniversary Guest Column JOEL GARFINKLE: Great Leaders Use Influence, Not Power Many leaders confuse influence with power. However, there is a vast difference between the two and the simple act of learning that difference and how to use it can move your career ahead in unexpected ways. To illustrate–a story. Jody was a senior VP at a … Continued