Last week I wrote about Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal. Gawande deals with what patients and doctors DON’T want to deal with . . . the inevitability of death. The denial of death often results in brutalizing treatments that make life more painful (and sometimes even shorter) than is necessary, and the denial means people make choices … Continued
791 words, approximately 3 minutes… I was with about a dozen college classmates (’80) on Sunday, and there was much talk about our parents in their 80s and 90s. Today’s blog is for the aging. That is, of course, all of us :-). But I mean it for those who are a good deal older … Continued
I had the wonderful opportunity to present to a cohort of leaders at a major corporation last week. The group of 75 came from around the country. They had been selected based on their upwards trajectory at the firm and their promise as leaders. Can you picture them, looking good and proud and enthused. I … Continued
“I am a really good teacher, and as so, I hold people’s attention.” That’s what I tend to think. But when I watch others teach, I realize, “OMG, it’s so easy in the audience – even without technology – to drift off!” And when I allow myself to sneak a peak at my phone, well … Continued
If you’ve been reading Read2Lead over the past few years you’ve tracked my decided shift into two territories you might call micro-leadership: leading yourself and leading in dyads. They are profoundly connected. And here are the two primary reasons why they are, and how they form a virtuous cycle: lead yourself by increasingly leading with and … Continued
I am entering into one of those stretches. You know them. Bam. Bam. Bam. One thing after the next. It’s the time my extreme SJ envy comes out. SJ, as in Sensing and Judging in the Myers-Briggs sense: SJ’s are Sensate people who naturally live in the land of reality (rather than my preferred position … Continued
406 words. 3 minutes reading time. Here are two simple images of an organization – a classroom, locker room, a start-up, a division: The drawing on the right is excerpted from fascinating work by Professor Wayne Baker of the Ross School of Business.* My simple point is this: Which would appear more dynamic and powerful? … Continued
I am stealing a page from Axios newsletter. They publish their word count and expected reading time. I may, as I have today, added footnotes, a more extensive commentary, and external links should you wish to explore more. 407 words. 3 minutes. Dr. Ronald Heifetz of the Kennedy School of Government would utterly unnerve students. … Continued
My dad was born to Irish immigrants in 1928, the year the stock market crashed. The Depression lasted a full decade, plus. And think about this: During that decade, while his father drove for the Detroit Street Railway, his mother had five more children. Can we even imagine this today? (We tell the pollsters that … Continued
Ten days ago our Connor read his vows to Alexis. And Alexis read hers to Connor. I know it’s not a word, but they were sweeting! Ever since, I’ve been reflecting – like a mirror – back and forth from sweeting in love and marriage, to leading in business and partnership. What I keep … Continued