I often hear from employers and managers that finding critical-thinkers, problem-solvers, or self-starters is hard to do in this day and age. And yet, it’s interesting that the very traits that makes them so are generally frowned upon in business and in society in general—taking risks; exploring new possibilities; learning and adjusting from the inevitable mistakes. Many of the world’s …
Being a Champion
A recent post on Facebook said, “What if you awoke tomorrow morning with only the things you’d expressed gratitude for or had championed today?” It gave me a moment of pause as contemplated what exactly had I expressed gratitude or appreciation for that day… there’s so much I would never want to live without and would certainly miss in my …
Infinite Promise
If anything stays in one place too long in my house … it becomes almost invisible to me. For example, I often post meaningful quotes or passages on the front of my refrigerator, but after a while, if I don’t change them, I don’t even “see” them anymore. Early one morning last week while searching for a coffee scoop in …
Life’s GPS
When you need directions to some place you want to go, what’s the first thing you punch into your GPS? Your destination, right? Your GPS already knows where you are currently and quickly calculates the quickest route to your desired location. And what does it give you next? The next turn…. Not all your turns… just the very next one …
We Can Give It… But Can We Take It?
Why is feedback so easy to give but so hard to receive? In my experience most of us have negative emotions associated with feedback. Receiving feedback, even from people we trust and with whom we have good relationships, can cause us to have a defensive, emotional response. Sometimes that response is voiced and sometimes we internalize it. Either way, we …
The Worst and the Best is Yet to Come
Someone said to me recently, “Just when we survive the pandemic, then we’re hit with skyrocketing inflation and a likely recession… when will all this ever end? When will things finally get back to normal?!” I just smiled because my experience has shown me that “normal” is anything but black and white. Neither is it a straight line but rather …
Quietly Quitting or Boldly Creating?
If you’ve been on social media lately or read recent news headlines, you’ve likely heard about the tidal wave of employees “quietly quitting” their jobs. A recent Gallup poll of a random sample of 15,000 full- and part-time U.S. employees (aged 18 and over) in June of 2022 found that at least 50% of the U.S. workforce are quietly quitting—meaning …
The Future
I heard a great quote recently by Amy Mann: If it’s not happening now… it’s not happening. Unlike any other animal on this planet, humans can understand the concept of the future. A blessing and a curse, I think. Our big, powerful brains constantly desire to create a better life, an improved circumstance for ourselves and because we can conceive …
Secret of Life
Teachers show up for me at the most random moments. Unexpectedly intersecting and learning from them is one of the things I love most about the travels my work requires. Years ago, while observing operations at a client’s office in Nashville, Tennessee, I wandered out into the reception area in search of a coffee refill. Sitting in a wheelchair, beautifully …
The Stranger Within Our Gates
Several years ago, my business travels took me to Frisco, Texas, where I stayed in a beautiful, brand-new Embassy Suites hotel. Upon entering my room, I was warmly greeted by a card placed upon my bed printed with the following message: In ancient times, there was a prayer for “The Stranger Within Our Gates.” Here is ours for you, our …