I heard an interview with a local chef on NPR the other day. He was lucky in his early days to study under Daniel Boulud, a world-famous chef and restaurateur. The local chef shared a few things he learned, notably to not rush to the top of the mountain but to enjoy the journey. In […]
I’ve been thinking about risk management lately. Some risk I welcome and some I don’t. Skiing a no-fall zone chute is still pretty fun and a trip to a remote area of the Amazon was outstanding! Replacing two furnaces, a humidifier, and a water heater all in one year at my house, not so much. […]
Do you feel lucky? If you’re old enough, you might remember Clint Eastwood asking this in a Dirty Harry movie as he points a gun at a perp. That’s not quite the frame of mind I want to put you in. Rather, try this: Think about something that recently caused you to feel happy and […]
You like potato, I like potahto. Who cares? You call it a problem; I say it’s a decision. Who cares? You should! They don’t require the same process. CEOs and other leaders are constantly faced with problems to solve, decisions to make and opportunities to explore. It is critical, however, to know the difference. The […]
The Wall Street Journal recently reported this: “Software giant Microsoft Corp., in a recent survey of more than 20,000 people, found that 87% of employees say they are productive at work, while only 12% of leaders have confidence that their workers are being productive.” I’m protective of the C-suite as those are the people I […]
I was racing to my office from an appointment when the light ahead turned yellow—the universal indication to hit the gas, which I did. The guy ahead of me, however, saw the yellow light with a different mindset and braked. Luckily, no metal was bent. Although I won’t justify my driving habits, it made me […]
An upcoming trip to fly-fish on a tributary on the Amazon caused me to buy some heavier equipment (i.e., rod, reel, fly line, and flies). The fish down there are river monsters. A trip to the park to try out said gear was humbling. My casting is pretty good, but with that heavy gear I […]
When you view life over the long arc of history, the picture is phenomenal. Death, disease, poverty, war, and other nasty things—when viewed with a 100-year lens—have declined and many things have flourished. If you don’t believe me, pick up Steven Pinker’s book, “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.” When I […]
I frequently speak with people who feel they haven’t achieved exactly what they want. It might be business success, career success, income, skill, or lack of joy. We often work on a plan to get what they want. It’s not my job to tell people what they should want. (Unless they’re family. Then it’s my […]
A view of the owners’ box—with a new ownership group and president—at a Denver Broncos game surprised me (a Minnesota transplant from 30 years ago makes me more Broncos fan than Vikings). Several owners and the team president had their heads buried in their phones. I suspect they weren’t calling plays down to the new […]