A friend leaned over the table at Starbucks yesterday morning, and confided, “You really don’t want to know what goes on in this space above my shoulders…” He is the Chief Executive of his organization, and we were talking about the psychotic warped thinking that can unravel in the mind of an otherwise confident leader under duress of stress and confrontation. He was joking of course, but not really. The two of us who had joined him for some pre-commuter banter and strong... Read more
I was festering over a work situation which I instinctively had interpreted as a zero sum game. By that I mean, there were two players and only two potential outcomes: a winner and a loser. This win-lose attitude was naturally accompanied by a generous barrage of negative thoughts, driven by a desperate need for survival and self-preservation. I had to grab my piece of the pie, because, as everyone knows, there is only so much to go around. And this, ladies... Read more
I have been coaching one of our managers lately on how to appear more confident in front of groups. I am uniquely qualified to coach him because I am oh-so-familiar with self-confidence issues, as they played out many times in my early career. I would freeze up, quake in my boots, get dry mouth, gastric problems – you name it. But somehow by the grace of God I was able to overcome it. “But how, Brad?” you ask, with quivering lips. “How? How? How?”... Read more
Eighth grade is typically a harsh year, and mine was no exception. I was not the most athletically coordinated boy, which placed me firmly at the lowest ranking of the middle school echelon. Add to that my greasy hair, braces, and oversized, thick-lens eyeglasses, and you start to get a very sorry picture. Thankfully, my nomadic family decided to temporarily move due to my father’s work situation. We rented out our house for one year and packed up to Michigan... Read more
Strategy consultant Dorie Clark wrote an intriguing post a couple weeks ago at Harvard Business Review blogs presenting somewhat of an anti-outlook for 2012. Instead of promoting typical professional stretch goal-setting tips, she made suggestions for things to stop doing, in order to become more focused and productive in the New Year. Her red lighted list of things to stop doing included such helpful recommendations as “Responding Like a Trained Monkey to emails” (#1), and “Reading Annoying Things” (#3) (like, this blog, for... Read more
I am dredging up a seasonal tidbit from the archives – one of my favorites – just in time for the holidays. And I am breaking all the blogging rules on this one, refusing to edit it down. So pull up a chair and a hot cup of cocoa. (Plus, I know you’re on vacation anyway, so relax!) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! A few weeks ago our family spent the weekend watching some old videos from when the kids were little. Back... Read more
Last week I attended an end-of-year corporate Holiday dinner with the management team of a smallish company of which I sit on the Board. As the cocktail hour was winding down and the merry executives and spouses were finally herded to their tables for dinner, the President stood up at the front of the room, cleared his throat and garnered the group’s attention for a few words of welcome. “As you know, it’s been quite…an interesting year,” he began. When he... Read more
I don’t know if it’s because I am getting older, but the days just seem to slip away before my eyes. I am trying to practice all the things that the experts say to slow it down, like being present in the now, getting up an hour earlier, taking a few minutes every day for quiet meditation, and fully appreciating everything around me. But still, the days rush away as I am caught up in the swirl of work, home... Read more
My CFO, Dave, has coined a fancy new corporate theological term, called “Business Sovereignty.” He mentions it every time something turns out for the good that we didn’t really expect. You wouldn’t guess that there are theological references to business – well, there aren’t, actually; thus his need to make something up. Now, I’m no theologian, but I think the idea behind God’s sovereignty is that, no matter what happens in life, or what decisions we make, we can trust that... Read more
Some new neighbors moved into the house across the street from us a few months ago. Being the self-centered and aloof person that I am, I usually don’t give much thought when it comes to these things. But for some odd reason I got it in my head that I was going to turn over a new leaf and show generosity and a welcoming spirit to these new folks. I imagined myself ringing their doorbell, surrounded by my wholesome family weighed down... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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