I once had a boss who told me that our company’s leadership philosophy was called “Mushroom Management.” “Mushroom management?” I asked, confused. I had not heard about it in any of the corporate training classes. “Yeah, it’s pretty simple,” he said. “This is how we treat people: keep ‘em in the dark, feed ‘em a load of crap, and can a bunch of ‘em every now and then.” He broke out into a roaring fit of laughter as I slunk down in... Read more
I came across a study recently that says selfless people are annoying. Well, the language was a little more scientific than that, but the gist of the research says that selfless and generous contributors – those who go out of their way for the collective good of the team and ask for nothing in return – are valued so little by the other team members, that they believe the group would be better off without them. This strange outcome is... Read more
My wife and I took a trip to Nantucket recently to celebrate our anniversary. We walked the cobble-stoned streets, toasted champagne on the beach, indulged in a couple’s massage, and took a sailing excursion around the harbor. It was a very romantic, almost magical return to the place of our original honeymoon. Ladies and gentlemen, I highly recommend it. One of the highlights of our dreamy getaway was a magnificent meal at a restaurant called, Company of the Cauldron. Its... Read more
I have been trying to find God again, to locate His presence in my life. It seems as if I have been a scrambled mess lately, worried and anxious and stressed, trying to cram in far too much into tiny crevaces of time, with wild expectations that have little bearing on reality. My mind, my spirit, was cluttered with objects that were taking up way too much space: the running commentary in my head; the burden of expectations; the drive to win; the deadline;... Read more
Finally, my blogging career can rest in peace, knowing it has achieved the pinnacle of online accomplishments: iconic Harvard Business Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter has referenced a link to one of my posts. Yes, I know. This is entirely stunning; to think that my wooly, self-indulgent musings on spirituality and business have risen to nosebleed prominence of the Harvard Business School elite. But there you have it. For those of you living under a rock, Rosabeth Moss Kanter is famously known as a legendary strategic... Read more
There’s this thing that happens when you meet someone for the first time in person, after having known them as a blogger. I don’t know what to call it, those few hazy minutes when this blog imago is being transformed right before your eyes into a living, moving, human being. Some kind of skeptical guardedness hovers over you for a few minutes, like a light fog. Its’ a little strange. Upon first sight of this blogger friend, you immediately notice the physical characteristics, compared to what was in your... Read more
Last weekend I saw the movie, “Wall Street: Greed Never Sleeps.” I suppose this could have been a moment for the great director, Oliver Stone, to make a poignant statement about the excesses of greed that have littered the last two decades – it’s pernicious role in the global financial meltdown of 2008, and the negative impact it has created on society as a whole. Yes, it could have been a moment where we all take a collective deep breath, bow our... Read more
My CFO, Dave, has coined a fancy new corporate theological term. It’s called “Business Sovereignty.” He mentions it every time something turns out for the good that we didn’t really expect. Dave, like me, also happens to be a Presbyterian, which is really neither here nor there, other than we flatter ourselves with our astute choice of Christian denomination to be affiliated with. Now, I’m no theologian, but I think the idea behind God’s sovereignty is that, no matter what happens... Read more
I don’t know if there is a name for this in-between time. The summer is clearly over, but autumn hasn’t quite taken hold yet. Here in Eastern Pennsylvania, the leaves have just started to turn withering shades of reds and yellows. The tilt of the earth has tipped over a couple notches in the last couple of weeks, so that the sunlight hits you at a noticeably different slant. I can tell, things are starting to die. I can feel it in my soul. As I stepped into... Read more
Every day people land on my Blog by typing this desperate phrase into their Google search bar: “My Boss Makes Me Feel Like an Idiot.” This good Google fortune is driven from a couple of posts I wrote dealing with the subject of “feeling stupid at work.” These have led to numerous comments, private emails, and even some behind-the-scenes counseling from good people in bad situations looking for some advice. Apparently, I have captured a micro-audience of tortured souls dealing... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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