Turn it on

When you ask co-workers to turn on webcams during an online meeting, some will say “Sure!” and appreciate the social connectedness it brings.  Some will reject it faster than a bushman afraid of losing his soul.  Everyone wants to look their best at work, but why is webcam video so different than a face to…

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Half way there

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” “Settle down kids, we’re half way there,” my dad reassured us on the long drive to Grandma’s house.  We settled back in the big black vinyl seat with our comic books and toys.  There was something comforting about “half way there.” It showed we were really making…

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Clues to character

It’s true that clues to someone’s character can be found in the way they treat others.  I wrote a story in August, 2009 about a homeless kid I met on a train.  It seemed like a small thing to me at the time, but it ended up being the most read and passed along blog post of that year. …

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Faith ain’t easy

How do you get from “I think” to “I believe” to “I know”?  (For my Texas friends… from “I reckon” to “I’m fixin” to “I done did it”?)  I’m talking about really big goals, like running a marathon or defeating a life-threatening disease.  For an achievement so huge, it takes a tremendous physical effort and…

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Doing your part

I remember back when my wife and I bought a new sectional couch for our first home, a condo in Tustin, CA.  We were so excited when it arrived, but soon realized we hadn’t really planned for what to do with the old couch.  We could put an ad in the paper or try to…

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The Gilligan Effect

Have you ever told your team “OK let’s brainstorm…” and then the free flow of great ideas didn’t exactly flow?  Maybe the environment or timing was not quite right.  Maybe the presence of  executives made it too risky to share freely.  Maybe you just needed a good dose of the Gilligan Effect. There’s a good chance…

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The smoking monkey

Summertime in the 70’s offered a kid several advantages over kids growing up today. You could ride your bike anywhere you wanted to, stay out all day, and blow stuff up with fireworks.  Oh yeah, they were legal.  Someone’s older brother always had access to cherry bombs, roman candles and bottle rockets, and we would…

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