I am, and have always been, a peacemaker. Conflict makes me edgy. I feel a personal responsibility to lighten the air with humor when two people are going at it in a heated exchange or hostile negotiation. Early in my career, I felt compelled to make others laugh so they would chill out on the…
I had two different managers in a large corporation who both achieved their management positions by first being effective individual contributors. They were star players who were naturally recognized by senior management as great examples to lead a team. It was a good call. Both performed very well as managers and replaced themselves with other…
Early politicians had it SO easy. They literally stood up on a stump and gave a rousing speech to a couple hundred people, and reporters without a strong bias one way or the other reassembled it the best they could for actual “news” papers. It would take a few months for the story to reach…
I’m grieving the tragic loss of Robin Williams and it reminds me of the time I met his idol and mentor, Jonathan Winters. You young whippersnappers may not remember Mr. Winters, but he had a frenetic, multiple-personality delivery style that inspired the young Robin to let go and play so hard on stage. I was…
Things are not always what they seem. And to all young people reading this, regardless of your upbringing or environment… I’m telling you social status is a myth. The kids you label popular are mere humans with the same dreams, doubts and insecurities that you are feeling. That’s right, everyone has to struggle with something.…
Let’s face it. We are not alone anymore. I don’t mean alien visitors. I’m talking about the smart phones in our purses and pockets, which carry around our best friends wherever we go. With so many friends there is no way to keep up, especially through old-fashioned live voice conversations. So we drop asynchronous breadcrumbs……
The quest for normal begins when you start school, with a large group of so-called peers who technically only have age and geography in common with you. You quickly scan the crowd looking for other commonalities that reveal if you belong or not. It’s a natural human instinct to want to belong to a tribe. “Normal” is…
It was one of those coloring book games we played in the car on long road trips to grandma’s house. “Use your crayon to connect the dots and complete the constellations” the instructions said. But just when I was about to begin, I saw something different in that complex swarm of dots and tiny numbers. Instead of…
It sounds contradictory, but it’s true: it takes years to become a natural. In Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers, he claims it takes at least 10,000 hours of practice to get really good at something. And many professional performers will tell you it takes a lifetime to become an overnight sensation. I’ve been stretching myself lately as…
Are you kidding me? I’m sitting in the musty Smog Check waiting room, watching through the window as the 18-year old kid with the greasy hands tries to get my car done before closing time. I’m already annoyed about this “creative” way that the state of California takes my money. Then I see another customer,…