PLANS. Why do we believe our plans for the future will succeed and are surprised when they don’t? It’s easy to be hopeful about the consequences of good intentions but impossible to know with precision the outcome of a set of sequential events. We underestimate our presumptions and overestimate our strengths. We misunderstand randomness and […]
Read MoreWhat is mastery? It’s not a consequence of genius or talent, though they certainly help. Rather it’s a function of good timing, perseverance and dedicated focus on a particular domain of knowledge. Masters are disciplined, self-directed and highly motivated. Mastery is a journey without end – a life quest – not a destination per se. […]
Read MoreTough Guys (and Gals) are rebels who have decided the price of pleasing others is simply too high. Their purpose in life is to prove they can get by without anyone’s help – that they can make it through challenging situations quite nicely on their own. They have an aversion to dependence and accommodation and […]
Read MoreBullies are contemptuous of their prey. They are generally abusive, abrupt, arbitrary and intimidating. Their tone is one of arrogance and their attack is typically accusatory. They’re stimulated by any sign of submissiveness and their impatience with those who exhibit weakness often manifests in irritation, indignation or anger. They’re “into” power and they use it […]
Read MoreMost of us have a hard time saying no, especially to close friends or family members. For some, it’s almost impossible. Like everything else in life, saying no is a skill and perhaps one of the more important we need to master. The ability to say no, when we don’t want to say yes, is […]
Read MoreFEAR. The greatest cause of our anxiety is fear. But fear and anxiety are not the same thing. Anxiety is spurred by uncertainty, by the assumptions and predictions we make about the future in which we have little confidence. If we could forecast events with certitude, we would be much less anxious. We would know […]
Read MoreIn a relentless effort to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, leaders of the past demonstrated a decided preference for recruiting people with needed technical skills. Twelve years ago, I wrote a blog on this topic emphasizing the lack of appreciation of what are often called “the soft skills.” These include the qualities required for collaboration, adaptability, […]
Read MoreI am pleased to announce that The Game of Life, first published in 1997, has been revised and updated in e-book format to reflect the changing realities and challenges of the world in which we reside. It is now available on Amazon – click here to find it. At the time of its inaugural publication, there […]
Read MoreOur brains don’t record what we see; they interpret it to fit our beliefs and desires. And we are unaware of the extent to which or when this happens. We see what we want to see and have been taught to see. Our brains are story tellers: they translate impressions into the language they already understand, […]
Read MoreEveryone lies. We do it for a lot of reasons. We sometimes do it to protect ourselves as well as others from embarrassment or hurt feelings. When your cherished grandmother asks you whether you like her famous family-recipe rhubarb pie, and you really don’t, you likely say you do as you struggle with the second helping. […]
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