Who Do You Follow?
I’ll bet the word “follow” is used a billion times more today than it was ten years ago, before Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Back then, we played games like follow the leader. And we thought…
Don’t Be a Sheepdog Leader
When I visited New Zealand years ago, I saw a demonstration of the well-trained working sheepdogs who daily move the sheep from place to place. Incredibly quick and extremely tenacious, the dogs reminded me of…
Wisdom Followed
No matter how many principles or pithy quotes we develop, wisdom is useless when ignored. It has to be applied, meaning we have to lean on the wisdom of our examined experience, on the wisdom…
Wisdom Found
I believe wisdom starts with ambition. A hungry person wants to learn, wants to become wise. Whether to help themselves or to help others, the wise people I know started seeking wisdom when they were…
Radical Wisdom
If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you probably already know this, but . . . over the course of the sixty-five years I’ve been awake and conscious, I’ve been a collector…
Action vs. Analysis
Ok, here I go again, quoting my friend John Richie . . . “Action reveals options analysis will never find.” I like this quote because it agrees with so many others woven into the fabric…
There Are No Jokes
I used to think I could poke fun at people about their foibles. About height, weight, lack of athleticism, mispronounced words, and personal idiosyncrasies. Hey, we’re all big boys, right? We can take it so…
Leaders Go First
Drive through Texas, and you’ll see town after town like in the picture above. First, there was a store, then a cafe, then a bank, then a barber shop. Before you know it, there’s a…
Three Phases in the Life of an Organization
Years ago, I read a book that said a start-up venture has three phases . . . Wander around until you find something. Grow it as fast and as profitably as you can. Change the…
Born Stoic, Die Epicurean
Historian Will Durant is credited with originating the platitude, ‘born stoic, die epicurean.’ He was speaking of nations, but I believe it applies to organizations and individuals as well. We start out fending for ourselves….
