“For leaders, the first task in management has nothing to do with leading others; step one poses the challenge of knowing and managing oneself.” -Daniel Goleman
This proverb landed in my inbox like a profound gift today. It put lots of things into perspective. As I thought about what meaning I could take from a friend who’s in critical condition, I realized that we have no guarantees, that it’s our job every single day to be clear about what’s important, to […]
While Ram Dass was absolutely right in cautioning that “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family,” you don’t need to leave town for this reality check. You can get it every morning when you commute. Based on mine, I was probably adding 13 lifetimes to my tab every single day. […]
The Old-School Version of Tweeting In 1979, my fourth grade class was rocked by a major note-passing scandal. Back then, we wrote notes with the same frequency and flair that girls now text, tweet, Instagram, and SnapChat. The delivery system could be a problem, however, as notes could be intercepted by observant nuns. Sister Paula […]
An Unhappy Ending Like so many others, I was deeply saddened by the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I’d been an admirer for much of my adult life, watching in amazement as he disappeared into each role, completely embodying his characters and making it look effortless, which it surely was not. His death was a […]
It’s January, and we all know what that means: resolution time. With a January 5 birthday, I feel double the pressure to take stock and make detailed plans for the year. Like most Americans, by mid-February I’ve not only stopped following my resolutions, I’ve also completely forgotten what they even were. […]
I have a very loud, very busy left brain that I call Lefty. (For those neuroanatomy purists, I use the term ‘left brain’ loosely. Our brains aren’t so neatly divided, but humor me for ease of description.) Four things about Lefty before I get to our current dilemma: 1. Lefty is my highly verbal, analytical […]