Chances are, you’ve spent some time over the past few days rereading or watching Dickens’ famous story. Well-plowed ground! Think: Jim Carrey. Bill Murray. Charlie Brown. Alastair Sim. Reginald Owen. Maybe we have a lesson to learn. Last week, Juliet … Continue reading →

Like George Herbert Walker Bush, we all have doubts about our handle on “the vision thing.” But the reality? Like former President Bush, you are more a person of vision than you let on, even to yourself. This most-positive trait … Continue reading →

George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States, had, and still has, many good attributes. Not the least of these was, and remains, his unassuming nature! He was self-deprecating, and perhaps no more so than when he would admit … Continue reading →

After Saturday’s aside, we’re returning to our subject of leadership. Let’s start with four stories. 1. Imagine (for some of us it doesn’t take too much imagining – we’re either there or been there!) that you are the parent of … Continue reading →

A few days ago David Brooks, in his New York Times column, suggested that all his readers watch a video prepared by Hans Rosling, a Swedish expert in public health. It’s entitled 200 countries, 200 years, 4 minutes: the joy … Continue reading →

The October 1 post said we’d get around to the topic of leadership. Well, we’ve arrived! Our starting point? Actually, it’s a bit different from what I’d envisioned then. What’s changed in the meantime? To answer that fully requires going … Continue reading →

Recently, the world’s governments, and a bevy of non-governmental organizations (or NGO’s) concluded yet another two-week round of climate change negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. The tone of the press coverage has been mixed. For example, a USA Today piece, running … Continue reading →

Once in the late 1970’s I was on a commercial airline flight here in the United States. The passenger next to me spoke with a distinctly foreign accent. “Where are you from?” I asked. “The Union of South Africa,” he … Continue reading →

If 2 are powerful, just think what 233 can do.[1] Often when the conversation turns to the world’s problems, it isn’t long before someone sighs and says “the plain fact is, we’ve just got too many people.” Yes…and no. We … Continue reading →

In the previous post, we noted a near-universal tendency to divide people into different categories of “we” and “they.” This takes many forms; male-female, young-old, religious-irreligious, rich-poor…the list is nearly endless. Here’s one from the social sciences: researcher and subject. … Continue reading →