Blog

Early in my career I pretended to be an athletic coach. One of the events I attempted to coach was the high jump. In the high jump (and the pole vault) there is what is called the “opening height.” That is the height at which the bar is initially set to start...

Birthdays are merely anniversaries of our arrival on this planet. That day may have been much-anticipated and dearly longed for. Maybe not. It might have gone just as expected and without complication. But then, perhaps not. It might have occurred with much fanfare...

In most organizations, the end of summer marks a “new” beginning. Rather than January 1, the return of employees (or students) at the end of summer seems the de facto initiation of a work year. The best leaders I know understand the power of HABIT, on themselves and...

You’ve heard the old saw: “Curiosity killed the cat.” While that idiom may hold fair warning for cats, it’s not a great tenet for humans to live by. People with truly curious minds tinker, poke, stretch, re-do, undo, experiment, innovate, and improvise. They LEARN!...

Some of the folks I admire most get a LOT of stuff done. They have eclectic interests, curious minds, and superb skills in task completion. I’ve noticed some commonalities in these Gitter-Doner types: They know the time of day when their brain works best,...

Good listeners are rare. Outstanding listeners are rarer still. What keeps folks — maybe me and you — from listening well and deeply? We might not care. We’re too &$%#ed busy. We think the speaker is uniformed, or worse. We’re distracted by ___?___ (something, or...

Trees come in lots of flavors and styles. Some trees… Grow best in dense forests; others survive best in complete isolation. Have deep and strong tap roots; some exist with shallow roots near the surface. Have massive trunks and impervious bark; others have wispy...

Sarcasm generates giggles. Tackiness scores laughs. Insults get chuckles. Condescension delights. Disrespectful snipes entertain. Mockery amuses. Ridicule gets likes. Almost always are those effects short lived, among the watchers. Almost never are those efforts...