recently read God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning by Meghan O’Gieblyn (2021). My top takeaways: Science presumes a third person perspective, yet consciousness is a first-person experience. We have yet to understand...
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BlessingBoomerang
Blessings come our way in a multitude of forms: kindness extended, forgiveness offered, assistance, deference, prayers, time given, a listening and nonjudgmental ear, a simple smile, an encouraging word, ………. the list goes on and on. Most (and some of the most...
BrakeTrouble
Little children, pets, and visionaries often share a similar trait. They see a person, object, or objective of great desire. They accelerate quickly in the direction of that person, object, or objective, gaining unbridled enthusiasm and speed in the pursuit....
CultureHealth
Organizations are actually living, breathing organisms. They have health markers, just like us humans. Leaders are in particular need of being able to assess and address organizational un-health. Consider the following graphic conception for viewing, thinking...
FasterLearners
As a school principal, and as a school superintendent, and as a teacher of those who aspire to the same, I have often said the following: “School” is a sanctuary of learning. It exists for the sole and sacred purpose of LEARNING. If the leaders of the school —...
ProgressImpediments
Getting better is a tough slog. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about our personal “state” or that of our organization. Why? Because getting better always means a change in the current state. Change is hard even if we agree that it’s needed. It’s particularly hard...
LeaderChampionships
No, there’s not a contest or tournament which results in declaring who the World Champion Leader is. Yet, those of us in leadership roles typically long to be viewed as exemplars of the craft. IF, however, such a contest existed, at the very top of the list of...
AntiSubversives
Organizational dysfunction or inertia is typically the result of subversive behavior on the part of some members of the organization (either a few of ’em or a lot). Assuming that we are voluntary members of organizations that have worthy and noble intentions, what are...
When all the No’s finally lead to Yes…
For most of us No is the last thing we want to hear, especially as we progress through our career. In this, my twentieth year in education all the No’s led me to where I am today. I started my career in education in the very small town I grew up in, just about ten...
A Renewed Daily Purpose
So often I can get caught up in all the things that I have to do and who I have to be, and I completely forget my why and the things that truly make life worth living. The people around us and the relationships we have with those people are my why. In order to be my...