Thought Leaders

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...

Most of us want to accomplish a couple of things in life: Have meaningful impact Be effective in our undertakings To be sure, there are a lot of sub-objectives to both of those endeavors, with nuances and webs extending from each. Constant reflection is...

As a kid, I grew up in a low-income family home with 3 brothers, my mom and an alcoholic step dad. We lived in south Texas near the coast in a very small town. I never thought of myself as being poor. My mom never really allowed any of us to believe there was...

As the school year closes and the summer months begin, I reflect on the journey from beginning to end. Being a principal has blessed me. I have been able to help students and adults in ways that I never could in the past. I have been an advocate, a listening ear, a...