The moral authority to lead and shifting ethics in American business. So many years ago, I was sitting in a liberal arts class deep in a discussion of morality and ethics. As I was stating my opinion, a classmate challenged, “You are an economics major, you will be going into the business world. All you…
Category: Work, Writing. Reading, Watching
Stories from my prior life in the corporate world and now as a writer
T -159 Days: Field Notes and Space Pen
All I want for Christmas is… A friend from Canada showed me the products coming from fieldnotesbrand.com … and this dime store novel version is perfect to take with to the beach, jotting down ideas as they flow. Also at 2:30am when I wake up with thoughts I want to capture. Much better than using the…
T -167 Days: Important versus urgent
Are you doing what is important, or what is “urgent”? All day long at work, I bounce from one urgent thing to another. Tom Petty was my favorite musician. His life ended as he finished another long, grinding tour… where every performance was urgent. He placed himself in that situation, choosing the urgent over the…
T -173 Days: Rabbit or coyote?
Your leader. Who are you following? A rabbit or a coyote? A rabbit grazes the best patches of clover… eats, poops and breeds… eats, poops and breeds. Very successfully. When the patch becomes less desirable the rabbit hops on to a new one. They flee danger. Always the path of least resistance. Coyotes are resilient,…
T -176 Days: Crazy… not stupid
When I was eight years old my grandfather told me this story: Quite a few years ago I was driving on a narrow, winding Missouri backroad, racing a thunderstorm home. Suddenly… BANG! … I blew out a tire. I had passed a large mansion with lights on a hundred yards back, but I knew I…
T -180 Days: Grab it!
When I was very early in my career, I worked with a bitter old man named George. As I slowly got to know him, we occasionally would go to lunch. One day, George told me his story. When he was young and married with small children he got together with his next door neighbor to…
T -183 Days: Writing muscle
Time to address one of the “why’s”. Why the countdown, why write something every day? One of the reasons is tied to my goal of being a writer. I am seeking career change, not retirement. Will writing ever pay the bills? Probably not, but that is not a requirement. Dues have been paid, we can…
T -185 Days: Slow
When we drove to Michigan on Wednesday, we noticed that in the Indiana construction zone hell, they had set up an express lane on the left. With the concrete barriers on both sides, only one chance to get on it… and one chance to get off… and it went on for many miles. We didn’t…
T -191 Days: Our way home
You and I have memories Longer than the road that stretches out ahead Two of us wearing raincoats Standing solo In the sun You and me chasing paper Getting nowhere On our way back home We’re on our way home We’re on our way home We’re going home —Paul Mccartney, John Lennon In a way,…
T -200 Days: A path with heart
h May 1st, 2018. If all goes perfectly, we will have completed one journey, to begin a new path. Exited the corporate world. Sold our house. Sold or donated the vast majority of our possessions, transferred mementos to our four grown children. Arrived at the beach community we have chosen. Living the simple life in…