(2-minute read) My dear friend Sarah sent me this Meyer lemon tree. Lemon trees aren't meant to flourish in Northern New England, but Meyer is doing quite well, thank you. Meyer started me thinking about adapting and thriving under less-than-ideal circumstances and making lemons into lemonade. This year, we've learned a lot about ourselves and [...]
(3-minute read) Why is it that when one person yawns, everyone yawns? The power of suggestion is strong in person and even more pronounced on video calls. Like most of us, I spend more time than I’d like on Zoom. Many calls that I organize and run involve executive or staff trainings. Yet, it’s the [...]
(2-minute read, and a lot to consider) My thanks to Susan Fulwiler, a friend and colleague, for suggesting 'resetting' as a topic for this month's blog. It's a well-timed request as August is a month when many people pause to recharge. When applied in both personal and business areas, I hope that what follows is [...]
(6-minute read) We all have rules. One of mine is to limit consultant-speak. Stuff like “let’s unpack that!” gives me a headache. On the surface, the term “Adaptive Leadership” sounds like headache-inducing consultant speak. Yet, in this case, it refers to a subject that’s important and timely. Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky, two very smart [...]
5-minute read It’s coming. At some point in your career you’ll be receiving and delivering a less than good professional assessment. It’s an important moment for all involved. Delivered thoughtfully, with good intentions, criticism can help you or a colleague improve and grow. Delivered badly, it can leave anyone angry, demoralized or confused. Offering and [...]
Read Time: 2 Minutes In January, The New York Times launched a monthly series of guides called "A Year of Living Better". The guides focus on ways to improve subscribers’ lives, their communities, and the world. Topics range from how to reduce your carbon footprint to how to participate in politics. The August guide, entitled [...]
Read Time: 4 Minutes, plus an activity Lately I’ve been in lots of meetings and one subject keeps coming up - conflict. As long as we humans continue to get together in groups of two or more and explore new ideas or push boundaries, conflict occurs. I guess it’s a natural part of growth. Conflict at [...]
Read Time: 3 Minutes The Evolution of a Labor of Love Three years ago a labor of love began. I was approached by the Michael J. Fox Foundation to collaborate on a series of communication guides for Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers. Much had been written about managing symptoms. Yet, because of the complexities around confronting, [...]
Last week I opened the Fast Company app to read an article about baby bison being flown to Siberia in an effort to reinvigorate the native grassland. An interesting article and worth the read. Below this post was an article entitled, These are 4 Types of Bosses You'll Have and How to Deal With Them Like many I [...]
A 2-part collaboration with Michael J. Fox Foundation Difficult conversations are hard. Because the subject matter is difficult and the outcome is uncertain, the tendency is to approach and avoid difficult subjects in equal measure. In 2015, it was a pleasure to partner with the Medical Communications team at Michael J. Fox Foundation and put together a practical [...]
