Oftentimes, the individuals involved have worked their way up the ladder and are now in a place where they need to focus their time on the bigger picture: leading their teams and coaching their managers. This pivot of attention involves more responsibility and awareness, doesn’t provide the immediate gratification of solving a problem, and requires…
Lately, I’ve observed an extremely clear sign: one that indicates a transitional point for the leadership teams with which I work. The maturity, health, and cohesiveness (or lack thereof) of the whole team can be observed when it creates its new quarterly priorities, or as Dr. Stephen Covey calls them, “Rocks”. During these sessions, we…
Scrambling on all fours, I climbed the final pitch to the summit. I twisted my body to reach the next handhold, causing my elbow to bump the new (and expensive) Sony camera out of my backpack’s side pocket. I watched as the camera fell down the steep cliff, bouncing and spinning off rocks until disappearing…
“Culture does not make people. People make culture.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Maybe it’s because I’m now in my 50s that I can finally start admitting some of my insecurities. I like being able to say that I’m the luckiest cat in the world. And I believe it! I get to live my life on…
We arrived at 7:30 am, as planned, and things were just getting started. We found Deborah and she walked us down the hill to the big barn where the cows were still in their stalls.. Alex greeted us as he put away the portable milking device. We then turned our heads to see the small…
Deborah raced the tiny truck down the hair-pinned, rocky switchbacks with total confidence and passion. We’re on a mountainside that’s heavily treed and it’s raining. Deborah, our young, cute, tattooed driver is purposely hitting the bigger puddles so that we experience more of a water rollercoaster ride, each time loudly saying, “Scusami!” – Italian for…
On our hut-to-hut trip through the Dolomites of Italy, Reka and I befriended a couple from Scotland. Jasmine is a teacher and her husband, Ioan, is a professor. Ioan is a Welsh name for John and one that I struggled with pronouncing correctly. The primary reason I enjoyed his company so much wasn’t because we…
Socialism versus capitalism…don’t like it? You’re a fascist. On our recent sabbatical to northern Italy, Reka and I began finding the crowds and heat unbearable, so we chose to head to Croatia and the Adriatic coast. Knowing little of the military history of Croatia, we decided to go to the museum located on a high…
While resting at a beautiful hut perched high in the Dolomite Mountains, Reka and I shared a table with an older Italian couple that spoke no English and a German mom (about our age) with her 30-year-old deaf daughter. I know a handful (no pun intended) of American Sign Language from my sister, who teaches…
As I mentioned in the last blog, our recent trip to northern Italy was incredible. Along the 90-mile hike, we noticed the diverse cross-section of people of all ages, sexes, nationalities, languages, and skill and fitness levels. Because we went nine days without seeing another American, we tended to congregate with other English-speaking individuals –…