This struck a chord for me as I think of our world (and specifically Minneapolis) right now. It’s not about any one thing, it’s about so many things. For many of us, we are grieving. In a collective, heavy and solitary way. As I read this poem by Patricia McKernon Runkle, it offered direction for me. I’m certain someone needs to hear this as well: WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE DEEP…
Changing behavior is challenging. When your habits have lead you to success in various forms as a direct result of those habits, they’re doubly hard to break. When I think of being productive, it’s in my nature to use as many minutes of my waking hours as possible to create results. This leads me to push myself and work harder…
Finding peace these days isn’t easy for me. As a privileged person, I’m tired. Those friends around me are tired. And yet, when I look at a still, calm lake reflecting the images of the sky and it’s surroundings, I am at once still and at peace. How can I bring that experience to others? To clear enough space in myself to witness what’s real for them and…
As I was experiencing some grief recently, I reread this beautiful story and thought it worthy of sharing. May it also lead you to a softer place in your own life. “At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favorite doll. She…
Thinking I know better has gotten me in trouble. As we forge ahead in 2021, I find myself hearing consistent messages I’ve either resisted or thought I had a better answer for. The good news: the messages get louder and are offered with a frequency I can’t ignore. I refer to them as a 2 x 4 smacking me between the eyes.…
Shortcuts don’t work. If you’re looking for the easy way, the hack to the system, the cheaper, faster and less laborious way to a qualitatively superior result, stop now. Anything excellent, ANYthing, requires effort, tenacity, discipline, persistence and patience. I know that’s about as sexy as oatmeal, but it’s true. Quality doesn’t happen randomly or easily. It can be simple, and often is. It’s just not easy. If it was, everyone would be living…
It’s amazing to me how otherwise great leaders diminish their opportunities to build trust by withholding feedback until it’s too late to correct the behavior. Time and again, I’ll be working with a leadership team and one or more people will wait until the end of our full day meetings to offer constructive feedback that would have changed our day and our experiences for the better. As teams learn, grow,…
Convergence: it’s when things come together. Right now, with time to think becoming more available in my calendar and the team encouraging me and supporting the space, alignment is happening. It’s not something you can force, make happen or grasp until there is space for it to unify, converging into something greater and compelling you forward. As our future unfolds in my…
“When we make plans, God laughs.” I’m having one of those days. In my mind, it was an open day for me to catch up, make space, create, practice and deliver on multiple deadlines that are all crashing in at once. It was my chance, my day. This is where you cue the laugher. The day unraveled quickly, going nothing like the picture I had of all…
If you own a business, you’ve been running quite a race for the past year-ish. Are you taking care of yourself as a leader and in your life? Something that can help with perspective is to remember you’re actually running two businesses. Whether you’ve ever thought of it this way or not, you’re running the business you have now and you’re running your business in the…