Sunday, August 21, 2011

Go to sleep

My three-year-old is starting to transition out of naps and into a 7:00 fussiness that stretches each evening into long ordeals as we march towards bed.  Once he’s down, he tosses and turns for a while, finally working his way to sleep.  Because of my schedule, he’s often starting his day earlier than some other children his age.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Advice at the coffee shop

At a coffee shop, a man is talking with his wife about how he is “repositioning” their finances for the “crazy market we're in right now.” Then he proposed to:

  • buy gold because the price is really high and lots of people are talking about it

  • liquidate their stock and bond holdings, including retirement accounts, because they've lost so much money over the past few months

  • keep cash at home instead of in the banks because "another one could go under at any moment, and who knows if it's ours?  And with inflation about to skyrocket, we have to be ready."

Strangely, he has no issue in using the Starbucks card to make the transaction - after all, when the Starbucks card is used to pay for coffee, you get a free shot of flavor with it.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Little Book of Leadership

Enjoy The Little Book of Leadership.  After reading about leadership in this presentation, slide 43 is my favorite:Best,Bryan

Monday, June 27, 2011

Aspire Higher, by Avery Johnson

Often I read a book simply because of the author’s personal journey and characteristics – not seeking literary genius but instead insight into the individual experience.  Looking across the landscape of best-selling books, it seems I’m not alone.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Mapping your Future: 4S Model

Thinking about how to move forward in your career?  The 4S Model is a way of crafting your career approach in discrete, actionable steps.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

GE: serious about leadership

In most large organizations, leadership is affirmed as a key contributor to organizational success.  Typically there is some form of leadership model, special programs for high potentials, and perhaps rotational programs to move high performing or high potential leaders through the experiences needed to lead and perform at the next level.

Leadership models come in all shapes and sizes, and most are helpful in keeping leaders (and aspiring leaders) focused and developing.  NASA offers an excellent graphical representation of leadership behaviors arranged on a disc, moving from large dimensions in the middle to more granular areas towards the outside.  The MIT Leadership Center promotes FCF (Four Capabilities Leadership Framework), which points to four critical components of leadership:  sensemaking, relating, visioning, and inventing.  Leadership powerhouse Lominger (part of Korn/Ferry International) has developed 67 leadership competencies and publishes a book called FYI:  For Your Improvement that’s now in its 5th edition.And then there’s GE.