The Burden of Expectations You have often heard people describe how they are too hard on people because they demand a lot of themselves and find that they should do likewise for others. That is a smallish dilemma when it comes to managerial oversight because one can set objective standards and allow people to perform against them such that you can always define the parameters of success based on how the universe you are trying…
It Takes a Virus I have read an interesting piece of writing from Heather Cox Richardson in the last few days and it has gotten me thinking. I have spent the weekend with some in-laws from Georgia and Texas. We have steadfastly avoided political discussions though there have been a few anecdotes that remind me that we come from very different ends of the political spectrum. It is not so much about things said as…
Getting Even We all live life out of balance to some degree. Even if we think we are in harmony with everything and everyone, chances are that we haven’t factored in the perspectives of others adequately and we are imbalanced without even realizing it. We get our wheels aligned and our tires balanced because at speed we can feel wobbles in our cars and on our motorcycles, but when things are more slow-going it is…
Reminding Myself Every Day It’s hard these days to not think about the good and the bad in people. The polarization of political views is inextricably caught up in a series of values that cut very deep into all of our consciousness. Regardless of which way you lean, it is clear your angle of lean has increased a great deal of late. You may not have changed your beliefs at all, but the chances are…
Reliving Reality As I await departure for Sedona this morning, I am watching the news, which is heavily focused on the start of the January 6th Commission, set to begin tomorrow. I was sitting right here at the kitchen counter on January 6th when I watched in horror as the insurrectionists broke through the lines and pushed into the once sacred Capitol building. I remember opening the door to the unfinished deck and yelling out…
Getting to Know You The house just South of us is now sold, neighbor Mary has moved on to her new home in Denver (we even had dinner with her in Denver a few weeks ago) and the new neighbors are in the process of moving in. Today I saw that they seemed to be around, so Kim and I wandered over through our garden trellis and introduced ourselves. Both the man and the woman…
On-Again, Off-Again COVID-19 is the gift that keeps on giving. We are all so very tired of the Pandemic lifestyle that we are all tending to get lax with our safety measures. After more than a year of being diligent with masking and social distancing, we may not be justified in letting down our guard, but we can probably all agree that we understand why it is happening. So far this summer, we have gone…
Everbody Is Going South and West I have a bad habit. Because I am not getting enough sleep, which I define as seven hours, I tend to fall asleep during the movie of my choice late at night. That is hardly a unique failing. It seems whomever I have staying with me at my home tends to do the same thing, probably even more than I do. Kim has the good sense to go into…
The New Order I’m confused. Maybe its my age, but I suspect it is more about our confusing times. There is so much I do not understand that is going on in politics and I want to understand it better, The stories this morning that draw my attention and are the source of much of my confusion are the stories about Eric Adams winning the NYC democratic mayoral nomination (and therefore, almost certainly the election…
Falling to Earth I spent much of my drive yesterday through Utah listening to Ben Rhodes, the DeputyNational Security Advisor to Barack Obama, reading his newest book, After the Fall. It is a set of tremendously insightful vignettes from his post-White House years traveling around the world interacting with consulting clients. The specific theme is that democracy is not so much about to fall apart, but actually has begun the process of falling apart. His…