Posts Tagged ‘Culture’
Colorful Expectations
It disturbs me when I open a package of M&M’s and there are significant differences in the quantity of each color. When I was about six, I sorted an entire box of Fruit Loops by color, only to be terribly disappointed that there were vastly different amounts of red, orange, and yellow (the only three…
Read MoreCloser To The Heart
I have a friend who shares my love of music. We play a game where we use song lyrics and titles to carry on a conversation. The game often begins with one of us texting an obscure lyric and then waiting for a response. Most of the time, this leads to both of us listening…
Read MoreLet Freedom Ring
Popular use of the phrase “let freedom ring” comes from its use in the song “America” (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee), written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831. Dr. Martin Luther King referenced both the song and the phrase in his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August…
Read MoreWater And Trees
One of the enjoyable things I get to do as a CEO is work with a wonderful board of directors. During a recent board retreat, we had a facilitator join us to help work through some difficult decisions. This person happens to be a good friend of mine. During our day, he said something that…
Read MoreBorrowed Vision
Nestled into the landscape in the Sonoran Desert above Phoenix sits Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio. Wright and his students (the Taliesin Fellowship) lived and worked there during the winters from 1937 until Wright’s death in 1959. I went to Taliesin last week to see the architecture again but also…
Read MoreLeading The Flock
I spent the night once in the DuPage County Jail in Chicago. I got there by being a leader, leading five other young men in the wrong direction. I saw a video recently that reminded me when a leader is wrong, it has serious impacts on many other people. In this video, we are watching an unremarkable street…
Read MoreTrust Gives You Wings
During a luncheon at Wings Special Needs Community, the presenter made a statement that stuck in my mind. Wings is a day program in OKC for adults with developmental disabilities. They provide carefully curated programs designed to enhance independence, grow life skills, and allow members to live vibrantly. The speaker said that when working with the…
Read MoreRug Pull
Often used in comics and older movies, the rug pull is a classic slapstick move which involves grabbing hold of the rug someone is standing on and quickly pulling it towards you. The unsuspecting individual finds their feet going out from under them as they fall to the floor. This visual trope is the origin…
Read MoreNo Temple Made With Hands
Last week, among the granite walls and centuries-old trees of the Yosemite Valley, I found myself thinking about connections. Seeing trees that are older than our civilization and a sky full of stars that are quadrillions of miles away, I felt small and insignificant. We worry about trivial things every day. Buildings, organizations, plans, accomplishments.…
Read MoreInto The Storm
What are you afraid of? Not the small, temporary things. I’m afraid of spiders, but that doesn’t alter the course of my life in any real or meaningful way (unless not being willing to go camping except in winter months is meaningful). I’m talking about the big things—unanticipated change, being alone and lonely, failure, rejection,…
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