My favorite shrink whom I’ve never met is Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism. This book predates Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence, although it ought to be noted as the primer for EQ. Former president of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Seligman is more focused on health than illness. As such, he stands tall among those […]
Author: alexAdmin
Out of the Mouth of a Babe: Magic
I received a link today from the British “American Idol.” A small girl, Connie, six-years old with no front teeth stepped onto the stage in front of the surley Simon. She opened her little mouth and sang a beautiful version, as simple as simple can be, of Some Where Over the Rainbow. It brought the […]
With Restorative Yoga, Quiet Time Ain’t Quittin’ Time
My friends Jill and Drayton planned to take me out tonight to celebrate my birthday. We didn’t make it. They had a family emergency, and we have postponed the dinner party. Instead, I went to “restorative yoga.” I am so glad I did. In case you don’t know, restorative yoga is a yoga class where […]
Who Really Is The Visitor?
Movie fare has been slim pickings so far this year, with nothing to touch my soul until this last Friday when I saw The Visitor. Oh sure, for fun, I made it to both Sex and the Cityand Raiders. So what? So what is that I was almost lulled into avoiding movies altogether, based on […]
Stop Controlling, Start Communicating
There are two ways to get things done via meetings. (Well, of course, there are more; but this is my blog and I want to focus on two.) Control or communicate. What I’m realizing is how few people, smart, successful people understand the distinction. What does control look like? Here are a few things that […]
Is Winning at All Costs Losing?
When the leadership in an organization is determined to win at all costs, no one wins. Not really. Perhaps, it is more accurate to say, no one wins in the long run. In the short run, you can. Win this way, that is. No where was this point driven home more to me than when […]
Big Brown’s Belmont Bust or Breakout?
You might not believe this: I once seriously considered going into the racehorse business. So much so that while other young women received gift certificates or jewelry to mark the rite of passage known as high-school graduation, my parents gave me a trip to the Kentucky Derby. Sitting in a private box right on the […]
Cha-Ching: I Ching and Money
One of my absolute favorite quotes comes from the I Ching, the ancient Chinese book of wisdom. It is: “Nothing changes except the fact that everything changes.” It is poetically accurate. As leaders, one of our most important jobs is to recognize and interpret the cycles of change. The I Ching was a tool emperors […]
Clark Gable: Leadership Moxie
I recently read the biography of iconic film star Clark Gable. It was a good start to the summer reading fest, and I thought it would be a break from my typical list of biz books. In fact, though, Gable reminded me of the basic principles leaders follow. For example, there were a couple of […]
Bear Stearns: A Lesson from the Greyhound Bus
A little mojo goes a long way. Too much is often a bad thing. The Wall St. Journal this week is running three front-page articles on the “fatal” run at Bear Stearns. Growing up as I did with a father who worked for Goldman Sachs, I and many others always viewed Bear as the naughty […]