Watching open-heart surgery is like no other experience. I learned this working with a client who pioneered open-heart procedures. There it is. The heart, the body’s power center. The bloody red source of ecstasy or hellish misery-so the poets say…. Its power stopped, not beating. It lies in a puddle of liquid, in an open […]
Looking at the Surface Rather than the Substance of Airport Security
On a recent trip to the Mexican coastal town Zihautanejo, getting through security at Dallas Ft. Worth was reasonable. Coming back was another story. At the airport, before we were allowed to check in at the reservations desk, all bags and passengers were searched carefully one by one. Then, I was required to check […]
Boone Pickens + Al Gore: Strange Bedfellows
I sometimes feel I shouldn’t be surprised by anything any more. Yet, sometimes, I am. When I heard conservative billionaire T. Boone Pickens describe his new-found friendship with former vice-president Al Gore, I laughed in disbelief along with the rest of the people at my table. Boone was serious. “If Al Gore ever invites you […]
Taking a Break in Zihautanejo
It may be freezing where you are. Obviously, it is not freezing here. I took this foto from my hotel balcony a few hours ago. Rather than trudge through January, I decided at the last minute to hop on a plane and take off for somewhere I’ve never been, where I hoped it would be […]
Reflection for 2010 Direction – December 2009
I have an idea to make your life easier this year: Design 2010 as the year you desire rather than letting the winds and whims of circumstance determine your future. Start right now, keeping it simple with the technique I’ll describe. It’s similar to techniques I use with my clients and even my own company, LodeStar […]
Insanity or Opportunity? The Current Economic Crises
The saying goes that if you keep doing the same things and expecting a different outcome it is a definition of insanity. I recently received an email from a friend with hopeful tidings from Obama’s camp about entreprenerus and small business policies. Remember, the “pro-business” Bush administration was pro for large, not small, business. […]
Grateful? Put It In Writing – November 2009
When Investors Business Daily interviewed me during Thanksgiving week in 2004 about LodeStar Universal executive coaching, they were curious about one particular executive coaching “secret.” Once a controversial and edgy idea, the practice was none other than my take on the “gratitude journal.” Five years later, it’s again Thanksgiving; and I still recommend the practice. […]
Carl Sewell’s Customers for Life
Car magnate Carl Sewell‘s book Customers for Life makes an important link between customers and employees. Treating one group well over the other is not an “either-or” concept, in spite of the fact such seems to be the case in some companies. Let’s see, a comparison between two airlines comes immediately to mind: one […]
Alex Ramsey’s Thoughts for Finding Solutions with Conflicting Information
How do you find an answer when expert opinion smashes into one another? I was at an NSANT meeting this weekend where two “technology” gurus both spoke. They gave conflicting information about different ways to solve similar problems. Especially where technology is concerned, this happens all the time. It’s not always a bad thing. Nor is […]
I Had to Fire Someone Today
It’s not much fun knowing all weekend that, odds on, you are going to have to let someone go first thing Monday morning. Especially in this economy. Still, there are times when it is absolutely necessary. And I’ve never been as certain that it was necessary as I was today. Here’s the sad thing. […]