Encouraging Others – April 1, 2023
LEARN A LITTLE:Encouraging Others Today, the importance of lifting up another person, renewing their spirits and acting with kindness seems more important than ever. Depression is on the rise, and loneliness is reaching the level of a pandemic. Anxiety seems to be at...
What’s Our Focus – March 1, 2023
LEARN A LITTLE:What’s Our Focus? I was talking with a friend recently who is a high-level executive working in the healthcare field. We were getting caught up on things, and I asked her what she was working on. I would not characterize her as a pessimist, but...
Grocery Cart Connections – Feb 1, 2023
LEARN A LITTLE:Grocery Cart Connections The truth of the matter is that I very rarely go grocery shopping, but on this particular day I accepted my wife’s invitation and accompanied her to buy a couple of weeks' groceries. We were on vacation in southern Florida and...
Twenty-Three Leadership Thoughts to Help You Start the New Year – January 1, 2023
LEARN A LITTLE:Twenty-Three Leadership Thoughts to Help You Start the New Year - 2023 I was talking with a colleague recently who teaches Executive Leadership at a nearby college. We were exchanging ideas and insights that flow from the cardinal idea that leadership...
Getting Up Early in the Morning – December 1, 2022
LEARN A LITTLE:Getting Up Early in the Morning There’s research evidence that if you begin a talk or presentation with a question and hold the answer to the end, your audience will be more attentive because you have primed their curiosity pump. I thought I would try...
An “I-Watering” Insight from Trying to Grow Onions – November 1, 2022
LEARN A LITTLE:An “I-Watering” Insight from Trying to Grow Onions You will have to stay with me through a bit of personal gardening history, but when you get to the end, I believe the insight I’ll share will be worth it. My wife and I both enjoy gardening, and we...
Using Good Judgment – October 1, 2022
LEARN A LITTLE:Using Good Judgment I was shopping in a department store recently when I noticed a sign posted next to the employee lounge that read, “Use your good judgment in all situations. There are no additional rules.” Today there is no shortage of...
How Gratitude Can Help Us Handle Stress – September 1, 2022
LEARN A LITTLE:How Gratitude Can Help Us Handle Stress Recently, my wife and I were returning to our home in Illinois after attending a conference in Louisiana. While on a busy stretch of Interstate 55 in Missouri, a tire on our vehicle blew out--and that was the...
The First Resort of Leadership – August 1, 2022
LEARN A LITTLE: As a Leader, What Is Your First Resort? Lots of people have talked and written about the last resort, whether it be in sports, politics, medicine, business or even marriage. It’s what we do when everything else that we have tried has failed. Let me...
When Your Load is Too Heavy – July 1, 2022
LEARN A LITTLE:When Your Load is Too Heavy This blog originated from a recent experience in which I was working to fill in a “washout” on a long gravel driveway with some fresh stone. The area was fairly large and to fill in the large low spot, I knew I would need...