Simplicity in Words
My last post approached simplicity from a perspective of painting. This week, the Wednesday Whimsey looks at another form of brevity—of word counts. It is prompted by a passage that I recall from a New York Times article:The Lord’s Prayer contains 56 words, the 23rd Psalm, 118 words, the Gettysburg Address, 226 words and the Ten Commandments,...
I have an heir!
Robyn Faucy-Washington, Executive Director of Results 1st No, I have not found a long lost relative. What I have found is a wonderful partner to carry on my work on result tools and practice for years to come. I met Robyn Faucy-Washington as a client. She has been CEO of Neuro Challenge, the organization helping persons and families with Parkinson’s in Sarasota, Florida, and...
Strategy & Tactics
I was sipping coffee with my friend Bruce late last week. When he works with groups, he has one key question: What problem are you trying to solve? On the one hand, I love any focus that brings concentration and intentional thinking to an organization, and problem solving does that. On the other, I see all the literature on being driven by assets rather than barriers....
Vitality Rediscovered
We just sold a house. Many of you have the same experiences in moving that my wife Pam and I did. Much of the pain was about book decisions. Thousands of volumes one or both of us found indispensable, often surviving previous moves. In conducting the necessary pruning, I had a chance to revisit many books read over the years. I am an inveterate underliner and turned pages until I saw...
The Result View of Trust
My colleague Robyn Faucy-Washington just emailed me the new Give.org Donor Trust Report produced by the Better Business Bureau. Based on surveys, it looks at changes in trust factors that influence charitable gifts. The top-line finding: “The importance of financial ratios as a signal of trust has declined steadily, from 35 percent in December 2017 to 18.6 percent in August...
A Good Question
My colleague Les Loomis had a comment that I found so useful I post it here as a blog entry. Following a highly successful career as teacher, principal and superintendent, Les has helped over 60 New York State school districts to significantly increase student achievement. Thanks, Les for making a big difference for thousands of students. And for writing this blog response which you call...
The Path of the Calf: Part 2
In my last entry, I shared Samuel Foss’s poem, the Path of the Calf. It is cited by me and others who seek innovation as its opposite: getting in a groove and staying there. This week let’s turn that coin over to look at the limits of more free-form traveling. First, consider the value of staying on a path long enough to really learn it. Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers sums up the...
Follow the Cow?
Listen to this excerpt from a wonderful poem called “The Path of the Calf” by Samuel Foss: One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home as good calves should. But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail as all calves do… The trail was taken up next day By a lone dog that passed that way, And then a wise...