Laughter as medicine
Waking up in Chicago, jet-lagged from a late arrival, I hear my 11 month old granddaughter screeching and crawling to her sister’s room. I jump out of bed fearing my daughter and son-in-law were overwhelmed and run upstairs to find the kids playing a game the 11 month old invented. She was screeching and crawling […]
Content AND Delivery
Why did you like a speaker you heard on TedTalks? What is it about an actor who you could listen to them recite ANYTHING? Why do you cringe when you hear your neighbor talk at their partner? Is it the content or is it the delivery? In school, we got graded for content. On the […]
The dog days of summer
Ugh! I’m tired of the heat and it is barely August. August came in July. Does that mean September will come now? Well, the fires have already started. That used to be a September thing. Last night the neighbors were in the pool until well past midnight. Why not? We all need to cope. Complaining […]
The gift of an introduction
For people living in Los Angeles, introductions can be like the currency of belonging or prestige in one of our main industries – film. streaming. tv. This is not as true in manufacturing or distribution – or many of the industries our Vistage members play in. Yes, we have Hollywood but we also have LA-Long […]
Assume positive intent
Fraught conversations with people who do not feel safe is something we all have experienced since childhood. In order to protect ourselves, we prepare to be verbally savaged. We stay awake at night planning retorts or revenge. Having a skillful verbal retort gets us some space to think and creates a momentary protective shield. Wait, […]
My everyday is their fabulous
A regular hike in Griffith Park takes us to a popular view spot of the Hollywood sign. We usually hear passing hikers speak many foreign languages on this hike, unlike the hike that goes right up our street. We enjoy asking people where they are from and take their group photo with the Hollywood sign […]
Got patience?
Not patience? Let’s line up at the starting line and let’s go! We don’t have time to wait for stragglers. Last one in is a rotten egg.
Your energy
There is a great saying by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Who you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you are saying.” As a leader, this is probably magnified 10x.
The water you swim in
What color is the water you swim in? You probably can’t know because you don’t see the water you swim in. From the outside of your fishbowl, – your customers, your advisors, your bankers, your competitors -they see the color of the water you swim in. It is a filter through which they see you.
Create agency
When the pandemic sent millions of people to work from home, each one had to figure out how to connect in to work with perhaps their own old laptop and their phone. Laptops were sold out. Laptop cameras were not available. Internet speeds were too slow. Schools were shut down so kids too had to […]