Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
I’m guilty.
In the land of do as I say and do as I do, I’m buckling on the latter and hoping you do the former.
It happens.
Despite best intentions to behave true to my own advice I slipped into behaviors that others rely on me to avoid modeling. It happens. Welcome to being human.
I have a conflict with someone on a board on which we both sit and rather than address it early, it’s gone from a minor annoyance to major avoidance.… Read the rest
North Americans (OK, maybe just those of us who are Yankees) love simple solutions, especially to complex problems.
We want a pill to cure obesity (instead of a change in diet, lifestyle, better sleep, and appropriate physical activity) and student testing to cure educational ills (in lieu of better teacher training and development, better resourcing, smaller class size, and greater parental involvement).… Read the rest
There were a few reactions to a piece last week called New Traditions that merit sharing:
Willamette University classmate and SAE fraternity brother Ron Yan noted that beyond my nickname of “Right On Smitty” due to my unrelenting pursuit of relevance, that “As I recall, we had many more, but certainly less publishable nick names for you.”… Read the rest
Wendy Mogel, author of New York Times bestseller The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children was in the City this week. I caught her presentation at the Hamlin School along with a bevy of parents from various independent schools.
Mogel has great on-stage presence and funny charm, fitting for someone whose father published the National Lampoon.… Read the rest
“Facts,” as former President Ronald Reagan once noted, “are stupid things.” And as John Adams more accurately noted, “Facts are stubborn things” as well.
So when your normal mode of operation squares off with the facts of evidence-based research, it’s time to stop being stupid or stubborn, and think about changes to your way of behaving.… Read the rest
The current job market is generally a seller’s market: qualified applicants significantly outnumber available openings. Unlike the early part of the decade – a buyer’s market – it means that employers can be (and usually are) very selective in whom they hire, and buyers – job applicants – don’t have the ability to be very highly selective due to the undersupply of job openings.… Read the rest