Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
Leaders come and go, some without notice, and some that leave a void like that special friend who has moved away.
Leslie Roffman will retire next June from The Little School at the end of the 2016 school year.
I will miss her. So will a community of thousands of parents and kids.
In 50 years as a faculty and staff member, a student and a parent, the number of administrators I’ve known that are both really liked AND respected I can count on three fingers.… Read the rest
It’s a time of year when even the most distant observer notes that winners are separated from something referred to as losers. Who you are can be confused with what you’ve won (lately).
College bowl games, Super Bowl, Golden Globe, Writers Guild of America, Grammys, Oscars – all proclaiming who is/was hot, and maybe by inference, who is not.
Barack Obama got into the act with his January State of Union address noting that his campaigning days were over – eliciting cheers from Republicans – followed by a telling tally – “I should know because I’ve won both of them.… Read the rest
The difference?
The difference was between an OK bonus that the senior manager would receive and the really nice bonus they wouldn’t receive was one word: responsibility.
The recipient, my client explained, shirked from responsibility.
When something went wrong, it was usually someone else’s fault.
When it came time to put a stake in the ground, they were often last to do so.… Read the rest
November was a blur but I came away with one distilled thought: It never hurts to give thanks for thanks.
The good deeds – mitzvahs if you speak Yiddish – directed my way were small to large but net-net, they were all very kind and very terrific.
The unfortunate expectation that some people have is that if you do good for someone else there is a chit, a payback note, that suggests the next favor is due you.… Read the rest
It’s a familiar refrain on many a college campus and more than just a few
companies: “meet you at the Quad?”
A line tagged to a place and a time, it routes you to the familiar where you can bank on connecting with the right people at interesting times.
It’s also the place where more often than not serendipity intersects opportunity, where talent finds good fortune.… Read the rest
“The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” – John Burroughs