Brevity is the soul of communicating
A third grader had to do a book report, and he chose a Socrates biography. His report consisted of three succinct sentences: Socrates was a philosopher. He talked a lot. They killed him. Not much more to say about brevity. Maybe that’s why U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Be sincere. Be brief. Be seated.” […]
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Be careful when offering criticism
When you offer criticism, be aware of whom you are criticizing and how they might receive it. Case in point: A number of years ago, my son David was entering his senior year at Stanford University. He thought it might be fun to spend his last college summer freewheeling in San Francisco, working five or […]
Continue readingChange your perspective, change your life
Perspective has many definitions, such as the ability to understand what is important and what isn’t. And the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. Consider this excellent example of how differently people view the same subject in this ancient fable. Four blind men were asked to examine an elephant and […]
Continue readingIt’s been a long time.
The blog is not my favorite place to get my message out. I prefer the weekly column I write, the facebook page I work with my team to update and the twitter notes I send out on occasion. Yet, the blog keeps going and growing for other people in my network. I come back to […]
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Wisdom is Sunlight Of the Soul
Quotes, aphorisms, proverbs or whatever you want to call them — I’m a junkie. I picked up the habit from my father who was an Associated Press journalist. Readers of my nationally syndicated column will recognize them as morals. They need to be short, snappy and to the point. A good moral or proverb must […]
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Resourcefulness = “Of Coursefulness”
A firm needed a researcher. Applicants were a scientist, an engineer and an economist. Each was given a stone, a piece of string and a stopwatch and told to determine a certain building’s height. The scientist went to the rooftop, tied the stone to the string and lowered it to the ground. Then he swung it, […]
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Don’t Let Rejection Scare You
Anytime you feel like quitting throughout your career, perhaps you’ll remember this story of one of our people: When he was born he was given the nickname “Sparky.” School was very difficult for Sparky, and he failed eighth grade. He also flunked several subjects in high school, the same high school that I attended a […]
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Criticism Challenges Creativity
The great American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille said, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” As I’ve said in the past, I always try to start each day with a healthy dose of vitamin C – Creativity. I believe that creative ideas and actions are what make life interesting. More important than drugs and […]
Continue readingCommunication Need Not Be Complicated
Several years ago, a seasoned plumber wrote to the U.S. Bureau of Standards promoting a new procedure for cleaning pipes. The bureau replied: “The efficiency of the recommended solution is completely undisputed. However, there is an inherent incompatibility between the aforementioned solution and the basic chemical structures of the commonly used materials in current household […]
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Conquering The Fear Of Success
A famous trapeze performer was instructing his students how to perform on the trapeze bar. After full explanations and instruction in this complicated skill, he asked them to demonstrate. However, one of the students, looking up at the insecure perch upon which he was expected to perform, was suddenly paralyzed with fear. He had a […]
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