Stories–Part I: My Stories

I love reading, listening to and telling stories; I always have. I think we all do. From the time I was a small child I loved hearing bedtime stories. Even before I understood the symbols on the pages as letters of the alphabet, I tried to link together the drawings and pictures in my Little Golden […]

Cluelessness: What We Don’t Know (Part II–Everyday Anosognosia?)

 A news story, reported by Michael A. Fuoco in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1995, began: “ARREST IN BANK ROBBERY, SUSPECT’S TV PICTURE SPURS TIPS At 5 feet 6 inches and about 270 pounds, bank robbery suspect McArthur Wheeler isn’t the type of person who fades into the woodwork.  So it was no surprise that he […]

What is it About A$$holes?

You are driving down the highway, travelling with the flow of traffic as you near a construction zone where the traffic narrows from three lanes, then to two, and finally to one lane. You’ve merged into the single lane, when you see, in your side-view mirror, a black Dodge Ram pickup truck blithely cruising along the shoulder […]

Seeing With Fresh Eyes

French novelist Marcel Proust wrote that, “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” To me, this sounds like the exact opposite of déjà vu. We all know that déjà vu feeling. It’s the distinct feeling that, even though we are in a completely unfamiliar place, somehow, we’ve […]

Four Rules for Building Powerful Teams

Last week, my business partner Moss Jackson and I  finished up a leadership development program that we had created for a long-time client. The program brought together senior leaders from different business units and corporate functions within the company, who worked in small teams on a variety of challenges. All but one of the challenges […]

The Power of the First Follower

I got a gift the other day. One of my former coaches, Martha Tilyard (I wrote about Martha last year in my post “A Belated Thanks You“), sent me a link to a video of a 3-minute talk at the February 2010 TED by Derek Sivers, titled “How to Start a Movement.” I want to share that gift with you. […]

Fathers and Sons – Part Two

In my previous post, “Fathers and Sons – Part One,” I wrote about PGA professional Russ Cochran and his son, Ryan.  They weren’t the only father/son player/caddie duo that I followed during the 2012 Toshiba Classic.  On Sunday, March 18th, the final day of the tournament, I was the walking scorer for the trio of […]

Playing in the Wind

Golf is a game played in beautiful surroundings.  Golfers play out in the open air, on golf courses that are usually carefully cultivated and highly manicured playgrounds, where their bright white golf balls gleam against the green grasses that fill the fairways.  Even the hazards the golfers try to avoid can be visually appealing.  Bunkers are filled […]

The Tale of the Peacock’s Tail

Have you ever wondered why peacocks developed such long, beautiful tails?  It’s simple evolutionary biology.  Peahens show a reference for large-tailed peacocks.  In the earliest days, this made a lot of sense.  A showy tail was a marker of a good, healthy male who knew how to feed himself — a good breeding partner, and […]

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Earlier this week at the Palm Springs International Film Festival we watched a new film, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.”  The film, adapted from the 2007 novel of the same name by Paul Torday, tells the story of  feckless British fisheries expert  Dr. Andrew Jones [played by Ewan McGregor], who is approached by consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot [played […]