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 […]
Tag Archives: life lessons
Stomping Grapes or Making Wine?
Why Are We in Such a Hurry to Make Up Our Minds??
Perhaps you’ve wondered: Why did banks and traders make such bad decisions leading up to and during the 2007-2008 financial crisis? Frank Portnoy [a former derivatives trader and current professor of law and finance at the University of San Diego] , was apparently wondering the same thing. In Professor Portnoy’s case, it led to the writing […]
The Power of the First Follower
Why Do We Call It Spam?
A particularly egregious piece of junk e-mail showed up in my Inbox this morning, and I remarked out loud, “How did this piece of junk get through my spam filter?” I deleted the message, but then started thinking about the word spam. Why do we call unwanted junk email “spam?” I remember the canned meat product, Spam, […]
What if there was a Pill to make us like each other?
Philosophy Bites is one of my favorite podcasts. There’s a new one every week or so, and I enjoy them all. It’s an easy way to get some quick and easy exposure to important philosophical issues. Earlier this month I listened to a conversation with Pat Churchland on “What Can Neuroscience Teach Us About Morality”. […]
Why Worry About Education?
I worry about the way that many people think about education–if they bother to think about it at all. What got me started thinking about it was a podcast titled “Freakonomics Goes to College, Part 2,” which I listened to at the gym this morning (and you can find at the link). The podcast focused […]
“Out-of-Control” Controls
How often do you encounter a situation where the attempt to “control” something has itself gotten out of control? Usually it is the result of an overly zealous attempt to “protect” someone or something from the bad behavior or bad results of someone else’s behavior [whether that behavior was ill-intended or otherwise]. The Sarbannes-Oxley legislation of […]
“007” Style Succession Planning
[For the past several weeks I have focused my writing efforts on an upcoming book my business partner, Moss Jackson, and I are writing about Succession Planning and have been ignoring the blog. Erin Palmer, who works with Villanova University’s online human resources programs, and writes about project management including the PMP certification training training and business […]
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 […]