Resiling from Good to Great

I discussed influence with a client last week, and we arrived at the power of stories. She told me she was not a great storyteller and never knew how to tie a story to her message. I told her she was wrong. I asked her to tell me about cars she’s owned in her life. She said that cars were not that important to her, but as she described each, her demeanor became more exciting. One by one, she went...

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What Started Me on My Resilience Journey

Twenty-five years ago, on yesterday‘s summer solstice, our youngest son, Kenneth, died of AIDS at 31 years of age. After the celebrations of his life and the condolence visits ceased, the full impact of his loss began to hit us.  No more dinners together or watching Broadway musicals were on our calendars. His funny stories about his work as a concierge, such as when he saved Gladys Knight from a costuming disaster, were recalled. Ken was just a phone call away...

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Anticipation and Happiness (and Anxiety)

Remember that first trip you took to Disneyland as a kid? You couldn’t stop thinking about meeting Mickey and playing around with Goofy. You dreamed about getting soaked on Splash Mountain and could taste the hamburgers and hot dogs. You were excited the night before, and you couldn’t sleep! Down the hall, your parents were excited too, but their excitement was steeped in anxiety. What if the plane was delayed or canceled, and we missed the first days of our...

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The Single Most Important Story on Cable News Last Week

Good morning. I hope you are having a lovely Wednesday morning.  Take a deep breath and let today’s Resilient Wednesday provide a few ideas on keeping you in an accessible place! Our nervous system is built to protect us. That function is hard-wired and holds primacy in our lives. If there is a natural or perceived emergency or even the threat of a dangerous situation occurring, we move into a fight, flight, or freeze mode. It is the most potent...

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Why Elon is RIght and How Other Companies Will Implement Return to Work

Elon Musk set the world aflutter this week by announcing that Tesla office employees would be required to return to the office for a minimum of 40 hours, and if they do not show up, Tesla would consider that they’ve resigned from their positions. Consultants and HR professionals were up in arms. They predicted that recruiters would have a field day picking off Musk’s best and brightest and that Tesla would be fighting a battle with employees over our two...

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Observation, Reflection, Inaction

We traveled to Lake Tahoe this past week, and over the weekend, we attended an arts festival filled with musicians, artisans, and little kids dancing their butts off. Some people were wearing masks, but most were not (including us), and I could feel a collective sigh of relief from the crowd that we were getting our lives back. But as I watched people move among each other, I could discern a cautiousness about whether all this was for real. While...

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