I am seeing more and more companies adding “resiliency” and its kissing cousin “agility,” to their list of leadership competencies. And it makes sense. Business today is more complex, unpredictable, and decision making is usually ambiguous at best. Organizations cannot afford to stand still while they gather all the information required to make a decision. Sometimes you have to move and then pick up the pieces to see if you’ve won or lost. Consider the transformation that has happened in...

We had a great time at the Pittsburgh Opera on Monday night officially launching The Resilience Advantage. Friends, clients and colleagues all gathered in the former home of George Westinghouse’s Railroad Air Break Company building resilience over great food and wonderful conversation. The highlight of the evening was a performance by one of Pittsburgh leading improv groups, Sheila’s Wing and A Prayer Players. Their performances have been seen all around Pittsburgh, the US, and in Europe where they “Perform the...

I know what you are thinking. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Research conducted at the University of British Colombia and published in Health Psychology, however, indicates that we can create an improved state of physical and mental well being by spending money on others. The researchers divided their subjects into 2 groups, both of whom were diagnosed with hypertension. One group was told to spend $40 on themselves while the other group was instructed to spend...

This race to the White House has been absolutely exhausting. The other day I was at an airport lounge at O’Hare and realized I could not stand to hear any more from one of the candidates. Remembering that chronic stress can cause health problems I recognized that it might be time to take a break from the discourse being portrayed and check out for a bit from watching politics. I love being an involved citizen but with 6 more months...

Warren Buffet held his 52nd annual shareholder meeting in Omaha this past weekend and in his usual folksy style unwittingly spoke to what may be one of the leading causes of stress in the workplace—over complication. Buffet pointed out that only 25 people work at Berkshire’s corporate headquarters and that they don’t use committees to get things done and power point presentations are viewed as “make work” activities. Even in planning the annual meeting that gathered over 40,000 people, one...

We’ve been doing some serious training with our 11-month-old Coton puppy, Cody. As we’ve been gathering tips, taking lessons, and buying treats, its come to our awareness that there is a hierarchy of actions that Cody and presumably other dogs take in response to the stimuli in their environment. Brought on by the excitement of the world, this hierarchy of actions drives their behavior so that they seem to have no other choices. The hierarchy includes (1) chasing—(2) eating—(3)smelling. I...