This and That. More or Less.

  O f all the places to see it, I was waiting in line to pay for groceries today and there was a notice on the isle divider that “due to our unprecedented times self-bagging would no longer be allowed.”  I thought to myself – yet again – that word.   Unprecedented.   While I’m shopping for groceries of all times!.        I don’t have to tell you that we hear and see it everywhere.     First, they started using it for climate change.   And soon after to describe the behavior and actions of President Trump.   And now, it’s a perfect trifecta with the advance of the Covid 19 pandemic.       Except for some extreme conservatives, the majority of Americans accept the impacts of climate change, such as temperatures rising in the air and in the water, ice melt from glaciers in Greenland and the disruption of many species of plants, insects, fish, animals, etc.    And with each passing year...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness Growing up as a gay man born in 1951 in America, being equal was never quite part of the deal.   Ignorance of homosexuality was fairly common across society.  I remember growing up reading Ann Landers, a widely popular advice columnist of her day.  She would get letters from parents asking what to do when they suspected their child was gay.  I don’t remember her responses but I do remember thinking to myself – just how do you know someone is gay?  Is there some sign that you could tell?   When the movie Boys in the Band, a gay-themed mainstream film came out. my mother took us to see the movie.  She lamented how sad life was for these men and how unfair it was for them.  I thought gee, not...

Carl was tall and thin with long, strong arms and legs and a confident amble to his walk.   Always with a ready smile, low key and soft spoken he could blend in with the crowd which is what he preferred.  He seemed approachable and open, but he kept to himself and his own thoughts.  Well liked but not really close with anyone.  Except me.   I don’t know when we became close friends – although memories go back to 5th grade.    Carl and I lived in the same general area in the rural mountains of Pennsylvania.    The bus ride was over 30 minutes to the Jr/Sr. high school we attended and we always sat next to each other to and from school.    We shared many classes together.   Despite my active participation in extracurricular activities and editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, Carl didn’t like clubs but he loved to run.   He was a school standout on the track team and excelled at sprints and hurdles.  ...

Perhaps Nelson Mandela said it best.   “A leader...is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind."  As I watch the evolution of this Covid-19 pandemic I’m struck at the differences in leadership style you can observe both in government and business.  Chances are you remember your encounter with a bad leader. They might not handle conflict effectively or even at all, allowing frustrations to intensify.  They may be on a power trip or fail to show any vulnerability, which leads their staff or constituents to feel more intimidated and insecure. Perhaps most frustrating of all they may place blame on anyone but themselves and refuse to hold themselves accountable for anything.  Are leaders born or made?   This is the most basic and most often-asked question about leadership.   To cut to the c...

Living as we do in the shadow of what is sometimes referred to as ‘the entertainment capital of the world’, Las Vegas under shutdown due to the Covid-19 virus is eerily quiet and empty.   As I stand in my backyard in Seven Hills and see the outline of the city in the distance, hear the comforting sound of mocking birds singing their tunes and the sound of water falling over the spillway into the pool, life here in the desert seems so normal and ordinary.   But these are anything but normal times.   The pandemic has cities, states and countries under lock down with orders to practice social distancing, a term most of us never heard of or would have ever practiced as suburban and urban dwellers.     A well-read and perhaps more spiritual friend of mine shared a poem on social media that struck me deeply.   It is a poem of a totally different era and circumstance but it so beautifully speaks to the hope of better days ahead for all of us now....

Maya Angelou and Marketing As marketers - I have always felt there is much to learn from Maya Angelou about communication. One of her many truths was this - "I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. " While few of us can claim this kind of communications finesse, she showed us it can be done and gave us a worthy inspirational goal for both our professional and personal lives. Thank you Maya - the world is a richer place for you having been here.   We miss her wise voice in these troubled times.