The Comeback at Starbucks

Onward was one of my favorite books not long ago. I purchased it as soon as it came out and devoured it within the week. It’s the story of how Starbucks almost went away with a worsening economy and internal troubles. However, the former CEO, Howard Schultz, came back as CEO and began to once […]

Can Pressure Hurt Your Personal Performance?

The NBA season is winding down and things are getting tense.  The Miami Heat tend to have more pressure than some of the other teams. They supposedly put together a dream team a couple of years ago in hopes of winning a championship. Fortunately they have been able to win back to back championships the last two […]

Toxic Cultures

It’s so easy to overlook culture. At times it appears to be like carbon monoxide.  You can’t see it or smell it, but it’s there. The problem is when it is toxic. Of course, at times it is very noticeable. It may appear in the form of anger, drama, hatred, gossip, secrets, moodiness, the silent […]

Under His Wings

Ultimate Satisfaction!

A while back Carol and I wandered into Hot Cakes, a small cafe with excellent food. We just went in for desert and it was very difficult to narrow it down to just one. So I settled for the Napoleon. Let’s just say it knocked my socks off! Satisfaction to the max.  As we left […]

One of Life’s Most Uncomfortable Questions

Every week I have the opportunity to play basketball with guys much younger than I.  Because I have played sports since I was a kid, there has always been some competitiveness inside of me. As I get older I often tell Carol that I when I can no longer keep up on the court I […]

Tolerating Small Things Can Be Destructive

We’ve all seen it, at least we have noticed it in others.  That is, something small, or seemingly small, is tolerated until it destroys. Let me illustrate.  I have watched people be rude in relationships to the point where it eventually ended a friendship. There have been marriages which were destroyed over time by a controlling spouse. And […]

Are You Indispensable?

Recently I had coffee with a friend who had worked with Lou Gerstner, one of my favorite CEO’s.  Back in the 1990’s IBM was about to go under. They reported the biggest corporate loss of all time, and Gerstner was brought in to restructure and rebuild the company. While initially IBM was forced to lay […]

Inspire Someone

When You Don’t Respect Your Boss

Four of my kids have had various jobs and worked for different bosses. Some good, and some not so good. So we have had discussions as to how you treat and respond to difficult superiors. Years ago I worked in retail for a while, and from my perspective the manager was very different. I never […]