Subjective Objectivity

Subjective Objectivity

One of my older sister’s favorite expressions is this: “No guts, no air medals.” While it does seem harder and harder to find people with guts these days — people with the courage to stand up, stand out, and tell difficult truths — there are still...
Sharing: What a Concept

Sharing: What a Concept

On Tuesday night, I was the featured speaker at the annual meeting of Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore (LVVS, about which I wrote here). This may suggest two things about LVVS: Their character judgment is deeply suspect and their speaker pool is perilously shallow if...
Go With the Flow

Go With the Flow

I came across a book review in The Financial Times over the past weekend in which the author, Julian Baggini, finding a common thread running through the three books he reviewed, wrote something arresting — something that directly contradicts the popular and...
Self-Help Insurance

Self-Help Insurance

On the day I searched Amazon for books on work/life balance, there were 1,702 results returned. I’ll bet if I’d conducted the same search the next day, there would have been more. That made me wonder: If all of the employees who read these books practice...
The Professional Nebbish

The Professional Nebbish

I’ve discovered yet another reminder that I’m going about everything all wrong. I’m the kind of guy who takes seriously the U.S. Army commercials about being the best you can be. I suffer with a chronically stiff neck from setting my sights too high....