Category Archive

This might be the shortest and most important blog I write all year.  If you’re asked to keep something confidential…do it. Information is valuable currency and it’s great to be “in the know”.  But in business, reputations are built on trust; keeping information you have been entrusted with confidential makes you credible and trustworthy. The same holds true in personal

I admit it, I’m Norwegian and proud of it.  Almost as proud as I am of being an American.  When the Norwegians won the most Olympic medals I cheered and wondered what their secret was.  This insightful Sports Illustrated (SI) article details how the Norwegian coaches work with their athletes.  

You’re sitting at your desk eyeing the piles of work stacked up.  The volume is daunting, and all marked “urgent”.  Then another task appears and another.  Here, catch this!  Productivity grinds to a halt.  You have workload paralysis. When people have too much on their plate they often shut down and avoid work altogether; they may play computer games or

Dad turned 92 last week; this 2013 blog has been reprinted in celebration of his birthday. My father was a deer hunter, although now that I think about it, I don’t recall him bringing home much venison.  What I do recall is his excitement in anticipation of heading up to a couple old trailers parked in the woods near Minong

There’s a story told by funeral directors.  A woman was making funeral arrangements for her husband.  She requested he be buried in a dark blue suit.  “Wouldn’t it be easier to just bury him in the black suit that he’s already wearing?” the funeral director asked.  But the woman insisted that it must be a blue suit and gave the

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea.  He poured his visitor’s cup full and then kept pouring.  The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself.  “It is overfull.  No more will go in!” 

Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point explains how ideas and changes in organizations can spread like epidemics; how bringing the right elements together to reach the point of critical mass makes its effect become unstoppable. We’ve seen tipping points recently:  

My 92-year-old father is deaf – or nearly so.  He is also very social, so not being able to hear well isolates him.  Dad has hearing aids, but being five years old, they were failing and frustrating everyone. The family finally convinced him to go to a hearing specialist.  George was bubbly, thorough and very experienced.  He explained the technological

I had the privilege of spending three days in Washington DC last week with the MREA, educating our legislators on issues important to electric cooperatives. Every legislator expressed appreciation for our visit; one made the comment, “When you don’t come to see us, we forget you’re there.” His statement rings true, not only in politics but in life and business.  

I’m thinking of getting a tattoo.  When I mentioned this to my husband, his eyebrows popped up.  “You, a tattoo?” he asked, “What kind?”