When I shared in last week’s post that the past two years have been difficult—that I’ve struggled to find my lane—I got what I seek most from writing: real connection. Thank you for your comments and emails. I look forward to continuing those conversations, both here
When I stepped back from running my company nearly two years ago, I had three good business reasons: risk management, talent retention, and strategic renewal. I also made one huge mistake: I had no real plan for myself. I didn’t consider myself retired. I’m an “un-exited business owner,
This (above) is what the Frances Perkins Department of Labor Building looks like right now. Frances Perkins, the first woman to hold a cabinet role, was FDR’s Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and her policy accomplishments include the development of social security, the 40-hour workweek, minimum wage
Hello! I published early this week, because I’m heading to what we in Seattle call Other Washington. No promises I can single-handedly end the shutdown, but if I see Mike Johnson, I will ask him how allowing people to go hungry in the richest country in the world squares
Back in elementary school, my kids, Anna and Peter, were often mistaken for twins. But in fact they were born two years apart, and, as I like to tell them, they have radically different ROIs (returns on investment). Anna was born in Hong Kong. Had I been less of a
I’ve shared this with some of you already: I’ve been traveling this week, and one of my flights was genuinely terrifying. Right before takeoff, the flight attendant returned to the intercom and said this and only this: “Now is when you need to say goodbye to all those
Before the last, nationwide No Kings day, I shared that I would be bringing my Lego. For the next one (this coming Saturday, October 18th), I’ve made a different plan, but—just like last time—it takes into account who I am at a cellular level. Am I a
1. Let us stipulate that the “listicle” is the lowest form of human writing. 2. In my defense, when E.M. Forster burned onto my brain the command “Only connect!”, he didn’t add “but never in the form of a listicle.” 3. (In Forster’s defense, there was no
After last week’s post, the questions I got fell into three buckets. The first type came mainly from people I know in real life and sounded something like this: Are you happy with your decision not to run for office? Back when we talked about it, you seemed pretty
I moved to America just in time to catch Bicentennial fever. In our new town—Cincinnati, Ohio—flags were everywhere. In our new house, the fixtures chosen by the previous owners featured an astonishing number of bald eagles. The shag carpet in my new bedroom was—I kid you not—
In mediation, the work I’ve been doing for a while now, warring parties come together not to reconcile their competing worldviews but instead to find some narrow path forward—some practical way to co-exist peacefully. In most mediation environments, the parties are asked to proceed “in good faith.” This
Like many people with schedules that are arguably too flexible, I have consumed a flood of news and opinion in the 48+ hours since Charlie Kirk was shot. I’ve also started, and re-started, this post a hundred times. Here’s why you didn’t hear from me at the