Recently, I was watching an episode of Globe Trekker on Public Television. The host of the show was passing through a city in Mississippi where he met a woman who was heralded as being an outstanding cook of Southern food. When he asked her what her secret was she reeled off a list of ingredients…
During this past year, I spent seven weeks getting infused with antibiotics twice a day at a local hospital. During that time, I got to know the reception employees and volunteers very well and they treated me with the utmost kindness. So much so that when my treatments were finished I wrote the hospital CEO…
According to a recent study conducted by Market Force Information, Trader Joe’s is ranked as America’s favorite grocery store for the third consecutive year. According to a press release from Market Force Information, Trader Joe’s has built a following of devoted customers because of its “…neighborhood feel, zealous customer service, and an array of exotic…
Steve Kerr has had a very successful first year as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. His team won 67 of the 82 regular season games—best in the NBA. Coaching at that level can be an all-consuming and stressful job because the pressure to win is enormous. Achieving a balance between work and life…
Donna Freydkin wrote an article, which appeared in a recent issue of USA Today, about Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin who are staring in a new Netflix TV series called Grace and Frankie. The two play aging women whose husbands come out as gay and decide to marry. According to the article, what makes this…
I just finished reading an excellent book titled Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock, the head of People Operations at Google. In his book, Mr. Bock mentions an article written by Chris Argyris, a professor emeritus at the Harvard Business School. Professor Argyris looked the performance of Harvard Business School graduates ten years after graduation. For…
Recently David Brooks, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, wrote an essay titled “The Moral Bucket List” that was posted in the SundayReview section of nytimes.com. He began his essay with this paragraph: “About once a month I run across a person who radiates an inner light. These people can be in any walk of…
When someone smiles at me, it makes me feel better and it puts a smile on my face as well. The same holds true when I smile at someone else. Research has shown that there are many benefits associated with smiling. For example, people who smile feel better, look better to others, live longer, are…
One of my observations from being on Facebook is that there are a fair number of people who are trying to live in the past. They regularly post videos from YouTube featuring musical groups and recording artists from “their era” and they talk about going to dances featuring bands and music from the “good old…
Micromanaging One of life’s most difficult lessons is to come to grips with the fact that the tools that have taken you to where you are, are not the tools that are going to take you to the next level. For example, micromanaging, where you are constantly looking over other people’s shoulders, may work well…