Learning from the Team

I’ve just returned from a conference in Jasper and have concluded that it just might be true that one thinks better in the mountains.

While the sessions were good, the informal after hour gatherings with my colleagues were even better. I honestly can’t remember when I’ve laughed so hard or had such meaningful conversations. It was great therapy.

The experience really made me think about how much I love the people I work with and why.

They are an incredibly diverse, slightly quirky group who are intelligent, energetic and authentic. Despite the rather eclectic makeup of the team,… More Posted on 10-27-08

Youth Social Networking

I confess. I have a page on Facebook. I have it primarily because it allows me to stay connected to our kids. It also allows acquaintances, long lost cousins, and former students to find me online.

To be honest I’m not a huge fan. To me sites like Facebook just seem to lack meaning and substance.

Several weeks ago a keynote address at the World Leisure Congress in Quebec City by Dr.Linda Caldwell from Penn State helped me put my uneasiness into better perspective.

Intrigued by the fact that social networking Web sites are among the fastest growing on… More Posted on 10-19-08

Measuring One’s Worth

I met her for the first time when I was about fourteen. She was newly adopted into a family I often babysat and was an adorable, impish bundle of energy with flashing eyes and a smile that warmed your heart.

While her energetic spirit and curiosity no doubt provided challenging times for her adopted parents and her two older siblings, there was just something about that child that made the world seem so right when she wrapped her arms around you in the most loving of hugs.

Life got more challenging as she got older and started school. That never… More Posted on 10-12-08

Triple Bottom Line

My heart goes out to the 800 employees and families of John Deere who are surely still reeling given the recent news of the pending plant closure. While I suppose on some level we shouldn’t be surprised, I still find myself questioning the corporate decision-making process.

I suppose if the only measuring stick being used is money, the decision to move manufacturing to Mexico and Wisconsin makes sense. Call me Pollyanna, but I think a company has a responsibility to do more than just make money especially when they’ve been successful in a community for almost one hundred years.

Like… More Posted on 10-04-08