Certain people drive us crazy. We all have at least one in our lives. A demon with our name tattooed on its face. An entity so powerful it demands nothing less than our total attention. Its impact on our well-being is often way beyond what makes logical sense.
I call them phantoms. We find them at home, at work and at play. Whence they come, they work their magic in the invisible world—the world of our psyche.
Read MoreIt was 1861, a time of unthinkable national fracture. Frederick Douglass stood before an angry crowd at Tremont Temple, the integrated church one block from Boston Commons, and made an audacious claim. He said that art could play a role in the abolition of slavery.
From the famed abolitionist and volcanic orator who said, “it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake… the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed (1) ,” his views on art must have seemed irrelevant compared to the issues at hand.
Read MoreAfter a serious accident, a client unexpectedly found himself in a rehab facility. Most of the other patients were quite a bit older than him, and in more advanced stages of decrepitude. He confided to me his first thoughts, I am not like them, I don’t belong here, were swiftly cleared away—when he called a nurse to wipe his ass.
We want to feel powerful, or even better than others, any chance we get. Not so easy with one’s ass hanging out, or in my case, my eyeballs.
Read MoreYour eyes will never be normal. Dr Mark Terry, Surgeon, Devers Eye Institute, (explaining why post-surgery I still can’t see well enough to read or drive or cross the road safely without corrective lenses).
I never thought to call it naked before. It was just how I saw. Or, to be more precise, how I didn’t see, until I put my contacts in. I didn’t spend a lot of time there.
Recently, two high power intraocular lenses have been surgically implanted through small corneal incisions. (And from the twilight zone of anesthesia, I could see the scalpel). Although these lenses correct a good portion of my myopia, they aren’t quite bionic enough to take me all the way to what’s considered normal sight. The technology isn’t there yet. The new lenses bring my naked vision to about 20-200—the official number for legal blindness.
Read MoreDerrick, a high level Creative Director, knew it was time to move on—he should finally be done working for somebody else. Well known in his field, and with many awards to his name, it would be the next logical step, the one his friends assumed he should take, a move that would make his proud mom prouder. In addition to being a brilliant Creative, my client was a genuine nice guy and supportive mentor; he was certain he could do a decent job at managing people.
Until this moment, until this very conversation, he believed that his decades long struggle with anxiety and the havoc its physical symptoms had wreaked, was a curse—a weakness that had stopped him from achieving more status and acclaim.
But was it?
Read MoreHiding within every disadvantage is a potential advantage. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a whole book about this. For obvious reasons, the hidden advantage is nearly impossible to recognize—until that is, the disadvantage goes away. It’s especially true when the disadvantage has always been there; when it has been an integral part of one’s reality.
Read MoreAndrea, the CEO of a large advocacy program for disadvantaged children has been at the helm of a nationally known organization for six years. She manages a multi-million dollar budget and wields tremendous power. But she is not a power monger. A deeply ethical woman, she is committed to walking her talk and living by her principles in every aspect of life.
Andrea is a team player, a consummate collaborative leader.
Read MoreChange management: passé. Conflict resolution: no longer sexy at all. Innovation: it’s the thing—the elixir for today.
There are countless ways to think about innovation. Wait… Isn’t every new thought about innovation an innovation? Well, no. Not unless that creative thought results in the implementation of something new. Innovation involves putting ones creative ideas to work.
Why the rage? Why are so many smart people—artists, designers, educators, engineers and CEOs—all so concerned about whether or not they are doing it?
Read MoreMost of us have not cultivated a welcoming stance towards disturbances, especially ones that interfere with our goals and intentions. Whether it is an unsightly cold sore on the day of a big presentation, a piece of negative feedback from someone we respect or the appearance in our inbox of someone we hooked up with on that crazy drunken night all those years ago, disturbances are rarely met with open arms or attitudes.
Read MoreI am delighted to be here and it is a privilege to be in this role and speak about this glorious group of people. This is my first commencement speech, so bear with me. Let’s hope I can pull it off!
Read MoreEarly failure can be crucial to success in innovation. Because the faster you find weakness during an innovation cycle, the faster you can improve what needs fixing. Tom and David Kelly
You can’t be a loser if you are a learner. Arny Mindell
I paint best, when I couldn’t care less. When my expectations are low because I’m sure I suck anyway. Maybe it’s dusk and I can’t see well. I grab a canvas that’s already been painted, find some old tubes with ill-fitting caps and lumpy crusts and scrape yesterday’s paint from the palette. Tada. Now that I know I’m not wasting good paint, I’m willing to make the most terrific mess.
Read MoreI love blaming others. And I know I’m not alone in this.
It’s easy to complain, or gossip with co-workers (who share my point of view of course), about the messes and mistakes that have been made. Such diatribes stoke my indignation and reassure me that someone else, someone with more power, is at fault. After all, I’m not the ultimate boss.
Read MoreSomeone I once loved killed himself. On the 5th anniversary of our break-up, on the dark days between Christmas and the New Year, he shot himself in the head in a motel room a few miles from where I currently live with my partner and step-kids.
Read MoreAnother sunny day and Mattie is spending it under the bed. I’m not at all happy about this; despite the fact she has been limping for a few days and needs rest. She should at least be staring out the window at the waves, or on the deck sniffing sea air.
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Anything worthwhile, any project worth doing has an outcome that can’t be predicted.
My brain doesn’t like that. And if you’re human, neither does yours. We humans are pre-wired to feel vulnerable around risk and change. When we move towards something new or unpredictable, a little voice in our head warns us off.
Be safe. Stay with what’s known.
Read MoreProcesswork is a unique approach to personal development and collective change. It ideates, it addresses a broad range of issues, it penetrates layers of experience, and it dives into the deepest nature of things. Below, learn about some of its most foundational ideas, think about them critically, and find my accompanying advice.
Read MoreThe ability to design a really cool thing has a basic skill in common with the capacity to have a really good relationship. Both pursuits demand that we empathize with the end user.
Read MoreI’ve always thought I’m better off second in command and it has never been truer than now. It’s been over a year since I left my long held position as a Dean at the Process Work Institute. This has freed me to focus on 361ArtWorks, a new venture formed with a collaborator whose life has taken her in other directions, leaving me to develop and grow the business in any way I wish.
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