I learned a lot in this conversation. That's a euphemism for it being challenging for me, since my measure of working was different than Ann-Marie's. You'll probably hear me struggling to listen and learn her experience and perspective without disagreeing. Part of why I invited her and value our friendship is our different values. Different values mean we balance them differently. Leadership means listening, making people feel understood, and supporting them as people, even when you disagree, at least my style of leadership. Listening now, I don't think I listened as much as I could have. I could have learned more about a different perspective that many people share. This conversation led to several monologue posts I put up on awareness often leading to inaction,…

"How do you plan to convince him of that?" "I want to convince them to help." People talk about convincing a lot. Maybe I hear it more since I teach leadership and people link leadership with convincing. I see convincing as nearly the opposite of leadership. I've written before how when I hear the word convince, I substitute "provoke debate" for it and find the sentence more accurate. The emotions and motivation the act of convincing provokes are about debate. Trying to convince motivates people to debate you, often leading them to hold positions more strongly. You lead them, but the opposite direction you meant. The Root of Convincing The English language backs me up. Here are the roots of the word: Latin convincere, to…

Some things I speed through---doing the dishes, some emails. I think a lot of people speed through as much as they can. Some things it makes no sense to speed through. A museum with great works of art. I can't see them all, so I might as well maximally experience and enjoy what pieces I can see. I might speed through for fun or novelty, but those times are the exception and I accept that I'm sacrificing depth for fun. Most art falls in this category. I speed the playback of podcasts but not music. The point isn't to listen to more songs but to enjoy each. Art I don't like, I don't mind speeding through. Galleries, for example, don't all have art I like…

Before acting on my environmental values, I felt guilty and helpless. I didn't like those feelings. All the analyzing, raising awareness, and planning, I now look back and see that I was occupying my mind, making busy work for it, to distract myself from those feelings. I could feel I was doing something even when I wasn't. I kept trying to ascribe the cause of the guilt and helplessness to others, but it didn't go away. It couldn't, because they were purely internal: my behavior was inconsistent with my values. No blaming others or waiting for awareness or planning or analysis would change that conflict. On the contrary, they kept me from addressing it. Today's episode tells my emotional journey liberating me from guilt, blame,…

Lately, I've thought of people who say they can't avoid plastic bags, bottles, flying. I suggest just declining, but they say they can't. Saying no reminds me of Rosa Parks. She said no. She didn't just act on her own as the campaign was planned and strategized, but she did it. She was arrested, which no one will be for declining a water bottle. Why do we honor someone if not to follow when the chips are down? Why remember her if when we feel it's right to say no, we don't? Her actions also suggest that even when many people agree and want to act, a spark helps. It seems everyone wants cleaner air, land, and water. As long as everyone thinks, "If I…

Join me at brunchwork in Manhattan to connect with industry leaders and meet brilliant peers over a farm-to-table meal (I'll talk to them about minimizing packaging). My friend told me about brunchwork. I attended an event (with podcast guest Joanne Wilson, her episode is being edited). The community is friendly, welcoming, open, and enthusiastic. You'll be glad you came. Logistics On Sunday, January 27, I'll be chatting about leadership and more over brunch with Maggie Lu, SVP of Strategy at Peloton Interactive, the fitness startup that is revolutionizing digital at-home workouts. Everyone I know who does Peloton loves it, so I'm interested to hear from Maggie too. You know how I feel about fitness. RSVP HERE and use code JS for 25% off. Location: General…

If you haven't started plogging, I recommend it. What's plogging? It's a term the Swedish created for picking up garbage when you run. I've picked up at least one piece of trash per day for a few years. In fact, this podcast began from a former student who, when he heard of my practice, committed to picking up 10 pieces of trash per day for a month. Most people do it by bringing a bag to collect the garbage with. I wasn't sure how to start plogging in New York because there's so much garbage. If I picked up everything I passed I might not make a block. Also, I don't want to run with a bag. Listen to my second conversation with John Lee…

We are swimming in low-hanging fruit Politicians, scientists, journalists, and everyone wonders how to bring third-world communities to first-world standards of living without destroying the environment. It's 22 F (-5 C) outside. I just closed a window in one place in this building. In another I turned off an air conditioner. I turned off an air conditioner when it's 22 degrees outside and we're wondering how to bring others to this way of living? A backward view In An Inconvenient Sequel, India's government says you used coal to get where you are, we want to get there so we'll use coal. History should have told us to respond, "we will use less---a lot less." Gore couldn't because he personally doesn't use less, nor does anyone…

Search how can you tell if you're a good leader and you'll get a lot of answers, nearly all vague, like you are approachable or you're comfortable reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses. Lots of non-leaders reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. Here's how you can measure your effectiveness as a leader: People thank you for getting them to work hard Someone thanking you when you get them to work? For people who don't get leadership, it sounds backward. If they do something for me, shouldn't I thank them? On the contrary, when you see leadership as helping others do what they want but haven't figured out how, you see that leadership means helping people find meaning and purpose in what they do. Meaning and…

If you're like me, you've heard of Bulletproof coffee. Since I don't drink coffee I didn't think much of it, but since I heard about it, I figured the guy behind it was good at internet marketing. I'd come to hear Dave name. Also I kept hearing about people losing weight on it and saying they had tons of energy. Still, I didn't pay too much attention? Was it keto? When I found out he was speaking at the coworking space where I was hosting one of my famous no-packaging vegetable stew and sustainability events, Assemblage, I decided to go and learn more. I was surprised several times over. First, the place was more packed than any event there that I'd seen. Second, everyone was…