I met another NYU professor and talked to her about leadership. I told her how many people tell me they want to lead, but when opportunities arrive, they see risk, not opportunity, and fold. Leadership opportunities almost always mean doing what hasn’t been done before, or what people don’t know how to do. If they did, they wouldn’t need a leader. In the abstract, people want to lead. They want[…] Keep reading →

David and I could have talked about growth and how many people think growth is sustainable and non-growth isn’t, which seems based on a system hurtling toward collapse, whereas a steady-state economy and population can be sustainable. Instead we just talked about the fun of riding more and getting outside. He lives in Colorado with hills. What looked like a challenge before starting became part of the joy. The natural[…] Keep reading →

I began posting daily to this blog on January 29, 2011, so today marks day 1 of year 9. That’s 3,328 posts over 2,922 days (I double posted on many days, plus transcripts for the podcast get their own posts). Daily posting led to the development of the sidcha concept, which I consider (possibly) my greatest discovery so far, as well as my burpee, cold shower, picking up trash, and[…] Keep reading →

Would you expect the army to change sooner or later than other institutions—say business, traditional education, or non-profits? Col. Spain committed to using less plastic bottled water for 30 days. He reduced his typical use from 40 bottles to 1. At what cost? It sounds to me like the “cost” was of practicing discipline and selflessness, which sounds positive to me, what leads to long-term change. I suggest listening for[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →

“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[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →