Yet again someone told me how he loved that I’m leading by example with producing less trash and not flying. I’m not leading by example by eating fresh fruits and vegetables or connecting with my community and spending more time with family any more than I’m leading by example by eating and breathing. If someone thinks these things take effort or deserve praise, they are stuck in an old system[…] Keep reading →

Read any editorial page or media on any major topic—the pandemic, the environment, race, police, the election, . . . anything—and people are calling for leadership. In the United States, they often refer to missing leadership from the government, especially the executive branch from local to federal, but I see leadership vacuums in business, education, sports, arts, culture, military, religion, media, . . . everywhere. As a leadership writer, professor,[…] Keep reading →

I remember helping General Austin co-lead some leadership workshops at West Point. He described a crisis West Point was experiencing that they all knew about—a recent graduate spoke poorly of the institution and community in a way that the media amplified. Then a former teacher—a Colonel—piled on the criticism, prompting questioning from alumni. He asked cadets how they would handle the situation. I read their expressions as caring and determined,[…] Keep reading →

Growing up I thought the strategy of mutually assured destruction, while tragic, kept the peace. Speaking to Nobel Peace Prize honoree ICAN member Seth Shelden, I learned that we’ve advanced from that line of thinking and our world changed to where it doesn’t apply any more. As much as I’d like to hold on to something that made me feel comfortable or at least content, I have to drop believing[…] Keep reading →

People are finding many new ways to be more efficient—recycling, crickets for food, and seaweed for food for example. I’ve written many times how efficiency can be a good tactic within the strategy of reducing consumption, but doesn’t stand on its own. The New York Times headline, One-Third of New York’s Small Businesses May Be Gone Forever illustrates what happens when we value efficiency so highly in the market. The[…] Keep reading →

I recently spoke online to alumni groups from the Wharton and University of Chicago business schools on developing initiative, specifically from my book, Initiative. Here are reviews from NYU students who did the exercises I describe in them. I asked if I could share the videos from the webinars. Here they are. As I say in them, I designed them to give you enough to work with on your own.[…] Keep reading →

People with causes often share facts to influence others. Sometimes the facts work, sometimes they annoy the other person, even when that person could use the fact. I figured out why, or at least one reason. When people feel powerless information makes them feel ashamed, frustrated, and the like. Since they feel they can’t do anything, they see the information as highlighting the problem and makes them feel bad. They’ll[…] Keep reading →