Following yesterday’s post asking you about your model for leadership, you might wonder mine. I looked at my paper from the business school leadership class, but my model has evolved so much from then — the beginning of my even asking the questions — I don’t see value in posting it. Elements of my leadership model Since then I’ve developed my Model of the human emotional system, which I’ve found[…] Keep reading →

To ask what your model for leadership is is not just an idle question. It was the sole question for the final essay in one of my leadership classes at Columbia Business School — one of the best classes I’d ever taken, including all undergrad and graduate school classes. Models influence your behavior strongly. Since people tend to do what they think is best (though not always what you think[…] Keep reading →

A scene from the inspirational docudrama Apollo 13 based on the true rescue of a disaster in space illustrates a great example of how different models and beliefs can motivate different motivations and behavior. The scene is the control room after a lunar mission suffered an explosion and three astronauts’ lives were in peril as their ship hurdled through space with little chance at recovery. The characters are a fictional[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written before about why deciding is hard. One of my most helpful (to me) insights was that the difficulty in deciding is not figuring out which option I like, but working up the nerve to get rid of the options I don’t choose. Our language illustrates this challenge — the -cide in decide is the same -cide as in pesticide, insecticide, etc. It means to kill, reiterating that the[…] Keep reading →

Hearing Dr. King talk about injustice anywhere being a threat to justice anywhere, I couldn’t help but notice how he polarized people too. The content is different, but the structure sounds like the “You’re either with us or against us” I heard from a U.S. President ten years ago. It tells people they aren’t safe, no matter where they are. If you read this page regularly, you know I don’t[…] Keep reading →

I wrote yesterday’s post on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy after reading one of its main creators — Aaron Beck’s — brief history from the Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, “The Past and Future of Cognitive Therapy.” The article begins with simple anecdotes observing patterns in people’s beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors that anybody could notice that led him to create what we now call Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. But when he describes[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written before about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and how I work. I consider CBT important and effective, as far as I know. I wrote about how similar the model at its foundation is to my Model. Specifically, compare this representation of the CBT model with this representation of mine Pretty similar: Situation -> thought -> feeling -> action Environment -> belief -> emotion -> behavior I’ve also written about shortcomings[…] Keep reading →