Dynamic Duo: Williams and Spielberg
It was over 40 years ago that John Williams met 23 year old Steven Spielberg. They’ve been making movies and music together ever since. With 47 academy award nominations, 5 Oscars and scores of grammys, Williams’ film music is familiar to audiences the world over as is The Olympic Fanfare and Theme that he in composed […]
Do You See What I See?
A terrific new yoga studio called You and the Mat just opened in Laguna Niguel. I can literally walk there from my house. On a recent Saturday morning, I walked in and was greeted by their friendly staff. The instructor was standing behind the desk and immediately commented on my yoga top. “Isn’t that […]
Jump into Summer
Each September my son returns to school and is asked to write an essay on what he did on summer vacation. Here’s how mine reads after a fabulous week on a houseboat in Lake Shasta with family and friends.\n \n Catapulted off the houseboat slide, screaming the whole way down \n Learned to paddle board […]
Culture by Design or Default
In addition to the impact achieved through Community Impact Fund Grants and community initiatives they lead, Orange County United Way also helps build the capacity of their funded agencies with educational opportunities.\n\nOver 40 agency leaders gathered for a panel discussion on the importance of organizational culture in achieving community impact. Janine McDonald was joined by […]
A Flexible Approach to Planning
Today’s leaders confront a more profoundly uncertain business environment than most of them have ever faced.\n\nUncertainty of this magnitude will leave some leaders standing in the dust. The task of business leaders must be to overcome the paralysis that dooms any organization and to begin shaping the future.To avoid impulsive, uncoordinated, and ultimately ineffective responses, companies […]
Shut Up and Listen
Good listening—the active and disciplined activity of probing and challenging the information garnered from others to improve its quality and quantity—is the key to building a base of knowledge that generates fresh insights and ideas.\n\nPut more strongly, good listening can often mean the difference between success and failure in business ventures AND in life.\n\nBy recognizing […]
Gender Matters
When Dr. Judy Rosener published “Ways Women Lead” in the Harvard Business Review in 1990 she put forth the idea that men and women exhibit different kinds of leadership attributes. She did not say one style was better or worse than the other, but that they were different and that organizations were best served by […]
Leading in a Matrix Organization
In a matrix organization the emphasis is on sharing expert/specialist resources across projects that may, themselves, have shared leadership between project management and functional management. Because of this, for a matrix organization to be successful, it must emphasize team, collaboration, communication, relationships, accountability and shared systems and processes.\n\n \n\nThe ability to be proactive and act independently, […]
The Idea of Wrong Thinking
“I love this idea of wrong thinking-of encouraging people who have ideas to go see if they work and not dismissing them just because they sound like the wrong solution. No has the right answer at the beginning. I made 5,127 prototypes of the bagless vacuum before I got it right.” James Dyson, Found […]
The Best Gift
Let’s be honest, while it’s wonderful to give, it’s not so bad to receive either. I especially look forward to the gifts my son makes for me. This year I was even more touched by the wrapping. \n\nWhile I have several academic degrees on the wall, what I’ve learned about parenting is by trial and error. […]