Airborne!

Yesterday morning, a good friend took me flying in a single-engine Piper.  It was great fun, and, in a very distinctive way, quite thought-provoking. I am not a pilot.  Understandably then, I considered myself a passenger.  The pilot corrected me: I was crew.  I needed to understand what was going on in the cockpit, and […]

Father’s Day

My father, Maher J. Weinstein, died of cancer almost 17 years ago. I think of him every day.  Maher was a lawyer by profession, but a teacher by disposition.  He was also a remarkable human being, who enjoyed the hell out of his own life, while he enriched the lives of those around him. I […]

Nice guys! Time to finish first.

The headline from last Monday’s HBR Daily Stat offered a grim assessment: “Male Professionals with Higher Ethical Standards Earn Less.”  According to research by Andrew Hussey of the University of Memphis, “Male business professionals who self-report high ethical character earn, on average, 3.4% less than their peers who don’t report having such standards.” Women suffer […]

In Defense of Amateurism

I have spent much of the past few weeks training fireservice leaders through programs presented by SBM Fire Department and by Gasaway ConsultingGroup.  These have been 3-hour sessions addressing multiple audiences.  The concentrated repetition of topics, together with the diverse audiences (many departments, all levels of experience) have stimulated some new ideas, and challenged me […]

Staying Sharp, Together

Treasured readers, I spent last Friday presenting an ethics seminar to a room full of fire inspectors at the Institute for Building Officials at the University of Minnesota.  We had a lively discussion (banishing my greatest fear: eight hours of silent staring), which included some interesting themes about ongoing improvement and the need to stay […]

Seasonal Inspiration

Back in ought six (I couldn’t resist), Emy Johnson was looking for a way to teach the power of generosity to her children, ages five and eight. She and her husband Scott wanted to do something different, something special, to connect their family to others beyond their comfortable suburban neighborhood, and to make service a […]

Leading with Purpose and Values in Recreation and Parks

This afternoon I’ll be presenting to the Minnesota Recreation and Parks Association Conference 2011, entitles “Back to our Future.”  This is a fascinating group: people who are in essence dedicated to providing services that enhance lives and communities.  At the same time, most members are public employees and all are feeling the obvious economic stresses […]

A Leader Lost, Lessons Learned.

“For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings.” – Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of Richard the Second.” This past week, I learned that a friend and mentor, Christian Bredo Berghoff, passed away in April. Our world is slightly darker without Chris, and I wish to […]

SCORE!

Treasured Readers, This morning I had the pleasure of presenting to the Saint Paul Chapter of SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives.  Members are seasoned business people and professionals who share their time and expertise to help emerging business leaders.  In doing so, these volunteers contribute to the vitality of our communities.  They help […]

Lessons from Camp

Treasured Readers, Last week I joined my elder son at the Tomahawk Scout Reservation, where he spent a week surrounded by great natural beauty, learning jokes about bodily functions.  He’s 11 years old; it was heaven.   I slipped our drycleaner an extra fiver to do what she could about the smell of his sleeping bag, […]