Resilient Wednesday Weekly Memo

( I am repurposing a previously written Resilient Wednesday from last July and am striking out the outdated text from last year’s version and making the updated version in bold text. I’m saddened that I have to repeat this article.) What an amazing country we live in. Just last week this past weekend our nation’s […]

Muhammad Ali never much cared about what other people thought. He knew who he was and what he wanted. He transcended almost everything and his life from pugilist to peacemaker is a testimony to how his power of self-belief was transformative. I don’t believe that Ali was a particularly resilient figure as most people think

I am seeing more and more companies adding “resiliency” and its kissing cousin “agility,” to their list of leadership competencies. And it makes sense. Business today is more complex, unpredictable, and decision making is usually ambiguous at best. Organizations cannot afford to stand still while they gather all the information required to make a decision.

We had a great time at the Pittsburgh Opera on Monday night officially launching The Resilience Advantage. Friends, clients and colleagues all gathered in the former home of George Westinghouse’s Railroad Air Break Company building resilience over great food and wonderful conversation. The highlight of the evening was a performance by one of Pittsburgh leading

I know what you are thinking. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Research conducted at the University of British Colombia and published in Health Psychology, however, indicates that we can create an improved state of physical and mental well being by spending money on others. The researchers divided their subjects into 2

This race to the White House has been absolutely exhausting. The other day I was at an airport lounge at O’Hare and realized I could not stand to hear any more from one of the candidates. Remembering that chronic stress can cause health problems I recognized that it might be time to take a break

Warren Buffet held his 52nd annual shareholder meeting in Omaha this past weekend and in his usual folksy style unwittingly spoke to what may be one of the leading causes of stress in the workplace—over complication. Buffet pointed out that only 25 people work at Berkshire’s corporate headquarters and that they don’t use committees to

We’ve been doing some serious training with our 11-month-old Coton puppy, Cody. As we’ve been gathering tips, taking lessons, and buying treats, its come to our awareness that there is a hierarchy of actions that Cody and presumably other dogs take in response to the stimuli in their environment. Brought on by the excitement of

As Ecuador was digging out from its 7.8-magnitude earthquake its security minister reported at least 507 people dead. President Rafael Correa said early Monday that the death toll would “surely rise, and in a considerable way.” But he added a note of confidence in his people — “The Ecuadorean spirit knows how to move forward,

This past week, I had the pleasure of accompanying my wife Sheila as we travelled to Las Vegas where she shared the story of her work at a Ted Conference at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The emcee introduced Sheila as “appearing on a Las Vegas stage for the first time in over 50