The ultimate purpose of managing interpersonal conflict is to grow us emotionally in self-awareness, storytelling, emotional management, and moral and ethical character. There aren’t any apps, searches, or other fancy technological shortcuts for the development of those traits in us.
The opposite of civilization is human nature. And occasionally, regrettably, human nature finds a way to break through the behavioral, cultural, social, and even religious boundaries constructed assiduously around it. We define this “breaking through,” as conflict, violence, and—at the nation-state level—war. The purpose of civilization is to hold back Read more…
Two things are happening simultaneously in our organizational cultures, our markets, and our personal lives. We have established non-curiosity (“I don’t care how it works, I just want it to work”) as the new standard for engaging with the work, the ideas that interest us (or not) and the world Read more…
It’s hard to know when you’re inside the hurricane if the storm is passing over, or stalled out. In either case, preparation, intentionality, and awareness will save your house. But only if you act and work before the hurricane comes along.
The disconnect between what people know about how the Internet (and by extension social media) “works” (choices, behaviors, options, etc.) and what people use the Internet (and social media) to accomplish (tasks) is underrated and massive. Part of the disconnect comes from a lack of interest and caring about how Read more…
When was the last time you… …asked fierce questions? …emphasized uniqueness? …engaged with others? …told stories that related past victories to potential solutions to present–and future–problems? …ruthlessly eliminated hurry? …were direct, but not demeaning? …established a foundation of empathy with another person? …didn’t read from the manual, but spoke from Read more…
The question that academics should be asking (and answering) is this one: “What value do I add to a college students’ experience in a world where information is just a Google search away?” The answer to this question requires academics to admit, out loud, that research may not be the Read more…
Recognizing that you once held a belief and that now this belief is changing, is the essence of learning. And by the time you attain that essence, you won’t need the extrinsic validation from an “A” letter grade, a raise, a promotion, or any other validation that you believe extrinsically Read more…
What happens when how I remember an event doesn’t match how you remember an event? This mismatch in memory—and framing of those mismatches—leads to people constructing palaces to specific memories in their minds. These palaces are filled with feelings, ideas, thoughts, and conclusions that may not be objectively accurate. And Read more…
The person who walks around while the Titanic is sinking, and calmly begins rearranging the deck chairs, organizing the evacuation, and gets everyone off the ship before it sinks becomes, by default, the future captain of the rescue vessel in the North Atlantic. That person also becomes a new Noah. Read more…