A leadership commentary on life today by Bob Shank
Giving Tuesday. Thankful Thursday. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The next week is crowded with focus days calling out a culture that has come to live in an alternate reality of 24/7/365. These days, we’re living Groundhog Day: not the Punxsutawney Phil version, but the Bill Murray model where it’s the same day – every day …
Continue reading “Every day matters (or, no day matters). Do yours?”
“Beware the Ides of March.” Most days are like nondescript puppies in a big litter; grouped into mutual obscurity made up of 24-hour periods whose names end in “y.” Tomorrow usually looks a lot like yesterday, but with a few more scars and wrinkles from what is likely to happen today. But, then, there are …
November 9, 2015 Wednesday is Veterans Day, 2015; it’s the day we honor the men and women who have served in our armed forces. Whom do you plan to honor? The Census Bureau is the best source of statistical information about the American populace; here’s their current inventory of the men and women who have …
Continue reading “They risked their life for you. What would you do for them?”
May 25, 2015 The name was changed, but the focus was not. Decoration Day. Originally practiced beginning in 1868 – after the Civil War (or, to some, the War Between the States) – when an organization of veterans from the Union Army declared a particular day in May for people to visit and honor the …
April 20, 2015 Happy Earth Day. I don’t know what you have planned for Wednesday, but don’t drive there. Unless you have a Tesla, your bike is your best bet. Avoid all GMO foods – breakfast, lunch and dinner – and go without lights, air conditioning and all-things-comfortable. Forget about flying; paddle a canoe, maybe… …
February 16, 2015 President’s Day. Washington’s Birthday. The third Monday of February is the federal holiday honoring George Washington. Nearly half of our 50 states have made President’s Day the state holiday, expanding their focus to include all of our former presidents. The details of history do matter. That reality was highlighted about two weeks …
July 28, 2014 I’m seldom – if ever – enviable, but today takes the cake. Today and tomorrow, I’m in a crucial lockdown-mode, in an undisclosed, secure location. My task: plan 2015. Over 100 weekdays – avoiding local school breaks – I’ll be leading sessions for The Master’s Program. Board meetings and special events for …
June 16, 2014 Do you sense it? Your bod – and your brain – are probably talking to you right now. It’s in the air. Not the air, really; it’s wired into your DNA. Within the next seven days, it’s coming. Can you feel it? If you saw the most depressing movie ever made (What …
June 2, 2014 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16) If you’re not comfortable with paradox (“a self-contradictory statement”), you’ll have a hard time with the Bible. So much of what God has to say runs in head-on conflict with what we have spent a lifetime confirming. It’s …