Kids, Creativity and Careers
When I lived in Vancouver I volunteered at the Writers’ Exchange. One time, I co-created some superawesome – and super educational – literacy programming for kids from East Vancouver during their Winter Holiday Break. The program content was career-related –…
The Definitive Pros and Cons of Keeping a CYA Folder
Keeping a Cover Your Ass (CYA) folder can be a career lifeline. This practice is designed to protect our reputation by keeping documents, emails, and other evidence that can be used to clarify misunderstandings and defend against unfounded accusations. The…
Tension: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How it can Realize a Community’s Potential
My Tension Tension happens in work and life all the time. Recently, I found myself in situations where tension was both palpable and enabling. The first instance occurred during the planning of an important event. Initially, there was considerable confusion…
A Basketball Haiku
Fall is basketball. Balls bouncing, sneakers squeaking. Be a great teammate. – A haiku about the start of basketball season that, I hope, inspires parents, coaches, and teachers to write poems about piano lessons, art classes, and soccer practices that…
Seven Ways the Cooperative Model Enables Career Development
July 6, 2024 was the International Day of Cooperatives, which celebrated the world’s most equitable and adaptable business model with the theme of “building a better future for all.” Sustainable, impactful, and meaningful work is at the intersection of cooperatives…
The Egg Drop is Perfect Performance Evaluation
A few weeks ago I attended the Egg Drop Challenge at my sons’ school. Kids, teachers, and parents cheered as creations were tossed from the roof and all of us analyzed the result of the experiment. The experience was transparent,…
A Goat Cabin Haiku
Shirley tradition. Goats. Beaches. (Safe) fires. Family. There are hobbits here? – A haiku about “the goat cabin” where the Horn Family has made memories for the past three spring breaks. And some shenanigans…
The Definitive Community Love Evaluation Framework
Today is Valentines Day and love is in the air. But how much love, exactly? To figure this out, I created a simple tool that helps me evaluate how much I love different parts of my life. I call it…
Three Creativity Lessons from Kindergarten
I’m learning a lot about kindergarten. A novel part of COVID worklife for my wife (who is her own woman) and I is that we get to teach our oldest son kindergarten. Feeling swells of exhaustion, inspiration and humility each…
Empathy is Harder than Math
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It involves perceiving and connecting with their emotions, fostering understanding, and often responding with compassion and support. Mathematics is the language of patterns and relationships in the world. It’s…