Let’s face it, Thanksgiving is upon us and things aren’t all that great. Yes, the monster-in-chief lost the election, but he and his lackeys continue dragging the country and our souls through quicksand. The carnage of the past four years is immense and will require a compelling vision of what might be, along with hard and strategic work to move us forward. Seventy million people voted for a despot, a coalition of ignorance, willful and otherwise, greed in its many forms, and fear and hatred of the other; black, brown, name your color (other than white), Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Atheist, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, etc. Those 70 million people live in our communities, hold public office, are in the military and police forces, sit on state and federal benches.

Another week and more scientific data about Covid. Data to keep us better informed, data to help us make better decisions, data to reinforce our anxiety about how bad things really are in this country. For respite and a bit of salvation the internet provides endless offerings. Yoga and meditation, exercise, self-management, seminars and webinars, to help us emotionally navigate this world, to learn to accept with grace the new what is.

Whenever two or more people are working together or talking to each other, whatever happens has been crafted by all involved.  As simple as it sounds, it is a radical departure from how most of us understand our human process.   

Every habit – whether good or bad – was used to initially solve a problem.  Most of our habits continue to be useful.  Some, however, become no longer productive, but we continue to use them anyway.  For example, many of us are taught to be respectful, more specifically, to not interrupt when others are talking.  But if you always wait for a break in the conversation to speak, it might never happen.  As a result you might not express good thoughts or creative solutions that could help solve a problem.  If you don't know how to speak up, how will people know what you know?

A competent person knows how to establish trust and get respect, what we call intimacy, and how to get others to follow, what we call strategy.

Understanding resistance in oneself and others is critical for professional coaches as well as for those leading teams and organizations. Working with resistance requires exceptional self and social awareness, a deft touch to engage with the energy of individuals and groups, and a healthy sense of humor regarding oneself.

In an episode of the once highly popular television program, The West Wing, there is a scene in which the President’s press secretary CJ Craig (played by Allison Janney) holds a conference with the White House press corps.  The exchange starts with CJ presenting a report about the President (played by Martin Sheen) falling off his bicycle and falling again when he tries to remount.  She is open and forthcoming about this event – making it an exchange among fellow journalists - and ends her report by encouraging the reporters to “by all means, have a good time with this one.”  Those present smile or laugh; the mood is warm and friendly.  The interaction is a joining of everyone on a level playing ground.

Traditional strategic planning approaches are built on hard, analytical, just-the-facts thinking. Since the mid 1990’s, and as codified by Michael Porter of Harvard University, the gold standard of strategic planning has been “a rational decision-making process focusing on getting the right data, avoiding biases and choosing activities that differentiate a firm from its competitors."

Neuroscience research has identified four key principles that when attended to increase retention of new learning resulting in better memory. This is significant for individuals and organizations where learning is critical to success, growth, and development.

The four principles are Attention, Generation, Emotion and Spacing.