“You’re always equipped with your own voice,” responded Nina Senott an executive with Girls’ Leap during an interview on WCVB’s CityLine. Host Karen Holmes Ward was inquiring about the non-profit’s focus on the safety and well-being of young women from crime ridden and violent neighborhoods of Boston. Ms. Senott ticked off impressive programs…most of which encouraged young women to embrace who they are…despite incredibly difficult environments and even worse odds. Voice. Continue reading…
Permission?
“Medicine is gray. It is rarely black or white,” conceded Dr. Maher Tabba, the fellowship director at a local teaching hospital. We were discussing a challenging medical case. A patient’s diagnosis eluded Tabba and his team. He sought certainty. But like so much…..informed instinct combined with knowledge and experience would have to lead the way. Continue reading…
Time to unplug?
‘Why should he be any different,’ recounted my husband as he told me a story from a holiday party we attended. He was indulging himself with some gooey treats at the buffet. Two gentlemen who looked to be in their early 60s stood steps away from the table. One sported a bow tie. They were talking about a young friend who was searching. A person trying to figure out who he was going to be AND make a living at the same time. My husband’s ear engaged as these men agreed and chuckled, ‘that will pass.’ Continue reading…
Listening to the sounds of the season…
‘It’s the and that I hate. I get, what are you doing? all the time. My parents. Their friends. My friend’s parents. They’re only listening for the ands not what’s in between,’ shared a teenage girl in the provocative documentary, Race to Nowhere. (note, I’m paraphrasing) The film spotlighted the unintended consequences imbedded in the US educational system. A test-driven, high-achievement, schedule-intensive, anxiety-producing swirl. The tormented teen pointed out that it isn’t enough to be taking honors courses AND volunteering AND playing lacrosse AND serving on the school council. What then? Continue reading…
Pedaling fast enough?
This week I happened to catch an interesting story in the New York Times by columnist Tara Parker-Pope. She compiled a story about a multi-media project sponsored by her paper that asked readers to submit photos and stories about Life After Cancer. “What cancer made me do in my own professional life is pedal faster,” shared breast cancer survivor Susan Schwalb, an artist featured in “New Meaning and Drive in Life After Cancer.” (New York Times, 12/4/12 D5) Reading it I couldn’t help but think about pedaling but it was direction not speed that had my attention.
A forest not trees….
More than 20 years ago I staged a personal albeit modest ‘conscientious objector‘ moment. I was a first year graduate student at the Harvard Business School facing a two-week break at the Christmas holidays. Since Labor Day we’d been assigned about 100 pages of reading per night. Our holiday assignment was to read a roughly 300 page book. So goes the concept of a break…. Knowing full well the risk of being asked to summarize the book publicly upon my return I ignored the assignment. Much to the horror of my classmates I might add. Continue reading…
Live the life you’ve imagined…
For years I’ve ferried about a tattered 1998 Wall Street Journal page with a quotation attributed to Henry David Thoreau. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.” It’s a yellowed beacon interspersed with my chaotic fridge decor. This week a conversation with a friend caused me to examine its meaning more completely…. Continue reading…
Winning Segments…
“We view the game as a series of 3 to 4 minute segments,” said Kevin Eastman, assistant coach of the Boston Celtics. “We want our guys to win every 3 to 4 minute segment.” It was Sunday afternoon, a pre– season open practice for the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden. The coaching staff doesn’t look at a 48 minute game nor does it look at 4 12 minute quarters. Segments. Each one stands alone. Win or lose. It got me thinking about transition. Could transition benefit from this lens? Take it one segment at a time. Reach? Experiment? Win each one? Continue reading…
The self we project….
‘Nice. Happy. Fun.’ So read my picture’s caption on my 3rd grader’s All About Me poster. She is VIP in her class this week. Amidst the photo cut outs of birthday parties, funny antics and family vacations there were silhouettes of each member of our family. The words caught my eye as glue sticks and scrap paper swirled across the kitchen table Sunday evening in a mad dash for Monday readiness. The words made me pause. Continue reading…
Advice: When to embrace vs. ignore?
Last week a dynamic entrepreneur presented her pitch deck to me and a few other advisors. Her company is a new online service that is sure to up-end a staid fragmented industry. All through the conversation I hung on the edge of my seat waiting to catch pieces of her original concept. With virtually no money the company had acquired a few customers (hooray!) and talked with many prospects. But based on a small sample size of feedback she morphed her plan, radically. Finally I asked, “why have you stepped away from your original concept?” Continue reading…