Draw into the conversation those that do not fit in — You learn the most from the person in a meeting that does not make a lot of sense. Or at least they do not speak like everyone else, so they often get the awkward stares. They do not speak in the company jargon or use the common industry buzzwords. The…

The power and subtleties of role of women in religion, politics, and war — Thomas Jefferson was a man full of nuances, contradictions, and conundrums. Jefferson was also a revolutionary. In his domain, symbolism and code were essential communication tools for sorting through allies and guaranteeing your own survival. The parlor in Jefferson’s home, Monticello, was the place where his family, friends, and guests…

And what does the red-headed man with no shirt cutting grass on a highway have to do with anything? — “Well, about seven years ago, we started working with the previous contractor. He had many issues, but we finally got them worked out,” began Jake. “Some of these issues were….” My eyes started to glaze over. I glanced at the deputy town manager, who was sitting beside me, and to…

Melissa Ruth tells us a few things most of us would not share — Melissa Ruth is painfully honest. “By not taking the time to define what went wrong, I would up taking unnecessary baggage and risking a repeat of the same problem.” From cars to careers to relationships, Ruth opens her own life story…

Rising business leaders should embrace standard approaches for success — A Business Case Evaluation (BCE) is a decision-making tool that assists in making value-based funding decisions. BCE documents are produced in the early capital and operating budget planning cycles as a standardized and systematic process to analyze the benefits and costs of various options to solve an identified problem or…

Death Counts and Misinformation provide the foundation for reflection Politics is how one group of civilized people exercise influence over other civilized people. Resolving issues in a polite and well-mannered way (one definition of civilized) is preferred to barbarism and war. …

Thinking in bets and using the base case are two keys to success A summer hurricane is bearing down. Mild panic ensues. Events are canceled. Some businesses begin boarding up. Parents race to get their children from school. I see the town’s public works director, Barry, at the local hardware…