This is an adaptation of some words I gave at the retirement ceremony of one of my favorite leaders, Chief Master Sergeant Jen Larson. I met Chief Larson at a pretty difficult point in my career. I was fighting an Air Force assignment so I could stay with my family for the end of my … Continue reading CMSgt Larson
Imagine you’ve ventured deep into a mountainous landscape. Picture that in every direction are miles and miles of hills and mountains, varying in elevation from tiny hillocks to majestic alps... Now imagine that your goal is to find the highest peak possible... but visibility is extremely poor. It’s so foggy, you can’t see what’s beyond … Continue reading The Art of Wandering Downhill
There's a very real kind of logic to the type of agitation we're seeing in the riots in cities across the United States right now, and I see constant reminders that many of my fellow white Americans haven't had the opportunity to learn to understand it. Many lack the capacity to feel empathy for the … Continue reading The Logic
A little over a year ago, we were on another of our family adventures, having taken the long route to Germany, with stops along the way at Liberty Science center in New Jersey, Hever Castle in Kent, England, the Colosseum in Rome, a series of tunnels 40 meters under Naples, Italy, a few flights, a … Continue reading How to Know if it is Raining
In 2007, I was attending the Defense Language Institute’s Mandarin Chinese Basic Course. I was several months in and had a 3.8 GPA, second only in my class to my friend and fellow Airman James Fisher. I won’t say my academic success was because I tried harder than my classmates. I absolutely didn’t. I just … Continue reading It’s Personal
This morning, on Wednesday the 6th of May, my wife Jessica and I said goodbye to our daughter Rebecca as she took her last breaths and died in our arms. After 14 years of struggle, adventure, and perseverance, our little girl had exhausted the flawed vessel that had always so poorly contained her incredible spirit. … Continue reading Rebecca
Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash Link to audio version On Wednesday of that week, I was certain that if the opportunity still existed four days later, on Sunday night, I would be boarding a flight from Honolulu to Austin. At the same time, I was growing increasingly agitated seeing some leaders try to publicly minimize the seriousness … Continue reading Tree Care For Forest-Viewers
"The confidence that individuals have in their beliefs depends mostly on the quality of the story they can tell about what they see, even if they see little." - Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow The human brain does certain things spectacularly well. Some things it does so well that it can actually present a … Continue reading Patterns Everywhere
The still slowly unfolding catastrophe of COVID-19 and the failures from some world leaders to adequately respond to early weak signals demonstrate a few crucial truths that any leader, facilitator, and innovator ought to understand: We are prone to thinking linearly, especially without a rudimentary understanding of complexity. Emergent phenomena within complex systems often scale … Continue reading COVID-19 Lessons for Leaders
I wish that I could ignore it, but anti-preparedness messaging about COVID-19 that suggests we shouldn't practice social distancing or cancel large gatherings during this pandemic has been bothering me a lot. The impression that I get from people pushing this content is that they have bought into an ideologically aligned narrative and are excited … Continue reading COVID-19: Who Exactly Are You Fighting For?
