Enough is enough!

I am outraged and saddened by what happened here in my hometown of Minneapolis.  I didn't know what to do.  As a white male, I don't know what it's like to be a person of color in America.  My first action was to talk to 5 friends of color and ask for their perspective.   There were no simple answers.  I was given an incredible list of references.  I was asked to participate in a solution.  Take one next best action of integrity … and trust the next best action will reveal itself. 

This declaration is my next best action of integrity.

Here in the United States, the Preamble for our Declaration of Independence reads

We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution of the United States...

I recently had a conversation with a colleague.  She is a medical professional.  We chatted philosophically about the relative importance of Nutrition, Hydration and Breathing.  She simply asked 3 questions:  

"How long can you do without food?" 

I responded, "I don't know.  Hunger strikes can go on for over a month.  Let's say 40 days."

"Okay.  How long can you go without water?"

I responded, "In ceremony I've gone without water for 4 days."

"Okay.  How long can you hold your breath?"

I responded, "In less than 4 minutes, I would turn blue."

Breathing is essential to our health and we typically never talk about it as the cornerstone of life.

How long can you hold your breath? 

Me?  4 minutes.

What would 8 minutes feel like?

Take a deep breath where you release the tension in your stomach and let the breath drop into your gut like a balloon filling with water.   Release the tension in your shoulders too.

With your...

What is Harmony? 

In music, harmony are notes played or sung with the main tune that make the piece more complicated and interesting.

One evening, one of my dorm-mates, Ken, invited me to read a passage in a book.  The passage was about a traveler on a magical journey.  What I remember, though, was him playing guitar to create ambience for my reading. 

Have you ever heard a harmonic note played on a guitar? 

Ethereal

I finished reading the passage and wanted him to continue playing.  I sat absolutely still.  Closed my eyes and got delightfully lost in the journey with him.

That was over 40 years ago.  I can still close my eyes and remember that magical moment when I was introduced to guitar harmonics.

I want to share that moment with you, so here's my invitation…

Give yourself a moment.  Get your headphones.  Sit back.  Take a deep breath and take a short journey to last a lifetime.

Click https://youtu.be/6EwwVyLWNkQ...

Think of a big challenge in your life where you succeeded. 

Did you endure a long-term challenge OR did you break through an intense challenge? 

A big challenge in my early adult life was graduating with my Chemical Engineering (ChemE) Bachelor's degree.  I loved Chemistry, but physics and calculus remained Greek to me. 

Five years. 

Yes, my bachelor's took five years.  I couldn't pay for college, so I entered a Co-op program, alternating between a junior ChemE job and school every other semester. 

Five years. 

For most of those five years, the 16-week semester included a physics or calculus class.  I hated those classes.  On Day 1, I would look up the mountain and a passing grade was somewhere way beyond the cloud cover.    

You know the feeling, right?

In the end, you endured and/or broke through the intensity …. and you won. 

You tapped into something deep within yourself.  You achieved success because...

In these days of social distancing, you've probably established new routines and habits.  New daily routines emerge.  Washing your hands more?  Exercising more regularly?  Taking walks in nature?  Working through your children's homework?

A few new routines emerged for me.  I've seen parts of our house I haven't seen for years or even decades.  The back walls of the attic for instance.  I found toys from when my daughters were young…twenty years ago!    

Less travel and less mobility mean you're getting more home-centered.  Hmm.  Aside from the cabin fever, there's some goodness, right?

With new routines and new habits emerging, I was recently asked by a colleague about the difference between routine and ritual. 

You have your everyday routines.  Taking a shower.  Making your bed.  Eating breakfast.

The definition of Routine is a sequence of actions.  Routines are usual.  Nothing...

I have the honor of participating in a few non-profit boards.  These are enjoyable experiences for me.  I feel good about giving.  They receive value from expertise gathered from my 28-year consulting career.  It's a nice exchange.

And then, COVID-19 Pandemic struck.

As I attended calls with leaders of two of these organizations, I listened to reactions, both realistic and pessimistic.  Both organizations rely heavily on live events and programs as a major source of income, so of course, the future looks quite dim.

Yesterday looks a lot like today and tomorrow will look a lot like yesterday.  Recovering any semblance of the past looks unlikely.  Predicting the future with any accuracy seems foolish.  Tough to steer your car using only your rear-view mirror.  Only works if you drive backwards.

Waiting to return to status quo is simply spinning in place.  The engine in idle mode.  A dog chasing its tale.  A shark swimming in...

I'm not a virologist.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist.  I'm not an ecologist.  I'm not a medical doctor.  I'm not a politician.  I don't represent anybody, but myself. 

That said, here's my opinion.

Our media, politicians and organizations shout from any forum they can to communicate ANYTHING to get my attention by attempting to raise my fears and distrust with fake this and fake that.  Accusations and attacks about any form of "THEM" are messages intended to divide our humanity.  They report opinions and call it journalism.  I am angry. 

People are sick and dying all over the world.  I am sad.

With my lung condition of COPD and my recent bout with pneumonia, I suppose I'm in a "high-risk" category, but you know, the Creator could take me any day for any reason.  I need to be okay with that.  I have a choice.

Here's what I know.

We have entered an unprecedented time in human history!

The People of Delhi saw blue sky for...

As a leader at this epic time in human history, you have a tremendous opportunity.  I don't believe in good or bad luck.  You serendipitously crafted your world to be exactly where you are.

Whether you are navigating your business or your family through this turbulent time, the world needs you and your talent NOW!

From 30 years of consulting to Global 1000 executives through their most strategic initiatives, I extracted four keys to leadership in turbulent times. 

This is Patrick Mosher's Leadership 101 training.

Are you ready?

Envisioning Rally Points is Leadership Key #1.

Setting Trail Markers is Leadership Key #2. 

Generating Momentum is Leadership Key #3. 

Leadership Key #4.  Creating an Environment for Meta-Learning

The last key and is about learning.  Every Wise Leader engages their team on how and what their team learns.   Constantly.  Deeply.  In the Moment. 

The consulting world is fast-paced.  Clients pay a lot...

As a leader at this epic time in human history, you have a tremendous opportunity.  I don't believe in good or bad luck.  You serendipitously crafted your world to be exactly where you are.

Whether you are navigating your business or your family through this turbulent time, the world needs you and your talent NOW!

From 30 years of consulting Global 1000 executives through their most strategic initiatives, I extracted four keys to leadership in turbulent times. 

This is Patrick Mosher's Leadership 101 training.

Are you ready?

Envisioning Rally Points is Leadership Key #1.

Setting Trail Markers is Leadership Key #2. 

Leadership Key #3.  Generate Momentum

Wise Leaders develop strategies to Generate Momentum.  At the most turbulent of times when everything is swirling around and chaos rattles the very core of your endeavor, how do you move your team and business forward? 

We use the term momentum all the time in the corporate world.  I was a...

Are you feeling overwhelmed?  Wondering how to lead your team or your family?

As a leader at this epic time in human history, you have a tremendous opportunity.  I don't believe in good or bad luck.  You serendipitously crafted your world to be exactly where you are.

Whether you are navigating your business or your family through this turbulent time, the world needs you and your talent NOW!

From 30 years of consulting to Global 1000 executives through their most strategic initiatives, I extracted four keys to leadership in turbulent times. 

This is Patrick Mosher's Leadership 101 training.

I gave you Leadership Key #1 in a previous post:  Envisioning Rally Points.

Are you ready for Leadership Key #2?

Leadership Key #2.  Set Trail Markers

The second key to Transformation Leadership is what I call Trail Markers.  A wise leader creates helpful trail markers to get from Point A to Point B, achieving that goal or Rally Point (Leadership Key #1).

Imagine...