What’s Next?

On the Gifts on a Long Career I had a strange coincidence happen this week. First, I got a call from my bank. I’d recently left a positive comment about the service at my local branch, and the banker called to thank me. He told me they rarely, if ever, hear positive feedback. It was […]

It may not be what you think I’ve always believed in focusing on strengths. Build on what we do well. Get our weaknesses to a point where they’re not in the way, but don’t spend life trying to turn them into something they’re not. There are skills we are born with that we need to

The closing documents were almost 300 pages. When we signed them, we thought the hard part was over. Sheila and I took the documents to a restaurant on the 40th floor of a downtown building. We found a table by the window and ordered champagne before we even looked at the menu. We had just

The Conversation That Never Happened One morning, I came into the office and began sorting through the mail that had accumulated since the previous day. In the stack was an envelope from one of our staff members, a psychotherapist in the business Sheila and I had built. I opened it expecting something routine, but instead

A What’s Next Reflection I recently watched a video of Dan Pink asking AI to be brutally honest with him. He had it assess his blind spots, walk him through a personal SWOT analysis, and outline 90-day, one-year, and three-year plans. The feedback was direct. Some of it was uncomfortable. Some of it was accurate

Until It is Too Late Chantel did everything right. Strong performance. Solid relationships. The skills for the leadership role she wanted. So when her boss walked into her office with that look, she already knew. She didn’t get the promotion. His explanation was direct. “You’re highly qualified,” he said. “But you don’t have enough visibility.

When where you matter has changed I spoke with a longtime friend recently. We’ve known each other since third grade. It was his birthday, and we were catching up. At one point he said he had a negative critique of my writing. I prepared myself for what he was about to say. Then he said,

I haven’t written a What’s Next piece since early December. Not because I ran out of ideas, but because one question kept circling without settling. A recent Wall Street Journal article helped me name it. The problem no one warns you about in work, and work transitions, is not boredom or inactivity. It is the

Its time our heads have a training program, too When I was at the gym this weekend, trying to work off the holiday feast, I noticed someone meditating in the corner. My first thought was, “Good for you.” My second thought was, “Why aren’t more of us building mental fitness into our schedule the way

And it may not be family anymore For years, my Thanksgiving message has always been about why we should be thankful for more than just this one week. A few years ago, I even wrote an op-ed for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about celebrating the holiday and finding ways to actualize gratitude in our daily lives.