What was I thinking?

Apparently, that I would get back to the blog "shortly". That must be the same "shortly" that is used by nurses when they leave you half naked in a physician's waiting room and utter those infamous words: "The doctor will be in shortly." and you know you may be waiting until after your next birthday. The day after day "shortly excuse turned into a quarter of a year. Apologies.

Thanks to the people who wrote asking if I was healthy. I am, and I've been buzzing around the country, mostly doing sessions on Generation change, but also working on strategy issues with some very interesting client organizations. I've also been doing a lot of sessions on "Mission-Based Management in Tough Financial Times". No surprise. Just think, when I last posted, your 401K had probably 30% more money in it.....ugh.

So, to get back on track, some reading suggestions. First, read "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job" by Pat Lencioni. The book, which is a fable, is essential reading for any manager in this market, or any market, for that matter. Get it, read it, and then post your comments. Trust me, it's worth your 4 hours....yes, it's that short.

I also just finished "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Tom Friedman. I'm a big fan of all of Friedman's books and his column in the New York Times. This book is, in turn, terrifying and inspirational. It's about economics/climate change/energy/biodiversity and their linkage. Really well done, and if you want a glimpse of our next 10 years, read this book.

My son, Ben has strongly recommended "The Black Swan The Impact of the Highly Improbable", by Nassim Taleb which I just ordered before writing this post. Ben notes that managers need to look at random events as well....although I'll be interested to see how you actually do that in the real world.

One more catchup headsup. My last three newsletters (October, November, December) have been:
Disaster Planning
Staff Recruitment and Retention
Measuring Mission

Check them out.

And, no fear: I have a bunch of postings in mind for the next few weeks. Trust me----I won't get to them "shortly".....