There’s a story about a newspaper reporter who interviewed Thomas Edison as he was in the process of inventing the lightbulb.  Edison had tried to create this life-changing contribution 10,000 ways – all unsuccessfully.  The reporter asked, “Mr. Edison, how does it feel to have failed 10,000 times?” Edison looked at the man incredulously and …

Continue reading Commitments and Experiments

There’s a story about a newspaper reporter who interviewed Thomas Edison as he was in the process of inventing the lightbulb.  Edison had tried to create this life-changing contribution 10,000 ways – all unsuccessfully.  The reporter asked, “Mr. Edison, how does it feel to have failed 10,000 times?” Edison looked at the man incredulously and …

Continue reading Commitments and Experiments

September 22, 2021 was a beautiful, sun-splashed, fall day, with low humidity, comfortable temperatures, and gentle breezes.  My friend, Tony, and I planned to ride the Northwest River Trail from Columbia to Falmouth and back.  I was fueled and had two, 28 oz. bottles of fluids that I drank on the ride. As we approached …

Continue reading A Strange Anniversary

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” – Robert C. Gallagher In my first seminary class, the two instructors posed this question: “How many Brethren does it take to change a light …

Continue reading “Do We Really Need to Burn the Ships?” (Change)

I Photo by Matthew Shenk, Lancaster, PA "The darkest hour is just before dawn" - English theologian, Thomas Fuller "It's always something" - Gilda Radner as Roseann Rosannadanna A Ten-Alarm VUCA! How many of you were starting 2020, optimistic, full of hope, with great plans - both personally and professionally - that seemed well within …

Continue reading Leading Through Covid-19 (What I’m Reading)

April 7 was the day that I found out that my dear, close friend, Sel Whitaker, died.  I reached out to Sel's long-time colleague, Dr. Patricia Best.  Patricia is a former superintendent at the State College Area School District and shared these thoughts with me that I thought warranted its own posting. Sel (left) and …

Continue reading Dr. Seldon V. Whitaker, Jr (Renaissance Man) by Dr. Patricia Best

Renaissance Man - a person with many talents or areas of knowledge. April 7 was my mom’s 90th birthday.  It was also the day that I found out that my dear, close friend, Sel Whitaker, died.  Thinking about Sel’s life has prompted me to write about his extraordinary career and the deep bond of friendship …

Continue reading Dr. Seldon V. Whitaker, Jr. (Renaissance Man)

Good Leadership... A client recently shared this story with me about responding to pandemic: Efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 were escalating rapidly the weekend of March 13-15.  Schools had been closed and there was talk from the home office that we would need to start considering alternative arrangements.  Over the weekend an extensive …

Continue reading Leading Through the Unknown (VUCA and Strategic Focus)

A Lifetime of Crises I have some vague memories of blizzards and heat waves from childhood, but my first memories of crises was in my early 20s. In 1973 and 1979 we experienced “energy crises” where I remember waiting in line to get gasoline - along with a lot of other frustrated, angry people.  For …

Continue reading Lessons Learned and Re-Learned (and Still Learning)

I received an email from our senior pastor at church who, in his closing, asked, “Did they train you in seminary how to deal with a pandemic?  I didn’t get that training.” Do I forge ahead and hold church services, do I cancel them, or do I try and find a third alternative?  How do …

Continue reading What Do I Do Now? (Decision Making in Scary Times)