Clare Consultation, LLCOn Break in Lisbon …
–Will return next week with the second guest blog from Gary Ferguson. Until then ~~ mc
“He knows everyone in business.”
Every word was about kindness, about humility, or generosity of the most precious kind: of time and attention, of friendship and guidance, of wisdom. Last Thursday night, a man well into his 80’s retired … again. This time from a talent and career management firm called Right Management. I still don’t know enough about this man, Jack Stowell. My friend, Terry OConnor said, “Come as my guest. Jack wants to meet you.” … Read More
Mayo Summit – Listen to These People
Galena, Alaska was at 39 below zero four days before Christmas in 1997. At 40 below, the airport closes. Air travel is the most reasonable way to get into Galena in winter. The other ways are by snow machine or dog sled. A hand full of tribal leaders from the Yukon River basin were gathering on that day because they had become acutely concerned for the health of the river. Toxic dump… Read More
Notes from Mayo – “My water’s talking to your water.”
Harold Gattensby lives at the headwaters of southern lakes in Yukon Territory, Canada. He is one of the tribal leaders attending the summit here in Mayo, Yukon. The leaders are from the 72 member tribes composing an alliance that was established a few days before Christmas 1997 in Galena, Alaska — at 40 below freezing. The alliance brings into collaboration Alaska Tribes and Canada First Nations in the Yukon River Basin for… Read More
Wolves, Humans and the Errors of Fast Thinking
So, a few years ago a Nobel Prize winning economic scientist named Daniel Kahneman took a pretty astonishing look at cognitive, biological and psychological habits of minds faced with the need to make judgments or decisions. His observations show up in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. Needless to say, there’s a lot in this book. One powerful trend Kahneman found in human decision making indicates that when we make quick… Read More
On Defending the Dream until it is Made Real
I am writing this week to remind myself and anyone who might read here that the passage of time does not make the circumstances of last week’s blog any less immediate – any less critical than they were. Racism and all other forms of social oppression are not gone. The violence – physical, emotional, intellectual, physical – continues daily. Please listen to this. Linten in yourself. Listen in the experiences and profound… Read More
Then Ernie Leans on Bert’s Shoulder while They Watch the News
So, I want to go back to last week’s Supreme Court decisions –back to the cover of the New Yorker and the mixed reaction – from effusion to raging – it received. We all know the controversy is less about Bert and Ernie than about the decision of the Supreme Court (or at least 5/9ths of it) to affirm and obviate the unconstitutional nature of that law passed in California amending that… Read More
The VRA and Racism “the country’s original sin”
What a week. With a 68-32 margin, the U.S. Senate passed immigration reform – a heartening step even in the face of the subsequent response by the usual suspects in the House of Representatives rolling their eyes and offering sound bites that essentially communicate (again…), “in your dreams.” In what likely stands as a more inspiring demonstration (and interpretation) of democratic action, Texas Senator, Wendy Davis together with thousands of citizens of… Read More
Violence May Thwart Public Voice, but the Ideas Won’t Go Away
My sister in Gainesville, Florida is recently back from Turkey — Istanbul and a rural city where she and her daughter worked a while on an organic olive farm. The olive work was only perfect for getting to know the culture of rural Turkey a bit, but it was also the only way for these two women to travel together. The younger is a college student, the older (celebrating her 50th with… Read More
Native – nonNative Partnerships: One Step in Making it Real
Yay! A publication. Lots of you know that I write pretty regularly for scholarly outlets. I don’t mention that stuff often here, but word just came in from the Teachers College Register (TCR) of Columbia University that a very cool commentary just went live on the TCR webpage for this week. It’s title — PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: CAN HIGHER EDUCATION SHOW UP? It’s only free for a week, then TCR charges for… Read More