Athletics

I recently finished watching video coverage of the last batch of inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It prompted me to watch even more footage from the last three years of inductees. I focused my attention on the managers who were given an honor representing the pinnacle of their career. The last three managers inducted into the HOF used

Leadership

I recently received a letter from a former student, dating back to 1988. He’s now in mid-life and is a husband and father to three kids. He wrote me, however, because he wanted to say thanks for a conversation we had when he was a college sophomore. I’m sure you’ve received notes like this one. In the end, his message

Education

Yesterday, I blogged about wise leaders who find the right words to say in conversations with students. I suggested a simple formula at the end: The right word is about using the right term at the right time with the right team. Today, I’d like to dig deeper on this topic and suggest practical ideas on how to leverage the right words

Education, Leadership, Students

Every day, teachers, coaches, counselors and parents enter their new day prepared to speak certain words to the students they’ll encounter. Knowing we’ll likely meet up with some “attitudes” in the hallways or the classroom, we rehearse specific thoughts in our minds and sometimes even have those conversations ahead of time on our drive to work. Today—I’d like to talk about

Culture, Education, Leadership

Last month, kids across America celebrated Halloween by wearing masks and walking around their communities, hoping to get treats for their great costumes. It’s a tradition almost all of us enjoyed during our childhood. But may I be blunt with you? Another version of this tradition happens everyday on your campus. I just read a report on a North Carolina college

Leadership

I have a sad story to tell you. On January 17, 2014, a beautiful, talented student athlete at the University of Pennsylvania jumped off the top of a parking garage and killed herself. No one, not even her close family, saw this coming. Her name was Madison Holleran. She was a freshman at Penn. Perhaps the saddest part is that she

Education, Leadership

Have you heard about what’s happening on some university campuses in America. Racial unrest continues to surface, even though it’s 2015. I had just returned from speaking at an event in Missouri when we heard reports that University of Missouri football players refused to practice until their college president resigned. Why? They, along with other African-American students on campus, say they’ve

Leadership

Years ago, I spoke to my friend Jeremy Affeldt about leadership. We both concluded we’d seen good and bad leaders during the course of our careers. Jeremy told me he saw good leadership modeled when he played minor league baseball. One season, a major league player was injured, and part of his rehabilitation was playing some games on Jeremy’s Triple A

Athletics

I love it when I get opportunities to meet and converse with interesting people. About a year ago, I was preparing to speak at a conference, and at my table, I met a fellow presenter who’s now become a good friend. He’s a well-known business and leadership coach named Don Yaeger, who utilizes the lessons he garners from his conversations

Culture, Leadership

I was entertained last month when I met with a first-year faculty member and a seasoned veteran, who had taught for forty-two years at the university. It was like watching the History channel and the Future channel simultaneously (you might say I had tuned into The Jetsons and The Flintstones at the same time!) During our meeting, the veteran kept reminding