Change is emotional – and ignoring that fact is why some 90% of change efforts fail at a personal level, and 70% of organizational change efforts fail to meet their objectives. Articles in this section share the neuroscience behind change, and tips and strategies to manage it more successfully with emotional intelligence.
Four years ago, I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t even put my socks on. Yesterday, I went for a run — without someone chasing me… I actually chose it. As we think about change, rather than focusing on an “easy step,” there’s something incredibly powerful about embracing the impossible, and harvesting the emotional energy to fuel the next steps.
Read MoreReading reactions to Sandy Hook, a common theme is blame, but is there an alternative? Looking at the neuroscience, it feels better to blame. When we blame, we know the answer, and that feeling of righteous wrath is actually a dopamine reward that our brain emits when we “know.” While this reaction cycle is wired into our brains, we do have a choice — three, in fact.
Read MoreWhen I was very small – probably about seven – I read a fairy tale about a princess who was born with a glass heart. In the story, this princess grew into a lovely young woman. Early one day, feeling joy at the sight of the first crocuses or daffodils or tulips in the palace […]
Read MoreI went to a funeral last week. Mary C. Laycock was a wonderful mathematician and teacher. I worked with her at Nueva School in Hillsborough, CA and knew her for many years. Her students adored her and her ‘Mary’s Math.’ One lesson with Mary and you would develop an insight into math that would stay […]
Read MoreI was recently talking to a group about the fact that we can choose how we feel. “But didn’t you say emotions are an automatic biological response?” Yes, in fact, I did… but don’t we have choice about our biology? I remember years ago interviewing neurobiologist Debra Niehoff about the way some people seemed […]
Read MoreLife is full of these moments of transition, of uncertainty and discovery. People coming and going, growing up, moving away, coming back… waves on the sand, life seems to be continuously in flux, and you just can’t hold it still. Yesterday I delivered Emma to her first sleep-away summer camp; she’ll be there for three […]
Read MoreIn an 18-month project to equip leaders with new insights and tools for the people-side of change, this initiative created a 43% increase in participants’ readiness to cope with the complexities of organizational transformation. Background: The US military continues to undergo significant change to address the changing global context. Just as many companies face the […]
Read MoreA self-reflective discussion of “workaholism,” managing time, the work-life balance, and a mechanism for prioritizing the “to do” list.
Read MoreFor the past 20 years, my most rigorous exercise has been carrying my laptop around the world. Still, when I went to the doctor for a checkup (finally), I was surprised and dismayed by my blood pressure. [This article was first published 12/21/2005 — the good news: I’ve come to like exercise!] Over the years […]
Read MoreDear ones, Tomorrow the Jewish holiday of Passover begins, so I’ve been thinking about freedom and about love. Passover commemorates the time when Jews were enslaved in Egypt and then Gd, through Moses, led them to forge a path toward freedom. Moses didn’t want the job — he felt unqualified, incapable… uncertain and hopeless, but […]
Read MoreAwareness of beginnings, middles, and ends helps projects, relationships, and events — at work, at school, at home, in love and in war. It seems that if we could become more effective in all three phases life would be a lot better!
Read MoreLast week I stood on the edge of the world. The oceans mingled crashing against the cliffs — beyond this spire of land is only water, all the oceans together. The Cape of Good Hope. A point of crossing, the end of one journey, the beginning of another. A metaphor, perhaps, of the New South […]
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