I stumbled across a parking lot full of exotic cars at the Hotel Del Coronado this morning:  Ferraris, Aston Martins, Lambhorghinis, Bugatti Veyrons, and more.  Some of these cars bear a price tag of a cool $1.5 MM.  Upon closer inspection, the event wasn't just about gawking at peoples' cars but it turned out to be a charity event, the Cruise 4 Kids.…

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Hypothesis:  Public egg hunts during Easter encourage greed, competition, and instances of bullying.





Evidence:  On Saturday I watched 100s of parents and their kids coming together for an egg hunt to celebrate Easter weekend.  The scene was festive, colorful, and kids of all ages had big smiles on their faces.  There was face-painting, a concert, pin-the-tail on the donkey and other fair games...but all were just waiting for the MAIN…

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My friends and I played charades this past weekend and we had some interesting strategies in play.  We played the first round - in which teams were a mix of men and women - and the second round regressed to our eternal battle of the sexes.

In a 3 on 3 battle of charades, I believe it's important for the 'actor' to continually feed us with some information, fueling our guesses, as there are only 2 minds on the receiving end.  Regardless, one of my friends received the…

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I have actually succeeded on a few of my New Year's resolutions...over the past 5 years. I believe that there IS a secret to achieving these often 'far-fetched' goals that we set for ourselves. In fact, so much of what organizations do to try to motivate their employees to accomplish goals, applies here. Some do it well, others do it horribly.

(1) Don't make resolutions by yourself. You will either set a goal for yourself that is extremely hard to achieve and you'll forget about it…

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“If you’re a good leader, you don’t have to mention you did it and you’re not looking for credit,” said Mayor Casey Tanaka.

When I first walked into City Hall, Mayor Tanaka walked out to greet me. He was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, khakis, and flip-flops. Immediately I was put at ease and felt as though I could speak freely with him: he seemed approachable and comfortable being who he is.

Leadership is more than just a title or a position. In fact, at the…

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Disclaimer:

I have never been in the Navy and I am writing this article without any experience serving in the military. I also admit that not all divisions and units of the navy are the same and so this article may be relevant to some but not to all commands vice divisions.

 

Question:

Does having an effective leadership style overcome any sentiments of disparity and animosity that an enlisted person may feel toward his/her…

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I play tennis in a public league in San Diego and meet a lot of tennis players around town during the seasons. Since it's a competitive league, the relationship you establish with your opponent that you only JUST met, can sometimes be tense.



The other day, I played someone who showed up late, questioned ALL my line calls, and called me some names when I had made some good shots. "You must be inspired by a demon to get that shot in." In most cases, I remain cool-headed and calm when… Continue

I say 'Thank You' or 'Thanks' MANY times a day. I even say it each time a server refill my water glass and refill my chips and salsa at Miguel's in Coronado.  I noticed that I even say it when the situation calls for someone ELSE to thank ME - I guess I don't want anyone to feel like they forgot and so I say it for THEM!



When someone goes OUT of their way to help you, you should make the same effort to let them as well as their peers know of their effort. Today with Yelp reviews and… Continue

In the last month, I traveled with two classes (6^th and 7^th graders) to their school camps.  I chaperoned the groups and also had the opportunity to teach them a module on collaboration and communication using fun and interactive games in the woods.  For example, one of the games is a human knot where they have to untangle themselves without using words to communicate  It was during the general chaperoning where the kids were asked to do a simple task or activity, that…

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I can't count how many times in the last three months in which people have flaked on me.



Here's my definition of 'flake':  someone who commits (verbally or in writing) to do something in ADVANCE, and then fails to keep that commitment at the last moment.  Now you may say there's subjectivity in the term 'last moment' but I contend that to each person that definition is ALLOWED to vary.



Of course, there are varying degrees of flakiness.  For example, if you made a plan with…

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I like to make sure I have no unread messages in my inbox. If they are unread, that means they require my attention and response. There are a TON of buttons and prioritization options on gmail to organize and sort my emails but I use a pretty basic system: read the email, reply to it or star it/leave it unread so I can get back to it.



My wife does it differently. She likes to use folders to organize her emails, leaving NO emails in her inbox. Both of us are prompt responders to…

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Starbucks. Long line. You know it well. There are two worker bees in the spotlight, speedily working to chip away at the empty plastic cups lined up in a row.



As we await our names to be called, we have the privilege of watching the employees concoct our drinks, which makes the time go by a little faster I suppose. Then from beyond the jazz artist of the month and the open laptops comes "Mine's just a green tea; can't you do it sooner?. Sigh."



Well, well, well. I guess…

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