The Disney Layoffs

February 09, 2023

The Disney Layoffs

As The Walt Disney Company, Zoom, and Philips announced layoffs, leaders’ heads are spinning in knowing the right way to address employee concerns. I was talking to one of them in Asia this morning, and we devised three good strategies. First, stay within the bounds of what is known, and don’t go beyond your current information. Second, there is a shifting perspective now with your team on how they feel about the “Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting.” As a leader,...

February 08, 2023

Resilience in a Foreign Language is Still Resilience…or Is It?

A European leader shared that reading Cody’s blog last week got him thinking about resilience for his team and family. He shared that “resilience” in his language has a slightly different meaning than in English. Resilience is not the ability to bounce back (or forward) but to work hard, figure things out, and take care of oneself. A bit like, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” Wow, his comment set me back a bit, and as we talked, one interesting...

February 01, 2023

Cody Dog Lesson of the Week: Managing Agendas

When Cody and I go for walks, we always have different agendas. He wants to sniff, look for food, visit other dogs, and pee. I want a little aerobic walk, log a mile or more, say hi to neighbors, and like today, get it all done before the rain starts. This morning we discussed how we could find a happy medium between these two sets of objectives, some of which dovetail and some of which differ. I think our learnings...

January 30, 2023

Target Connection

When I ran into Target over the weekend, someone hailed me before I got through the entrance. I didn’t recognize him, and he asked me if I was the guy who did the Strengths Presentation at the Leadership Pittsburgh Program for Veterans. I, indeed, am that guy. This young vet told me how much he got out of that session (from 2 years ago) and how grateful he was for my sharing that work. He’s doing well and helping out...

January 25, 2023

新年快乐

Thus begins the Year of The Rabbit in the Chinese Lunar New Year. Sheila and I were both born in the year of the Rabbit, and I thought that that must be a good omen for us. Unfortunately, some research revealed that we might be in for a tough year. When your Lunar birth occurs, which is every 12 years, it seems that getting older offends the God of Age, Tai Sui We may have some challenges with health, career,...

January 18, 2023

Imagination

When Sheila and I went with our community of Interplay artists to Tukumbo, Malawi, in 2007, I imagined I’d see great poverty, unhappiness, and perhaps even hostility to a group of primarily white people visiting their impoverished village. We went on this trip with one of our global leaders, Masankho Banda, who was born and raised in this village. I was wrong from the start. The people were warm and friendly and greeted us with dance and song upon arrival....

Absolute Citrin

by Richard Citrin

February 09, 2023