I stan few companies as much as I stan Disney. I'm not ashamed of this even a little. When I saw that the greatest Disney CEO since old Walt himself had a new autobiography out, I couldn't wait to read it. The Fanboy Awakens. Bob Iger is best known as Disney's 6th CEO, reigning from … Continue reading Demma’s Notes: Bob Iger’s The Ride of a Lifetime
Happy New Year everyone. This year we're thankful to have wrapped up a relatively peaceful year, which was a goal of ours after many years of nearly constant major life changes like I wrote about here. I'm pretty sure we either moved, had a baby, changed jobs, or Kelly was pregnant every year for the … Continue reading 2019 Recap and my 200th Post
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, including details about the ending, story, and plot twists. If you haven't seen the movie yet STOP reading and come back later. I took Jack and a couple of his buddies to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (TROS) on opening night. TROS is … Continue reading Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Review, Thoughts, and All 9 Skywalker Films Ranked
People have a need to be engaged in purposeful work. We want to feel like we're part of something bigger than ourselves, and that our work makes a difference in the world. Maybe that's why Servant Leadership seems to be growing in popularity. I think people want to learn about the deeper concepts of Servant … Continue reading Servant Leadership: Key Concepts
Here's a short thought experiment about the difference between better and good. Imagine you're driving a big truck along a highway. You see a sign that says low overpass ahead. 13' clearance. You realize you're driving a 19' tall truck. Good thing you saw that sign! You go back to the dispatch warehouse and get … Continue reading Quick Read: Better?
The challenge with growth companies is to figure out how to scale the culture as the size and complexity of the business grows. How do you grow the business without breaking the culture that made the business great to begin with?
Limbo, by Alfred Limbrano, is an eye-opening book about what it's like to be raised in a working class family, be the first in your family to go to college, and then migrate to a middle class world.
Jack is going through the sacrament of First Penance and Reconciliation next week. This is the Catholic ceremony of the first confession in which a child examines their conscience, asks for forgiveness for their sins, prays, and is granted absolution. I love the psychology of the rite of passage. We look inward and examine the … Continue reading Forgiveness
1984 is a book about power, life, government, freedom (or lack thereof) of speech, human nature, love, strength, and weakness. It's gripping, suspenseful, horrific, and at times, maddening. This post contains a summary of the book, some of my favorite (or most terrifying) quotes, and some applications for business people.
The primary job of a manager is to provide leadership for their team. To be a leader. But what is leadership? This post is about my definition of leadership.
I have made some mistakes during my on-boarding, mostly centered around my ambition to start contributing quickly and my obsession with getting things done.
The term "game-changer" is so overused today, but I can't overstate how much parenting has changed for me since listening to "How to Talk".
Teamwork is important.
In fact, teamwork may be the most important competency for an organization operating in a world of complexity.
Hubris slays another Ancient Greek. "Pride comes before the fall," says the bible. Gatsby was ruined by his own opulence and swagger. People have been warning other people through stories to stay humble for a long long time now.
This post is for anyone thinking they shouldn't use their PTO because it might upset their boss or cause their boss to look unfavorably upon their work ethic. Because that's just not the case.
