Sylvia Lafair
Yes, we live in a fast paced world. Yes, we are often at tipping points of stress. Yes, we can do better. “We are all in it together and no one wins unless we all do.” This mantra sounds good, however, for most of us it sounds naïve. Sometimes the world seems to be spinning…
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Got on the bus. Waited. Got on another bus. Waited even longer. Had a bad feeling this paid in advance tour was going to disappoint. And it did. Almost. Tours to that revered site in Rome, the Vatican are expensive and seemingly necessary. Otherwise the lines can be hours long. The Vatican is a must…
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The quality of your life, personally and professionally, is based on how you make decisions. There is the old way and the new way: hint, the new way is actually older than the old way. The indigenous cultures all knew and still know that everything is connected. Somewhere along the way as we became “sophisticated…
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I hear this plaintive cry from executives and middle managers all the time. I hear it from superintendents to elementary school teachers for at least ten months out of the year. Getting along is what we all want. Right? So, why does it seem almost impossible to get through even a few days without feeling…
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Charles sat down and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. He looked at the fifteen others in the room. He could not decide if he felt relieved or embarrassed. That was it. Finally, John broke the silence by saying quietly, “We are truly sorry. Thank you for your honesty and openness.” There was nothing more…
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Twice a year we do a program for leaders and emerging leaders. It is a four session program spread over five months. Each time I include clips of leaders who have and continue to make a difference in our world. There are a few staples, like Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln. We choose from a…
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I was sitting having a quick dinner in Manhattan with some colleagues. The place was packed and the noise level high. Just a typical 6:30 p.m. time of workplace decompressing, after one of those typical rush and get it done days. At the table to the left we heard “No one should be forced to…
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There is an old saying, “Technology changes, people don’t.” It’s kind of depressing to think that with all the good stuff at our finger tips, we are not much different from Neanderthal man and woman. Well, maybe we dress better. As social beings, everything we do is interactive and contextual. And yes, technology has changed…
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Last weekend we trekked to Manhattan for the season premiere of ALIVE: 55+ and Kicking. And what a day it was. Just being in the presence of the executive producer, Vy Higginsen would have been enough. However, the day brought so much that I simply want to stand up and applaud the entire cast and…
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Since most of us prefer information to be fast and direct, here is the missing puzzle piece right up front: what happened in our original organization, the family, goes with us to work…whether we like it or not. When I stumbled on this counter-intuitive nugget of knowledge it changed the direction of my career to…
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