The passing of Nelson Mandela
Read moreThis week, I had prepared a sequel to last week’s blog. However when I learned last night of Nelson Mandela’s death, I decided to put down a few somewhat random and spontaneous thoughts about him, as an adjunct to my post of July 5, when his condition had been declared “critical”. He was a different kind of African leader. Without
Pope Francis’ story for the future of the Catholic Church
Read moreOnce again this week, news from the Vatican drew me back to writing about Pope Francis. I continue to feel that we are witnessing, at least potentially, a truly broad and transformational leadership story of historic proportions. From the stories that Pope Francis has told since the beginning of his time in office, listeners and observers can draw clear
Back to South America
Read moreThis week, I have returned to the southern hemisphere for some fascinating events in Peru and Argentina. In Lima last Thursday (November 14), I gave an in-company seminar for 50 managers at Visa, on how to use personal storytelling in management. It was a great crowd, and we had a lot of fun along with the learning. Then, on
Stay in touch with ourselves
Read moreEarlier this week, on the long journey from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires, one of the flight attendants was reading a book by Anne Wilson Schaef, Meditations for women who do too much. She told me that she was having a lot of fun with it, and I was intrigued by the title, so I accepted when she offered to let
Two additional symbols from Pope Francis’ early days
Read moreIn a previous post, we reflected on the symbolic importance of Cardinal Bergoglio’s choice of the name Francis. This decision was the first of a number emblematic measures that have sent messages of change to the Church and to the world. During the first days and months of his time in office, Pope Francis’ behavior was full of symbolism that
A truly remarkable group achievement
Read moreAs I sit down to write this blog at 4:00 Thursday morning in Switzerland, I have just heard the news that the American baseball season has ended, and I find myself asking, “What if we were to take a short break from our study of Pope Francis to talk about the Boston Red Sox and their remarkable story of 2013?”