The ultimate demonstration of power is to give power away.

 

 

It is with humility and an awareness of the “unpopularity” of this topic that I begin today’s essay.  Here in 2025, in a world torn apart by war, mis-trust and strife… and in a nation deeply and often violently divided on ideological/partisan lines, it’s hard to imagine that I would suggest a leadership concept that DID NOT build on the concept of the dominating strength of an individual leader.  I am explicitly suggesting that by looking at history and seeking models in today’s landscape we can learn the truth to the idea that the “ultimate demonstration of power is to give power away.”

As is often my bent, I take a page from history and look to the end of the American Revolutionary war in 1783.  Having defeated the British army at Yorktown and signed a peace treaty officially ending hostilities, thus forming the United States of America as a new world nation, it was unclear how power, specifically the executive power of this new country would be established.  The following is a quote from the Maryland state archives,

“At the end of the Revolutionary War, many people in America and Europe thought Washington would retain the reins of power to become the leader of the new nation, or even king. When told by the American artist Benjamin West that Washington was going to resign, King George III of England said "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."”

This comment from King George III of England from that time is at the center of my premise… that by walking away from power, by giving it “back” to the infant federal government Washington would be the “greatest man in the world”… simply by taking the action of “giving power away.”  While an incredible historic moment in 1783, it was one repeated later that century when Washington “stepped down” as President after his second term, leading to our first “presidential election” which was a hotly contested one (ultimately won by John Adams) in 1796.  Though being asked, encouraged and at times “coerced” into a third term, Washington once again had the strength and conviction to “give power away” and not serve a third term as President, thus retiring to Mt. Vernon where he passed away soon after in 1799.  The picture above, hangs in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capital shows General George Washington resigning his commission at the end of the war.  While a historic depiction of the actual event, it has tremendous symbolic meaning reinforcing the primacy of the civilian elected officials of congress over the power of the military, and the central foundation of that congress rooted in the U.S. constitution… a history lesson well worth remembering today in the light of the recent “No Kings” rallies across all 50 states!

As I mentioned in the first sentence above, this concept of “giving power away” as an act of power certainly seems foreign in our political landscape today; equally rarely see it practiced well in the universe of business.  Business leaders are expected to be decisive, have all the answers, be clear thinking in times of uncertainty and to somehow “divine” the future trends coming at a business regardless of industry country.  It is in this context that I often go back to the quote from Warren Buffet below.  

 

His comments about the idea that “True power is about sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint.” rings so true to me and my personal leadership journey.  “True power” emanating from restraint is so hard to achieve, especially in times of uncertainty and crisis.  “Sitting back” and working to logically understand the situation at hand WITHOUT EMOTION is so key to leading an organization through challenging moments…so key to being truly powerful as a leader FOR the enterprise that is being led.

Take a few moments when you can to find ways to “give power away” and look for avenues of impact within your organization ( or colleagues outside of your team) where those actions of “restraint” can have a powerful productive impact.

postscript:  a quick note to say thank you to the readers of this blog.  Last week the blog hit 200k+ page views with 289 essays posted on line.  what started out as fulfilling a request for a friend to "post a story or two," the blog now has a life of its own and I am incredibly humbled and thankful for your readership!

 

Fresh potential & possibilities with every sunrise

 

 

Over the years, literally the past 30 years, I have had the chance to spend a number of holidays with my wife’s family in a little village in NE Vermont; the location is set “facing” east, looking over the Connecticut River valley towards the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  This holiday tradition has become precious to our family, and we have just returned from an incredible white Christmas in those New England Mountains, sharing it with three generations of our family.  While the beauty of the snow, the quaintness of the little village, and the family time all together were again exceptional, the sunrises over the Mount Moosilauke this year (three of the sunrises from this year are pictured here) caught me on a number of levels.

 

The bitter cold early morning temperatures seemed to provide an incredibly “clear” view of the beautiful early light, reflected off the clouds, the mountains, and across the snowy ground as it spread into the day, lighting our world.  It also struck me to think that while my view was exactly the same every morning… same spot, same angle, same phone camera, etc., the sunrise was unique and totally different and unique EVERY day.  It’s this idea or dynamic that I want to focus on as we start 2025!

 

How ever you want to think about it, 2024 was a tough ride broadly across our country and our world, and a year of change and challenge for me personally.  As I look back at the essays I posted across 2024, I often reference the challenges, divisions and issues facing us broadly or me personally, an authentic picture of the dynamics of the moment.  While true and accurate ( I have no drive to go back and “re-edit” any of the essays posted last year) I am reminded of the tremendous quote from Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech…

 

“I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him”

This idea came back to me on the snowy porch in Vermont last week… and the “new possibilities” that every dawn brings with it!  Regardless of the “isness” of the challenges of today (or of 2024), we are NOT “stuck” in the reality of today.  We are NOT floating as “mere flotsam and jetsam” in this life of ours, sleepwalking through day after day… dawn after dawn!  We have the ability and the possibility to make tomorrow different (and better) than yesterday in whatever way YOU/WE define as “better.”  

I am inspired once again by Dr. King's words, and the freshness of those cold, beautiful Vermont sunrises.  My encouragement to you as you dive into 2025… one day at a time…. one dawn at a time ... is that you find fresh inspiration to influence and affect “the river of life” that we all share!

p.s. the following picture is from the back porch of our cabin in North Carolina… the first sunrise of 2025 taken this morning… a dawn filled with possibilities & potential... Happy New Year!!

In Memorium: after 50 years

 

It was 50 years ago this past week, December 8, 1974, that my mother passed away after a tough battle with breast cancer.  My mom, Arline Marie (Wark) Levisay, was a lovely, kind, gentle person who passed much too young, and whom I think about all the time.  I am startled to think that it’s been 50 years… in some ways that amount of time seems both too long and too short in my perspective today.  In many facets, her passing was (and is) the core defining element of my life.  “I am who I am” through enduring the pain, sadness and loss after her illness and death, and equally “I am who I am” by becoming a stronger, more independent, more confident self-driven individual because of her death.  It took quite a while for me to recognize that there were positive elements in my life that emanated from her untimely passing… but that realization is true.  I am deeply saddened by the thought of her never knowing my sweet wife Jennie, or ever getting to meet her two beautiful incredible grandchildren Bryson & Marie because she died when I was only 13… far too young for both of us!

 

Last year I wrote and published a family history book that focused on the lives and family of my father, Dale Hill Levisay and my mother Arline.  The copies have been shared broadly across the family, and I often refer back to it to refresh and renew my memories.  The excerpt below is a section that I wrote about my mother, and I thought it fitting to share on this anniversary.

 

 

 

 

Arline lived her young life in Brooklyn with her sister Lorraine, and her parents Fred and Kunigunda (and for a while her grandmother Marie often called Nana, who lived in the same home with them.)  She went to school at P.S. 104 the “Fort Hamilton School” and I still have a wonderful photo from 1943 of what must have been her 8^th or 9^th grade school class picture.

 

 

 (a picture of Arline in front of the Christmas tree, probably late 1940’s…. that electric train has been passed down in the family and it still runs every holiday season!)

 

 

We don't have too many details of her early years, we know that she was confirmed at St. Jacobi Lutheran church in Brooklyn and after High School, she attended the nursing school at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1950 or 1951.  She met my dad in 1951 on a blind date, set up by mutual friends, while he was in the Navy, while his ship was docked for repairs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; the image seems right out of a movie, a sailor dating a nurse in New York right after WWII.  They dated for six months and as the family story goes, he asked my Grandfather Wark for his “permission” to marry his daughter and my grandfather denied his request!  Whether it was that my dad was a skinny hillbilly from West Virginia, or that he and my mother had only known each other a few months, my grandfather “required” them to wait a year.

 

Indeed a year passed and in 1952 my dad did propose, my mother agreed, and ultimately on August 8, 1954 they were married in Brooklyn N.Y.  The picture earlier in the story shows the wedding party in full formal wear, and the white dinner jackets really caught my eye… they were the inspiration for our wedding party when Jennie and I were married in August, 1987.  The two of them enjoyed a Honeymoon in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and there are photos of them at Franconia Notch State Park.

 

(the photo below is one of my favorites of my mother, I believe taken on the Honeymoon trip in N.H.)

 

 

Arline’s story continued for another twenty years with a happy marriage, giving birth to four children (my older sister Lois died of childhood Leukemia just a few weeks after I was born in 1961), raising our family and being very active in the local Lutheran Church in our “hometown” of Murrysville Pennsylvania.  She stayed very close with her sister Lorraine (my dear Aunt Lorraine whom I have written about often in this blog) her parents and her two aunts, Katherine and Emma.  She became very sick in the spring/summer of 1974, unfortunately suffered deeply from the disease and brutal chemo treatments and ultimately passed that December.  Her death rocked our family and left an impact that I still feel and consider today, now 50 years ago; my mother Arline was and is loved, was and is missed, and her life and death have deeply defined me to be the person I am today… I will miss her forever!

 

p.s. the picture of her grave above was recently taken at the beautiful cemetery where she is buried in Delmont Pa.  My dear friends Jimmy & Dave (highlighted in the recent essay on “gratitude”) both have family members buried nearby my mom’s grave, and they keep on eye on her plot regularly… I am very appreciative of their attention to keeping our family plot clean and cared for!

 

“Buen Camino”

 

 

Well, it’s been almost a month since returning from walking a segment of the Camino in Spain, and I think it’s time to try to capture a few thoughts and learnings from the journey.  Its an understatement to say that I am still processing the experience… and probably will continue to digest and rethink moments of the journey for months to come.  I shared the “walk” with my sweet Jennie, my sister Alice and her husband (my brother-in-law) Jan Willem. 

 We dubbed ourselves the “Four Pilgrims” and shared the time together from the first steps in Vigo Spain, to our destination in Santiago de Compostela (along the Camino Portugues) 103km later.  First, let’s have a bit of background:

 

As for the Camino de Santiago, pilgrims have been walking to Santiago for well over 1000 years from points across medieval Europe, and numerous “pilgrim trails” (or Caminos) have been established over the centuries.  The most popular path is the “Camino Frances”, that emanates in France, crosses the Pyrenes and ends in Santiago 700+ km later.  We walked a segment of the Camino Portugues, a path that starts in Lisbon.  We started in Vigo Spain, a busy port city in the province of Galicia in Northwestern Spain.  The religious history of pilgrims walking to Santiago emanates from the 900’s, when tradition holds that the body of one of Jesus’s apostles, James the greater, was re-discovered in a small village in Galicia and a local Bishop and King paid homage to the martyred saint and built a chapel to house the stone coffin.  That small church became the Cathedral in Santiago ( built in the 13^th century) where the remains are held in a chapel below the main altar.  To learn more about the history of the Camino, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago)

As for the “Four Pilgrims,” we all came at this adventure by different   paths.  I have been reading about the Camino de Santiago for years and  become focused on it when a friend of mine (my “pal” Todd) walked the Camino almost a decade ago.   Linked to my retirement (Feb 2024) , I wanted to do the Camino as part of that transition.  Jennie was up for the adventure, and we began “rough” planning late last fall.  At a family Thanksgiving gathering, we talked to my sister and her husband about the idea, and they were eager to join in… the reality is that my sister is facing some significant health challenges, so the decision to head out on a 100+km “walk” on the Camino was no small thing!  With the background set, let’s get walking!

As I mentioned above, we kicked off our journey in Vigo, a busy port city in NW Spain near the border with Portugal.  I won’t try to make this essay a travelogue but I do want to share a few of the poignant moments across out journey.  Our first task was to make our way out of Vigo in the midst of heavy morning traffic.  We were walking on sidewalks next to busy streets and traffic circles, losing our way a bit but by mid-day we had worked our way out of the city to much quieter pathways and incredible views of the “Bay of Vigo” and the Atlantic in the distance. 

 

It was incredible how once out of the city, we spent most of the afternoon in deep forest, and the pace and the quietness really slowed things down.  At numerous spots along the trail we would see “Pilgrim Shrines’(my descriptor) where fellow “pilgrims” had left notes, shells, shoes, photos, money, etc. marking their experiences on the Camino….and while each “shrine” was a bit different, they all reminded us that we were part of a larger “flow” of pilgrims who have been making this same journey for over 1000 years.

A few days in we stopped for a night in a small historic town of Arcade, the sight of a significant battle in the Napoleonic wars of 1809.  Our hotel just 

happened to be across the street from a “Pilgrim’s church,” found regularly on our path.  While beautiful, the image ( a bit blurry for sure) of a dove sitting atop the cross on the church steeple was beyond touching.  With the news filled with war stories coming from the Middle East and Ukraine, it seemed fitting and needed to be reminded by that simple little dove, calling us all to find a straighter path to peace for all humanity.

A day or two later, we stopped in an another “Pilgrim’s Church” which had the “Pilgrim’s Beatitudes” (in English and Spanish) posted in the entryway.  While all ten are worth your time, #9 caught my attention….

“9-Blessed are you, Pilgrim, if on the way you find yourself and give yourself unhurried time so as not to neglect the image of your heart.”

 

Now that little phrase, old #9, really packs a punch!  First giving “yourself unhurried time” seems hard to imagine in our high tech/high tempo/multimedia/multi-platform world of 2024.  The Camino provided an incredible amount of “unhurried time,” with day after day of 6-7 hours of walking… and most of that time with limited to non-existent connectivity.  Peaceful and thoughtful indeed.  I won’t try to editorialize the idea of “not neglecting the image of your heart,” but this phrase and idea is still revolving in my mind ( and heart) today.  

 

Back on the trail and we soon came upon a small sign marking that we were walking along the “Via Romana XIX.”  

While I knew we were walking along trails that fellow pilgrims have been travelling since the mid 900’s, I didn’t have any idea that most of our 100+km would be along the old roman road #19, built more that 2000 years ago.  I found that feeling of being a small part of larger and growing history to be an incredible and humbling part of our time in Spain!

One element that we faced across our walking had to do with the dynamic of changing weather.  We had some sunny days, but as we got closer to Santiago, the days became cool and rainy.  Regardless of the temps or the rainfall, the Camino called us onward everyday… so trudge forward we did!  On our last day, with 15km left to go to arrive at the cathedral in Santiago, we awoke to 39 degrees and a heavy rain… a tough start for sure!  After a good breakfast (“you are going to want a hot breakfast”!)  We hit the trail and as the rain got heavier, we were losing our energy for sure. 

  

Deep in a forest, we stopped to adjust our packs and started considering options… “maybe we could find a taxi in the next village” … you know, that kind of thing.  After a few more km along the track, we did find a small bar open in a village and ducked in to dry off, use the bathrooms and consider our next moves.

We were not alone… the place was full of other pilgrims trying to dry off, dropping their packs, etc.  I ducked into the bar, jammed with fellow walkers, and was able to buy a small chocolate bar… a Kinder Bueno!  Breaking it into 4 pieces, we all had a bite and that small taste of chocolate really hit home.  Rather than calling for a taxi, we looked outside and realized that the rain was slowing… so we decided to “try another few km” as we made our way to the heart of Santiago.  The blessing and power of Kinder Bueno!!

 

In that mode of “try another few km” at a time, we got to the plaza in front of the Cathedral by midafternoon, and the emotional release was dramatic.  We had made it through the rain of that day…. through the hills and valleys, deep forest tracks and busy streets of the previous week, and we had walked “our Camino” successfully as we rested, cried a bit, and took photos in front of the Cathedral.  I won’t try to summarize the experience… that doesn’t seem appropriate or fair.  I am so glad that we went on our Camino and so glad we did it when we did; and I know for certain that I will be “chewing on” and processing the experience for years to come!  

 

I will close with the phrase that’s the title of this essay… “Buen Camino.”  As you walk along the Camino, you pass other pilgrims, and local townspeople and as you pass them, they say that phrase… “Buen Camino” ... to you and you share it back to them…. literally hundreds of times a day.  It becomes part of the language of the journey, almost a type of prayer said over and over again on the trail… may we all have and wish for others a good walk of life…. “Buen Camino!”

 

 

"It's hard to put a price on Wisdom!"

 Over the past few weeks, and probably more candidly over the past few months, I have been going though quite a transition.  As you can see in earlier essays, I "retired" from Bolthouse Farms early in the year, and over the past few months I have been actively working to transition my headset, schedule and indeed my lifestyle away from being a Senior Executive in a large private company based in California     (and commuting weekly to Bakersfield Ca. as part of that role) to changing gears in a big way to be focused on my family, my community here in Atlanta, and to head toward new paths for the chapters of my life that lie ahead.  I have travelled across country with my daughter Marie on an incredible roadtrip that I reflected on in a previous essay (######), travelled to see old friends across the country ( wonderful across the board) and most recently just came back from walking the last 100km off the Camino inn Spain with my wife Jennie, my sister Alice and her husband Jan Willem.  I am still processing that trip deeply and when I am done "churning," I am certain that I will post an essay about our time on the Camino.  With that precursor, I have been hit by few moments recently that keeps me turning towards this idea of "Wisdom" and I wanted to explore it today.

Over my life, I have been around a number of people that I would describe as "wise," some from my professional life ( certainly my old boss Bruce that I have written about extensively on this blog) and from my family ( certainly my paternal grandmother... dear old Mama... also mentioned widely across the blog) and I have "chewed" on the idea of what makes these two VERY different people both so "wise?"  It's not their backgrounds, education, lifestyles, etc.... all of those "definers" are so very distinct, but they were      (both now passed) both so "wise" in my eyes and I still very actively think about them both and often wonder what they would do in situation that I am facing today.  Let's dig a little deeper to help our understanding.

Wisdom: noun, the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.

Knowledge: noun, facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.

Intelligence: noun, the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

The unique factor that I see in the respective definitions is the implied idea of combining and applying "experience, knowledge, and good judgement."  It's rings so true that both Mama and Bruce brought these three ideas to life personally, in the actions of their lives, and in their impact on my life.  I LEARNED a lot from both of them and as I reflect on it today, I want to "live into" being a source of wisdom for those I touch.  This idea of combining and applying "experience, knowledge and good judgement" is a powerful driver for me personally as I turn toward the next chapter of my life...and maybe an aspiration for all of us regardless of what chapter of life we may be in today!

p.s. I put the title of this essay in quotes because it came from a shuttle bus driver at the Atlanta airport.  After returning from our trip to the Camino, and after a very long day of travel, we cleared customs at ATL, and boarded a shuttle bus to head to International "Park & Ride."  Our luggage didn't make it, so we were traveling light, but our fellow travelers had some large and very heavy bags.  The driver of the shuttle bus, with a smile on his face, asked for the heavy bags to be set on the floor, so he could just slide them into the rack, and to put the lighter bags higher on the luggage rack.  As he said that, he looked over to me ( the only other person in his same age range, the other travelers were all much younger) and said that "guys like us have to save our backs whenever we can....remember... its hard to put a price on wisdom!!!"  An incredible line from late last Saturday night, and one that really got me thinking!!

Service, Sacrifice & Solidarity

 

I don't usually comment in my essays on my travels, but this week has had quite a deep impact on yours truly.  Heading out of Atlanta on Monday, I flew to BWI and was picked up by dear old friend and work partner Cathy, who joined me on quite an intense adventure yesterday ( Tuesday) at the Shapell Center.... the archives of the Holocaust Museum... in Bowie Md.  I was doing research on a family member, my Uncle Jim, who fought in WW II and participated in the liberation of a concentration camp in April of 1945.  It was just recently that I discovered that there were original documents and photographs of his in the Holocaust Museum archives, and I made an appointment for a research visit yesterday.  I can't yet describe, or even really process the experience, and will try to find a path to share more on this experience and the resulting insights in a future essay.... to say it was intense and overwhelming is an understatement.

After leaving the Shapell Center, in a very heavy mood, I asked Cathy if we had time to go to Arlington to visit the National Cemetery ( https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/#/).  somehow, it was the only place that made sense after reviewing the photos and docs,  and we made our way through DC and parked in a quiet spot in the Cemetery near where a relative of hers is buried.  The picture above is from that spot and I wanted to share it in this essay.  I was overwhelmed and surrounded by so many who has served their/our country and made incredible sacrifices.... some with their lives...not knowing what they would be called on to do.  The breadth of the sense of service and sacrifice was brought into sharp relief by an active funeral of a navy veteran just to the north of where this photo was taken.  These acts of service and sacrifice were certainly historic, just like my Uncle Jim's incredible service and sacrifice from almost 80 years ago, AND they are very current and contemporary.  So many young men and women serving OUR country today, making incredible sacrifices today... "inspiring" seems like just too trite of a word to describe the immensity of their actions and the immensity of our gratitude that is required!

I included the word "Solidarity" in my title because coming out of the Shapell Center and at Arlington, I felt an intense pride in being American.  I am not polly-anish or naive about the complexity of our history, but when I think about the soldiers & sailors that have left our shores to support and defend the ideals of freedom and democracy while fighting the nightmarish dreams of dictators bent on destinies of racial genocide and global domination ... I am personally humbled, and profoundly thankful.  As I was taking the picture above, I was also struck that Arlington is not subdivided by political party, or personal ideology.  This is a sacred spot, maybe one of the most sacred,  for ALL AMERICANS... not of one party or another, not one class, creed, race, nationality, or another.... a sacred spot for all of us as Americans that reminds us all of the sacrifice and service of so many for what we hold dear.  As we move as a country into election season of 2024, I hope to keep these images and sensibilities of "Service, Sacrifice & Solidarity" present and keep focused on the path forward for all of us as Americans.

Finding a "Fresh Perspective" for the new year

 

I am not someone who spends much time or mental focus on New Year's resolutions.  For me, they seem like fleeting whims that after a few days or weeks are forgotten in the business of calendar invites, zoom meetings, hectic schedules and unseen challenges that lie ahead.  It's in that somewhat "cynical" spirit, that I share the following resolution for 2024... its high time for some "fresh perspective" and I am going to work hard to have it start with me!

As I reflect of the year/years recently past, it is hard to find hope and possibilities amidst the nightmare of wars actively raging in Gaza and Ukraine... hard to see the "light" in the darkness of dramatic climate change issues challenging all countries... hard to see cooperation/compromise in a political landscape that is more focused on radical partisan ideologies than creating progress for the average family.... and the list goes on.  It is in this context that I look at the start of 2024 as a time for a new headset, or a "fresh perspective" not championed by others, but by yours truly!

From a dictionary's point of view: 

The phrase "a fresh perspective" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to describe a situation in which someone adopts a different point of view, such as when considering a problem from a new angle or looking at an issue with renewed interest.

I am inspired and "nudged" into action by this headset and am heading into the new year looking for ways to shake off my traditional way of thinking about things and "work" on ways to "consider a problem from a new angle."  I emphasize the word "work," because I know that for me, it will not be easy to slow down my traditional headsets/perspectives.... to quiet my inside voice that is certain that it knows the right answer to so many things... "considering a problem from a new angle, or looking at an issue with a renewed interest" is never easy!

For me, I find it helpful to try some "tricks/games" to push my thinking or habits and to get myself out of my traditional patterns...and one such trick or habit is a restaurant game I learned years ago called "two up/two down."  It's a "game" I have played at family or team dinners over the years as a playful way to "break the ice" and to change up our normal habits and to push ourselves to try new things.  The game is simple enough... imagine a group at a restaurant table, menus in hand.  Everyone selects their entrees as normal, and allowing for any food allegories, the game commences!  I ask someone to pull out a dollar bill, and someone to pull out a quarter, ( in today's cashless world, I often come with the bill and coin in my pocket.)  I ask the person with the bill to tell us the first digit of the serial number on the bill ( lets imagines its a "2",) and for the person with the coin to flip it ... heads or tails.  If "heads," then EVERYONE finds their entree choice on the menu and goes "2 up" from it and that's their dinner order... inversely if the serial number of the bill had started with a "5" and the coin had flipped tails, then EVERYONE'S dinner choice would be "5 down" from their original order.  Its always a bit of mayhem when the person wanting a burger gets a chefs salad and other than one "ill-begotten" dish of Tripe, ( ouch, that was a smelly mess!!) the game is always worth a lot of chatter/laughs and it ALWAYS pushes folks out of their comfort zones in a very "low-stakes" environment.

I share this "game" as an idea that helps push us to consider things "from a new angle," or to try something on a menu that might never have been considered.  While a simple playful "game," I know that I will need to push myself to explore fresh perspectives to the challenges of our world in 2024...monumentally more difficult and more significant than an entree choice on a dinner menu.  I wish all of you a very happy 2024 and encourage all of us to work hard to find "fresh perspectives" to the problems of our world and our communities in the year ahead!

p.s., the image at the top is a sunrise photo from this morning, January 1, 2024 at our cabin in North Carolina... a chilly start to a new year filled with "fresh perspectives!"

p.p.s., I found that I had written about this "game" almost seven years ago, and about bringing it to life in an ice cream shop in Highlands N.C. with some dear friends and work partners... take a look:  https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2016/04/2-up-2-down-game-to-expand-innovative.html

A tasty family Legacy: 2023

 

I have no idea how old I was when I first enjoyed our Aunt Lorraine's "Jelly Tarts" at Christmas.  Maybe I was 5 or 6, but I remember them so fondly and always craved more... each year there was only enough for each of us to get 1 or 2 of these incredible treats. She and my maternal grandmother would make a bounty of Christmas cookies each year, but the "Jelly Tarts" were the clearly the "star on the tree" among the many choices.  The picture to the right is a current one of our daughter Marie and I with a plate of OUR Jelly Tarts that we made last weekend; working hard to keep Aunt Lorraine's legacy alive this Christmas season!

The impetus for me of writing this essay, and candidly what started me on this entire journey of writing this blog in the first place... now 260+ essays and 15 years ago... was this idea of "legacy."  In my life, I have been touched by so many people who have left their "mark" on me,  both personally and professionally and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to learn and grow from these "legacies."  Whether lessons from my grandmother MaMa,  https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2009/03/legacy.html, or Mrs. Carfang and her feast of the Seven Fish https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-kindness-remembered.html, or the lessons of Bruce Paynter https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2010/07/legacy-of-bruce.html, my first boss at Kimberly-Clark who passed in 2009 from ALS, or tasty memories or rules about "small bites" from Aunt Lorraine, https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2009/03/aunt-lorraines-law.html, or.... literally the list goes on and are spread across the hundreds of essays that I have posted on this blog.

This is the third or fourth year that Marie and I have made Aunt Lorraine's "Jelly Tarts" and while our technique is growing, it's a pretty simple recipe that is VERY hard to get exactly right.  Always tasty, each year we try to get closer and closer to "how Aunt Lorraine" made them... and I hope we get the chance to keep trying to perfect this specific "legacy" for years to come!  Give the recipe a try, it's highlighted below, signed by the creator herself!  

Merry Christmas!

Keep swinging…. The lesson of Alex Cora

 

 

I have been a baseball fan my whole life… from my early days growing up watching the Pirates win the ‘71 and ’79 World Series and more recently following the Braves and watching them win in 1995 and 2021.  It’s in this context that it may seem a little crazy for me to reference Alex Cora…. never a Pirate nor a Brave…. but as a Dodger in 2004, he achieved an incredible feat in a game at Dodger Stadium that has inspired me recently as a lesson for business, leadership, and life.

It was late in the game, bottom of the 7^th inning, when Cora came up to the plate, and quickly went behind in the count 1-2 (that’s 1 ball, 2 strikes for those non-baseball fans).  What came next is the fodder for the history books.  Alex Cora proceeds to foul off 14 straight pitches… one after another… and on the 18^th pitch of his at-bat he hits a 2-run homerun…. The longest string of foul balls before hitting a homerun in recorded MLB history!!  Long-time Dodger announcer Vin Scully called it:

 

“What a moment! 9:23 on the scoreboard, if you want to write it down for history. What an at-bat!” Scully exclaimed. “That’s one of the finest at-bats I’ve ever seen, and to top it off with a home run, that is really shocking.”

 

While this incredible baseball achievement is recorded in the history books, I want to focus on the implication for the rest of us…. those of us who are “swinging” at the plate of life/business and who can learn deeply from this story.

 

Like many others, as you live your life you face challenges and exhilarations professionally and personally.  As a life-long optimist I typically see the “glass half-full,” and usually bounce back quickly from setbacks and challenges.  Recently the combination of some very challenging health news from a family member, combined with some extreme business dynamics has set me back on my heels a bit and I have struggled finding the “next gear” forward.  It’s in this light that the lesson of Alex Cora’s 14 foul balls comes to mind.  Its deeply true that we can’t control many of the issues that come our way (remember the recent blog essay, “The lesson of Donny”) …. all we can do is control how we react to those issues/setbacks and my lesson from this baseball moment is to “keep swinging” regardless of “the count!”

 

The odds were against Cora that night in 2004.  With a 1-2 count, he had almost a 40% chance to strikeout in that “at-bat” and a very small probability of getting a hit of any kind, none-the-less a homerun.  Instead of being defined by “the odds,” he just kept swinging…. Just kept trying to put the ball in play… he recalls about the night:

 

“From what I remember of the at-bat, I only had one thing in mind — to shoot the hole between first and second,” Cora recalled. “I just kept rolling over, rolling over.”

 

Let us all take a lesson from that night in 2004 and try our best to ignore the pundits and the statisticians of life/business.  Regardless of the challenges/setbacks, we need to keep trying to make things better… make tomorrow a bit better than yesterday…. let’s work to keep our energy up and to “keep swinging” to put “the ball in play” in whatever situations we face personally and professionally!

 

 

A moment of inspiration: Desiderata

 

Just recently i received this "text poem" from a dear friend and work colleague Todd... remember, no last names on the blog!  we have worked together for years, actually decades, and out of the blue he sent this text to me.  Its rare for me to reference poems in this forum but over the last few weeks/months I keep going back to this text and re-reading with different frames of reference.  

At certain moments I have reflected on it through a lens of a busy ( stressed) business leader.  At other moments I have seen it though the eyes of  parent, or a spouse; regardless of perspective I keep coming back to it and "re-thinking" my take on the poem and finding new points of inspiration and impact. Earlier today, flying west for my work, I read it once again and was struck by a specific set of "stanzas" toward the end of the poem:

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

This admonition to "nurture strength" hit me like a ton of bricks.  I have been on a heavy pull over the past few months ( in honesty almost 4 years since the summer of 2019) and the business challenges that lie ahead need my focus and "strength" now more than ever.  The idea that "many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness" is a truth that I can relate to.... and one that I want/need to work against.  I am part of an amazing team, an amazing family and am part of incredible communities here in California and at home in Atlanta.... I am not alone and need to remind my self, and be refreshed by that important truth.  The admonition to "be gentle with yourself" is so helpful and healthy to "hear."  We all hold ourselves up to very high standards and expectations and we need to remember that we are all "children of the universe," working hard to do our best and we don't always get it all right.... we need to give ourselves some room and space in this crazy walk of life.

A big thank you to my friend and work partner Todd for his sharing this inspiring document.  Take a read of the complete text below and I know you will find some nuggets of inspiration to bring into your life at work or at home... and I will keep it handy for future "re-readings" without a doubt!

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann ©1927

Here we go…. Again!!

 

Its February and the weather across the country has been a mess…. Intense rain and snowstorms across California where I am now working, with record snow packs anticipated this year once we emerge from a harsh Winter and move in Spring.  In this context its time once again to think/dream/fantasize about a warm southern spring and weeks in mid-April when it will be time to plant the tomato seedlings in the warming soil of the garden.  

 

Now I am one of those gardeners who have always dreamt about having a big expansive garden, filled with different vegetable varieties like my brother Mark, but who have just enough light, space and decent quality soil for about a dozen tomato plants.  For years, and actually many decades, my family (starting with my paternal grandmother MaMa) and I save seeds every year and start our “passed along” tomato seeds from “scratch” …. no seedlings from the hardware/garden store for us!  This year, as you can see the picture above, I have started three different varieties and am already getting excited for this year’s fresh Tomatoes from the garden later in the summer.  There is something about this annual rhythm that is very re-affirming for me… a certain cycle of life/seasons/crops that have nothing to do with business challenges, political strife, global conflicts, or any of the myriad of “stressors” that surround us in 2023… just the simple reassuring tempo of a garden and the potential for delicious fresh tomatoes in the heat of the summer!

 

Now lets talk about the tomatoes!!  Today we would call all three “heirloom varietals”, a phrase that was unknown to the generations of gardeners that have saved and passed along seeds fro centuries /millennium.  Two of the varieties have been grown by our family/friends for decades and decades, and I am proud to have seedlings sprouting again in 2023!!

 

Pictured to the right are a few tomatoes that I had harvested last summer.  The most “famous” for our family is the quirky orange/yellow tomato that was handed down from my grandmother that we have kept going for decades.  When it ripens, it has darker stipes on its ridges and MaMa called them “old stripers.”  A short plant only measuring 5+/- feet tall, the fruit are delicious and make a light, and beautiful pasta sauce.

Another old varietal that has been passed down in a friend’s family since the early 70’s is one I call “Big Pinks.”  My childhood friend Dave and his family raised these tomatoes for years and years and I was lucky enough to get a small packet of seeds from Dave’s dad a few years ago.  These plants will grow to incredible lengths, and put off very large pink tomatoes; while Dave’s dad grew fruit that weighed more than 2 lbs., I have succeeded in growing lots of the “Big Pinks” larger than 1 lb.

Finally I have the “Green Zebras,” a tomato with incredible colors that I have now grown for a few years.  My sister-in-law passed along some “heirloom tomatoes” from a farmers market box and these crazy green tomatoes caught my eye.  When ripe, that are green with dark strips on the outside, but you cut them open and they stipes of red, yellow, and orange running through the INSIDE of the tomato… incredibly beautiful and tasty!!  

 

Just describing them makes me hungry for summer, in the midst of a messy February.  The combination of the annual seasonal rhythm and the connection of each varietal to family and friends make this process precious to me.  I look forward to what might come this year, and maybe, just maybe I will finally raise a “two-pounder” of the “Big Pinks” ….. wish me luck!

 

 postscript: As I head into my 60’s, these “habits/rhythms” are becoming more and more important and more grounding to me personally. I a touchstone to my grandmother, born in 1901, and to childhood friends and their families connects me to the “long pattern” of life          (maybe a title for a future essay?!?) vs the microsecond fading reality of pop culture today… I am thankful for the tomato plants for more than just the great bounty in the summer… is a connection rod to my life and my past.

A season of hope, peace, love and renewal…

  

 

A quick message this Christmas morning from West Newbury Vermont.  The picture above is from a chilly dawn this morning at sunrise, looking across the “Upper Connecticut river valley looking into the White mountains in New Hampshire.  This beautiful village has meant a lot to Jennie and her family for decades, and I have had the chance to get to know it since I was welcomed into this family almost 40 years ago.  Last night, at the village church (built in 1832, pictured below) we attended a wonderful and moving Christmas Eve service where Jen’s father lead the music and her sisters and nieces sang as part of the service. 

 

 

 It was a lovely, poignant, and moving night and the pastor shared a homily that really touched my heart.  He reminded all of us that Christmas isn’t a single day, but actually a season of twelve days (remember the “partridge in a pear tree??”) where we get the chance to slow down and reflect that this season, regardless of your specific religious beliefs or traditions, is a time for hope, peace love and renewal for all.  A time for all of us to realize how fragile life truly is, and how the world, our communities, our families and ourselves all need more love, peace and hope in our lives and especially in these challenging times…. we have the chance to use this “season” to find that path for “renewal” in our relationships broadly, and as I often quote from Dr. martin Luther King Jr.,

 

I refuse to accept the idea that the isness of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the oughtness that forever confronts him.

 

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, filled with the "oughtness" that lies in front of all of us, and a season filled with hope, peace, love and renewal!

You can never say thanks enough…

 

Over the years, how many times have you as a leader recognized key team members for exceptional work?  I am sure that your answer goes something like mine would….” as many times as I can.” Well, I have just been involved in a major project at work, our acquisition of the Evolution Fresh juice business from Starbucks (press release below) and I am learning once again that leaders can never say thank you enough for the truly heroic work of their teams.

 

Across my career I have now been involved in a number of M&A events, but this is the first one that I personally lead.  I knew it was going to be a major piece of work coordinating the “carveout” of this business unit out of the Starbucks corporate structure, but I had NO IDEA just how much work it would actually take for the Bolthouse Farms team and the Evolution Fresh team (and the Starbucks corporate team, equity partners and so many others) to bring the process to a successful close (that happened on 8/1/22!!!) and to ensure the uninterrupted continued operations of a very successful business at Evolution Fresh.  The work has been incredible, and the what’s most notable is that the work of the teams ALL ACROSS THE BOARD has been exceptional and inspiring. 

 

 I can tell stories of team members working through multiple nights to get major IT roadblocks handled…. or others in HR who worked shift after shift to ensure that the frontline team members could do their jobs and get back to work just minutes after closing, or finance team members who checked every single payroll record to make sure we could have  a successful payroll run after week one, or legal team members who oversaw EVERY detail of the required work and are still overseeing the details of TSA agreements and requirements, or operations team members who reorganized the production planning schedule to ensure high customer service levels in the midst of the ownership transition… and the list could literally go on for pages!  As the leader of this initiative, I am blown away and truly humbled by the quality of the work and the success of the outcome all across the board and as I commented above, I can never say thank you enough!

 

Now a moment of perspective… as a 60 yr old with over 37 years in business, I have the awareness that I am in the closing chapters of my professional career (duh!) and don’t have too many more events/projects/deals like this left.  It is in this context that I am even more appreciative of the incredible work of the teams across the companies.  I have found inspiration and energy from the exceptional work of so many and at this place in my career, that’s pretty incredible!

 

All I have left to say….. is thank you!