My Social Emotional Journey

On a regular basis, people who get to know me describe me as one of the happiest, most positive people they know (an assessment I agree with). Is this a matter of circumstance? Genetics? Blind luck? My cousin Stephen asked me to share my reflections on this topic, and I realized that I had never … Continue reading My Social Emotional Journey

Scaling and Prevailing Over Covid-19

* * * An exponential threat like Covid-19 requires us to scale up our responses at lightning speed. But how do manage the risks and strain of this effort, while making sure that we mitigate, rather than amplify, the existing structural problems in our society? In a week, Bob Sutton, Laura McBain, Marc Chun, and … Continue reading Scaling and Prevailing Over Covid-19

Escaping The Mental Money Trap

When the Bible said, “love of money is the root of all evil,” it was focused on the ability of greed to tempt people away from their faith.  But you don’t have to be religious to worry about the impact that money has on our minds. As a true blue capitalist, I believe that money … Continue reading Escaping The Mental Money Trap

Lives Well Lived

This afternoon, I left the office early to attend the memorial service for my old professor, Ron Rebholz. When I was at Stanford in the early 1990s, Ron was already a legendary teacher, with his Shakespeare course considered one of the top “bucket list” courses at Stanford (along with other legendary classes like ME101 and … Continue reading Lives Well Lived

The Most Important Course I Took At Stanford

I have two degrees from Stanford University–a BS in Product Design, and a BA in Creative Writing.  Stanford is renowned in both disciplines; the d.school is probably the world’s leading center for design thinking, while the Stegner Fellowship for writers is one of the most prestigious in the literary world. Yet the most important course … Continue reading The Most Important Course I Took At Stanford