Taking Stock

Two Reflections.

1. Work

Driving back from GA Tech.
A 4 hour drive (257 miles each way).
I stayed at the Renaissance hotel arriving late friday pm.
Prepared for my class for an hour before going to bed.
A 545 AM wake up call.
Saturday AM class.
Launched the Global Strategy Project course with BJ.
Walked to class past Technology Square.
Empty streets.
The Starbucks closed.
After class, I went into the University Barnes and Noble.
Bought a power cord for my phone.
Looked at books (poetry and management books).
The poetry held deeper interest.
However, I did not buy any books.
Books, reading, journaling, always scanning, that is my nature.
These days, I think of this work as fieldwork
And reflective practice.
I inventory my own learnings.
Work at detachment, bare attention, seeing.
Inner excellence, more than ambition, now the driver.
We address "live" issues, more than cases in this course.
I leverage my know how, ask probing questions, orchestrate the learning.
Intellectual craftsmanship vs. academic research.
Bricolage vs. theory.
Small discoveries.
Not just smart talk but smart action emphasized.
Integrative thinking taught, more than data and analysis.
I prepare working notes.
Now, a gray beard.
Act 3, in a career.
Glad I invited the students from last year for the panel.
"Lessons learned" made explicit and shared.
I saw their evident pride.
They stood tall.
Lots of intellectual energy in the room.


2. Present, not Absent

Now, taking stock.
Reflecting on two field trips this week (Cincinnati with IMS and
Atlanta and the GSP).
Grateful for this work
And for this autonomy vs. "the daily grind".
More importantly, in the larger scheme of things,
Grateful for this day because it was "a big day" for them.
A begining.
A moment shaping and re-shaping their lives.
A young family moving into their new house.
It stands high on a hill.
Glad MA was there to help with the kids.
Returning late afternoon,
I helped KB before the rain and thunder storms came.
Glad I was with him at the end of the day.
Present, not absent.
Commitments made long ago and honored.
Sensed his pride.
Saw again his many strengths.
A big step for them.
Now, happy and well "on their way".
A huge task completed today.
The orange U-Haul truck empty.