Where Is a Genie When You Need One?

By Jim Selman | Bio

There is a widely understood belief in Argentina’s culture that “the way we are is a big part of the problem … and one of our characteristics is that we’re always waiting for a leader to come along and save us.” The first time I heard this I was giving a talk to a large event in Buenos Aires. A man stood up and challenged my ‘American optimism’, suggesting that I just didn’t understand the way things really were in ‘their’ country. My response was to acknowledge that this may be true and to suggest that, since they were all waiting for the leader to appear, perhaps he could take the job until the leader came along. That got a chuckle or two and drove home my point. We live as if the causes and the solutions to our problems are somehow outside of ourselves and that they are beyond our ability to resolve. This view of the world inevitably leads to resignation—giving up—and has us drift into a kind of spectator relationship to life and the future.

I make the same point in a different way in my Leadership in Action workshops. I usually begin by asking participants what they would to say to a ‘Genie’ if that magical being promised to grant them one wish to change something in their organization. I am always a little surprised to hear people’s innocuous and tiny wishes (such as better communication, more cooperation between departments, more straight talk, more trust and so on). Not that these aren’t

read more

Love in Truth

The Pope’s Love in Truth, his third letter to the bishops of the world, is written in the context of the current global economic crisis. The Pope views the current crisis as an opportunity for us to discern and to create a new vision for our future. In his latest encyclical, he doesn’t focus on specific systems of economics or reconstructing the global economy. Instead, he reminds us that our markets are shaped by our culture, and that it is up to us to focus on the common good

read more

California Musings

By Jim Selman | Bio

I spent the weekend in California, hanging out with my children and visiting old friends. I was in both Los Angeles and San Francisco and picked up on the current mood from both ends of the State—at least based on my small sample of conversations. The consensus is that California is a great place to live, but a fiscal and political mess.

The deficit is staggering (over 25 billion and rising). The governor has been terminated politically speaking and can’t get the politicians or the public to go along with his well-intended proposals to fix the problems. Most of the money that is around is tied up and pre-allocated by a system of arcane initiatives that make the democratic process look and feel like a straightjacket. I am told that the famously inept and unworkable politics of Sacramento look more like “politics

read more

When do we take action?

By Jim Selman | Bio

The conventional wisdom in Alcoholics Anonymous is that alcoholism is a ‘disease’ of the ego—self-centeredness. Basically the alcoholic becomes trapped in his or her own point of view and denies any other perspective on ‘reality’. The alcohol is a symptom of a loss of control and choice—a condition of cognitive blindness and a self-destructive pattern of behavior. I have distinguished that culture works the same way. That is, the ego is to the individual what culture

read more

Caregiving: A Family Responsibility

By Kevin Brown | Bio

Recently I was reading a blog post by Paul Span and the associated stream of comments in the New York Times concerning the use of contracts between a family member providing care, a family member receiving care, and other family members. I must say that initially I found the idea of a contract somewhat disturbing. I realize that the idea bothers me because I hold the

read more

Media Monotony

By Jim Selman | Bio

There is a maxim in critiques of the media that the content of programming reflects what the audience wants. I find this hard to believe. Surely, even the most ardent Michael Jackson fan must tire of ‘experts’ dissecting the autopsy, second guessing why he died and manufacturing hypothetical scenarios of what his will might or might not say. John Daley had a hilarious segment of would-be experts and reporters in a frenzy seeking some ‘degree-of-separation’ with the famous man: “I met someone who knew someone who met him once at an airport….” Daly followed this with a spoof of a reporter walking through an empty house pointing to where (supposedly), Jackson’s furniture used to be.

Until recently I assumed that this kind of coverage was simply banal and that one could simply turn it off. Unfortunately, all the channels now seem to follow the same programming formats—a breaking story followed by days of drivel with experts ‘counterpointing’ each other on whether Rush Limbaugh is really gay or whether Sarah Palin is really going to make a play for the presidency in 2012. Could it be that it is less costly to cover one story ad nauseum rather than maintain

read more

Slowing Down

The July 4th long weekend is coming to a close, but we don’t have to limit our enjoyment of life to these hours when we have ‘time off’ work. Steve Goldberg over at Upside to the Downturn published the following poem, a timely reminder to savor life as it happens.

Slow Dance

By David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

read more

Seniors and Children: An Ideal Relationship

By Kevin Brown | Bio

Like me, you can probably remember a relationship you had as a child with an elderly relative or friend of the family. Some of my best memories of such a time involve Mrs. Cowling, an elderly lady who lived next door to us. We had just moved to a new neighborhood in Calgary, and there were only two completed homes on the block. Our home had the only family of children for about three blocks. There was my older sister Paulette (13 years old), myself (7) , and my brand new brother Ken who was not

read more

Presidential Acknowledgement

By Jim Selman | Bio

President Obama held a briefing on the Community Solutions Agenda this past Tuesday, in which he acknowledged the contributions of several winners of the “Purpose Prize” along with other not-for-profit community organizations. The Purpose Prize was created a few years ago by Civic Ventures as a way to focus our attention on the ongoing contributions that elders make in our country and the world. I thought the President’s acknowledgment summed it up nicely, not only for the Elders in the room but for people of all ages committed to making a difference.

And finally, I want to thank all of you here today for everything you’re doing to find new solutions to some of our oldest, toughest problems. I know what you do is not easy. I know that for many of you, the hours are long, the pay could be better—let’s face it. But I also know the difference that each of you make. I know the lives that you change every single day. You teach us that there’s no such thing as a lost cause if you’re willing to be creative,

read more