Treat Healthy Relationship As a High Priority

May 8, 2023

Good morning! Lorraine is 82 today; Happy Birthday, Lorraine! And down the stretch they come! As all the king’s horses paraded through London, a few others galloped around the track in Louisville. Quite a spectacle. High theatre, high politics, high religion, high stakes — and high tea — all at high noon. Reminds us of that maxim, if one symbol is good, then ten (10) symbols must be at least ten times as good. So, the monarchy persists — as do the roses — and traditions.

How’s the pot hole situation in your part of the world?
Warren Buffet has just completed another Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha wherein he reminded us of how easy it is to become a multi-billionaire.
- Two secrets: Make at least two good decisions every ten years — and live to an old age.
Nikita Kruschev at the United Nations in 1960: “Stop acting like you’re the #1 guy in this group; I’m the number one guy in this group!”
Listened to a full concert — 50 or more songs — of Gordon Lightfoot the other evening; had no idea he was so prolific.
- Another Canadian makes good.
Which chef do you most emulate?
We seem to be transitioning to another euphemism for death: Transitioning
“Don’t hog the charger!” might be the newest manifestation of road rage as drivers jockey for position attempting to refuel their electric vehicles.
- Too few chargers, too many cars, too little patience.
- Reminiscent of the gasoline lines of the 1970s.
If anarchy and gun violence can come to the streets of our beloved Bowdoin, where is it safe to disagree?
Our business is built upon five watchwords: Bigger — better — stronger — healthier — happier
- All five are best worked on together, with the only outlier being you probably don’t absolutely have to get bigger, but what then if not bigger?
- Smaller on purpose? It could work… treading water is much more difficult than swimming.
Don’t fall victim to the latest plague du jour, that of loneliness
- Systematize and calendarize events, habits, activities, and behaviours to decrease the likelihood of loneliness.
- If you can’t hold yourself accountable, find someone who will hold you accountable.
  - Treat healthy relationships as you would any other high priority.
We say this lots, but probably can’t say it enough: Expectations not matched with empirically clear metrics will result in frustration and worse.
- According to research by Whitler, Etc., et al., 2022, forty-one percent (41%) of a role’s expectations do not match with a person’s qualifications.
- Thirty-three percent (33%) of the time, expectations do not match a role’s area of responsibility.
- Thirty-six percent (36%) of responsibilities do not align with a person’s professional experience.
  - Sound like a recipe for a train wreck? Vetting is so, so important.
  - Why do we make these decisions? Emotion takes over and fogs the windshield of logic.
Are we here to make a decision, solve a problem, or to share information?
- Be clear about the WHY of a meeting — and then stay true to the agenda.
Have you ever tried to save (saved) the princess?
- If you parented throughout the 1990s you no doubt have that incessantly recurring Mario Bros. melody reverberating in your brain — over and over again.
- Now we have Super Mario, the movie, which has sold more than $1,000,000,000 in tickets in just 24 days.
Henry Kissinger is 100! Happy Birthday, Hank.
- Some compare him to Mr. Franklin of 260 years ago; time will tell.