Musings at Altitude

I am blessed to see this every morning I wake up in Colorado: It’s called the “purple mountain’s majesty” in the song, though I missed the window of purple this morning! For me, it’s serenity.  It’s a reminder of God’s majesty and His gift of His magnificent creation.  It’s a reminder that even though I’m […]

When I got home this evening, I asked my 14 year old if she read my blog today.  She is after all my #1 fan and I gauge my writing on her smile after she reads it.  But today she said, “I didn’t read it because it was about taxes and that’s boring.” I now […]

I finally quit procrastinating last night and spent some time gathering all my stuff together for taxes.  I actually did it with just a slight bit of contempt this time because I see the trillions of dollars being committed right now to bailouts and “stimulus plans”, and I’m not smart enough to see how these […]

I am a non-conformist.  My behavioral surveys confirm that.  I admit that.  I struggle mightily with rules, with policies, and with schedules.  They constrain me.  They greatly restrict me.  They stifle thoughts and flows of emotion right at the time of maximum benefit to others.  And they ultimately define you through conformance.  Admittedly, some level […]

I may very well be the luckiest guy in the world, because my wife just found her Valentine’s Day gift and she loves it! How many guys can buy their wives a hockey stick for Valentine’s Day and not in turn get smacked by that stick?  Admittedly, this stick is signed by her favorite hockey […]

What a beautiful day here in Colorado Springs!  I hope it’s beautiful where you are as well! Here are some random things I want to share: (1) I finished up my morning meetings yesterday just before 1:00 pm, and I sent a text message to my wife asking if she wanted to treat me to […]

While I was in the Washington DC area this week, I found myself late at night pondering the burdens of the world and watching C-SPAN (that’s how overwhelming the burdens were).  On one particular night, the leaders of the major finance institutions in this country were being grilled by Congress over their compensation and use […]

(1) Sitting at a table trying to focus on the speaker and the slide deck for 90 minute intervals with 10 minute breaks (that always end up being 20 minutes because no one wants to sit for 90 minute intervals without longer breaks) (2) Being in the board meeting from 9:00 in the morning till 6:00 in […]

I’m on the road right now and I called home to check and say hello to the family.  My 14 year old answered the phone and said, “why haven’t you written a blog?”  I was somewhat taken aback and responded, “I wrote one last night!”  She quickly popped back, “you need to write a new […]

I’m very fond of sacrcastically saying that “life is all about assessing blame”.  That’s exactly what I see folks all over the business community doing right now.  I see folks at the top of organizations mandating down actions on their subordinates when those at the top refuse to take similar actions themselves.  I see folks who […]