"Since the pandemic started, I've wanted to stay connected with our community. Through the form of a weekly blog, I share my insights and reflections on various topics."
With the chaos here in Washington and the uncertainty in the economy and markets, I was struggling to find something uplifting about which to write. I wanted to give up, but a story a client told me made me laugh. So I’ll share it here with you.
In the novel Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, the main character, Mira, comments on how she apologizes for everything and that perhaps replacing “I’m sorry” with “Thank you” might be more appropriate and healthier for her.
On February 21st, a client, friend, and generally great man, Kyu Sik Lee, passed away at the age of 87. In my years working with him, I knew Mr. Lee as a kind, generous soul with a work history that included being a distinguished Senior Economist at The World Bank.
I’m sure you have noticed that while standing in line to wait for your coffee at Starbucks or waiting for just about anything, most people are looking at their phones, either scrolling social media feeds or catching up on the latest news.
On February 6th, at the age of 86, Donald Shoup died. I had never heard of him prior to reading about his death, and I suspect many of you had not heard of him either.
I attended a conference about a month ago, and in a discussion about having trust in the workplace, the presenter noted that he implicitly trusts his employees and then added that “to quote Ronald Reagan, trust but verify.” My first reaction was to chuckle as Reagan made that quote when talking about dealing with the Russians, our adversary, as opposed to one’s employees.