Sixteen Stretches for Wicked Problems
“The mind, stretched by a new idea, never returns to it’s original dimension,” Ralph Waldo Emerson Each morning when we awaken… Read More »
Playing “Unplayable” Music
We are crossing the river by feeling for stones.” W Deng Xiaoping “We are crossing the river by feeling for stones.” Deng Xiaoping “To dream the impossible dream,” sings Don Quixote, as the curtain falls at the… Read More »
“Life in the Messy Middle”
“Our Covid-19 polarization will only get worse. We need to find a balance.” Gary Abernathy [1] “The balancing of individual liberty and public health may be among the most contentious issue in American life.” Dhruv Khullar [2] “Her genius… Read More »
Parenting is a Wicked Problem
“As much as you love your baby, you’re going to askyourself, What the hell did we do? It doesn’t meanthat you love your baby any less, but this new lifeis a scary adjustment…nobody can truly prepare you.” … Read More »
Huck Finn Messes with Mr. In-between
“All right, then, I’ll go to hell.” Huck Finn During the hot, confusing, and frustrating summer of 2020, individuals, families, schools and colleges, business organizations, and governments found themselves facing a range of unusual… Read More »
The “Wickedness” of Adolescence
We are calling them ‘wicked,’ not because [they] are ethically deplorable. We use the term ‘wicked’ in a meaning akin to than of ‘malignant’ (in contrast to ‘benign’) or ‘vicious’ (like a circle) or ‘tricky’ (like a leprechaun) or aggressive (like a lion, in contrast to the docility of a lamb). … Read More »
Leadership is a Wicked Problem*
Among the many things that human beings have in common is a desire to be better off, to find or create a better future than the one they presently inhabit. In 1982, philosopher Karl Popper gave voice and substance to this desire in, In Search of a Better World. The first sentence spells out his premise: “All… Read More »
A Knack For Problems
January 21, 2020 “All right Sergeant, there won’t be any changes. We’ll run it like you’ve been running it until I get the knack.” The year was 1945, the place was the Italian mountains that overlooked the Po River Valley, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during World War II, the goal was… Read More »
Success Story: Robert Fulghum vs. Beethoven
“Success is counted sweetest by those who ne’er succeed, To comprehend a nectar requires sorest need.” Emily Dickinson, 1859 The poet is undoubtedly right – success is most highly valued by those who seek it and fail. Yet we should not underestimate the importance of success for everyone: those who are waiting their turn… Read More »
A Poet at Twenty?
February 28, 2019 “To be a poet at twenty is to be twenty; but to be a poet at forty is to be a poet.” Eugene Delacroix All generalizations are flawed, including the one above. Yet they can also useful. In addition to containing elements of truth, they help us transform seemingly… Read More »