Relationships
17Dec 2008
This is the time of year when families gather together – college students are on break, young adults return home to visit, and the extended family celebrates Christmas and New Year’s together.* So it is also the time when parents who have been successful in business turn their focus to their family. This is both a good thing and it
07Dec 2008
Almost all of us in the United States are now starting to personally experience some aspect of the global and national economic crisis. Whether it is through a personal or family job loss, friends and extended family members who have been laid off, a slow down in your business, or projected reduced sales for next year — the impact is
30Nov 2008
I have had a number of situations recently where I have been involved in family situations where two members of a couple have come from significantly different levels of financial resources. The following are more in the category of “in process” observations — thoughts and reflections that I have that are still developing and not fully complete yet. Coming from
23Nov 2008
Thanksgiving is upon us this week. And for most Americans, that means some sort of “get together” with family or friends. Some of us dread the time, while others anxiously look forward to it. Regardless of your past experiences, your plans for this year and accompanying mindset, I thought I would propose some proactive steps each of us can take
20Jul 2008
Recently, my wife and I have had a couple of experiences together on which we both commented to one another. One experience was actually two separate events that were similar and which occurred close together. As a family, we enjoy music and frequently go to music events of various kinds — concerts by professionals, school concerts, musical theatre productions, and
14Jul 2008
I have observed a common pattern across many areas that I work (and live) — people avoiding dealing with tense or conflictual situations in their relationships with others. And almost always, not dealing with the situation creates additional problems or makes the conflict larger and more intense (often involving more people than were originally involved). And it happens in lots of
08Jun 2008
Much of life is not magic or spectacular. As one of my friends says, “Life is daily.” And when we look at the goals so many of us have — to be healthy physically— in shape and not overweight; to be moving toward financial independence; to have healthy family relationships — in our marriage, with our children, and among our
11May 2008
Mother’s Day reflections are helpful and important, I believe, because they remind us to think about our life over a longer time frame. Most of our daily lives are just that, “daily”, and very present-focused. As a result, we tend to not pay attention to the longer trends in our lives — which includes parenting (both being “parented” and parenting
16Mar 2008
I don’t mean to sound snub or condescending but, in a lot of ways, having healthy relationships is not that big of deal. Having positive relationships doesn’t have to be as difficult as people want to make it. I often tell my friends (and sometimes, my clients) that the work I do is not rocket science. Helping families and business
06Mar 2008
There is an old saying, “It is good for brothers to get along”. And it is true. But one of the most frequent problems I see in my work is the challenge of brothers “getting along” in business. And the issue plays out in many different ways and settings: *Brothers who have been working together for years (and now are