Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants baseball team for winning the 2012 World Series!  It’s a special accomplishment that requires much more than luck. Winning at a team sport depends on a number of factors:  great players, successful execution, and teamwork to make it all come together.
 

The success of …

Recently, one of my friends posted a comment on a popular social media site lamenting the impending removal of an orchard of aging Gravenstein apple trees that was adjacent to her property.  Her comment expressed her sadness that the orchard was being removed to make way for “yet another vineyard”.  While I, too, have a sense of loss every time I see a Gravenstein orchard being removed, I do not feel that a vineyard is a bad result. 

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Well, not exactly.  Mackie (aka Rowdy MacDuff), the sweet Scottie puppy who came into my world on May 31st of this year is now a “teenager” and, boy, do I have a whole new level sympathy for the parents of real teenagers.

All of a sudden, Mackie no longer knows own name.  He also appears to have developed a selective deafness.  If he is not the first one fed, he will immediately and loudly start playing hockey up and down the …

On the afternoon of April 3, 2012, I got the phone call that I had been waiting for.  My BDCo co-workers were no doubt amused when I emerged from my office to announce that I was now a “puppy Mama”.  Earlier that morning, the puppy that was destined to become mine had been born.

Fast forward to May 31st and I am driving to the Sacramento airport after work to take delivery of one small black Scottish Terrier boy.  At 10:15 pm, I arrive at cargo and …

One of my friends has terminal cancer.  No further chemo is possible, and his oncologist has referred him to a pain management specialist.  I feel helpless that, medically, there is very little that can be done.  He is such a brave, kind, and wonderful person; he does not deserve this.

In my hours of pondering my friend and his situation, what finally came into my mind was “BRAT”.  For those of you who, like me, have a fussy stomach, you might know that “BRAT” is medical shorthand for a diet of bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.  This is generally recommended for …

No, I am not talking about betting the horses, although the results of this kind of playing favorites can result in some pretty serious losses.  What I am referring to is the tendency of parents to favor one of their children over another.  In my experience, when this topic comes up, virtually all parents will stoutly maintain that they treat all of their children the same.  However, from conversations that I have had with family and …

Kathi and I have two daughters.  Like all parents we are very proud of them.  Kaitlin graduated from Lewis & Clark College last year and Kristen is a senior at UCLA.  At last year’s graduation, I had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about life after college.  I thought it would be important for them to know what they faced, why, and what the future would hold for them.  Many graduates are having a hard time finding jobs in their fields.  You probably know some of them.  Not a surprise given the slowness of the recovery from …

While we’re certain you don’t want an  accountant who improvises with your numbers, we are positive our team gained a new perspective on communication from the Improvisation exercise we tried at our firm retreat on Monday. 

The theme of our retreat was communication and the exercise came from The Improv Handbook  by Tom Salinsky and Deborah Frances-White.The idea was to  put one of the core concepts of Improvisation (the idea of “yes, and…”)  to the test using three different simulated conversations. We matched everyone in the room with a teammate and instructed each pair to plan an imaginary trip, event, or …

I was rafting down a river in the Canadian Rockies when I first heard that my granddaughter, Mikyla, had a brain tumor.  It was like getting struck by lightning, how a vibrant energetic seven year old could get struck down with such a serious disease.  I stumbled home as quickly as I could to see a semi-conscious post-operative Mikyla surrounded by balloons, stuffed animals and many relatives.  (Her Dad comes from a big family.)  She had just endured a 15-hour surgery to remove the tumor and had five or six supplemental brain surgeries in the following week.

It has now been …

Wow, what a climb!  Do you ever feel like there are just too many steps before you? On my recent business trip to the East coast I spent a day in Lynchburg, VA to visit family.  While out and about as a tourist I came across these 132 steps.  They serve as a memorial for local veterans dating back to WWI.  As I ascended the  steps and read each of the memorials I began to reflect on all of those who have given up so much, often their …