This fascinating article suggests that the toilet paper shortage was not triggered by hoarding, but by a change in demand due to the nearly nation-wide stay at home orders. The toilet paper producers of America make both commercial and residential versions of their products. When everyone transitioned to working at home, the use of commercial… Read More
Franklin Roosevelt’s Optimism
In January 2019, we had the privilege to work with one of our great corporate clients to create a new leadership experience for their folks. With many of our faculty members having just read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s then-new Leadership in Turbulent Times and feeling inspired by the fact that the four presidents she profiled had… Read More
Two People Buried in the Lincoln Cemetery
Owen Robinson could not remember his birthday, but there was one day he would never forget. It was November 5, 1817, the day he was set free as a slave. Born in Maryland, during the turn of the century, Owen was born into slavery. His luck changed one day when his southern master decided to set… Read More
Journeying to Monticello
Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to put together a special session and extend our signature Journey program to a new location: Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Back in the spring, we were approached by a past client who was organizing a meeting in Charlottesville, Virginia, and asked if we could offer his group a session with… Read More
Leadership Unnamed
By Dave Cooper Have you ever wondered why there are so many different types, or schools, of leadership? Servant, transformational, authentic, adaptive, mindful, participative, situational, and so on — as many schools of leadership as there are authors looking to make a name (not to mention a buck or two) for themselves. Is leadership really… Read More
Experiential Education
The following was published by Steve Wiley and Jared Peatman in the Fall 2012 edition of Leadership Excellence. It is reprinted here for your convenience. Experiential education has been a part of American training and development since the 1610s. Fully three-quarters of the settlers who came to Virginia in the 17th century were indentured servants who… Read More
The Alamo as… Risk Management?
One hundred and eighty-three years ago men in San Antonio, some inside the walls of the Alamo and some outside, closed their eyes for the last time. The following morning the Mexican Army launched an attack that ended the 13-day siege, wiping out all 200 combatant defenders and nearly 600 of the attackers. Many stories… Read More
Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln
Two hundred and ten years ago today Abraham Lincoln was born in a modest home in rural Hardin County, Kentucky – yes, the same place where the television show Justified is set. Lincoln often seems chronologically distinct from the Founding Fathers, but he was born just 21 years after the ratification of the Constitution and… Read More
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! “Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” — Izaak Walton
Santa Was Born in 1863… Really!

Did you know that our image of Santa Claus was created during the Civil War? By Christmas 1862, many of the Union’s soldiers had been away from home for over 18 months – months that had brought few victories to their cause – and the nation was growing discontent. Just two weeks earlier, the Battle… Read More
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